After the Summerland (The Witches of Spring Hill Book 1)

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After the Summerland (The Witches of Spring Hill Book 1) Page 3

by Patricia Proctor


  “Rowan! You need to learn to control your temper. You feed right into whatever Kaiden is dishing out and I’m telling you, it’s going to catch up to you.”

  “Dad, is it so much to ask that we leave early? Everyone else is already at school by the time we get there. I miss all the good stuff,” Rowan pouts.

  “Ro, you are crazy if you think I am going to get up earlier just so you can hang out with your friends five extra minutes before classes start,” Kaiden says, adding, “And guess what? Believe it or not, everything is not about you.”

  Before Rowan can respond, Liam says, “Enough! Stop with the bickering. I’m already tired of hearing it and Rowan — no, we are not leaving earlier. As we’ve discussed, this schedule works for everyone else, and most importantly, me. After I drop you off, I have just enough time to see your granddad and great granddad, er GG Peter, before getting to the station. If we left earlier, I would get stuck in all that mom and bus traffic and I’d be late.”

  Rowan quickly gets over her annoyance and begins texting her friends. Chloe looks over her Geometry textbook, making sure she is prepared for her exam while Kaiden reads the Sports Illustrated he puts in the jeep directly from the mailbox each week.

  Liam glances at them in the rearview mirror, again reminded of how grateful he is for how his life has turned out. Both his dad and granddad have been insisting that he tell the kids about their true history, but Liam is not ready to lose the “normalness” of his family. He knows that some people in town do not in fact consider this family normal, and are still curious if not suspicious of how he came to be the father of three overnight.

  After the babies were dressed and fed and fast asleep in one of the rooms, Liam, Marcus, and Peter began building. They built three cribs, two playpens, two diaper changing tables, and a story for everyone in town. After his dad gave Liam the letter from Abigail Scott explaining his important role in their lives as their souls guardian, Marcus and Peter concocted a story that would keep most questions at bay.

  The story went that the women were surprised when their young niece showed up on the doorstep with three babies, without the means to care for them. The girl begged Aunt Isabelle, Aunt Cora and Aunt Abigail to take the babies in and raise them until she could get on her feet. The girl’s father always talked about his sisters, her aunts, who lived in Spring Hill, North Carolina. On his death bed, he told her she could always count on them if she ever needed help. The niece took that advice, dropped off the babies and went on her way, hoping to put her life in order so she could return to pick up her children.

  This neatly explained the presence of the three babies, but what about the disappearance of the women? Peter, who had spent a lot of time with the women planning this event, had already crafted the story with them. The story went that the women, faced with their own mortality with the news of their brother’s death and overwhelmed by the arrival of the babies, decided to go back to Massachusetts to visit the rest of their family.

  They planned to stay awhile, but the only problem was their niece, who left quickly, not leaving any contact information. They had no way of telling her of their new plans, so rather than taking the babies with them, they needed someone to come live at the house and raise the children until the niece returned for them. They contacted their old friend, Peter Alexander, and asked for help. Peter told them that his own grandson, Liam, was great with children, wanted some of his own, but struggled with relationships with women.

  Liam strongly protested that last part, but in the end the story took on a life of its own with people adding their own details here and there. The romantics at heart all hoped that when the ‘niece’ returned for her babies, she would meet Liam and fall in love, solving all of their problems. Others saw what a great father Liam was and hoped the niece never returned — really, what kind of woman would abandon three babies, anyway?

  A letter was left for Liam giving him power of attorney, along with the deed to the land with the guarantee that he could live at the house on the hill while raising the children, until the (nonexistent) niece came back for them. If the niece didn’t return, money would be left in a trust for the three children, which they would receive upon their 18th birthday, along with the deed to the property. At that point they could choose their own paths. This answered any legal questions fully and since most people already believed anything that Peter, Marcus, and Liam told them, no one really challenged or questioned the story.

