Chapter 12

Chapter Twelve

Rosie

“ W hat, exactly, were you talking about with matchmaking?” I demanded, whirling on the women. They all turned away at once, digging in boxes, dusting shelves, and Cherise picked up a fairy ornament and held it in front of her face.

“Hello? I know you can hear me.” Walking over, I took the ornament out of Cherise’s hands, and she blinked up at me.

“What is that, dear? You know, I’m quite old. I must be losing my hearing.” Cherise turned and ducked around a bookshelf, hiding from me. I knew who the head of this group was. Turning, I stalked across the room until I was almost nose to nose with Esther. To her credit, she didn’t flinch, instead she lifted her chin to meet my eyes.

“Is this about the Highland Hearts Special?” I asked.

Surprise entered her eyes. “What?”

“The matchmaking? The magic?” I waved a hand in the air.

The music flipped off.

As one, everyone in the shop turned to look at the speaker.

“Lass, what are you talking about?” Esther whispered, reaching out to put her palm against my forehead to check for a temperature.

“What were you talking about?” I demanded, batting her hands away. “I’m not sick.”

“Matchmaking. We’re known to be quite good at it. In fact, I would say we have a one hundred percent success rate.” A smug expression crossed Esther’s face and she tucked a gray curl behind her ears.

“With the shop? The Highland Hearts Special? You’re a part of this too?”

“I have no idea what you’re talking about.”

The music flipped on again. This time it was the song, Magic , by the band, Pilot.

“Shit,” I breathed.

“Are you wanting to tell us something, dear?” Meredith asked, keeping her tone cheerful as she sidled closer, giving the speaker a wide berth.

“Um, no?” My voice rose in question.

“You don’t sound convinced. And judging from your speaker over here, I’d say there might be something you want to maybe have a wee chat about?” Shannon asked.

“Nope, can’t think of a thing.” I pursed my lips and looked at the ceiling.

The song switched to Little Lies by Fleetwood Mac, and I closed my eyes, shaking my head.

“Your ghost doesn’t seem to agree,” Esther said, a cheerful note in her voice.

“This amuses you?” I raised an eyebrow at her.

“If it’s a bit of magic you’re in a fuss about, I wouldn’t worry. Scotland’s chock full of hauntings and magic and spells. Just wait until you go to Loren Brae. They’re positively crawling with magickal beings.”

“Excuse me?” My eyebrows rose.

“Och, lass. Wait until you meet Clyde. Cheeky bastard. He’ll scare the bejeezus out of you.” Meredith laughed.

“Clyde?” I asked, weakly.

“A ghost highland coo. Haunts MacAlpine Castle. He’s a cheeky one, that he is.”

“A ghost coo.”

“Correct.”

“What the heck is a ghost coo?”

“A coo, dear. You know, they produce milk.”

“A cow?”

“Yes, a coo. A highland coo, to be exact.”

“Right.” I looked around. Was it too early for wine?

Seeming to sense my distress, Shannon pulled a flask from her purse. “Just a wee tipple to set you straight. ”

“I won’t say no.” I held out a hand and took a sip from the flask, the whisky burning a path down to my core.

Day two and I was already drinking in the morning. This did not bode well for my new adventure. To be fair, I’d never encountered magick in real life before so I’m sure some allowances could be made.

“So this old shop is haunted? Is it Moira?” Cherise wondered. She looked around, a hopeful expression on her face. “Oh, I hope so. I do miss her so.”

The music switched to the Beatles. When With a Little Help from My Friends started, the women all gasped. Cherise fanned her face, a sheen of tears coating her eyes.

“Moira, you’re here. Oh, we’ve missed you, my dear. We really have. A wee bit of sparkle has gone missing from our lives.” Meredith saluted her with a coffee mug that had a picture of a cat riding a unicorn on it.

“This is the best news I’ve had all year.” Shannon beamed and galloped across the shop, doing a little shimmy with her bum.

“Moira, you’re derailing us as usual,” Esther said, annoyed. “Ladies. You’ve got your assignments. Shannon, you’re on fabrics. Meredith, figurines. Cherise, you’re on sequins, glitter, and all the sparkles. Go on, go on. I need to draw this up and we barely have time as it is before the first judging.” Esther clapped her hands and herded the women out of the shop, slamming the door after them. Turning, she leaned her back against the door and took a deep breath. And then another.

Worry flitted through me. Her expression was unreadable. Gone was the brash woman who’d just been bossing her friends around.

“Och, Moira. I’m so damn glad you’re here.” It was just a whisper, and my heart twisted as Esther’s ravaged expression of sadness turned to one of relief. When Lean on Me started playing from the radio, I had to turn away as tears sprung to my own eyes.

