Mystic Luck (Mystic Tides Book 2)

by Kate Allenton

  Her pulse quickened. “Then stay. Live this life fully, and with me.” She touched his face. “As a man, with a woman who loves him.”

  “I will stay, if you will have me.” He reached to take her hand. “Sky, will you do me the honor of accepting my proposal of marriage?” He raised his brows. “I can give you five reasons why you should.”

  Jenn smiled as she threw her arms around his neck. “And yet, I only need one.”

  “Then you will have me?”

  She ran her fingers through his hair. “Not only will I have you, I will remain with you always. And, when my time comes, I’ll have my ashes placed right here, where you will one day lay root. If that is what you want.” She broke the embrace. “But not today and not tomorrow… only after a very long, and most magical, life together. And then… eternity.”

  As he held her tight, she felt as if they had blended, become one. And she knew he felt it too. For when they released, he took her hand in his and kissed it. “Mar go bhfuil talamh is amhlaidh spéir. As is earth, so is sky.”

  Just then a tiny shadow of a figure scurried underneath them. It grabbed the tossed vial from the ground and held it close to its chest. Then, in an excited tone, though barely audible, it ran off exclaiming, “Bling. Got bling for the nest.” Which caused them both to laugh.

  Jenn smiled through what, now, were tears of joy. “Did you know that it’s been said that the heliosphere has a tail shaped like a four-leaf clover?”

  He gave a nod as he stroked her hair. “I did know that. I also know that I am the luckiest man in the Universe.” He pulled her close, cupping her face in his hands, and kissed her.

  The End

  Healer’s Kiss

  Avery Michaels

  Chapter 1

  Paige Jessop had been eastbound for about fourteen hours it seemed. At least that was how far she estimated she was from home, based on her location. She didn’t exactly remember leaving or why. It wasn’t the first time she’d packed up her things and followed her subconscious, but it was the first time she didn’t turn around and go back home once she’d snapped out of the dreamlike quest.

  She was tired of the “happening,” which seemed to come and go without rhyme or reason. Since she was done with school and didn’t really have anything or anyone holding her in her hometown anymore, she’d already decided if the phenomenon happened again, she would just go with it.

  Her little eighties model Volkswagen Bug began to sputter, forcing her to get off the interstate. She’d been following what she could only describe as a pull. It was as though a thread was attached to her pulling her to an unknown destination. Now she’d clipped that thread to contend with her elderly vehicle.

  “Come on, Fancy! We’ve come so far. We can’t stop now.” She spoke to the steering column as though it were listening. Stranger things had happened. She slowed the car and wound down side roads in search of a town or even a gas station.

  She was wishing she’d stayed on the interstate, where at least she would be spotted, when she saw the sign that read, “Welcome to Blansett, North Carolina!”

  “Thank God,” she whispered to herself.

  She didn’t have to go far before she found herself in the middle of a quaint looking town. It looked like something right off of a television series. Townspeople milled around shops and such… Just like the town she’d come from.

  “No way,” she said, busting a U-turn right in the middle of Main Street. She wasn’t trying to even get close to another small town, lest she get sucked in. She would risk the car breaking down in the middle of nowhere before she would put herself in that position.

  Just as she headed back out the way she came, the car sputtered and quit with a hiss, smoke rising from the rear hood.

  She got out, slamming the door. “Motherfu—”

  “Having some car trouble?” a male voice interrupted.

  “You’re a quick one, huh?”

  “As a matter of fact, some would say that I am,” he said with a brilliant white smile. He was cute, too. He had that tall, dark, and handsome, business-casual thing going for him. It made it difficult to even look at him without wanting. She didn’t need another man rejecting her. In fact, she didn’t think she could take it.

  “Sorry. It’s been a long day.”

  “I can see that. My name is—”

  “Ah,” she said, holding up her hand. “Thanks, but I’m not staying long enough to get acquainted. Listen, I don’t mean to be rude. I just need a good mechanic so I can be on my way.” She grabbed the locks of her waist-long dark hair and tied it in a knot so she could have a look at the engine. Maybe it just needed water.

  “Sure, okay. If you want to leave it here, there’s a gas station just down the way. They’ll help you out. Can I at least help you get it out of the middle of the street? Or is that too much ‘acquainting’ for you?”

  She rubbed her forehead. A breeze brought an unfamiliar scent, something unlike anything she’d smelled before, wafting through the early spring air. She had no choice but to accept the handsome stranger’s help. She was stranded.

  “That’d be great, thanks.”

  He rolled up the sleeves of his white button-down shirt while she slipped off her plaid unbuttoned cover-up and tied it around her waist, leaving her in a tank top and leggings. Her cowboy boots slid on the pavement as she grasped the backside of the car. Every able-bodied man in the vicinity ran to their aid when they began to push.

  She could feel it coming on. The warmth began in her center and worked its way through her body.

  “Get back!” she yelled. To her surprise, they listened. Everyone stepped back just before all the glass in the vehicle shattered into millions of shards. They all stared at her as if she knew something that they didn’t. They were right. She did.

