make an impassioned plea for her to stay. Argued on my poor sainted father’s behalf, explaining to the woman that he hadn’t been a jerk, just misunderstood.
The truth was it did surprise me, the notion that some customers hadn’t liked him. The charisma he got from his social magic had been considerable, and if he put effort into it, people had always liked him.
I considered for a second, then I shrugged. I was on a roll for alienating my father’s favorite customers for the week, why stop with just Mr. Ashwell? “I can’t tell people what to think about my father, ma’am. If that offends you, maybe it’s a good idea for you to find a better bookstore.”
That was when she got really offended, marching off, swearing up a storm, and threatening to report me to the better business bureau.
The younger woman gave a low whistle, then picked up the book the woman had left on the counter and set it on her pile.
“You don’t have to—”
“It was the last one, and I wanted it anyway.”
I glanced down at it. A mystery about cats and knitting. It would have been the last one in the store, since we usually only stocked one of anything my father didn’t enjoy personally. “I’d say we could carry more in the future, but maybe you’ll be the only one who wants them now.”
She gave me a bright smile. “Oh, but I have a book club among the university employees. Your father wouldn’t talk to me about ordering for them, but”—she glanced back at the line behind her— “I’ll drop by next week and we can talk about it?”
“Absolutely,” I agreed. “We’re always willing to order in anything people need.”
“What a disrespectful little—” My father geared up to go on a rant, but right then, foxy hopped down off the couch and sauntered over to sit right where he stood, inside his legs. He glared and took a step to one side. Foxy stood, stepped to that spot, and sat again.
I looked away, biting my lip hard to keep from laughing, and when I turned to the woman, she was doing the same thing. She leaned in. “Also, your familiar is awesome.”
I wasn’t sure what she was seeing, but she was right, so I nodded. I didn’t feel like explaining the whole “he’s a familiar but not my familiar” spiel, so I just agreed, “He’s pretty much the best.”
As she gave me her debit card to pay for the books, she pulled out a business card too. “I’ll be back about the book club like I said, but if you find yourself in need, feel free to shoot me a text. I know it’s a tough call, but sometimes it’s the only one.”
She traded me the card for her books and debit card, and I stuffed it in my pocket without looking at it and didn’t think about it again until I had worked my way through the rest of the line. Most of them weren’t too bad, though one man gave me a hell of a stink eye. I could practically hear “disloyal son” in the daggered look he shot me.
I finished with the last customer just after the store closed for the night, followed them to the door, closed and locked it behind them, then flipped off the open sign. I turned back, looking down at foxy. “I should get a floor switch for the sign so you can turn it off for me.”
He lifted his head from where he’d been resting next to Gideon ever since my father had petulantly stomped off to the back, yelling about that “little beast with no manners.”
“What’s next?” Gideon asked. Not like he expected me to answer in his favor, that it was time to learn all about being a super cool magic mage. Like he thought I was going to have a real answer.
And oh hell, I did.
I groaned at the realization. “I have to clean up and get home, like, yesterday. My grandmother ‘invited’ me to dinner tonight, and she’s sending a car to pick me up.”
“Invited, huh?” Gideon asked, using finger quotes on the first word, a sparkle in his eyes. “Sounds like a gran.”
Did it? That was a nice thought.
“I, ah, I don’t know. I’ve never met her.” I rushed through counting down the register, slipped the cash into the bank bag along with the credit receipts, and put them in the safe to deal with on . . . Tuesday. Definitely