“With proper care these groves could be brought back to life. I’d imagine that lemon trees would also do well here. Meyer lemons, I presume. I could look into that,” he said making a notation in a small notepad he’d pulled from his breast pocket. “And to think that all of this started way back in 1769 when Father Juniper Serra planted the very first citrus seeds in California,” said Matt as he continued to wander around the property.
“Remember what I told you?” Jonathan warned Larry. “He can go on for hours.”
“Do you mind if I take a few clippings off this foliage?” Matt asked to no one in particular. “I’d like to send them off to one of my buddies at the state lab to see if he can determine the actual lineage of these trees; could prove to be quite interesting.”
Without waiting for an answer Matt wandered farther off on to the property, clippers in hand and apparently lost in horticultural heaven.
“By the way,” said Larry, “I asked the girls to come up to the property today so that we could begin dreaming a bit more realistically about Jasmine’s Cottages By The Sea. I think it’s time that we formalize a few more plans and get some schematics drawn up well before we go to the architect for working plans. And I really want to make sure that Harmony is on board with it all.”
______
After getting a call earlier from Larry, I told Harmony and Constance that Gail and I would pick them up at five p.m. so we could meet the guys on the site. The sun was staying up later these days and it was kind of exciting to think about getting together to make plans that might actually bring our cottages by the sea idea to life.
In case I’ve forgotten to tell you, Jasmine’s Cottages By The Sea is what we will be calling our new hotel, if all goes as planned. Jasmine was our mother and she left the land to my sisters and me, so we thought it a good Idea to name our new site after her. And since Larry, Gail and Jonathan all agreed with us that it was a great name, it stuck.
Larry and Jonathan greeted us and led us over to the benches just outside the Command Central trailer to talk. But before we even got started Harmony’s cell phone began to vibrate.
“Damn, it never fails. And of course I can’t get any good service up here,” she said staring at her phone with an exasperated glare.
“Use the phone in the trailer,” suggested Jonathan before launching into a conversation about some new restaurant that was going into New Moon Beach. He said that there was one up north and he and his family loved eating there. We all agreed that as soon as it was up and running we’d try it out. Caught up in our own conversation none of us saw Harmony as she dashed out of the trailer and ran towards a lone figure carrying something in his hands.
“What do you think you’re doing?” she shouted cornering the tall, muscular stranger. “Do you just walk on other people’s property and start cutting down trees?”
“I did not cut down any trees mam. I simply took some cuttings to do a study on the tree’s heritage. And don’t get so huffy with me,” Matt responded.
“Mam? Huffy? Just who do you think you’re talking to?” she said, raising her voice even further as she looked up into a pair of striking copper eyes and wondered where she had seen eyes like that before.
“I have no idea, but I am more than sure that I don’t want to continue this conversation. Please leave now.”
“You are telling me to leave?” asked Harmony incredulously.
“Yes, I am. I happen to know the owner and I don’t think that he would approve of you browbeating an innocent scientist,” Matt said turning his back on Harmony.
“You say you know the owner, huh,” prodded Harmony.
“Yes,” Matt said and continued to walk away from Harmony.
“I am the owner; or at least one of them.”
Turning around abruptly Matt let out a quick breath, “Oh please tell me that you are not Olivia!”
“I am not Olivia,” said Harmony standing her ground.
“Thank God. I thought for a moment that my little brother had lost it.”
“I am Olivia’s older sister and what do you mean that your brother is losing it. Who in the hell is your brother?”
“Uh, that would be me,” said Jonathan out of breath from racing to the scene. “Harmony, this is my older brother, Matt. He is the horticulturist I told you about and we asked him to check out the fruit trees that are here. Sorry, but I didn’t get a chance to tell you he was here before you disappeared to make your phone call.”
“Oh,” said Harmony as she turned her back on Matt and started to walk away.
“Wait a minute,” said Matt. “You were so hell bent on getting an apology from me when you presumed I had done something wrong. Don’t you think you need to offer an apology to me for your rudeness? I came all this way to offer my help and you accuse me of damaging your property. I think you owe me an apology right now,” Matt said looking directly at Harmony.
“This whole mix up is your own fault. You should have told me who you were right away,” said Harmony intending to depart.
But before she could, Matt reached out and grabbed her arm to stop her. As soon as he touched her they both felt a bolt of electricity race through them.
“Yow,” they yelled in unison.
“What the hell was that?” asked Matt.
“You tell me. You’re supposed to be the scientist. Now let me go,” and with that Harmony turned and walked away from Matt as fast as her legs could carry her.
Chapter Six
Harmony was quiet the entire drive home and I was beginning to wonder if she was hurt or just angry? No matter who asked or how the question was put to her, she responded the same way, “I’m just a little tired, that’s all.” And more than once I saw Harmony rubbing her right arm. What was that all about?
“Jonathan told me that you and Matt had a fight, but I’m not sure I understand what it was about,” I said in my most pleasantly confused voice.
“Guy’s a jerk, Olivia. He’s nothing like Jonathan. At least I hope that Jonathan’s nothing like his big brother,” she finished.
