Page 104 of Clearly Charmed

My editor called and said she needed me in LA. They had to pull anarticle at the last minute from the spring issue, and they want my pieceto fill the space. It’s due by the end of the day tomorrow. I’m sorry togo back on our wager, but I can’t miss this deadline. Don’t know whenI’ll be back in Harvest Moon.

Three more dots appeared on the screen. I waited for an I’ll call you or Talk to you soon. Any hint at when he might return, but after a moment the dots disappeared.

The ache in my chest was so raw that I had to suck in a breath. So much for my promise to Aster about convincing Bryce that what he saw was not real. Our fate was in his hands, and I had a bad feeling that our peace, the quiet life we’d once known, was truly gone the moment Bryce found Belladonna and me in the woods.

Chapter Thirty-Four

More to the Story

The hinges on the library’s front door closed with a deafening squeal. Even though it was small, the journal I’d taken weighed like a brick in my pocket. I tried not to look at the aisles where I’d wandered with Bryce, the thought of him too painful.

Ms Ruthie sat regally on her chair at the information desk, a queen surveying the layout of her kingdom. She didn’t bother to look at me before saying, ‘I hope you’re returning what you pilfered from my archives.’

‘Your archives?’

Her glasses skidded down her nose. ‘When you guard them the way I do, they often feel proprietary.’

I pulled the journal from my pocket and set it on the desk.

She pressed her lips thin. ‘Heard anything from that reporter?’

‘No,’ I answered flatly. ‘And you know his name is Bryce.’

She gave me a determined look and pointed to the staircase leading to the second floor. ‘You and I should talk.’

Ruthie was a fierce friend to Clo, and it was pointless to argue, because she wouldn’t let me leave until I heard her out. She grabbed the journal, and I followed her up to the study room. The late afternoon sun seeped through the stained-glass window, color spilling across the floor like a muted Monet painting.

Bryce had sat at our table near the window, all smiles and teasing only a few weeks ago. The heat and scent of him close enough to touch. He was long gone and yet that link, bond, between us felt as real as if he was only sitting inches away.

Ms Ruthie pulled out a chair at one of the mahogany tables. Sank down into the one next to me with a tired huff. ‘I’m still a little miffed that Clo didn’t call me when you were all scrambling around during that wildfire two weeks ago.’

‘You were in Denver. What were you going to do? Speed back on your Vespa?’

Her left brow hitched up. ‘When it comes to supporting your grandmother, do not underestimate me, Dandelion.’ She laid her hands flat on the table, her shoulders inching up to her ears. ‘Clo and I have been through a lot. When she lost Beau…’ Her eyes went watery. ‘That was a difficult period. You were old enough to remember that time, but you don’t know the entire tale.’

Unease writhed like a snake in my chest. ‘Enlighten me.’

‘Clo’s told me you are aware of certain things about Bella, and, in turn, her.’

When I stayed quiet, hands folded in my lap, she said, ‘Like Beau, I was always encouraging her to be honest with you girls. But your grandmother is loyal to a fault sometimes. She’d given Bella her word, and she wouldn’t be shaken from that promise.’

‘And that made my grandpa unhappy. Clo already explained that to Aster and me.’

‘That’s true, but there’s more to the story.’

There’d been so many family revelations lately, so much sadness, I wasn’t sure I wanted to know more, but the set of Ms Ruthie’s mouth said it was important.

‘Go on,’ I said in a muted voice.

‘Beau understood Clo in a way no one else could. A lot of that was probably because of all the history and rumors swirling around their families. She could be at ease with him. Not hide any part of herself.’

‘That makes sense.’

Her eyes went sad as she went on. ‘But her ancestors, they’d been through a lot over the decades. Clo’s mother, Opal, she married into the Perkins bloodline. When she discovered what Clo could do, it terrified her. That terror turned into cruelty.’

‘But Clo was her child.’

‘People fear what they don’t understand and, sadly, Opal was very unkind. I think your grandmother was relieved when she learned she couldn’t get pregnant. There was a part of her that thought without any children between her and Beau, the magic would be ended for good.’