“You said it, not me,” I laugh. “I’ll call you later and check in. Rest, and if you need anything, send a smoke signal or something untraceable.”
“I’ll hook up that old CB radio I have in my closet instead.”
“Sounds good. Love you, Kristy.”
“Love you too, Cal.”
I end the call and get back to work, ringing up a few more customers, tidying up the shelves, and sneaking bites of a granola bar in between all that. I’m watching the clock and time is going by so fucking slow.
Pandora is sitting on the counter, soaking up all the attention she can get from customers. My cats are a little famous around the shop, and people assume I’m a total crazy cat lady who spent lots of time training them to be so well-behaved. And I’m one hundred percent fine with that rumor.
She sits up, growling, and looks at the person who just walked through the door.
“You have got to be kidding me,” I say, when I see demon—and witch—hunter, Easton Richards, walk through the door.
So much for lying low.
Chapter 7
“What are you doing here?” I close the book I was skimming and stand up, eyes darting around the store. There are a handful of other customers in here and I am not in the mood to get into anything with Easton right now.
Easton holds up his hands. “I just want to talk, I swear.”
“Fine,” I sigh, too tired to argue. Easton looks tired too, and though it feels like the fight in the woods happened ages ago, it was just last night. “How’s Melinda?”
“She’s going to make a complete recovery, thanks to you.”
“And Lucas,” I add pointedly, and Easton does a good job ignoring what I just said. “That’s good to hear, though. You know I always liked your sister.”
“I know. Which is why I wanted to thank you in person for everything.”
“Thank me?” My eyebrows go up. “That’s a first.”
“Come on, Callie.” Easton plows a hand through his hair. He’s only two years older than me but looks much older. The life of a hunter is tiring, stressful, and isn’t always filled with the healthiest choices. “I mean it. What you did—”
“Just me?” Some may say I’m being petty, but the guy did pretend to date me only so he could get close and kill me. He failed, obviously. But not before my teenage heart fell for him and I let him take my virginity.
“And that vampire,” he mutters. “You both helped us last night and we want to thank you.”
“You’re welcome,” I say and mean it. “I’m glad you all made it out unscathed last night.” The bell above the door dings as more customers come in. “Really, I am.”
He moves closer to the counter, nervously looking at Pandora. “How did you kill all the demons?” he asks in a hushed voice. “We were only gone a few hours and when I came back, they were all gone.”
“Magic,” I supply, knowing that’s not a good answer.
“Really?” He rests his hands on the counter and leans in, hazel eyes meeting mine. He’s always been attractive, and it was one of the things that pulled me in when we first met. “I know you’re powerful, Callie, but it was like last night never happened.”
“Oh, if only,” I sigh. “Look…just don’t worry about it. Don’t look a gift horse in the mouth.”
“What?”
“It’s an old proverb that means be thankful for what you’ve been given.”
“I’ve heard the proverb,” he says. “But what are you telling me?”
“Nothing,” I say, tension rising. “Nothing that concerns you.” A line starts to form at the counter, and I hope Easton will leave in the time it takes to ring up everyone. But he doesn’t. He’s hanging around like a fungus, and I’m going to need an extra dose of medication to get rid of him once and for all.
I ring up the last customer and slip out around the counter, finding Easton in the self-help section. Too bad he’s not reading any of the books.
“Look,” I start, grabbing his arm and pulling him toward the back of the store and away from any more customers. “I was powerful when we met, but that was a decade ago. I’m much more powerful now, with powerful friends. This whole town is full of us, and if you were smart at all, you’d avoid Thorne Hill. Forever.” I let out a breath, not wanting to hold onto a ten-year-old grudge. “There are a lot of witches in this town, and we’re obviously able to take care of shit ourselves. There’s no need to spill any blood. Get out while you can.”
“Why does it sound like you’re threatening me?”
“You are impossible.” I roll my eyes and start to walk back to the counter. “I’m not, and you need to get your head out of your ass. Yes, you’re a big bad hunter, but I’m an even bigger and badder witch, okay? Historically, we have a shitty track record, and I’m not just talking about you and me. You’re a hunter in a town of witches. It’s not smart to be here.”
