Page 39 of The Mating Claim
About to shut the book, she saw a spell for increasing one’s riches. Hope surged as she scanned the ancientlanguage.
Did she understand the language because, as the dream indicated, she had lived during that time period? No matter. She understood itnow.
All her money troubles could be solved with this one spell. All of them! Lacey stroked the parchment and her fingers tingled. The words began to glow, as if brought to life by hertouch.
“Oh dad, why didn’t you tell me more? Why couldn’t you have found me and we could have had more time together?” She stared at the book, torn between using the spell and destroying it forever as Drustwanted.
And yet it was the only connection left to her father, the man she’d sought to find her entire life. Everything else he owned had been donated to charity and scattered so far that when Lacey made inquiries, she realized it waspointless.
All she had was this one book. She leaned down and inhaled the scent of the pages. Was that her father’s scent stamped into the parchment aswell?
Touching the spell again, she sighed. “I wish I could have known what your life was like,dad.”
Using the spell seemed like a bad idea, and yet… Lacey found a blank index card and copied the words, then tucked it into the pocket herjeans.
Couldn’thurt.
An hour later,she was in her store, sorting through supplies before opening for the day’s business. Lucky the dog was in the back room, eating hisbreakfast.
A knock at the front door drew her attention away from the dog. The closed sign still hung in the window, so it had to be either someone she knew, or somethingurgent.
Seeing a tall, gray-haired woman clad in bright orange, Lacey breathed a sigh of relief. Tara, her good friend. She unbolted the latch and let herin.
“I’m sorry love, but I’m out of dried elderberries and I need some for a potion,” Tara said in her singsong Irish accent. “My daughter is coming over to help with the shop and I thought I’d try it out onher.”
Lacey found the elderberries. “Try out the potion or thetea?”
A twinkle ignited Tara’s gray eyes. “A bit of both. She needs to settle down and find aman.”
Matchmaker Tara, always trying to find someone for Danica. Trouble was, Danica had no interest in settlingdown.
“How is she doing since she came back?” Lacey gentled her voice, knowing this was a troublesome subject forTara.
Her friend’s smile seemed forced. “Better now that she’s home. She’s studied cosmetology and enjoys cutting hair. Even thoughhers…”
Tara fell silent. Lacey put a comforting hand on her shoulder. Poor Danica. Tara said her daughter’s hair started falling out a few years ago, probably from hormonal imbalance from when she lived on the streets. But she was home now, and had steady work and seemedhappier.
Yet once in a while, Lacey had seen a dark aura ringing Danica and wondered if it wasn’t magick that made her hair fallout.
“Are you still coming over for the children’s hour?” Tara asked, changing thesubject.
Damn, she’d forgotten all about it. “Of course.” Lacey glanced at the clock on the wall. “Sorry I didn’t have a chance to pick out abook.”
“No problem. The tots program is cancelled for today. But I do need you for the Little Magick session. The kids are counting on you,Lacey.”
“I’ll be there,” she promised. “Noon, asusual?”
“Of course. I’ll have a nice cup of mocha latte waiting for you. Now, how much do I owe you forthis?”
She waved away Tara’s offer of cash. “No, it’s on the house, after all you’ve done in helping me to advertise mysale.”
Tara had done much more, buying things from her when she knew Lacey was struggling, and giving advice on men and dating. She was a truefriend.
The woman smiled. “Thanks love. But with all the free things you’ve given away to those in need, how can you ever make aprofit?”
“I can’t,” she admitted. “But those witches needed the spells and they walked out of here happy that something might work in their lives. Hopefully something will break for mesoon.”
“As long as it isn’t you, love. I worry about you. You’ve got a soft heart and a kind soul for helping witches and Others in need…” her friend glanced down and pointed at Lucky. “Strays you’ll feed before feeding yourself. You can’t stay in business if you keep giving itaway.”
