Page 7 of Love’s a Witch (The Scottish Charms #1)

“Yup. It went as well as could be expected.” I shrugged, hiding the brunt of what Mum had said from my sisters, as I always did.

I’m not sure why I still shielded them from her, as they were grown adults.

Yet there was something about a mother putting herself first, over and over again, that reopened those childhood wounds that we had all done our best to heal from.

“Shall we crack on? Divide and conquer?” I held up the list, signaling the discussion about our mother was done.

What was there to discuss, anyway? Mum wasn’t speaking to us, and Dad had disappeared without a trace years ago.

We could go in circles about it or get on with living our lives.

But as the snow piled up around us, I knew I’d rather move forward and get us back to cozying up before the fire while we shined up our childhood home.

“I’ll hit the Silver Quill for books,” Nova said, studying my list.

“I’ll go to Cauldron’s Cupboard for groceries.” Lyra rubbed her hands together in anticipation. “And a quick stop at Mystic Munchies, of course.”

“Right, then I’ll take the Pixie Dust Apothecary for medicine.” Despite myself, my lips quirked. “I do like the names.”

“Me too. I mean, if you’re going to be a theme park, might as well lean into it, right?” Nova agreed, waving to the man who now looked at us from the front window of the pub.

“Meet back here in an hour.” My sisters scattered, likely ready to be out of the snow, but I lingered a moment, studying the pub across the street. Last I could remember, it had been a community center of sorts. I supposed it still was, just now with food and beverage.

The Rune & Rose.

A pretty name for a pretty pub. Two arched windows, with paned glass, shone warm light against the snow that swirled outside.

The pub was cream brick, with a bright red door, and the black-and-red sign had gold painting on the letters.

A rose twisted around a dagger, with runes down the blade, and a shiver of knowing filled me.

Celtic music lilted, muffled from inside, and a few people sat before a thick stone fireplace. Homey, warm, and welcoming.

Yearning filled me. It was true, what I’d said about being used to being untethered.

That didn’t mean I had to like it. I’d long ago accepted that we needed to keep moving, that ours was the life of a nomad, yet that didn’t necessarily have to sit well with me.

A part of me craved the predictability of being rooted in one spot, the sameness of small-town life, the ability to build a community of sorts.

“Never harm, always charm!”

I snorted as Mandy’s voice rang in my head. Okay, maybe not that community. I could never imagine myself being friends with the fembot of a coven leader, as she and I were worlds apart.

Turning, I wandered down the sidewalk toward the apothecary, breathing a sigh of relief when the snow lessened and a few shafts of sunlight split the blanket of moody clouds above.

Crouching at a trio of pumpkins displayed by a front door, I brushed snow from the grinning jack-o’-lantern faces.

I hoped the snow wouldn’t impact the Halloween festivities too much.

It wouldn’t be entirely unusual, as I recalled a time or two when we went guising as children when we’d had to bundle up with warm jumpers under our costumes.

A memory of Broca, dressed entirely in sequins as Glinda the good witch, accompanying us as we went guising from house to house, brought a flicker of warmth to me.

It hadn’t been all bad, I reminded myself, and pushed through the front door of a brilliant pink building with a turquoise door and mustard-yellow trim.

Pixie Dust Apothecary was everything it promised to be, with mirrored glass shelves holding hundreds of bottles and vials of all shapes and sizes, and long wooden tables clustered with charming boxes of herbs and teas.

Soft harp music played in the background, and a stunning woman wearing a shimmering velvet green dress slinked forward.

Her blond hair tumbled past her shoulders, a tiara of rose quartz crystals pulling it back from her face, and diamonds winked at her ears.

“Raven O’Ryan!” I exclaimed.

“Sloane MacGregor. I knew you bitches had to be back in town when the weather turned.” Raven threw her arms around me and gave me a hug, rocking back and forth three times as I inhaled the scent of lavender. Pulling back, she held me at arm’s length and studied me.

“Bloody hell, Raven. You’re gorgeous.” I blinked at her. Raven had been an awkward child with buck teeth, messy hair, and a propensity for wearing the baggiest clothes she could find.

“Yes, much like Briarhaven, I’ve had a bit of a glow-up.” Raven twirled, her arms outstretched. “You like?”

“Knocked it out of the park,” I said. “This is your shop? I’m impressed. It’s so pretty, Raven.”

“It is, it is. When the Douglases came up with the plan to revamp Briarhaven, I jumped at the chance to get my own shop. They held it for me until I was old enough to sign a lease, and I’ve been here ever since.”

“Is that right? That’s unusually nice of them.”

“They wanted the locals to invest in the town. And since they knew that all I did was study spells and medicine, well, it was a natural fit.” Raven came from a long line of healers, so much of her education wouldn’t have been found in books either.

It was a smart move on the Douglases’ part, keeping her and her family tethered here, as the NHS was so backed up lately when it came to medical appointments. “It’s good to see you, Sloane.”

“Is it?” I nodded toward the snow that fell in fat flakes outside the window.

“Och, it’s nothing we haven’t dealt with before.” Raven waved away the snow like it was not an issue at all. “We’ll get it sorted, much like we do everything else that comes our way.”

“That’s a relief to hear, as not everyone has taken so kindly to our arrival.”

“Screw ’em,” Raven said, and I burst out laughing.

“I’ve missed you,” I blurted.

Raven looked up from where she’d begun to unbox sachets of lavender.

“I haven’t gone anywhere, have I, then?”

“No, that’s on me,” I admitted, moving farther into the shop, the coziness easing some of the tension at my shoulders. “I was so busy taking care of Lyra and Nova that I was horrible at keeping up with everyone. It felt like one too many things to handle, you know?”

