Page 42 of Love, Magic and Misfortune
“This isn’t my ‘cozy cottage’ so it couldn’t possibly be for me.” Rose sat back, bringing her mug to her mouth in stern protest. Violet sighed, stood and headed toward the door. She hated answering doors. It always felt like the epitome of “stranger danger.”
When she got to the front and looked out the peephole, of course it was Freddie Martin. Violet looked at her watch: 5:32 p.m.Why isn’t he at the grocery store?She rolled her shoulders, unlocked the door and whipped it open.
Freddie stood there, tall, blonde-haired and blue-eyed, in his Chris-like glory. He wore a check shirt that fit his square shoulders perfectly. Jeans that neatly hugged his narrow waist and muscled legs. He looked like a real-life Ken doll and Violet despised him.
“Whatisit?” she spat. “Why do you keep coming by here? Did you steal Gram’s weed?”
“What?” Freddie drew back, his chiseled features contorted but still vulgarly handsome. “Who answers a dang door like that? I didn’t steal any weed—what are youtalkin’about?”
“Gram’s greenhouse was hit and someone broke in here. Who else would it be besides you? You putz.”
“I wouldn’t ever take anything of Gloria’s. She was a real good customer to me and my dad for years. Why would I steal from her? I don’t steal.”
“Right…” Violet eyed him viciously, unconvinced. He may not have stolen the weed, but he was definitely guilty of something. Being a jerk, for starters. “What the heck do you want?”
He took a deep breath and dropped his shoulders. “Can you stop being so hostile toward me?”
“Are you kidding? You teased me for the duration of myentireadolescence and made my school life miserable. The minute I move back home, you tell me my hips match my hair. No,I don’t think I’ll stop being hostile toward you. I haveyearsof hostility to inflict—”
“Look, I’msorry—and your hips do match your hair. But it’s nice, alright? You have a good full body, like a little hourglass.”
“Are you done?”
“No.” Freddie groaned, running his hands up through his hair. “That’s not why—justlistenfor a second. I wanna talk to you about something. My therapist says it’s important that I have a talk with you but… but right now I’m worried and I want you to go see about Jasper.”
Therapist?Violet frowned. “Excuse me? What did you do to Jasper?”
“I didn’t do anything to him! It’s just—on the second Friday of every month, we get a shipment at the grocery store. I usually take the heavier things that Gloria didn’t wanna wrestle with over to Jasper’s. He always buys household stuff in bulk from us to help support the business—”
“Why didn’t you tell me? I could have taken it over.”
“I don’t mind doing it, woman. Do you need to takeeverything?”
Violet paused at that, taking in his frown and the poignant tone of his voice. “I guess I don’t. Go on.”
“Like I was saying, I go over there every second Friday in the afternoon—in his scheduled free time, I guess. Usually I knock, he doesn’t answer, so I walk away and go hide behind that big ole tree off to the side and near the orchard. He always opens the door about five minutes after he thinks I’m gone and brings the stuff in the house.”
Violet shook her head. “You’re a real creep, you know that?”
“I’mnot,” he spat, rubbing his palm against the back of his neck. “I just like to know he’s doing okay. But yesterday I waited for fifteen minutes and he never came out. I went over there just now and the stuff I delivered is still on his porch.”
Freddie exhaled a deep breath. Now that she wasn’t wholly occupied with detesting him, she could see that he was genuinely distressed.
“I’ve been helping him and Gloria for years and he only did this one other time,” he went on. “I told Gloria and it turned out he did need some kinda help. She wouldn’t say what happened when I asked but… Could you check on him? He might be in some sort of trouble.”
He stared at her, blue eyes focused. Waiting. Violet shook her head, snuffing out a sudden thought that glowed to life within her mind like a tea candle.
“Okay, Freddie, I’ll go right now.”
“I need to get back to the store. Just let me know later if he’s alright, please?”
Violet nodded. “I will.”
“Thanks.” Freddie turned and strode down the path toward his car. Violet looked after him with her hands on her hips, the cogs in her mind spinning when her sister’s voice registered behind her.
“Did he just confess to you or something? I swear he likes you…”
Violet sighed. “Not quite. I need to go and check on Jasper. I’ll be right back.”
