Page 47 of I Accidentally Hired a Shadow Walker
“No.” He shook his head. “Not until you talk to me.”
“Fine. Then you’re going to work.” I looked over at the garden supplies stocked at the back of the garage. “I hope you don’t mind getting dirty.”
“What?” he asked.
“I got some weeds to pull.” I grabbed a pair of garden gloves from the wall and threw them at him. No, I wasn’t planning on doing the yardwork, but I figured I might as well get something out of the awkward situation.
“You can’t be serious.” He laughed. “You prefer yardwork over conversation?”
“Oh, now you’re ready to leave?” I scoffed. “Just like a man. They want to be all up in your business until there is some real work to do.”
“Well, that’s a sexist thing to say.” He sighed and slipped the gloves on. “I’m not scared of a little work.”
“Great!” I turned to the door at the back of the garage that led into the backyard. “Follow me.”
He stepped into the yard and gasped. “Wow, this looks amazing. It’s like a little oasis back here.”
“It’s my place of peace.” I pointed at him. “So don’t mess anything up!”
“I’ll do my best.” He nodded. “No promises, though. Where do I start?”
I really didn't have anything I wanted him to do, but the moment he asked, I spotted a patch of weeds growing by the fence. I left him admiring the yard and walked over to the patch. They were new buds and would take little time to deal with, but I had to make him work harder than that.
I glanced back at him to make sure he wasn’t looking then touched the weed. I felt the power pulse through my hand like sparklers. With each stroke of my finger, I imbued my magic into its roots, making it grip into the land stronger. More weeds sprouted up quickly and bowed to my presence. DidI need to make these weeds more stubborn to pull? Maybe not, but I wanted him to experience what I felt when he said he wouldn't leave me alone. It felt like poetic justice.
“I have some stubborn weeds here,” I finally called back to him. “You're big and strong. Maybe you can pull them out for me.”
“That's all you need?” He rolled up his sleeves, flexing as he did. “And here I thought you had some real work for me to do. Won’t even need these gloves.”
“I'm sure you'll make quick work of it.” I stood. “That means you’ll be able to head on home a lot sooner.”
Raymond walked around me and pulled the gloves from his hands, making an exaggerated display of it as if he was trying to tantalize me. He kneeled, gripped the weed by the neck, and pulled. Veins in his arms and hands popped out. Sweat beaded on his forehead as he tugged at the weed that would not give. The man pulled so damn hard, he lost his grip and fell flat on his ass.
“Maybe you do need the gloves.” I picked them up from the ground where he dropped them and waved them at him. “They’ll help with that weak grip of yours.”
“What the hell?” He stood and dusted himself off. “My grip isn’t weak. Those weeds are fucking bionic.”
“Bionic weeds, really?” it took everything I had in me not to laugh in his face. “Look, I know they're stubborn. I can't seem to figure it out. I've tried everything to pull them out of the ground.”
“You sure this isn't a trick?” He looked at me. “Something isn’t right here.”
“A trick? Now why would I have weeds planted as a trick?” I crossed my arms in offense to his words. “Do you think I thought you were coming over here and planted this for you? Do you know how ridiculous you sound right now?”
“I don't understand how this is possible. It's like trying to pull a chain wrapped around a boulder.” He kneeled beside the weeds, trying to get a betterlook. He did another gentle tug and grunted. “How are they so firmly in the ground?”
“Your guess is as good as mine. I was going to call in a professional to figure it out.” I sighed. “Guess I’ll still be doing that.”
“You don't need to call anyone.” He protested the thought, just as I expected. “I’ll figure this out myself.”
“You're not going to give up?” I bit my lip to stop my laughter again. That male ego was working overtime. It looked like even with creatures from other worlds, men were all the same.
“Do I look like the type of man who gives up that easily?”
“I guess not. You wouldn’t be here bugging me if you were.” I winked at him playfully. “Well, while you do that, I have some other stuff to work on in the garden, and I'll just be over here.”
I watched him as he continued his sabotaged attempts at pulling the weed until he reached the point of near exhaustion. While he repeatedly embarrassed himself, I gathered the herbs I needed to make the tea for Miguel. When I was done and after I had laughed at him more than enough, I decided to give him a break. I also had to do something before he tore up my garden.
The man went into the garage and had things clattering around while he searched for something to dig with, and the last thing I wanted was him ripping up the dirt. I touched the ground, closed my eyes, and focused on my energy. The pulsing slipped from my fingertips, traveling through the ground and signaling the weeds. It was time to let up.
