Twelve
“Let me see.”
Landon was gentle as he removed the bag of frozen peas resting against my eye, his face full of sympathy as he pressed his lips together. I could tell he didn’t like what he saw. We’d returned to the inn after Nelson reversed his wish. My mother barely spared me a glance before tossing a bag of frozen peas in my direction. She was too busy glowering at Aunt Tillie, who made a big show of working on a reversal spell as she muttered under her breath whenever she thought no one was listening.
“How bad is it?”
“It’s fine.” Landon answered immediately, but the look Thistle shot me over his shoulder told me he was fibbing.
“Will people think I’ve been in a fight?” I was trying to look on the bright side of things. “It might up my street cred.”
“People will think you got your butt kicked,” Thistle replied. “That won’t up your anything.”
“I’m just worried people are going to think I did it,” Landon grumbled. “That’s what happens when a woman shows up with a black eye.”
“Not in this house.” Thistle was enjoying my injury far too much. Her expression was almost gleeful, which proves just how evil she really is. “They’ll think I did it. I am the queen of the witches, after all.”
“You’re the queen of something,” Landon shot back, brushing a kiss against my cheek before putting the peas back in their spot. “Maybe we should take you to the hospital to have that checked out.”
“Because you’re worried everyone will think you beat me up? No one will believe that.”
“You’d be surprised. But I wasn’t suggesting that for my benefit. I suggested it for your benefit. I think this is going to look ugly by tomorrow morning.”
“We can add some mugwort to it,” Twila suggested, shuffling closer. “That would probably kick in the healing. That means it will turn that sickly green color sooner, but it will be totally healed much faster.”
“I’m willing to try anything.”
“Will it hurt her?” Landon looked legitimately concerned. “I don’t want her in pain.”
“Oh, you’re so cute.” Twila grabbed his cheek and gave it a good jiggle. “You love your Bay so very much, don’t you?” She talked to him as if he were two, which I thought would send him over the edge. I was wrong.
“I do love her,” Landon agreed. “I felt helpless when I saw those girls attacking. I didn’t know what to do. I’m not keen on punching a bunch of teenage girls.”
“You had no problem tackling Nelson,” I pointed out, grinning at the memory. “You flew through the air like one of those television FBI agents. All we were missing was a car so you could slide across the hood.”
“Ooh, like T.J. Hooker,” Thistle teased, her eyes gleaming.
Even though he was feeling serious, Landon mustered a smile. “I wanted to hurt that kid, so I had no problem tackling him.”
“He did right by us in the end,” I reminded him. “He reversed the spell.”
“He did.” Landon bobbed his head. “He didn’t do it before you got hurt, though.”
“Landon … .”
Landon held up his hand to quiet me. “I don’t want to turn it into a thing. I was just frightened. It’s okay.”
Thistle and I exchanged a weighted look. She could sense his unease almost as easily as I could, but neither one of us knew how to make him feel better, so we let the moment pass.
“Did you call Clove?” I asked, changing the subject. “We’re going to need help if we expect to turn around all of these wishes by the end of the day.”
“I called her, but I don’t think she understood what I said,” Thistle replied. “She kept asking me to repeat myself, and then I heard Sam in the background and she said she would be over just as soon as she was done worshipping him.
“Now, I figure they’re playing some sort of weird sex game that I don’t want to know anything about,” she continued. “If it’s something worse than that, I’ll have to punch him.”
“There’s a lot of punching aspirations going around today,” I teased, smirking at Landon as he studied my profile. “I really am okay. Believe it or not, this isn’t the first black eye I’ve ever had. I was blessed with several when I was younger.”
“All thanks to me.” Thistle puffed out her chest, proud. “I punch like a dude.”
“How marvelous for you,” Landon deadpanned, shaking his head. “I’m just glad it’s over. This is the only house in the world where a cursed wishing well is actually something to worry about. I can’t quite seem to wrap my head around it.”
“What’s vexing you?” Twila asked, serene.
“Vexing me?”
“What’s bothering you?” I corrected.