“We didn’t come here to cause trouble,” he says. “I swear it.”
“I believe you. The demons led you here, and everyone likes to blame demons, right?”
“Right,” he chuckles. “They are easy to blame, after all.”
Betty comes in, smiling as she makes her way to the counter. She curiously looks at Easton and then at me.
“Hey, Betty. You’re early.” I look at the clock. She’s not supposed to be here for another hour.
“I know.” She wrinkles her nose. “I really need to find a new place to live. I love my mom, but she is driving me crazy.” Betty comes around the counter and puts her to-go cup of coffee under the register.
“Oh, right. I forgot you lived at home.”
Betty just nods, blinking rapidly. After being drugged in an attempted assault by her neighbor, Betty moved out of her apartment and back home with her parents. Thorne Hill is a small town and there aren’t too many places to cheaply rent around here.
“And Kristy called you,” I add, mostly to change the subject. “Didn’t she?”
“Guilty. She said you guys both ate bad takeout and she wasn’t sure how you were doing.”
“I’m a little tired, but I’m fine. Thanks for coming in early.”
“It’s no problem,” she assures me. “I’d much rather be here than listening to my mom go on and on about how I should join her Bible study to meet nice boys.”
“I would rather be here too.”
Betty looks at Easton again. He doesn’t look like our typical client, as he’s dressed in jeans, hiking books and a button up-flannel shirt worn over a gray t-shirt. It’s way too hot to be dressed like that, but it’s the typical garb of a hunter, who always want to be prepared for a fight with a demon or a chase through the woods.
“So you’re done for the day?” Easton asks, walking down along the register.
“Yeah, I’ll leave here in a bit once I get things all settled.”
He runs his hand through his hair again, messing it up even more than it was before. “I was going to grab lunch and take it up to Melinda. What’s good around here?”
“There’s a diner two streets over that has the best burgers and fries. The milkshakes are good too, but they’d melt before you got to the hospital.”
“What, you don’t have a magic trick for that?”
“I’m not Elsa,” I laugh. “But I might have a way to pull energy away from objects that does result in a lower temperature in the general area.”
“Want to come with? Mel would love to see you.”
I shouldn’t spend another second with a witch hunter, but it would be nice to have a chat with Melinda…and have her promise me that they’ll stay far away from Thorne Hill. Plus, she and I were kind of friends. She was the first person outside the Academy who I could talk to about magic and demons without feeling like a freak.
“Yeah. I, uh, I’ll drive up behind you.”
“What? Don’t want to get in a car with me?” That stupid smile comes back to Easton’s face.
“No, I actually don’t, and it doesn?
??t make sense to drive in and out of town. I had a really, really, really long night that didn’t end until, well, this morning. So I’m going home after visiting Melinda.”
“Fair enough. Should I go put in an order for lunch then?”
“Yeah, give me about ten minutes to wrap things up here and make sure Betty’s good to take over. I want a cheeseburger with—”
“Extra pickles, no mustard, and double the cheese?”
“Yeah. I guess I haven’t changed that much over the years.”
He slowly shakes his head. “You have changed. A lot.”
“In a good way, right?”
“You’re not telekinetically throwing shit every time you get pissed off.”
I cock an eyebrow. “I don’t have to be pissed off to throw shit. But yes, I’m much better at controlling my, uh…my…temper,” I say, trailing off when a customer comes up to the register. Easton leaves to go to the diner, and I get everything ready for a shift change. Vanessa is coming in later to help Betty close, and I wouldn’t be surprised if Kristy showed up after all either.
Easton is sitting in his car outside the dinner when I pull up, and signals for me to follow him to the hospital. The nurse has Melinda up for a shower, so Easton and I sit in the waiting room, eating our food while we wait.
“So, you’re dating a vampire.”
I take another bite of my burger and glare at him. “Really?”
“What?”