Chapter Four

James, being the closest, rushed to my aid. He held out his hands, giving me a boost up from the floor.

“Should have used a protection spell for myself,” I muttered, checking if my nose still faced forward. It did.

“You’re so good at magic. Why don’t you cast some kind of a ward-like spell and keep Ivana at a safe distance? The whole town would appreciate it.” He gave me a speculative look, his hazel eyes gleaming with interest. He really had embraced his family’s work ethic. We’d achieved more than I had expected in record time, putting my sisters to shame. Good on him.

“Nah, I can’t do that.” Though I had to privately admit I had been sorely tempted on occasion. “I only seem to be able to produce white magic. Black magic eludes me. So, I guess I’ve got a new roommate.” Visions of the Russian mob invading Ivana’s suite terrified me. It was a real possibility.

The back door must have opened during the fiasco, because there stood the Queen’s own cowboy, carrying a picnic basket. I’ve always had a hankering for a man riding free on the range, a sturdy horse supporting his hot bod.

He looked from James to me, confusion furrowing his brow.

“Hey, cowboy,” I said, trying it out.

“Miss McCall.”

My turn to frown at the cold chill of his tone. What did he have against cowboys, for heaven’s sake?

“I brought you something to eat, but I can see you’re busy…” He gave a curt nod at James, plunked the basket down on the nearest counter and spun on his heels.

“No, wait, let’s eat together!” Too late. He’d already vanished through the back door. What was his problem? I could make some time now that I had acquired two fabulous kitchen genii to watch my back.

“I’d better get back to work.” James moved away, picking up the chopping knife. He began slicing the rest of the vegetables into bite-sized pieces. I went over to the basket and opened the lid, curious to check out what Ace had chosen for our supper. Oh, very nice. Sliced pepper steak, potato salad and French bread with two generous portions of chocolate cake and thick buttercream icing made my mouth water. Why had he gone to all this trouble then vanished? I shook my head. Shame to let it go to waste. I dived right in. Dessert first—life was too short to take unnecessary chances.

“Just saw our sheriff driving down the street and his aura’s gone all kerflooey. Bright red and green fireworks streaking in every direction when it’s normally a nice steady true-blue. What did you do to the poor guy?” Tulip entered the kitchen, ubiquitous laptop in hand.

That is weird. “Who’s minding the store? And I didn’t say anything to Ace. He was in a hurry.” I spoke around a mouthful of heavenly cake, using my fork to gesture at her. “And what’s the deal with Ivana wanting to bunk with me? Who planted that bright idea in her head?”

Tulip shrugged. “It didn’t come from me. If I was going to yank your chain, I’d choose karaoke night. Remember the time Auntie T.J. signed you up to raise money for the new Fire Hall? Ha! You really can’t sing, you know, sis.”

I gave her the stink-eye. “I am aware.”

“Oh, talking about embarrassing moments, don’t forget the Bucket Parade on Saturday. Your number’s up this time. You should have said no to being a bridesmaid.”

“No! Tell me the wedding’s not this coming Saturday.” I slapped my forehead, hoping pain would drive away the image of me climbing into a tractor bucket to be escorted to the nuptials like all the rest of the wedding party.

“Afraid so.” Tulip flashed a wicked grin. “Do you need any help? I was just going to close up shop and go home if not. Then I’m heading out to the movie set to see how Star’s making out. The whole town must be there by now. Oh, and I promised Granny I’d bring snacks for tonight. She’s got Book Club. Got anything available?”

I counted to ten. Very. Slowly. “You didn’t think to prepare something, like, I don’t know, yourself?”

“Jeez, I’ll throw something together now. I just thought since there’s so much food already prepared…” She shrugged, giving a cute waggle of her eyebrows, widening her big blue eyes further.

Okay, for Granny. “You can package up an assortment of desserts. That’s what they’ll all want anyway. Just be a complete waste to take a vegetable tray.”

“What time do you want me in the morning?” Suzanna asked, taking off her apron and setting it aside.

“Eight a.m. would be great, if you can manage. We’ll need to haul everything over to the location by eleven and start setting up. Can you make it as well, James?”

“Sure. No problemo.”

The pair left and I finished tucking the last of the food trays in the cooler then set about making a giant batch of overnight buns to bake in the morning. I sterilized the counters, then surveyed my domain with satisfaction, pleased with having everything in order.

The phone rang, jarring my nerves further. If one more person needs one more darn thing from me today, I’m not going to be held accountable for the ensuing mayhem. I stomped over to answer the barking annoyance, picking it up on the seventh ring before it went to the answering machine.

“Tea & Tarot.”

“Charm! Thank goodness! Something really awful has happened. Please, you got to get out here. Now!” Tulip screamed in my ear.

“What is it? What’s wrong?”

“Star…crackle…”

“I can’t hear you! The line’s worse than usual,” I complained.

“Fizz…crackle…dead!”

“What?” My whole body lurched, the universe stopping spinning. The phone went dead in my hand. Star? No!