you’re completely blind to it,” she said, “but believe me when I say you don’t need anyone to help you. You don’t know your own strength, Cam. Truth is, you would’ve made it out of this mess with or without me here, or anyone else. And that absolutely astounds me.” She winked. “I admire you, Camille Hart. I always have.”
For what I’d done to deserve an angel like this, I hadn’t the faintest idea. Tonight, the stars could surely feel my heart radiating in gratitude. But I also knew that her faith in me alone might not be enough to protect us both. We headed inside and I excused myself to the bathroom, where my stash of Hoodoo supplies waited.
CHAPTER 4
Birth
I’m sure I looked like a madwoman, speeding into the bookstore parking lot twenty minutes late, slamming on my brakes while I did a check in the rearview mirror to make sure I’d brushed my hair well enough. Audrey and I ended up talking and intermittently watching chick flicks until almost three this morning. I dashed inside, expecting Carol to sing her typical morning lecture to me, throwing in a disciplinary tirade as well. Fortunately the store was pretty empty, with the exception of two teen girls hanging out in the teenybopper magazine section, pining over the latest celebrity heartthrob, some Pattinson guy. I couldn’t keep up with all of the new actors. The only one I ever paid any attention to was Johnny Depp. But apparently, this Pattinson guy was all the rage.
I flew behind the counter to clock in, and to my delight, Carol looked at me sweetly and said, “How are you feeling this morning, Camille? Don’t worry about being late this morning, you’re normally very punctual. Please just try and stay a little late today to pick up the slack, all right?”
“Um ... sure, okay, no problem,” I replied. Maybe the spell I tried last night protected me in more ways than one. “I’m doing okay, thanks for asking. Sorry I’m late.”
“And oh, make sure the new release table is replenished. You saw how fast they were selling yesterday, my goodness. After that, just work on organizing the fiction sections, as usual.”
She started to head toward the self-help section, but stopped, swung around and headed back to the counter. She grabbed a stack of books and shuffled them across the counter toward me. “Ooops, almost forgot. Here are a few returns you can put back.” Smiling, she adjusted her obnoxious glasses and moseyed on over to the self-help section, humming some Mary Poppins song along the way. It was way too early for that.
I glanced at my watch while I walked from aisle to aisle, placing books in their proper places. Each time I placed one on a shelf, I found myself longing for the workday to be over. I didn’t regret the late night, but my mind and body were. But as long as there was no sign of Andrew, that was all that mattered today. Holding the last returned book, I went onto tiptoe for the tallest row on the shelf. My short stature wasn’t cooperating. I wandered around the rows of books, peeking through them, looking for our stepladder, but didn’t see it. I did see Gina at the counter. “Gina, seen our ladder this morning?” I called out.
“Nope, try the back,” she answered, sounding as tired as I felt.
I headed toward the back of the store, feeling my feet grow heavier on the way to the last aisle before the stockroom entrance. The lack of customers and soft elevator music weren’t helping my effort to stay awake. While I’m in the back, maybe I’ll throw some coffee on. Yes. Caffeine is goooood--
The black flash came into my side vision, moving swiftly toward the aisle before it. I watched the blur blow past the next few shelves, on its way toward the front of the store. I spun around, scanned the trail the blur had left behind while goosebumps sprang up on the back of my neck. In confusion, I wandered past the next three aisles, peering down each one, searching for the figure in black. I saw nothing.
Biting my lip, I gently pressed one of my bruises, winced. Definitely awake, absolutely not hallucinating.
A surge of panic hit me as the realization did. Was he here again? Didn’t the spell have any effect at all? Considering his narcissistic persona, it wouldn’t surprise me if he dropped in for another visit. Anything to make