That sounded simple enough. Sarah had seen Ava’s teas do much, much more. “And?”
“He tried her tea a few days ago, and it didn’t make him more creative at all. Instead, the tea made him blurt out his feelings. And he couldn’t stop.” Kat leaned closer, her eyes wide. “Sarah, he talked for two days and nights.”
“Noooo!”
“Oh yes. He talked so much he lost his voice. Ellen finally drove him to Doc Bolton, who had to give the poor guy a muscle relaxer just so he could shut up.”
“Poor Jon! And poor Ava too.” Sarah thought of how pale her sister had been at lunch. It wasn’t just tiredness. She is worried to death. “What other tea was messed up?”
“Just before lunch today, Jessica Long brought back her tea. Ava’s been making Jess the same tea for years now to help her deal with her anxiety, and it’s always worked perfectly. She only drinks a cup when she’s stressed out, so Jess hadn’t had any from the new batch until this past Saturday.”
“And?”
“When she got out of the shower, Jess found herself staring at her own reflection in her bathroom mirror and she couldn’t stop. She ended up stuck there, unable to move for hours. Fortunately, her mom keeps pretty close tabs on her and knew something was wrong when her phone kept going to voice mail. When Jess didn’t answer her door, Mrs. Long climbed in through the kitchen window and saw what was happening. She had to throw a blanket over Jess’s head just to get her away from her mirror.”
“That’s… I don’t even know what to say. Are Jon and Jess okay now?”
“Sort of. Jon is staying away from Ellen for now. His voice isn’t quite back to normal, but it’s better. Plus, now that he hasn’t had Ava’s tea for a few days, the impulse to tell Ellen his feelings has lessened. Jess felt fine after she stopped looking in the mirror. She even went on to work, although once she got there, she was near useless because she couldn’t stop staring at her reflection in the coffeepot. They finally sent her home. She’s probably there now. But, like Jon, since it’s been a few days since she had the tea, she’s getting better as time passes.”
“Sheesh. Ava’s never had anything like this happen before. Kat, what are we going to do? Ava’s reputation will be in shambles. All our reputations will be in shambles.”
“We just have to hope that Ava can fix whatever is wrong with her teas. And the sooner the better.”
Sarah thought about Ava’s exhausted expression at lunch. “I’ve got to talk to her. She said she was heading up to her greenhouses for the afternoon. Now I know why.” Sarah stood and reached for her phone. “I’ll text Grace and see if she can work the desk for an hour or so while I go see Ava.” Grace Wheeler was the new mayor of Dove Pond and was both Sarah’s best friend and next-door neighbor.
“Grace can do that? Just come and work here in the library?”
“She’s the mayor. She can do anything she wants.”
Kat had to smile. “I wouldn’t tell her that. She’s bossy enough as it is.”
“I won’t.” Sarah texted Grace, and the answer came back almost instantly. “She’s on her way.”
Five minutes later, Sarah and Kat were hurrying up the sidewalk to Kat’s white Audi roadster, which was parked in front of Paw Printz.
As they neared it, the door to the pet store swung open.
Kat stopped and spun to face Sarah. “Don’t look.”
Sarah came to an abrupt halt, confused. “What—”
“Just don’t look,” Kat hissed.
“Don’t look at wha—”
Town sheriff Blake McIntyre sauntered out of the pet store and across the street, a bag of cat food tucked under one arm.
Sarah’s breath caught in her throat, and her knees grew wobbly.
Kat said firmly, “Look. Away.”
But it was too late. Sarah was already looking. And whenever she looked at Blake, she reacted.
Most of the time, Sarah considered herself a mature, capable, independent woman. Although Ava paid most of their housing costs, Sarah had her own job, paid her own bills, and drove her double-cab pickup truck like a boss. She’d been doing all of that since she graduated high school, too. But there was one thing that made her fall apart at the seams. He was six foot one, with light-brown hair and green eyes, and looked downright edible in his sheriff’s uniform.
And right now, he was walking toward his office, striding along without a care in the world while she watched him, aching to say something brilliant, or fascinating, or—
“For the love of heaven!” Kat slipped her arm through Sarah’s and dragged her the final steps to the Audi. “Come on!”
Sarah knew she should look away from Blake. Back in high school, she and Blake had had a strange on-again, off-again relationship. Although, technically, their relationship had never been fully “on.” Instead, she’d liked him when he hadn’t liked her and then vice versa. They’d done that strange back-and-forth for several years until, in high school, The Incident had happened.
Just thinking about it now made Sarah slightly sick to her stomach. For her own mental health, she should forget about The Incident and Blake and never think of either of them again. She knew that, but the second she saw him, her mind went into overdrive, and she couldn’t seem to remember anything except how desperately she wanted him to like her.
Kat unlocked her car and practically shoved Sarah into the seat. Then Kat reached into the back seat, grabbed a ball cap, and slapped it on Sarah’s head.
The brim obscured Sarah’s vision, and Blake was mercifully out of sight.
Sarah put her hands over her hot face and moaned. “Why, oh why do I do that?”
“I have no idea.” Kat shot Sarah an exasperated look. “But you need to figure it out. I’ve never seen anyone so determined to make a fool of themselves around a man.”
“I can’t help it. He’s just there, and then I start thinking, or maybe I stop thinking— Sheesh, I don’t know, but it’s been like this since I was fourteen.”
Kat started her car and pulled out of her parking spot. “Maybe one of your books will tell you what’s going on.”
“I’ve asked and none of them know.” Sarah slid down in her seat and tugged her ball cap lower, glad they were driving in the opposite direction, away from Blake. She didn’t have time for this nonsense; she needed to focus on helping Ava. That was what was really important. “I wish Momma was still here. She always knew how to find answers, no matter what problems we had.”
Kat turned the car onto Maple Street. “I’m just glad none of Ava’s teas seem to have caused permanent damage.”
“Ava makes them super weak, so they’ll only work for a short time. She says people should be able to decide from day to day how they want to feel.”
“She’s as smart as your momma. I’d hate to think what would have happened if her teas didn’t wear off. Erma, Jon, and Jess would be royally screwed.”
Sarah agreed. They drove on in silence for a few moments and soon Kat turned the car down the long street that led to Ava’s greenhouses. Hang on, Ava, thought Sarah. We’ll be there soon. We’ll figure out what’s going on with your teas and find an answer. I promise.