  “I’m so sorry! Is everyone okay?”

  “Everyone’s fine. How did you know that was going to happen?” the handsome stranger asked.

  “I didn’t… I mean,” she stalled, unsure of what to say. Then, she felt the cold coming off of the menfolk in waves. It had been the kindness that had shattered the glass. Now they were unsure of her; some maybe even afraid. She couldn’t take it. “I have to go.”

  She pulled her bag from the front trunk and resolved to leave the car for towing. As soon as she retrieved her things, the back of the car sparked and burst into flames.

  Well, that was new. Everyone who had been helping ran to get away from the car. Or maybe to get away from her. She’d like to say she’d gotten used to it, but she didn’t ever think she would get used to being shunned.

  Just then, a radiant, mesmerizing woman stepped through the flames without a single red hair being singed.

  “Relax, fellas. It’s just a little fire,” she said with a smirk.

  “Grey.” The tall, dark, and handsome man regarded her. Paige thought the woman looked like a walking felony, and she didn’t even swing that way.

  “Dr. Lewis,” the woman said without sparing him a glance. “What’s wrong with you people? Someone grab a fire extinguisher.”

  “Old Man Hubbard called the fire department.”

  “Cancel that.” She pointed directly at the older gentleman who’d spoken the words. “They needn’t be bothered with such nonsense. Come on, guys, grow a pair.”

  A man ran over with an extinguisher and went to hand it to the woman, but she crossed her arms over her very voluptuous breasts. “This isn’t my car.” The man just turned and sprayed the white mist putting out the fire.

  “Come on, sweet cheeks. You’re with me.” Grey beckoned.

  “Me?” Paige asked with a raised brow.

  She seemed agitated that she had to clarify. “You are Paige, aren’t you?”

  “Um, yeah… How did you—”

  “Just get your cute ass over here. Nice boots, by the way.”

  “Paige…” Dr. Lewis whispered. He went pale like he’d suddenly seen a ghost.

  Chapter 2

 
Dr. Zack Lewis had grown up in Blansett. He’d attended medical school outside the confines of “Magicville” but never felt he belonged anywhere else. He was gifted. He accepted his gift and was honored to have it.

  Zack knew that Grey was a fire starter. He knew about her and her family. Being the town doctor also came with knowing a little bit about everyone, even if he hadn’t been an aura reader. He’d never thought himself a clairvoyant until the moment he laid eyes on that magnificent creature with the piece-of-shit car.

  She was literally the woman of his dreams, most of them nightmares surrounding what he believed to be his own demise. Hers was a face he’d hoped he would never see until he saw it. He hadn’t recognized her at first but it all clicked into place when he heard Grey speak her name. Paige… He’d made a point to stay away from all women with the name until now.

  Her presence had drawn him in right away. With the longest, fullest, darkest hair he’d ever seen and crystal blue eyes, she was a vision. Even in her plaid cowboy-boot get-up, with the mouth of a sailor and the manners of a shut-in, her mere being made him want to know her. He’d been dreaming of her for so long that he had to know her, even if it cost him. And he knew it would.

  * * * *

  Paige followed along behind Grey, unsure. She asked the red head numerous questions, but Grey had a way of politely not giving direct answers. When Grey stopped walking and faced her, Paige realized they were alone behind a brick building.

  “So you’re a fire starter?” Grey asked.

  “A what?”

  “You…the car?” Grey held her palms up in question. “Well, there must be something special about you, or the mayor wouldn’t have sent me looking for you three times, honey bun.”

  “Three times? The mayor? I’m so confused.”

  “I’m sure you are but own up. What’s your ability?”

  Paige blinked at her several times, pretending not to know what she meant. She was obviously stranded here, at least until her car was repaired. She didn’t need to hear the taunts from the townspeople while she waited. “Jinxy Jessop” was really catchy. It didn’t take much to put it together when things were always breaking around her.

  “You’re a looker, but not much of a talker, huh? That’s fine. I wouldn’t give it up that easily either.” Grey shrugged with a grin at her unsubtle suggestive remark. “Here’s what I know. I promised to deliver you to the mayor, so to the mayor is where we’re headed. Got it, sweet cheeks?”

  “Fine.” Paige could tell that Grey was a force to be reckoned with, and she didn’t have any intentions of having a reckoning. Besides, she was very curious. She hadn’t even planned to come to Blansett. How could they have been expecting her? Unless…they were like her… That piqued her curiosity, as she’d never met anyone like her before. She thought of herself as cursed; a freak of nature. Something akin to the bearded lady. A sideshow attraction that no one would ever see.

  Grey walked her to the large gated mansion on the outskirts of town and left. Paige felt that thread-like pull again. It was much stronger than the other times when she’d turned around and gone home. It was more than a pull; it was as though she’d been summoned or something.

  The front door opened as she approached. A woman in a uniform led her to a sitting area where she was to wait, as the mayor was on an important call and would apparently be with her shortly.

  She was bombarded with thoughts of her past as she sat there waiting for a stranger who’d gone to great lengths to meet her. And for what? Paige was nothing more than a jinx who broke just about everything she touched and had been hurt by everyone she’d ever loved.

