Chapter 24

24

"Chocolate caramel pie with a cookie crust!" Sadie exclaimed as she stared into the case at A Spoon Full of Magic. "I think I've died and gone to heaven." She peered at the nametag of the pretty brunette behind the counter. "Two please, Scarlet." She turned to King. "What are you having?"

"Chocolate caramel pie with a cookie crust?" he asked, assuming that second slice she'd ordered was for him.

Sadie turned back to Scarlet. "Make that three, please."

"Three?" King asked with a laugh. "Who's the third one for?"

"You, of course. You didn't think I was going to share mine, did you? One of mine is for now. The other is for later. So if you want more than one, speak up now."

"Nah, but we should get something for Briggs." King couldn't help grinning. Sadie was everything he could have asked for and more. She'd just had it confirmed that she'd been cursed by his mother, yet here she was, giddy in the enchanted sweet shop. He knew she was still freaked out, but the fact that she was still able to enjoy the moment touched him deep in his soul. He scanned the case and said, "Double Mocha Crunch. One, please."

"You got it, gorgeous," Scarlet said, giving him a quick wink before she got busy packing their pie slices.

King swallowed a groan. He was used to people flirting with him, but he wasn't a fan of the overtness right in front of Sadie.

Sadie raised her eyebrows at him. "Does that happen all the time?"

He shrugged. "Not all the time."

"Often enough," Sadie muttered.

"Are you two together?" Scarlet asked, sounding surprised as she looked back and forth between them.

"Yes," King said as he wrapped an arm around Sadie's shoulders and pulled her into him.

"Oh." Scarlet's eyes were wide when she added, "I'm soooo sorry." Her face flushed red. "None of the gossip sites have reported a girlfriend. I wouldn't have—never mind. I just didn't know." She glanced at Sadie. "My apologies."

Sadie handed over a credit card to pay for the purchases. "Don't worry about it. At least you aren't stalking him."

The bell over the door rang as three college-age women hurried in. One of them had thick black hair and was filming with a camera phone while the other two chattered on about Keating Hollow and how you just never knew who you were going to meet in the enchanted town.

The tall blonde who was doing most of the talking suddenly turned around and let out a loud, exaggerated gasp. "Oh. Em. Gee. Look who we found!"

Immediately King took a step back, wondering if there was a back door they could escape through.

"It's King McGrath!" Both of the women ran to either side of him and posed as if giving him a kiss on the cheek.

King was stiff with a pasted-on fake smile. "Hello, ladies. It's nice to meet you, but we're just heading out." He tried to brush past them, but one grabbed his wrist, stopping him.

Sadie stepped in and gave the woman a tight smile. She held her purchases up and said, "We're done here, so like he said, we're leaving."

"But my audience is dying to meet King. That new song of his is fire ," the blonde said, practically leering at King.

His patience was already running on low. There was no way he could indulge this today, and he didn't even want to try. " Our song," King said, gesturing to Sadie. "If it weren't for Sadie, that song wouldn't exist."

"Sure. But tell us what your plans are next, King. Your audience is dying to know." The blonde batted her eyelashes at him, making him want to roll his eyes.

Why couldn't he have even ten minutes in the sweet shop without dealing with this garbage?

Sadie slipped her arm through King's and cleared her throat. In her no-nonsense voice, she said, "Sorry, ladies. But King has somewhere to be."

The raven-haired one with the camera phone moved right in front of Sadie, blocking her path to the door.

"You're going to need to move now." Sadie's tone was full of ice as magic radiated from her and settled over the store.

"Oh, come on," the blonde said, sounding impatient now. "I need this content for all the braindead McGrath fans to keep my engagement up. Don't you understand that's how I make a living? With brands overpaying me to just say I'm using their product? It would take nothing for King McGrath to do me a solid so I can get paid."

The two sidekicks both gasped out loud.

The blonde clamped her hand over her mouth and shook her head as she whispered to her friend with the camera, "You're not live, are you?"

The raven-haired friend nodded, her complexion turning green.

The third, shorter woman threw her head back and laughed. She laughed so hard that tears streamed down her cheeks. "Oh, this is delicious. Wait until the group chat hears about this."

"What group chat?" Blondie demanded.

"The secret one we named Off with Her Head because you act like you think you're a queen and treat the rest of us like your subjects." She was still laughing when she left the shop, already texting.

Blondie turned on the raven-haired friend. "Are you a part of that text group?"

The other woman nodded and bit down on her bottom lip but then blurted, "It's your own fault. You don't always have to be such a bitch!"

Blondie's face turned beet red, and King thought for a moment that her head might actually explode. But before he could witness such a wonderful and gruesome sight, she let out a loud groan of frustration and then stomped out of the store.

The remaining woman turned to King. "Sorry about that. I'm guessing Hailee's social media career might be on hold for a while." Snickering to herself, she walked out, leaving them alone with Scarlet.

"Whoa," Scarlet said. "That was quite the shitshow."

King nodded. "It always is."

Sadie turned to him, a sick expression on her face. "I didn't mean to do that."

"I know."

"Wait!" Scarlet exclaimed. " You're responsible for causing those obnoxious girls to let their guards down and say what was on their minds?"

"It appears so," Sadie said, looking at the angry red skin on her right arm.

"Good. They got what they deserved," Scarlet said with conviction. "Those three and their friends have been the biggest pains in the ass since they arrived in town, looking for free samples all the time as they record their content. I've never met more shallow people in my life."

