The Witch's Christmas Wish (Miracle Express, #9)

by Rebecca Lovell

  “I suppose this means the case really is Baltimore’s jurisdiction now,” Terra sighed. “What a terrible thing to have to pass to them when you’re the one who did all the work.”

  “Don’t sell yourself short, you did plenty of work yourself.” Gard offered his arm again to lead her out of the shadows and she took it eagerly this time. “How many cases have you worked?”

  “This is my first one, to be honest. Up to now I mainly assisted with the designs of trains and evaluated tracks through the university. Then we got a call saying they wanted me to come to Roanoke to help try and find any defects in the tracks. My department head decided that it was likely for insurance reasons so he agreed to send me.” Terra shook her head. “I didn’t have much say in the matter, honestly.”

  “Don’t get me wrong, I’m glad you’re here. It just seems weird to me that they’d ask for someone with no prior experience for an accident this big.” They were back in the middle of the warehouse where there was more light and Gard pulled away from her. Terra knew it was because he was being a gentleman and worrying about her reputation but he wished he wouldn’t have.

  “So tomorrow we’ll go talk to your friend Jake. I know he’ll give you a good recommendation. My word wouldn’t count for much but I’ll be happy to speak on behalf of your skills and hard work.” She wanted him to know that she believed in him, knowing he was new at this job as well. “Not to mention you’re a very nice fellow.”

  “Nice enough to eat with again?” It was a crafty move on Gard’s part and Terra admired it. She nodded vigorously.

  “Even nicer. You have to promise me, though. No more steak.”

  “Got it. No steak. How about country food? Meatloaf and mashed potatoes, that sort of thing.” Terra could tell that was the most casual thing Gard could think of and that he was waiting for her to smile. She couldn’t help obliging.

  “That sounds perfect.” She resisted the urge to take his arm again, instead pointing at the office where Alvin was sitting. “One of us has to go wake him up.”

  “I’ll take care of it,” Gard said, tucking the flashlight into his pocket.

  As he went up the steps to the office, Terra watched him go. No matter what happened, unless they were both able to go to Maryland she would be going back to New York soon and leaving Gard behind. The thought made her feel more than sad, more like she was grieving. The one man she’d met so far that treated her with respect and reverence instead of condescension, and there was no way she could stay with him without being separated from Tommy. Her brother, or a man she’d only just met. It seemed like an easy answer, but it was one of the most difficult things she’d ever considered. If only there was some way to stay with them both.

  Chapter Seven

  “Thank you for dinner,” Terra said as they walked out of the restaurant. “It was exactly what I was hoping for.”

  “I’m glad.” It was getting dark and Terra was heading toward his car, but he wasn’t ready to say goodnight yet. “Hey, I’ve got an idea. Why don’t we walk over and take a look at the Christmas tree? It’s not too far from here.”

  “I’ve already seen it, remember?” She pointed in the direction of a slight glow behind the buildings. “Is it different at night?”

  “They have candles on it that they light at night. They’re in glass so it looks really beautiful.” An urge hit him to flirt with her, but he didn’t want her to think he was being rude or too forward. “You should really see it. It’ll make you feel better after going over that train.”

  “You’re right. Let’s go see it.” She pointed toward the glow. “Just walk straight that way?”

  “Allow me,” Gard said, making a show of offering his arm to her as if he might be joking. He was relieved when Terra smiled at him and tucked her arm through his. It was colder than it had been in the storehouse so her warmth was even more comforting, and when she snuggled up a little closer he felt as if his heart would simply stop. “Are you too cold?”

  “No, I’m just fine like this.” It might have been his imagination, but he thought he felt Terra squeeze his arm. Rather than call attention to it he kept his mouth shut and walked with her toward the Christmas tree.

  “So what do you think of Roanoke?” It seemed a safe enough topic of conversation and it was still light enough to see her face when she smiled up at him.

