by Cate Lawley
"It's been a few years, and it's long past time for me to move forward with my life. Honestly?" Edward ducked his head. "Effie would have been ashamed of the way I've behaved."
Beth somehow doubted that the man sitting next to her could do anything truly shameful. And being paralyzed by grief was hardly something to censure oneself over. But what did Beth know? She hadn't known Effie, and she certainly had never lost a spouse.
They passed several seconds in a silence eventually broken by Edward. "Not to rush you, but is there a reason we're still sitting in your car in front of your house?"
Beth sighed and pointed at the car parked next to the curb. "Hillary. That's her car, and she knows where I hide my spare key. She's inside, waiting to ambush me about the meeting I just had. But by now she probably realizes we're out here and that you're with me." Beth couldn't miss the flutter of curtains in the front room. "Oh, yes. The madwoman waving in the window is Hillary.”
Chapter 19
Beth tried to warn Edward, but describing a woman who could be anything from a whirling dervish to a force of nature in the time it took for them to reach the front door taxed her skills.
As Hillary exited the front door, Beth finally settled on a partial truth and quickly said, "Hillary is very enthusiastic."
Edward smiled in greeting, but his expression turned unreadable as Hillary enveloped him in an embrace and said, "You must be Edward." She gave him one final, firm squeeze and let go.
Beth knew exactly what her best friend was up to. Mention Ryan Reynolds and Hillary's common sense fled—or maybe just her discretion. "Hillary, this is Edward Stanbury. Edward, my enthusiastic friend Hillary."
"Come inside; tell me everything." Hillary took Edward's arm and headed to the front door.
"Thanks, Hillary. I think we will go inside…my house."
But Hillary had already walked inside, her head tilted close to Edward as she whispered goodness only knew what into Edward's ear. Beth squared her shoulders and followed behind the pair.
Hillary had brought Edward back to the kitchen and was offering him a drink. He looked amused, so Hillary must not have said anything too terribly outrageous.
"No, thank you."
Hillary poured a beer and offered it to Beth, but she declined.
"So," Hillary said as she sat down at the breakfast table, "how are we going to keep you both in the same time and place? Preferably here and now, not London eighteen ninety whatever."
Beth gave Hillary a hard-eyed look. She and Edward hadn't even come close to discussing that question. How like her best friend to brashly plow forward without considering the consequences.
After she took a sip of beer, Hillary sighed dramatically. "All right, then. How about discovering what caused this little rift in the space-time continuum? Then you might at least know if you can control it. Let's review the facts." She pointed at Beth. "Go."
Beth dropped into a chair, because she knew Edward wouldn't make himself comfortable if she kept pacing the length of the kitchen. "I met Glenda, proprietress of The Goode Witch, and she offered me a fabulous deal on an old book. I declined."
"But you went back, and…" Hillary prompted.
"Right," Beth said. "I went back, bought the book, read a page or two, and fell asleep."
"That's when the naughty dreams started." Hillary gave Edward a significant look.
A look that he ignored, gentleman that he was.
Beth was beyond embarrassment, so she continued. "I woke up but couldn't remember everything—just certain parts. That never happened to you, did it?” She asked Edward. “You always had full recall of our meetings?"
Edward nodded. "Absolutely. I was able to retain the full details of your visits, and yet you couldn’t recall my name. Additionally, each visit I persuaded you, to varying degrees, that the time we shared was more than a dream, but you returned with no memory of those conversations."
"That's so odd. I mean, let's be realistic: time travel is crazy enough—but why the strange memory stuff? I don't get it." Hillary tapped a manicured nail against her half-empty beer glass. The tapping suddenly stopped and she lifted her finger. "I've got it. Edward, you remember everything because it was your timeline, your reality. Beth was only visiting. Heck, for all we know, she never actually left 2016. Maybe it was a dream…no, not a dream. But maybe it was less real to Beth because she was a visitor back in the dark ages."
Edward raised his eyebrows at her comment, but more in amusement. "Dark ages aside, that doesn't account for my intact memory as I sit here in 2016. Also, there's this." He reached into his back pocket and pulled out his wallet. He'd barely pulled his license from his wallet when Hillary had snatched it away.
