I held the market bag up. “How much hamburger you need? I got three pounds of it right here. Thought we might fire up the grill and let the men folk help out a bit. Got hot dogs and buns too.”
She threw her arms around me. “Oh, Opal, you’re a lifesaver! That’s an awesome idea. I’ve got all the fixings for a nice big tossed salad, and I’ll only use about a pound for the meatballs. Will that give us enough for the burgers?”
I did a rough calculation in my head. “You got those teeny weenies to go with the meatballs?” She nodded. “Then I think we’ll be fine. Chances are the kids will mostly pig out on them or hot dogs and leave the burgers for us grownups.”
“I hate to say it, but I’ve never grilled before. Does it take a while to get the fire going?”
“Don’t worry, we’ve got plenty of time. I’ll go check in on the all too quiet upstairs and then get it started. Everyone’s coming at noon, right?”
“Yup. Orville too?”
“There’s food involved, right? He’ll be here.”
She took the bag from me and headed into the kitchen.
By now, baby Pearl had stopped crying, but I picked her up from her little playpen all the same. Just as I figured, there wasn’t anything wrong with her. She’d just been feeding off her mother’s emotions. She did need a fresh diaper, though. And maybe a little swing time while we big girls got things under control.
Once I got her changed and settled in her swing, I headed upstairs. Nancy and Mason got on together great. Much better than most real brothers and sisters ever did. But when the two of them were together and quiet? It was time to check things out.
“I still think I should be the one to pull the bunny out of the hat.” Mason’s soft voice came through the closed door.
Odd. Normally, the door to the kids' rooms was always open. I stopped before just walking in. After a moment’s internal debate about the issue of privacy for youngsters, I knocked. It was the only polite thing to do.
There was a shuffling sound inside, and Nancy called out, “Just a minute, please.”
Part of me wanted to try the doorknob. If the kids took to shutting their door, that was one thing. Locking us out? That would be another thing altogether. But when Nancy finally turned the knob, I didn’t hear the lock disengage first. Good. We were all on the same page here.
“Can I help you... Auntie?” That little pause in there let me know she was still struggling with what to call me going forward. She’d come to a decision soon. In the meantime, I wasn’t going to press the issue.
I looked down at her. “Can I come in?”
Instead of giving me an immediate answer, she glanced behind her first. She must have been satisfied with what she saw because then the door finally opened all the way. I glanced around the room. Nothing on fire, anyway. That was always a good sign.
“What are the two of you doing? I’d have thought that you’d be down helping Kimberly with the picnic preparations.”
Color flushed into Nancy’s cheeks. “I offered, but she said she had it. And Mason and I needed to rehearse. Kim said we could try out our show for you guys. Well, what we’ve got finished, anyway.”
Ah. Nancy moved and, sure enough, Sassy was sitting on one of the kids' wooden chairs, just like a real person. Somehow, her sitting up on her own like that just made things worse. Kind of like she was alive. If I wasn’t so creeped out by the dang thing, I’d be feeling for a pulse. But no way was I getting that close.
Besides, did possessed dolls have pulses?
“Okay, then. I can help her finish up. But I think you two need to wrap up your rehearsal and clean up a bit. When you’re done, come on downstairs. We could probably use some help to set up the gazebo.”
Nancy nodded. “We have to set up the stage too.” She looked at Mason, then at me. “You sure you will have time to make him a cape before the show? If not, I have some money saved up, but I need to order it soon so it will get here in time.”
Oh yes, the cape. I turned a critical eye on Mason, looking the boy up and down. I just might have something that would work. And another few minutes wouldn’t hurt on starting the grill.
I walked over to baby Pearl’s room, Nancy and Mason following after me in curiosity. The pull-down stairs for the attic were in that room. I tugged on the rope and settled the stairs.
Mason’s eyes got wide. “We have an attic? That’s so cool!”