Sadie raised her eyebrows. "I bet you didn't mean to tell me all that."

Scarlet's lips turned up into a sheepish smile. "No, but it's one hundred percent true."

King nodded to her. "Thanks, Scarlet. You're right; they got what they deserved." He slipped his fingers through Sadie's and said, "It's time to find the sheriff."

"I guess it is," Sadie said and followed him out the door.

"Hello there, King, Sadie," Clarissa, the desk clerk at the sheriff's department, said with a warm smile. "You two certainly are making news here in Keating Hollow lately."

"We are?" King asked. They hadn't done much except sing at the festival. And while the audience had gone batshit after the spell was cast on them, neither of them had stuck around long enough to be included in the town gossip, which hadn't yet connected Sadie to the spell.

"Oh yeah. Haven't you seen the viral TikTok video?" She produced her phone and tapped a few times before handing it to King.

He stared at the video of him and Sadie at A Spoon Full of Magic. Sadie was seen telling the college girls that they needed to move, but that wasn't what made the video go viral. It was the very visible magic that seeped from Sadie's cursed hand and wrapped around the women, making them glow as they spewed their truths. Dread coiled in King's gut. This was going to be a nightmare.

Sadie, who was watching over his shoulder, let out a gasp as she clutched his arm. "That's… crazy."

"It is pretty nuts," Clarissa said. "But one thing's for sure, that song of yours? It's going to break records after this."

King didn't care about that. All he wanted was for Sadie to be free of this nightmare. He cleared his throat. "Can we speak to Sheriff Baker?"

"I'm right here." Drew Baker appeared from the closed door behind Clarissa and added, "Come on back. I just got a call from Healer Whipple, and it appears we have a situation on our hands."

"We do." King took Sadie's hand and together they made their way into the sheriff's office.

Once they were seated, the sheriff leaned forward and said, "Healer Whipple says you've been cursed and that she's verified it."

Sadie nodded and showed him her red arm. "It happened last night at the festival just before we went on stage." She told him about her encounter with Cindy and then described how the crowd reacted.

The entire time King listened to her talk, he became more and more agitated. It was one thing for his mother to target him, but to go after Sadie? She'd crossed a line she could never come back from. When Sadie was done talking, King relayed the scene from A Spoon Full of Magic and told him to ask Clarissa to see the video.

Drew was silent through the entire exchange while he scribbled notes on a yellow legal pad. Finally he looked up and said, "There's no question you've been cursed. But is there any proof that Cindy McGrath was the one who cast the curse?"

"I told you I felt magic crawl up my arm when she touched me," Sadie said.

He nodded. "I've got that. But lots of people who have magic aren't cursing people. We'll need to match her magical signature to know for sure." He turned to King. "We can list her as a possible person of interest, but unless there's more evidence, we don't really have anything we can use to compel her to take the test. If we had more evidence, another witness or motive?—"

"She left me a blackmail note!" King blurted. "She left it on my front door. It said if I'd send her the money she asked for she'd make sure my girlfriend recovered from her ‘unfortunate malady.' That was right after the show."

Drew pursed his lips and nodded very slowly. "That is probably enough to issue an arrest warrant. Do you still have the letter?"

"Yes. It's at home," King said, relieved he was willing to do something.

"We're going to need that for evidence. Bring it by as soon as you can."

"I will do that later today. Thank you," King said as Sadie slumped into the chair, looking exhausted.

"I'm going to have Clarissa type up your statements. If you can both just sign them before you go, then we can get down to business." He called Clarissa in and handed her the legal pad. Once she was gone, he said, "Be sure to tell me when your mother contacts you again. We won't let this go. No one is going to get away with terrorizing our Keating Hollow family."

"Thank you, Sheriff Baker," King said, shaking the man's hand. He knew that if this had happened in LA, they wouldn't have been receiving this type of help. It was looking more and more like maybe he should move to Keating Hollow permanently. He glanced at Sadie and decided then and there that he would not be going anywhere.

"Yes, thank you, Drew," Sadie echoed, sounding weary. "I hope you find her sooner rather than later."

"I'm right there with you, Sadie." The sheriff walked them back out to the reception area and said he'd be in touch.

As they were signing their statements, both Sadie's and King's phones dinged with a text. King scanned the message on his phone and felt dread in his gut. It was Austin, and he had called them both in for an emergency meeting.

Sadie stared at the phone for a long moment before she took a deep breath and walked out of the station. King hurried after her, wishing there was something, anything , he could do to make this easier for her. He wrapped an arm around her shoulders and said, "We'll find my mother and turn her in. One way or another, we're going to fix this."

She met his gaze and said, "I know. I just hope it isn't too late."

"Too late for what?" he asked.

Sadie held her phone up, showing him a reel that was a conspiracy theory of the video of her spelling the women at A Spoon Full of Magic. Right across the top it said, Don't be fooled by a witch. Zero musical talent. You've been duped.

King scowled. "Forget these people, Sadie. Seriously. People will post anything for clicks and clout these days. We know our song is special. And so do millions of other people who have already streamed it."

"I hope you're right. People have been canceled for less." She walked over to the Jeep and climbed in.

King muttered a prayer to the internet gods. "Please don't let this take on a life of its own. Not now. Not ever."

As he got into the Jeep and saw Sadie still scrolling on her phone while she chewed nervously on her bottom lip, he knew his prayer was wasted.

There was no controlling a narrative once the damage had been done.

It appeared they were too late.