Witch Reborn Box Set: Books 1-3: Includes Gemstone Coven Holiday Shorts 1 & 2

by Belinda White

  But right before he left, he turned back to me. “You really okay with missing tonight’s big event?” His voice was so low that I was pretty sure Kimberly couldn’t hear it back in her bed.

  Taking a deep breath, I nodded. “If the Goddess had wanted me to go through with it, she would have kept that water in place for another few hours. Seems to me that getting my little talk with Mom just wasn’t meant to be tonight.” I shrugged. “Maybe next year she’ll be on my side.”

  He still hesitated. “What exactly are you wanting to talk to her about? Do you have questions about the other side?”

  I laughed. “And ruin the surprise? Heck, no.” I looked him in the eyes. “And you’re just going to have to wait like all the others.” After all, if their curiosity was sated now, they might not feel such a need to attend the seance if and when it finally happened. And I needed as many as I could get to ensure the dang thing worked. Spirit power multiplied was a good thing sometimes.

  He shook his head and then did something he’d never done in public before. He kissed me. Then, with his forehead resting on the top of my head he whispered. “You’ve got this. I’ll be in the waiting room if you need me.” And he left.

  I turned back to Kimberly who was getting prepped for the long haul. I was really hoping it wouldn’t be all that long, actually. Goddess, make this a quick one. An easy one too, for that matter. Or as easy as childbirth could be, anyway.

  I took a good, deep breath and wished one final time that all this could have waited another twelve hours. Then I pushed that thought aside and walked back to her bed.

  I’d trusted the Goddess this far. I wasn’t about to start doubting her now.

  Chapter 5

  KIMBERLY’S LITTLE GIRL was born at preciously ten o’clock on All Hallows’ Eve. All seven pounds and twenty-one inches of her. The first sight of her literally took my breath away. Ruby and Amie, Goddess love them, had turned into very beautiful young ladies. But as newborns? Yeah, not so much so.

  This little being was gorgeous the instant she entered the world. Even more so after they got her cleaned up a bit.

  But the breathtaking part? Well, that was when she looked directly into my eyes and smiled. Goddess help me, but I’d seen those eyes and that smile before. I came very close to fainting on the spot. But I didn’t.

  I’m not sure I ever truly believed in reincarnation up until that very moment in time. I’d always believed in the possibility of it, just was never convinced it ever really, you know, actually happened. Now I was a believer.

  The tiny eyes were bright with the wisdom of the ages, and then they clouded and weren’t. The expression changed from one of wisdom to a simple, newly born child. But it didn’t undo what I’d seen.

  Once the nurses had the baby all cleaned up and pronounced her healthy and whole, they gave her to Kimberly. If I’d had any doubts at all about the girl, they were put to rest when I saw her eyes light on her baby. She’d be a good mom. And we’d all be there to help what we could along the way.

  If I stayed there any longer, I knew I wouldn’t be able to fight the tears I felt coming on. It wouldn’t do to show signs of weakness. As the eldest of the Ravenswind family, I had to be strong. Always. There was no place for tears in my life.

  I stepped out and walked slowly down to the waiting room, taking the time each step gave me to get my emotions into check. It was a struggle, but by the time Sheriff Taylor came into sight, the pressing need to cry had passed. Somewhat.

  But the man somehow knew all the same. He was good about that. He gathered me into his arms, and we stood there in silence for a minute.

  Finally, he asked. “Everything okay?”

  I nodded into his shoulder. “Yes. Healthy and whole, beautiful baby girl. And Kimberly’s doing fine too.”

  He didn’t take his arms away. He was good. It would be up to me to end the closeness. Something I was finding it very hard to do right now.

  Then I thought about Nancy and the ones back home. Pulling away from him, I wiped my moist eyes.

  “I’d better call Nancy, or I’ll never hear the end of it.”

  He grinned at me. “You’ve got that right.”

  In a matter of seconds, I had her on the line. “I figured you wouldn’t be in bed yet.”

