Midu's Magic (2 page)

"Kyle's here?" Midu's heart gave a happy
skip. She could sit with him and brag that she'd planted three
varieties of seeds today.

Nancy pointed. "He's been helping the new
girl in town. Woodrow was too busy to put up shelves in her
shop."

Midu looked across the room and saw Kyle
laughing while a girl with long, blond hair waved her hands in the
air as she told him some story. Midu gulped. Not just any blonde.
This girl sparkled with beauty. Bright blue eyes. A creamy
complexion. Subtle make-up and a curvy figure. All the things Midu
was not.

Midu felt her heart fall to her stomach—at
least, something did. She took a shaky breath. "I don't want to
bother them. Kyle didn't know I was coming. I won't interrupt him.
Just give me a table sort of out of the way."

Nancy studied her a second. Was she pale? Did
she look like she might keel over, hit the restaurant floor? The
woman knew people all too well. She could tell something was
different, but she didn't push it. "I have a spot by the window.
How does that work?"

But on their way to the table, Thea Patek
waved to Midu. "Hey, I'm having one last cup of coffee. Care to
join me for a minute?"

Nancy led her to the empty chair across from
Thea. "Thea and I have been yakking between customers," Nancy said,
"but business is picking up. It's your turn to keep her
company."

Thea rolled her eyes. "No one has to baby-sit
me."

Nancy winked. "It's not like Gabe can come
here with you. You two have a nice chat." Gabe, as everyone in town
knew, was Thea's dead husband, who'd returned to her as a ghost.
Not the most common love story, but it worked for them.

Thea looked at Midu and smiled. "When Kyle
told me he was coming here for supper, it put me in the mood, too.
Nancy and I have had a nice time, catching up with each other."

Midu tried not to look at Kyle's table, but
couldn't stop herself. She turned in her chair to see him and the
blonde. "We have a new shopkeeper in Emerald Hills?"

"Lynn bought Dan's jewelry shop. He retired,
and he and his wife are moving to Albuquerque."

Midu had heard Dan was leaving. "Is Lynn a
jeweler?"

"She doesn't make rings, like Dan did, but
she works with silver and gems. Her stuff is gorgeous. You'll have
to stop by her shop sometime and introduce yourself."

She's not getting one leaf of lettuce from
me
. The sudden thought made Midu blush. What was wrong with
her? She loved it when people bought her produce and it made them
happy.

Thea watched her thoughtfully. "Lynn doesn't
have any magic, but her work should sell itself."

Would Kyle feel more comfortable with someone
with no magic, since he had none himself? Midu took a long, ragged
breath.

Thea smiled. "You know, there are many people
who have the mistaken impression that just because they have magic,
they can draw on it for themselves."

Midu frowned. "Can't they?"

"No. None of us can. I can't make a life map
for myself. I can't see the colors when I look at my own bookmark.
My grandmother wove that. Tana's candies don't work on her, and
Lolita can't see her own reflection in the mirrors she makes."

Midu blinked. "Really?"¶Thea reached across
the table and patted her hand. "We're too close to our own work.
Like the old saying, we can't see the forest for the trees."

Tears stung Midu's eyes. She wasn't someone
who cried easily. "But I've been waiting all these years for my
produce to show me who my soul mate is."

Thea sighed. She pushed her chair from the
table and said, "I have to get home. Hannah will wonder where I got
off to, but if you wait for your produce to help you find love,
you'll be an old maid. It's not going to happen."

Midu watched Thea wave a goodbye to Nancy.
She watched more and more people crowd into the restaurant. She
felt numb. Nancy brought her the pulled pork sandwich she'd
ordered, and Midu ate without tasting it. She watched Kyle pay for
his and Lynn's meals and leave the restaurant with her, with only a
brief nod in her direction. A scream gathered in her throat, and
she swallowed it down. How stupid could she be? She'd waited all
these years for something that would never happen. Had she waited
too long? She'd never seen Kyle talk so much or laugh so easily as
he had with Lynn.

On the drive home, Midu clenched the steering
wheel until her knuckles turned white. Why had no one ever told her
that magic didn't work for its user?

