The Heirloom Ring: Haunted Book 3

Chapter 10

Destiny’s POV

Something twisted in my gut as we made our way inside Danny’s Pawn Shop. Nothing about the appearance of the little shop was out of the ordinary. It looked like a cute little shop and I could see why Mark would have been looking in here for baseball cards.

I don’t know what it was or why I was feeling apprehensive about entering this shop. All I know was there was something in there that would change my life forever. I wasn’t sure if it was a good thing or a bad thing. But hopefully soon all this will be over.

A little bell chimed as we pushed through the door. I looked around the quaint little store. There were different cases. One that showed knives and guns. One that showed antiqued jewelry. There was even one of baseball cards.

“Howdy!” A man behind the case greeted us. I wish I could say that his sweet manor put me at ease, but that would be a lie. It wasn’t him who was making me uncomfortable, but some unknown thing telling me danger was lurking around the corner.

He was a little older with wrinkles around his eyes, a little pudgy around the middle and has a receding hairline, but he has a pleasant face and a warm smile. He was wearing a plaid button up with suspenders holding up his trousers.

“Hi,” I greeted him in return. I really hope he couldn’t hear my voice quivering. It was not my intention to make the poor man uncomfortable because I couldn’t keep my worry in check.

“How can I help you folks today?” He asks.

“Actually, I was just in here a few days ago and purchased this ring,” Mark explains while holding out my hand and showing the man the ring. Just his touch is reassuring me, and stops my hands from visibly shaking. I don’t know if that was the intent, but whether he meant it or not, it was helping.

“Is there something wrong with it?” he asks, concerned.

“No, I love it. It is very lovely!” I try to reassure the older man. He really did seem like a sweet older gentleman and I didn’t want to cause him distress when it wasn’t his fault that everything had gotten out of control. And once we are able to fix this issue things will be as right as rain again.

He sighed in relief. But then looks at us with a question on his face. “Then, how can I help you?” He asks again.

“We were wondering if you, by any chance, had the name of the person who sold it to you?” Mark asked.

I was happy to let Mark deal with this, since he was the one who bought the ring and I was still having this prickly feeling telling me to be careful… I wondered if that feeling was actually Angela and she was trying to warn me. For some reason, the thought that she was with us was comforting to me. It made me feel like I wasn’t alone as I thought I was and also she would protect us.

“Hmmm… Let me check. I normally have the recipes in the back…” He responded as he made his way to a door behind the counter. I could see a little office in the back room. He was rustling around in a big filing cabinet.

I sighed in relief, but something still feels off. Not quite sure what it is, I look at Mark to see if he can feel it. I can see in his eyes that he is also very uncomfortable  right now.

“It’s okay, love. We will figure this out,” he promised.

“I know… It’s just… Something feels off here. Can you feel it?” I asked quietly, afraid the little old man would hear me and misunderstand.

“Yes, I feel it too. But I promise, I won’t let anything happen to you,” he whispered against my temple and kissed me gently.

I sighed with the reassurance. Maybe I was not as crazy as I was feeling.