Page 56 of Offsides Attraction

When he’d first arrived at their villa in Curacao, he’d spent every morning reading submissions, but then either the pool or the ocean called to him, and after several hours, he was in the water, manuscripts forgotten. When he fell behind schedule, he read in the office, and now it was an uncomfortable habit. Plus, the dreaded chair felt like penance for his selfishness and stupidity. He knew Penny wouldn’t settle for anything less than love.

“Suit and tie?”

“Nope.” Bash popped the p to annoy his father. “And I’ve told everyone not to wear a noose on my account.” John exhaled on the other end of the line, and Bash could almost see his nostrils flare in frustration.

“How’s the shoulder?” The question took Bash by surprise.

“Better. The water therapy has helped.”

“Is that what you’re calling snorkeling and scuba diving?”

“It’s no different than water resistance training in the pool.” Unfortunately, it wasn’t as therapeutic for his lower back injuries, but acupuncture was helping. And Cal’s recent package of tea and Thistlestone honey had turbocharged his recovery.

When it had arrived, Bash called to thank him, and Cal made him promise to drink a cup of tea with honey in the morning and again at night. “Penny didn’t curse it, did she?” he’d asked, followed by a long, uncomfortable silence. “Cal, I know, and she knows that I know.”

Cal asked how Bash knew and he’d told him about watching the mug and book levitate and a few other things he’d experienced since then, but he hadn’t gone into those details. He’d get a fist to the face if Cal knew his sister lit up like the Fourth of July fireworks when she’d exploded around him.

Bash had asked Cal the questions he’d wanted to ask Penny. Cal explained more about her abilities and limitations, but instead of giving him closure, Bash felt ripped apart.

“No, Penny didn’t curse the honey or the tea. In fact, all of them blessed it during last week’s full moon. Drink it twice a day and you’ll feel better in no time.”

For the family’s use, Elspeth and his sisters added extra protections to the herbal tea made from the flowers grown at Thistlestone and to the honey. It was the reason they were rarely sick, except for colds, which were disastrous for the witches.

“So, that Tanya woman you hired?” John said, getting Bash’s full attention. “What is she supposed to be doing?” Bash bit back a growl. They’d been over this several times already.

“Editing and marketing. She’s got experience with both, and the department managers are happy sharing her.”

“Well, right now, there’s no sharing. She’s spending all her time editing because marketing has nothing for her. I asked Bob about it, and he said you had a plan for her.” Shit. Bash was afraid this would come back to bite him.

When he’d hired Penny’s friend away from Gravitas Press, he’d planned on her and Penny working together to build a program they could roll out to other independent bookstores to strengthen ties between them and to build readership. His plan had died when Penny walked out his door.

“Sebastian, I’m looking at a five-thousand-dollar bill from a private detective you hired to find this woman. Meanwhile, HR has a stack of potential editors we could have tapped for free.”

“Send me the bill.”

“That’s not the point. You obviously had a plan for this woman. What happened?”

“Plans change,” Bash said.

“For other people, but not you. You always think things through and there isn’t an impulsive bone in your body.” Wanna bet? he thought, remembering his botched proposal. “I can’t help if you won’t talk.”

His therapist had issued a similar warning in their first session. Opening up to him was proving to be one of Bash’s better, but highly painful and uncomfortable ideas, so maybe telling his dad, with as few details as possible, might help.

“I was hoping to partner with that bookstore in Cascade City, but I had a falling out with the owner.”

“Elspeth? Really? Your mom can’t stop talking about her. They’re like BFFs.” Bash didn’t know what worried him more, hearing his dad use BFF or that Elspeth and his mom were friends.

“No, the other owner.”

“Ah, the niece.” Bash could visualize his dad nodding his head as the pieces fell into place. “Your mom said the two of you were close.”

“Yeah, well, it ended.”

“Just because it went sideways that’s no excuse to abandon the business angle. I know I wasn’t supportive of the book clubs, but I think you’re on to something. And your mom had a good time at the book signing. It would be interesting to see how their sales numbers compare to the previous period. If they’re up, it would be easier to convince other authors to find the time.”

“And for marketing to put money behind it,” Bash said. If his dad believed in something, be it a book or an idea, he made sure it had money behind it.

“Yes, but the first step is fixing whatever you did wrong.”

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