"Do you carry these in red?"

"I need four bags of black salt."

"You didn't fill this up all the way."

"Excuse me, but do you have anymore of the Good Humor Charms?"

"Honey, what did you do to your hair?"

All my optimism had been used up in the first hour running the front of the store. Mama's chores took less time than anticipated, but she wasn't one to waste free labor. I'd been moved up to the front so she could work on restocking some of the better selling items.

"You would think," I whispered to Caly while gift wrapping a book called Cooking with Spells, "that all these witches and warlocks could make their own freaking charms and amulets. Not to mention salt and chalk."

"Some are too weak or don't have the right Gifts," she explained, though I knew this already. I just wanted to vent. Didn't seem to matter if people were witches or impotens- rude was a human condition, especially in retail. But Caly continued with a hiss. "And some folks are just lazy."

"Here you go, Mrs. Chamberlain." I handed the package to a bean pole of a witch. She took it but remained at the counter. "Is there something else I can get for you?"

"You're the youngest Wych?"

"No," I answered, "that honor goes to my little brother, Remy."

Bean pole rolled her eyes and tapped her long finger against her longer nose. "You're the youngest offspring of Alizon Wych?"

"Yes."

"Hmm, are the rumors true?"

I leaned over the counter, looking around the room as if checking for anyone who might overhear me. Several customers shuffled closer, their curiosity ill disguised. "Yes, it's true. Harmony does in fact have halitosis."

"Disgusting," bean pole sniffed, too put off by the declaration to return to the real scoop she wanted.

"Agreed. We've tried everything. Spells and potions. It's incurable. Have a nice day!"

"You are playing with fire," Caly said.

"Who's next?" I asked, squatting behind the counter to replace the gift wrap.

"I'm looking for an Affection Charm." The masculine voice, all gravel and rasp, washed over me like a midnight thunderstorm. It took two more tries to get the paper back in the box before I could stand.

"I'm afraid those are special order," I mumbled, easing my gaze upwards at the rate it took the heat to fade to cold in Mississippi. Slow, real slow. The face was better than the voice. Bronzed skin covered sculpted chin and cheekbones, almost feminine in their beauty. But a smattering of dark stubble, uneven the way it often was in youth, added a much need rugged quality.

"How long does it take to get an order in?"

Goosebumps pebbled along my arm. "I'd have to ask my mother. Depends on how many orders we have ahead of you and the complexity of the Charm. We strive for five to seven business days, but you can pay for a rush delivery."

"I have no problem with paying more. I need it soon."

"O-okay," I stuttered, frantic as I searched for the order book. What came out of my mouth next turned my skin as pink as my hair. "I wouldn't think someone like you would need an Affection Charm."

"Ash Goodwin, so you are back," Caly said, coming back from the door where she flipped the sign to closed. During Mabon, stores closed at three to allow for plenty of time to get ready for the evening activities.

I snapped the order book shut just as he reached for it. "You're Ash Goodwin?" It couldn't be. The boy I remembered was shorter than I was, had pocked skin, and a bowl cut his mother insisted was the height of fashion. He also spoke with a lisp- not with the voice of a man who belonged in a whiskey ad. I could see why Harmony was so excited for his return, though that led me to wonder how she knew about the magical changes puberty had wrought.

"Does that somehow make me ineligible for ordering your products?" Ash rolled back the sleeves of his mossy green sweater and shoved his hands in his jeans while he waited for a response.

Caly shook her head. "No, but it does make me curious what you're going to do with the Affection Charm. You do know how ours works, don't you? It's only going to encourage two people to find common ground, not fabricate desire or love."

Thick, black brows furrowed and fire snapped in his cinnamon eyes. "I'm well aware of how this charm works. The other kind is illegal. I just thought it might be nice to give to my abuelita. Things have been tense between us since I came home."

"You've been home less than twenty-four hours, and you're already not getting along with the family?"

"How did you know when I came in- oh, wait. That was you last night? You changed your hair."

"Yes, well," I huffed, flipping the book open and pushing it towards him. "You'll need to make sure you answer every question thoroughly, and if you've got something of your abuelita's, that's even better."

"Yeah," he said, dropping the pen and pulling a pearl ring from his pocket. "This was her engagement ring, before Abuelo upgraded it."

I put the ring in a plastic bag, sealed it, and waited for him to finish the form. When that was done, I stapled it to the bag and put it in the tray with the other custom orders. I double checked the price on the cheat sheet by the register and added the rush fee. "It'll be seventy-five up front and an additional seventy-five when you pick it up."

Ash didn't bat an eyelash as he handed me the money. The Goodwin allowance must be generous. Caly hovered by the door, ready to unlock it and usher him out.

"Will you be at any of the events tonight?" he asked, not taking a step for the door. Caly's lips knotted and her nose wrinkled. Just last night she'd been on the side of giving the local bad boy a chance to prove he'd changed, but I imagined her complete 180 had something to do with Clemmy's little chat with Harmony.

"No, I don't attend the festivals."

"Why not?"

"One," I began, choosing to indulge him, "I'm not seventeen."

"There are several parties this evening where underage witches are welcome guests."

"Two," I continued, my voice rising to cut him off, "I'm not magical and therefore I'm typically unwelcome."

Ash stared at me, his full lips turned down. "It's true, then. You're impoten."

I'd said it myself earlier- not so directly, but it was true. Hearing it out of his mouth pierced straight through the defenses I'd thought impenetrable. Straight through the acceptance of myself and made me feel small and broken. Whether he'd meant it as an insult or not, that word never came out of a witch or warlock's mouth without a heaping helping of derision.