That got a laugh. The only attic the boy had probably ever been in was my sister Sapphire’s. And mine was a far cry from hers. Mine was mostly bare wood, beams, and a couple of old pieces of broken furniture I always meant to have fixed. But there were also a few old steam trunks filled with some of the girls' old clothes.
I got the right one on the second try. Trying to keep the contents as neat as possible, I riffled through the offerings until I found what I was looking for. When the girls were younger, they liked nothing more than to dress up as good, old-fashioned witches for Halloween trick or treating. The hats wouldn’t be needed, of course, but the capes? They just might do in a pinch.
And they would save me time in making the cape I had in mind for the boy too. One of these would serve well as a base for it.
“Come here, boy.” I held up one of the cloaks to Mason. The size was just about right to hit him mid-shin. That was a good length for a magician’s cape, I thought. I handed it to him. “Try it on.”
He wrinkled his nose. “It kind of smells, Auntie.”
I smiled at him. “It won’t after we wash it, sweetie. I just want to see if it fits you for now.”
He still didn’t look too sure about it, but he draped the cloak over his shoulders and turned to Nancy. “How do I look?”
“It’s perfect!” Then she looked at me and then the trunk. “There isn’t another one in there, is there?” Her voice didn’t sound too hopeful of that being the case.
But then, she hadn’t gotten to know the girls all that well yet. What one of them had gone as for Halloween, the other had followed suit. They were generally always a matched pair, those two. Still were, pretty much.
I reached in and pulled out the other cape and handed it to her. “I’m not sure ventriloquists wear capes, though, to be honest, Nancy.”
She grinned at me. “Nope. But magician’s assistants do.” She put on the cloak and gave an experimental twirl. The material flowed out nicely. Then, of course, Mason had to give a twirl.
“Do I take that to mean the two of you are combining acts? You’ve given up Sassy to be Mason’s assistant?” And yes, even I could hear the hope in my voice.
Nancy stopped twirling and giggled. “Not exactly. You’ll see.” Then she hesitated. “Since you don’t have to make Mason a cape now, do you think maybe you could make Sassy one instead?”
Oh, Goddess. Now I would be sewing for the darn thing. But what I said was. “Sure. No problem.”
Chapter 10
Once I got Kimberly calmed down and on schedule, things went smoothly. By the time our guests arrived, the grill was nice and hot and ready to go, and the hamburger was all pattied up and sitting on a covered plate with the hot dogs next to the grill. Ready for the men. I was fairly sure one of them would offer to fry them up.
The kids had done a good job setting up the gazebo, too, even if looked a bit gaudy for my tastes. A little overdone on the crepe paper, but they’d worked together and that was a good thing.
It was still early for outdoor picnics weather-wise, but the gazebo was ringed with plain benches for seating, and we had a portable fire pit that we placed at the center. I’d gotten that going while I worked the fire magic on the grill. And yes, just a touch of magic was involved. It wasn’t a necessity, but it helped all the same.
Orville and Gray were both up to the challenge of grill master, so they decided to double-team it. The men were getting along famously, which in turn, eased some of my final lingering doubts on Gray. The sheriff was a darn good judge of people himself.
Part of their w
illingness to take over the cooking might just have been the warmth of the grill. The day wasn’t nearly as warm so far as what the weatherman had promised.
But then, that’s what made the event so special. It wasn’t run of the mill. As we grow older, the old days tend to fade from our memories. At least the ones that all felt the same. The ones that were different lasted longer in our memory banks. An outdoor backyard picnic when it was still wintertime? That was something the kids were likely to remember.
I smiled over at Kimberly, who was supplying the men with veggies to add to the grill. She looked happy. The kids looked happy. The men looked happy. I’d call that a win.
She really was a great mom. The Goddess had chosen wisely on this one. I can’t think of another woman that would do a better job at raising baby Pearl.