  “Are you kidding me? I almost had Amie convinced to bring me to the hospital. If you’d waited five more minutes, we’d have probably been on the road.”

  That sounded about right. Nancy could be very persuasive when she wanted to be. Persistent too. “Well, there isn’t any need to come tonight. Mother and daughter are going to need some good rest after the night they’ve had. I’ll bring you to see them tomorrow after school. Deal?”

  “Deal.” She hesitated. “They’re really okay?”

  I smiled. “More than okay. They’re pretty much perfect.”

  “Good. I’m really sorry you missed out on talking to your mom tonight. I know how much that meant to you.”

  “The Goddess knows best, child. I was meant to be here tonight.” And now, at least, I had a feeling I knew why that was. “Now get to bed. I don’t want to hear bad things from your teacher tomorrow, you hear?”

  She laughed. “You know I’m the teacher’s pet. She only has good things to say about me.”

  She wasn’t wrong. “Tell Ruby I’ll be home in a couple of hours. I want to see Kimberly situated in her new room before I leave.”

  We ended the call, and I turned to find my sister, Sapphire, standing behind me with her new husband Archie Mineheart. She was holding a large thermos.

  “The sheriff gave us the good news. I brought something along to celebrate the event.” She lifted the thermos.

  I was guessing coffee, though why that would be a celebratory drink I didn’t know. But when the aroma hit me when she poured me a cup, my eyes teared up again.

  It was Mom’s special eggnog, warmed to just that perfect temperature. I hadn’t tasted it in all these years since her passing. And I’d especially missed it every holiday.

  In fact, I’d craved it. With a passion.

  I swallowed and sank down onto one of the waiting room couches. The perfect ending to a busy night. Or so I thought. The sheriff proved me wrong.

  “I know you didn’t get your seance,” he said. “And I’m sorry about that. But I do have a consolation prize for you.”

  I opened one eye and looked at him. “You do?”

  He nodded, glancing up at the others too. “Yup. I just checked my email. Hadn’t had a chance all day what with the craziness Halloween always brings to Wind’s Crossing.”

  Then he went silent. It was one of his more annoying traits. He would make me beg for it. Normally that would take some time. Not tonight.

  “Please enlighten us with your grand news.”

  He grinned at me. “Well, since you insist. The court just signed their approval on your petition for guardianship. You are now officially Nancy Jefferson’s sole guardian.”

  Oh, praise the Goddess.

  “Of course, there is some bad news to go along with that.”

  Wasn’t there always? But this time I just looked at him. No way was I going to ask to be told bad news.

  “No more funding for being a foster parent. You’re off the county’s purse strings.”

  I’d have hit him if he’d been closer. Good thing for me Sapphire was in range of him. She took care of that for me. The money had never been a selling point in becoming a foster parent for Nancy. Every cent of it was sitting in a college fund for her. The fund would still grow even now. This was only the first step in my plan. I wouldn’t be fully satisfied until Nancy could call herself a Ravenswind. Legally.

  But there was time for that.

  “So, should we mark our calendars for a seance next All Hallows’ Eve?” Archie asked.

  I shook my head. “No need anymore.” I took another long sip of the eggnog and sighed. Then I looked up at Sapphire. “Mind telling me why you never shared Mom’s recipe wi
th me?”

  “Well, for starters, it isn’t Mom’s recipe. It’s mine. Remember that summer when I was really into kitchen experimentations? This was one of my successes.”

  My brows drew together. “That can’t be right. Mom said this was passed on to her from another generation.”

  Sapphire laughed. “Yes, she did. But she didn’t say it was a generation from the past, now did she?”

  I had to give her that one. Any other night, I might have been upset about having the secret recipe kept from me for so long. But not tonight.

  “You are going to share now, right?”

  “Of course.” She reached into her bag, pulled out a recipe card, and handed it to me. I placed it in my purse with care. No way was I losing it now.

  Funny how Mom had found a way to answer my question without me even having to ask it. Good thing too.

  Because I was really thinking that any seance trying to contact my mother’s soul on the other side would be unsuccessful from this point forward.