  She’d started breaking things: glass, plastic, even metal would dent and wood would splinter, when she was about twelve. That was when the taunts began. It was brutal. Boys were mean, but girls were worse.

  In an attempt to start over, her parents moved them to an adjacent town, but she couldn’t run from what was. She was a destroyer. That was all she could think to call it. She knew only two things for certain about her so-called “ability.” She hated it, and she had no control over it.

  Her goals included either disappearing into a sea of people in a huge city or saving up enough money to buy a farmhouse in the middle of nowhere where she couldn’t hurt anyone or anything else.

  She’d finished school and even given college a try. It was great the first couple of years. She just kept her head down and tried to stay away from people. She thought she’d shed her destructive outbursts, but then things went really wrong.

  During her senior year of college, she’d met a guy. Things were going well. She’d been happy, really happy. He’d been the only man she’d ever gotten close to.

  Everything had been great between them until it wasn’t. One disagreement. One heated argument was all it took. He’d lost an eye in one of her glass-shattering moments. She’d never meant to hurt him. She even tried to fix him, but he wouldn’t let her touch him. To make matters worse, her parents had paid the price. He’d pressed charges and filed a civil suit, claiming she’d purposefully smashed the glass into his face. It had taken nearly every dime her family had to keep her out of trouble. That was when she’d cut ties with them. They loved her, but she knew a part of them had been relieved to see her go. She wasn’t resentful; she didn’t want to burden them any longer. She’d taken what was left of her college fund, gotten an apartment with a short-term lease, and obtained work from home as a telemarketer to save up enough money to get away.

  That was where she’d been when she felt the pull this time. The first time had been when she got her driver’s license, the second, right before the incident with her ex-boyfriend. Both times she’d found herself far from home, wondering what the pull was but turning her back on it. This time she’d followed it all the way to the doorstep.

  Now she sat in a fancy house waiting to talk to a mayor of another small town? What was she thinking?

  She got up and headed for the door.

  “Going somewhere, Miss Jessop?” A voice floated down the master staircase.

  “Um, yeah, I don’t belong here.”

  “On the contrary, dear. This is exactly where you belong.”

  “With all due respect, you don’t know anything about me, ma’am.”

  “My name is Helena-Marie Blansett. You can call me Helena-Marie.”

  “I really don’t know why I’m here. I should go.”

  “Where? Your car caught on fire. You’re a long way from home. If I had to guess, you’re probably a little short on cash. So why not stay a spell?”

  “A spell, huh? Interesting choice of words.” Paige found it humorous given the circumstances.

  “Yes, dear. I worked a spell on you. Well, I had some friends of mine, witches, work it, but you’re here all the same.”

  Paige stood there with her mouth agape for a moment. “Are you crazy? Shouldn’t it be illegal for mayors to be crazy? Or did you just buy the town? I mean your name is on the sign.”

  “That’s because I belong to one of the founding families, as do you. And no, I’m not crazy, but you are if you think you can walk away from your destiny.”

  “Destiny,” Paige repeated with a half-hearted laugh. “You are crazy. My name is not Blansett. It’s Jessop.”

  “It is now. But you were born into the Willow family, one of the town’s founding families. Your mother was Francesca Willow. She was my best friend, and I am your godmother.”

  “Like a fairy godmother?” She laughed. Paige knew she was adopted, and even though she wanted to deny it, she could feel that this woman was being honest. Her so-called ability did allow her that.

  “You know I’m telling the truth.”

  “But…witches and powers? Come on. It’s not real.”

  Helena-Marie laughed. “You know that’s not true. You’ve known your whole life that you didn’t belong out there. That’s because you belong here with us. Some people with gifts do well out in the world, but not you. You had no one to nurture
your ability; no one to teach you or explain it to you. That’s my fault. I should’ve been there for you after your parents’ accident, but you were out of my reach before I could get to you. That was my fault too. I’m so very sorry for that. But I always knew where you were. I was always watching over you—”

  “Yeah? What about when I was taunted? What about when I had no friends? Where were you then?”

  “I summoned you several times. I tried to get to you. I promise. You just wouldn’t come. I couldn’t force you, dear.”

  Paige felt herself sinking. She melted to the floor like a puddle until her butt hit the rug with a thud. She knew she should be angry that it had taken so long for this woman to reach out to her, but instead, she was grateful to finally have answers.

  “What’s wrong with me?”

  “Nothing is wrong with you. You’re special,” Helena-Marie said, leaning down to brush her fingertips across Paige’s face. She looked into her eyes. “My word, you look just like your mother.”

  Helena-Marie took Paige’s chin and continued. “Paige, you are perhaps among the most gifted women I’ve ever known.”

  Paige felt a calm come over her before a vision flooded her mind. It was a vision of the man who’d helped her earlier—Dr. Lewis—reaching his hand out, screaming her name. There was a green haze in her periphery but the whole thing had a dark undertone. She backed away quickly from Helena-Marie.

  “What was that?”