“I’m fine,” Raegan assured. “Everything worked out. There’s something else I need to tell you though.” Closing her eyes, she braced herself for an argument. “I’ve decided to move here, to Dún Castle, my mother’s home. The village…it’s hard to explain…but I think that I can help the people here. Oh Evie, the children!” The words came tumbling out as she told Evie about the people she’d met, the friends, the enemy she’d found in Lord Donovan. She even admitted to finding her father’s treasure, though quietly. She didn’t need to create new enemies so soon, after all.
“Well, of course you’re going to stay.”
Raegan nearly dropped the phone in shock. “What?”
Evie chuckled. “Dearie, I watched you and that handsome fellow walk away, and I knew you weren’t coming back. I don’t blame you. That’s why I’ve had my bag packed since the day after you left.”
“Your bag?”
“Of course! A castle sounds like a big place. You’ll be needing someone to help and, goodness knows, cook.” Evie paused. “What about the library?”
“Leave everything to me,” Raegan said, smiling as she ended the call.
Evie was coming. There was just Lorcan and Joan to break the news to.
Ten minutes later, she walked back to Drake, shaking her head.
He raised one eyebrow. “You look like the cat who ate the canary.”
“Is it that obvious?”
Drake laughed. “Just tell me the good news before you burst wide open.”
“They’re all coming!” Raegan clasped her hands to her mouth, still unable to believe her good fortune. Or, more accurately, her good family. “Evie, Lorcan, Joan, they’re all moving to Ireland, to the village. Joan said it sounded like a fairy tale, and she was more than happy to jump right in. Lorcan…well…I think Lorcan has always wanted to come back, but he felt an obligation to me after my father’s death. He’s already talking about opening a pub here.”
“I think I’ve got just the place for him. My pub could use more good cooking and less drinking idiots.” Drake smiled. “And Evie?” he asked.
“She’s got to come and help with the castle, of course.” Raegan winked.
Drake groaned. “What you mean is that woman plans to keep an eye on me and likely work me to death to make sure that you’re well taken care of.”
“Of course! What else could I mean?” Raegan smiled smugly.
“You and this family of yours are going to be the death of me.” Drake grabbed her hand and spun her around in the street.
“But oh, won’t it be a wonderful way to go?” Raegan laughed.
“The best.” Drake nodded, placing a kiss on her fingers. “Now, let’s get home and share the news with Nessa.”
“Home.” Raegan breathed, closing her eyes. “I like the sound of that.”
30.
D rake watched her.
He followed her every move with his eyes.
His wife looked up at him and smiled so big it nearly consumed him. Though it had been six months since they married, Drake couldn’t believe how blessed he was to have Raegan as a wife, a partner.
She sat on a large blanket in the courtyard, fifteen of the village children spread out around her, hanging on her every word. As the story she read came to a close, they all groaned.
“Now, now,” Raegan admonished. “That’s all I have time to read today if we’re going to move on to the surprise that I have for you all.”
“Surprise?”
“What surprise?”
Excitement rippled through the group, even the older children having trouble sitting still.
“Come and see.” With that, Raegan nudged Nessa out of her lap as she stood and led the way into the large front doors of the castle.
Drake followed, scooping up the tiniest little girl whose short legs couldn’t keep up with the others.
“Where are we going?” one of the boys asked.
Raegan stopped in front of a set of double doors. Crouching down, she whispered to the children, “Somewhere magical.” With a secret wink for Drake’s eyes alone, she threw the doors open and stepped aside.
The children stampeded inside and stopped. Some turned in circles, others stared, and a few of the braver souls took off to one of many shelves and tables overflowing with books.
“What is this place?” Imogen, the oldest in the group at eleven years, asked Raegan softly.
“The most magical place of all—a library,” Raegan answered.
“Are you going to read us all these books?” another child wanted to know, holding two in both hands.
Raegan shook her head, and the faces around her dimmed. “No,” she said slowly. “I’m going to teach you to read them yourselves. They’re all for you.”
31.
Y ou truly are a magic princess,” Drake murmured to Raegan over supper that evening.
Shauna and Conor raised their glasses, clamoring in agreement. Both had been overwhelmed when they learned that Raegan had freed all of the tenants from Lord Donovan as a landlord and made it possible for them to begin buying back their own land.
Just in time, she had remembered the section in the history book she’d read on the journey from England that discussed such matters. The solicitor had been most eager to help her set things right for the people of her village to have a better future.
Raegan blushed and shook her head. She counted her blessings, each of them sitting around the table with her: Lorcan, Joan, Evie, Shauna, Conor, and especially Drake. She looked at the portrait of her mother on the wall and the poem of her father framed beside it.
The leprechaun king.
The thought still made her laugh.
Finally, she smiled. “I’m not magic at all, but I certainly know where to find all of the magic I need.” She looked around slowly. “It is in each one of you and in the power of stories in books that bring love, joy, adventure, hope, and healing. This village needed healing, and thanks to each one of you and your support, I think they’re well on their way to receiving it.
“Family and hope.” Raegan raised her glass for a toast. “Along with the powerful portals to be found in books, of course. Those bits of magic I’ll happily wield every day.”
She squeezed Drake’s hand, pretending not to notice the faint green glow from the hallway or the four nodding heads in the doorway, smiling in approval, before they vanished again.
From the Author
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Other Books by Katherine Brown
Ooey Gooey Bakery Mystery Series:
Rest, Relax, Run for Your Life
Pastries, Pies, & Poison
Bake, Eat, & Be Buried
Savory, Sweet, & Scandalous
Couches & Catastrophes (Book 3.5)
Red Velvet & Romance (Book 4.5) A Valentine’s Short
White Chocolate, Weapons, & a Walk Down the Aisle (Book 5)
Fairy Tale Retellings (Novelettas)
Marigold and the Bear Necessities
Cloaked
Children’s Books
Princess Bethani’s First Garden Party
Princess Bethani’s Surprise Visitor
Ghost Boy Camps Out
Tiny Princess & the Big Llama Drama
Becky Beats the Mean Girls
Adventures of Gladys (Ooey Gooey Spinoff Series)
Bonbon Voyage
Half-Baked Homecoming
Treasure
The Librarian's Treasure Page 10