  Some people whispered about the strange circumstances, but having known Liam their whole lives, they eventually let the story die out. Some were relieved that the three old women were gone, along with the strange lights and sounds. But most people were sad to see the Scotts go since they never really caused any trouble, gave the town some good fodder for gossip, and of course, their leaving meant the end of 3 Sisters goods. That first season, Liam harvested everything in the garden and brought it down to the market to sell, but no one was impressed and for the first time anyone could remember, food went back up the hill.

  Everyone in town adored the three Alexander triplets and they were spoiled from the moment Liam brought them to town. The babies always seemed to be looking around with wondrous expressions, and everyone commented on how they were so completely alert and curious about their surroundings. After 16 years, no one has ever questioned why neither the niece nor the three sisters ever returned.

  Liam pulls up to the school and pounds the fist of each of the kids as they hop out of the car. Rowan rolls her eyes as usual, but Chloe and Kaiden both give him a big grin — glad that their dad is somewhat cool. They head in the direction of their groups of friends, who all appear to be waiting for their arrival. The Alexander kids are popular, which brings Liam both pride and fear.

  Liam watches as Rowan’s friends immediately encircle her, excited that their fearless leader has finally joined their ranks. At 5’6” with long auburn red hair and green eyes, she stands out from the group of blondes and brunettes. She is always dressed in the latest fashions, which today, thankfully, is jeans, a tank top, and a hoodie.

  Some days Liam cringes at her choice of clothes and has to remind her that she is still in high school. He is constantly watching to make sure what she is wearing is appropriate and on more than one occasion he has sent her back upstairs to change before going to school, which she hates. He is sure she will be the one who takes being a witch the worst. All she seems to want is to fit in, and being a witch is only going to make her stand out. Knowing her, she will try to convince her friends to be witches — and they will try, just to please her.

  Chloe makes her way to her friends, the quirky kids who are both intelligent and cool at the same time. They wave at Liam and aren’t at all embarrassed to do so. Chloe, at 5’5” fits in well with her friends, with her long black hair, big blue eyes, black rimmed glasses, and clothes she made herself. Today she is wearing a long skirt with beads hand sewn on the bottom and a tank top she made from clothes she has outgrown.

  She is completely self-sufficient and self-reliant, yet loves to be around people. Of the three, she is the kindest, most grounded, and may have already started to recognize her special gifts. She was the first one to wander the gardens with Liam and was the first to start asking questions about her own abilities. She is wise beyond her years, has an incredible amount of patience, is the first to laugh at a joke, and is kind to everyone and everything.

  Kaiden is, surprisingly, just like Liam when he was in high school. He joins his jock friends who are no doubt talking about last night’s basketball game. Kaiden is also tall for his age at 5’11”, which is why he was asked to join the varsity basketball team this year instead of junior varsity. He has an athletic build, dark brown hair, hazel eyes and has an easy way about him. Like Chloe, he is nice to everyone and exudes a crisp confidence that says, I know who I am and I am not changing for anyone.

  Everyone likes Kaiden as soon as they meet him and so he has many friends, both boys and girls. He is extremely p
rotective of his sisters, and Liam can’t help but smile as he watches Kaiden make sure both of them are situated with their friends before he can relax with his own. He gets good grades, plays sports year round, and like the men before him wants to serve his community. Instead of being a policeman, he wants to become a fireman as soon as he is done with school. Liam worries that Kaiden will be disappointed in his new destiny, since just like Liam at that age, he already seems to have his plans clearly mapped out ahead of him.

  Liam pulls out and heads to the diner to meet his dad and granddad for coffee before going into work. He knows what this morning’s conversation will be about since it has been the same conversation they have been having for the past year. Today they will be relieved when he finally agrees that it is time to tell them. Liam holds on to the memories of his sweet kids throughout the years; but, inside, he knows the time has come to let go.

