Under The Kissing Bough: 15 Romantic Holiday Novellas

by Kathryn Le Veque

  The ecumenical council dinner, where she, Jim and Beryl got the pledges of all the church congregations was particularly hard.

  The evening passed with glacial slowness. Annie didn’t realize just how much she’d come to look forward to being with Reyn. After sleeping with him, enjoying his company, she now felt bereft.

  She kept watching for him. It wasn’t conscious, but she realized she was doing it.

  She and Beryl had just arrived at the main town meeting hall, rather than the coven meeting space, when her phone rang.

  “You go on in, Beryl. I need to take this.” Annie swiped the screen. “Hey,” she said. “How did it go?”

  “Really well,” he said. “We’ll see what happens. They’ve got two other candidates.” He paused. “I miss you.”

  Her heart clenched. She missed him too but she wasn’t going to say it. “When are you going to be back?”

  “Around two a.m.,” he said. “I’m ready to be home.” He paused, then said, “Can I buy you breakfast in the morning? I want to see you.”

  She hesitated for a heartbeat. Determination rushed through her. She’d decided, when she was chosen queen that she was going to be brave. She remembered the shooting star. It meant change. Change wasn’t always easy, but going for what she wanted had served her well. She had the Classic Cauldron because she’d had the courage to go for it. She was doing so well professionally, she sometimes forgot that she was supposed to be happy as a person, too.

  “Hey, Annie,” Reyn said into the silence, “they’re calling the flight. I’d better go. I’ll see you in a few hours. I have a lot to tell you.” He sounded excited, but the noise of the airport on his end made it hard to be sure.

  “Reyn?” she said, before he could hang up.

  “Yeah?”

  “Come to my house when you get in,” she said, before she could think about it too much.

  ####

  They’d managed to save most of the rich guy’s house. The line of sight for shooting hadn’t been optimal. Hitting the propane tank had been a total miscue. Once again, Reyn had moved at just the wrong moment.

  He had protections, obviously. He’d also found her devices. His affinity for fire was helping him, no doubt about it. Since that wasn’t very common, he was probably the only one.

  How to get Reyn and Jake at the same place again? Some magick to strip away protections was in order, then another set up where she could get them both.

  “I think I’ll fire up the courthouse.” Nothing would stir up the town more than having their precious, antique courthouse go up in flames. It was also a sure way to get her targets away from magick, since its use was banned in the courthouse. Perfect.

  When the courthouse burned, the town would suffer. With Reyn Shapleigh gone, the whole town would burn.

  No one would stop the flames.

  ####

  Reyn rolled down snowy streets that were empty and still. Haven Harbor at two in the morning was a quiet place. Michigan had been busy, crowded and full of people. It would’ve been an adventure in some ways.

  When he saw the lights in Annie’s window, he let out the breath he hadn’t realized he’d been holding. She was waiting at the door when he got to the top of the stairs. He wasn’t sure he’d ever seen a more gorgeous sight. When she let him in, and locked the door, he knew all he wanted to do was hold her.

  “Annie,” he said, pulling her close. She melted into his arms and he’d never felt anything more wonderful. “I missed you. A lot.”

  “I missed you too,” she replied and kissed him with a fervor that matched his own. They didn’t make it past the living room. They took one another on the floor with a passion that flowed like fire.

  “Next time you get the bottom,” he joked, as he lay spent on the floor with her on top of him. “These hardwood floors don’t have any give.”

  “Original floors, thank you very much. I sanded them myself.” She nestled into his chest, her heart still beating a fast tattoo under his hand.

  “I missed you,” Reyn said, wrapping his arms around her to keep her close. It was a weird feeling to miss someone. He missed his parents in a vague sort of way. They were in Arizona with his sister for the holidays. Mandy was close to term with her third child, and couldn’t fly, so their mom and dad had gone to her. He missed them, but not like this.

  “I missed you too,” she murmured. “And this.” She ran a hand down his flank.

  “Flattery will get you everywhere,” he said.

