Page 6 of Of Poison & Pumpkins
“Yeah, he could,” Zanther quips from where he leans against the wall, watching this all play out. “He loves all forms of medieval dungeon affection.”
“Who are you?” Rynn asks, not taking any steps closer.
“I’m just your average dungeon-enthusiast supporter,” Zanther deadpans, and I stifle a chuckle.
Rynn tilts her head, obviously trying to make sense of my ridiculous brother, but then focuses back on me. “Aren’t your arms sore yet?”
“No, m’lady,” I say like a knight in shining armor. “I shall never lower these love weapons until I receiveith comfort from thou.”
“Love weapons?”
Her eyes narrow and I can see the exact moment when she considers hugging me, maybe for the sake of moving the conversation along, but I’ll mark it as a win.
“Okay, okay, I can see you’re still skeptical. So let me erase all your hesitation. Rynnlee … you’re more beautiful than epic song lyrics, fiercer than a hailstorm.”
“You’re insane,” she says, but the corner of her lip twitches up as she tries to hide a smile.
“Debatable,” I reply.
Again, I wonder how much she’s changed since high school. Is she still vegetarian and afraid of public transportation? Does she still rock climb? Does she still have no patience for board games? Does she have a partner?
“You think this is okay?” Rynn gestures to the store’s shelves. “Y’all copied Palooza’s idea. We were the only specialty themed store till all this pumpkin shit invaded the street. This must be illegal.”
“The color purple is a great theme. We won’t intrude on your sales. You know what would be cute? If we sold purple pumpkins between our shops.”
Her frown only deepens. Fine. If she isn’t instantly enamored by my charm, then I’ll have to bring out the big guns, which means … cat!
“Goosie!” I yell. “Come here, boy!”
“A goose? You allow farm birds in here? That’s breaking health codes. You don’t mind if I take a picture to report this, right?” She pulls her phone out of the pocket of her black jeans.
A streak of orange fluff sprints across the top of a shelf, knocking over a recipe book containing every dessert with pumpkin. Goosie jumps down onto my shoulders, and I feed him a treat from my pocket. “I’m Peculiar Pumpkins’ owner, so we may as well meet up to discuss co-marketing strategies.”
“Wait …” Rynn holds up one hand, her jaw dropping. “Poppa Orange is your cat?”
“Poppa?” Zanther pushes from the wall, pointing his finger like a dagger. “Are you telling me that wicked demon spawned mini hellcats?”
Slowly, I move my throbbing arms enough to pull my sweet hairball off my shoulders, holding him straight out between Rynn and I. “Congratulations, my Goosie!” My gaze lasers onto Rynn’s sharp glare as I ask, “When do I get to meet these babies?”
She growls—a real-full-on wolf-like growl. “You’re impossible. You can’t meet them. Don’t even cross the line on the sidewalk.”
“The line?” It takes a second to understand. “Oh, lordie. Pleeeease tell me you drew a purple chalk line between our shops. Please. Oh my Goddess, that’d make my whole day.”
Rynn’s nose scrunches up in the same way as when she was caught by the teacher passing notes in high school.
“So, I’ll meet you at eleven-thirty? It’s a date? Wear red clothes, you know, so no blood will stain your top at the ritual.” I take a step closer, so Goosie’s outstretched paws push against Rynn’s shirt. Her scent consumes me in the best way—lavender.
Rynn scoops Goosie into her arms to support his fluffy butt. “I will not sit by you. I will wear all white, and if you’re set on staying in Oakmar, don’t get your hopes up about winning on Halloween. In fact, don’t even come to the festival. I’d utterly hate to see your agonizing smile disappear when our store beats Pumpkins.”
“Is that all?” I ask, while sending a shooting betrayal glance at Goosie, who is cozying up in Rynn’s arms, cradled against her chest. Or maybe I’m jealous.
Rynn waits a beat, jaw tight. “And you owe me half the supplies for Squiggles, Squirmy, and Squeaky. I’ll slip a bill under your door.”
She already named the kittens. That’s beyond adorable. This woman will destroy me from the inside out. Luna, I was such an idiot for not asking her out senior year. What if we could’ve been together this whole time? This feisty ray of sunshine could’ve been yelling at me for years if I had wised up earlier.
“Or … how about I get your number? You can text me the total … possibly send me hourly pictures of the S-team since I’ll be deprived without their itty-bitty paws.” When she seems out of quips, I add, “Don’t worry, tonight I’ll wear red so we’ll match.”
Rynn grunts like a unicorn and swivels on her feet, Goosie still clutched to her body like a shield.
