“What bad news?” Pie asks.
“That’s what I was trying to say. And part of the reason your hot sheriff won’t be taking your place any time soon.”
Her face contorts into a look of pure confusion. “What are you talking about?”
“You see… the money? It’s not free.”
“What do you mean it’s not free? You literally told me it was all free. And I used paper to pay for everything.”
“Right. Buuut… the universe keeps accounts.”
“Accounts?” She goes pale white.
“It keeps track of what you spend. So I hope you didn’t spend too much today.”
We both look at the back seat of the Jeep. It’s piled high with shopping bags. And most of them are not groceries. They are from the cute boutiques on Main Street. She bought clothes, and shoes, and shit from that overpriced candle shop.
“But…” She’s at a loss for words. I like this side of her. “But my tires.”
We get out and look at her tires. “They look new,” I say.
She bites her lip.
“New rims too, Pie?”
“What was I supposed to do? Those tires were bald! I needed them. For you!” She points at me. “For your stupid errands!”
“Mmm-hmm. I needed rims?”
“OK, OK, OK,” Tomas says from the back gate. “We can work this all out later. Let’s get the food inside.”
Pie is happy to defer this conversation until later, but later isn’t going to help her. She spent a lot today. And perhaps I should’ve warned her that everything she spends she will need to pay back, but fuck it. Every other slave caretaker, when told about the free money, asked what the catch was.
Every one of them but her.
She is like a small child.
She needs rules, and clear expectations, and there need to be consequences when she fucks up. Like this. This is a fuck-up. One I don’t care much about because it’s not my debt. I won’t need to pay it back. And anyway, I’ll be the one benefiting from this debt in the long run.
But she is apt to make other mistakes. Mistakes that will affect me.
Like this date with the sheriff?
No. That’s not happening for many reasons.
First and foremost, she is mine. Not his. So if any dating happens around here, it will benefit me. Second, if he really is part of the bloodline, then he needs to stay far away from Saint Mark’s. I cannot have the sheriff of Granite Springs as a slave caretaker. Third, I don’t like the look of him. He’s far too… well, everything about him is far too much.
She will not be dating the sheriff.
“Hello?” Tomas calls. “Let’s get this show on the road.”
I nod down at Pie. Her mouth is still open in shock and I think she’s calculating up the price of all her goodies in the back of her Jeep. “What if I return them?” She looks up at me, hopeful. “Will that help?”
“Nope. It’s a done deal. Once you hand the paper over, the debt is yours. Might as well keep the stuff. You paid for it. Now, bring in all the groceries and put them in your pantry. We’ll be taking breakfast in your cottage from now on.”
“What? Why?” She looks annoyed.
“Because you’re not going to use Grant’s spells. That’s why. I’m sure they’ll wear off in a decade or two. But until then—”
“Decade or two?” Pie scoffs. “Oh, fuck that. I will not be here for another two days, let alone another two decades.”
“That’s amazing,” I deadpan. “I look forward to your imminent curse-breaking.”
“Dick,” she mutters.
“Put the groceries away in your cottage and meet me up in the pleasure room in half an hour.”
“What? What pleasure room?”
I walk past her, push past Tomas at the gate, and call over my shoulder, “You’re about to find out how you work that debt off, sugar Pie.”
She sputters and gasps and Tomas does his best to soothe her. But soon, they are out of earshot and her whining fades. And as I make my way up the hill, and the cathedral comes into full view, I realize I feel pretty good today. Maybe it was the drive? It’s been a while since I drove. Or maybe it’s the scenery. The lake property in back of the sanctuary walls is amazing in the autumn.
Or maybe… maybe it’s the fact that I’ve got her now.
She can protest all she wants. And it’s possible she was right about that in-between time before she put on the ring and she did have a way out that didn’t involve me or my curse. Anything is possible. That’s something I’ve come to accept. But it’s too late now. Not only did she put the ring on, she also took on some debt.
That’s what I want to check before she comes back up the hill.
I need to know how deep of a hole she’s dug so I know how far I can push her.