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Evan

W e cuddled once we got back to bed after our shared shower. I snuggled into Cary’s arms and fell right to sleep. That had to be more a testament to how I felt safe with him than being tired.

I could never fall asleep when cuddling Andy. It was like I was waiting for him to say or do something else that’d make me feel bad up to the moment he started snoring. I hated to compare the two men, but I couldn’t help it. Andy had a hard and abrasive personality, the opposite of kind and understanding Cary. My caretaker’s caring nature was on full display during our talk last night. I still couldn’t quite wrap my head around all the nice things he’d said about me, but they meant something coming from him.

I left Cary sleeping in my bed as I threw on some clothes the next morning, brushed my teeth, and walked to the manor. Christie was already unloading her car when I got there. “Did you sleep well?” she asked, then looked at me. Her eyes lit up, and she smiled from ear to ear.

“You got laid! Cary? Did he finally make a move?” she asked, causing me to stop in my tracks.

“How can you possibly know that?”

Christie laughed, reached into the trunk, and handed me a box full of stuff before grabbing another for herself, then shutting it. “Baby, even if I didn’t have the powers of discernment, I could see you’ve been used up and loved on. You’re positively glowing.”

“Ugh, are witches always this perceptive?” I asked, feeling myself blush as we carried the boxes inside.

“Oh, worse, much worse. Wait until Al and Cary get their coven together. It’ll turn into a major party where everyone is reading your aura or predicting the future. Anything could happen, really.”

“Wait, aren’t you part of the coven?”

We placed the boxes on one of the tables and Christie turned toward me. “Yeah, sort of. I am a member, but I don’t really go into the group thing as much as Al. If it weren’t for her, I’d be a solo practitioner. I like the hedge witch label. Although, that doesn’t really describe me either. I’m a loner, and don’t want a pet, or familiar. I prefer plants and food… lots of food.”

“Like a kitchen witch?” I asked, causing her to laugh.

“Sure, kitchen witch. I like that. Now, back to business. We need to sweep up the sawdust from Al and Cary’s project yesterday. Technically, it’s not in the kitchen, but I’m not interested in getting dinged because of an overzealous inspector.”

I followed her into the kitchen and stopped short. The basement door stood wide open. “Christie…?” I asked, unable to get all the words out, and she followed my gaze.

She took one look at the door and froze. “Evan, get out of here!” she yelled, chanting and waving her arms in circles.

When a man came up the stairs, she stood poised to attack. “Aah, Ms. Jal, I’m just about done here,” the man said, and neither of us moved.

He looked up from his paperwork and smiled. “I-I’m sorry, I found the front door unlocked when I arrived and assumed you were here and wanted me to get started. Were you not expecting us today? For the inspection?” he asked.

“Oh, yes, please excuse me. We must’ve left the door unlocked when we left last night. Evan, why don’t you escort the health inspector into the dining room while I tidy up here,” she said, her eyes darting back to the open door.

I nodded, quickly turned around, and led the man out of the kitchen and into the dining area. I looked around suspiciously, trying not to be too obvious. Damn, I hoped the son of a bitch didn’t attack, and certainly not while the inspector was here.

“Well, things look great. I’ve listed a few things you need to do if you plan to use the basement for storage, but most are nitpicky. For the most part, you and Ms. Jal have done a fantastic job preparing the restaurant for reopening.”

I smiled as Christie came out of the back room. The health inspector handed her his report and a certificate stating we could reopen.

“I’ll be back once you get the place opened up. I’m so excited about this. My wife and I have been coming here for years. It’s our anniversary go-to, and I was hard-pressed to figure out where to go this year with the manor restaurant closed.”

He smiled as Christie and I walked him to the entryway. He lingered way too long, talking about how great it was that we were opening the place up and how excited he was to try Christie’s new menu.

When he finally left, Christie and I stood with our backs to the door, searching for any sign of the nasty entity.

“I checked the basement. He’s not down there.”

“Which means he’s somewhere up here,” I said.

“And it’s a full moon tonight. Not good,” Christie said.

Just then, something out of the corner of my eye moved. I gasped and turned toward the sitting room. Christie chanted about things becoming clear, and Inez, my great-grandmother, came into view.

She smiled at us, and in my mind I heard, “ I told you we’d keep you safe. What you’ve been doing here, connecting with friends, creating a home… it’s helped us grow stronger. We were able to contain him for now, but the time’s coming when you’ll have to finish what’s been started. You are growing stronger too. ” She winked at me, then disappeared.