“I hear that Matt’s really smart and that we need his help to figure out how to best use the land,” Constance said. “And he sure rocks that six foot something bod!” she giggled.
“Well, rocking body or not, hell will freeze over before I ask for his help,” said Harmony sitting up straight and turning to look directly at Constance.
Choosing to change the focus of the conversation 100 degrees Harmony said, “And what’s this Constance tells me about you engaging in night flying exercises?” Harmony asked.
“Oh nice deflection Harmony. Hang on a minute; you make it sound like night flying’s something I’m choosing to do. It’s not,” I said in a defensive tone.
“Okay, calm down.”
“Well, you don’t have to be such a jerk Harmony! I’m having a hard enough time with this whole thing,” I said as tears threatened to sting my eyes. “You don’t have to make me feel worse that I already do.”
“I have never heard of any of us doing this,” said Constance, attempting to ward off the tension. “What about you Gail? Is this something you’re familiar with?”
“No way. This is new to me too,” Gail volunteered from the back seat. “To be truthful, I have enough trouble balancing on my broom when I’m awake, let alone free handing it in my sleep! This is just something that I have to see to believe.”
“Do you think that maybe this has something to do with mom?” I asked Harmony. “I mean, maybe this is something that she used to do. I don’t know what else to think, but I’m getting pretty tired of going to bed in one place and waking up somewhere else. And by the way Gail, there’s no broom involved, just me -- a-la-carte!”
“Oh,” was all that Gail seemed to be able to squeak out of her mouth.
“What I know about sleep flying you could fit in my little amulet,” said Harmony looking at the amethyst and opal amulet she wore around her neck. “If memory serves me, you have to have a spir
itual mentor to actually teach you how to do it. And I’ve also heard that the more you do it, the easier it gets. That’s it, the wealth of all of my knowledge on night flying,” said Harmony raising her hands in frustration.
“Well, nobody has taught me anything and you’re not being much help. It’s time to talk to dad or maybe this mysterious distant relative that Constance referred to,” I said as both Constance and Harmony stared blankly at each other.
Reaching the curb in front of Harmony’s house I watched as she eagerly jumped out. “I’ll run this one past dad and let you know. See you later and thanks for driving,” she said as she anxiously exited my car.
“Well, that was interesting. Did either of you see what happened between Harmony and Matt?” I asked.
“The only thing I saw was the sparks that flew when Matt reached out and grabbed Harmony’s right arm,” said Gail.
“Real sparks or imaginary sparks?” I asked.
“I don’t know what imaginary sparks look like,” said Gail sarcastically. “But I sure do know what the real ones look like. And those were real. Maybe Matt and Harmony have something ‘shocking’ going on between them. We’re going to have to keep our eyes open for any future events. Although the way Harmony just talked about Matt, those sparks might be for very different reasons.”
The following morning I rose early, donned my running shoes and headed towards the beach. This night flying stuff has me all out of sync and I can only hope that getting back into running will help me to be able to calm down and think things through. I ran for an hour before exhaustion overcame me. Clearly, my stamina has dropped over the past weeks and I need to get myself back in shape; night flying or not.
I waved to Mrs. Schwartz as I headed for my front door and told her that I’d see her later that morning at the shop. We hired her when our work load grew and we needed an extra pair of hands. Mrs. Schwartz is an incredible worker who arrives on time, is friendly to our customers and puts up with any weird witch stuff that comes up. Oh, she doesn’t know that Gail and I are witches; she just thinks we’re weird some of the time, but thankfully she takes it all in stride.
Gail and I have a full load of classes to teach this week and business is buzzing. We’ve continued to grow in notoriety ever since the press took notice. We also increased the number of classes we offer. We’ve tried to salt and pepper in classes for sewing, knitting, crocheting, quilting and weaving. This way we have a little something to offer for everyone.
And our crafting classes have taken on a new focus as we offer lessons on how to decorate your home with DIY projects that are fun and easy to do. Who knew that two young witches could offer so much to a little beach community? And all of this done without using magic; well maybe just a touch now and then.
I giggled as I glanced over at a stack of copies of our local newspaper, The Sea Breeze, resting on our counter. Whose smiling face was grinning back at me, but Gail’s? Writing her own DIY column in the newspaper was something new and exciting for Gail. Every Wednesday our counter was full of newspapers featuring Gail’s DIY column for our city readers to enjoy; some of our patrons even asked Gail for her autograph. Too cute! And the local editor said that his readership had ‘magically’ increased. Who knew?
Folding over a page of the newspaper and placing it by our couches for all to see, I noticed that my dad had stopped by the shop.
“Hey dad,” I said before offering him a brief hug. I’m still getting used to getting along with my father since he wasn’t a big part of our lives after our mom was gone. Some things take longer than others to change and offering a hug was still new to me.
“Good morning Olivia, Gail,” said my dad nodding his head towards Gail. I couldn’t help but notice the slight pressure I had felt as my dad hugged me back.
Stepping back, I said, “Geez, looks like you bought out the entire bookstore.”
