Curse of the Wickeds (The Cinderella Society, Episode 2) by Kay Cassidy Page B

Mom’s ever-growing—excuse the pun—need for my baby prep services while Dad crisscrossed the country on business.
    But I’d find a way. I always did.

Chapter Seventeen

    “Can you wait the counter while I take these boxes to the back?”
    “No problem, Nan.” I slid the duster into the basket under the cash register and plopped down on the stool as the bell above the door to Mosaic jingled.
    An older guy came in, holding a small black notebook in his hand. “Is Rosemary around?”
    “She’s in the stockroom. Do you need me to—?”
    “In here, Stan.” Nan stuck her arm out the door and waved him back, her thin metal bracelets jangling.
    With Nan in the back and no sign of Heather, my mind wandered to its usual place. Welcome to the land of Ryan. I knew I shouldn’t get my hopes up, but I wanted Ryan to be at the banner party. It would be the first time we’d be together with our friends since we’d started dating. And I could say that now. I was dating Ryan Steele. In fact, I could say it over and over and never get bored.
    I was dating Ryan Steele.
    I was dating Ryan Steele .
    As much as it gave me a case of the golden giddies just thinking about that fact, I wasn’t sure if it qualified me as his girlfriend. We hadn’t talked exclusivity or anything. But our late-night chat left me feeling like he wasn’t interested in dating anyone else, so that had to be a good sign.
    My butterflies gave a cheer.
    “I haven’t heard anything,” Nan said as she and Stan came out of the stockroom a few minutes later, “but I’d rather you leave that business to the police and write something positive for a change.”
    “Reporting the news is my job, Rosemary. Not all news is rosy.” Stan rolled his eyes at me as if to say, Women . Like I wasn’t one of them.
    “More of it is than you print. Look at the boy Jessica is dating.”
    “Nan!” Please don’t print that I’m Ryan’s girlfriend!
    Nan gave me a startled look. “It’s a prime example of what I’m talking about. Jessica’s date last night saved a little boy from being run over in the street. But did that make the front page?”
    “At the amusement park?” He shrugged. “We ran that one, but the rescuer wasn’t identified. You know him?”
    “Ryan Steele,” Nan said. “His mother, Elizabeth, was killed at the corner of Green and Main a few years back.”
    “Sure. I know the Steeles. Ryan’s the quarterback over at the high school.” Stan turned to me, suddenly interested. “You’re his girlfriend?”
    “We’re just friends,” I clarified, nailing Nan with a glare. “But Nan’s right about last night. It was at the Fun Zone.”  
    I relayed the story as I remembered it. It still stung that I hadn’t been able to get Ryan to feel good about what he’d done. Shouldn’t he trust my opinion more? If enough other people supported him, maybe he’d finally accept that it was okay to be a hero. The world needed more guys like Ryan Steele.
    “Sounds like a good kid,” Stan said, his pen scribbling on the pad. “Anything else I should know?”
    I scrunched up my nose at him, even though I knew it was rude (and not very flattering). “Isn’t that enough?”
    He looked at Nan and laughed. “Like grandmother, like granddaughter.” He flapped his pad at us. “Thanks for the tip, ladies. You let me know if you hear anything about the shoplifting ring.”
    Nan patted my shoulder as he left. “Some people need to be trained to see the good that’s around them. You remember that, Jessica. All it takes is a little redirecting of their energy and”—she snapped her fingers—“magic.”
    I thought of Ryan.
    Magic.

Chapter Eighteen

    With Nan back out on the floor, I excused myself to finish dusting and take out the trash. I’d just tied the bag and dragged it to the back door along with the broken-down boxes for recycling when I heard a scuffle outside.
    I looked through the peephole Nan had installed for safety and saw Lexy, Tina,