Elf Wood: Midsummer Magic 1 | 🔮 𝐂𝐎𝐌𝐏𝐋𝐄𝐓𝐄 ✓

𝐂𝐡𝐚𝐩𝐭𝐞𝐫 𝐓𝐡𝐫𝐞𝐞

Danielle called Mr. Baldwin to tell him she decided that she was happy to comply with her Great-Aunt's last wishes.

It was an odd conversation, to say the least. Not so much about the house, True offered to meet her at the house the day she moved into town. That way, she didn't have to worry about coming into the office when she hadn't even had time to unpack. Mr. Baldwin also wanted to give her a tour of the house. It was a stipulation in the will that True make certain Danielle was comfortable and satisfied with her decision. That was thoughtful of her Great-Aunt, but the strange thing didn't happen until later in the phone call when they were about to say their goodbyes.

"Ms. Flowers, there is one thing that I neglected to mention before." True's voice—much squeakier than she recalled when she spoke to him in person—said over the phone.

Danielle held her breath. She knew this deal was too good to be true, but if True said anything she didn't like, she hadn't signed the papers yet. It was only a verbal agreement. She squeezed her eyes closed and made a wish. What if Mr. Baldwin was lying about her aunt not having any debts—or the town was actually a sham? Her mother referred to it as being in the sticks. What if Sheryl wasn't wrong?

Ugh. That was the last thing Danielle needed.

Her mother would never let her live this mistake down.

"What is it, Mr. Baldwin?" Danielle asked when he hadn't said anything for several seconds.

"Well, I'm trying to think of how to put this lightly." He replied with another squeak. "The town is protected."

Protected?

All kinds of horrific thoughts cropped to mind, but Danielle tried to stay calm.

"What does that mean?"

"You see, you've probably noticed that while your aunt lived in Mystic Springs her entire life, you've never heard of it. There's a reason for that. It's protected by magic. The only people who can come to Mystic Springs require an invitation from a resident." True said.

Danielle snorted and laughed. For such a meticulous man, he had an entertaining sense of humor which Danielle would have never expected from a lawyer.

Protected by magic. How freaking whimsical was that?

"I can see why my Great-Aunt liked you, Mr. Baldwin. Thank you for letting me know about the town." Danielle said, playing along with his humor. It was sweet, in a way.

Danielle wondered, given what she remembered of her one meeting with Estelle Flowers, if she had loved books and magic? The whimsy and the fantastic and that was how she came to hire Mr. Baldwin. He liked the same things as her.

The following day, Danielle put in her resignation at the Clinton Library and Museum and told her parents she was moving. Her coworkers and dad Stewart were supportive, but sad to see her leaving. The same couldn't be said about Sheryl and Stacy. It was in character for Stacy not to understand why Danielle wanted to do something, although she was surprised that while Stacy may not understand, she ultimately didn't care either. In this instance, Stacy acted like she was pissed.

Danielle was pretty sure it had something to do with the house Danielle was inheriting from Estelle that had Stacy steaming from her bleached roots. Of course, it was a topic of discussion between Danielle's mom and sister about how she'd never done anything for Estelle to deserve such generosity. Not that they did anything for her, either. Sheryl and Stacy weren't happy if they didn't have something to bitch about.

Between what she gave away, there wasn't much that Danielle needed to pack except for clothes and toiletries, since True mentioned that the house was fully furnished.