Page 2 of Seven Secret Spellcasters
Mia almost choked on her soup. James didn’t know her secret—that she was a kitchen witch—and she preferred that no one at the Lodge ever find out. She wiped her face with the napkin. “No magic, just hard work.”
“You always were a stickler for the details of the job. I can’t believe Frank thought this place would even run without you.” Then James went on to tell her all the gossip, including the fact that Frank was now managing a fast-food restaurant in Billings, Montana. “Of course, it is a chain franchise.”
Mia laughed at her friend’s jokes and kept up her end up of the conversation, but as soon as she’d finished her lunch, she excused herself to get back to work. “Trent and I are going for a drive up to Wolf Creek Mountain this afternoon. Before the weather changes.”
“I bet he wants to scope out some hunting places for his dad. I can’t believe that man has such a huge guide business. He’s always got at least one of his clients staying at the Lodge during their hunting trips. I guess it makes the trip upper end if they don’t have to sleep in a rustic cabin or on the ground.” James stood and walked to his office door. “But don’t let me keep you. I know you want to get ahead on those reports, Miss Follows All the Rules.”
“That’s all I do anymore, reports,” Mia grumbled as she headed out the door. “Thanks for lunch. It’s the perfect soup for a chilly fall day.”
“I thought so as well,” James said as he stood watching her from the doorway. “I know you have a secret, and I’m going to find out what it is. No one can get all of Blake’s reports done without a little help.”
Mia wished she used magic to help her get the tedious work done, but Grans had warned her for years that a kitchen witch never used their powers for personal gain. She felt her power in the dishes she cooked, and she had an innate ability to make flavors sing in her cooking. But making meals was rarely for her. It was to take care of others—either family or her community. That was her real magic. Feeding others.
By the time she got home, Trent was already at the school waiting for her. Mia’s Morsels was shut down on Wednesdays since Abigail had changed the delivery schedule after Christina had given notice. Abigail and the new hire, Finley Shiley, now cooked on Mondays and delivered on Tuesdays. Unless they had an event that weekend, the business location was closed on Wednesdays and then open for drop-ins and classes on Thursdays through Saturdays. Tomorrow, Mia didn’t have a class to teach, but she needed to prep for the next one on Autumn Soups. She had an existing class lesson in the file, but she wanted to adjust and add to the recipes she offered. That way, students could take a class several times without getting bored.
Trent sat on the steps to the old academy, leaning against the front door.
She locked up her older-than-dirt Honda and went to meet him. “Do you mind if I run upstairs to change and check on Mr. Darcy? Now that Dorian has left his body, he gets lonely when no one’s around.”
“And he can’t open a door or a portal to go outside without Dorian’s magic. It must be frustrating to go back to being just a cat.” He stood and gave her a quick kiss. “We have some time. I told them I’d be there before six. That’s feeding time, and they don’t like having extra people around the hellhounds then.”
“Mr. Darcy’s not just a cat, he’s my familiar. But yeah, I think he got used to having Dorian’s magic around, as well as someone to play with all the time.” She unlocked the door, and they went inside. The school was quiet and cool. Most of the time, the place was filled with noise and energy. With Christina leaving, and her fiancé, Levi Majors, Trent’s brother, going with her, Mia’s life had quieted down a lot. Trent walked with her as they went up the stairs to the third floor. “Gloria, she’s not as sociable with Mr. Darcy as he’d like. I hear them talking about me at times, but I think she mostly sleeps when the school is quiet.”
“Have you thought about my offer?” He held his hand out for her keys and unlocked the apartment door. It was probably overkill to have locks on the front door, the kitchen door, and the apartment door, but as they were still finding secret passages into the school, Mia liked being a little security-focused.
She heard Gloria’s laugh at her thought.
Trent looked at her when he opened the door. “What’s she giggling about?”
At odd times, Trent could hear her kitchen witch doll. Mia thought it was mostly when Gloria wanted him to hear her. “She thinks my assumption about security is funny. I know, Gloria, if someone wanted to get inside, locks wouldn’t keep them out.”
“But locks will keep humans out, especially the kids who used to use this place as party central,” Trent called out to the doll. He closed the door and looked at Mia. “You’re ignoring my other question.”
“I’m not. There are a lot of moving parts right now.” Mr. Darcy was on his back legs reaching up to her. Mia picked him up and headed to her bedroom to change. “Hey, buddy, Trent and I have to leave for a few hours to go get Cerby from camp. We’ll be home and make dinner soon, and I’ll be here all day tomorrow, okay?”
Mr. Darcy jumped on the bed, then hurried out of the bedroom to go see Trent. He didn’t think her schedule was okay, so he was going to ignore her now. He’d be mad when she got home, but there was nothing she could do about it unless she got another pet. Or accept Trent’s invitation.
Before moving in with Trent, they needed to have a long talk about logistics. On the one hand, Mr. Darcy would have Cerby during the day if they moved in together. But she wasn’t sure if that was a good idea or not. Mia slipped out of her business casual clothes and into jeans with a T-shirt and her leather jacket. She was pulling on her socks and boots when her phone buzzed with a text.
Tell Mr. Darcy that I’ll bring Muffy with me tomorrow. I feel his distress even over at my house.
Mia keyed a quick thanks to her grandmother and tucked her phone into her jeans pocket. When she got into the kitchen, Mr. Darcy was eating the canned food that Trent had dished up for him. Trent had opened a soda and was scrolling through his emails on his phone.
“Mr. Darcy, Gran says she’s bringing Muffy over tomorrow, so stop being such a baby. You’ll see Cerby tonight.” Mia grabbed a bottle of water from the fridge and stood in front of Trent, who was still staring at his screen. “I’m ready.”
He glanced up at her and smiled. “I can see that. I took out hamburger meat for tacos and put it in the fridge if that’s okay. I’ll cook when we get back.”
“Sounds great, thanks.” Mia started thinking about what she had to go with the tacos. “I can make Spanish rice and maybe homemade salsa and tortillas. I’ve been working on a recipe.”
Trent was still sitting and reading something on his phone.
“What’s going on? Work issues?” She took a sip of her water.
He tucked the phone away and stood. “No. But it’s a good thing that we’re going to get Cerby. An inspector from the National Office of Magical Creatures is coming to Magic Springs next week to interview me and examine Cerby. Someone from the coven has inquired why a witch who had rescinded his powers was given a hellhound from the Goddess.”
“That’s not good. You need to call your mom.” Mia grabbed her keys and purse.
“You call her on the way to Wolf Creek. I need to focus on the drive.” He waited for her to lock the door, then they started downstairs. “I gave Mr. Darcy some clean water too. He seemed to be annoyed at what he had.”
