Page 2 of Curses & Cold Brew (Maple Hollow #2)

IRIS

I drummed my fingers on the gnarled wood of the apothecary desk.

Once again, here I sat, bored out of my mind.

I’d already bottled the most recent batch of sleep elixirs, dusted dozens of shelves—without using levitation, might I add— and started teaching myself an ancient summoning incantation from one of the oldest spell books that Bones and Tomes had in its archives, because all of that was better than just staring into space.

If I didn’t get a reprieve soon, I might start hand-sewing bowties for Ichabod. The black cat cracked one eye open from where he slept on the floor in a circle of early autumn sunlight as if to say, Don’t you dare.

Never had I longed for the busy season like I did now.

A few tourists had filtered in to take some photos or videos for social media, but the weeks leading up to Halloween were typically slow.

With the recent uptick in lifestyle influencers, we’d had our fair share of bloggers, travel enthusiasts, and nostalgia-seeking city dwellers visiting lately.

The kicker was that even with the somewhat steady stream of visitors, there hadn’t been much more business.

I knew it would pick up as we moved closer to Halloween, but I needed something to pull me out of this funk now .

“I could really go for some townsfolk catching a rare and mysterious stomach bug or poisoning from a bad batch of hard apple cider right about now,” I mused to a half-listening Ichabod.

“Or better yet, a salacious scandal where several people contract some sort of supernatural STI. That’s the ticket.

Drama and a brain puzzle all in one. Perfect. ”

When the midnight cat didn’t even deign to peek at me, I sighed heavily. Everyone in Maple Hollow was far too healthy and vanilla for the coven’s apothecary business these days.

With a grumble, I stared out the fogged windows and watched the leaves dance around the witch-hat gazebo at the center of town.

Most of them had already changed, but some still held fast to the last bits of summer, the greens fading to vibrant yellows and oranges with burgundy and browns peeking through. A foliage hunter’s dream.

Soon, our little town would be overrun. Normally, I was the poster child for the Halloween spirit, but thoughts of the Halloween Festival only brought the smallest flare of excitement . . . probably because I didn’t have my best friend to enjoy it with anymore.

As if summoned by my thoughts, Jordyn stumbled through the front door, making the bells clang uproariously before she closed it behind her. She looked both shocked and frazzled by the sound, as if we didn’t both have regular nightmares about phantom chiming bells after busy days.

“Sorry, sorry!” she called as she smoothed her tousled brown hair.

I eyed her swollen lips, askew cardigan, and one button of her blouse in the wrong hole.

“You couldn’t keep it in your pants until the end of the workday?

” I snarked, flipping through the spell book for something that would quell the libido .

. . but I knew those only worked on men.

There was no spell big enough to keep two hot women from banging, praise all the sapphic gods.

“I know you and Harlow are sickeningly and irrevocably in love, but you’d think after a year, you would cool it a little bit. ”

“We got carried away.” A deep red blush crept across Jordyn’s nose and cheeks. She couldn’t seem to wipe the shit-eating grin off her face, though. “What needs doing?”

Me, obviously, but there was a fat chance of that happening anytime soon.

“Nothing,” I groused. “But stay over there and tidy the dry herbs or something. I don’t need your post-carnal aroma and afterglow to dampen my already chipper mood.”

Jordyn lifted the neckline of her sweater, sniffed it, then shrugged. “Slow day?”

“You could say that.” I twirled a pencil between my fingers—a new trick I’d been perfecting lately.

The movement attracted the true owner of the apothecary, Ichabod.

His black paw swiped at my small entertainment and sent it flying across the desk.

With my full attention, he head-butted into my hand, purring like a little motor.

“I really am sorry for being late. Do you need a pick-me-up? I’ll watch the front while you run and grab a coffee.

” Jordyn’s overly sweet apology made me feel worse about my attitude.

It wasn’t her fault I was in such a slump.

I liked Harlow, and I was happy for both of them; I just couldn’t help but wish that Jordyn and I were still in the same phase of life, just like we always had been until recently.

“Maybe later.” I gave her a smile that hopefully said I wasn’t holding her blissful romance against her. “You know, a bunch of apples have gone missing from the orchard lately,” I hedged. “We should go investigate.”

“Squirrels,” Jordyn answered with a flick of her wrist. “Case closed.”

“Randy thinks there are people squatting in the pumpkin patch.”

