I stood up, desperate for some kind of distraction. I remembered that I’d planned to head over to the shop and put the final finishing touches on it before opening on the weekend. The meeting with Sheriff Dane and Jo had driven the thought completely from my mind.

“I’m going to the shop. Want to come?”

Jade leapt lithely up onto the small table in the front entry where I kept my keys.

I suppose. It’s not like I have anything better to do.

The cat followed me as I walked down the sidewalk to the shop, her soft paws making no sound on the pavement.

I see you’ve learned some magic.

“Yes. Only a little bit.”

The protection around the house is strong.

I grimaced, thinking of the unprotected basement. I made a mental note to reinforce the spell when I got home. “Not strong enough, apparently. I forgot to include the basement in my protection, and someone broke in last night.”

Jade gave one short, sharp meow.

Who?

“I don’t know. They were gone by the time I got downstairs to investigate.”

Jade stayed silent the rest of the way to the shop. Her words bothered me more than I wanted to admit. I wondered vaguely if it was a bad idea to concentrate on the shop just now, but it was broad daylight. If I wanted to be able to eat, I had to get the shop running.

The bell over the door rang as I slipped inside, holding it open long enough for Jade to come through.

A sense of calm settled over me as I surveyed the shop. It felt good to have something to occupy my mind.

The shelves were fairly well-stocked, but some items were running low. I made a note of them and put in an order to replenish the stock. I also ordered a few other things that Grandma hadn’t sold in the shop, like essential oils, diffusers, face masks, and bath beads.

Next, I turned my attention to the rafters. I felt a stab of guilt as I grabbed the duster that I’d forgotten to take back to Maria. In fact, I hadn’t even written her a thank you note for the basket of goodies. I decided to finish the dusting, then take it directly over to her.

Just as I finished, the bell over the door rang. I looked down from my position on the ladder to see a tall, angular man entering the shop. He looked up at me, giving a dimply smile.

“Are you Sage?”

I smiled back. “Yeah. Can I help you?”

He extended his hand as I stepped down from the ladder. I gave it a firm shake.

“I’m Tim. My wife is Maria. She said you guys met the other day. She sent me over to see if she could get her duster back.”

“Yes, I’m so sorry! I finally got time to use it. Let me clean it up a bit, and I’ll bring it back.”

He gave an amiable shrug. “It’s all right. She only thought about it because she does the dusting every Thursday and realized she didn’t have it.”

I gave a wave of acknowledgement before bustling through the swinging doors leading to the back. I clawed the clumps of dust from the duster with sharp, rapid movements. I offered it to him when I came back out to the front, handle first, and he took it.

“Here you go. Please tell her thank you so much for her patience and for the basket of goodies.”

He gave a cheeky wink. “I sure will. Maria is a fantastic baker, isn’t she? She mentioned that your last name is Black, that we might be related.”

“Possibly. It sounds like we both have roots here.”

Tim’s expression grew shrewd. “The Blacks did a lot more than just have roots here. Even just fifty years ago, they had a finger in every type of industry in Woods Crossing. Someone in almost every generation of the Black family has been a mayor or other prominent figure here.”

I bit my lip, unsure of what to say. “That’s pretty neat. I didn’t realize the family used to be so influential.”

The chuckle he responded with sounded dry and brittle. “Oh, they were. Over the years, there’s been a lot of political maneuvering for position from other prominent families in the area. It’s about time the Blacks established themselves again. It’s part of the reason I moved back here.”

Again, I found myself at a loss for words. “Wow. I didn’t think things like that happened in small towns.”

He held his hands up, then let them fall. “You’d be surprised. Sometimes local leaders hold more sway than state or national leaders. They have a more direct impact over the people in their sphere of influence.”

I frowned as a thought occurred to me. “I thought Maria said your last name was Merrick. How are you related to the Blacks?”

An odd flash of discomfort crossed Tim’s face, melting away as quickly as it had come.

“My mother wanted her children to take her name. The Blacks, like any other important family, have skeletons in their closet, which can cause bad first impressions. Let’s just say it was ah…easier to use the name Merrick.”

I blinked a few times, not sure I was following what he was saying.

“Um…is there anything else I can do for you?”

He shook his head, glancing down at his watch. “I should get going. I’m working from home today, and I’ve got a meeting in ten minutes. I’ll relay your message to Maria.”

With that, he strode briskly from the shop. A slow breath escaped me as I walked slowly to the back of the shop.

I wasn’t sure what to think about Tim. He’d seemed friendly enough, if a little obsessed with the Black Family’s position in town. It was far easier to talk to and relate to Maria.

Again, there had been mention of feuding between families in Woods Crossing, though. Tim made it sound like the majority of the fighting had to do with political posturing, but had there been more to it?

There must be. Politics could certainly divide people, but I didn’t quite believe that fighting over mayorship of a tiny town was the only reason for a decades long feud.

I’d heard of famous family feuds, like the whole Hatfield/McCoy thing in Kentucky, but I never thought I’d run into something like that in my own life. Who hated the Black family so much? Why had they worked so hard to get every last member of the Black family out of Woods Crossing?

I strained to remember the other names Theresa had mentioned. She’d talked about her own family. What had the sheriff said her last name was? Flower? Firthright? She had two surnames, just like me. She’d talked about my mother’s family, the Lightwoods, and another family whose name I couldn’t remember.

A soft snore distracted me from my thoughts. I looked over to see Jade sleeping on the countertop, her black and gray back rising and falling with her breaths. Again, I had to resist the urge to reach out and pet her.

She opened one eye, looking at me directly.

“Good morning,” I teased. Jade stood up, stretched her front legs in front of her and gave a massive yawn.

I see that guy finally left. Good riddance.

I frowned.