The Secret Ingredient of Wishes by Susan Bishop Crispell Page A

street was full of oblivious people. Children screeched and shrieked as they chased each other around the fountain. Arcs of water shot up from the ground at varying intervals to catch them off guard, and they screamed again. A chocolate lab lapped at one of the streams of water. It continued licking the air after the water disappeared and then turned in a circle trying to find where it had gone.
    She scanned the way she’d come but didn’t recognize the street or the buildings. Was it one block or two to get back to the one she’d followed when she left Ashe? Shit .
    Rachel looked up to find someone watching her from inside one of the shops. Lettering on the window identified the shop as LUX, an organic skin-care boutique. She could just make out the staring woman’s short, curly brown hair and milky skin behind the shop window’s pale pink letters.
    The woman popped her head out of the doorway. “Are you okay, hon?”
    Straightening, Rachel tried to return the smile. “I think so. Just a little dizzy. And lost,” she admitted.
    â€œWell, where are you trying to go?”
    â€œI’m not sure. We stopped at an office so Ashe could drop something off, but—”
    â€œAshe Riley?” the woman asked.
    She tried to remember when he’d introduced himself the day before and came up blank. “Um, maybe. Does he build houses?”
    â€œDesigns them. And does contractor work when forced. I’m Everley Hayes, by the way. Come on in outta the heat.” She pushed the door wide. Her capri yoga pants and tank top hugged her toned body.
    A gush of cool air caressed Rachel’s skin. “I’m Rachel.”
    â€œCan I get you something to drink? I’ve got coconut water or sparkling water with orange slices in it,” Everley said.
    â€œRegular water is fine, thanks, if you have it.”
    â€œGood call. Plain’s probably the way to go if you’re not feeling too hot.” Everley walked to a glass-front cooler and pulled a bottle out. The plastic was thin and crackled when she handed it to Rachel.
    Rachel wanted to rub it on her neck, but she settled for uncapping it and taking a long swig. Her head unfogged enough to chase some of the dizziness away, though her hands continued to shake. She took another sip. “Thanks.”
    â€œSo, what did Ashe say to tick you off?”
    â€œSorry?” Rachel asked.
    â€œI figure he must’ve done or said something to make you walk off and get yourself lost.”
    â€œI was just—” Following a ghost, she finished silently. “I thought I saw someone I recognized. But it wasn’t him.”
    It would never be him.
    â€œThen if you’re not mad at Ashe, want me to give him a call and tell him where you are?”
    Her pulse had slowed to an almost normal pace and she let out a steadying breath. “If you don’t mind. I don’t want him to have to tell Catch I got lost on his watch.”
    â€œYou definitely don’t want to piss off Miss Sisson. Gimme just a minute,” Everley said.
    As Everley pulled out her cell phone, Rachel turned to check out the store. White built-ins lined the blush-colored walls. Milk bottles and mason jars and round metal tins with screw-on lids glinted in the sun. Their milky contents were offset with labels and tags with the shop’s logo printed in charcoal and pink. Baskets on a table in the front window overflowed with slabs of soap that were swirled and lined with a fusion of sultry colors. Rachel touched one. One side was rough with crushed almond shells and bit at her fingers through the plastic.
    A slip of paper was tucked into the weave of one of the baskets. Before realizing what it was, she smoothed it out with a finger and read it. I wish I could tell her no.
    With a sharp breath, she let the wish curl back on itself. But it was too late. She’d granted the wish without meaning to. And whoever had made the wish in