Page 30 of Wicche Hunt

“She’d probably also like it if you helped out your niece.”

Hester’s focus shifted from the back of the painting to me.

“I could use help in the gallery, a salesperson who knows how to properly brew tea.”

Her lips tipped up. “Well, I do know how to do that.”

I shrugged. “It might be nice to get out of the house and do something completely different for a few hours a day.”

“It might be. I’m going to get out of your hair now. I know you have a mural to finish.” She squeezed my hand. “I think Pearl wanted to make sure I was here last night because she was afraid of my being home alone. Thank you for helping my girl take care of me.”

“You’re always welcome here. I want you to remember that. I’m not used to having someone take care of me after a nightmare, so thankyou.”

She collected her bag and took the muffin I handed her, nodding her thanks. “I’ll be back,” she finally said as she walked out the back door. She leaned over the railing, said something, and then shook her head on a smile as she left. Hopefully, Cecil had said goodbye.

THIRTEEN

What’s in the Box?!

Ijogged up the stairs and changed into my work clothes, a purple long-sleeve thermal top, overalls, and paint-splattered sneakers. I had nothing on my calendar other than gallery work. When I came down, I remembered the brushes I’d left sitting out beside the corridor painting. After cleaning and treating them, I grabbed multiple muffins in case I got visitors while I was on the scaffolding.

Attaching my supply basket to the rope, I heaved until the basket was swinging near the top. Sea spray made the bars slippery, but I was agile and the last of the painting went fast. This side of the gallery looked derelict. The two-dimensional tentacle glistened in the sun. Now I had to attach one of my three-dimensional, thirty-foot ones.

It was awkward and tricky, pretending the tentacle was too heavy for me. I used the rope and pulley again to bring it to the top of the scaffold. I’d already painted the hole the tentacle was busting through. Now I needed to fasten it to the building in a way that was safe, secure, and realistic-looking.

Magic works great for these types of situations. Unfortunately, I was out in the open and lots of cars were driving by, gawking at the mural. I couldn’t do magic in full view of human eyes.

My phone rang. Declan. I swiped and hit speakerphone. “Hey.”

“It looks like you could use some help.” His deep rumbly voice made my stomach wobble.

I put down the tentacle and then turned, looking down the road at the barn, where I knew he was. “If I didn’t have to pretend to be human strong and coordinated, I’d be done by now.”

“Ah. In that case, how about if I run over and pretend to be your very strong and manly boyfriend who helps you do the thing you could easily do on your own?”

I sighed. “Yeah. That’d be good. I need to get started inside. I don’t want to waste time, pretending this is more difficult than it is.”

“On my way.”

A moment later, I saw Declan run across the busy road, in between cars traveling at high speeds in opposite directions. My heart stopped before I remembered he had a wolf’s speed and strength. If a car hit him, he’d be more likely to leave a dent than go flying.

He jogged on the shoulder of the road and was climbing the scaffold in no time flat.

I pocketed the phone I’d forgotten about while watching him. “It’s not fair that just because you’re a dude, you can do superhuman shit, and they won’t bat an eye. If I try it, they have their phones out recording me. It’s bullshit is what it is.”

“Blame the patriarchy,” he said, picking up the tentacle.

With the two of us working together, we had the tentacle attached in no time.

“Et, voilà!” I said. “Now I need to move this all inside.”

“You use a little magic. I’ll use a little more than human strength, and we’ll get this down in no time,” he said, beginning the process of taking down the scaffolding.

It took longer than no time, but once we were done, we both just stared at the mural.

“Damn, Ursula, how do you do what you do? This is unbelievable. I’m standing fifteen feet from the wall and it looks real. A sea monster is tearing apart your gallery.”

Thankfully, the second part of the task was far easier. Once we moved the aluminum bars and plywood planks around the corner of the gallery, we didn’t need to pretend we were straining under the weight.

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