Page 81 of Under Daddy's Spell

“What did you make?”

She hesitated. Not about to tell her what she’d truly been up to, she waved and said vaguely, “Just an old recipe I had.”

Not a lie, more like one of those half-truths Daddy had warned her about. Guess they could add that to the list of things she needed to work on.

“Anyway, I picked up more. It’s store-bought, but I didn’t want to leave you in a lurch until you could bring in more of your homegrown.”

“No worries. I had plenty, and you saved me the trouble.”

“What trouble?”

“Grinding more.”

Confused, Tessa asked, “There were only two seeds left. How did you have plenty if I used it all?”

“It’s funny. I thought the heat was affecting my brain. I’m relieved to find out it was you.”

“What was me?” Tessa asked while rubbing her forehead, hoping to chase away her now full-fledged headache. “Exactly what are we talking about?”

Angie looked at her like she was the one cracking up. “The ground coriander you left in the grinder. What else?”

“Oh, my god!” Tessa exclaimed, as a heavy feeling of foreboding settling in her chest. “Tell me you didn’t use it.”

“Well...yeah. The empty bottle was on the counter next to the grinder. And you know the saying if it looks like coriander and smells like coriander... Besides, I thought I’d done it and forgot.”

“What in?”

“I...um...” She looked toward the oven as if it would help her remember. “It’s been a few days.”

“Think, Angie, this is important.”

“I’m pretty sure the last time I used coriander was in the peach muffins I made as Jordan’s peace offering.”

“Oh, no,” she moaned, leaning forward with her arms around her waist. “I think I’m going to be sick.”

“Maybe you should sit down.”

It was the best idea she’d heard all day. Tessa staggered to the nearest table and sat down hard in the chair.

“You don’t look so good.” Angie, who had followed her over, took a seat in the chair across from her. “You’re scaring me. All the color has leached out of your face. You took a couple of hard licks. Maybe you need to be checked out.”

“It’s not my head,” she whispered.

“Then what has made you go pale suddenly?”

“I’ve done something bad, Ang.”

“You?” She waved her hand dismissively. “You’ve never even had a speeding ticket.”

Trying to impress on her the seriousness of what she’d done, Tessa reached across the table and clutched her friend’s hands. “That ground coriander in the grinder wasn’t ordinary coriander.”

“What kind was it?”

Her head dropped forward, unable to meet her friend’s gaze. “You’re going to think I’m awful.”

“Never.” Angie covered Tessa's hands with her own and gripped them hard. “Whatever it is, I’m here for you.”

“I was flipping through that old book. You know, the one the strange man gave me with all the others.”

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