Tuesday, November 19, 2019

Witch of Apple Hill ~ Part 11


Cage turned toward the door.
“One more question, please,” Elise called out. Cage stopped and turned around, giving her a slight nod. “Why not move back to Unity and open your bed and breakfast there?”
He gave her a wicked smile. “I felt it was high time to make Apple Hill my own.”
Rosemary appeared by Elise’s side as they watched Cage exit the library, this time the door chiming his departure.
“Who was that man?” asked Dorothea. She rubbed her hands together as she glided down from the ceiling.
“An imposter,” stated Ernest coming from the stacks. “He’s trouble, I can feel it in my bones.”
“You don’t have any bones,” said Dorothea.
“Dagnabit woman, I know that,” huffed Ernest. “I’m saying I don’t like the feeling he gives me.”
“Oh,” said Dorothea, “me either.”
Rosemary sighed. “I agree with those two, so you know something is up with Cage, if all three of us are on the same page.”
Roark climbed on top of the desk and growled as if he were adding his vote to the group.
Elise nodded as she touched her lip. “I don’t remember any Martins founding Unity.”
“Could be a married name,” said Rosemary.
“I didn’t get any sense of magic,” said Elise. “Usually, I can tell.”
“When was the last time you left Apple Hill?” asked Rosemary. “You haven’t been around another witch or warlock for as long as I’ve known you.”
“I would know,” countered Elise. She didn’t like the feeling she got from Cage, but she didn’t know him very well either. She had no right to believe he had nefarious intentions because of feeling. “Look, I understand what you all are saying. I wouldn’t exactly trust him to look after the library, but that doesn’t mean he’s evil. I’ll worry about Mr. Martin in my next life, first I need to finish this one and have it end with a bang.”

Chapter 4

City Hall was bustling with excitement. Apple Hill had always been the type of town where people showed up to every town hall meeting whether it was to discuss the type of flowers for the main street hanging baskets or whether to allow a new business to open in it’s limits.
Elise wondered how Cage had managed to open his bed and breakfast without it going before the folks at the town hall meeting? She worked her way through the crowd, conversing before the meeting’s official beginning, about the freak storm the night before, and made her way to Mayor Garver.
“Mayor,” said Elise with a smile, “quite a turnout today.”
“All because of you Elise,” said Mayor Garver returning his own smile.
Elise couldn’t help but blush. It was true they were discussing her departure at the meeting and her retirement party.
“You know, you’ve got plenty of time to tend to our library and then retire,” said Mayor Garver. “You can’t be more than forty, though you look half. Why not take a sabbatical? I think I can speak for the town when I say, I’m sure your niece is splendid, but we don’t want you to leave.”
Elise felt her cheeks grow warmer with embarrassment.  “Hopefully, having Karina here will be as if I never left. I’ve been told we’re two peas in a pod.”
Mayor Garver’s eyes softened. “It just won’t be the same without you.”
Elise felt herself grow a little uneasy. Mayor Garver was being entirely too nice to her. She had revenge to enact on him for crying out loud. If he were ruder, it would be a lot easier. She brushed the thought away, a curse was a curse.

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