Page 46 of Starry with a Chance of Nightshade

“No,” I whispered out of the side of my mouth.

Yolanda paused and glanced to her right, just as Torid darted in the other direction. She then glanced to the left, as if sensing him. He picked then to appear on the ceiling, crawling along it, staring down at us both.

I eyed him and then my shirt where the pendant lay beneath. I jerked my head a bit, attempting to coax him back into the pendant. I could have said the spell that forced him to return to the pendant, but I knew it caused him pain on some level, and hurt his feelings, neither of which I wanted to do.

He shook his head and then darted out of the open office door, toward the café area and the other patrons.

I would have crossed my fingers that he didn’t get into trouble out there but currently both my hands were still occupied. All I could do was hope for the best.

Yolanda smiled wide, her long, dark, curly hair framing her heart-shaped face. She didn’t have an ounce of makeup on but looked amazing. Her skin was flawless. “I’m really good with first impressions and mine is telling me that you’re good people. That you need this job, and that Grimm Cove wants you to be here. Thatitcalled to you. That it’s meant to be—you, here, now.”

I stiffened. Her assessment of me being called back to the area was a little too on the mark for my liking. “You got all that from me?”

She laughed softly. “I did. If you haven’t already noticed, this town is a bit different from others. We welcome the strange and different, and march to our own beat. My drum is telling me you need a helping hand right now. That you’re worth the investment.”

Unable to help myself, I teared up and stepped forward, setting the glass of fruity water on the desk’s edge. “T-thank you for not firing me. I’m sorry that I lied.”

“Anything else on your paperwork a fib?” she asked, no judgment in her voice. For as rough around the edges as her grandmother was, Yolanda seemed to radiate nothing but warmth and light.

I was so conditioned to lie to protect my secrets that I nearly did so again. At the last second, something stopped me. I blurted out the truth. “Sorry about not listing any references. I’ve worked in cafes before, but never as a barista. I’m a good short-order cook and waitress. I’m a great cleaner. I’m good at bookkeeping. I just, well, I don’t know how to use the machines out there just yet, but I’ll learn today. I promise.”

I left off what I was best at. Somehow, I didn’t think that tidbit would go over well, no matter how honest I was feeling.

She waved a hand dismissively. “Honestly, most of my customers know how to work them, so they can handle it for a minute. I’m not worried about that. I’m concerned about you.”

A tear rolled down my cheek. “T-thank you.”

“I don’t suppose you’d be willing to give me your real last name?” she asked.

I stiffened, nodding toward her computer. “I did. Franks.”

She offered the sweetest of smiles. “Honey, my gut says that’s not the case. That it is but it isn’t really your last name. Confusing for sure.”

I opened my mouth, prepared to defend the shortened version of it since it was legal. That wasn’t what happened. “Frankenstein.”

Shit.

She didn’t question it or even raise a brow, making me wonder at first if she’d heard me. She leaned over her desk and typed something into her computer before glancing at me. “Nice to meet you, Astria Frankenstein.”

I waited for the questions or comments about my surname. None came.

Weird.

Guess in a town full of Van Helsings, Frankenstein wasn’t altogether that strange. Maybe we could organize a Gothic revival in the café at some point.

I snorted at the idea.

“Michael mentioned going to college with you,” she said. “Then my niece told me all about someone named Stevie and how my brother used to date her. Michael is two years older than me, and while he decided to stay local to go to school, I went out of state. If I remember right, he was head over heels for someone and then she just up and left town. No good-bye, no anything. She just vanished. That this Stevie person?”

“Yes,” I said with all honesty. “But that had nothing to do with Michael or her feelings for him. I know Stevie always liked him.”

“Where is she now?” asked Yolanda.

“I don’t know,” I said, biting back emotions.

“My gut says that will change soon enough.” She watched me closely for a minute. “How are you as far as cash right now?”

“Fine,” I said, a little too fast to be believable.

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