  “I’m counting on it getting me more sex,” she said, and he felt the curve of her cheek as she smiled against his chest.

  “I think it’s a good bet you will.” He hugged her more tightly. “I’m glad to be home. How did the dinner go?”

  “Good. It was strange without you. Kind of awkward with Jim, Beryl and me.”

  “Sounds very third-wheel.”

  “Exactly!”

  “I’m here till New Year’s, thankfully.”

  “Will you spend tomorrow with your family, or your firefighters?”

  “I may drop by the firehouse, but my parents are in Arizona.” He told her about Mandy and the baby. “Will you be with your family?”

  “My grandparents flew to Cancun to meet my parents and Lianna.” She drew patterns on his chest with an idle finger. “I was going to have Moira and Patty over for Christmas lunch. Would you like to join us?”

  “I’ll need to be at the fire station for part of the day, but I’d like to come for lunch.”

  She propped herself up on his chest. “Reyn, we’re sleeping together. You’re the winter oak king to my winter queen, yes, but you don’t have to feel obligated.”

  “I want to,” he said, tucking a curl behind her ear. “I want to be with you, Annie.”

  “Then I’d love to have you join us.” With that commitment, simple as it was, something shifted. Changed. Eased.

  “We’re not eating until one,” she said, caressing his chest. “How are we ever going to fill all the hours?”

  He brought her hand to his lips. “I can think of several ways,” he murmured as he stood. “I haven’t tasted all of you yet.”

  “Tasted?”

  “A fabulous cook like you knows how important taste is, right?”

  He backed her toward the bedroom. She was smiling now. “I do. I’d like to taste too. Why should you get all the tasty fun?”

  “I won’t object,” he said, shifting his hands to her backside. He lifted her up and she wrapped her legs around his waist.

  After that bout of lovemaking they slept till dawn. She was awake and watching him, when he opened his eyes. “What? Did I snore?”

  She shook her head, smiled. “Just admiring. You’re beautifully made.” She ran her fingers over his face, down his neck and across his collarbone. The feather light caresses were arousing. Then again everything about her got him going.

  “I’m on call today.” He needed to meet with Jake. They were no closer to identifying their firebug.

  “So how shall we occupy ourselves until ten?”

  “Ten?”

  “I have casseroles to make.”

  “Ten it is,” he played his fingers through her hair. He couldn’t get enough of touching her. “Until then, I think we should get some exercise.”

  “Exercise?”

  “Cross-training.”

  He reached for her. “Lifting,” he said, as he flipped her underneath him. “Presses,” he said, moving down her body to kiss her between her breasts, then her taut belly, her hipbones––one and then the other.

  “Oh, boy, I like cross-training,” she said, suppressing a gasp as he settled between her legs to part the flesh at the juncture of her legs. “And tasting.”

  When he’d wrung two orgasms from her with his tongue and hands, he let her flip him onto his back and nearly lifted off the bed when she put her mouth on him in turn.

  “Jesus, Annie,” he gasped and he heard her laugh.

  She stopped to ask hi
m if what she was doing felt good, as if he wasn’t about to come apart. He tugged her up to kiss her. She slid over him and he arched up to move in more deeply.

  He flexed within her and she moaned.

  “Oh, man, that is one sexy move,” she said on a gasp. She rode him harder until he was ready to explode. “Now, Reyn, now!”

  He let himself fly on her order and came with her. “Annie!”

  Everything within him called her name. She collapsed onto his chest, panting. “Oh, my God, Reyn,” she whispered. “Wow.”

  “I know,” he managed around his own heavy breathing. “You’re amazing. Really amazing.”

  “That would be you.”

  He smiled. “Merry Christmas”.

  She smiled back. “Merry Christmas.”

  It took them a while to get themselves together, but they were down in the store by ten-thirty, and Annie was cooking. “Not that I need more food,” Annie said. “I’ve got a ham in the freezer and rolls and pies. People keep bringing food. Can I bring some to the firehouse?”

  “Of course.” He moved into the demo space and kissed her before sitting down with a mug of coffee she’d made for him.

