CASSANDRA WILLOWSTONE
Dorianna's gaze flicked down. Then her eyes went wide. "My dress!"
She scooped it up from the carpet and stared at the smeared footprint my sneaker had left on the pristine white material. "Look at what you did!" She whirled and showed her mom the ruined dress. "Do you see what she did to my Versace?"
Tilda rose and tottered forward on her impossibly high heels. "My Goddess!" She lifted the dress and studied the stain. She pointed at Cassie. "You will pay to have this cleaned again." She swept her hand around the room. "And you will pick up this mess you made and pay for the carpet to be cleaned, too."
Her smarmy arrogance pulled at my self-control. I grabbed my purse and stood up on wobbly legs. My gaze traveled over the spilled coffee, the items from the general store, and then the dress being clutched and fussed over by the two women. I'm fine. Thanks for asking. I wasn't hurt physically, but emotionally, I felt wounded to the core.
Tilda frowned at me. "Did you hear me, girl?" She took the dress from her daughter and thrust it at me. "Take this back to Carol. We'll send you the bill for the carpet."
"Excuse me, am I interrupting?" came a familiar male voice from behind me.
Oh, Goddess.
"Mr. Keller!" Dorianna shoved the dress at her mother and sauntered past me, reaching out her hand to shake Ryle's. No, Reeve's?
Neither one.
He wore a gray-blue tie, and his gaze was pinned on me. Not, twins. Triplets? This one had a more intense feeling than the other two. I didn't know how to describe it, only that my entire body felt electrified.
"Wh-who are you?" I asked. I stepped forward not because I wanted to meet him, but because every cell of my being wanted to be near him. Touching him. Connecting with him.
What the holy hell was going on?
"I'm Rane Keller."
Meanwhile, Dorianna tried to let the contact between their hands linger, but this guy dropped her hand like it was on fire.
"Cassandra," he said softly. He took a step toward me, too, and I thought he might reach out to take my hand.
Weird.
Dorianna smiled the way a shark might right before attacking its meal. I could tell from her expression she was displeased that not only did Rane know who I was, but he'd also used my first name. "You know our little Cassandra?"
I rolled my eyes. For the love of magic! Dorianna was my age, though she went to a private school because the Millers wouldn't send their precious heir to the local public school mixed with humans and witches.
The Millers could pretend to be as hoity-toity as they wanted. They were latecomers to Garden Grove. They'd moved into town in the early 1980s. Tilda was ambitious and driven. She and her husband had started the realty business ten years before Dorianna, their only child thank the Triple Goddess, was born.
Mr. Miller had died from a respiratory illness about a year before my mother's death.
"Cassie, are you all right?" Rane's voice sounded almost tender.
It was his kindness that nearly did me in. I blinked back tears. "I'm fine," I said. "I had an accident."
Dorianna gave a fake laugh. "Cassandra is well known for her lack of grace." She pointed at the tampons and condoms. "Don't forget your purchases from Narrow's, darling."
Her eyes gleamed with malice. She fully expected me to pick up those items in front of Rane. She held my future in her manicured hands. And she knew it.
I had the sudden, aching realization that Dorianna had no intention of letting me or my sisters into the coven. No matter how much I did for her, no matter how much abuse I tolerated from her cronies, no matter what—the Willowstones would never, ever have the coven's approval.
I'd been a blind, hapless fool.
"Don't forget the dress," said Tilda, shaking it at me.
I met Tilda's gaze. She stared a hole right through me. I don't even think she saw me. All she saw was Delia Willowstone. My mother had been dead for so long. How long would this town hold a grudge? How long would Tilda and the coven and everyone else make us pay for what happened?
Forever, that's how long.
Forever.
And I was sick of it.
"I'm late for work." I headed toward the door.
I heard Dorianna's gasp of dismay. "Cassandra!" she snapped.
I looked over my shoulder at her.
"Pick up your purchases now." She smiled at Rane, pretending to show distress. "You're embarrassing me in front of our new Sheriff."
"Sheriff?" I blinked. "What happened to Cooper?"
"Retired," he said.
"Oh," I said. "I liked him." Sheriff Cooper treated me fairly, even kindly. He'd been one of the few people in this town who understood I was not my mother.
I grasped the door handle. Apparently, Dorianna realized that I was actually leaving.
"Please excuse Cassandra," she told Rane. "She's not the best representative of our community." She turned. "Mother, could you—" She waved at the mess on the floor. "Rane and I have reservations at Montague's."
"Cancel," said Rane. "I won't work with your company."
Dorianna's face went slack. "What? Mr. Keller, we're the only realty company in Garden Grove." She smiled winsomely. "I have several wonderful properties to show you."
I stared at Rane. What was he doing? The only way he'd get a place to live in our town was through Dorianna and Tilda Miller. There was a reason Miller & Miller Realty didn't have competition in the town, or the immediate area come to think of it.
They ruthlessly squashed competitors—in any form, even someone trying to sell their own house. There was even a long-running rumor that Beatrice Venish, a retired schoolteacher, once tried to rent the apartment above her attached garage to a college student only to have the place go up in flames. True or not, those kinds of stories kept people from crossing the Millers.
"No." The word was enough to convey Rane's intent and power. He tone brooked no argument.
Even Dorianna shut her mouth.
I laughed at the shocked expressions on Dorianna and Tilda's faces. No one had ever told them no.