“I don’t, at that. But I also don’t have an impossible mother and a disappearing father. So for that, I’ll be giving you a wee pass. This time.” Raven gave me a stern look. “But next time you just up and disappear on me, don’t expect me to be so welcoming.”

Tears threatened, surprising me, and I turned away so she wouldn’t see them. Forgiveness, coming so easily, touched my heart.

“Understood.”

“The Charms could use you, as well.”

I whirled, surprised. “You’re a part of the Charms?”

Raven put both of her hands beneath her chin and fluttered her eyelashes. “Never harm, always charm!”

I snorted. “How did they rope you into that?”

“All the women in my family have been in it. Kind of a legacy seat situation, like yours. It’s not so bad if you can get past Mandy’s head cheerleader mentality.”

“She’s terrifying. Her smile never breaks.”

“It’s a real feat.” Raven chuckled. “Not to mention her strict adherence to the rules. We bring this casserole for Mabon and this casserole for moon baths. She’s wound so tightly I’m surprised she doesn’t explode into a ball of pink glitter.”

“I really don’t think I want to be a part of a coven, Raven.

It just doesn’t sound like something that’s for me.

” Joining, well, anything, really, was far outside my comfort zone.

I’d made the mistake of joining a netball team once in high school, only to have to miss several practices due to my unreliable parents.

And by the time I’d finally gotten them to pay enough attention to what I needed, Mum had uprooted us from town.

After that, I’d found it had just become easier to abstain from group activities than to become a part of a community.

Raven gave me a knowing look. “I hope you’ll change your mind. It would be nice to have you at the meetings.”

I shrugged, noncommittal, picked up a green vial, and held it to the light. “Broca’s had hip replacement surgery and doesn’t much want to take any pain meds for it.”

“Sure, and she has the right of it. The pain lets us know when we’re doing too much.

Nevertheless, I have some things to aid the healing process, which will in turn ease her pain.

” Raven strode to her shelves and began to gather a few jars and bottles.

“This one, the arnica cream? Great for aches and pains. I’ve added a dose of thistle, harvested under a full moon, to aid its power. ”

I leaned against a wall as Raven went to work, picking up a strand of amethyst stones and running them through my fingers like worry beads.

“How’s it been here?”

“Since you’ve left?” Raven glanced over her shoulder.

“Same. And not the same at all, I guess. Obviously, Briarhaven basically shut down for a year as we completely rehauled the downtown and turned it into what you see today. That was kind of a wild time, everyone picking colors for their buildings, voting on shop names, that kind of thing. It was fun, in its own way, even though it took ages to make decisions. I swear, everyone has an opinion on something. Och, it went well enough, though, I suppose, considering how quickly it moved. Knox did a good job with it.”

“Did he?” I twisted the strand around my finger. “He’s young to be provost, isn’t he?”

“Is he?” Sloane shrugged as she brought jars over to the counter. “I guess, not too much older than us. He does a good job, and people really love him.”

“I don’t.” I closed my hands tightly around the stones.

Raven glanced up at me, a considering look in her eyes.

“I didn’t say you did.”

Caught, I looked up at her and then gently unwound the strand of beads I was mangling between my hands and put it on the counter. “He tried to kick us out yesterday.”

“Ah.” Raven’s lips quirked and I stepped forward.

“What’s that look for?”

“Nothing… och, it’s just…” Raven waved a hand in the air with a laugh. “Didn’t you fancy the lad a bit back in the day?”

I drew myself up. “I most certainly did not.”

“I mean, we all did, right? He was kind of the golden boy of sorts. Still is, I guess. Hell, I’d make a play for him if I didn’t have my sights set on another.”

“Who do you like?” I asked, desperate for a change in conversation.

“That, my friend, takes more than breezing back into my shop after years of silence.” Raven nodded to the front door, where bells jingled and new customers arrived. “I’ll tell you over a pint sometime. Call me. We have a lot to catch up on.”

Raven packaged everything neatly in an eggplant-purple bag, with a pretty sparkling black bow attached to it.

She tucked her card inside, along with her number, and gave me a quick hug before attending to her new customers.

Bundling the bag under my coat, since it was too pretty to get wet with snow, I beelined for the car, my mind whirling.

Had I fancied Knox? More so than anyone else?

It was weird how my mind had blocked out many memories from that time in my life.

It had been so chaotic, my parents constantly fighting, and I’d tried to spend as much time away from home as I could.

Then, when Mum had taken us abroad, well, we’d flitted from town to town so fast that everything had blurred together.

Call it trauma or call it a blessing, but either way, the memories lay hidden behind the veil of time.

Including any supposed crush I might have had on Knox.

That certainly won’t be rekindled, that’s for sure.

Picking up my pace against the icy wind that shoved me back, I pushed toward the parking lot. I blew into the car, slamming the door behind me, a flurry of snow and packages, to find my sisters already there.

“Sorry about that. Were you waiting long?” I gasped, my cheeks stinging from the snow.

“Not too long at all. But it’s cold.” Lyra rubbed her hands together and blew on them, nodding toward the ignition. “Can you start the car?”

“Aye, nae bother.” Already my Scots was coming back to me. I’d largely been Americanized since I’d left, finding it easier to blend in at schools when I’d let my accent drop, but it was slowly coming back now that I was here.

Home.

Turning the key, I blinked at the clicking noise that emanated from the steering column. Lights flashed on the dashboard, but the car didn’t start.

“Damn it,” I breathed, slamming my fist on the steering column. “Battery’s dead.”

“Noooo,” Nova wailed.

“I didn’t pack for this weather.”

“How can we have a dead—”

Something pounded my window, and we all screamed.