I hadn’t had a chance to know Moira, but she’d clearly left a huge absence in these women’s lives. I hadn’t given a lot of thought to the legacy Moira had left behind. She’d left me her shop to run— and to continue its mission to unite souls— but she’d also left a hole behind in this community. She’d had friends who missed her and, for some reason, I had completely overlooked that facet of this whole thing. What an extraordinary woman my great-aunt was.

I wanted to make an impression like that, I realized with a start, as I glanced up at a photo on a shelf that I hadn’t seen before.

Giving Esther a moment, I walked over and picked the frame up. It was the bookshop, twinkle lights strung across the wood beams that lined the ceiling, and there had clearly been a party going on. But in the middle, a woman swirled in a sparkly skirt with a smile that lit up the room. This must be Moira.

Nobody would have remembered me at the discount store.

But here? I could make a difference. I could bring joy to people’s lives, through stories and community and parties and whatever, really. A bookshop was a hub of so many things to so many people and all I had to do was open the door. In this case, not even open the door and people would come in anyway.

“All right, lass, now that they’re gone, tell me, what’s this matchmaking business about? The Highland Hearts Special?” Esther looked over my shoulder and her expression softened at the photograph I held. “She was like that, you know. Just lit up a room. Annoying old bat. Scored all the men.”

“Is that right? I thought she was single.”

“And ready to mingle.” Esther sniffed. “Nagged me all the time too.”

“Something I’m sure you never do.” I stifled a grin as Esther narrowed her eyes at me.

“It’s not nagging if I’m right,” Esther pointed out.

“Is that the way of it?” I hummed under my breath as I looked around the shop. “Do you think she’d care if I decorated more in here? I mean, it’s already full of lovely pieces. But I was thinking of maybe a statement wall over here.” I pointed to the wall on the other side of the room that was bare except for two abstract paintings full of pops of color. “Put up some wallpaper, add some lighting, maybe some fun chairs and a table in front of it? Create another little nook for people to sit down?”

And maybe a spot for one of their fancy tea kettles that just needed an electrical socket, and tea, so some people would stop going into my kitchen all the time.

“Moira loved changing things around. She moved bookshelves quite a bit. These all unhook and can be shifted about. You can create a different configuration,” Esther explained, pointing up to hinges and hooks on the edges of the bookshelves that I hadn’t noticed before. “I’m sure she’d be delighted that you would want to do the same. She loved surprising people with new and fun things when they came through the door. I think that was part of the draw of the shop. It wasn’t just the books. Moira made it an experience to visit.”

“I don’t doubt it. I feel like every time I turn around I discover something new. It’s the way a bookshop should be, in my opinion. I want to be charmed and delighted when I go through a door to a bookshop, you know?”

“Aye, I know it.” Esther took the picture from me and moved across the room to stick it next to the speaker. “There. That’s better. Now that I’ve gotten rid of the others, why don’t you tell me more about this Highland Hearts Special?”

“Um.” I wasn’t sure if I was allowed to share this information. I’d clearly bungled it by saying something and now I wasn’t sure what to do.

The music flipped to Go Ahead by Alicia Keys.

“See? Moira knows I’m good for it. Go ahead, lass, tell me.”

“Well, from my understanding, it’s a magick inherited through the shop owner.” It actually felt like a weight shifted off my shoulders a bit. Not only had the discovery of magick been both daunting and exciting, but the pressure of having to match people I’d never met before was slightly terrifying. Esther might actually be a really valuable resource as I tried to fulfill the matches that I’d inadvertently agreed to help with already. I went on to give her a quick rundown of what I’d learned so far.

“Let me see,” Esther demanded, when I told her about the magnifying glass. I moved around the table and took a seat in the leather chair, and Esther pulled one of the velvet fabric chairs to the table and plopped down in it. Stretching out her legs, she breathed a sigh of happiness. “Moira and I used to sit here for hours at a time like this. But she never told me about her matchmaking business. Probably because she knew I’d be better at it than her.”

The lights flipped off for a second and I bit back a grin.

“Och, fine, fine. You could read people well enough.” Esther waved a hand in the air and the lights flicked back on.

The music flipped to Bitch by Meredith Brooks, and I laughed out loud.

“Okay, Moira has a sense of humor. I like her.” I pushed the notebook over to Esther and showed her matches. Then I lifted the magnifying glass from where I’d secured it in a drawer in the credenza behind the table. “And if you use this … you should be able to see a word that connects the matches.”

“Oh.” Esther patted a hand at her heart before taking the magnifying glass from me. “Moira used to wear this around her neck every day. Will you?”

“I … I think so.”

