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She smiled, then waved me toward the door. "And tell her to drink her tea."

"That's actually my next stop."

"Of course it is."

Outside, The Crooked Mile buzzed with the lazy contentment that always followed Frankenfest. A little troll child chased glowing soap bubbles drifting between storefronts. A dragon carefully folded his wings before squeezing through the doorway of the hardware store. Someone across the street was already replacing a window cracked by what I suspected had been an overenthusiastic broom race.

Life in Screaming Woods. Still wonderfully weird.

I wandered into the Hearth & Hollow, the little apothecary smelling of dried herbs, cedar, and something sweet I could never quite identify.

Mags glanced up from behind the counter before I even reached it. "Lungwort, elderflower, peppermint, and honey."

I blinked. "I haven't said anything yet."

"You were carrying Melinda's scone bag."

"Oh."

"And yesterday you mentioned Mrs. Wilton sounded congested."

She reached beneath the counter and produced a neatly wrapped bundle of herbs. "I figured you'd be stopping by."

"I swear you might actually be psychic."

She smiled. "I'm just old."

"I don't believe that for a second."

She slipped the little bundle into my basket before adding a jar of amber honey. "From my own hives."

"Mags..."

"Don't." She fixed me with the same look every grandmother in existence somehow perfected. "I've already decided."

I sighed. "I really was going to pay today."

"I know." She patted my hand. "That's why I didn't give you the chance."

Honestly, this town was impossible.

I laughed. "Am I really that predictable?"

"You've worked at Maple Grove for six years." She handed me the loaf. "You check on every lonely soul in town."

"Mrs. Wilton isn't lonely."

"No." Her smile softened. "But she's lucky."

Heat crept into my cheeks. "I just like helping."

"We know."

Mags busied herself straightening a basket of dried lavender, though I caught the tiny crease between her brows. "You headed through the woods?"

"I am."

She hesitated just long enough for me to notice. "Keep your eyes open today."