put himself in grave danger for her.
And that hadn’t been the first time.
Yet in the end, when the battle was over and there was the possibility of something between them, he had left.
She climbed the stairs to the café, found Abby chatting with Zoe, its manager and chief baker.
“Hey, Thia,” the latter greeted on her way to the light switches behind the counter. She was small in stature, nearly a foot less than Thia’s five-foot-eight, and prone to bright smiles and quick motions, the better to showcase her collection of Bakelite bracelets.
“You okay?” Abby looked at Thia with concern.
Her friend was frequently too perceptive—something that was referred to as both a gift and a curse.
Thia forced a smile. “Just thinking some things over. How did we do?” she asked Zoe.
“Great,” the young woman replied, turning off overhead lights. “We had a run on the new biscotti. I took advance orders for a dozen tomorrow.” She tipped her head toward where the café’s deposit pouch lay by Abby’s elbow on the counter.
“Congratulations,” Thia said. “I’m sorry I missed them.” And she was, too. Zoe was a phenomenal baker.
“I had one when I came in,” Abby said, taking up the deposit as she stood. “And it was all I could do not to go back for more.”
“Thanks.” Zoe laughed, held open the door. “It’s the butter.”
“The chocolate didn’t hurt,” Abby said, going outside.
“True.”
Thia stepped past them into the patio. “Save me one tomorrow, would you? And I promise, I’ll be on time.”
“Like I care what time the boss gets in?” With another laugh, Zoe closed the door, got out her key. The wind ruffled her wispy, white-blonde hair. “I’ll set aside two.”
“Thanks.”
While Zoe locked up, Abby walked to the vine-covered arbor of the patio entrance and peered out. Being protective of the store’s deposit pouches, or was it something more? Thia shoved the unsettling thought aside. Tried to, anyway, and went to join her.
“We’re meeting Kendra at the Landmark for dinner,” she told Zoe. “You’re welcome to join us.”
“Oh, thanks.” Zoe dropped her key into her vintage clutch began walking toward them. “I’d love to, but I need to pick up a few things for tomorrow’s menu. Plus all those biscotti to bake.”
“You’re sure?” Abby asked.
“Yeah. Regrettably.” Zoe exited into the alley.
Quickly, Thia used the Sight to check that the wards were in place, shimmering just outside the fence. They weren’t easy to see, being the weaker set. Since Eclectica depended upon a high level of traffic, two sets of wards were used. A set of only basic protections, enough to keep out anyone intent on doing harm, was in place one hour before business hours until one hour after, when it switched to a much stronger set.
Cassie had been specifically warded against. No matter her intent, no matter the time, she couldn’t get through.
“Have you ever seen our transient?” Zoe asked casually and closed the gate.
Concentration blown, Thia’s enhanced vision winked out. “Who?”
“Our what?” Abby looked equally shocked.
“I think there’s a guy taking shelter back here.” Zoe pointed. “Behind the dumpsters.”
Abby was already halfway there.
“No,” Thia called, too late. “Don’t—”
“He’s not here,” she announced, checking behind.
“Only in the mornings,” Zoe said. “Really, I don’t think it’s a big deal. He seems harmless—not that I’ve actually seen him. I think he’s too shy to come out.”
Abby straightened. “We can’t have someone—”
“I’m not even sure he exists. I shouldn’t have said anything. It was just a feeling I’ve had lately…and the food I’ve been leaving there has been disappearing.”
“Food?” Thia asked. “You’ve been leaving food?” If someone was sleeping behind the store, that was terrible and something needed to be done to help; but not by facilitating his presence.
And why there, anyway? When Granite Springs had several very nice shelters and just as many programs to help people get back on their feet, why had he chosen Eclectica?
“Just leftover food. Mostly.” Zoe bit her lip.
It was an answer to Thia’s spoken question and maybe the unspoken as well: He could have chosen Eclectica for its kind-hearted café manager.
“You need to stop that.” Abby used a piece of the chalk she had pulled from her purse to write on the dumpster. “It’s not safe. If he’s here tomorrow, you come get me and we’ll deal with it. There are shelters. Programs,” she said while she chalked. “I’m giving the address of a meals program.”
Zoe let out an audible breath. “You’re right. Of course you’re right. I wasn’t thinking. Obviously. I don’t know, it just….Never mind. I’m so used to the Usuals”—a reference to the organized panhandlers that congregated along Main Street and by the Shakespeare Festival—“that I didn’t see how this was different. I’m sorry.”
Not for the first time Thia wondered if she and Abby weren’t making a mistake by keeping Zoe out of the loop.
But, she had been relieved to learn, not everyone in Granite Springs practiced magic or understood that things like leyline travel and glamouring and warding and turning oneself into a raven (should one be descended from mythical beings) were possible. There were still people who thought as Thia had before her world got turned upside down and inside out. And, since she had yet to decide whether she’d have preferred that obliviousness, she hadn’t pushed hard on the issue of destroying Zoe’s.
“It was stupid,” that young woman said.
“No,” Thia argued, “it was kind. Transiency, if that’s what is going on here, is a complicated issue. Especially here.”
In a town where it could be so profitable.
“You’ll be sure to let me know tomorrow,” Abby said and in a rare gesture set her hand on Zoe’s shoulder. “It’ll be okay.”
“I will. Thank you.” She hugged Abby, gave Thia a smile before stepping away to begin backwards-walking down the alley. “And I am sorry to miss out on dinner. I’ll be sure to make the next one.”
Thia shook her keys to untangle them. “Wouldn’t you like a ride?
“No, no. I’m not far.” Zoe gestured toward the next block up. “A friend on Pike lets me park in his driveway.”
“You’re sure?” Abby pointed to their two cars, her white and black Mini Cooper beside the brown Datsun. “It’s dark and cold and we’re both right here.”
Continuing to walk backward, Zoe grinned. “I’m two minutes away, tops. See you tomorrow!” She waved as she went around the corner, out of sight behind the B&B.
Something in Abby’s expression gave Thia pause. “Are you sensing something? Should we go after her?”
With a small shake of her head, Abby turned toward the cars. “It’s the same feeling I’ve had all day. Just a vague sense of potential, I guess is the word. Like a gathering storm.”
That didn’t