Cadenbury Town Does Halloween, page 16
I put my hands on top of his hand, which is now stroking my stomach. “I am happy. You make me happy. How about we go to bed because I need you?”
“That sounds like a very good idea.”
I wake up the next morning to the feel of Adhan kissing me around my neck.
“Best way to wake up,” I say happily, moving around so I can put my arms around Adhan's neck. “Didn’t you get enough of me last night?”
We made love so many times last night that I lost count and sleep. I really don’t care. I’ll take being tired today after last night. Plus, I was so tired that I don’t remember dreaming, which was probably Adhan’s plan.
“I will never get enough of you. But you’re opening the shop this morning and I’ve lots to do, so we need to get up.”
I shake my head. “I can’t get up until you have thoroughly kissed me good morning,” I tell him, grinning.
“Fair enough,” he says, leaning his head down and kissing me, before making love to me.
CHAPTER 33
We make it down to breakfast, but we’re running late, so much so I don’t have time for breakfast.
“Morning everyone,” I say, popping into the kitchen. “I’m off, see you all later,” and with that, I turn and leave the kitchen. Pulling my coat on and leaving the house.
I drive to the shop today. For one because I’m running late, two because it’s cold and three because it looks like rain. I always feel lazy driving into work when it’s within walking distance, but needs must and all that. As it’s still early, there is plenty of parking and in no time at all I’m parked and opening the shop door.
“Morning shop,” I say happily, closing the door and turning the lights on.
I walk behind the counter and take my coat off. I could really do with a bacon sandwich this morning, something that the tearoom doesn’t offer. Alfred isn’t in until eleven today, by which time I would have wasted away to nothing. Well not really, but I’ll be really hungry and probably grumpy. Hunmpy? Grugry? Well, something anyway.
Just then the door opens, the bell jingles and Callum and Clarence walk in.
“Morning,” I say to them both.
I internally shake my head. I really must want a bacon sandwich as I can literally smell one.
“Morning young’un,” Clarence says heading for the tearoom, carrying a large cake box.
“Hey Ernest,” Callum says, walking over to me. He holds out a paper bag with the bakery logo on it. “Adhan phoned and asked if we could bring you a bacon sandwich as you missed breakfast.”
“I love that man. Thanks, Cal,” I say, taking the bag. I open it and stick my nose inside sniffing. “So good.”
Cal laughs. “As soon as the machine’s awake, I’ll bring you a latte.”
“Still my favourite,” I say to him, pulling out the first half of my sandwich and taking a bite.
“I tried putting the buttercream icing in the fridge for ten minutes before I used it and it worked. Look,” he says, pulling his phone out and flipping through. He turns his phone around and shows me a picture of a cupcake with an intricate flower design.
I swallow my bite. “Cal, that’s amazing.”
“Thanks, look there are more. I tried different techniques,” saying this he shows me more pictures.
“I told you, you could do it.”
Callum nods. “Clarence has brought the cupcakes in today to sell. So, we’ll see how well they go.”
“I can tell you now, they will be a hit,” I assure him.
“I’ve ordered some more cake decoration equipment; I can’t wait to play with them.”
“I can’t wait to see your creations. Send the pictures to Sal and show him. He’ll be impressed as well.”
Cal nods. “Will do. I’ll see you as soon as your latte is ready.”
“Thanks Cal. How much do I owe you for the sandwich?”
“Nothing. Adhan had already paid,” he tells me.
“We have the best partners,” I say happily.
“We really do.”
“How did Molly get on talking to Clarence,” I ask quietly.
“They had a really good chat and Clarence seems much better and happier now. He said that Molly reminded him that I was all better now and to focus on that and not on how injured I was,” he tells me just as quietly. “We’ve chatted about it, him and me. His fear stemmed back from when Mac died. He was filled with the fear that I would die as well. I assured him that we were going to have a long and happy life together.”
“You will,” I reply.
“He seems to believe that now, thank goodness. Now I need to help set the tearoom up.”