“I know what ‘vexing’ means,” Landon grumbled, shaking his head. “What I don’t understand is how these wishes work. Bay said that you can’t force someone to love you if they don’t feel it, but Nelson clearly made those girls feel something for him. And he was trying to do the same with Bay.”
“You can’t make a heart feel something it doesn’t feel, but you can trick a brain into believing something that’s not real,” Mom explained, narrowing her eyes when she saw Aunt Tillie attempt to steal a cookie from the counter. “No snacks until you come up with a reversal spell.”
“This is cruel and unusual punishment,” Aunt Tillie complained. “How do you expect me to work under these conditions?”
“You should’ve thought about that before you cursed the wishing well to mess with Margaret Little.”
“There’s such a thing as elder abuse,” Aunt Tillie pointed out. “I believe that’s what’s happening here.”
“It can get worse.” Mom’s tone was firm before turning back to Landon. She seemed to sympathize with his plight more than anyone else. I didn’t understand why he was so worked up. “Nelson couldn’t have made Bay fall in love with him … or out of love with you. That’s not how this works.”
“But Bay would’ve thought she was in love with him,” Landon persisted. “Isn’t that the same thing?”
“Not even close.” Mom wiped her hands on a towel before shifting closer to Landon. “Bay loves you with her whole heart. Her heart recognizes your heart. I know that sounds schmaltzy, but it’s true. Bay’s heart would’ve known something was wrong even if Nelson managed to make that wish. You don’t have to worry about that.”
“That doesn’t change the fact that Nelson could’ve taken advantage of her.” Landon refused to back down. “What if he’d wanted … sex?” Landon lowered his voice on the last word, as if afraid someone might overhear him.
“I’m fairly certain that Nelson wouldn’t know what to do with a woman if she did actually want sex,” Thistle pointed out, grabbing the cookie Aunt Tillie had been angling for a moment before and shooting a smug smile in our great-aunt’s direction as she bit into it. “He probably wouldn’t have gotten further than kissing.”
“That doesn’t make me feel better.”
“It all worked out in the end,” I said, grabbing his hand. “Please don’t work yourself up over this. We’re together. Everything is fine.”
“I know.” Landon mustered a smile as he rested his forehead against mine. “Sometimes this magic stuff throws me. I’m out of my element and worried I’ll fail you at exactly the wrong time.”
“You can’t fail me. It’s not possible.”
“Oh, geez.” Aunt Tillie made a disgusted face as she stared at the ceiling. “How am I supposed to work when the schmaltz twins are talking that way? I’m going to call that government agency that investigates elder abuse and force them to rescue me from this crazy house.”
“That sounds fine to me,” Mom shot back, blasé. “They’ll put you in a home and we’ll be free of people who would curse a wishing well to be mean. I think that’s best for everybody.”
I couldn’t remember the last time I’d seen her this angry. It had been years since she mustered this much venom for one of Aunt
Tillie’s miscast spells.
“Oh, fine.” Aunt Tillie turned back to the notepad on her lap. “I think I might’ve used some wormwood essence.”
“We don’t need you to think,” Mom ordered. “We need you to know.”
“Yeah,” Thistle sneered, wiggling her butt in front of Aunt Tillie before hopping away from our elderly great-aunt when she reached out to grab a handful of flesh. “We need you to know.”
“Don’t push it,” Mom warned, wagging a finger at Thistle. “Why must you always push things?”
“I think it’s a gift,” Clove announced, taking everyone by surprise when she strolled into the room with Sam at her heels. Her face was flushed – as if she’d been enjoying a brisk walk outside – and her eyes were sparkling. “So what’s the big emergency?”
Thistle tilted her head to the side as she stared at Clove, her mind working overtime. “Why are you so … shiny?”
Clove balked at Thistle’s tone. She was smart enough to realize that Thistle didn’t mean it as a compliment. “I’m a happy person. Happy people are shiny people.”
“What cult told you that?”
