Page 76 of Sweets and Sycamores
Fucking Jared. He’d find a way to run him out of town, back to whatever hole he’d crawled out of when he returned to Sycamore Falls. He would run for mayor, and make Brandon run for mayor, too, and threaten the townsfolk to permanently close the bakery and stop the farm supplies if they dared vote for Jared. As much as nepotism was a thing in small towns like Sycamore Falls, if Dom had put it in his mind to change that, he would.
Even if he had to reveal to the entire world that he was the Mage in charge of fixing the broken magic on the sycamores.
Chapter 28
YOU’RE SMITTEN
Allie refused to let Sam’s presence mess with her mood more than it already had. She allowed herself to feel sad and process the pain and rage of her past for the next few days, even if her boss kept her occupied during the day, as well as at night.
Dominic had Allie practice jumping through fire hoops that turned smaller and narrower every night to help her deal with the fear of getting burned. The night she stepped into that huge fire had been a win for Allie, but not enough to casually put her hand in any nearby flames.
Recently, since she was quicker to finish her bakery tasks, Allie stole half an hour every morning to walk around town and guess at places a Witch would put her curses on. She suggested some isolated areas in Sycamore Falls for Dom to check the magic disruption, but they had all been frustrating dead ends.
Into the middle of the week, Dominic and Allie were hard at work decorating Dom’s Sweets, inside and out. They had missed the weekend the entire town decorated for Hallows Eve, and last week they’d been crazy busy catching up on the piled-up orders. This week, they were out of excuses and both exasperated by every customer who came in and pointed at the lack of holiday spirit in the place. Allie knew it was just a matter of time beforeDom exploded and kicked someone out, so that morning she waited for him, coffees ready, hands on her hips, and demanded they start decorating the place. Her boss halfheartedly agreed, less due to a secret love for Hallows Eve and more knowing that it would get everyone off his back.
Dom retrieved two boxes labeled “Hallows Eve stuff” from the storage room, and Allie dug through them curiously. She found fake spider webs, bones that formed tall skeletons, sticky bats and spiders, a couple of black cat statues, and strings of hanging candles.
“These are great!” She pulled the decorations out of the boxes, glancing at Dom, who scowled at one of the cat statues as if it hissed at him. “Can we also carve pumpkins and make jack-o'-lanterns?” Allie asked with the enthusiasm of a child, forgetting for a minute who she was talking to.
Dominic studied her with unblinking eyes. Allie should know better by now. He did not seem like a man who wouldcarve pumpkins. Yet he surprised her by saying, “Sure. Whatever you want.”
Allie’s heart raced, and she clapped her hands with delight.
“So…” Dominic cleared his throat, looking uncomfortable. “Why do Witches like Hallows Eve this much?”
“Really?” Her eyes widened, immediately filled with joy to share this with Dom. Allie talked while they decorated the inside of the shop. “It’s different for all of us, and it depends on the Witch’s power. Some love it because it’s the night when the veil between worlds is the thinnest.” Allie shuddered at the thought. “Some love it because magic is at its strongest, and they get to experiment with spells made possible by this increased magic. Others love it because their visions are most clear during Hallows Eve night.” Allie’s voice was strained as she rose onto her tiptoes to reach the corner of a painting and hang a piece of web around it.
Strong hands grabbed her waist and lifted her in the air. Allie gasped, covering her mouth with her free hand.
“Why do you love it?” Dom spoke into her back, face buried into her purple sweater. Allie fumbled with the web, the stupid thing evading her trembling fingers. It took her a while to get it in place, but Dominic was a concrete statue around her, not moving or asking her to hurry up. Eventually, he put her down, but his hands lingered on her waist, turning her skin into goosebumps.
“I…” She turned to face him slowly, his hands still on her middle. She rested her palms on his lower arms. “Because my mom had a unique tradition for Hallows Eve, and every year I prayed for my power to manifest so I could do it with her.” Allie swallowed the rocks that threatened to close her throat. “She was also an elemental Witch, and she used the night’s magic to balance out her power: if she had used too much during the year, she could charge herself. If she had extra, she would give some back.” At Dom’s confused look, Allie added, “It’s like feeding the moon with your excess power. It’s balance.”
“Sounds like a great tradition,” Dom whispered. “I’m sorry you didn’t get to do it with your mom.” Allie offered him a small smile, tightening her grip on his arms.
“I know she’ll be there with me, but…I still don’t want to do it alone.” Her eyes lowered to Dom’s tree tattoo, and she traced the thick, inky branches with her index finger. “This is a great tattoo,” she muttered, bewitched by the colorless image that looked so good and told so much.
“I’ll be there with you, if you want,” Dom offered. His green eyes followed her greedy finger around his skin. “I’ve always felt like the trees here gave me the power to become a Mage. With my missions, I’ve traveled all around the world, yet my power is never fuller, stronger than it is here.”
Allie smiled. “I’d love to share the Hallows Eve night tradition with you.”
She would love nothing more than continuing her mom’s tradition with Dom by her side. The Mage smiled softly and nodded his agreement.
Dominic was on his way out of Mia’s shop when he ran into Brandon. His sister wanted to hear all about the altercation rumored to have happened between him and Jared last weekend. The people of Sycamore Falls had a way with words, and the scene had been twisted horrifically into a bloody fistfight. Mia listened to the true story, including parts he’d learned from Allie about the scum of the earth, then proceeded to swear colorfully in her mother tongue for at least ten minutes. She threatened Jared’s presence in her store, promising to sic the hungriest books on him if he ever had the audacity to show his face.
“Morning, Dom,” Brandon said, his eyes roaming around the bookstore. Something had been going on between Brandon and Mia for a while, but it wasn’t his business. It would become his business if Mia got hurt, but Brandon was his best friend and knew better than that.
“Did you save me some pumpkins for carving?” Dom asked.
“What? Are you running a fever again?” Brandon inquired, his interest switching from the shop to his friend. “You have never,not once, asked me to save you carving pumpkins. Ever. Do I need to remind you in how many years since we’ve known each other, you havenotasked me to do that?”
Dom knew his friend was babbling some nonsense, but he heard nothing since Allie came out of the bakery across thestreet and meandered around the yard, sweeping the leaves and rearranging the spider web on the door for the thousandth time.
“Ah, that’s why you want pumpkins now,” Brandon mused. “You’re smitten.”
“You’re ugly.”
“Is this how you talk to your pumpkin provider?”