“You do,” I say and watch as Callum happily strides off.
I eat the rest of my sandwich and then message Adhan.
Thank you, you’re amazing and I love you x
I get a reply straight back.
Love you too sweetheart x
It’s just coming up to lunchtime when I see Sly, Ebby and the boys walking in.
“How’s your day going?” I ask them.
“Really good. Sly and Ebby transferred the money for the house,” Enoch says happily.
“We did. Adhan said we can pick the keys up later today,” Ebby says.
“Nice. We’ll have to have a welcome to the town party.”
“Really?” Xander asks.
I nod. “Oh yeah. Leave it with me and I’ll arrange something.”
“Thanks,” Sly says. “Adhan invited us round for dinner tonight to celebrate. Apparently, Emily is making Xander’s favourite dinner.”
“Nice. What are we having?”
“It’s a surprise,” he tells me grinning.
“Well, I can’t wait to see what it is.”
“We just thought we’d drop in and say ‘hello’. We’re going into Shattered Glass to pick up the boys’ creations.” Ebby says.
“I can’t wait to see what you made and don’t forget Pa wants to see them as well,” I remind them.
“Is he in today?” Enoch asks, looking around.
“He’s due in anytime around now.”
“Perfect, we can pick them up and then come back,” Xander says.
“We can. Come on then,” Ebby says.
“See you later,” Sly says, as they leave the shop.
Alfred comes over to the counter, bringing drinks with him, and handing me a latte. “Did Cal show you his decorations?”
“Thanks. Yeah, he did. They looked amazing.”
“They tasted good as well, he used flavouring in the buttercream.”
“Nice.”
“So, Justice and I were talking about having a holiday away. He was going to talk to Melody to work out when would be best. Would you mind?”
I look at him. “Why would I mind? I don’t think Justice has had a holiday in forever. Do you know where you want to go?”
“We’re thinking of somewhere hot. I’ve never been abroad, so we’re looking for somewhere sunny and secluded.”
“You’ll need a passport. You’d best get on and get that sorted so you’re not panicking nearer the time,” I suggest.
“Yeah, that’s a good idea. I’ll message Justice to remind him to get one,” he pauses and looks at me. “Are you okay today? I know that dream messed you all up.”
I nod. “Yeah, I am. Your dad won me a massive rainbow teddy last night which cheered me up.”
“You guys should probably look at a pendant, charm, spell or something to protect your dreams.”
I nod. “Yeah. I think we tend to forget that we need to update spells etc. I’ve become lazy.”
“It’s not just you, remember there are other true witches in the house.”
“I know, I’ll chat to the others later. We should probably schedule time each month to look at everything and see if we need to update them.”
Just then Pa walks over to the counter. I’d not even heard him arrive.
“Boys,” Pa says.
“Hey Pa,” I say smiling at him.
“Hi Grandpops,” Alfred says grinning.
Pa and I burst out laughing.
“Grandpops?” Pa asks.
“Well, Ernest is Pops, so you are Grandpops,” Alfred explains.
Pa laughs again. “I’ll take that.”
“You okay?” I ask him.
He nods. “I am indeed. I saw Ebby and the others going into Shattered Glass.”
“Yep, they are picking up the boys’ creations and will be coming back in in a bit to show you,” I tell him.
“Also, you need to have one of Callum’s cupcakes, they are amazing and the decorations, top-notch,” Alfred says.
Pa smiles. “Then I will go and try one,” he turns and walks off to the tearoom.
“Your dad is always happy. When he first covered for you, he was understandably stressed. I watched as he walked in here and most of the stress fell off his shoulders.”
I nod. “He is truly happy here. Mind you so is Ma. Plus, I get to work with him which is always a bonus.”
I hear a burst of laughter from the tearoom.
“And I get to work with my Grandpops.”
I laugh at that.
“How long do you think it will be before the boys call him Grandpops? Or Nora?” Alfred asks.
