Brownies and Broomsticks: A Magical Bakery Mystery by Bailey Cates Page B

indeed. I remembered the way they’d all looked at me, waiting to bring me into their … Oh, no, did they consider themselves some kind of coven? What would I say to them now? I couldn’t get overhow
normal
they all seemed, even little pink Mimsey. I shook my head and swallowed. Then I caught Lucy’s amused look, and couldn’t help but wonder whether she could read my mind.
    Stop it.
    Lucy rose, then bent slightly to kiss my forehead. “Being a witch is a good thing, sweetie. You’ll see.”
    Ben returned from the office as she picked up our plates. She passed him on her way into the kitchen.
    He had to know what she had just been telling me. How did he feel about the whole witch business?
    “Ben,” I said.
    “Gotta go proof the newspaper ad for the grand opening,” he said, lurching toward the door.
    My eyes narrowed. He ducked his head and escaped.
    I put my chin in my palm and listened to the rattle of dishes in the kitchen while I tried to assimilate Lucy’s revelation. A witch. Bless her heart, she seemed to really believe it.
    Hedgewitchery
. I shook my head.
Oh, brother.
    Never mind that the word seemed to wrap around my soul like a cozy blanket.

Chapter 6
    I stirred tart cherries into the dark chocolate batter and tasted the concoction. Delish. But it would be even better with a dash of cinnamon and a few more cherries. I measured out another cupful while my mind gnawed on what Lucy had told me about Mama.
    My mother, Mary Jane Lightfoot, had thrown a fit when she learned of my plans to go into business with her big sister.
    “You’ll hate it in Savannah,” she’d said on the phone.
    “What are you talking about? I love it. The squares, the river, the history. Mama, I’ll be able to really use my culinary training in a creative way. And I can have a garden all year-round. Even in the
winter
. How cool is that?” No mention of escaping a romance gone sour. No mention of Andrew at all. My mother had disliked him from the beginning and was not above throwing an I-told-you-so my way.
    She’d sniffed. “It’s muggy and hot and sticky. The bugs are awful. It smells funny. People are stuck-up. You’ll have to get new clothes, do something with thathair of yours, and stop acting like such a tomboy.” A pause, then, “Lucy will turn you … You’ll turn into a whole different person.”
    Now, Mama was not exactly tactful on her best days, but this diatribe had surprised me. Normally the idea of my updating my wardrobe and fussing with my hair would have sent her over the moon with delight. But on the phone she’d sounded almost frightened at the prospect. I put it down to the decades she’d spent in Fillmore, Ohio, population 563. After all, she’d fought my decision to go to pastry school, and then she’d hated it when I moved to Akron. I was an only child, and Savannah would be the farthest I’d ever lived from my parents. But what did she expect me to do—move back to Fillmore?
    Uh-uh. No way.
    I’d countered in the gentlest tone I could muster. “Everyone I’ve met in Savannah is nice as pie. My clothes are fine. My hair is fine. And while I don’t intend to turn into a whole new person, I sure hope some things are different. That’s kind of the idea.”
    Well, after my one week in Savannah someone had killed Mavis Templeton, Ben was a murder suspect, and now my aunt had informed me I was a
witch.
Not exactly what I’d had in mind when I’d wished for something different.
    Should I ask Mama about what Lucy had told me? As I dolloped batter into the rows of paper cupcake liners, I found myself shaking my head. If Lucy was simply unbalanced, then calling my mother wouldn’t help a bit. And if Lucy was telling the truth …
    Ow. That just made my brain hurt.
    *        *        *
    “You know, Mavis and I dated for a while back in high school.” Ben’s words cut through my thoughts.
    I looked up from the notebook in front of me. It contained all the recipes Lucy and I