Her thoughts went to the time, two years ago,
when a mistaken customer blamed Midu for his unhappiness. His
girlfriend had eaten her produce and fallen in love with someone
else, not him. He held her accountable and meant to punish her.
Kyle had insisted on staying at the house with her twenty-four
hours a day, to make sure she was safe.

Having Kyle in the guest bedroom, just across
the hall from her, had proven almost too much temptation, but she'd
told herself over and over again, the produce hadn't chosen him. He
wasn't her soul mate. But what if he was? He'd hinted, as much as
Kyle could bring himself to hint, that he liked being with her,
living in the same house. And what had she done? She'd offered to
let him room with her.

She remembered the look on his face when she
said that. Hurt. And when the crisis was over, he'd gone back to
his apartment.

She slammed her hand against the steering
wheel. Stupid, stupid, stupid!

That night, she lay in bed, tossing and
fretting. If she couldn't rely on her magic to show her the perfect
mate, she'd have to hope for the best, like most people did. And
she'd place odds on Kyle. Could she still win him? Or had she
waited too long, and the new girl in town looked better?

When she moved to Emerald Hills to follow her
magic, she'd thrown herself into starting her farm stand
whole-heartedly. Her parents had moved to the United States from
Pakistan. They'd made a good life here. They worked hard and
expected her to do the same. That's the only way she knew to
approach things she cared about. Why should winning Kyle be any
different?

When she woke in the morning, she took extra
care before going to the greenhouse with the lettuces. She'd
planted three varieties yesterday and had many rows to go.

Kyle was already there when she walked in. He
glanced up to wish her a good morning and stared. "You look
different."

She felt a flush heat her neck and face. "I
put on make-up."

"Your hair's fancy."

She took a deep breath. "I was tired of just
washing it and letting it dry." She'd spent a decent amount of
time, pulling it up into soft waves and curls.

He studied it a moment. "It looks nice."

Not
you
look nice. But
it
looks
nice. The man wouldn't sweep a girl off her feet with his charm.
She struggled not to look irritated. "Thea said you've been helping
the new girl in town."

"Lynn? You should stop by her shop. You'd
like her. She needed more shelves, and Woodrow's working on a big
project for Sheri's kitchen."

"Really?" Midu got distracted by that news.
"Sheri doesn't cook."

"No, but Morgan does, and he told Woodrow
that Sheri's kitchen is pitiful."

Midu laughed. Most of the houses in Emerald
Hills had been built in the days of small kitchens and big dining
rooms. Guests didn't mingle with the cook. She had to knock down a
wall to make her kitchen the size she wanted. "Houses in the
suburbs have bigger kitchens."

"Depends on the era," Kyle said. "If you
cross the river to the rich additions around Jess and Lindsay's
winery, people put in huge, expensive kitchens, but rarely use
them. They'd rather eat out."

"Does Lynn cook?" She bit her lip. Why had
she asked that?

"No idea." Kyle gave her a look. "We each
have different talents."

She sighed. "True, and it's time we used
ours. Come on, Mr. Green Thumb. We have lettuces to plant."

He raised an eyebrow. "Today, the
fourth-graders visit us, remember?" Every year, George Jenkins
brought his students here to transplant marigold seedlings into
white, steirofoam cups. Hopefully, the plants would survive long
enough to give as presents for Mother's Day. Midu didn't grow many
flowers, but she started marigolds every year for this
occasion.

Kyle studied her. "I thought that's why you
dressed up. You wanted to look good for the kids' field trip."

No
! But she didn't say it. Instead,
she huffed a long breath. "The kids will be here in half an hour.
We need to get things ready."

By the time the school bus pulled into their
drive, they had bags of potting soil and delicate marigold starts
ready to go. George, as usual, had Kyle give the kids a tour of the
greenhouses. Midu tagged along and listened as Kyle patiently
answered questions. He explained about the different produce they
grew and let kids sample different vegetables she cut up for them
to try.

