He had to hurry. He wanted to be in place when Marigold went past. He eased out of his row and went behind one of the big trees where he could see both the tent and the processional path.
The woman still hadn’t moved. In fact, she seemed to be watching the wedding party very intently now. He started around the back of the tent. No way was he going to let one of Marigold’s family get hurt.
But then again, maybe she was just a curious member of the catering staff wanting to see the bride. And willing to shirk her duties to do so. He slipped in through the side of the tent. A crew of people were bustling about, putting the final touches on the tables.
The air was definitely on. It was at least ten degrees cooler in here.
The woman remained glued to her spot. Charisma and her groomsman were gliding past, and Marigold and her groomsman were coming up behind them.
His jaw dropped at the sight of Marigold. She looked like a princess in her lilac gown. Certainly more beautiful than any woman he’d ever been involved with. His heart swelled at how gorgeous she was.
Then the woman moved, and he remembered why he was in the tent. She lifted her arms, her fingers outstretched toward…Marigold?
The air around her rippled with nearly invisible waves. Magic.
Then the waves shot forward. At Marigold.
Marigold held on to the arm of Ivan Tsvetkov. She didn’t know Van that well, but the dragon shifter and former MMA fighter was a good friend of Pandora’s. He was also a great guy, she knew that much.
Gripping his arm was like holding on to a tree trunk. Where had they found a suit to fit him? Probably Guildman’s had special-made it. Come to think of it, Van probably had all his clothes specially made.
They made the slow turn toward the center aisle.
Just in time to see Wyatt tackling a member of the catering staff in the big reception tent.
What the—
She stopped dead. “Wyatt!”
Her screech brought everything to a halt, but a split second later, a wave of magic hit her, knocking her flat on her back. She might not be capable of magic herself, but she knew when magic had been used on her. Fortunately, it seemed the spell had only grazed her.
Even so, she was immobile, unable to do anything but stare up at the cloudless blue sky through the branches of a nearby tree. She tried to cry out for help, but only a strangled sound left her throat. How much worse would she be if the spell had made direct contact?
Thick arms lifted her. Van. He cradled her against his chest like a baby. Her head lolled against his. “I have you. No worries.”
She could at least see Wyatt now. He was struggling with the woman in the tent. Or rather, she was struggling with him. He had her arms pinned behind her in what seemed to be a pretty effective hold.
The crowd pushed to their feet.
The woman snarled and twisted, trying to get out of his clutches. “Let go of me or the witch will spend the rest of her life paralyzed.”
“What are you talking about?” He looked at Marigold. “Are you hurt? Did her spell hit you?”
Marigold could only grunt in response. Wyatt seemed to understand her despite that rudimentary answer.
He jerked the woman upright by the lapels of her catering jacket. “Free her from whatever spell you put her under.”
She tried again to get away, but only ended up knocking off the cap she was wearing. Her silver-streaked hair tumbled free. “Not until I get the pendant.”
Wyatt’s eyes went wide. “Suzanne Anderson?”
She glared at him. “If you had won the auction like you were supposed to, none of this would have happened.”
He pinned her arms and pulled her closer to stop her struggling. The move put his mouth inches from her ear. “Release Marigold now.”
“Or what?” She laughed. “You do anything to me, and I’ll complete the spell.”
“What does that mean?” Wyatt asked.
“It means I’ll paralyze the rest of her. Her heart. Her lungs. Her brain.”
Wyatt’s face filled with rage. “You hurt her,” he snarled, “and I will tear you apart with my bare hands.”
Sheriff Merrow came out of the crowd, followed by Alice Bishop.
Hmm. Marigold hadn’t even known she was invited, but not inviting her would have seemed like an insult, probably. Pandora was too smart to make a gaffe like that. Strange thoughts to be having while on the verge of death, sure, but Marigold had never been on the verge of death before. Or struck by a spell while technically human. So who knew what the right reaction was?