“Probably not long,” I reply as I watch Pa walking towards us, three cupcakes in his hands.
“Here you go boys,” he says, handing two over and keeping one for himself.
“Thanks,” we both say, taking one. It really is a stunning decoration. It’s a multi-coloured rose, and it tastes scrummy.
“This morning Dad said you might be holding an anti-fireworks bonfire party, instead of coming to the town bonfire and display,” Alfred says.
“I’m not surprised,” Pa says before I can say anything. “Ernest detests fireworks displays.”
“How come?” Alfred asks.
“The noise, how they affect animals and veterans with PTSD, everyone going ‘oo’ and ‘ah’. No, thank you. I started off by saying I would stay home, eat chocolate and watch TV. But it’s turning into a musical film evening.”
“I can understand that about the noise. Dad asked Cam to look into silent fireworks.”
“That would be good, still won’t be coming to the display though,” I say just as the door opens and Sly, Ebby, and the boys walk in laughing.
Enoch spies Pa and comes rushing over, carrying a box. “John, do you want to see what I made?”
Pa smiles at him. “I do indeed, and what Xander made. Open your box here and we can all see your creations.”
“Okay,” Enoch replies, putting the box on the counter and opening it. Inside is a lot of packing peanuts. “This is the vase,” he says, pulling out a bubble-wrapped package. He gently opens it and passes it to Pa.
“Wow,” Pa says, looking at it. “Enoch this is lovely. Look boys,” he says, showing us.
“Wow indeed,” I say.
The vase is stunning. It’s a tall blue vase that has swirls around it.
Alfred grins at Enoch. “That is awesome.”
Pa carefully wraps it up and puts it back in the box.
Next Enoch pulls out a paperweight and some glass caterpillars. All of them were amazing and we heap praise on him.
Once we’ve seen Enoch’s creations, he moves his box so Xander can show his creations.
“Wow Xander,” Pa says looking at his vase. It’s completely different from Enoch’s but no less stunning. It’s different shades of green.
“That’s awesome Xander,” I say, “The way that green seems to shimmer.”
Xander smiles and blushes a little. “Thanks. Look at the others.”
Again, Pa wraps up the vase and puts it back in the box as Xander pulls out his paperweight and caterpillars.
“These are lovely,” Alfred says.
“You both did so well that you deserve one of Callum's cupcakes,” Pa says, wrapping the last item up and putting it in the box.
“Cupcakes?” Sly asks happily.
“Oh yeah, you’ll love them,” I tell him.
“Then lead us to cupcakes, John,” Sly says.
Ebby shakes his head, watching them walk away. “I seriously don’t think I’ve ever eaten so much cake.”
Alfred and I laugh.
“I know what you mean,” I reply.
“Jodie made Clarence cake restrict Ernest,” Alfred says with a laugh.
“Ma’s mean,” I mutter.
“Poor Ernest,” Ebby says laughing as he walks off to join his family.
CHAPTER 34
I’m serving a customer as Adhan walks into the bookshop.
I hand the bag of books over to the customer and they take them saying, “Thanks Ernest, have a good rest of the day.”
“You too,” I reply.
The customer turns and sees Adhan. “Hello, Mayor. My family and I are loving the haunted farm.”
“I’m glad. It’s certainly been interesting,” Adhan replies.
“That it has,” the customer says with a laugh, leaving the shop.
Adhan walks over to the counter and bends over, kissing me.
I pull back and let out a yelp as I’m hit on the side of my face with water. I turn and glare at Alfred, the annoying puppy, as he laughs his fool head off, holding my squirt bottle.
“Really?” I say, wiping the side of my face.
“Whoops,” Alfred says, looking at the bottle. “I have no idea how that got into my hand.”
Adhan wipes the side of his face, looking at his son. “Really son?”
“It must have been magic. It just suddenly appeared in my hand,” he protests, trying not to laugh.
“And it magically squirted us?” I ask.