"Rose, I didn't mean-"

"Girls, that should just about get me caught up for today." Mama walked in, her hair frizzed around her face in tiny ringlets. The smell of wet earth, sage, and cedar followed her in, and if I hadn't spent two hours deadheading flowers, it might've been pleasant. I turned my face to hide the tears. "Well, hello there. Are you waiting on something?"

"Mama," Caly said, sliding her hands over her jeans as she plucked up her courage, "this is Ash Goodwin."

I sneaked a peek at her through wet lashes. I had to hand it to her, the woman could've played poker. Not a single muscle in her face wavered, and she enveloped him in a hug she reserved for best friends and daughters. "Why you've grown like a weed since the last time I saw you. How long has it been?"

"Four years."

"So you're seventeen now?" Smooth, Mama. Real smooth.

"Yes ma'am. Turned seventeen on the summer solstice. Finished up my classes end of last week, and I got to come home. Dad has been itching for me to join the family business."

"A solstice baby- just like my Rosey."

"Alright, well y'all best be going before it gets too late," I said, diffusing the awkward silence that bubbled up like an overfilled cauldron.

"Goodness, you're right. Let's go girls. Rosey, you'll be good driving home?" She locked the shop door with a flick of her wrist and watched me expectantly.

"Always. Hey," I grabbed her arm before she could vanish. Caly had already gone, disappearing in a flash of violet light. "Can Willow come over tonight?"

"That's fine. We'll be out late so it'll be nice for you to have some company."

The beep of my car unlocking echoed down the empty streets. All the shops were dark inside, and the hour wasn't late enough for the lamps to cast their cheerful glow. The buzz and thrum of energy hovered about the town, its center only moving, not dissipating. Well into the early hours of morning, homes would be ablaze with light and loud with voices, some conversational, some spell-casting. Tomorrow shops would open late, if they opened at all, and few would complain.

"Sure you don't want to crash a party tonight?"

Ash appeared beside me, his hip pressed against my car and his arms folded over the windshield. I did the only thing a girl could do when presented with sexiness so suddenly- I screamed.

"Don't you know it's rude to pop in on people like that? Did they forget to cover manners at that school of yours?" I nudged his arm off the glass before sitting behind the steering wheel. "Most witches and warlocks announce their arrival with a chime."

He laughed and grabbed the door before I could shut it. "Maybe I just wanted to make you scream?"

I paused with the key in the ignition. "Should I be worried right now? I can't tell if that was a pick up line or if you were being creepy. I've seen the Goodwin Estate, I'm leaning towards creepy."

"Crap," he said, rubbing the back of his head and looking at the ground. "Definitely was aiming for sexy and veered off into psycho territory."

A stupid butterfly in my belly perked up. I forced it back to sleep. "Noted. Now, may I shut my door?"

"Look, I wanted to apologize for how I came across earlier-"

"The apology is for earlier, and not for just a second ago? Interesting priorities."

"Ha. Ha. Okay, it's for both, but mostly for earlier. I didn't mean to say impoten like it was bad. I don't think like that. I was just surprised, that's all."

"I thought all of the Goodwins were Magic Supremacists."

"Judge much?"

"Just going by experience," I said, "The last time I saw your sister, she gave me laryngitis for a week. I think her exact reason was impotens should be seen and not heard."

He'd moved around the door and lowered his head so he could whisper and still be heard. "Do I look like my sister?"

"Maybe with a wig," I said, swallowing hard only after he threw his head back with laughter.

"Ash, what are you doing?"

"Oh, speak of the she-devil, and she appears," I groaned, shoving him back and slamming my door shut.

"Why are you talking to her? Are you trying to find out if what she has is catching? Mami would never forgive you if you lost your power."

Jimena Goodwin was as beautiful as her brother was handsome. To be honest, if you shaved Ash's beard and traded his cropped black hair for long strands highlighted with caramel, you'd have Jimena. But she dressed like Elvira- long black skirts that swept the ground as she slithered about the town and tight tops that revealed more cleavage than was natural. Truly, her cleavage had to be spelled to be so prominent without nip slips.

And trailing behind her like an ever faithful dog- Harmony. If looks could kill, and around here, it could probably happen, I'd be dead. But it was when the frown began to curve up, that I became truly frightened. Some brain cell lying useless in her head had been activated, and I could only imagine what revenge plot she was cooking up.

Didn't you get me in trouble last night over Ash Goodwin? Her voice echoed in my mind, and I flipped her off. Outside my window, Jemina continued to berate her brother. You better stay away from him if you don't want me to tell Clemmy. He's mine.

I was quite glad she couldn't read my mind, but I wanted to tell her she could have him. There was no way I was forming any more attachments to this town than the ones that already existed. And never with a Goodwin.

Knuckles tapped on my window, and I rolled it down with a sigh. I'd have driven off already if not for the fact any one of the three of them could stop me with a snap of their finger. "Yes?" I asked, perhaps a bit more snottily than was wise.

Jimena narrowed her eyes. Today they were an unsettling acid green. "Don't get above yourself. My brother is not for the likes of a grubby, powerless little impoten like you. Comprende?"

"Jimena," Ash said, pulling her back by her arm. "Stop. You're being dramatic."

"No, Ash. It's fine." I leaned out of my window and plastered a grin from cheek to cheek. "Trust me, you don't have to worry about me and your brother. I'd never be interested."

Ash released his sister and stepped back. Something close to hurt flashed across his face before he vanished, leaving me alone with Halloween Regina George. She grabbed a piece of my still pink hair and twirled it around her finger. "Good. Because if you think pink hair is bad, try having none."

Harmony snickered, earning a wink from Jemina. That sound made my teeth ache, but I said nothing as I backed out of my parking spot and turned the car towards home. The two girls remained in the view of my rear mirror- one pale and slender, the other dark and curvaceous. But for all the outward differences, their souls were equally vile.

And the fact I called one sister didn't settle well at all.