The sheriff and Alice stopped a few feet away. Alice shook her head. “Suzanne Anderson? Is that the name you’re going by?”
Wyatt nodded. “I’ve never met her in person, but we did one video chat when she first hired me. That’s the name she gave me.”
Alice shook her head. “That’s not her real name.”
Suzanne, or whatever her name was, glowered at Alice. “Get away from me, you abomination.”
Saffie ran up, hands raised. “You fix my mother or I will turn you into a stump.”
Alice caught Saffie and held her close. “Now, now, witchling. She’s not worth your time. And Aunt Alice is going to make all this right.”
Marigold would have shed a tear, had she been able. She’d never have guessed Alice had a softer side.
Alice was unfazed by it all. She spoke to the crowd. “This is Faleena Smalls. A miserable excuse for a witch who’s been seeking out dark magic trinkets for years in an effort to boost her lackluster skills. She was banished from the American Council of Witches ten years ago and stripped of her magic for seven years.”
“The ACW can get bent,” Faleena growled.
Alice frowned. “Clearly, seven years wasn’t long enough.”
Corette had come up to take Saffie’s hand. Now she stared daggers at Faleena. “I’ll say.”
The sheriff, looking slightly uncomfortable in his suit, scratched his head. “I can put her in a holding cell until—”
“No need,” Alice said. “I am a certified ACW dark magic recovery agent and I am licensed to deal with offenders.” She snorted. “That alone should have been reason enough for you to stay out of my town, Faleena.”
“Your town,” Faleena spat the words out. “So full of yourself.”
“You’re about to be full of nothing.” Alice gestured to Van. “Bring Marigold here.”
Van carried her forward, moving closer and closer until Alice touched his arm lightly to position him at Wyatt’s side just behind Faleena. “Hold right there.”
Marigold wasn’t sure what Alice was up to, but she seemed to have a plan.
Alice lifted Marigold’s hands and put one on Wyatt’s shoulder and one on Faleena’s. “Stay like that.”
Faleena shrugged it off. Alice put Marigold’s hand back and gave Faleena a warning. “Do that again and I’ll apply the same spell to you that you did to Marigold. And I won’t just graze you with it, the way you did her. I’ll hit you right between the eyes.”
Faleena went very still. Marigold couldn’t see her face, but she wondered if Alice’s words had knocked the snarl off it.
Alice reached across Faleena on both sides to put her hands on Wyatt’s and Marigold’s forearms, then while touching all three, she began to chant softly, “Imperiatum omni acciperé, imperiatum omni acciperé, imperiatum omni acciperé.”
Her voice grew stronger as power filled it. Marigold understood what she was attempting to do. If she’d had a voice, she would have begged Alice to stop until they could prepare better. Wyatt wasn’t in any kind of shape to go through this again.
Wyatt suddenly closed his eyes. His jaw tightened, and the muscles there and in his neck strained with intensity.
Then Faleena let out a muted cry and her head fell back. She wobbled like she might faint as her eyes rolled skyward.
Marigold’s head went woozy as Faleena’s spell lost its grip. Then the presence of new magic surrounded Marigol
d. And even after just a day without it, the manifestation of power made her faint. If not for Van’s arms, she was sure she would have collapsed. She closed her eyes to find some equilibrium.
Magic surged through her like water overflowing a fountain. She was awash in it, floating in it, drenched head to toe. It filled her lungs and her heart and her soul.
She opened her eyes and sucked in a breath as the realization hit her that she had been made whole. And not just with random magic.
With her own magic.
She glanced at Wyatt in time to see his eyes start to roll back. “Van!” She jumped from his arms and grabbed hold of Wyatt.
Then Faleena slumped to the ground, out cold, and the crowd gasped. No one moved to help her. Instead, Alice stood over her like a guard.
Van took Wyatt’s other arm and looped it over his shoulders for support. “I have you, my friend.”
Wyatt blinked a few times and shook his head. “I’m okay. I think. Just a little knocked out.”