“Okay, let’s not start by attacking people right out of the gate,” Sam said, stepping between my cousins and extending his hands. He and Clove had been dating for months, so he was used to the Winchester method of interaction. That didn’t mean he liked it. “Can’t we all just get along?”
“I think that’s a fine idea,” Clove said, grinning.
“I think so, too.” Thistle said the words but they weren’t tinged with the snark I expected. I lifted an eyebrow as I stared. She looked as surprised by her reaction as I felt. “I personally prefer it when everyone gets along.”
Landon snorted at the singsong way Thistle delivered the line. “You didn’t hit your head when no one was looking, did you?”
“I … no.” Thistle wrinkled her nose. “That’s not what I meant to say.”
“What did you mean to say?” I asked, genuinely curious.
“I meant to say that Sam is a dreamboat and he’s the smartest male member of our family,” Thistle replied. “If we could bottle his essence and sell it, we’d make a fortune.”
Thistle’s mouth dropped open as her words registered. “What the … ?”
“Huh.” I shifted the bag of peas and stared at Sam. Something odd was going on here … other than the obvious, I mean. “Sam, you didn’t by any chance stop at the wishing well and make a wish over the past few days, did you?”
Sam balked. “I … of course not.”
“He wouldn’t do that,” Landon scoffed. “He’s far too smart, brave and wise. That’s not in his nature.” Landon’s worry lines from a moment before shifted to anger trails on either side of his eyes. “Oh, crap.”
“Yeah, I’m pretty sure Sam made a wish,” I said, chewing on my bottom lip as I tried to keep from laughing. “I’m kind of curious to know what it was … and how he phrased it.”
“I didn’t make a wish.” Sam’s cheeks flooded with color. “Why would you think something like that? Wishing wells are for children. I’m not a child.”
“No, you’re a strong and sensitive man, and I’m so glad you found my daughter,” Marnie said, twisting a lock of Sam’s dark hair around her finger as she beamed. “In fact, if you weren’t dating my daughter, I would date you myself. I’ll bet you’re a stallion in the sack.”
“Oh, my … gawd!” Clove screeched as she grabbed Sam’s arm and jerked him away from her mother. “Are you hitting on my boyfriend? What is wrong with this family?”
Even though I was enjoying the spectacle, I decided to put Clove out of her misery. “It’s the wishing well,” I explained. “Aunt Tillie cursed it to mess with Margaret Little, and instead it backfired and everyone in town is having wishes come true. Unfortunately, those wishes will eventually have bad repercussions.”
“Ugh. How could you?” Clove swiveled on Aunt Tillie, her face murderous. “That’s terrible.”
“Oh, pipe down, kvetch,” Aunt Tillie snapped. “It’s not as if I did it on purpose. I was a little drunk when I cast the spell. These things happen.”
“Only to this family,” Marcus quipped.
“You’re usually my favorite, but I’m kind of at my limit today,” Aunt Tillie warned. “I wouldn’t push things too far.”
Marcus nodded. “Got it.”
“What did you wish?” Landon asked, his eyes locking with Sam’s. “It’s important. We need to know how you worded it so we can go back to the well and reverse the wish.”
“I … didn’t make a wish.” Sam stubbornly clung to his denial even as the ramifications of what Aunt Tillie admitted to doing washed over him. “Oh, well, crud on a cracker.”
“Just tell us,” I prodded. “It can’t be worse than what we’ve already dealt with today. I mean … look at my eye. How do you think this happened?”
“I thought Landon popped you one when your mouth got out of control,” Sam answered honestly.
“I told you!” Landon was livid. “Everyone in this town will think I’m a woman beater.”
“No one will think that,” I yelled. “Stop being a baby. I have a black eye. I’m not dying or anything.”
“What did you wish for?” Clove asked, tilting her head to the side. “Did you wish for me to be a better girlfriend?”
“Ugh. Now is so not the time for your insecurity streak to rear its ugly head,” Thistle barked. “Focus. We have real issues here. Bay was attacked by a group of teenagers, and Danielle Simmons reportedly has a Hollywood star locked in her home. We have bigger issues to deal with.”