“She… she told you she could contain him? You should’ve told us,” Christie scolded. “You heard her too?” I shook my head. “She sort of told me. I saw her in a vision, and she said that they, whoever they are, could keep me safe.”

“Well, thank the Goddess for that because this could’ve been really bad. I’ve already texted Al and Cary. I expect they’ll arrive shortly.”

I nodded, and wondered if Cary still lay asleep in my bed. No doubt learning the nasty spirit had gotten loose would make for a rude awakening. “I think I’ll go outside until they get here. No offense, but I’d like the cards stacked more in our favor before spending time here with the evil one out and about.”

“Yeah, I’ll go with you. I’m not like Al or Cary. My gifts are more along the lines of seduction and pleasure. Not keeping hateful spirits away.”

“Okay, well, in that case, let’s go into town to celebrate and give this place some distance,” I said, pointing to the certificate that would allow us to open.

“Great idea! Let me give Al and Cary a quick call so they know we’re heading out.”

We were both excited about the inspection going as well as it had, but seeing that basement door open seemed to scare the crap out of Christie as much as it had me. I have no idea how successful she would’ve been facing the evil entity alone. Luckily, Inez had handled it for us, but we couldn’t rely on luck to keep us safe.

Al and Cary went to the manor, while Christie and I went to her house and had mimosas and donuts we picked up on the way. “Well, despite the alarm, we did it,” she said as we sat at her dining table.

“Why did the inspector go into the kitchen and the basement without us?” I asked. “I mean, I’ve been inspected while working and running restaurants before, but never without the owner or at least a few employees being on-site.”

Christie shrugged. “I’m not sure. I’ve not met that man before, but honestly, the past few years Cordelia Manor restaurant was open, they only had very basic staff. I knew the chef, and she was already on the verge of retiring, frustrated at how little help she had. Maybe that inspector is just used to handling things like this, or they gave him permission to do so before due to short-staffing.”

I shrugged. “Regardless, I’m glad we passed.” I lifted my glass and sighed. “I’m even more glad we didn’t have to face the evil spirit in the basement.”

“Hear, hear!” Christie said and clinked her champagne glass with mine. Live your life . According to Cary, that was the advice Drew had given when discussing how to handle the evil one. We’d done that, and apparently it had made the other spirits strong enough to take on the old man.

“Now,” Christie said, drawing my attention back, “let’s solidify this menu. I want to plan it so I can go shopping in Eugene before we start. Once we’re open and I know what supplies we need on a weekly basis, we can have it delivered, but until then, I’d prefer to get things from the box stores to keep costs down.”

“Do you think we’ll get a good turnout?” I asked. “The place has been closed for a while now.”

“I think we won’t be able to keep up for the first week or so. It’s after that I’m concerned about. But, don’t worry, our town is always packed during tourist season and that’ll work to our advantage.”

“Speaking of, how will you handle both the bed-and-breakfast and the restaurant? I meant to ask you before, but things got busy.”

Christie smiled sadly. “Well, for now, it’ll be on Al, but to be honest, we’re both getting tired of guests in our home. I think this will be our last season, especially if the restaurant is as successful as we hope.”

I put my glass down and looked over at my new business partner. “So, if you’re serious, do you think Al would be interested in helping me get Cordelia Manor running as a hotel again?”

Christie’s mouth fell open, then she shut it and nodded. “Well, I should let Al discuss that with you, but between you and me, she’s brought that very subject up on more than one occasion. If you’d be willing to give her the same partnership agreement for the hotel as you did for me with the restaurant, I can’t see why not.”

The deal I’d struck with Christie was fair. I could already see a similar agreement working perfectly with Al, especially with her renovation skills. Half of the rooms on the second floor still needed the required fire prevention sprinklers, and upgrading the décor on a tight budget would be challenging. But the third-floor suite could be rented now.

The list of to-dos overwhelmed me again, so I stopped my overactive mind and just enjoyed our current success. Right now, things were exactly how they should be. I lived in a beautiful cottage, had slept with my very handsome… well, whatever Cary was to me at this point, had a great business partner, and was about to open a restaurant I freaking owned.

At least for the moment, the evil entity was being controlled by my ancestor’s spirit. So, unless something terrible happened, things were finally looking up. I needed to keep my pessimistic brain from obsessing about when something bad might happen.