  “It’s lovely. Well, what I’ve seen of it so far is lovely.” Terra looked straight ahead again. “I’m sure I’ll like Garden City quite a bit too. The whole city seems like it’s a very pleasant place to be.” She definitely squeezed his arm this time and Gard was glad for the darkness that was creeping up because she couldn’t see him blush. “I’m sure it has a lot to do with the company I’ve been keeping.”

  “That’s kind of you,” Gard said, at a loss for anything else to say. He wanted to tell her that he wanted to go somewhere romantic with her, that it was easier to talk to her than any other woman he’d ever met, and that he wished she would stay in Roanoke after the case was over. He was also afraid of saying anything that might jeopardize the little time they had left together. “Thanks.”

  The Christmas tree was even more spectacular at night than it was in the daytime. Candles in glass globes decorated the branches and turned the colors of the ornaments into rainbows. It was a sight to behold, and there were carolers beneath it. Gard and Terra weren’t the only two who had come to see it. There were families and couples looking up at the tree’s splendor and Terra sighed.

  “You were right, it’s gorgeous.” She smiled. “Tommy and I loved the carolers coming to our house. The holidays just weren’t complete without them. Ever since I moved into an apartment, though, I haven’t seen any.”

  “Do you and Tommy live together?”

  “No, he still lives with our parents. There’s no sense in his paying for a house he’s not going to use most of the time.” Terra sighed and shook her head. “It’s a strange feeling, being so connected to someone but only seeing them a day or two a week.”

  “I’ve never known twins before,” Gard said. “I imagine it must be impossible to explain your bond to another person.”

  “Twins run in my family, from what I’ve been told. I don’t know much of our family outside our parents, though.” Terra let go of his arm and walked closer to the tree, almost as if she was in a trance. Gard followed her, curious. “Can I ask you a question? It’s a bit personal.”

  “Of course. Fire away.”

  “Why did you become a detective?” Her back was to him as she spoke and Gard’s stomach dropped. He hadn’t talked to anyone about his brothers in years, apart from in passing or mentioning that he had three. “I’m sorry if that’s rude to ask.”

  “No, not at all.” Gard stepped behind her and touched her hand. Terra turned as if she was startled and he nodded at one of the park benches that happened to be empty. “Could we sit down first? It feels a bit strange to talk in the middle of a bunch of people.”

  “Oh, yes. Forgive me.” She let him lead her to the bench and they sat side by side on the cold wood. “I have this feeling that I’ve said something rude.”

  “You haven’t, I promise.” Gard took a moment to gather his thoughts while Terra listened to the carolers. She seemed happy enough, but he had a feeling he was about to ruin that for her. “I told you that my brothers were blonde but I didn’t tell you how many I had. Out of the three I had as a child, there are only two now.” He wasn’t surprised to see Terra’s eyes widen, just as he’d expected. “The case that got me promoted was one about missing children in South Roanoke and Garden City, but I never told anyone that I was so determined to help Jake with it was because my brother Richie went missing when I was a kid.”

  “Oh, Gard, I’m so sorry.” Terra reached over and took his hands. “Do you know what happened to him?”

  “Nope. We never saw him again. The police looked but they never figured out who took him or why. It hit me the hardest, especially because our parents just
acted like he’d never been born. My other brothers and I sort of came to an agreement not to talk about Richie, especially around our parents.” Without thinking, Gard rubbed his thumb on the side of Terra’s gloved hand. “I guess I just thought if I could help bring other kids home, it’d make up for not being able to do anything for my own brother.”

  “I can’t even imagine what that’s like.” There was a moment of silence between them, then out of nowhere Terra threw her arms around him and hugged him tightly.

  It was as if the world had frozen in place. The voices of the carolers had disappeared, but the lights and colors of the tree remained, giving everything an otherworldly glow. Terra held him tightly enough that he could feel her warmth beneath her jacket, and her hat bumped his off his head. He could feel her breath on the side of his neck and he felt guilty about how quickly Richie was pushed out of his head. Before he could talk himself out of it, Gard put his arms around her as well.

  “Thanks,” he said. “You realize people are probably staring at us, right?”

