I started the day with a quick trip to the hardware store to pick up supplies for the work ahead of me. Of course, I had to swing by Margot’s for a pastry and coffee, and I spent a lovely few minutes chatting with her while she made the latte. It was amazing how quickly I was starting to feel at home in Charming Cove.
By the time I made it back to Lavender House, it was nearly nine. I had a long day ahead of me and would only manage it with the help of a bit of magic.
Poa was nowhere to be seen as I collected my supplies from the boot and headed into the house. Immediately, that familiar stink rose in the air, and one of the remaining blinds went up and down as if discontented.
“Oh, chill out,” I said. “I’m here to help.”
Air seemed to rush out of the door, as if the house were giving an irritated sigh. I smiled. My life was full of grumps lately—the house, the wolf I lived with, and even Poa if she didn’t get her snackies right when she wanted them—but I knew they were lovely on the inside. They just needed a little care.
Not that I cared about the wolf. That would be beyond foolish. I did my best to shove him from my mind and turned my attention to the job at hand.
First things first. I drew in a deep breath and recited the spell that would give me enhanced strength and speed. Every time I used my magic, I felt a little more confident in it. There was no doubt that ignoring my power for so long had been bad for it. The magic inside me had been left to go rusty, but I was changing that.
Once I finished reciting the spell, I felt the faint buzz of power through my whole body. Energized, I got to work.
I spent the next two days cleaning out the house, removing all the horrible kitchen cabinets and bathroom fixtures. It was a lot of hard labor, but my magic made it easier. Every night, I returned to the boathouse exhausted and dirty. Rafe was never anywhere to be seen, as if he knew I was coming and wanted to avoid me.
He probably did. He’d even managed to fix my shower without me seeing him. I thought I heard him downstairs occasionally, but he was always gone when I left to go to Lavender House.
I hardly saw Poa, either, and the days were a blur of work and sleep. The house didn’t make it any easier, of course. Every time I entered, it complained. And every now and again, it made its dislike for me known. Blinds fell on my head while I was removing them, and water shot me in the face while I tried to fix a toilet using instructions from the internet.
Things were moving forward, but not as quickly as I wanted. I really needed help. Unfortunately, my second visit to Judith hadn’t revealed any new information about how the house had come to be enchanted, but she’d promised to look in one other place. I was less hopeful she’d find anything, but there was always a chance.
It was my seventh day in Charming Cove when I started to remove the wallpaper. By midafternoon, I’d stripped all of it and bundled it into the garden, where I’d been putting all the rubbish. As I looked at the pile amid the weeds, the autumn breeze blew my hair off my face.
“You might need to hire a skip for that.” A woman’s voice carried from the far side of the garden fence, and I turned to see who it was.
Judith stood there, a smile on her faintly lined face and a picnic basket propped on top of the fence railing.
I grinned. “I think you’re right. There’s no way I can haul all this away on my own. Better to have a company bring out a big bin and deal with it.”
“Clever girl.” She nodded down at the basket. “Brought you some cookies and lemonade—the American kind.”
At the sound of her words, my stomach growled. It’d been too long since breakfast, and a snack sounded divine.
“Thank you.” I approached, stopping on the other side of the fence. “You didn’t have to come all the way over here. I would’ve stopped by your house if you’d called me.”
“Oh, I know. But it’s nice to get out.” She looked at the house, interest on her face. “And if I’m being honest, I wanted a glimpse inside—see how you’re getting along.”
“Come in, I’ll show you.” I gestured for her to follow me to the garden gate, and I led her into the house, pointing out the newly removed carpet and wallpaper.
“Well, I’ll say, it really does look better in here!” She shoved her
basket at me. “Here, you look famished.”
I took the basket and carried it to the front porch. The weather was still nice, and the porch was probably cleaner than the dusty kitchen. We sat on the two rickety chairs and I opened the basket to reveal a glass bottle of what looked to be homemade lemonade. I raised it and showed her. “Did you make this yourself?”
“I did indeed. I’ve got some lemon trees in my sun room. In fact, your cat has been in there all morning, sunning herself right next to them. I think that girl likes lemons.”
“Really?”
“She was licking one pretty enthusiastically.”
I laughed at the image of Poa licking a lemon. “She’s a weird one.”
I poured some of the fizzy lemonade into one of the glasses that Judith had included in the basket, then handed it over. Once we had our drinks and biscuits, Judith said, “I’m sorry to say that I didn’t find anything in the attic like I thought I might. Except squirrels.” She grimaced. “However, I have one more place I can check tomorrow.”
“Oh, thank you.” I was disappointed, but not surprised. It would have been too lucky.
We spent the next thirty minutes chatting, and I found that I liked Judith even more than I’d realized. She was everything I could have wanted in a grandmother, and I hoped I’d get to see more of her.
Once she’d departed, there was still enough light left to start on another task in the house. I really ought to get the electricity sorted so I could start working after dark.
I returned to the house and looked around for my next job. As expected, the house grumbled at my arrival, but at least it didn’t hit me in the butt with a loose board.
The hearth in the main living room caught my eye, and I went over to check it out. As expected, it was filthy, clogged with debris that had fallen down the chimney.
“I bet if I clean this out, you’ll feel a lot better.”
There was no response from the house, and I supposed I should have been grateful.
I got to work clearing the hearth and trying to pull the debris from the chimney. I hadn’t got very far before a massive plume of dust and soot exploded from the fireplace, coating me.
“Ugh!” I cried, stumbling away. “What did you do that for?”
The house seemed to cough, the chimney expelling more gross, powdery stuff over me.
“Uncool.” I took a few more steps back, using the inside of the my shirt to rub off my face.
In front of me was a pile of new debris that had fallen out of the chimney, primarily leaves and other bits that looked like the makings of a squirrel’s nest. Or maybe a rat’s nest. I was no rodent expert. I started to clean it up, grumbling as I piled it into a massive bin bag. As I was hauling the bag toward the door, a floorboard popped up and smacked me in the butt. I dropped the bag, seething.
“You know what, I’m leaving.” I turned on my heel and stomped toward the main door, hoping to make a point to the house. I knew in my gut that it wanted me to clean it up. But it was behaving like a toddler, and I was getting sick of it. Maybe I could scare some sense into it. “You’d better be nicer when I come back, or I’ll stop fixing you up. I’ll even install some really hideous lighting and wall fixtures before I leave.”