“But … I need to know.” Clove worried her bottom lip with her teeth. “What did you wish for?”
“I … .” Sam held up his hands, helpless. “I wished for more respect from people.”
“Respect?” Landon arched an eyebrow. “Did you have anyone in particular in mind when you made the wish?”
“You and Aunt Tillie.”
Landon stilled. “Oh.”
“I respect you,” Aunt Tillie called out. “I’ll respect you even more if you hand me one of those cookies. I’m not allowed to grab one myself.”
Sam ignored her. “I just … it was an impulse wish. I didn’t think anything of it when I made it.”
“That’s how wishing wells usually work,” Mom said, patting his arm. “You need to reverse it, though. It will snowball if you’re not careful. You could end up with an injured eye like Bay.”
“And then people will think Clove beat you up,” Landon grumbled.
I pinched his side to get his attention, shooting him a warning look before inclining my chin in Sam’s direction. “Don’t you have something you want to say to him?”
“Not really.”
I scorched him with a dark look. “Are you sure?”
“Oh, geez.” Landon jerked a frustrated hand through his hair. “I respect you, Sam. I really do. You saved Bay’s life and you make Clove really happy. I couldn’t ask for more than that.
“If there are times I don’t show it, well, I’m sorry,” he continued. “I’m not a very verbose guy, and I don’t mean to neglect your feelings.”
“You were awfully verbose five minutes ago when you and Bay were trying to drown everyone in a river of schmaltz,” Aunt Tillie pointed.
“That did it.” Landon smacked his hand on the table, taking everyone by surprise with his anger. “You’re on my list now, Aunt Tillie. Yeah, you didn’t see that coming, did you? Well, you’re on it. I’m sick of your mouth and I’m sick of this situation. I want this fixed, and I want it fixed now. That means you’re going to stay on my list until you reverse the spell, so you’d better watch out because things are about to get ugly.”
The room fell into uncomfortable silence as everyone eyed one another and then burst out laughing at the same time. Even Aunt Tillie looked amused.
“That was funny.” Aunt Tillie shook her head as she returned to her book. “I still want a cookie.�
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“And I want my pajama day,” Landon muttered, shaking his head as I rubbed the back of his neck. “How hard is it to get one pajama day? That’s all I want. A whole day of peace. I think I’ve earned it.”
“I think you’ve earned it, too,” I offered.
“Then why can’t I get it?”
That was a good question, and I didn’t have an answer. Seriously, I was pretty sure this day couldn’t get any worse. The fairy tale book we were cursed into months ago was starting to look downright appealing.
I wish Thistle was that easy to deal with. When she decides she can’t sleep she doesn’t quietly get up and go in the other room so she doesn’t disturb me. Instead, she pinches my nose until the lack of oxygen causes me to jerk awake, and then we have the pleasure of dealing with her insomnia together.
– Marcus explaining why Clove is easier to live with than Thistle
Thirteen
“Well, that was relatively painless.”
Sam cast a rueful smile at Clove as he slipped his arm around her shoulders and shuffled away from the wishing well.
“How do you feel?” I asked.
Sam shrugged. “The same as always.”
“If that’s code for disrespected, get over it,” Landon ordered. “I respect you. I said it and I meant it.”
“And I believe you,” Sam supplied. “It’s just … you have a certain tone.”
“You definitely have a tone,” Thistle agreed. She was enjoying this wishing well stuff far too much. It was starting to get annoying. “I think you should work on that.”
“That’s rich coming from you,” Landon pointed out. “All you have is tone.”
“Don’t let her get to you,” I instructed, grabbing his hand. “She’s having a great time because none of this has touched her yet. It won’t be so funny when something bad happens to her.”
“Oh, nothing bad is going to happen to me,” Thistle countered. “I believe in karma, and I’ve been a very good girl lately.”
“Only you and Aunt Tillie could say that with a straight face,” Clove said, resting her head against Sam’s shoulder. “I think those without the guilt gene see themselves as perfect even when they’re not.”
Make A Witch Page 11