Once Upon a Witch: A Wicked Witches of the Midwest Fantasy Books 1-3

by Amanda M. Lee

  “We’ve had a busy two days,” Landon explained. “When it first started I thought Bay was imagining it. She saw someone flying over the property – in a hoodie, no less – and I thought she dreamed it.”

  “Flying, huh?” Dad looked amused. “Like a superhero?”

  “He was flying over Aunt Tillie’s pot field,” I replied. “I have serious doubts it was a superhero unless … is Marijuana Man a thing?”

  Landon snorted, his eyes lighting up. He’d been down for hours so it was nice to see. “I thought the field was harvested for the season.”

  “It is. That leads me to believe that we’re dealing with a teenager. He’s either stupid or doesn’t realize that pot plants can’t grow when it’s cold.”

  “We haven’t dealt with him either.” Landon leaned against the support beam in the center of the living room and pressed the palm of my hand against his cheek. I didn’t think he realized it, but he did it at times when he was upset. It somehow soothed him.

  “I kind of forgot about him,” I admitted. “With all of the crap going on, the guy flying over the pot field seemed unimportant.”

  “Yes, well, when you’re dealing with naked senior citizens humping in a car and a woman wishing for Hollywood celebrities so she can use them as sex machines you have to prioritize,” Thistle interjected. “Speaking of that, where is Clove? She looked as if she was going to pass out.”

  “Sam took her to one of the rooms upstairs,” Uncle Teddy replied as he hovered close to Thistle. “Why is this still happening? Warren must’ve hit the wishing well by now.”

  “Maybe I should call Chief Terry,” Landon suggested, releasing my hand and digging in his pocket. “We can send him over there to make sure Warren hasn’t run into anyone or somehow gotten himself in trouble.”

  “I can look for him,” Dad offered. “You don’t have to bother Terry.”

  “I … .” Landon looked caught. “Chief Terry has been around for several wish reversals today. He knows how it’s done. Also, he’s in town. He can get to Warren faster. I don’t want Bay suffering longer than she has to.”

  Dad balked. “And you think I do?”

  “I think you’re jealous of Terry,” Landon answered without hesitation. “Listen, I get it. If I were in your position I would probably feel the same way. The problem is that you’ve earned this relationship with your kid and he’s earned the one he has with her.

  “He’s the one who was there all those years you guys were gone,” he continued, causing my heart to constrict. Now was so not the time for this. “They love him. Bay loves him. That doesn’t mean she doesn’t love you, too.”

  Landon typed something into his phone and stared for a moment until it dinged.

  “Chief Terry is going to check on Warren right now,” Landon said. “I kept the details light. Hopefully that will be enough.”

  We lapsed into uncomfortable silence for a few minutes, Dad staring at Landon as he gathered his thoughts, and then he cleared his throat to draw our attention. “I’m not jealous of Terry. Well, I am, but that’s not why I get so worked up.”

  “Okay.” Landon looked as if the last place he wanted to be was in the middle of this conversation. “Why do you get so worked up?”

  “Because it’s easier to blame other people than yourself,” Dad replied. “I love Bay, but I walked away. There was a time when I thought nothing could break apart my family … and I was wrong. Tillie broke apart my family.”

  “And that’s simply another excuse,” Landon snapped, his vehemence taking me by surprise. “Tillie was there for all three girls when you guys were gone. I’ve heard stories – hilarious stories, mind you – where she spent days upon days watching them while Winnie, Marnie and Twila were getting their bed and breakfast up and running.

  “She took them to cemeteries to steal flowers, to Margaret Little’s house to fill in her driveway with yellow snow, to Lila Stevens’ house to spy on her, and to the bakery for doughnuts and hot chocolate,” he continued. “She was there. I think it’s really despicable that you want to blame her for your shortcomings.”

  Dad’s mouth dropped open, surprise washing over him. “I’m not blaming her.”

  “You are,” Landon countered. “You can sit there and say that you never thought it would happen, but the fact of the matter is that you let it happen. You might think I’m being a hardass, but I have to be. I need Bay to know that no matter what, I won’t do what you did.