  “I don’t care,” Terra replied, but she let go of him just the same. When she did, Gard saw she was blushing as she straightened her hat. “That was probably inappropriate of me. I just couldn’t help myself.” She tugged at her gloves. “I was just thinking about what it would be like to lose Tommy.”

  “Is that why you were crying in the engine compartment earlier?” As soon as he said it, Gard regretted his words. He hadn’t intended for it to come out so bluntly, and he had a feeling that she was about to shut him out in spite of her embrace.

  “A bit.” Terra looked a little uncomfortable as she continued to pull the ends of her gloves. “When we were in the engine and I was looking around, I just couldn’t stop thinking about Tommy. I know if he was in that position, he would do his best to protect his passengers too. Standing there, I could feel the panic and how afraid the engineer was.” She seemed to catch herself and cleared her throat. “Almost. I couldn’t actually feel it, of course. That’s a bit silly.”

  “I’m glad you couldn’t,” Gard said, though this didn’t ring completely true to him. “I wouldn’t want you to feel anything like that.” They both looked back up at the tree and he smiled. “I’d hate to wake Tilly up too early on a Sunday, her being pregnant and all, so why don’t I come and get you about nine o’clock?”

  “That sounds lovely.” She turned her attention to the tips of her gloves and started tugging on them. “I mean, meeting your friends does.”

  “Tilly’s going to love you,” Gard said, taking her hands again. He was emboldened by the way she had hugged him and she didn’t pull away. “Trust me, Jake’s a great guy. He’ll probably listen to you more than me.” He chuckled. “I hope you like kids, though. Like I said, Isabella loves to talk.”

  “I do like them,” Terra said. She looked over at the carolers, who were closing their songbooks, then at her watch. “Is it already that late?”

  “No, they’re probably just taking a break before they start again. It’s only seven o’clock.” The absence of the carolers seemed like a good reason to leave so he picked up his hat and stood up, then offered a hand to Terra. “We can either walk to the hotel or walk back to my car, whichever you prefer.”

  “We should get your car. I would hate for you to have to walk back to it alone.” She let him help her up, then dusted off her skirt and took his arm before he even offered it.

  Whether it was because it was now fully dark or because they’d been talking about such serious things, both Gard and Terra were quieter on the walk back to the restaurant. She still held him closer to her than a friend might but Gard couldn’t think of anything to say that wouldn’t cheapen the things they’d said earlier. He didn’t want to be tied to her by sadness but he also didn’t want to keep the conversation light just because he was afraid to upset her.

  “Should I wear something really nice? I don’t know what sort of people your friends are.” There was a hint of worry in Terra’s voice and Gard laughed.

  “They’re pretty casual. The first time I met Tilly, she insisted that I not use her last name. She’s always been the most relaxed of the two, and she’s worked her magic on Jake too. He’s a lot less tense than he used to be.” The restaurant was in sight and the streetlights came on at that moment.

  “Perhaps it’s that wonderful tea.”

  “You know, you could be right.”

  Chapter Eight

  “I’m not sure how things are going to go with the Maryland police, but I know Jake’ll do his best,” Gard said as he drove into Garden City. “I’m really excited for you to meet Tilly, though. I think you two will get along great.”

  “Should I not mention her magic?” Terra was growing more and more nervous by the second. She wanted Tilly to like her, and she wanted to talk to another witch, but she didn’t want to offend her by blurting it out the first time they met.

  “Nah, you can just say it. If she gets mad, blame me.” He kept his eyes on the road. “She probably won’t, though. Just about everyone in Garden City knows who she is.” His eyes darted toward Terra for a moment and she wondered why. “There have been problems, though.”

  “Problems?”

  “She can tell you more about it if she wants to.” Gard stopped to let a woman and her child walk in front of him. “That case I worked on with Jake, before I was promoted to detective, she lost her grandmother during it.”

  “That’s terrible,” Terra said. She hoped she wouldn’t see that when she was around Tilly.

  “Yeah.” Gard didn’t seem like he wanted to talk about it much more and Terra fell silent for a moment. A thousand things ran through her head, and the one she caught was whether or not she actually wanted to go back to New York. She looked out the window at the bare trees and snow on the ground. She couldn’t see much of that at home. Snow yes, but not nearly as many trees. Terra wondered what it would look like in the spring. She turned back to Gard.

