Kindling Flames: Granting Wishes (The Ancient Fire Series Book 5) Read Free Page A

“A leprechaun!”
    Cathren laughed. “Yeah, crazy.”
    “Did he give you his name?” Mitzy asked.
    “Yeah, he gave me a card. Patrick Brogan,” Cathren answered.
    “He owns the haberdashery on Claremont,” Mitzy said, still sounding surprised.
    “Hats and Soles,” Cathren confirmed. “I drove past it just to see if this guy was for real, but I didn’t go in.”
    “You caught yourself a leprechaun.” Mitzy chuckled, leaning against the back of her chair. “How’d you do it?”
    “What?” Cathren asked, confused.
    “How’d you catch him?”
    “Oh, umm…” Cathren had to think about it for a moment. “I grabbed his arm before he could touch the shelf.”
    “And?” Mitzy prompted.
    Cathren didn’t know what else to say. “And, nothing.” She had grabbed him and gotten his arm bloody. “Oh, wait. There was a hole in his sweater, and I might have gotten some blood on him from where I’d cut myself on the shelf.”
    Gripping the back of her chair, Mitzy leaned back and laughed. “Fantastic!” She sat forwards again, smiling. “Blood bound. And did he try to get away?”
    “Ummm, he did tell me to release him.”
    Mischief simmered in Mitzy’s eyes. “And did you?”
    “Of course,” Cathren answered, offended. “But I did warn him not to touch the shelf. Wait.” She paused and looked at Mitzy. “You don’t believe he’s really a leprechaun, do you?”
    The light dancing in Mitzy’s eyes said it all. “Why not?” she said. “Don’t you believe in the fay?”
    Cathren took a moment to think about this. Her grandmother had taught her about lots of things. The old woman still sat a small bowl of milk and bread out on the back porch at night for the brownies, but her mother always insisted it was just the local strays eating the treat. She touched her locket that held the four-leaf clover. “Maybe,” Cathren said softly. She wasn’t sure her grandmother could have made up all the stories she told. Her grandmother had also insisted she wear the charm, claiming that it would protect her from the magic of the fay.
    “Then what’s to say this man isn’t what he claims to be?” Mitzy added. “There’s more out there than you realize.”
    Cathren looked up at the woman sitting across from her. The hair on the back of her neck stood up as she considered the girl. There was suddenly something unusual about her, but when Cathren blinked in disbelief, it was gone. She shook the feeling away before answering. “Should I take him at face value?”
    “I would never take any fay at face value.” Mitzy rested her chin on her arms. “But he did say you caught him. That means he has to grant your wishes.” Mitzy sat up. “You did make wishes, right?”
    “Yes.” Cathren spun the bracelet again. She did that a lot when she thought of Patrick. Somehow, the movement was very soothing.
    “Were they good?” Mitzy grinned.
    Cathren blushed. “They were kind of vague,” she admitted.
    Mitzy held up an eyebrow waiting.
    “True love, happiness, and waffles.”
    Mitzy threw her head back and laughed. “That should keep him entertained for a while,” she said once she finished wiping the tears from her eyes.
    “That’s what he said,” Cathren said glumly.
    Mitzy reached over and patted her on the hand. “Don’t worry.” She smiled. “The fay love a good challenge.”
    “You say that like they’re real.”
    “Real or not, you should be happy.” Mitzy’s smile widened. “If I’m remembering him correctly, you have a really hot guy whose sole purpose in life is to find you true love and happiness.”
    Cathren grinned. “And waffles.”
    “And waffles.” Mitzy laughed. “How hard can that be?”
    “He brought me Eggos.”
    “Oh.” Mitzy’s face fell slightly. “You didn’t let that slide, did you?”
    Cathren laughed. “Of course not.”
    “Good, and don’t let him half-ass the true love and happiness thing either,” Mitzy said pointedly. “If it’s not true and