Page 6 of The Tea Witch’s Secret

I shook my head. "I can't, I'm busy. I have a meeting with the person in charge of getting our house ready, I still need to give instructions to Pepper about food, and I'm going to see if Max needs anything."

"Don't forget to take a break," Eva said as she moved back to her desk. "We're going to be at Purple Oak for a while, we have time to figure it all out."

That was easy for her to say but it was my job to work on these things so that she didn't have to. And I had to uphold my role in our family unit, or I had no part in it. That was what my mother had always told me, and my aunt and uncle too. I wasn't going to let them down, and I definitely wasn't going to let Eva and Max down either.

Chapter 5

Lian

I knew it was rude to stare, but Pepper looked different in the afternoon than in the early morning. Her hair was no longer as neat, and there were new stains on her apron. She also smiled differently. Wider.

I had no idea what that meant though, so I just ignored it and focused on my notes. "Eva has a sweet tooth and loves fruit. Apples are her favourite, and she loves them in every form. Fresh, dried, pureed, candied, juiced⁠—"

Pepper chuckled and leaned down over her own notebook. "I'll just write down all for apple."

I nodded. That was probably more efficient than me listing them all. "She does not like carrots, though. She'll eat them if they're hidden in something, so either incorporate them in that way or avoid them."

Pepper gave me a thoughtful look. "What about carrot cake?"

"It's the only cake she doesn't like."

Pepper's laughter filled the kitchen. "Good to know."

I flipped the page. "Max's preferences are a lot easier to remember. He'll eat anything except for mushrooms."

"No mushrooms," Pepper repeated, for some reason sounding amused.

"No, no mushrooms for Max. Eva adores mushrooms so it would be a shame if she couldn't have them," I said. I knew this was probably unnecessarily fussy, but that was why I was asking. It didn't matter if Pepper grew frustrated with me, it was more important that Eva and Max had meals they enjoyed.

If Pepper was irritated, she didn't show it. Or I simply didn't know what an irritated Pepper looked like. It didn't really matter either way, I was going to make my requests whether she liked it or not.

"Got it. No carrots for Eva, but mushrooms are good. No mushrooms for Max, but carrots are fine," she summarised.

"Yes," I said.

"Anything else?"

"Not too much milk, cheese, or cream. Anything made with cow's milk, really," I said, not sure if it was going to be a problem here. The last town we were in had a lot of cows and pastures, but I hadn't seen any around Purple Oak yet. Then again, I hadn't done much looking around yet, and Pepper had said that there were a lot of wards here.

"How about goat or sheep's milk?" Pepper checked.

"Those are fine. Cow's milk doesn't really agree with us," I said, touching my stomach in disappointment.

Pepper let out a sigh. "I wish I'd known this sooner. Then I wouldn't have sent up the clotted cream with the scones. I apologise."

My eyes widened as I realised she might think that I was complaining. "There is nothing to apologise for. Eva was very pleased with the scones and the cream. It's not that she doesn't like it, it's that it's tough on our digestion. It's better if we don't eat too much of it, so don't let Eva tell you otherwise. She would eat a block of cheese if she could." I'd seen her do it once, and then witnessed the effects for the entire next day.

That made Pepper chuckle even if I hadn't said anything funny. "Good to know. I'll note it down to keep the cheese locked away."

"Eva isn't going to steal your cheese," I said quickly, worried I might've given the wrong impression about my cousin.

"I was making a joke," Pepper responded, still smiling, but it didn't seem like she was making fun of me. Just a harmless joke.

"Do you have any fermented foods around?" I asked, moving on to my next request.

"Beer. Does that count?" Pepper replied, her eyes sparkling.

"Is that also a joke?" I checked.