Page 15 of Wicching Hour (The Sea Wicche Chronicles #3)

FIFTEEN

Cookies!

“G ood point.” I unbuckled and slid out, went around the RV, and stepped onto my deck. Leaning over the railing, I put my hand out, drew up a fountain of water, and let it splash my hand. Shaking it off, I yanked my glove back on. Declan, waiting for me at the edge of the deck, took my gloved hand and walked me back to the people gathering at the truck. A few more cars had pulled into the parking lot.

I went to the tall Black woman with the clipboard. She seemed in charge—and looked vaguely familiar. She had broad shoulders and long braids coiled in a topknot.

“Hello. I’m Arwyn. You’re here to pack up my artwork.”

She looked up from her clipboard and smiled, two dimples appearing. “Ms. Corey?”

I nodded.

“Good to meet you.” She didn’t try to shake my hand, so Mary Beth had prepped her.

The woman checked her watch. “I’m Melissa Garra. I’ll be supervising the packing and shipping. We know this is a delicate project. I’m using my best people. We’re just waiting for one more.” A car pulled in and a young man jumped out and ran over. “And there he is.”

I looked over the crew of eight and realized why I was suddenly thinking about honey. Well, that and I recognized those dimples. “Garra? Are you any relation to Officer Nick Garra?” He was a black bear shifter and a member of the Supernatural Justice League. He was also Detective Osso’s cousin.

She nodded. “Nick’s my brother.” Gesturing to all the people gathered, she added, “In fact, these are all our cousins, second-cousins, whatnot.”

“So, if I were to bake some honey cookies for you, you’d all enjoy that?”

Seven of the eight all nodded eagerly. The eighth, the one who arrived late, raised his hand. “I’m whatnot. Could I have a cup of tea instead?”

I felt a small charge of magic from him. The others all seemed to be black bear shifters. This last one was not.

“I’m a Swan,” he volunteered, naming an old wicche family. “Not a very gifted one, I’m afraid. I know all about Coreys, though, and you. Growing up, Gran made sure we knew all the old families.” His fingers kept straying to a lump in his front pocket.

“Mr. Swan, I know my family doesn’t have the best reputation, but if your grandmother gave you a protection against me, chances are my wards won’t let you in the door.” I turned to Melissa. “May I speak freely?”

She nodded. “Yes, ma’am.” She confirmed what I’d assumed. We were all supernaturals. There was no need to speak in code.

“Mr. Swan?” I gestured him forward. “You and I have the least sensitive hearing in this group. You should move closer.” When he did, I felt the gentle push of his grandmother’s fetish in his pocket. The Swans weren’t a powerful family, but they also weren’t riddled with sorcerers, like mine.

“You can call me Milo, ma’am,” he mumbled. Most of the workers shared a family resemblance with Melissa and Nick. Swan, though, was pale, skinny, and only a few inches taller than me.

“Thank you all for coming,” I began. “You already know who and what I am.” I patted Declan’s shoulder. “This is Declan, Alpha of the Big Sur Pack.” A few eyes widened at that. “Most of what you’ll be handling will be very delicate glass sculptures. The octopuses will be the most problematic, given their tentacles and unusual shapes. I’ve already given them a light protective spell, to make them a little stronger for the handling and packing.”

A young woman raised her hand.

“Yes?”

“We’ll be super careful, but why not just make them unbreakable?” She looked a lot like Melissa, but younger. Like my new employees Frank and Faith, she was probably still in high school.

“And what happens on the other end,” Melissa asked, “when some fancy executive drops his glass figurine on his marble floor and it bounces? Then Ms. Corey is a cheat who sells plastic instead of blown glass.”

“Exactly,” I said. “I know you guys are going to need to go in and out of the gallery, so I also want you to be aware of a stalker I’m dealing with.”

“He’s a little under six feet,” Declan said. “He has light brown hair, a beard, and dead blue eyes.” He glanced around. “Do you know what I mean?”

Everyone but Milo nodded. Milo glanced at the rest of the crew and then back at Declan and me. “Oh, like, his eyes are dead inside?”

Declan nodded and Milo said, “Got it.”

“This won’t help you,” Declan said to Milo before focusing on the rest of the team, “but he smells like stale coffee, cologne, and those fake forest car fresheners.”

The bear shifters all nodded, taking note.

“He drives a sedan that’s somewhere between tan and gold,” I told them.

“Chevy Malibu,” Declan specified.

“He’s human but obsessed,” I said. “I’ve given him a magical shove multiple times, but he keeps returning. Don’t let him in and please come tell me if you see him. I’ll be in my studio.”

“We’ll keep an eye out,” Melissa promised, nodding to her crew. “Now, would you like us to use the front door or is there some other way you want us going in and out?”

