A Taste of Magic by Tracy Madison Read Free Book Online Page A

been happening dashed through my head. You know, the glowing and the buzzing and the static electricity. Then, my mind centered on the birthday card from my grandmother and the message that I swear had sparkled. What had it said? Something about believing in magic … or something about it being the time for magic? I wasn’t sure. Not exactly. But then, I thought of the last thing Grandma Verda said to me in the living room at my parents’ house right before going on her date.
    “Have fun, but be careful,” I murmured, repeating it.
    Next, the magic moments from childhood tumbled into my memory. Grandma Verda had been in the center of every unexplained incident.
    My heart rate jumped a zillion notches as the unbelievable, the entirely ridiculous yet somehow right pieces floated together. “Crap. No way.” Had I somehow caused this to happen?
    “What? You’re white as a ghost. Drink some water.” Maddie offered me my glass, but I shooed it away.
    “Tiffany’s pregnant,” I mumbled.
    “Oh, honey. Why did Alice tell you that?”
    “And Marc … he couldn’t—”
    “Marc couldn’t? What’s going on?”
    I cycled through the conversation again. “I have to find her. Now.” Standing up, I shoved my cell phone into my purse and snatched my jacket.
    “Who? What? Where are you going? You’re too upset, sit back down.”
    A new thought occurred to me: Oh, no. The muffins . Nate . What had I said? I closed my eyes, trying to think. I didn’t recall the words, but I did remember my mood, the want, the desire. Any semblance of calmness I may have had skittered away. Bam. Gone.
    “I have to go, Maddie. I’ll explain later.” Not waiting for a response, I left the deli, the cold air biting my skin, and aimed toward A Taste of Magic. I needed to see my grandma’s card again—it was still on my desk. I had to ask Jon to handle the afternoon business, and then I had to search the entire Chicago area for a crazy old lady who believed in magic.
    “Grandma Verda, what have you done?”
    I was an emotional woman with practical beliefs. But somehow, somewhere inside, a click had fallen squarely into place. It didn’t matter if the click made sense (it didn’t), because I knew some freaky stuff was going on. Either I was the loony one or Grandma Verda had cast some sort of a spell on me.

Chapter Four
    I rested my chin on my steering wheel and stared at Grandma Verda’s Shady Pines condominium. Not only was my grandmother absent, but there weren’t any shady pine trees, either. This, I guessed, was an example of marketing. Make something sound more attractive than it is and someone will buy into it.
    My stomach rumbled, a not so gentle reminder that it was almost dinner time. I’d left A Taste of Magic almost four hours ago and headed straight to Grandma’s, only she wasn’t home. When I called my parents and siblings to see if they knew where she was, no dice.
    Unclenching my hands, I flexed my fingers to try to work out my nerves. This was crazy. Even if my imaginings from earlier were right on, waiting around wasn’t giving me any answers. I fastened my seatbelt and headed out. Surely she’d be home later. I’d try calling. Until then, I pushed the questions away.
    Keys in hand (no more window climbing for me), I unlocked the door to my building, stopped to grab the mail, and beelined it for my apartment. A bright yellow Post-it was stuck to my door. Written in a nearly illegible scrawl were directions to go to Nate’s place.
    A shiver rolled down my spine. Interesting, but also a little unexpected, especially after my weird day. What did he want? And … what if it had something to do with magic-spiked muffins? Could he arrest me for that? If he could, would it be considered a crime of passion?
    I laughed. This must be what losing your mind felt like. I looked at the Post-it again and another shiver hit me. Who knew paper could be so alarming? Ripping it off, I marched to Nate’s and knocked on the door.