Heirloom Magic: Every Witch Way Read Free

over the years.” Harper let out a
ragged sob, and Mr. Bell paused long enough to pass her a tissue and to slide
over another set of keys—presumably to her grandmother’s most prized possession—a
truck she’d lovingly dubbed Betsy. It was an old-fashioned name, but Betsy was
definitely an old-fashioned girl.
    “I leave you my
ring, which I hope Mr. Bell has already provided to you,” Mr. Bell paused and
nodded, and Harper stared down at the cloudy stone on her finger and cried
harder. “I also leave you my business.” Harper stopped sobbing and looked up at
Mr. Bell in surprise. As far as she knew, her gran didn’t have a business. “You
are a smart, level-headed girl and you deserve to have something more in your
life than to work for those corporate robots in Chicago,” Mr. Bell read out her
grandmother’s words, and despite her pain, Harper chuckled. That sounded just
like Gran!
    Mr. Bell slid over
the last set of keys. There were at least ten keys of varying sizes strung on a
round loop with a keychain depicting a bat flying against the backdrop of a
round yellow moon. Harper picked the set up and stared at it with curiosity.
Some of the keys looked like normal house keys, others were smaller, probably
for locked cupboards of some sort, and the last one was a peculiar black
skeleton key that looked ancient.
    “Your new business
is going to require a steep learning curve, Harps,” Mr. Bell read, and Harper
smiled at her gran’s words coming out of the large lawyer—it was a little bit
eerie. Harps was what her gran had called her for as long as Harper could
remember.
    “What is it?”
Harper interrupted, unable to stand the suspense a moment longer. Her mind was
reeling with curiosity about what kind of business her grandmother had left
her.
    “It is an apothecary
shop located at 4700 Maple Crest Lane,” Mr. Bell informed her, reading the
address off the paper, and Harper blinked in surprise.
    “Apothecary shop?”
she repeated, not sure she’d heard him correctly, but what other word could she
have possibly misunderstood that sounded like the word apothecary? Why on earth
did her gran own one? “I…don’t know what to say,” she told him honestly, and
Mr. Bell nodded sagely.
    “It is a lot to
take in.” He paused and studied her as though examining if she was fit to
continue. “I will need your signature on some paperwork,” he said, passing her
a pen and a stack of papers that had sticky notes where she needed to sign. “Your
gran took care of everything already, all the taxes and such have been paid. As
soon as you sign on the dotted line, you will own everything free and clear,” he
said, nudging the pen into her slack fingers.
    Harper picked up
the pen and her hands started to shake as she began to sign each page, her mind
reeling a mile a minute.
    When she was
finished, Mr. Bell took the papers and filed them away in his desk. “I will
make sure you are sent copies within a day or two,” he promised her as he stood
up and stretched his tall frame. Harper followed his lead and stood as well,
her legs wobbling on her first attempt.
    “I have a couple
more things for you, but they are… private, so I think it’s best if you take
them home with you and examine them there,” Mr. Bell advised as he handed over
a heavy fabric bag.
    “What is this, her
rock collection?” Harper joked, feeling strung out, and Mr. Bell chuckled
slightly…probably out of pity.
    “I can give you a
ride home and you can go through the rest of the stuff there,” he said,
watching quietly as Harper stuffed her many sets of keys into the bag, trying
to balance the strap on her shoulder.
    “Home?” Harper
asked in confusion, her home was thousands of miles away in Chicago.
    “Your new home,”
Mr. Bell amended as he walked her to the door.
    Oh, right , Harper thought, not sure she was up for
spending the night in her gran’s house.
    “Unless you’re
checked into a room already at one of the Bed and