  “The Winchester family is difficult, and I would never say otherwise,” he continued, “but they’re easy, too. All you have to be is loyal and you’re golden with them. How do you think that I get bacon every single morning when I spend the night?”

  “I … don’t know.” Dad looked uncomfortable as he shifted from one foot to the other. “I didn’t want to leave Bay.”

  “If that were true you wouldn’t have left,” Landon shot back, not missing a beat. “We all make choices in life. You chose to leave. You also chose to come back. You have to live with the consequences of your actions.

  “This is important to me, and I’m fairly certain it’s important to Marcus and Sam, too,” he continued. “I love Bay and I’m always going to be with her. One day I wouldn’t mind a kid or two with her – as long as we don’t allow Aunt Tillie to babysit, that is. I want her to know – no, I need her to know – that I won’t ever leave.

  “Blaming Aunt Tillie for your weakness is laughable,” Landon said as he shifted to get more comfortable. “The woman is massively difficult, but she’s easy to gauge. Do you know what she wants more than anything?”

  Dad shook his head. “No. Do you?”

  Landon nodded. “She wants her girls to be happy. She wants all of them to be happy. Even if she doesn’t like you she will make an effort to keep you in the fold if you make her girls happy. How do you think Sam hung around so long when none of us knew his true motivations?”

  “I … um … huh?”

  Landon smirked. “When Sam first came to town we were all suspicious of him,” he explained. “I was the worst, because he approached Bay and announced he knew she was a witch, and it made me uncomfortable. It didn’t make me uncomfortable because I was worried about people finding out, mind you, but it did worry me because I thought he wanted something from her.

  “As it turns out, he merely wanted people who understood him,” he continued. “He found that with the Winchesters. They opened their home and hearts to him. He’s a good man. He saved Bay. She probably would’ve died without him. That took time, though. It didn’t happen instantly.

  “You built your relationship with Bay over time.” Landon adopted a pragmatic tone as he rubbed his fingertips over my knuckles. “You seem to think it’s not going to take time to fix things. That’s not how it works, because it takes genuine effort to make things right.”

  “They’re not putting in a lot of effort,” Dad pointed out. I wanted to argue, but he wasn’t wrong. “Why do we have to put all of the effort in?”

  “Because they’re your children and you created this situation,” Landon replied, not missing a beat. “I don’t have sympathy for you. And, as for Chief Terry, if you continue treating him poorly you’ll drive away Bay. He loves her. He didn’t make a wish, but he told her what it would be if he had wished for something. Do you want to know what that wish was?”

  “To be with Winnie?” Dad made a disgusted face.

  “No, to be Bay’s father and go back in time and do it even better the second time around,” Landon replied, causing Dad’s face to drain of color. “He loves Bay for who she is. You love Bay for what she is.”

  Dad looked confused. “I don’t understand. Are you insinuating that I love Bay because she’s a witch?”

  “No, I’m saying that you love Bay because she’s your daughter,” Landon corrected. “You feel you have to love her, so you love her. But here’s the thing: I don’t want anyone loving Bay out of a feeling of obligation. Love her because she’s Bay. Otherwise … d
on’t love her at all. She deserves more.”

  Dad drew his eyebrows together as he shot a rueful look in my direction. “He’s kind of smart … and mean … when he wants to be.”

  “He’s bossy and addicted to bacon, too,” I offered, blowing out a sigh. “The headache is easing. Chief Terry must’ve found Warren.”

  “Good.” Landon rubbed my forehead. “It will get better quickly now.”

  “I hope so.”

  “I know so.” Landon rested his forehead against my cheek as he rubbed my temple. “It seems like you guys keep trying to take shortcuts, Jack – and believe it or not, I’m not blaming you for this snafu because it wasn’t your fault – but you need to put in the work. Life isn’t going to hand you easy answers. That’s not how people succeed in the real world.”

  Dad mustered a legitimate smile for Landon. “I’ll keep that in mind. I … thank you.”

