Page 24 of A Touch Enchanted

“Right now, we’re just practicing to save the world.” Though with the curse taking a shot at us every time we set foot on the beach, I had to wonder how much longer it would be until we weren’t just testing our magic anymore. Hopefully, we’d find whatever the curse was guarding before it trapped us all here and moved on to the next phase.

“Things are going well with Donovan?” My mom’s question appeared innocent enough, but she held too still, like the answer meant too much. She’d made no secret of the fact that she hoped we’d end up together, no matter how many times I told her it wasn’t going to happen.

“It’s going fine.” That was as much as I was willing to elaborate.

I seriously hoped my parents hadn’t heard any rumors in town. I hated being the subject of gossip, but it was unavoidable in a town this small. Everyone knew Donovan had rejected me after graduation, and ever since he’d been back, people had been placing bets on how soon it would be before we slept together.

Some of the nastier rumors, no doubt started by Paige Newcomb, involved me trying to trap Donovan into marriage so I could get my hands on the Latham fortune. Even though I’d never given a shit about Donovan’s money. I’d actually resented it for a while. At particularly low points, I thought that if he hadn’t been loaded, then maybe I would’ve been good enough for him.

But Donovan wasn’t like that. He didn’t reject me because I grew up poor. He rejected me because he didn’t want me. It wasn’t exactly a comfort, but it was the truth.

“I’ve been hearing some interesting rumors in town,” my mom said.

Oh, God. “Yeah? What kind of rumors?”

A worry line appeared between my mom’s brows, and a chill leaked down my spine. I got the feeling this wasn’t going to be some nonsense about me and Donovan. “People are saying Wes Latham is trying to get the island shut down for the summer.”

I blew out a slow breath. The night Wes and Audrey had first told me their thought process for shutting down, I understood it, even if I didn’t like it. I promised them I’d give talking to my parents some serious thought, but I’d been putting off making a decision on what to do. I couldn’t avoid it anymore, though.

I toed at a scuff mark on the floor. “He said he’d make sure everyone was taken care of. That he would find work and housing on the mainland good enough to get through winter.”

My parents clutched each other’s hands, the tinge of their fear palpable. It was at that moment that I knew I couldn’t do it. I couldn’t take Wes and Audrey’s side on this. If that put me at odds with them, so be it. I couldn’t ask my parents to make that choice.

If I asked them to leave, they would. If I asked them to take a stand on this and agree to the shutdown, they would. Because, at the end of the day, my parents would lay down in traffic if I told them it was important to me. But there were a lot of residents who wouldn’t agree to a summer shutdown and would view those in favor of it as the enemy. They relied too much on the goodwill of the town to get by, and I really didn’t give a damn what Wes wanted when my parents’ livelihood was at stake.

“What do you think we should do, Squirt?” My dad’s expression was earnest and completely trusting. Whatever I suggested, they’d do.

“I think …” This was it. The moment I took a side in a fight that had barely just begun. “I think it would be best if you sat tight for now and see what happens.”

They exchanged a relieved look, and I instantly knew I’d made the right decision. It was too extreme to suggest a shutdown this early. Especially because the curse hadn’t made any attempt to go after those without magic. Wes and Audrey believed it would only be a matter of time before it started attacking random people, but they couldn’t know that. And there was still a chance Donovan and I could stop it from trapping us here.

If I found what the curse was guarding, all this talk would be for nothing. Until then, I didn’t see the point in my parents putting the business they’d sunk their lives into at risk for a hunch. And I said that as someone who had direct dealings with the curse. Those who didn’t would probably be even more resistant to Wes’s plan.

I said goodbye to my parents, then brought the scuba gear back to my apartment. I set it to the side and got busy gathering up all the jewelry I’d made over the week to take to Audrey’s. The money from those sales would pay my rent for the month and afford me an extra deposit in my savings account. I didn’t know exactly what I was saving for, but growing up the way I did, it was always something.

I lined everything up in the cedar box I used for transport to keep the necklace chains from tangling together, and stacked a paper bag full of homemade cookies on top, then headed out into the sunshine. Even with the summer solstice behind us, Zodiac Cove still had its fair share of tourists, and would all the way up through Halloween. As long as we kept the island open to traffic, anyway.

A lot of the residents found the tourists to be a nuisance. They were loud, left their trash all over our beach, and no one liked giving up their cars for them. But I was grateful for them. Grateful their presence made it possible for me and my family to make a living, even if I did agree about the trash they left behind on the beach.

I turned my face to the sun, soaking in the vitamin D as I passed by the candy-colored shops that sold everything from star charts and new age merchandise to Zodiac-themed treats, and included a house of mirrors, and a genuine wax museum. It was an eclectic mix of the quaint and the strange and I loved that I got to call this place home.

Halfway between my apartment and Audrey’s shop, on a bench under a leafy oak, Paige Newcomb sat with Olivia Beaumont. They both had to-go cups from Capricorn’s. I stiffened my spine, knowing Paige wouldn’t be able to resist taking a shot at me. We’d graduated almost a decade ago and she still clung to her bully persona like it was a fifty-percent-off Burberry purse on Black Friday. Some people really did peak in high school.

I’d feel sorry for her if she wasn’t such a bitch.

“Good afternoon, Violet.” Paige’s tone was a blend of sugar and poison. I didn’t trust it for a second. “I almost didn’t recognize you since you’re not wearing my clothes.”

I sighed. Growing up, my mom did all my school shopping at the Newcombs’ annual garage sale. Paige was in my grade, but because I was so small, I fit in all her clothes after she outgrew them. My mom was so proud of herself for getting me name-brand things on our extremely limited budget, that I didn’t have the heart to tell her what it cost me.

It was a good thing I hadn’t gotten Audrey and Wes’s lightning power, or I would’ve been tempted to burn the bench where she sat to ash. “I haven’t worn your clothes in ten years, Paige. I’m begging you to get some new material.”

“Oh, honey, it’s been obvious you no longer wear my clothes. I wouldn’t be caught dead in something so …” Her lip curled as her gaze roamed over my plain cotton sundress. “Basic.”

If I were thirteen again, her words might’ve shattered me. Confidence was such a new and fragile thing back then, it broke so easily. But Paige hadn’t been able to get under my skin in a long time. One of the perks of growing up and growing out of fear.

I turned to walk away. I’d forget about her the moment she was out of sight, but I had no doubt she’d spend the rest of the day replaying this confrontation in her mind. It was a sad and ugly life she’d chosen for herself, and not at all my problem.

“The mayor knows what you and your little group of magic friends are up to,” Olivia said. “I’d be very careful about trying to shut down the island for the summer. People who depend on tourism income might not be too happy with you right now.”

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