9. Ava

Olivia and Samsaid their goodbyes, heading for home. Drew and I went upstairs, our footsteps thudding on the old wooden steps. We reached our bedroom, and I sat on the edge of the bed, reaching for my sneakers. Drew was already halfway into his boots when his phone buzzed.

”Hey Ian, what”s up?” Drew hit the speaker button and tossed the phone on the bed between us.

”Got a weird one,” Ian said. ”Call from a tourist over at the Maple Grove BB. Says it”s raining there.”

I looked up, puzzled. ”Raining? So?”

”Chocolate. It”s raining chocolate.”

I stopped lacing my shoe. ”Chocolate?”

”Yep. Thought you two might wanna check it out.”

”Give us ten minutes. We”ll be right there.” I slipped on my other shoe and stood up, meeting Drew”s gaze. He nodded, and we headed out to deal with another day in Shipton Harbor.

”Thank God for Michelle”s family watching Selby,” I muttered, pulling the front door shut behind us. ”Last thing we need is him in the middle of this.”

”Would”ve been a sight, that”s for sure,” Drew replied as we jogged down the porch steps.

We hopped into his truck, and Drew steered us down the road, the bed and breakfast only a few turns away, maybe a half a mile.

We pulled up to see the BB owner on the front lawn, her hands at her mouth.

”Hey, what”s going on?” Drew called out as we approached.

She just shook her head, clearly at a loss for words, and that”s when I saw a tourist pacing, arms flailing, her voice a high-pitched string of panic.

”This can”t be happening. This isn”t real.” she cried out.

Drew and I exchanged a look before I stepped closer to her. ”Hey, it”s okay. What”s wrong?”

”I came here for my cousin”s wedding, and now—now this? This is insane.” She grabbed my arm, her grip tight. ”You do see it, right? Tell me I”m not losing my mind.”

I patted her hand, trying to sound reassuring. ”No, you”re not crazy. It”s all part of a stunt.”

”Stunt?” Her voice wavered, but I could see her breathing slow down a fraction.

”Yeah,” I said, keeping my tone light. ”It”s all planned.”

I squinted at the empty spaces around the garden, focusing my energy. In moments, the illusion of cameras popped into existence, tucked away in the shrubbery, and peering out from behind trees.

”Look there, and there,” I said brightly to the tourist, pointing at the fake equipment. ”You”re going to be on TV.”

She blinked, her hysteria waning a bit. ”What are you talking about?”

”Surprise! This is a new hidden camera show. Pretty wild, right?” I beamed at her as if we were sharing an inside joke. ”And Drew will pay you $100 for your trouble, even.”

Drew”s eyebrows rose, but he played along, reaching for his wallet with a hint of reluctance. ”Here you go,” he said, handing over a crisp hundred-dollar bill.

”Thank you, Mr. Drew,” I chimed in as the woman took the money, still looking perplexed.

”Sign this,” I said, producing a piece of paper out of thin air.

I consent to being on camera.

She studied the paper. ”That seems pretty basic.”

”Yep, just sign and date it. We need to keep things simple, you know? It”s going to be great if the networks pick it up.” I kept my smile fixed, praying she”d buy it.

”Oh, it”s not even picked up yet?” she said with a note of skepticism now.

”Right, it may not even air. But fingers crossed!” I tried to sound hopeful, encouraging her to feel the same way.

”Okay then,” she muttered, scribbling her name across the bottom.

”Come with me,” I said, touching the tourist”s arm and steering her towards the BB owner who stood by the door, wringing her hands. She gave me a grateful look and ushered the tourist inside.

Once they disappeared into the house, I let out a sigh and focused on the task at hand. I closed my eyes briefly, feeling for the threads of the spell that had conjured the cameras. With a silent command, I pulled the magic back, the illusion dissolving into nothingness.

”Is it over?” The BB owner was back.

”Yeah, all good now,” I replied, trying to sound reassuring.

”I... I just...” She looked like she was about to cry or scream, maybe both.

”Hey, it”s okay. You did great,” Drew cut in, steady and calm.

”Really great,” I echoed, avoiding her gaze because, for the life of me, I couldn”t remember her name.

”Thank you.” She continued nibbling on her nails. ”I think I need a cup of tea.”

”Good idea. Go relax,” I said, motioning toward the door.

She nodded and retreated back into her sanctuary, leaving Drew and me alone outside.

”Ready to go?” Drew asked, his hand warm on my back.

”Definitely ready,” I said, eager to leave the chaos behind us.

We walked to Drew”s truck in silence. The first few minutes of the drive home were quiet too, until Drew broke the silence.

”We never thought about the tourists, did we?” he said, his hands tight on the steering wheel.

I shook my head. ”No, we didn”t. We should”ve put something in place years ago.”

”Something that makes them not see the magic or forget it if they do,” he suggested, glancing over at me.

I pulled out my phone and started typing a quick message to Olivia and Melody.

Hey, we”ve got a situation. Tourist saw the magic. We need a way to keep them from finding out about any of this. Can you think of anything?

”Send,” I murmured, hitting the button.

Drew nodded as he focused on the road ahead. ”Good. They”ll figure something out. They always do.”

My phone buzzed, and I read Melody”s reply out loud. ”Melody says she”ll get the coven on it and look for another spell.”

”See? What”d I tell you? They”re on top of it,” Drew said with a small smile.

”Yeah,” I smiled back with a flicker of relief. ”They are.”