Page 68 of Fresh Old Bounties

I nudged Fluffy. “Fluffy, attack!”

Fluffy burrowed her head deeper into her paws.

I gave Ian a dignified look. “She will attack tomorrow.”

Ian glanced at the white fluffball with obvious affection. “I’m sure she will.” He leaned his head back to stare at the sky again. “You can see the photos on our next date.”

The word date coming out of his lips brought a small thrill to my system. I was still unused to hearing it. Fast kisses and easy conversation over food was one thing, but dating? It both thrilled and scared me. Ian was a few years older than me. He was serious and unwavering. There was a weight to his decisions that told me he thought about them long and deep before making them.

Dating Ian wasn’t a light summer fling. It wasn’t a “fun as long as it lasts” kind of deal.

I had gone through a couple of those before, and the fun never lasted that long. It soured and became annoying, and one party always stayed way longer than they should’ve.

That party might’ve been me.

I was bad at reading the room sometimes.

My sister blamed my natural optimism. My mom was of the opinion that I’d never been seriously invested in them, so of course I couldn’t see when things went wrong—my heart simply hadn’t cared that much.

Both had a point.

But this thing with Ian felt different. The small sparks whenever we touched felt different. The kisses felt different. The fluttering in my stomach whenever he focused his total attention on me felt different. It felt more real. Like it had meaning. Intent.

Magic.

That’s how it felt. Like a spell weaving its way into my life, around my heart. A well-honed, well-crafted spell full of intent. His intent.

It rendered me powerless to resist.

And that felt like the scariest thing on earth.

Reaching over, I tentatively touched his hand. He immediately flipped it to interlock his fingers with mine.

The sparks burst into life. The warmth. The precipice that told me I better make sure I wanted to jump in because once I was fully committed, I wouldn’t be getting out.

But precipices and holes were only scary because they opened into a pit of darkness, and Ian was offering me the sky.

I grinned at the pinpricks of light so far above us.

Grandma would approve.

“I’m sure the bounties are connected—Grandma’s and the spellbook,” I said with conviction. Mostly because it was mind-boggling to think she was involved with two bounties for two different reasons. “What are we going to do next?”

“I’ll ask around Duncan’s old contacts.”

“See if his fake son has been visiting others?”

“They might know who he is.”

“Smart.”

“What about you? What will you do now?”

I thought about it for a few long moments. “I’m going to do the same, I think.”

“Ask Duncan’s old contacts? I don’t know. They might get suspicious if two different people nose into their business.”

Laughing, I shushed him. “I’m going to ask Grandma’s old friends, see if they remember anything odd about the year before she died.”

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