I could help, sure, and I planned to do just that. But the actual raising and being there for her? Kimberly was the one for that. I had no doubt that she’d be able to handle Pearl. And that right there was telling just how much I really thought of the girl. Raising baby Pearl would not be a walk in the park, for sure.
Who’d ever heard of a four-month-old baby already coming into power? But I’d seen the signs. It was happening whether we were ready for it or not. Time was running out to have a long talk with Kimberly.
Once the food was done, I gave Orville a nod. “Why don’t we let the younger folks have the gazebo, and you and I take our food inside?”
He grinned at me. “See? Great minds do think alike.”
Kimberly gave me a worried glance. “You don’t think it’s too chilly out here for the kids, do you?”
“Not at all. The fire pit in the gazebo should keep you all warm enough. Old bones feel the chill more, that’s all.”
She glanced over at Gray and the kids already getting comfortable in the meditation space. “You know you’re welcome, though, right?”
I gave her a quick hug. “I know, and I thank you for that.”
As soon as we made it to the kitchen, Orville looked at me and chuckled. “Old bones, my fuzzy behind. I’ve heard the tale of you dancing up on that hill naked as the day you were born in the middle of December.”
I returned his look with one of my own. “A good witch always celebrates the equinox in style. And besides, there was a huge bonfire involved, you know.”
He nodded. “Oh yes, that was mentioned too. Otherwise, it might have been too dark for them to make out as many details.”
I grunted. “We go up on that hill for a reason, Orville Taylor. It isn’t our fault if wherever we go, dirty old men find a way to spy on us. I just got tired of moving the bonfire every month when it didn’t really work, anyway.”
Orville chuckled. “I know. Yet another joy of being in love with a witch.” He started to say something but stopped himself.
Yes, I knew my week was running out. I’d be having to give him an answer soon. And just like that, the food on my plate didn’t look nearly as appetizing as it had five minutes ago.
He must have sensed my change of mood because he changed the subject.
“You had any luck yet finding the source of that spell mark?”
When I didn’t answer immediately, his eyes bore into mine.
“If I tell you, I want your word not to fly off and do something stupid.”
He sat back in his chair and stared at me for a minute. I might have gone just a bit too far with that stupid thing.
“First of all, I’m not a man to fly off and do stupid things, and you know that. And second of all, we both know that one way or another, you’re gonna tell me.”
Yeah, we did.
I took a long breath. “You want the story from the beginning or the short and sweet version?”
“Let’s start with the short and sweet and go from there.”
Personally, I thought that was kind of a waste of time, and I was right. As soon as I’d told him the mark was Archie’s and why it was there, he wanted the rest. Any other lawman and I would have kept the other cases to myself. But this was Orville we were talking about.
I told him everything.
“So, what do you think?”
“I think someone is out to get Archie in a whole heap of trouble.” He hesitated. “I know we’ve never really talked about it, but I gather witches have some kind of governmental order to keep them in line?”
“We do.”
“Seems to me that’s what this is about. I mean, finding a mark at every scene that leads back to Archie is bad, don’t get me wrong. But it’s magic. And I don’t think the world is ready to put someone on trial for using magic. Most people are much, much happier just pretending that it doesn’t exist.”
I frowned at him. The man had a point. “You think this is all about getting Archie in trouble with the council?” As soon as I said the word council, I regretted it, but it was too late. It was out there.
Orville gave a slight shrug. “That’s my first initial impression, anyway. What do you think?”
I took another bite of my hamburger and chewed slowly to give myself time to think. His thoughts made a lot of sense. And if he was right, then the suspect list might have just gotten bigger too.
Witches had spells. Merlin’s good friend, Jack, was a master of the stealth spell. He could have walked into that office and taken that dang journal with Archie sitting right there at his desk.
But why? It’s not like Archie was high up in the council. He was just another witch under its rule. Wasn’t he? It might be time for another short conversation with Sapphire. I didn’t want to miss something this obvious.
