I’m only trying to do what’s best for everyone involved.”
I open my mouth to argue, but then stop and think about what he’s saying. What if I had had to heal my mother in front of all those people without Angelo there to smooth it over and come up with an explanation? That could have been a disaster that ruined our lives, too. The press coverage alone would have blown our secret wide open and made life a living hell for us.
“I see,” I say, and I’m really beginning to, because once I shut my mouth and use my brain instead, I’m actually pretty smart.
Not that I’ve acted like it lately. I swallow hard. “Angelo?”
“Yes?”
“I’m sorry. I don’t mean to be hateful, and I promise I’m normally not like this. I just - this is a shock, OK?”
He chuckles. “You think you’ve been bad? Honey, I’ve been turned into a pencil.”
“A...a what?”
“A pencil. We picked up a witch out on Oklahoma who really didn’t want to leave her three Chihuahuas behind. She got so mad that she turned me into a pencil for fifteen minutes before my guys talked her down. Trust me - you aren’t all that bad.”
I laugh at this, I can’t help it. “That’s crazy. Why...” I gasp, “Why wouldn’t you let her bring her Chihuahuas?”
He looks at me with a raised eyebrow and says one word that shuts me up. “Wolf-shifters.”
My laughter dies. “Ooh. Yeah, that would have turned out badly.”
“I ended up letting her bring one. She found out that we have to allow familiars, so she claimed one as her spirit animal.”
Speaking of which, “I hope Bumper isn’t too upset with all this moving. He likes his privacy, too. We’re introverts.”
“My guys will take care of him. They’re good about stuff like that.”
I nod right as he stops in front of a skinny brick building and says, “Here we are.”
My new office is tucked in between a barbershop and what looks to be a tattoo parlor. It has a stately-looking white front door, and I notice that my name has already been stenciled into place with a slightly curly font.
“It’s cute,” I say, looking up. The building is three stories, clean, and inviting. “A few plants to soften all this brick and we’ll be set. Except for the part where I might accidentally kill somebody.”
I look over to see him smiling at me.
“What?”
“Maybe you should cut yourself some slack and have fun with it,” he says.
“Seriously? Have fun with maybe murdering people while I’m trying to help them?”
“You know what I mean - maybe you’ll make more mistakes by being uptight about it than you normally would. If you just relax, you might find that you step into this thing like a pro.”
I sigh. “OK, so just relax. I can try, I guess.”
“I’ve seen you in action. You’re going to be just fine. Let me show you inside.” He digs a key from his pocket and takes hold of the handle, but it turns inward easily without his using it. “Huh, that’s weird.”
“What?”
He shakes his head. “Never mind. Maggie must be here already. I told her we’d be in this morning.”
Then he pushes the door open and lets us into the dark foyer. The only light, once he closes the door behind us, comes from the door’s sidelights and a small window at the back of the building. It illuminates a small waiting room with lots of flowers sitting around. I look to see that one of them says Welcome, Trinket Banks! In fancy letters. “These are for me?” I look up at Angelo in surprise.
“They townspeople are excited to have a new healer in their midst, and Maggie is excited to learn.”
“That’s sweet.”
“It’s necessary, too. This town is quiet and mostly drama-free, but there are still plenty of incidents to keep you and Maggie busy.”
I nod and look at more of the flowers. They are mostly wildflowers, daisies and lilies, and they are perched in vases and water glasses on every surface. It gives the room a crowded feel, but the colors are pretty
I open my mouth to argue, but then stop and think about what he’s saying. What if I had had to heal my mother in front of all those people without Angelo there to smooth it over and come up with an explanation? That could have been a disaster that ruined our lives, too. The press coverage alone would have blown our secret wide open and made life a living hell for us.
“I see,” I say, and I’m really beginning to, because once I shut my mouth and use my brain instead, I’m actually pretty smart.
Not that I’ve acted like it lately. I swallow hard. “Angelo?”
“Yes?”
“I’m sorry. I don’t mean to be hateful, and I promise I’m normally not like this. I just - this is a shock, OK?”
He chuckles. “You think you’ve been bad? Honey, I’ve been turned into a pencil.”
“A...a what?”
“A pencil. We picked up a witch out on Oklahoma who really didn’t want to leave her three Chihuahuas behind. She got so mad that she turned me into a pencil for fifteen minutes before my guys talked her down. Trust me - you aren’t all that bad.”
I laugh at this, I can’t help it. “That’s crazy. Why...” I gasp, “Why wouldn’t you let her bring her Chihuahuas?”
He looks at me with a raised eyebrow and says one word that shuts me up. “Wolf-shifters.”
My laughter dies. “Ooh. Yeah, that would have turned out badly.”
“I ended up letting her bring one. She found out that we have to allow familiars, so she claimed one as her spirit animal.”
Speaking of which, “I hope Bumper isn’t too upset with all this moving. He likes his privacy, too. We’re introverts.”
“My guys will take care of him. They’re good about stuff like that.”
I nod right as he stops in front of a skinny brick building and says, “Here we are.”
My new office is tucked in between a barbershop and what looks to be a tattoo parlor. It has a stately-looking white front door, and I notice that my name has already been stenciled into place with a slightly curly font.
“It’s cute,” I say, looking up. The building is three stories, clean, and inviting. “A few plants to soften all this brick and we’ll be set. Except for the part where I might accidentally kill somebody.”
I look over to see him smiling at me.
“What?”
“Maybe you should cut yourself some slack and have fun with it,” he says.
“Seriously? Have fun with maybe murdering people while I’m trying to help them?”
“You know what I mean - maybe you’ll make more mistakes by being uptight about it than you normally would. If you just relax, you might find that you step into this thing like a pro.”
I sigh. “OK, so just relax. I can try, I guess.”
“I’ve seen you in action. You’re going to be just fine. Let me show you inside.” He digs a key from his pocket and takes hold of the handle, but it turns inward easily without his using it. “Huh, that’s weird.”
“What?”
He shakes his head. “Never mind. Maggie must be here already. I told her we’d be in this morning.”
Then he pushes the door open and lets us into the dark foyer. The only light, once he closes the door behind us, comes from the door’s sidelights and a small window at the back of the building. It illuminates a small waiting room with lots of flowers sitting around. I look to see that one of them says Welcome, Trinket Banks! In fancy letters. “These are for me?” I look up at Angelo in surprise.
“They townspeople are excited to have a new healer in their midst, and Maggie is excited to learn.”
“That’s sweet.”
“It’s necessary, too. This town is quiet and mostly drama-free, but there are still plenty of incidents to keep you and Maggie busy.”
I nod and look at more of the flowers. They are mostly wildflowers, daisies and lilies, and they are perched in vases and water glasses on every surface. It gives the room a crowded feel, but the colors are pretty
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