“I love that there’s a new witch in town,” a smaller, older woman said as she bustled through the door. “And you can tell that every single thing made here is done with love, precision, and maybe a little extra something.” The older woman winked as she said it and then went to the front counter where my new and only staff member, Sabrina, worked at the register.
“I’m not…. What was she saying?” I asked, swallowing hard.
Rowen reached out and gripped my hand. “It’s okay. You’re a witch. Of course, you’re going to infuse some of who you are into your baked goods. Especially when you work with the liquid part of baking since you have an affinity for water.”
I bit my lip and looked down at my hands. My tattoos pulsed, reminding me of who I was. “Am I hurting people?”
“No, I would let you know if I felt anything off. I only feel a part of who you are. You are a wonderful baker and a warm and loving person. And this place is a testament to that. They’re here today to check you out because we’re curious, and we want to know who you’re going to be in Ravenwood.”
I shook my head. “I don’t even know who I’m going to be in the next moment. I can’t keep up.”
“I don’t think you’re supposed to right now,” she said softly. “You’re a baker. You infuse some of your magic into your goods. Not on purpose, but maybe simply what you’re feeling at the moment.”
“That’s not good. It’ll probably be all anxiety and me wanting to throw up.”
Rowen grinned. “I don’t think you can make anxiety rolls. More the welcoming feeling that you have when you think of your aunt.” Her hands went to the French bread. “Here, it feels as if you were thinking about a certain someone.” She winked and walked over to the honey buns. “And I know who you were thinking about when you baked these. Whoever eats these is going to be very happy later.”
I blushed and shook my head. “I don’t know what you’re talking about.”
“I think you do. But I won’t pry. Yet. Though I know you probably have a few questions.” She raised a brow. Thankfully, before I could say anything or she could continue, another townsperson came up and asked about a special-order cake for a birthday. I smiled and nodded and took some notes. I already had a pricing list in mind, but I’d never thought things would happen so quickly.
“You have to charge more than this,” the older woman said. “We may be a small town, but we pay for what things are worth.”
I smiled softly. “I’m only starting. And I am pricing decently high and for what I’m worth. I don’t want to price out of the market, though.”
“Thank you for that. But I expect you to raise your prices soon.” She smiled. “You are a master at what you do, and you need to know your worth.”
I shook my head. “I do know my worth.”
The other woman left, and I looked over at Rowen. “I’m doing this, then? For real? Putting magic into my baked goods?”
Rowen threw her head back and laughed. “This is Ravenwood, Sage. You don’t need to whisper about magic. Everyone in this room right now knows who you are and what you and the rest of us can do.”
The people milling about looking at bread and eating honey buns grinned and waved.
“I don’t know how that’s possible because I don’t even know who I am or what I can do.”
Rowen smiled. “Touché.”
“Are you badgering her again?” Laurel asked as she walked up to a neat pile of brownies. “And I think I found my new lover,” she said, cooing over the sweets. “These are all individually wrapped, but how much for the lot of them?” she asked, rubbing her hands together.
I snorted. “You do not need an entire plate of fudge brownies with a caramel center. You are going to end up sick.”
“But I’ll be sick in bliss. Look at these—hello, my darlings. Come to me. Love me.”
“Are you crooning to brownies like you would a lover?” Rowen asked.
“I don’t think I’m this sweet to my lovers,” Laurel said, and Trace cleared his throat behind her. She blushed and then waved him off. “Oh, shush.”
“I wasn’t going to say anything, but those brownies do look good. However, are those honey buns?” the big bear asked as he walked forward, his gaze intense.
I laughed, and it felt like home. Why did it feel like I had always been here?
“I can’t read your thoughts—I’m not that type of witch. But I can see them written on your face.”
I looked at Rowen. “What?”
“You are home. Deep inside, you’ve always known who you are and who you could be. You might still be figuring it all out. So are we. But a part of you, some part of you will forever feel as if you’ve always been here. You fit in Ravenwood. And I know there are forces out there that make things difficult. Things we’ll have to deal with. But you’re also home. I hope you realize that.”
“I was thinking that. Maybe you do read minds.”
“No, but I feel that in the few weeks I’ve known you, I’m starting to understand what you’re thinking.”
“I’ve been suppressing everything all this time?”
“I don’t know. You could have been. Or maybe it took walking into Ravenwood for you to understand. We may never know. However, you are home. And everyone seems to love your baked goods. You have a gift.” She gripped both of my hands as Laurel grinned behind her.
“A true gift.”
I smiled, looking at everything and everyone around me.
The hairs on the back of my neck stood on end suddenly, and I looked over to the doorway, wondering why I had been waiting all this time for someone else to walk through that door. Rowen gave me a knowing smile, but I didn’t focus on that. Instead, I tuned into the man in the doorway. The one I shouldn’t focus on.
“That’s interesting,” Laurel said as Trace tugged her away. Rowen merely grinned before walking towards a group of older women as they all spoke about my bread and sweets.
Rome moved forward, his gaze on mine as if he were afraid of what I might do. I didn’t know what I would do, so I didn’t blame him.
He came to stand in front of me and stuck his hands into his pockets. “Looks like the place is doing well.” He studied the area, a small smile on his face.
“Maybe. I mean, yes, everyone’s been so amazing. I’m almost out of bread.”
“That would be horrible,” he said. “I hear you have honey buns.”
I smiled and gestured towards the stack. “I do. And I also have honey bread.”
Trace’s head shot up. “Honey bread?”
He let out an oof as Laurel elbowed him in the stomach. “Come on. You have enough honey.”
“One can never have enough honey,” he grumbled before he let Laurel pull him away.
I blushed and shook my head. “I made this honey white loaf, mostly because Rowen and Laurel said that I needed to make a lot of honey things for the bears in town.” I still couldn’t quite believe that I was saying these things aloud and that they made sense, but I was doing my best to roll with it.