  “You’re welcome.” Landon kissed the tip of my nose. “Now, where is that cake?”

  “YOU WERE good with him.”

  I linked my fingers with Landon’s and swung our joined hands as we walked toward the guesthouse an hour later.

  “I wish I wasn’t forced to keep having these deep discussions with him,” Landon admitted. “He seems like he’s caught in a rough place. He wants a relationship with you, yet he’s bitter. My biggest problem is that he doesn’t seem to be bitter with himself.”

  “I think the opposite is true,” I argued, taking Landon by surprise.

  “You do?”

  I nodded. “I think he blames himself for all of it and the guilt is swallowing him whole,” I explained. “He hates himself for what he did and wants to go back in time and fix things. That’s not possible, so his anger keeps building and building … and occasionally it seeps out.”

  “That doesn’t mean it’s okay for him to go after Chief Terry.”

  “Definitely not.” I shook my head. “I always feel guilty for talking about Chief Terry in front of him, but what am I supposed to do? Chief Terry was there for us. He’s part of our family.”

  “He is,” Landon agreed, bobbing his head. “You’re simply going to have to play it by ear. I know I said that you guys shouldn’t be responsible for putting in effort, but it would be helpful if you would put in some effort.

  “I don’t think it has to be anything major,” he continued. “Perhaps you could invite your dad to lunch once a week or something. He needs an olive branch. Things will only get worse as long as you keep holding up Chief Terry as a paragon of virtue.”

  “I won’t cut Chief Terry out of my life.”

  “You don’t have to,” Landon shot back. “What you do have to do is find a way for them to co-exist. It’s best for everyone involved if you manage to find a level playing field.”

  “I’ll give it some thought.” I knew I sounded petulant, but I couldn’t muster a lot of effort. “I’m really tired. Do you think we could go to bed early tonight?”

  “Oh, baby, I was thinking we’d share a bath and then crawl under the covers until dawn,” Landon admitted. “I feel like an old man I’m so tired.”

  “I’ll bet I can make you feel young again,” I teased, playfully pinching his butt.

  “I’ll bet you can, too.” Landon wrapped his arms around my waist and dipped me low so he could press a scorching kiss to my mouth. “Maybe we’ll add one little item to tonight’s agenda.”

  “That sounds like a plan.” I giggled as Landon made gnawing noises and rubbed his cheek against mine. I was so caught up in the moment I blinked back the first shadow as it passed over my face. The second was harder to ignore, because I was forced to look up from my position and I didn’t miss the face smiling down at me as Hipster Man flew over the well-worn trail.

  “That is so hot,” he called out, causing Landon to jerk his head up.

  “Hey! We’ve been looking for you,” Landon barked.

  “Well, you’ve found me,” the boy said, beaming. “Now you just have to catch me.”

  And with those words, he zoomed off into the night … and right toward Aunt Tillie’s pot field.

  “I’m really starting to hate teenagers,” Landon muttered.

  I patted his arm. “I’m right there with you.”

  If I had a genie trapped in a bottle I would totally wish for a week alone. No more waiting in line for the bathroom. No more having to fight over stools at the counter. No more having to slap people over the last slice of bacon. Oh, don’t look at me that way. I would be perfectly fine … unless that’s when Bigfoot finally decided to make his presence known. If that happens I’ll wish I was dead, so … yeah, maybe I need to rethink this.

  – Clove, 10, explaining why the Winchester house is too small for all of its occupants

  Eighteen

  “Which way?”

  Landon narrowed his eyes as he scanned the sky. The moon wasn’t full, and clouds dotted the darkness, blocking the stars.

  “That way.” I pointed in the direction of the field even though I’d lost sight of the kid. “I’m pretty sure he’s been flying over the field every night.”

  “For what purpose?” Landon grabbed my hand so he wouldn’t accidentally lose me, and picked an easy pace for me to maintain. I think he remained worried about my headache, even though it had dissipated.

  “I’m telling you that the kid is an idiot,” I replied. “He probably thinks that pot grows year round.”

