Love of the Witch by Deanna Chase

Author:Deanna Chase [Chase, Deanna]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Bayou Moon Press, LLC

Chad led Levi down the sidewalk of the strip mall. “Any stores look promising?”

They’d ended up in Eureka since Keating Hollow didn’t exactly have clothing stores that catered to moody teens. Chad pointed to the Old Navy store. “How about that one. Or the Gap. They have good jeans, right?”

Levi rolled his eyes. “I can’t shop at either of those places.”

“And why not?” Chad crossed his arms over his chest, getting really tired of the money excuse. Levi didn’t want to do anything that cost money. It was obvious he didn’t want to take advantage or owe anyone anything.

“I just…” Levi jammed his hands into his front pockets.

“Just what?”

“Can we go to a second-hand shop? Like the Buffalo Exchange?” Levi asked.

“Vintage?” Chad’s interest perked right up. “Yeah. Let’s do that.”

Once they were in the secondhand shop, Chad was able to convince Levi to get enough clothing to last at least a week. When Levi kept insisting he needed to find a way to pay him back, Chad said, “Don’t worry about it, man. You can help me get the store set up. If you want to work there, I’ll take it out of your pay.”

Levi turned and stared at him. “What?”

“I’m opening a music store in Keating Hollow. I’ll need someone to help me with painting and store set up. You game?”

“Hell, yeah!”

“Good.” Chad slipped his arm around the kid’s shoulders and led him up to the front counter. “Let’s get this stuff and then we’ll hit Target for the rest of your necessities before we head back to town and raid Barb’s storage. With any luck, we’ll have everything moved into Luna’s house before she gets off work.”

Levi’s elated expression faded, and he glanced away again.

Chad swallowed a frustrated sigh. What now? The furniture was free. Even though he fully expected the kid to dodge his question, he straight out asked, “Levi, what’s going on?”

To his surprise, Levi turned worried eyes on him and said, “I think she’s changed her mind.”

“About what?”

“About me staying there. This morning she got really weird and quiet, and I… I shouldn’t stay long.”

Chad grabbed Levi’s arm and squeezed lightly. “That’s not at all the truth, Levi. She got some news this morning she wasn’t expecting, and it has nothing to do with you. Trust me. If you leave because of anything she said this morning, she’ll be gutted. She’s not going to let you back out on the streets if she has anything to say about it. If you don’t want to stay in Keating Hollow, that’s one thing. We’ll help you find a safe place—”

“I don’t want to leave,” he said quickly, looking away as his eyes turned glassy.

Chad let out a relieved breath. “Good. That’s good.” He let go of Levi’s arm and took a step back. “Ready to stroll the personal hygiene aisle of Target?”

Levi ran a hand through his hair, making it stand up in messy clumps. He grimaced and patted it back down. “More than ready.”

Chad could only imagine.

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