  “So we do this power sharing thing tonight, after dinner?” she asked, obviously flustered from the kiss.

  “Yes, we’ll meet everyone at the coven meeting hall, and then do the thing where they give us the keys.”

  “Then what?”

  He smiled. “Well, then we finish collecting pledges, I guess, and dump the final power into the wards on New Year’s Eve.”

  “Sounds good.”

  He helped her open cans and cut vegetables and stir things. Before too long the wonderful smells of baking sweet potatoes, cinnamon and the rich savory smell of the vegetables filled the air.

  They carried the dishes upstairs, set the table and got out wine and glasses.

  “You sure it’s okay that I’m here?” He wasn’t exactly nervous about Christmas dinner with her friends, but he wasn’t relaxed either. His unease was well founded when Moira cornered him before the meal.

  “Reyn, are you serious here?” she said, drilling a finger into his chest. “If you’re just having a fling, you better tell her that. Don’t let her fall for you.”

  Annoyed, he moved Moira’s pointy finger away. “I’m serious about her, but I don’t think she believes it.”

  Lunch was a lively affair. They discussed the fires and the traditions of the wards throughout the meal, and when it time to clean up, Patty shooed Moira and Annie back to the living room.

  “Reyn and I can handle it,” Patty said, motioning for him to help. When they were alone in the kitchen, she too cornered him. “Don’t you hurt her, Reyn Shapleigh,” Patty said fiercely. “She’s too sweet, and too giving.”

  “I’m not going to hurt her, Patty,” he said, exasperated. “She’s not fragile. In fact, she’s amazing. So back off, okay?”

  Patty looked at him, still frowning. Finally she nodded. “Okay. Fair warning though.”

  He nodded. “You and Moira both.”

  Patty grinned. “That’s girlfriends for you.”

  As darkness fell, Patty and Moira left to get ready for the coven Christmas meeting. Annie heard Reyn on the phone when she went to dress in her queen’s robe, but they were running late so she didn’t say a word when they got into Reyn’s truck to head over to the Main Haven Harbor Coven meeting hall.

  Tomorrow they’d talk about when he was moving. For tonight, he was still hers.

  “The snow’s beautiful,” Annie said, staring out the windows. “Like a dream.”

  “Right on time,” he said, seeing several of the others pull in as well.

  Beaming, Winona put them into their proper places in the procession. “You’ve done an incredible job, folks. We’ve got more than eight thousand pledges,” she enthused. “That’s amazing, especially with so many out of town.”

  “I think it’s because of what happened at The Witches Walk,” Jim said. “Everyone felt that.”

  There were nods all around. “You’re probably right,” Winona said. “Whatever the reason, I’m very happy. Let’s get the power sunk into the wards and the keys transferred and go drink eggnog.”

  She turned to the Coven members, assembled in the larger room.

  “Welcome one and all and thank you for your pledges to support the town. Thank you for being her tonight as well. Please thank the kings, queens and courts with a round of applause!”

  There was thunderous clapping and cheers as the smaller group moved toward the inner coven chamber. The larger group, outside, would create a protective barrier spell while they did the work of transferring the power to the protective town wards, including the Outer Ward.

  Winona positioned them around the keystone, and called the quarters. The energy of earth, air, fire, water and spirit coalesced in the room, protecting them all.

  Annie linked hands with Beryl as Beryl took off her key and held it poised at the keyhole. Reyn and Jim did the same. Patty, as one of the members of the court, took Annie’s hand, linking Annie to Reyn.

  Annie felt the surge of energy as all the members of the courts joined hands. Power flowed through her in a wave as Beryl and Jim seated the keys into the locks. When she and Reyn set their hands on the keys, as instructed, it was a rush.

  It felt like it felt when she made love with Reyn––brilliantly strong, with a warmth, like coming home, and a sense of safety, the way she felt in his arms. The power flowed from her and renewed her at the same time.

  The warmth of the exchange was reflected in every face in the linkage.

  “To Haven Harbor,” Winona intoned, “we pledge our support in times of danger and trouble. We, the witches of Haven Harbor, will fight for the town. We give power to the wards and seals that protect us all.”

