Page 54 of Bewitched & Bewildered
“No,” she says. “I’ll tell you nothing.”
“If this place is haunted,” I continue, “why is itonlyin the basement? Ghosts aren’t confined to a single room.”
She exhales, blowing her bangs up. “It’s not haunted, all right? I know that.”
“Just checking.” I plug the heater back in and wait for it to rush to life, but…
Nothing.
I straighten up. “Circuit breaker?”
“Right there.” She points at the metal box on the wall.
I fling the thing open and peer at the circuits. A puff of laughter escapes my lips.
“There it is,” I say.
“What?” She groans. “Really?”
“You have a blown fuse. Give me some time down here, and I can fix it.”
“You don’t need me to stay?” She hesitates. “I can hold the flashlight.”
“No, no.” I open my toolbox, rummaging around. “I have this under control. It’s similar to the one at my shop.”
“All right…” She’s already creeping upstairs. “If you insist.”
“I do.” I chuckle under my breath. “Get out of here.”
This day could be going worse.I manage to fix the heater—which means I don’t have to be the one to tell Juniper she has to shell out for a new system. Thank the gods.
The tension in my shoulders releases when the furnace comes to life. If everything goes according to plan, it’s already blowing warm air for Juniper and her customers.
When I go upstairs, I find a smiling Juniper. It’s an actual smile—no bitterness—just wide eyes and her plush, pink cheeks.
“You did it?” she asks.
“Yup. Two of them were blown, and I fixed them both. It was easy.”
She shakes her head, looking away from me. “I could have done it myself…”
“Could you? You wouldn’t even go in the basement.”
When she’s looking at me again, it’s with a glare. That perfect smile is gone, but she looks just as adorable. “Ican! I choose not to.”
“It’s okay to ask for help.”
The words sound obvious to me, but they cause a thick silence to settle between us. Her eyes soften. The moment passes too quickly, and her expression goes hard again.
“How can I repay you?” she asks.
We stand in the middle of the empty shop. The light outside fades as the sunset captures Starbrook in its golden glow. A rainbow light shines onto her fair skin, and I smile, stepping closer to her.
“You can’t,” I say. “I don’t want your money. It’s no good here.”
“There has to be another way. Come on.”
“It’s nothing. I got the job done in under half an hour.”