“Just the local ghouls.”

“Oh, come on!” I urged. “Let’s get the Scooby Gang back together.

I’m going to die from boredom and need something stimulating!

A mystery to solve or someone to save! And you’re never around to hang anymore, which isn’t your fault,” I added hastily, “but it would be nice to have something to do together again.”

Jordyn arched a brow at me as she rearranged the wicker baskets near the door. “I think you need to get laid.”

“I’ve already banged all of the single witches in this town.

” I pouted. “The vamps don’t like the taste of my witch blood, the monsters are all emotionally unavailable, and there’s not a single lesbian mermaid in the swamp.

Can you believe it? Mermaids, Jordyn! You’d think it’d be a sure thing!

Everyone knows there’s nothing gayer than freaking mermaids.

” I dropped my head into my hands. “I’ve run out of options. ”

“Wyatt’s little sister is gay,” Jordyn offered.

“Your girlfriend’s sister’s crush’s baby sister?” I asked, pointing out the many ways that relationship would fail before it even started. “The last thing I need is to get involved in werewolf politics. They’re messy as fuck. Maybe I can cast some sort of conjuring spell to find my perfect woman.”

I looked down at my book, but I knew damn well that there were no love spells within its pages.

Jordyn snorted derisively. “Yeah, ‘cause that has worked out so well for us in the past.” With a flick of her wrist, she magically shut my book. “Slow down there, Practical Magic . You’re going to sprain something.”

I ignored her and shouted to the ceiling, arms spread wide, “Moon Goddess, send me a hot lesbian?—”

And right at that inopportune moment, Ramona Henry walked through the door.

“Not that hot lesbian,” I grumbled to myself.

Jordyn burst into laughter. “Gotta be more specific with those prayers, Iris,” she teased as Ramona strode deeper into the apothecary. Her giggles died when Ramona gave her a cold, steely look. “Afternoon, Ramona.”

Ramona replied to Jordyn’s greeting with a mere purse of her lips.

She gave off the same energy as the New York execs who were dragged around town by their children: cold, robotic, menacing.

But beyond the expensive tailored suit and eyeliner so sharp it could cut glass, she was positively demonic.

It was the way she moved and her eerie silver eyes that gave her away.

She usually wore sunglasses during tourist season so no one would ask to take selfies with her, but today, her eyes were on full display and seemed to be tracking my every movement.

Her raven hair was pulled back into a slick bun, not a single hair out of place.

She wore shined Oxford loafers, bloodred nails, and a smudge of burgundy lipstick that demanded all of my attention.

She was all angles, her features sharp and predatory as she twisted her head to look from Jordyn to me.

My mouth went dry when our gazes met. I braced my forearms on the desk.

Every time Ramona made eye contact with me, my knees went weak.

She was the most otherworldly and gorgeous being I’d ever met, and the broker holding my debt.

I shouldn’t want to mess with such a powerful demon, but I was drawn to her like a soul to a summoning circle.

“Can we help you with something?” I rasped, my pitch higher than my usual customer service voice.

“Yes.” She glowered. “ You can.”

My stomach twisted, and I had to stop myself from leaping over the counter to answer any question she might have. Instead, I cleared my throat.

Come on, Iris! Play it cool!

Ramona dropped a white confectionary box on the desk. “Here.”

I opened the top to reveal six and half apple cider donuts from Full Moon Bakery.

“Oh,” I said, instantly reaching for one.

“Wait!” Jordyn called, stalling my hand as she walked over to inspect the box. “Only six left in a box that holds a dozen, and one has a giant bite taken out of it?”

Ramona shrugged. “The man I took them from won’t be missing them.”

Jordyn retracted her arm like one of the pastries had tried to bite her. “You gave us a dead guy’s donuts?”

The corner of Ramona’s mouth tipped up. “If you don’t want them, don’t eat them.”

I snatched one of the donuts that didn’t have a bite mark before Jordyn could stop me and shoved the entire thing into my mouth like a chipmunk with an acorn.

Jordyn’s eyebrows shot up. “Seriously?”

I could barely speak, my mouth was so full. Luckily, my best friend was fluent in Mouthful Iris as I said, “Eloise only makes thirty boxes of these a day, and I’m never up early enough to wait in line.”

Jordyn rolled her eyes before returning her attention to Ramona, who had moved to one of the herb baskets next to the checkout desk. “What are you looking for, demon?”