“Umm yes,” he says, looking down at the bottle and back up, pretending to look surprised.
“Clarence,” I yell out. “Alfred is cake-restricted for the rest of the week.”
“Wait what?” Alfred asks, in horror.
“Noted young’un,” Clarence calls out in reply.
“But it’s Monday,” he complains.
Pa comes walking over to us. “And why is Alfred cake-restricted?”
“Because he squirted us with the water bottle,” Adhan says before I can.
Pa looked at Alfred. “Why would you do that?”
“Apparently, magic made him do it,” I tell Pa.
“It really did. They were kissing and suddenly the bottle was in my hand and water was coming out the nozzle and hit them,” Alfred explains.
How Alfred can keep a straight face as he says this is impressive.
“So that wasn’t payback for Ernest squirting you and Justice the other day?” Pa asks.
“Grandpops, I’m shocked you would even think that,” he protests.
“Sure you are,” Pa says laughing.
Alfred laughs and puts the bottle down.
I look at the bottle, so magic made him do it, did it? I use my magic to pick the bottle up and squirt the annoying puppy, over and over.
“Make it stop,” he says, holding his hands in front of his face.
“Sorry, magic’s making that happen,” I tell him laughing. I finally take pity on Alfred and stop my magic.
Alfred glares at me.
“What? Magic made it happen,” I tell him with a laugh.
“And on that note, we’re off to lunch,” Adhan says.
I grab my coat and scarf and rush around the counter, putting both on. “See you both later,” I call as I practically run out the door, Adhan following quickly behind.
He laughs as he takes my hand and links our fingers together. “So that was fun. I can’t believe our son squirted us.”
“I know, so rude. I did like the magic made it happen excuse,” I say grinning.
“Me too.”
“So where are we off to?” I ask.
“The bakers,” he says as we cross the road.
“Nice. Thank you for breakfast this morning.”
“I couldn’t let you starve, and cake really isn’t breakfast food.”
“It’s not,” because as much as I love cake, not for breakfast. “Cal made some cupcakes with the most amazing decorations on them. He wanted to try cake decoration but wasn’t sure if he would be any good at it. I told him he should just give it a try and yeah, he has some skills.”
“I’m glad he has found something he’s good at, that doesn’t involve killer puppies, murdering dolls or beheaded heads singing nursery rhymes.”
“I can’t wait to see if he goes down the macabre decorating route,” I say because, with Cal’s imagination, those cakes would be awesome.
“Sweetheart, please don’t give him any ideas.”
“I make no promises,” I reply, smiling at him.
CHAPTER 35
The rest of the day goes quickly. Adhan and I had a lovely lunch at the baker's before I went back to the bookshop and Adhan went off to do mayor stuff.
Alfred tried to be grumpy at me, but it didn’t last, and we had a fun afternoon.
Pa is covering the late meetings tonight, so I drive Alfred home. Just as we pull up to park, Justice arrives home. After saying ‘hi’ to Justice, I leave him and Alfred and hurry into the house, because it’s cold. I take my coat and scarf off and hang them up before walking into the kitchen. “Evening family,” I say happily.
I get a round of hellos and help bring the food dishes to the table. This all looks and smells amazing. There are lots of different veg, including roast potatoes, as well as roast beef, pigs in blankets, jugs of gravy and on a plate in front of everyone is a massive Yorkshire pudding.
I look at Xander.
“They are called trenchers. You put all your food inside the Yorkshire pudding and the trenchers acts like a plate,” he says.
“Nice. I can’t wait to try it.”
We’re all sitting down when Justice and Alfred come walking in. Again, greetings are called out and they sit at the table with us.
“Trenchers, nice,” Justice says.
“It’s Xander’s favourite dinner,” Emily tells him.
“I’ve not had this in years,” Justice says as we all pass dishes around.
We all enjoy dinner and there is happy chatter going on round the table. I look at my witch brothers and they are all looking a lot happier now. But I notice Cassie and Sion are again not down.