“I’m not sure how much space you need. I can show you both entrances and you can decide which works best for you.” I waved her forward. “Let me show you in.”

Melissa turned back to the crew. “Start unloading the packing supplies and I’ll be back to tell you what we’re doing.” She followed Declan and me around the corner of the building to the front door.

She made note of the steps, the double doors, and then went through the gallery to the narrower back door with no steps but with a precarious passage past the RV. “I think we’ll primarily use your back door. For the larger pieces, we’ll go out the front. That will lower the risk of people wandering in through the open front door.”

“Sounds good,” I said. I showed her where the two caches of items were for the two collectors and then showed her the door to the studio. “If you don’t need anything else, I’ll go bake some cookies.”

She tucked the clipboard under her arm. “Yes, ma’am. I have my list here too. If I have any questions, I’ll come find you. And thank you for the cookies. The crew and I appreciate it.”

I left them to it and then Declan and I went into my studio. I pushed him toward the stairs. “Go sleep. I’ll be down here baking and then doing some work.”

He stared down at me. “You don’t honestly think I’m going to be able to sleep with all this commotion, do you?”

“Yes, I do. Go,” I said, pushing an immovable Declan. “I’ve never been so safe. I have a gallery filled with bears right now. You’re off duty. Go take a hot shower, throw your clothes in the washer, and go to sleep.”

He scratched his beard. “A hot shower does sound good.”

“And I got you that beard conditioner I told you about. It’s on the bathroom counter. Go. I’ve got hungry bears to feed.”

He reluctantly trudged up the stairs and I went to my pantry to check how much honey I had on hand. I’d need to order more. Which reminded me: I had a grocery order to submit. I pulled out what I’d need for the cookies and then added a few more items to the list before submitting it.

When I heard the shower cut off and then the washing machine start, I relaxed. He wasn’t going to work naked. With any luck, he’d be asleep soon.

I was just putting in a third batch of cookies when I noticed Carter, Detective Osso’s brother and my new security guard, sitting on a bench on the deck.

After setting the timer on my phone, I finished loading up a platter with cookies and went out my back door, quietly closing it behind me. Carter looked up and stood, coming to grab two cookies.

“If I don’t get these first, they’ll all be gone,” he whispered.

A moment later, Melissa and her crew came out. They took cookies from me first and then very quietly greeted Carter, who was, of course, cousin to them all.

“I know why I’m being quiet,” I said, “but why are all of you?”

Carter took a bite and hummed his delight in the honey treat. “Same reason as you,” he whispered. “We’re trying not to wake the Alpha. We hear he’s been running the pack ragged, trying to counter what that sorcerer’s doing.”

The bear shifters nodded and ate more cookies. I guess the word had spread through the shifter community. Milo, though, came to the gallery door and watched me warily. The fact that the other wicche families hadn’t been informed didn’t surprise me at all. Coreys were all about secrets.

“Thank you,” I said, “but how did you know he was sleeping? He doesn’t snore.”

The bear shifters grinned as they grabbed the last of the cookies off my platter.

“His heartbeat and breathing are slow and steady,” Carter explained. “We know what sleep sounds like.”

I looked between them all, amazed. “From out here, over the sound of the surf, you could hear his heartbeat?”

Laughing, Carter shook his head. “I saw the gallery door open, so went there first. Melissa said you were in the studio, but no one—me included—wanted to knock on the door and wake the Alpha. I assumed if I waited on the deck, you’d eventually see me. And you did.”

My phone buzzed. “Give me a minute. I need to get the next batch out.”

I went back in as quietly as possible, but I heard a groggy, “Arwyn?”

“Yep, it’s me,” I whispered. “I’m just giving the crew cookies. I’m fine. Go back to sleep.”

“’kay.” And it was silent up there again.

I took the latest batch out to cool, put a last batch in, and then moved the cookies from the baking sheet to the platter. Were they still warm and bendy? Sure, but the crew didn’t care. When I went out, they were all waiting patiently. They took a few more each and then Melissa had them return to the gallery.

Once we were alone, I sat on the bench beside Carter. “So, what’s up?”

He pulled out his phone. “You know how I’m always listening to audiobooks or podcasts?”

“Sure,” I said.

“Well, I saw there was a new one about witches—or one in particular—and it’s local.”

He opened his podcast app and turned the screen to me. It was called A Witch Burning and featured a woman who looked a lot like me, with a ton of curly hair and a pointy witch hat, who was being consumed by flames.

Unconsciously, I reared back. What the hell?

There was a crash inside and then Declan was standing in the doorway, naked, his wolf-gold eyes on me. “What happened?”