Witchy Sour(83)

I cleared my throat. “That’s great. I’m sure it’ll make a lot of ladies happy.”

“Will it make you happy?” He looked out of the corner of his eye at me as we reached the front of the bungalow. “Because that’s the only lady I care about.”

“It does make me happy,” I said slowly. “But it’s also just a rule. A note scratched on a piece of paper. What would really make me happy is if you threw the rule book away and told me how you feel.”

Ranger X’s expression briefly flashed discomfort. Then he nodded. “Fair enough. Here’s what I want: I want to get to know you. Last time we talked, I was upset. I was angry, too emotional, and I shouldn’t have used that time to talk about us. But I’ve thought about it a lot, and I want to take things slow. I want to take you on a real date with a real kiss.”

“And your career?”

“I plan on staying on as Leader of the Rangers for as long as I’m able,” he said with a mischievous sort of grin. “Someone has to watch over Zin as she learns the ropes.”

“I like this plan,” I said. “If you’re happy with it.”

“I’ll be happy if you’ll have dinner with me tonight.”

I bit my lip. “We’re celebrating Zin’s accomplishment. It’s not the best time, I’m really sorry.”

“Another night, then,” he said. “No problem.”

“No,” I said suddenly. “Come with me tonight. The others would love it.”

Ranger X pulled me into a hug, dipping me low, dusting a kiss against my lips. “I’ll be there.”

“No, you won’t,” a voice called from behind us. We both straightened up so fast I got dizzy. “Not if you keep kissin’ like that. I’m tellin’ Mimsey on y’all if you don’t stop makin’ out in front of the bungalow. It’s unprofessional.”

“Don’t be a snitch, Gus,” I called to the old man tapping about on the porch with his cane. “Or I’m going to tell Mimsey you don’t like her toast. I see you hiding it under your plate.”

Gus fell silent, and I knew we had a deal.

“Get inside,” he growled finally. “We’ve got work to do. Your antidote for the poison is finished. It’ll burn if you don’t untangle your lips from that hooligan’s face.”

Ranger X spluttered. “Hooligan?”

“Yer a hooligan!” Gus pointed his cane at him. “Stop distracting my girl from her studies.”

At Gus’s words, my heart melted a bit. “I’ve gotta go,” I said to X. “I’ve been working on a potion to combat the poison Thomas was brewing, just in case we ever need it.”

Ranger X grinned. “He already thinks I’m a hooligan. Might as well live up to my reputation.”

Right in front of Gus, he kissed me on the lips and twirled me in a circle. He made the show a little extra long until Gus started cursing a blue streak. It was too distracting to ignore, so we broke apart with broad grins.

“So, what’s it called?” Ranger X asked as I made my way up to the bungalow a few moments later. “The antidote. Just in case I ever need it.”

I glanced inside the storeroom, smiling at The Magic of Mixology which, thanks to Zin, had been retrieved from The Forest and placed back in its safe. Still smiling, I turned back and took a bow. “Witchy Sour, comin’ right up.”







Epilogue



Later that Evening

I made my way through The Twist dressed, as Hettie had instructed, in a black robe that covered my face and swished around my ankles. The hour was late, the moon creeping toward the sky as flowers the size of my kitchen table bloomed to either side of the path.

A few minutes later, swatting at a swarm of zingers—the magical nickname for mosquitos—I stumbled out of The Twist and into the well-manicured yard that Hettie called her lawn. Squinting, I realized that I wasn’t alone.

A second person dressed in all black robes stood at the front door. Just as I hesitated, trying to recognize his or her figure, the door swung open and a hand beckoned the stranger inside. The door closed just as quickly as it’d opened.

I hurried forward, hoping that Hettie hadn’t assumed it was me under that robe. I crossed my fingers, wishing the other guest to be friend, not foe.

I jogged down the cobblestone path and cleared the bridge over Hettie’s decorative, bubbling brook in an instant. I was at the front door with my hand raised hardly twenty seconds after the first figure had disappeared inside.

Hettie had called me here tonight for one reason.

She’d promised me answers.