Alice nodded. “You will be fine. Both of you. But you should not have done what you did, young man.”
He met Alice’s gaze. “It worked, didn’t it?”
“Yes. But it was still a dangerous and foolish thing to do. I should have used Corette as my amplifier.”
“Amplifier?” Marigold glanced from Wyatt to Alice, no longer sure of anything. “What did he do? What did you do?”
“I opened a gateway to strip Faleena’s powers from her permanently and give them to you. Her ability is subpar to what you had, but I figured it would be better than none as you had. It’s a powerful and draining spell and best done with the help of a secondary. I chose Wyatt because he was close and I knew the strength of the power within him.”
Alice made a perturbed face at Wyatt. “He used the opening to return your power to you. As a result, Faleena’s abilities went to him.”
Wyatt was standing without Van’s help now, and as he spoke, he took Marigold’s hand. “So I still have magic?”
“You do,” Alice answered. “Nothing like what you had before, but with training…” She shrugged. “You’re deaf again, aren’t you?”
He nodded. “I don’t care.”
Alice peered at him. “Faleena’s magic isn’t strong enough to compensate.”
He shrugged. “Small price to pay.”
Marigold stared at her for a moment. Then at Wyatt. “You did that for me?”
“It seemed like the right thing to do.”
She put her hand to her mouth, her emotions already high on this special day. “Oh, Wyatt.”
“Was that…okay?”
She nodded, a little choked on tears. “I love you,” she whispered.
He pulled her into his arms. “I love you, too.”
The crowd let out a happy sigh, then started clapping.
Cole walked out of the crowd and cleared his throat. “Speaking of love…”
Marigold laughed and tapped Wyatt’s shoulder. “You’d better let me go. My sister needs to get married.”
He released her and gave Cole a nod. “Sorry about that.”
Cole smiled. “Nothing to apologize for. You’ve certainly made this a day none of us are ever going to forget.”
Corette, still holding Saffie’s hand, looked buoyant. “And what you did for Marigold is just…so good.” She sighed, then went all business and addressed the crowd. “If everyone could take their places so that we can resume this ceremony? Except for you, Sheriff Merrow. Perhaps you can call one of your deputies to remove our intruder?”
The sheriff took out his cell phone. “On it.”
The rest of the audience obeyed her request. Even the bluegrass quartet started up again. Only the sheriff remained in the tent with the still unconscious Faleena.
Van offered Marigold his arm. “Are you good to walk?”
“I am.” She took it, but kept her eyes on Wyatt. “I’ll see you in a few.”
“I’ll be here. I promise, I’m not going anywhere.”
As his beautiful girl walked down the aisle, Wyatt brushed himself off. A soft moan from Faleena made him glance at the sheriff, who had just ended his call. “You probably don’t have any cuffs on you in that suit, do you, Sheriff?”
The sheriff frowned. “No, I don’t. And call me Hank.”
Wyatt dug into the inside pocket of his suit jacket and pulled out a handful of zip ties he’d tucked away in case any of the swags went droopy. “These do?”
The sheriff smiled. “Like a charm.”
Hank crouched and made quick work of restraining the comatose woman. When he straightened, he shot Wyatt a look. “You interested in a job? We don’t have much in the way of homicides here in Nocturne Falls, but we could use a detective now and then.”
“How did you know I was a homicide detective?”
A smirk bent his mouth. “My aunt likes to investigate people.”
“I see. She works in the right place, then. You know I’m deaf in one ear.”
“I do. Don’t care.”
“Then I’m interested in the job. Especially since I plan on staying.” Wyatt went back to watching beautiful, in-love-with-him Marigold. “Let’s talk later.”
Wyatt held Marigold close as they swayed on the dance floor to the soulful strains of Etta James’s “At Last.” The words of the song made sense to him now. His lonely days were definitely over and the skies above him could not have been bluer.
Even though right now they were actually a dusky purple with the fall of twilight.
