Page 91 of Power Shift
“I’m a little anemic these days,” I said quietly. “A little extra red meat is just what I need.”
Marnie clicked her tongue. “It’s hard being a woman, especially when you hit your thirties. Everything goes wild down there.”
Ash couldn’t cover his snort in time.
She grinned and turned. “I brought you something too, you handsome man.”
Ash blushed and ducked his head.
“Marnie,” Twila groaned.
The hedgewitch scoffed. “Please. If we talk about it, we don’t get surprised by it. And our mothers weren’t talkers, we all know that, don’t we?”
Sirena shrugged. “You’re right. Though some of us don’t experience those changes like others may.” Her eyes lingered on me.
She had to know something.
“We have a couple of weddings coming up, so I will be busy, but hopefully not enough to be cooped up inside eating all this pot pie!” I smiled at Marnie. “Thank you so much for thinking of me.”
She patted my hand and closed her basket. “It’s nothing, dear. We noticed you haven’t been visiting any of the shops and we wanted to make sure you were okay more than anything.”
My cheeks colored. “I’ve had some personal things going on,” I confessed. “But I’ll do better.”
“No worries. Just try not to be a stranger. There’s an entire magical community out there you have yet to meet.” Her eyes softened. “You’ve been here for a long time, my dear. Don’t you think it’s about time you got to know the rest of us?”
Guilt flooded me. “You’re right,” I said softly. “I’ve gotten way too comfortable at the shop and at my house and rarely venture out these days.”
“Or date,” Moira muttered as she came out from the back.
“I sense things will change on that front,” said Sirena. Her eyes glittered with amusement. “Whether you want them to or not.”
Sirena was gorgeous but really annoying sometimes.
Twila reached over and touched my arm. “We have a new dish coming next week made especially for autumn, not to mention the apple pie. Stop by and have a slice on the house.”
I smiled and rose. “I have a new variety of pothos I created. Would you like a cutting?”
Twila gasped. “Yes! I would love one.”
“Marnie? Sirena?”
Marnie nodded with enthusiasm. Sirena dipped her head. “I’d be honored to have such a gift.”
And then she said things like that and made me feel guilty. I thought she was annoying.
Once I’d given everyone a pothos cutting and pushed a bag of peony bulbs on Marnie, they loaded Ash up with food and left with a cheery wave.
“She’s right,” Moira said.
“Ugh. Is it beat up on Evie week again? I know she’s right. I’ve had things going on and needed some time to get my shit together.” I rubbed my temples. “If you haven’t forgotten, my magic was a little weird there for a while, too.”
Ever since the greenhouse incident, things had settled down, but I felt that insistent pricking at the back of my mind telling me I needed to siphon more magic than I ever had before. Taking care of it at the shop would no longer cut it.
“We know,” Ash said. “But it doesn’t mean you should close yourself off from everyone who cares about you. Doing so is badfor people like us. Mages and paranormals need groups. They keep checks and balances on our power.”
I never thought about it that way, but it explained how they were always able to bring me back to normalcy when my power wanted to rage. “Alright. I hear you. I’ll do better. I promise.”
I’d run over to Marnie’s for lunch next week and actually sit and eat at the table instead of hoarding my food back in my office like Gollum.