  “Do you enjoy your job?”

  “Most of the time, sure. I like helping people, and I like solving mysteries. I’ve wanted to be a detective since I was a kid, mostly because of my brother. Turns out I’m actually pretty good at it as long as I’ve got someone else on my side.” Gard turned onto a road that Terra could see ended up ahead and she hoped they hadn’t gone down a wrong street. “What about you?”

  “Do I like my job?” Terra had to consider this before she answered. She didn’t want to sound ungrateful, but Gard had been so honest with her that she felt like she could trust him not to take things the wrong way. “I like parts of it. I like evaluating train designs and tracks, and knowing that people will get to their destinations safely. I don’t particularly like constantly being questioned about my ability or being treated like I’m simple-minded because I’m a woman.”

  “I can imagine that being unpleasant. Especially because I’ve seen how sharp you are. What I can’t imagine anyone is being better at your job than you are.” They had come to a two-story house painted a cool yellow, with hanging flower baskets on the porch that were currently empty and flower beds with bare earth. To lend cheer, there was holiday greenery draped all across the porch and the railing, and a wreath on the door. A hand-painted sign read Atelier Botanique and Terra wondered if Tilly had painted it herself. It didn’t matter. She was already in love with the place before Gard turned off the car. He looked at her. “Cute place, isn’t it?”

  “It’s wonderful.” Somehow Terra knew just the way the inside of the shop would smell, and she couldn’t wait to breathe it in.

  “Just so you know, Tilly will probably try and get you to stay for dinner.” He got out of the car and went around to open her door.

  “Thank you, sir.” Terra let him help her out, thinking that it might be nice to be treated like a lady once in a while. She didn’t want to let her guard down for even a moment in New York, afraid that she would be seen as weak and thereby incompetent. It had backfired more than once, with men thinking that
she was cold and distant instead. Terra couldn’t help being a little tired of men sometimes.

  As she walked up to the Atelier, Terra realized that her fear was gone. It had been replaced with an eagerness that felt as if it was going to burst out of her chest. She let Gard lead the way even though she wanted to run up the stairs and walk inside just to smell the herbs. Before he could even knock, the door opened and a very pregnant woman beamed at them.

  “Hello, Gard,” she said, stepping aside so they could come into the house. “I’ve been looking forward to meeting your friend.”

  “Hi, Tilly. Jake here? Or is he at the station?” Gard took off his coat and hat, and Tilly motioned to the living room.

  “He’s playing with Isabella. The Beauvoirs gave her a train set that Sam outgrew and Jacob is helping her set it up.” She smiled at Terra. “It’s so good to meet you. Please, take off your coat and feel free to take off your hat. We don’t hold much with formality here, so you can put yourself at ease.” Tilly raised an eyebrow at Gard. “Aren’t you going to introduce us?”

  “Oh, yeah, sorry! I was just thinking about the case we’re on. This is Dr. Terra Rendon. She’s an engineer from New York.” He grinned at Terra. “I’ve already told her a lot about you, Tilly.”

  “I’m sure you have. Probably too much, I’d wager. Come along, Terra. I’ll introduce you to Jacob and Isabella.” Tilly looked at her curiously. “Or would you prefer I call you Dr. Rendon? I don’t want to be rude.”

  “No, Terra’s fine. In New York, I—-” Terra cut herself short. “Never mind. I’d love to meet your family, Tilly.”

  “I’m glad. I’m sure Isabella will love to talk to you. She’s very social and very smart, especially for a child her age.” They stepped into the living room and Terra’s heart leapt in her chest. Sitting on the floor was a little girl with golden blonde hair running a train over a simple track setup, much like the ones Terra had played with when she was a girl. A dark-haired man wearing a loose tie in his shirtsleeves was sitting cross-legged, trying to fit pieces of track together. It was the exact thing she had wanted as a child and she felt a surge of affection for this family she had only just met.