“That makes sense to a point. It would make more sense if he was high up on the board. But Archie isn’t even a council witch. I’m not seeing a benefit to bringing him down in the council’s eyes.”
“Sounds like you have an enigma on your hands.”
I grinned at him. “What is that? Your word of the day?”
“Don’t knock it until you’ve tried it.”
“Oh, I’m not knocking it. You’re a very well-spoken man, you know.”
“Thank you for noticing.”
The silence that followed was easy going at first. A silence among friends that didn’t feel the need to talk every second they were together. But ever so slowly, the tension started creeping back in. I could tell Orville’s thoughts had returned to the deadline.
“We still on for Tuesday night?” he asked. He was going for a casual question, but there were lots and lots of unspoken undertones to it.
I nodded. “Don’t suppose you’d agree to give me an extension to think on things?”
Orville shook his head. “I’ve already waited a lifetime, Opal. It’s not that hard of a question, you know. Either you want to spend the rest of your life with me, or you don’t.”
Our gazes met over the table. “You know that isn’t the issue.”
“It is to me.” He looked away. “I’m tired of living alone, Opal. I’m tired of being apart from the woman I love six out of seven nights. I’m tired of sleeping in a bed all alone. I’m tired of having to hide my feelings for you. I want more. Is that too much to ask?”
“No. It isn’t.” But that still didn’t solve my issues. It just wasn’t that easy to put the problem in a box. My gaze went out the kitchen window to Kimberly and the kids. “They need me, you know.”
“They do. But this isn’t about me taking you away from them. I just want a little more of the share, that’s all.” He hesitated. “We have a lot of options when it comes to new living arrangements.” Another pause. “For instance, I could move in here for a few years. Until the kids got a little older.”
Okay, so that surprised me. Just when I’d thought nothing the man could ever do would surprise me again, he, well, surprised me.
“You’d be willing to move in here?”
He nodded. “Yup. You have a little private living space of your own. Bedroom, workroom, and sitting room with a complete bath. Seems to me that would be big enough to sha
re of an evening. Though I would like to add a few things. Namely, a desk of my own in that workroom of yours.”
Workroom. That was a nice name for a spell lab. Still, as odd as it sounded, I could totally see Orville sitting at a desk working on a case, and me at my counter cooking up a potion. It sounded nice. Really nice.
“What about your place?”
“Again, lots of options. Houses in town rent pretty easily. Could sell it, but I’ve put a lot of work into that place over the years. Hate to see it go permanently. At least to strangers.”
Most likely, he’d assumed that Opie would eventually live there. That ship had sailed when the kids had all gone in together to buy that estate. Fairly certain they would not be willing to give up their new place. I love my farmhouse, but their new place is pretty dadgum awesome.
He nodded toward the little family out in the gazebo. “You know that if things go on like they’ve started, eventually Kim’s gonna want to start living with Gray. Might work here for a bit, but eventually, they will want a place of their own.”
I nodded. I didn’t like thinking about it much, but I knew it was true all the same. “And?”
Orville scratched his chin. “And we could either give them the farmhouse, which in my opinion is an incredible place to raise children, or we could keep the farmhouse and give them my house in town. Your call on that one. Either way, it would beat all four of them trying to live in Gray’s tiny trailer.”
That got my attention. “You’ve checked him out, then, haven’t you?”
He arched an eyebrow at me. “And you haven’t?”
Shoot, we both knew the answer to that one. Of course, I had. The man was dating the mother of my godchildren. What choice did I have?
“You’ve put a lot of thought into this.”
“Yup. I’m ready, Opal. Been ready for some time now.”
“You’re really ready to marry a witch? I won’t be changing that if I agree to this, you know.”
“I want to marry you, Opal. You. You happen to be a witch. I’m not out to change anything about you. As frustrating as you can be at times, I still love you. All of you.”
Witch Reborn Box Set: Books 1-3: Includes Gemstone Coven Holiday Shorts 1 & 2 Page 24