Three hours later, when the last kid climbed
on the bus to head back to school, they both sighed their relief.
The kids were great, but there was always one who didn't want to be
there and one who asked too many questions. Kids bristled with
energy, and it took an equal amount of energy to hold their
interest. Thank goodness, most of the visit involved moving from
place to place and hands-on activities.

When the bus pulled away, Kyle smiled. "That
went pretty well."

"I'm glad you think so, because we
volunteered to go to their school once a week next month to show
them how to use different types of produce."

Kyle grinned. "We did?"

"The sooner they learn about fruits and
vegetables and try different ways to use them, the easier to get
them to eat healthier. At least, that's how George sold me on the
idea."

Kyle laughed. See? She could make him laugh,
too. "You like working with kids."

"Once a year, it's great. They like hands-on,
and cooking with us is more fun than diagramming sentences. They're
ten. We can still impress them."

His brow furrowed, and Midu tilted her head,
waiting to hear what was bothering him. "I got engaged when I was
twenty. Did I tell you that? If I'd have married Terri, we might
have a kid about that age."

"You were engaged?" Midu didn't know why that
surprised her so much. He'd never once hinted at it, but he was
definitely a keeper. He must have had some kind of life before he
moved to Emerald Hills. "What happened?"

"Terri went on a cruise with a girlfriend,
met someone else, and I got a letter from California."

"Ouch!"

He nodded. "We'd known each other all through
high school, but didn't want to get married too young. So we
waited. Maybe we waited too long."

His voice had an edge to it. Was he trying to
tell her something? Had they waited too long? "Most people don't
stay together when they start out that young." Midu wanted him to
realize that she and Kyle were different. He'd been almost
twenty-eight when he started working with her, and she'd been
twenty-six.

"Probably, but sometimes, you can let a
moment pass, can't you? And then you can't get it back."

Crap! Not what she wanted to hear. She
decided to change the subject, but while he was in the mood to
talk, she was dying to hear more about his past. "You surely met
other girls after Terri left you. It was eight years until you
moved here."

He shrugged. "I dated, but nothing serious. I
was looking for a fresh start when I came to Emerald Hills."

"Did you find it?" She held her breath,
waiting for his answer.

He sighed. "I thought I did. Now I'm not
sure."

Even worse. "You're so nice, so wonderful,
any girl would want you." She grinned.
I want you
, but she
couldn't say it. What if he didn't want to hear it? What if those
words drove him away? Maybe a hint? "And I'm the lucky person who
has you as a partner."

"A business partner." He stressed the word
business
. She felt like a balloon was deflating. The energy
ebbed out of her. So did most thoughts of hope.

She gave herself a small shake. Time to
regroup. "Let's call it a day. Want to stay for supper?"

He started to the door and reached for his
coat. "Not tonight. I have plans."

"Can't they wait until after you eat?"

"I'll probably be leaving early for the next
few days. Don't worry about cooking for me. I'll grab something in
town."

She pressed her lips together to keep her
thoughts to herself. Would he be taking Lynn to Nancy's Restaurant
again tonight? She followed him to his truck. "Will you be here
tomorrow?"

"There's work to do, isn't there?"

She nodded.

"See you in the morning then." He started his
pickup.

Midu fretted on her walk back to the house.
The day hadn't gone as she'd hoped it would. By the time she
changed into her comfy clothes, she was in a foul mood. She made
herself a quick, cold meat sandwich and settled on the couch.
Nothing on TV interested her, so she reached for her Kindle.
Thankfully, soon, she found herself immersed in Jorg's world as she
read Prince of Thorns. Jorg's acid observations of the world and
its people fit her mood. At eleven, she pulled the afghan off the
back of the couch and stretched out to read. The alarm on her cell
phone went off at seven, and she groaned awake. Her back and
shoulders were stiff from falling asleep on the couch.

After a quick shower, she started to arrange
her hair in an updo, then thought better of it. What difference did
it make? Kyle would wonder what was wrong with her. She grabbed
some toast on the way out of the house and grumbled on her chilly
walk to the greenhouse. The temperatures were climbing, but the air
still felt raw. The snow had melted, forming puddles of water and
lots of mud. She threaded her way around them.