  I truly didn’t think she was there any longer. In a way that scared the holy hell out of me. Not that she was back in the world. That was more than fine by me. If anyone deserved a second go-around in life, it was Mom.

  It scared me for what that meant for the future.

  Sapphire and I are powerful witches. Ruby and Amie are too. Well, Amie especially now. But Mom? That woman had true power. I’d even pit her against a Light Witch if it came to it. Which it wouldn’t. Not in our family anyway.

  But if the Goddess had seen fit to bring back my mother’s soul, then the fight ahead must be a scary one indeed.

  I took another sip of my eggnog. Absolutely perfect. It was just enough to dull the worry.

  Whatever the future held, we’d face it together as a family. And somehow, someway, the Ravenswinds would make it. The Minehearts would make it too. After all, like it or not, they were family now.

  Smiling at Sapphire, I stood up. “Come on. There’s someone I want you to meet.”

  Witch of a Godmother

  Witch Reborn 1

  By Belinda White

  Copyright 2020 Belinda White

  THIS EBOOK IS LICENSED for your personal enjoyment only. This eBook may not be resold or given away to other people.

  WITCH OF A GODMOTHER

  Introduction

  MY NAME IS OPAL RAVENSWIND, and I’m a witch.

  But not just any witch. Goddess, no. I’m the High Priestess of the Gemstone Coven and a personal favorite of the Goddess herself. Well, all my family are Her favorites, actually. Not that She would ever admit that to anyone. Goddesses aren’t supposed to have favorites, you know.

  My niece, Amethyst, even came up with a name for us. “Team Destiny.”

  Personally, I’m not sure how I feel about our team being named after Amie’s familiar. But then, I have to concede that her feline familiar is far different from most. Goddess touched that one. So, I guess if the Goddess doesn’t have a problem with the name, neither do I.

  I’d make more of a sticking point of it, but the team includes members outside the Gemstone Coven, so I’m trying to be flexible here.

  My daughter (Ruby) and Amie have left the family farmhouse and moved into a place of their own. Before you start to think I might be getting lonely here all by myself, well, you can think again.

  I’ve moved in a whole other family to take their place. There’s my ten-year-old newly adopted daughter, Nancy, and most recently her older friend, Kimberly and her brood. A son of five years old, and a three-month-old baby girl.

  Oh yeah, about that baby... she has my mother’s soul.

  How do I know this? Well, it was kind of a had to be there moment. That first instant after baby Pearl’s birth, I recognized her for who she was. For just a brief moment, my mother and I shared a long gaze into each other’s eyes. A soul gaze that left no doubt in my mind.

  Then the eyes had changed. I’m not sure how reincarnation works, but it would make sense that the new life form wouldn’t exactly remember their previous time on earth. Who knew how many times we had traveled this place before in different bodies? Only the Goddess knew that, and She wasn’t telling.

  The problem was that even if the baby didn’t know who she was, she still was. In other words, the powerful soul in her still remembered that it had magic. I had a funny feeling that things would get mighty interesting in the old farmhouse as baby Pearl got older.

  One of these days, I’d have to find a way to let Kimberly in on the secret. But that day isn’t today.

  Well, that’s pretty much my life right now. We are all getting settled into our new lives and lifestyles, and things are going pretty well.

  At least they were until I went to that Fontaine estate auction. I kind of wished I’d skipped that one...

  Chapter 1

  “I didn’t do it, Opal. I swear it.”

  Kimberly seemed more than a little distraught. Her eyes were wide, and she looked close to tears.

  “Well, if you swear you didn’t do it, then I believe you.”

  “You do?”

  Granted, she’d only been working in the shop for a few months now, and a few of those weeks had been in extreme part-time mode while she recovered from childbirth. Not something I could fault her for, as I’d known the situation going in. In fact, that was part of the reason I’d hired her.

  “I do. But if you would be so kind, I’d be interested in knowing what it is I believe that you didn’t do.”

