Diesel was lounging in front of the bakery when we returned. "Hey, " he said to Shirley. "How's it going?" "Yellow apple crap, " Shirley said. Diesel nodded. "I hear you. " "We're still working on finding the reverse spell, " I said to Diesel. "And Glo got some discounted pixie dust to help her fly. " "To infinity and beyond, " Diesel said to Glo. We pushed into the bakery and Shirley retrieved her boxes of cupcakes. "Don't worry, " Clara said to her. "We'll get this straightened out. " "Yeah, and be careful on your way home, " I told her. Shirley gave a curt nod. "Hockey puck. " Diesel followed me into the kitchen and swiped a cupcake. "Did you get a chance to talk to Shirley?" "Shirley talks gobbledegook. The Exotica lady said if the spell was temporary, it would wear off in twenty-four hours. That means if we're lucky, Shirley will be coherent at seven-thirty tonight. We can talk to her then. Unless it's not really a spell at all, and she's just yanking our chain. Or maybe she's had a stroke. Do you think we should have taken her to the emergency room?" "I think we should have signed her up for Cupcake Eaters Anonymous. " I put my chef coat back on and rewrapped my apron around myself. I still had several dozen chocolate chip cupcakes to decorate before I could leave for the day. I filled the pastry bag with icing and went to work, with Diesel watching me. "Don't you have something important to do?" I asked him. "I'm doing it. I'm protecting you. " "You didn't feel the need to protect me at five o'clock this morning. " "I can't see Wulf getting up at five. Wulf mostly goes to bed at five. " I finished topping the cupcakes, sprinkled chocolate jimmies on them, and transferred them to the rolling rack, so Glo could box them for a party pickup. "Now what?" Diesel asked. "Now I clean up after myself, and then I can go home to work on my cookbook. " "I didn't know you were writing a cookbook. " "I need money so I can fix my foundation. I had a good idea for a cookbook, but now I have to write it and sell it. " "Is it a cupcake book?" "Not entirely. " I turned my back on Diesel and loaded the industrial-size sink with dirty mixing bowls and pastry bags. I didn't want to get into cookbook details with him. The title of the book was Hot Guys Cooking for Hungry Women, and all the recipes would be presented by a hot guy. I thought it was a good marketing ploy, but I was worried about the message it might send to a man who was already way too comfy sleeping in my bed. Glo came back with her book of spells and a packet of pixie dust. She placed the book on the work island, opened it to a marked page, and followed along with her finger. "Uppity uppity rise thyself, " Glo read from the book. "Wings of magic, heart of believer, eyes open, spirit soar. Uppity uppity rise thyself. " Nothing. She didn't rise. "Darn, " Glo said. Diesel was watching, thumbs tucked into the pockets of his jeans, smiling. "Personally, I think you need more uppities. " "No, " she said. "I read it perfectly. " "Maybe you don't have wings of magic, " I told her. "Or the heart of a believer. " Or how about this . . . How about the book is fiction. "I'm pretty sure I have the heart of a believer. It has to be the wings of magic, but I might be able to compensate with the pixie dust. " She took a pinch from the packet, repeated the spell, and sprinkled the pixie dust onto the top of her head. Nothing happened. "Pixie dust is supposed to sparkle, " Diesel said. "Your dust doesn't have any sparkle. " "It was on sale, " Glo said. "Maybe I didn't use enough. " She chanted the spell one more time and threw a handful of dust at herself. Some of the dust flew past her onto the gas range and ignited like a July 4th sparkler. Pop, pop, pop, pop. The pops turned into swoosh and a ribbon of flame raced along the top of the stove and set fire to a roll of paper towels. Diesel calmly grabbed the flaming towels and pitched them into the sink. Glo looked dejected. "I suppose there's no substitute for wings of magic. " "Flying is overrated anyway, " Diesel said. I removed the soaked towels from the sink and finished scrubbing my bowls. "How do you know so much about sparkling pixie dust?" I asked Diesel. "Tinker Bell. " CHAPTER NINE