He inhaled the fragrance of her hair. Lilacs. He’d never smell that scent again and not think of her. He smiled and whispered into her ear, “You look beautiful, by the way. Not sure I said that.”
She moved her head off his shoulder to look at him. “You did. At least twice.”
“Three times is better.”
She patted his chest. “I like how you matched your shirt to my dress, too. Don’t think I missed that.”
“Dexter Guildman is a force to be reckoned with.”
“I’ll say. And here I thought only Birdie had the lowdown on what happens in this town.”
He tipped his chin toward a spot behind her. “Have you seen Saffie?”
“You mean since she caught the bouquet? I can only guess. Where is she?”
“Dancing with Charlie Merrow like this is their wedding. Hang on.” He swanned Marigold around to change her line of sight.
Marigold laughed. “Oh, that child. Catching Pandie’s bouquet has only convinced Saffron more that she and Charlie are meant to be. That poor boy.”
Wyatt shrugged. “He seems to be okay with it.”
“I guess.” She was still smiling, though. “Maybe he likes the attention.”
“Maybe the Williams women are just irresistible.”
She smiled at him, one of those easy, knowing smiles that made her eyes sparkle like diamonds. Which was something he was seriously thinking about buying her. “Is that what I am? Irresistible?”
“You are to me.” He kissed the tip of her perfect nose. “This has all happened pretty fast, hasn’t it?”
She nodded. “It has, but then, going through stressful situations has a way of bonding people. Don’t you think?”
“I do. Especially when those stressful situations involve things like one person saving the other person’s life and giving up the essence of themselves to save that person.”
“You’re never going to let that go, are you?”
“You saving my life? No. Never.”
“But you gave that magic back to me.”
“You still saved my life.” He laced his fingers together at the small of her back, pulling her closer. “So in stress years, how long have we actually been…a thing?”
“A thing?” Amusement danced in her eyes. “I’d say a couple months, easy. I mean, look. You already slept over.”
He nodded with great thoughtfulness. “And made you breakfast.”
Corette and her fiancé waltzed by at
that exact moment. Her mother shot them both a questioning look.
They laughed, and Marigold shook her head. “I’m going to have to explain that one.”
“You are a grown woman.”
“I know, but that’s what a close family is like. Especially a family of women. We’re up in each other’s business. You ready for that, Mr. West?”
He sighed contentedly. “Ready and looking forward to it, Ms. Williams. In fact, I’m ready for all of it. Love, marriage, kids—”
“Kids?” Her brows rose.
“I, uh, is that not—”
She kissed him, cutting him off. “I think you’d make a great dad.”
“You do?”
“Yes. I’ve seen you with Saffie. She adores you.”
An odd, nervous excitement swept through him. “I adore her right back. And maybe someday, if you’re willing and she’s willing, I could do for her what no one ever did for me.”
Marigold stared at him for a long moment, her lips parted, her eyes suddenly liquid in the sparkling lights of the tent. “Are you saying that you’d consider adopting her?”
He swallowed, hoping he hadn’t overstepped. “I am.”
She sniffed once, then laughed joyfully. “Yes, that would be amazing. Saffron would be willing, I’m sure of it. She’s always wanted a dad.”
The song came to an end, and the DJ announced the next song was for all the single ladies.
She took Wyatt’s hand and started to lead him back to their table.
He pointed at the dance floor. “You’re a single lady.”
She poked him in the ribs. “Oh no, I’m not. My days of living in Singletown are over.”
He slipped his arm around her waist, grinning as they walked to the table. “Is that so?”
“For sure. I’m moving out. My bags are packed.”
He was trying not to laugh, but he wasn’t sure when he’d had more fun. “I can’t wait to hear this. Where are you going then?”
“Isn’t it obvious?” She leaned up, took hold of his lapels, and kissed him again soundly before smiling at him like he’d just won something. “I’m headed West.”
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The Detective Wins The Witch (Nocturne Falls Book 10) Page 23