Witcher Upper - Amy Boyles Page 0,36

you could buy not only mixed fountain drinks but also order a cheeseburger and fries. Yep, Willard’s was a unique place.

He spotted us when we entered, looking like drenched rats, I’m sure.

“Clementine,” Willard called from behind the pharmacist counter, “what happened to you?”

“Got caught in the rain,” I said, flinging water off my hands.

Concern lined his face. “Hold on right there and I’ll get you a towel.”

Rufus took Lady gently from his shoulders and placed her on the floor. The dog glanced up at him, her big brown eyes seeming to ask why she’d been removed from her spot of privilege.

A side door opened, and Willard stood with three towels. “What in the world were you doing out in this rain?”

I wiped at my arms, but the towel only appeared to be spreading the water instead of mopping it up. “We got stuck. My truck broke down and my phone died, so we couldn’t call a tow.”

“Where’s the truck?” Willard asked.

“Back at the new Dooley place, the barn I’m working on.”

Willard’s face filled with sorrow. “I’m sorry about Sadie, Clem. I hated to hear it.”

I wrung out my hair and handed Willard the towel. “I hated to hear it, too, especially after what I’ve been discovering today.”

Willard extended his hand to Rufus. “Name’s Willard Gandy, this is my pharmacy and you must be John, the man suffering from amnesia.”

“Yes, that’s correct.”

Willard crossed his arms and appraised Rufus. “Have you been to a doctor?”

Rufus shook his head. “No, I’m afraid my malady can only be treated a different way.”

Willard cocked his eye at Rufus, studying him. Then a second later he wagged his finger. “Y’all two sit, and I’ll get some burgers and fries made up for you. Oh, and I’ll call a tow and get your truck in, Clem.”

“Willard, you are a lifesaver.”

He pressed a finger to his mouth to shush me. “Don’t go telling Malene. The knowledge might give her a heart attack.”

I laughed as Willard moved to the front door. He locked it and put the Out to Lunch sign up. “I was just about to take a break anyway. My techs are out, and it seems I can spare a few minutes to chat with the two of y’all.”

Rufus and I sat at the counter while Lady lay at my feet. Willard brought her a bowl of water and started chatting with us from the rectangular cutout that joined the kitchen with the shop.

“Where’s all your help? I mean the cooks.”

“I had the feeling that I was about to be needed, so I sent them all to lunch.”

A sizzling sound came from the kitchen, and the smell of cooking meat drifted over the counter and flew straight up my nose. My stomach growled.

Rufus cocked a brow, and I hugged my belly, wishing my stomach would remain silent.

“You sent all of them,” Rufus asked, his lips tugging into a sly grin. “Because you had a feeling?”

I rolled my eyes, knowing exactly what Rufus was hinting at. His words and tone suggested that Willard had some sort of magic hidden up his sleeve. I shook my head, silently telling Rufus that he was wrong, absolutely wrong.

“Sometimes I have feelings,” Willard said between flipping burgers, “like today. I knew that a wizard would be stopping by. What I didn’t know was that Clem would bring him with her.”

My blood turned to stone. Had I heard him correctly? No, Willard couldn’t have said what I thought.

Rufus leaned back in his stool. Water dripped from his dark hair, splashing onto his shoulders. He leveled his gaze on mine, his dark eyes laughing at me.

“I’ve been telling Clementine that there is magic all around her in this town, but she refuses to believe me,” Rufus said.

Willard came around the partition with two plates in his hand. Cheeseburgers sat surrounded by a moat of French fries.

“Here you go.” Willard wiped his fingers on a towel tossed over his shoulder. “In a place like Peachwood, we often only see what we want to see.”

My jaw dropped. “Willard, what is going on? Peachwood doesn’t have magic. There’s nothing here. The people aren’t magical. Okay,” I said, rethinking that, “I may have met some sort of wizard mafia today, and now you’re talking about wizards, but that’s it, right?”

“Gotta stay away from the wizard mafia. They aren’t any good,” Willard murmured.

“You’re telling me.”

Willard smiled and wiped down the counter. “We see what we want to. When you came to Peachwood, did you want to have anything to