To Scratch a Witch by Leah R Cutter

Author:Leah R Cutter
Language: eng
Format: epub
ISBN: 9781644703830
Publisher: Knotted Road Press

Chapter Twelve

The morning dawned gray, chilly, and damp. AJ didn’t feel any better. Pain stretched in a tight band across her forehead. Her eyes felt dry and pinched. The back of her skull throbbed, as if caught in a vise.

She wasn’t about to call into work sick, though. There was a tourist group coming down—an association of writers who’d rented out half the inn. They’d booked not just rooms but had negotiated for the café as well, intent on using it as a collective writing space in between meals.

Fortunately, this wasn’t their first time at the inn. It appeared to be an annual retreat for them. However, AJ needed to be there to help out at the front desk as people started arriving.

Payne would be cooking some additional meals for them. There were a lot of food allergies in the group, because of course there were. These were all artists. One of AJ’s first meetings that morning was with Payne, to make sure that he had everything he needed, as well as to smooth the way.

Eva had warned AJ that Payne didn’t react well to change. AJ would say that was an understatement.

She would think that someone working at an inn, with a variety of clients coming in every weekend, would have at least some ability to change.

Resistance, not resilience, appeared to fill Payne, though.

AJ had stopped by the Storm Brew Café on her way into the inn to get whatever concoction Juli (with the little heart dotting the “i” of her nametag) came up with to help. However, Juli wasn’t there that morning, with her aggressively cheerful attitude. Instead, it was a stranger to AJ, a young man with the properly surly attitude of a barista.

She settled for a London Fog coffee, but the new guy put too much vanilla syrup in it, making it sickeningly sweet. AJ dumped it out on her way into the inn, knowing that the coffee that Payne made would be far superior, at least that morning.

The writers hadn’t started arriving en masse yet, so AJ had time to go talk with Payne before hanging out up front.

No one was in the little café off the side of the reception area, so AJ headed back into the kitchen.

“Hello?” she called as she walked into the small but industrial space. It hadn’t been modified since the inn had changed hands. Stainless steel counters filled the walls, along with a small walk-in fridge. The sanitizer was running in the corner, probably the last of the morning’s dishes. Scents of lemon and detergent took over the air, despite whatever Payne had cooking in the huge pot on the stove.

“We’re closed,” came the surly reply.

Payne stood at the counter with a huge butcher knife in his hand, ready to defend his territory. He was still the most handsome individual that AJ had ever seen. Gray kissed the temples of his rich, full, black hair, giving him a distinguished look. Piercing blue-green eyes stared daggers at her, from under a broad, intelligent brow.

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