“Not the bookstore, Olivia, these are from my private library,” responded my father with a serious look on his face. In his arms he balanced books of many colors. While some were smaller and looked more like journals, others were bulky resembling encyclopedias. I was pretty darn impressed with how well he could handle all of the volumes. He was a lot stronger than he looked. Or maybe there was a little bit of magic supporting those arm muscles. I guess I’d never know as I was not going to challenge this wizard’s ego by asking him.
“I didn’t even know that you had a private library,” I answered meekly. See? There is still so much that I have to learn about my father. Who knew that he was such a sturdy, well read witch?
“Nice to see you, Mr. Merriman. I need to unload several boxes of fabric in the back so I’ll excuse myself,” said Gail.
“Good to see you too Gail,” dad said as he placed several books onto my cutting counter. “Oh, great column in the newspaper,” he shouted as Gail moved to the back of the shop with a smile on her face. Guess she could now count my dad as another one of her fans.
“What’s this all about?” I asked, staring at the pile of books.
Looking around the store before he began, dad lowered his voice and shared, “I understand that you have been doing a little night flying.”
“Oh, I guess you talked to Constance or maybe it was Harmony?”
“Yes, Harmony called to ask me what I knew about this new gift of yours.”
“I’m not sure I’d call it a gift. In fact right now it feels more like a curse,” I said looking dejected. “Is this something that runs in your family dad?” I asked. “Can you do it?”
“No, I am sorry to say that I have never been one for flying at night or any other time with or without a broom.”
“Oh,” I said with a disappointed voice.
“But your mother’s family was really into a lot of weird mystical stuff. They always were a little out there when it came to witchcraft, spells and abilities. I rummaged through my library and found a few books on this subject and I thought that we might take a look at them together.”
“Oh, thank you! Thank you for not just leaving me the books and expecting me to understand the information all by myself. I don’t even get most of the things in my own Book of Shadows or my Spell Binder.”
No one came into our shop this morning and I had to wonder if dad had anything to do with that. Had he possibly cast a spell to ensure that we had more than a few uninterrupted minutes together? If he had, he never did tell me. But it sure took a long time for us both to get through all of the information from the books he’d brought. Several of the books had just a small section on night flying and so we had to cobble bits and pieces together from several books. Geez, who knew that this would be so complicated? Why couldn’t I just go to the index, look under night flying, and find everything that I needed to know. Sometimes, witchcraft can be wickedly difficult to understand.
“It says here that you need a mentor to teach you how to night fly,” I read. “Dad, no one has taught me anything. I just started doing it. That really freaks me out. Maybe the mentor is supposed to teach me the right way to fly. Obviously that has not happened.”
“Don’t panic yet, let’s just see what else we can find here,” said dad calmly. “One curious thing it says is that some night flyers often enter a trance state before each flight. Didn’t Gail say that Meghan told her that you appeared to be in a trance before you disappeared the last time?”
“Yeah, she did. And then she said that there was this bright light and I disappeared.”
“Hmmmm,” responded my father absently stroking his chin.
After reading more, we learned that a night flyer can put them self into a trance to make the whole thing go smoother. No way I did that! This was just getting more and more confusing.
Unfortunately for both of us the store started to fill with needy customers and I was unable to spend any more time with my dad hunting through the journals. Quietly, I collected the four books that had the most information and slipped them under my counter. Dad grabbed the others and headed
for the front door.
“I’ll come back when we have more time. Stay calm Olivia and just browse through those books when you get a chance. I’ll try to find out a little more information from my contacts,” my father offered as he exited the shop.
“Your contacts,” I repeated. I couldn’t help but wonder if some of the mom’s Witchy relatives were among his contacts?
Chapter Seven
What the hell had happened? Matt was as confused today and he had been yesterday when he had met Olivia’s sister, Harmony. What a witch, she was! Who did she think she was acting like she was some freaking queen? And what had she done to him when he’d grabbed her arm. At that moment he’d both felt and seen something, but he was never going to mention any of this to Jonathan. If he didn’t talk about the she devil, she didn’t exist in his world. Maybe he should just head home today.
Jonathan and Larry were deep in conversation looking over architectural plans to develop the cottages, walking pathways, a pool, a bocce ball court and garden library. The drawing clearly showed multiple orange and apple trees bordering each tiny building. And beyond the cottages, horse stables and riding areas had also been identified.
Matt searched the plans looking for the orchards that he had recommended. He had to admit that he was more than a little disappointed to see that no orchards were included in the plans. He knew he’d have to talk to Jonathan and Larry again. And maybe now was the right time to do just that.
According to Jonathan, today’s meeting was the next step in developing Jasmine’s Cottages By The Sea. We had named this development after our mother who had left my sisters and me the land with a wish that we would bring it back to life.
Before either Jonathan or Larry could get too far into discussions regarding building on the property, Matt wanted to have his chance to talk with them. “Can I share a thought with you two?” asked Matt.
“Absolutely, Dr. Barleycorn, this is why you’re here. We want you to share your knowledge with us feeble, non-horticulturally gifted businessmen,” laughed Larry, who had become quite enamored with using Matt’s nick name. “We fully recognize that we are both inept when it comes to trees and such.”
Night Flight (The Witches of New Moon Beach Book 2) Page 3