He turned to me. "May I walk you to your car, Cassie?"
"Yes," I said. "Thank you."
He opened the door for me.
"You're still paying for the carpet and the dress," called out Tilda.
"Bite me," I said.
Tilda blinked at me, stunned into silence by my very un-Cassie-like response.
We made it across the street and started down the sidewalk next to the park. I was feeling a smidge better. Until Dorianna burst out of her office and screamed, "Thief!"
We turned and watched Dorianna and her mother stride across the street. I didn't like the matching smirks on their lips, and knew my bad day was about to get a lot worse.
"Sheriff, I demand you arrest this girl," said Tilda, huffing in outrage, as they joined us. "She's a thief!"
"You can never trust a Willowstone, Sheriff Keller," added Dorianna. "The sooner you learn that, the better."
"What are you accusing Ms. Willowstone of stealing?" asked Rane.
"My Rolex watch," she said. "It's worth more than seven thousand dollars."
Rane looked at me. "Do you have Ms. Miller's property?"
Anger rolled through me. Dorianna couldn't help herself. She had to do everything possible to grind me into the ground. I'd known she was mean and selfish, but it hadn't stopped me from trying to get on her good side. Problem was, Dorianna Miller didn't have a good side.
"Yes, I have her property." I opened my oversized purse and took out the box with Hanover's Watch & Jewelry repair embossed on it. "She asked me to pick it up for her this morning. The receipt is in the box." I handed it to Rane. "I forgot to give it to her."
"That's just it, Sheriff," said Dorianna, trying to affect wide-eyed innocence. "I didn't ask her to get my watch. In fact, I just called Mike Hanover to make sure it was ready, and he told me Cassandra took it."
"I see," said Rane.
"I thought you might," said Dorianna, triumph aglow in her gaze. She looked at me pityingly. "Everyone is aware that you and your sisters are doing poorly, but you didn't have to steal from me."
"I didn't," I said, unable to keep the fury from my voice. "And you know it."
Dorianna gasped, putting a hand against her chest, in a show of melodrama worthy of a daytime soap opera. "I know you stole my watch, Cassandra."
Rane turned the box over in his hands. I figured this was the moment the new Sheriff realized he'd made a mistake trying to befriend me.
Like everyone else in this town, he'd eventually understand my place as the proxy punching bag for Fiona Willowstone's sins.
He'd also learn that while we might have a mayor and a town council, the people actually in charge of Garden Grove were the Council of Six and its leader, Dorianna Miller.
Dorianna shook her head, continuing to play the part of the victim. "Sheriff, feel free to call Mike Hanover. He'll tell you that she conned him out of the watch."
"Would you like to make a formal complaint against Ms. Willowstone?"
"Yes," answered Tilda. "We want her arrested."
Rane ignored Tilda. He kept his eyes on Dorianna. "Just so I understand, Ms. Miller. You're saying that Ms. Willowstone, who spent her morning picking up your dry cleaning and your coffee order, decided to drop by the watch repair shop and take the Rolex without your permission?"
"I asked her to help me out with a few little things," admitted Dorianna. "But I would never trust her with such an expensive item."
"How did she know the watch was at the repair shop?"
Dorianna blanched. "I… I don't know. I suppose she guessed."
"I didn't guess," I said. "You told me."
"Don't be a liar and a thief," said Tilda hatefully.
"Mrs. Miller," said Rane as he glanced at the older woman. "I'm going to ask you to refrain from slandering Ms. Willowstone."
"Slandering?" She laughed. "Do you know who her mother is?"
"I don't see how that's relevant to the current inquiry." He returned his attention to Dorianna. "Did Mr. Hanover explain why he gave Ms. Willowstone your watch to her with the repair receipt?"
"Like my daughter said," interrupted Tilda again. "Cassandra told him she was picking it up for Dorianna."
Rane stared at Tilda. He said nothing, and the silent rebuke brought an embarrassed blush to her cheeks. She pressed her lips together and looked away. Rane returned his gaze to Dorianna. "Mr. Hanover didn't call you to confirm she had permission?"
"No."
Rane pierced Dorianna with a look so cold, I saw the woman shiver. "My brothers and I have seen the way people treat Cassie. Your name is the magic word around here. I don't believe for a second that anyone in this town would give Cassie the time of day without your permission. So, I suggest take your watch and reconsider your claim."
Dorianna opened her mouth, but Rane lifted a hand. "Just so you know, I'll start my investigation by bringing in every single person Cassie spoke to today. I'll grill each and every one of 'em like a freshly caught trout. If I find out that you've attempted to file a false police report, I'll arrest you."
"You can't arrest me!"
The horror on Dorianna's face was priceless. I resisted the urge to grin. I don't think anybody had ever threatened Dorianna. The Sheriff couldn't know how much he'd probably pay for what he was doing right now—or the price I would no doubt pay later.
Dorianna wouldn't allow me to have allies. She'd either figure out a way to convince Evan to come around to her way of thinking, or she'd do everything possible to run him off from me. And if he didn't play ball, she'd run him out of town, too.
"I don't know what it was like in Garden Grove under Sheriff Cooper, but I don't give a damn if you're the mayor or the garbage man. If you break the law—I'll put you'll in handcuffs and haul you in." He held up the box. "Your choice, Ms. Miller."