magical cures 06.5 - a charming christmas by tonya kappes Read Free Book Online Page A

the shop around lunch and I’ll have it all fixed up for you.” I patted her on the back and she shuffled off in the direction of her sister.
    “What did I miss?” Faith Mortimer shoved past the crowd with her pen and paper in her gloved hands, ready for the scoop. Her long blond hair was tucked under a cobalt blue knit cap, making her onyx eyes pop.
    “Colton is trying to calm Arabella down, but it’s not working.” Chandra moseyed up, pulling her hunter green cloak tight to her body. Her fingernails were red with little green Christmas trees painted on them, replacing her normal gold stars.
    Mr. Prince Charming darted up to the crowd, finding his way around Chandra’s feet. She bent down and picked him up, flipping his paw over, rubbing the pad of her thumb over it.
    “Are his little paws cold?” I asked wondering if I needed to pick him up some cat shoes for the snow from Glorybee, plus it would give me an opportunity to talk to Petunia.
    Misery loved company and according to Amethyst and Gerald, she was as miserable as I was in terms of love.
    “No.” Chandra’s eyes shifted and took a look at his other paw.
    “Are you trying to read his paws?” I grabbed my fairy-god cat away from her.
    “Well, it’s known that cats love to destroy Christmas decorations.” Her brow cocked.
    “Are you accusing Mr. Prince Charming of creating this chaos?” My mouth dropped at her accusations. Mr. Prince Charming was not a destroyer. “I’m going to work.”
    I looked around at our friends who had gathered around. Chandra’s words stung me. Maybe I was just overly sensitive because of what was going on with Oscar, but still, it hurt.
    “I’m just covering all the bases,” Chandra called after me as I walked off.
    Arabella was still chanting, Colton was rubbing his head not sure what to do, and I noticed Glorybee’s lights were on. I still had about twenty minutes until the shop was supposed to open and I hadn’t heard from Oscar.
    A tear fell down my cheek. I wished I could say my eyes were watering due to the bitter cold and wind, but I knew better. It was a knee-jerk reaction from my heart.
    I tried to focus on the puppies in the window as they played with red and white striped balls and nibbled on each other, but the tears began to flow more.
    Lightly I tapped on the window, trying to get Petunia’s attention from the back of the shop. The puppies got excited and bounced over to the window, planting their front paws on the glass, propping themselves up on their hind legs. Petunia rushed over and opened the door, waving me in so the cold weather wouldn’t sweep past me.
    “June?” she asked as though she was trying to put some pieces together. “What is wrong?” She took Mr. Prince Charming from my arms and rubbed him.
    Meow, meow . Mr. Prince Charming jumped down and ran over to the live tree in the back of her store. He loved climbing the tree and perching on one of the branches with the other animals that lived there.
    The hedgehog scurried across the grassy bottom of the tree getting clear of Mr. Prince Charming.
    “Everything.” I sucked in a deep breath trying to get a handle on my feelings.
    “It’s this Christmas bazaar that is making everyone crazy! Crazy!” She stomped her feet. A twig fell out of her brown up-do. “I tried to tell everyone at the council meeting to only do the bazaar one day. Not the entire month. But no.” She shook her head, causing more twigs and leaves to fall out. “The economy would do so much better if we did it for a month,” she mocked what someone had said.
    She pulled a container full of brushes from the counter and popped a squat on the floor. I sat down next to her. Hooves ticked across the floor, birds flew overhead and other animals lined up next to us. They loved for Petunia to brush them; something she did every morning before she opened and every night.
    “I had heard the economy had taken a dip, but I had no idea it was that bad.” For a second I