Chapter Six

Meena

In Zelda’s library, Jake and I paged through several more books. I hoped to find a section about severing employment contracts with demons but none of the demon-related reading material focused on that topic.

The grandfather clock in the corner chimed four times. Four o’clock. I closed my book and set it on the table. “I better go.”

“Time to cook dinner?” Jake said.

It was on the tip of my tongue to invite Jake over for dinner. I was kind of afraid he’d forget about me as soon as another girl came along. Not that I thought he was a jerk, I just didn’t have a great track record with guys. “So, I guess I’ll see you later?” And wow…that sounded lame.

“Give me your cell.” Jake held his hand out so I passed him my phone. He typed something into it and then handed it back. “Now you have my number.” I checked the screen. It said Jake Grant.

He reached over and touched the call button on my phone, which made his phone ring. He checked his screen. “Meena Holland.” He blinked. “So Holland’s Drug Store is named after your family?”

“My great-great-grandfather opened the business in 1900, so it’s been around for a while.”

“I can’t imagine having roots someplace that go so far back,” Jake said.

Aunt Zelda came into the room waving a smoking bundle of white sage. “I cleared all the rooms.”

“Who was that ghost?” Meena asked.

“No one in particular. Probably someone who likes to stir up trouble. She should be gone now.”

I stood and wiped my hands on my jean shorts and that’s when I remembered. “When I changed into this outfit, I left my dress in the spare bedroom.”

“Jake, would you go grab her dress, please?” Zelda said.

“Sure.”

Okay. Maybe there was something she wanted to say to me that Jake couldn’t hear. Once he was gone down the hallway, I looked at her expectantly.

“I know you’ve just met Jake, but you seem to like him.”

“I do.” Where was she going with this? Did she think I wasn’t good enough to date her nephew?

“I’m hoping he’ll stay in Crossroads. If he goes back to live with his mother…” She frowned. “I know she loves him but she doesn’t make the best decisions. Hopefully, you can help convince him to stay here.”

“Of course I want him to stay, but it’s his decision.”

She moved closer. “You’re a good person. You can help steer him in the right direction.”

Jake jogged back into the room with my dress folded over his arm. He took one look at me and then said, “What’d I miss?”

“I was warning Meena about Bane. He can be very smooth. He likes to lull people into trusting them and then he takes advantage. I thought she should know.”

Okay, I’d go along with her lie for now since she wanted the best for Jake. “Trusting him isn’t something I plan to do.”

“I’ll walk you to your car,” Jake said.

We headed out the door. Jake carried my dress all the way to my Volkswagen. Suddenly the situation felt awkward.

“I should tag along whenever you’re running errands for Bane,” Jake said.

“Sounds good.” And now I didn’t know what to say, so I went with, “Try not to kiss any ghosts while I’m gone.”

“Not funny.” He reached out and wrapped a piece of my hair around his fingers. “Try not to let any demons play with your hair.”

“I’ll work on that.”