Page 52 of Prayers for the Prickly

That he already planned to be the one to be there after school to feed them snacks and help with homework had already painted a picture in my head of what evenings at home would be like. Time with them, time with him, I could see us in the hot tub, watching the stars before heading to bed.

The moment I mentioned it to him, he decided to have a smaller version installed on the third-floor balcony that I could lounge in while I watched him grill. That whole space up there was rapidly morphing into a little paradise. When we ascended those stairs, we left work and whatever else we’d been wrestling with behind. He’d hung lanterns over the bed as well as the nest in the center of the room. He’d even hung some on the balcony, a long line of them that ran above the railing.

If things at work were as good as the things at home, I’d been in little hedgehog heaven, but Ever’s business still hadn’t been able to bounce back from the damage Mrs. Zebrowski and her ants had done to it. He’d lost two more accounts in the wake of Antgate, while tests had proved inconclusive in determining at what point they’d been introduced to the nougat.

Don’t you think at least one of them would have had a bit of nougat in their systems if they’d been in there before they died?Ever raged.

We all got his frustration, including the lawyer, but since no proof had been uncovered to link Olly’s mother’s threat to the incident, and nothing else had taken place, there was no grounds for a defamation or sabotage case. Olly approaching Ever hadn’t solved things between them, either, they were barely on speaking terms, though I’d seen Olly seek out a glimpse of Ever whenever he dropped in to grab food for me and Gregor.

If it comes down to saving my shop or claiming a mate who won’t even put a stop to what his mother is doing to me, I’ll choose my shop every time!Ever had declared, not that any of us blamed him.

Olly’s apologies and his offers to help with advertisement were great and all, but Ever needed to know that the threat to his livelihood was over and he needed to have his good name restored. Ever had steadfastly been avoiding Olly, thus making it so Olly’s mother had no need to complain about someone mentioning that they’d spotted them together.

I could never imagine one of my parents, or anyone else in my family, being jealous of their child’s happiness the way she seemed to be. It was bad enough, the damage she’d done to Olly, who I’d come to realize wasn’t as happy go lucky as he presented himself to be.

The way she treated him was as unforgivable as the damage she’d done to Ever’s shop and reputation in the food community. While people had continued to pour through my doors seeking treats and information on any unveilings we had coming up, the customers on the chocolate side had slowed to just a handful of regulars who bought a few small treats to try and keep his spirits up. If he spent two days in the kitchen working on refilling the case, that was a good week for him these days, which had sent his mood spiraling and his creativity fleeing to parts unknown.

Even worse, the chocolate shop had been excluded in the shops offered a booth during the Succulent Seafood festival. Unlike other events we’d known, where business owners paid a fee to set up a booth and sell their wares, here the chamber of commerce determined how many booths they were going to sponsor and handpicked the businesses they wanted to have fill them.

Businesses could offer samples, sell items, and give people the opportunity to play games and win prizes and coupons. I planned to do all three, as well as grab bags filled with random assortments of candy. I had three different sizes planned, too. The bags, which Gregor had designed characters for, arrived yesterday. They’d turned out beautifully, each size in a different color so there would be no guessing or weighing as we rang people up. I’d received the festival map a few days ago and been pleased to see that my booth was less than a half a block from the shop, with the booth for the bakery being located directly in front of our store. It had worked out beautifully. Well, almost. Beautiful would have been if Ever had the booth on the other side, which I’m sure would have been the case, had it not been for the ant incident.

His lawyer had made note of that missed opportunity, too. He was keeping detailed notes of every spiral and crack that resonated from it, so we’d be prepared if we ever got the information we needed to prove that a crime had been committed. Fraud, that was another charge he planned to level once we could prove those ants had been planted in the nougat. I couldn’t wait for the truth to come to light and my brother to be vindicated. I just wish I knew what it would take for him and his mate to have the same chance at happiness as I’d found.

With fresh batches of root beer and cherry cola ready to go out, I checked on the cream soda, which was also ready to be cut. As it had been each time I’d stepped out to refill the case with treats, the shop was packed and there were more items added to the checklist of things that would need to be replenished.

At least I had Gracie full-time in the kitchen now. She could get the bases for each of these started while I saw to the finals steps and reloaded the display case. I waved to a few people I knew and passed a lollipop to the little girl who’d inspired the bubble pops. Waving, she excitedly declared that she wanted to be a candy maker when she grew up and was going to start filling her sketchbook with all her ideas.

With her imagination, I bet it would be filled with whimsical concepts by the time she was old enough to start playing around the kitchen with them.

“Hey, you got a minute?”

Everett’s voice coming from the corner of my kitchen was a surprise when just a few minutes before my kitchen had been empty. I kept forgetting we each had keys to all three kitchen entries. Even Gregor still knocked and had to wait for me to open the door for him.

“Sure, if you don’t mind talking while I’m cutting,” I replied as I picked up my knife and started wiping it down before I heated it.

“I’m going to shut down the chocolate shop at the end of the week, just for a little while, and go visit Gram-Gram and Gramps,” Ever explained. “I could use some time in the woods with Uncle Alonzo, and it would be nice to sit on the pier and spend the whole day fishing, even if I don’t catch anything.”

“I don’t blame you for wanting to get away.”

“I wish you could come with me, but I know you can’t so we’ll just have to video chat each night, so I don’t miss seeing your cheerful face peering at me through the display case.”

“I like the way it distorts us.”

“Same. That’s the best game ever. I don’t care how old we are, making faces at you through the glass will always be the funniest thing to me.”

“Please promise to bring back some of Gram-Gram’s maple candy,” I pleaded.

“With or without nuts?”

“Both.”

“I will, I’ll even help her make it.”

“No, no, no, you stay away from my candy, those are secrets only me and Gram-Gram can know. You stick to your chocolates, but if you make chocolate-covered cherries with her you’ve got to promise to bring some of those back, too.”

“I will,” Ever promised. “Thanks for not being mad about me taking off.”

“Why would I be mad?”

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