  Chapter 6

  Rowan sees the looks on the faces of her friends as she approaches, and laughs inside at their neediness. Everyone thinks she cares so much about what other people think, but actually she couldn’t care less. Her favorite part of her day is the morning when she gets to see how her ‘friends’ fawn all over her. Such a game, she thinks, as she decides who she will sit next to at lunch, who she will text after school, and who she will share her ‘secrets’ with. It’s not like she does it to be mean, she just likes to see how far she can go. She likes to push limits and unfortunately for her ‘friends,’ they are her pawns.

  Today she really did want to get to school early because she wants to be one of the first people to see the new kids who are starting today — two boys and a girl. Triplets just like her, Chloe, and Kaiden. It’s not everyday they meet others like them and she can’t help but wonder if they are as different from each other as she, Kaiden, and Chloe are.

  “Ro? What are you thinking about?” Kristen asks. Rowan hates when anyone other than her family calls her “Ro” so she snubs Kristen and turns to Jessica and asks, “Did the new kids get here yet?”

  Jessica, pleased with the attention, shakes her head and looks at her phone for the fifth time. “It’s only 7:15 though, so they’ve got 10 minutes before the first bell rings.”

  Rowan looks out to the parking lot and watches a shiny, black SUV with tinted windows pull in. She rolls her eyes knowing that it’s Tyler White, who will no doubt start bugging her about going out on Friday night. She turns her head away so he doesn’t get the impression that she cares. Tyler is a senior and really shouldn’t be pursuing her as doggedly as he is. If her dad only knew how hard he was trying to get her to go out with him, he would arrest him for disorderly conduct or something.

  Kristen, trying to get back on Rowan’s good side says, “Rowan, Tyler is heading this way. Do you want me to deflect him for you? I really don’t mind — I mean, the guy is fine.”

  Rowan glares at Kristen and says in her sweetest voice, “Kristen, he is only looking for a piece of ass, so if you want to, um what was the word you used? Oh yes, deflect him — by all means go ahead.” Kristen, realizing once again that she has failed Rowan, walks away from the group without turning back.

  As Tyler approaches, Rowan notices a sleek white Mercedes pull up to the curb, completely out of place in this town. Before Tyler can say anything, Rowan turns her back on him and looks for both her brother and sister. Kaiden makes eye contact with Rowan immediately and breaks away from his group just a little bit. Chloe, in the middle of a conversation, stops abruptly, stands up and moves away from her friends to make eye contact with both Rowan and Kaiden.

  When the three occupants slide out of the car, the hairs on Rowan’s, Kaiden’s, and Chloe’s arms raise. Instinctively, they break completely away from their friends and come together. The energy is electric and all three Alexanders are shocked that other people don’t seem to notice it.

  The first person to get out of the car is a tall blonde girl with green eyes. She is wearing all black except for her jewelry, all expensive looking, in various shades of green. She takes in her surroundings and then makes eye contact with Kaiden. Kaiden can’t help but smile at the girl, who smiles sweetly back at him.

  The second person to step out of the vehicle is a tall boy with jet-black hair and eyes to match. He is wearing dark blue jeans and a tight black shirt that shows how much time he spends working out. He doesn’t bother taking in the surroundings and zeroes in on Rowan. She gasps and the usually perfect Rowan staggers a little under his scrutiny. For the first time in a long time, Rowan wonders how she looks to someone else.

  Finally, the third person steps out of the car. Looking slightly disheveled with brown hair and piercing blue eyes hidden behind glasses, wearing khaki shorts and a plaid shirt, he looks around and settles his gaze on Chloe. Chloe feels her heart pound harder in her chest and an unusual fluttering in her stomach that reminds her of the butterflies that flit around the flowers in the garden. It feels as though time has stood still until the door of the Mercedes slams shut, bringing everyone back to their senses.

  Although it seems like time stood still, in reality, only a few moments has passed. As everyone else gets back to whatever it was they were doing, it seems as if only the six of them have connected. Rowan is the first to acknowledge what happened, “Did anyone else feel that?” she whispers to her brother and sister. They both acknowledge her question with a nod. “What the hell is goin’ on?” Kaiden asks.