  “How does he even know about the field?”

  “It’s one of those secrets that’s not really a secret,” I answered. “Aunt Tillie’s field has reached legendary status with the younger set. It’s become something of a challenge for someone to be the first to stumble across the field.”

  “If they don’t know it’s there, why do they keep coming? Once a few kids tried and failed, I’d think they’d give it up.”

  “Yeah, I don’t think that’s the way teenagers roll.”

  Landon kept a firm hold on my arm. The trees in the area were mostly bare – autumn stripping away the leaves – but there were plenty of holes and fallen branches to cause a fall or painful collision if we didn’t pay attention.

  “Go to the right,” I ordered, pointing. “There’s a fairly well-worn trail over there.”

  “I’ve seen this trail before,” Landon noted. “I didn’t realize it led to the field.”

  “You can’t find the field,” I reminded him. “Aunt Tillie hexed it so any law enforcement official looking for it will get diarrhea. She told you that herself.”

  Landon stilled, the ramifications of my words washing over him. “You don’t think that’s still true, do you?”

  I shrugged. “What’s more important? An uncomfortable night on the toilet or saving a kid before his wish goes bad and he rushes headlong into the ground and breaks his neck?”

  “Good point.” Landon remained rooted to his spot, tilting his head to the side as he considered his decision. “I’ll wait here. You can handle Hipster Man on your own. I have faith.”

  My mouth dropped open, stunned disbelief causing my stomach to twist. “You’ve spent the entire day doting on me and making sure I was taken care of. Are you really abandoning me now?”

  “That kid is not a threat,” Landon argued. “He’s just a lazy burnout looking for free weed. I have faith that you can handle him.”

  I narrowed my eyes, frustrated. “I don’t want to go alone.”

  “I don’t want to spend the night on the toilet.”

  “But … .”

  “I’ll watch from here.” Landon moved his hands in a small shooing motion. “If you get in trouble call out for me and I will come running.”

  “Yes, but will you be in time?”

  “I guess we’ll have to wait and see.” Landon leaned forward to kiss me, but I jerked my head back.

  “You’re on my list,” I warned, extending a finger as I turned back toward the field. “If I die out here, don’t blame yourself too much. It’ll only be half your fault.
”

  “Oh, geez. You’re so dramatic. You’ll be fine.”

  I broke into a jog, refusing to glance over my shoulder and give Landon the satisfaction of knowing that I was worried about handling this particular problem without him. I was almost at the edge of the field when I heard something in the bush to my right. I pulled up short and snapped my head in that direction. To my utter surprise, I found Thistle and Clove trudging through the foliage … and they weren’t even trying to be quiet.

  “I can’t believe this,” Thistle groused. “I wanted a cup of tea and a cookie. That’s the only reason I had Bay and Landon drop us at the inn. Now we’re stuck out here looking for Loser Man. It’s just not right.”

  “I’m right there with you,” Clove grumbled. “I wanted to pretend I didn’t see him when Twila pointed through the window, but here we are. I kind of want to beat this kid up. Do you think that’s wrong?”

  “It’s not wrong,” I offered, causing both of them to jolt. They obviously hadn’t seen my approach. “Landon is hiding over there because he’s worried he’ll get diarrhea if he goes with me. He’s spent the entire day trying to protect me, and now it’s all ‘you’re on your own’ and ‘you’ll be fine’ and ‘stop whining because you’re giving me a headache.’”

  Thistle snorted, craning her neck in the direction I gestured and grinning. “I forgot about the diarrhea curse. Aunt Tillie really is gifted when she wants to be.”

  “I can think of a few other words for her,” I snapped. “Why isn’t she out here dealing with this?”

  “She’s supposed to be inside dealing with the reversal spell – Mom says she’s close, by the way – so Aunt Winnie vetoed it when Aunt Tillie said she was going to get her shotgun,” Clove replied. “For once I wish she was here. I have no idea how we’re going to get that kid down.”

  She wasn’t the only one. “Did anyone see where he went?”