“Good, you should. It will be like looking through her eyes a bit.” Esther held it up to her face and I grinned at her magnified eyeball looking back at me.

“Hold it over the paper.”

When Esther did so and gasped, I figured she was seeing the same thing I had.

“So I can match people through their favorite book. And apparently, there’s some sort of underground market for this because I’ve had two people come in already and slip me money along with their contact information. I have no idea where to start.”

“Who?” Esther demanded, leaning forward.

“Let me see.” I opened my notebook and looked down. “Edina and Daniel are the first two.”

“Oh, Edina. Such a shame that one. Nasty divorce. She’s just a shell of herself these days. Like watching a fallen leaf get tossed about by the winter breeze.”

“But here’s the thing. How do I help her? I think I’ve narrowed down two potential past clients that might be a good match based on their book choices, but there may be more. I didn’t get very far before visitors arrived. Unannounced.” I raised an eyebrow at Esther.

“Get used to it. I’m going to annoy you even more now that I know we get to match people with magick. Show me who you think for Edina.” Esther tapped the book, stern as a strict schoolteacher.

“Right, okay. I tabbed them.” Flipping through the book of past clients, I found the two I’d marked. “The first one is Samuel. His favorite book is The Martian by Andy Weir.”

“And what’s hers?”

“ The Housemaid .”

“Och, that’s a good one. But hmmm.” Esther tapped a finger against her lips. “Not sure how they’re connected, lass.”

“The other is Randall and his book is It by Stephen King.”

“Hmm. Small town. Horror. Maybe the small town link? Mystery in a small town?” Esther wrinkled her nose. “I know Randall and I can’t say that I’m overly impressed by him. Are you certain he’d be a right match for Edina?”

“I literally know as close to nothing about these people as is possible,” I pointed out.

“On the surface, I’d say It and The Housemaid would link. But it doesn’t feel right. What would connect the other book instead?”

I leaned back in the chair and closed my eyes for a moment, thinking back. I’d read both The Martian and The Housemaid . An idea formed.

“They were both outsiders.”

“What’s that now?” Esther leaned forward.

“The protagonists. They were outsiders coming into a new situation. What do you know about Samuel?”

“He’s nice enough. Quiet. Moved here a few years ago and manages the local Tesco.”

“And Edina?”

“She’s really kept to herself since the divorce. Her husband embarrassed her about town, if you catch my drift. She hasn’t been out much.”

“So both might be feeling a bit like outsiders? ”

“Well, lass, write it down and use the glass. Let’s see if you’re right.”

I did as instructed and we held our breaths. When I held the glass over my writing, a shimmery word appeared in the air, dancing across the page.

“Outsider!” I crowed.

“We’ve got ourselves a match.” Esther high-fived me. “Och, this is great fun. Now, to make it happen.” She rubbed her hands together gleefully and I realized the flaw in my plans.

“Oh shit. How the hell am I supposed to get them together? I can’t just give her his number and tell her to call him.”

“What about your opening party?” Esther suggested.

“You want me to throw a party on top of doing this window competition?” I asked. Seriously, did these women not understand that not only had I left my entire life behind two days ago, but I’d also just discovered magick? And I was supposed to be entering a cutthroat window decorating competition and hosting parties?

“Aye, lass. It’s a good way to meet everyone in town. You can invite Samuel and Edina. Don’t worry. I’ll take it from there.” Esther rubbed her hands together, and a gleeful light shone in her eyes.

“You’re looking a little scary there, Esther.”

“Thank you.” Esther beamed at me.

“Not sure that was a compliment.”

Esther’s watch beeped and she glanced down, fiddling with it before standing and reaching for her purse. “I’m off to the dentist. I’ll sort out the designs today and we can discuss everything later. Oh, and enjoy your time at Alexander’s.”

“Oh, thanks. I can’t wait to meet his puffin.”

“Mm-hmm. Is that what the kids are calling it these days?” Esther arched an eyebrow at me and then swirled out of the shop, letting in an icy blast of wind as she went.

“It’s not like that,” I called. But she’d already slammed the door behind her. I blinked at the empty shop, the speaker now silent as I took my bearings. I hadn’t wanted a boring life. I just also hadn’t expected so much activity before ten on a Tuesday. Taking a deep breath, I turned the magnifying glass over in my hands and then for fun, held it over the notebook again. When the word “outsider” shimmered in the air again, a rush of understanding ran over me.

“I get it. I feel the same way. But it won’t always be that way. I can do this.”

The speaker switched on.

This Must Be the Place by The Talking Heads filled the room. Maybe it was the whisky, or maybe it was the fact that I had a very cheeky ghost in my shop, but I jumped up and twirled across the room.

“Home …” I sang.