  She swallowed and nodded. She still didn’t look too sure about it. I was really hoping she’d come out of her fear of me soon. It was getting cumbersome. And, in a way, we were family now. Even if she didn’t really know that yet.

  It was complicated.

  “You told me yesterday that you’d decided to keep the desk from the Fontaine estate, and you asked me to move it into the back room.”

  I nodded, as non-threateningly as I possibly could. “That’s right. I did.”

  “Well, Nancy helped me, and we put it right where you said you wanted it. I swear it was fine after the move. I checked.”

  I tilted my head, wishing she’d get on with it already. “And I take it now it isn’t fine?”

  Kimberly shook her head, and yes, a single tear leaked out. “No. The middle desk drawer on the right-hand side is broken. It looks like someone tried to break into it. But no one’s been back there this morning. At least, not that went past me.”

  And no one had gone past me either. Which only left one alternative. An alternative I didn’t much care for.

  My anger must have shown, and the tears started in earnest. I’d be ever so glad when this learning about my moods phase was over. It wasn’t her I was angry at. I hadn’t lied when I said I believed her.

  “There’s no call to cry, child. I know you didn’t do it. I sat at that desk to do the books last night after you left with the children to go home. That drawer wasn’t broken then.” I gave her a slight smile. “I’d swear to that myself.”

  She looked confused. “Then how...” her voice trailed off as her eyes widened. “You think someone broke in?”

  I took a deep breath and nodded. “I wish I could say otherwise, but I can’t. It’s the only explanation I can think of. I’d better call the sheriff.”

  She nodded, then hesitated. “You would really have believed me, even if you hadn’t seen the drawer?”

  “Of course, I would have. You’re not a liar, Kimberly. If you were, you wouldn’t be working for me, now would you?”

  It seemed pretty simple to me.

  The baby let out a whimper in the backroom, and Kimberly went to check on her. Once she’d left the room, I dialed Orville Taylor. Orville was the sheriff of Wind’s Crossing and the surrounding county.

  He was also my man. Only no one but the two of us knew that last part. He was more than willing to share our status with the world, but I wasn’t so sure about it. I didn’t want the fact that he was courting a known witch to hamper his cha
nces come reelection time. There were still a fair few townsfolk who didn’t approve of the pagan lifestyle.

  Pagan. You have to love that word. Or not. People tended to use it to describe anyone who didn’t believe the same way they did.

  So be it. I’m a pagan. And darn proud of it too. I would never deny my Goddess just to gain popularity here on earth. Wouldn’t be anywhere near worth it in the long run. But don’t think that means I’m against God and all the Christians out there. From my standpoint, we share a lot of the same viewpoints. Kindred spirits in my eyes.

  “Hey, Opal, what’s up? You’re still coming to my place for dinner tonight, right? My famous pinto beans are stewing up right nice in my crockpot. Should be an enjoyable dinner by all accounts.”

  I smiled. Orville had taken to fixing dinner for me every Tuesday night. It was kind of nice to have an evening out every week. I loved Kimberly and the kids, but Orville’s place was just so... well, quiet. A person needs that every now and again.

  “Counting on it. And I’ll even bring the cornbread. The sweet kind, of course.” I paused. “Unfortunately, that isn’t why I’m calling. It’s the sheriff I’m needing right at the moment.”

  His voice sobered instantly. “What’s happened. Is everyone okay?”

  “Relax. Everyone’s fine. But that desk I got from the Fontaine estate has seen better days.”

  “What happened?”

  “Well, it looks like the shop had a visitor after I locked up last night. I wouldn’t have noticed it at all if they hadn’t broken the drawer on the desk.”

  “Crap. I’ll be there in a couple minutes.” He hesitated. “Wait a minute. You got coffee?”

  “Nope, haven’t made my morning run yet.”

  “In that case, make it ten minutes. Maybe more if there’s a line at the Flour Pot. Kimberly still drinking Chai tea?”

  “Yes. And you know I wouldn’t complain if a Raspberry Delight found its way here too.”