Page 2 of Her Magic Light

Or… I tilted my head as I glanced out of the window. I could ask Bess if she’d let me hang some at work to drum up a bit of interest. Add a little color to her chaos.

Bess!

Oh, shit. Bess. Work.

Hell. I’d done it again.

I stood in one quick, smooth motion, moving toward the door before I was even straight. I grabbed my house keys from the small mosaic-top table by the front door and picked up my purse from where I’d slung it over the armchair.

The front door creaked its irritation as I thrust it open, but I didn’t care. I stood on the stoop a moment, my eyes closed as the sun’s warmth touched my skin. No matter how late I was for something, I always took a brief moment to savor that first touch. It was like my skin absorbed the energy on a whole different level.

Like it recharged me somehow.

Yes, moving here from Minnesota would never be a mistake—even though I’d arrived with little more than the clothes on my back and the pittance in my savings account.

I stepped out into the street, exchanging a silent wave with my elderly neighbor as I did. Mrs. Hayes was clearly lonely, and she loved to chat, but her hellos always extended beyond simple pleasantries, and I was late enough already.

Hopefully, my boss Bess would forgive me in return for a cup of her favorite coffee. Yes, that’s what I would do. Anyway, I still needed some of that life-giving brew for myself after this morning’s mess-up.

No more than five minutes later, I breathed in the nutty, slightly smoky aroma of fresh brewed coffee and the scent of sweet hot chocolate that hung in the air at my favorite new coffee shop. Sunshine Brew wasn’t the only place to get coffee in town, but the line wrapped around the inside of the store proved it was the best.

I checked my watch and joined the line. I could risk another ten minutes of tardiness if it meant bringing my boss a steaming cup of apologies.

As I waited, I glanced at the huge chalkboard menu with its vibrantly colored options and cute little doodles to illustrate the text, but only out of habit. No one who came in here regularly needed to read the menu. Hell, I could probably list the orders for half of the people standing in this line. And the only reason I didn’t know them all yet was because I was technically still new in town.

Truth be told, I’d probably still be considered new in twenty years’ time. That was the way of small towns, after all. It suited me, though. Being new offered some degree of anonymity while I figured things out and settled into my new life.

I approached the front of the line, reaching into my purse for my wallet. I drew out my loyalty card and handed it to Carrie, the smiling barista.

I wanted whatever powered her—she never did anything but smile, no matter how early I came in for coffee.

“Your usual?” Her grin grew wider still as I nodded.

“And Bess’s usual as well, please.” I might have been new in town, but warmth filled my chest that I already had a usual coffee order that my favorite barista in my favorite cafe had graciously committed to memory.

She grabbed two to-go cups and the caramel syrup for Bess’s triple, large, non-fat latte with extra caramel drizzle and chocolate flakes.

“So, some weird stuff going on around town, right?” Carrie kept her voice as low as she could against the noise of grinding beans.

“Hmm?” I leaned a little closer. “What weird stuff is that?” I’d barely looked up on my walk here—my entire mission being to collect coffee and get to work before Bess advertised my job in the evening edition of the paper.

“All the dudes.” Carrie gestured vaguely toward the large storefront window that looked out onto Main. “Don’t look now.” She lowered her voice. “There’s one of them sitting in the corner.”

I froze then started to very casually turn to my left to glance over my shoulder, but Carrie grabbed my forearm. “I said don’t look.”

I grinned awkwardly. “And what am I not looking at?”

She wrinkled her nose as she grabbed the whipped cream canister. “Whip?” She tipped it toward me.

I nodded. “Always whip.” I glanced over my shoulder as she went through the motions of completing my order.

Piercing blue eyes.

That was all I saw.

Piercing blue eyes met mine bang-on.

I faced Carrie again, my heart pounding at being caught looking at the man.

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