  Brianna, Xavier, and Cian Silvan know all about the Alexander triplets. They have spent the last three months learning the ins and outs of the town and more specifically, learning about Peter, Marcus, Liam, and the triplets. They were not, however, prepared for the intensity of the three’s gaze when they first laid eyes on them. How appropriate that they would be together, front and center, in front of the school upon their arrival on the first day of school. Most surprising is that they were standing together. Their Aunt Selene told them that the Alexander triplets never spend much time together, each being so very different from one another, especially at school where they stick with their own groups of friends, their own cliques.

  It’s not that they expected it to be easy to come between them, but they did not expect the trio to put up such a strong front on the first day. Brianna nudges Cian and says, “How come no one told me how cute Kaiden Alexander is in person?”

  Xavier throws an unexpected grin at his sister and replies “Probably for the same reason nobody told me that Rowan looked like that — Aunt Selene doesn’t want us to be distracted by how they look.”

  Cian doesn’t say anything because he already decided that he would be a voice of reason in all matters related to the Alexanders. He would not, absolutely would not, do anything to harm them, especially after seeing Chloe in person. He read the bio that his aunt made up about her this morning at breakfast and can now sense that Chloe is a gentle soul and he does not want to cause her any pain. No, he will protect her and all the Alexanders — even if it means going against his own family, especially his aunt and brother. He knows he can convince his sister to stop this madness, but his brother will need persuading.

  Chapter 7

  The Silvans moved to Spring Hill from California. Selene Silvan sought custody of her niece and nephews after their father, her brother, Michael, died a year ago. She had been living with them since Amy, the kids’ mother, died more than five years ago. It was only natural that she would take care of them when their dad died and she had no difficulty getting custody. She collected the life insurance money, sold the house, packed up her niece and nephews and set out to find a new place to live. With the money from the life insurance, the huge profit from the sale of her brother’s house, and even after most of the money went to the kids trust funds, she became quite wealthy and chose a place far away from California and the suspicions surrounding her.

  Selene and Michael were born and raised outside of Salem, Massachusetts. Their mother was a witch so they were used to watching her use magic to manipulate people. Tho
ugh Michael was six years older than Selene, he didn’t have a lot of friends due to their mom’s strange behavior so he spent a lot of time with his little sister. Michael loved the outdoors and would take Selene out to explore around their property whenever he could. They spent summers wandering Salem Woods until their mom insisted it was time for Selene to start focusing solely on witchcraft.

  Selene initially wanted nothing to do with magic, instead preferring to spend her free time with her brother, until her mother used her own powers of manipulation to force Selene to comply. When that didn’t work, she locked her in her room until she broke. Michael could only sit by and watch and although he wanted to help his sister, he quickly learned that any attempt to help her would only lead to further abuse. Their mother never raised a hand at Michael, instead focusing all of her energy on Selene. Though Michael was saddened, the bond between him and Selene eventually broke as she immersed herself in their mother’s craft.

  Michael was always uncomfortable with his mother and her magic and when Selene started practicing, it pushed him over the edge. He met Amy, a sweet girl who wanted nothing more than to move to California, have a big family, and live near the ocean. Michael was thrilled to get away from his mom and sister, who by then had started practicing dark magic and were becoming more dangerous everyday. Michael built a life for himself and his family in California, far from his mom and sister, while Selene entrenched herself in witchcraft.

  Eleven years later, Selene showed up in California and wanted to spend time with Michael and his family. Shortly thereafter, the kids’ mother died and Selene moved in to help care for her young and impressionable niece and nephews. It didn’t take long for her to introduce witchcraft to Xavier, Cian, and Brianna, who were not only impressed by their aunt’s amazing abilities, but were searching for something to fill the void left by their mother. Selene was thrilled to find the seed already growing within them, and with a little nurturing she helped mold them into three strong witches.

 

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