Page 43 of Clearly Charmed

Lia gave me a smartass smirk. Oh, she wasn’t getting away with this.

‘Of course I’ll do it, and Lia will help me.’

The taunting grin on Lia’s face slid away, and before she could object, Clo pressed a hand to her knee, stopping whatever sharp reply was coming.

‘No problem, Judge. All three of the McGuire girls are up to the task,’ Clo stated.

He gave a nod and moved on to tent construction and garbage duty.

A smirk pulled at the corner of Bryce’s mouth and his pen flew over the pages.

Good. This was what he needed to write about. The zaniness of this town. How people were always reluctant to volunteer until they were reminded of how some of the money raised allowed us to support important local causes like meals for seniors on a fixed budget and after school programs for kids.

Once the meeting adjourned an hour later, Elena fled back to the coffee shop and Lia headed to the fire station to talk to the chief about when the trails would be opened again. I raced to my truck with Flora at my side. I had less than half an hour before a scheduled puppy vaccination at the clinic. Before I could get away, Clo called my name, strode toward me with a determined look pinching the corner of her eyes.

When she reached me she said in that disappointed voice I hated, ‘How long were you going to keep your plans with the journalist a secret?’

‘It’s not a secret. I hadn’t gotten around to telling you yet is all.’

She gave me one of her patented that is bullshit looks. ‘Honey, what are you doing? I know how you feel about this magic nonsense. And the last time an article was written…’ She shook her head. ‘I’ve heard this fella knows his stuff. You may not be able to distract him as easily as you think.’

Is it nonsense to her?

‘Yes, I’ve got it handled. The only archives he saw were about the town’s incorporation. The years of the silver rush frenzy. How the population slowly grew as more people visited and found that Harvest Moon was a good and quiet place to raise children.’

A part of me wanted to bring up her ancestor Ambrosia. See her reaction. But I held back. The center of town wasn’t exactly the place to have that kind of conversation.

‘All Bryce will have to write about is our basic history,’ I said. ‘The antics of this town, like that ridiculous meeting, and how Eric is very proud that he can grow a green pepper the size of a large man’s head.’

The tight lines around her mouth didn’t move. I gave another glance at her hands. In the light of day, those fuzzy memories of that night felt even more ridiculous. I’d been around Clo all my life. If she’d had any kind of magical power, I’d know about it.

‘There’s one other issue we need to discuss.’ The way she spit out the word issue, it wasn’t hard to guess what was coming next. ‘Your mother called me. Apparently she sent you an email and you have not replied.’

‘I have a lot happening right now. The last thing I need is more of Belladonna’s crap.’

‘Dandelion,’ she said with a sad sigh. ‘I know better than anyone how she’s hurt you and your sisters, but in the end she is your mother. Take five minutes and answer her. Please.’

My first reaction was to say no, but Clo didn’t ask for much. I was about to relent when Bryce appeared at the corner and jogged in our direction. Well, shit. Now I’d have to formally introduce him to Clo because they hadn’t really spoken the night of Indy’s sickness. I braced myself, because in a situation like this my grandmother could be a wild card.

‘Hello, Dani,’ Bryce said with a way-too-relaxed smile. He bent down and scrubbed under Flora’s neck, murmuring something about Indy missing her. When he was finished turning my dog into a wet noodle, he stood at his full height and held out his hand to Clo.

‘We didn’t get a chance to properly meet when I was at your place with my sick dog. I’m Bryce O’Dell.’

‘I know who you are, young man. Nothing happens…’ She tossed me an irritated look. ‘Well, almost nothing happens in this town without me knowing about it.’

‘Yes, ma’am, I’ve heard that. In fact, I was hoping you’d be open to talking to me about the piece I’m writing about Harvest Moon. Everyone I’ve spoken to so far has said you’re the lady in the know around here. That your input on the article would be critical to me portraying the town in the most accurate light.’ There was that charming smile again. Little did he know my grandmother was anything but a pushover.

‘Fine. Come to dinner tomorrow night. Be at the house at seven o’clock sharp and bring your appetite.’

I double-blinked. She was inviting him to dinner?

Bryce hesitated for a few seconds before replying, ‘Thank you. I’ll be there.’

This was a bad idea. The last thing I wanted was Bryce in my childhood home. Getting too close to the things I held most dear.

Before I could say a word, Bryce pointed a hopeful gaze in my direction. ‘You’ll be joining us, right?’

‘I’ll be there. You never say no to my grandmother.’