  They repeated the words in unison, and Reyn felt the flow of power like a benison.

  When the power had passed into the wards, they all sighed.

  “And we open the circle so that we may go, never forgetting that we have pledged to support one another through any trial that threatens our town,” Winona intoned, releasing the circle with a whoosh of relief.

  “That’s such a fabulous feeling,” Jim said on a sigh.

  “This second time was more powerful,” Beryl said, and the members of the summer court agreed. They were all still discussing it when they adjourned to the larger area for eggnog, and light hors d’oevres.

  Patty was the first to call it a night. “I don’t know about you folks, but I have to work tomorrow, so I’m going to head on.”

  “We should go as well,” Annie said, picking up her purse. “Reyn has to drop me back at my place before he heads home.”

  There were a few grins, but no one commented on their being together. When she and Reyn were alone, riding through the silent town, he broke the quiet.

  “So, are we a thing, a relationship, or ships in the night, Annie Boylston?”

  She turned in the seat to look at him. “I don’t know. I thought we were just a thing when we became the winter king and queen. Then you helped out at the market. You trusted me with your news. You came to Christmas dinner. So then I thought, maybe, a relationship. That takes two people though, Reyn Shapleigh,” she said, using his full name as he’d used hers.

  “I want to be with you, Annie. In a real way. The king and queen thing, that’s been no hardship, in fact, it’s been a pleasure. But I want more. Do you want to be in a relationship with me?”

  He turned onto Main, heading for her shop. She was about to answer when she looked at across the Common at the Courthouse.

  “Holy shit, Reyn, fire!” she gasped. “The Courthouse!”

  “Dammit!” Reyn did a three-sixty in the road and gunned it for the firehouse. “Call it in!”

  The sirens wailed, and the first two trucks pulled out as Reyn pulled in. He kissed her hard, and tossed her the keys. “I don’t know when I’ll be done.” Reyn ran for his gear. He wa
s back out again in record time, and jumping onto the third firetruck as it raced out into the snowy night.

  Fingering the key around her neck, Annie tried to decide what to do.

  “What I do best,” she said. Taking his truck, she raced to the Classic Cauldron. Within forty-five minutes she had made up a huge kettle of chili, readied the ham and casseroles she’d been given, as well as the pies.

  She packed it all into the truck, and carried it to the fire station. In their dining area, she got everything ready for the firefighters’ return. Tim was the lone firefighter still at the station.

  “I’m on secondary dispatch,” he told her. “We have to be ready for a secondary fire. Some firebugs do that, start one fire, then another, knowing we’re spread thin.”

  “Smart to hold a reserve.”

  “That’s Reyn.” Tim turned to her. “It’ll be a while, Miss Annie. I’ll get Reyn home if you want to take the truck.”

  “No, I’ll wait.”

  Annie paced the floor for another hour, desperately wanting to go to the courthouse, but knowing she’d only be in the way. Suddenly, she felt a pain in her chest. It hit her in the heart and in the leg. Intense and fiery, it spoke of danger.

  Reyn. She had to find Reyn.

  “Tim, Reyn’s in trouble,” she cried, grabbing her coat. “Something’s happening. Something bad.” She snagged the keys and ran for the truck. “I have to go.”

  “I’ll take you,” Tim said. She tossed him the keys. Tim squealed out of the parking lot and drove like a maniac to the back of the courthouse where cops and firefighters stood in tense groups watching the fire’s aftermath. Steam rose from the building and condensed into frost, joining the icicles hanging from the edges of the building.

  “Where should he be?” she demanded. “Where would he be needed?”

  “In the building. Fire’s out so he’ll be double checking for flare ups.”

  “Ow!” The pain in her shoulder hurt as if she’d been branded. “Tim, he’s hurt!”

  “Shit,” he said, whipping the car to the curb. He grabbed the mic from the dashboard. “Dispatch, this is Tim. Reyn’s in trouble. Is Chief Strongbow on site at the courthouse?”