Page 1 of Paper and Passion
Chapter 1
Tillie
The stationery shop in Ghostlight Falls is rarely stationary. It wedges itself between other buildings in town, shows up randomly in someone’s backyard, and occasionally takes up residence right in the middle of the street. Some witch or someone cursed the place back in the seventies, and it’s been moving ever since. But the frequency has been worse since my grandmother died and I took over. Lately, people are always complaining to the mayor, but I don’t know what they expect me to do about it. I can’t exactly tell a building not to move.
Believe me, I’ve tried.
“Mappy?” I call, circling the visitor center while digging in my purse. “Where the hell are my keys? I just had them.” They were in myhand when I left the parking lot, and that’s only a few feet away. “They’ve got to be in here somewhere,” I mutter to myself.
“Can’t help you with keys, darlin’.” Mappy leans against a post with a relaxed certainty I’ll never possess. His wings are tucked in around his body, so they almost look like a coat or jacket of some kind. He’s wearing shorts despite the fall weather. Well, I’m not sure I can even call them shorts with how tight they are and how high they ride up his thighs. It’s more like he’s wearing boxer briefs.
I rip my eyes away and adjust my purse so I can see inside better, which just dislodges the muffin I’d precariously balanced on top of the pumpkin spice latte I brought for Mappy. My breakfast splats on the sidewalk before I can save it.
“Where’s my shop?” I snap as I salvage the top of the muffin that didn’t hit the ground. Five second rule, right?
“Is that any way to greet the man who keeps track of your livelihood?” Mappy feigns a wounded expression, bringing his hand over his heart and stumbling backwards.
“Here.” I hand him the coffee I brought as my daily bribe. “Look, I’ve had a morning. Just tell me where Sheet-y is.”
“We’ve all had a morning. We’re having one right now.”
“You know what I mean. Look, I’m late. Just spread ‘em.”
“What happened, sweetheart?” His gaze softens, and he touches my arm in a gesture that feels too tender. “Do you want to talk?”
I jerk away. “It’s nothing that concerns you.” I don’t need his pity. And I really am late. I’m supposed to be interviewing a new employee in an hour, and the shop is always a mess in the morning after it moves. I cross my fingers, hoping, for just once, the damn thing would stay put and be where I left it.
“I could make it my concern.” Mappy wiggles his eyebrows. “Maybe all you need is a closer look at Mappy’sYou Are Herearrow.”
Ugh. Mappy’s a nice guy, and hot as hell, but he hits on anyone with legs. Well, actually, I’m not sure that’s even a requirement for him.
I cross my arms and give him my best death stare. I really need to build that apartment on top of the shop so I don’t have to go searching for the place every day.
With a sigh, Mappy spreads his wings, displaying the city map. Being that it’s magic, it changes as Ghostlight Falls does—a trick that’s especially useful for me, since Sheet-y’s location changes almost daily.
“Shit!” The second I see where the shop is, my gut clenches. I’m going to have so many fines from the city, everyone’s going to hate me. “Shit, shit shit shit!” I dump out my purse on the grass. Still no keys. “Fuck!”
Looks like I’m running.
“Thanks, Map,” I call behind me.
“See you tomorrow,” he says. “Go get ‘em!”
The town is still just waking up, the sun barely peeking through the trees as I dash past the park, Red Eye Pies, and Frankie’s Grocery.
“Where are you running off to in such a hurry?” Al hollers. He’s unlocking the Ghostlight Falls Review with a scowl that makes his wrinkled face look like a smushed prune. Of course he had to spot me today of all days. Normally, I’d stop and talk with him. It keeps him from writing too many scathing articles about my shop’s wandering ways. But there’s nothing that will keep him from dishing out punishment when he finds out where Sheet-y is today.
“Can’t talk,” I gasp. “Sorry!”
I barely hear the huff behind me. I don’t have time for his antics. I need to convince Sheet-y to move before anyone sees where the damn building has parked itself.
There’s a sharp pain in my side, and myknees hurt. Sweat pours down my brow as I race past the skating rink and over the bridge as fast as my legs will take me, huffing in sharp breaths of air the whole way. I really should work out more.
The baseball stadium comes into view and I curse. Some part of me hoped Sheet-y would have moved by the time I got here. No such luck.
The little shop is sitting right in the middle of the field.
The place isn’t open yet, so I climb the fence.