After smoothing her fingertips over the surface and turning the license every which way, Hillary announced, "Oh, this is real. Or an excellent fake."
"You're an expert in such matters?" He accepted the license from her.
Beth gave Hillary a reproving look.
"What?" Hillary shrugged and turned to Edward. "I've had a few fake IDs in my time. It's not the end of the world, and I was young. You wouldn't hold that against me, would you?"
Edward didn't hesitate in replying. "Of course not. Especially since it appears I may be in possession of a fake myself."
Hillary smiled sweetly. "Thank you, Edward. Spoken like a true gentleman. Although that license poses a whole new set of questions. Glenda better be the linchpin to this mystery, otherwise…"
Otherwise, Edward would disappear. Not die—even though he would be dead if he didn't exist in the present, it wasn't really like he would be dying.
Edward reached for Beth's hand and squeezed her fingers reassuringly. "Are you well?"
Beth's phone rang before she could answer. Using her free hand, she checked the caller ID: The Goode Witch. Glenda. "I'm fine."
Glenda was the linchpin. And Glenda was going to make this right…even if Beth wasn't exactly sure what "right" meant in this instance.
"Hello, Glenda. I've been expecting your call."
Chapter 20
After a brief conversation, Beth hung up the phone. Only then did she realize that her hand was still clasped within Edward's atop the breakfast table. She twined her fingers with his for a brief moment and then let go and stood up. "We have a meeting with a witch."
"I knew it! She admitted it, didn't she? That she’s a witch? With that name, how could she not be?" Hillary chugged the rest of her beer. "Um, I'm not driving—but I'm coming with."
"Nope. Not this time," Beth said. "And she didn't admit it in so many words, but close enough. She said she could provide answers if I asked the right questions."
"That sounds cryptic and witchy to me," Hillary said.
"Uh-huh." Beth took a step closer to Edward. Voice low, she asked, "Are you ready for this?" It was an ambiguous question, one that could have had several meanings. Beth wasn't even sure herself what she was asking.
But Edward answered, "Never more so." And then he kissed her.
The first time was a blur in her mind. Not this time. This time the experience imprinted on her brain, burned into her lips, and settled into her heart.
When she stepped away, Edward traced the line of her jaw with the pad of his thumb. Her eyelids fluttered closed, and she let herself fall—into the moment and a little bit in love.
Seconds had passed, maybe longer, when Beth opened her eyes.
Edward's gaze held hers. "Let's go meet a witch."
As she turned to leave, she saw Hillary once again sitting at the breakfast table. Hillary waited for Edward to turn his back then she fanned her face with hands and mouthed, "Hot."
Beth just grinned.
Once she and Edward were in the car, he asked, "How long did it take for you to learn to drive?"
"I'm not sure. Maybe a few months?" Beth pulled out into the street.
He nodded but didn't elaborate.
They drove in silence for several minutes. Unasked questions hung in t
he air—or at least Beth imagined they did. Time passed too quickly.
"The shop is only a few minutes away. So…" Beth didn't want to ask. Voicing that most important question out loud led to the possibility of a rejection she desperately didn't want to hear.
Edward nodded. "You'd like to discuss strategy."
"No, goals."
Edward looked confused, but there wasn't time to sort it out. She'd dithered and now they'd arrived.
Just before she opened the car door, Beth said, "I don't think Glenda means us any harm. A friend of Hillary's…well, it's complicated. But whatever is going on, I don't think we're in any danger."
Edward nodded, but there was a grim cast to his face, and he walked with a brisk stride that had Beth hustling to keep up. Whatever he was thinking, he was obviously ready to get this meeting over with.
Glenda unlocked and opened the shop door for Beth and Edward when they approached. She'd been waiting.
"It's taken you both long enough." Even neglecting any semblance of greeting and chiding them, Glenda still exuded a certain charm.
Or so Beth thought. Edward eyed Glenda suspiciously.
"Glenda?" Edward asked. When Glenda bobbed her neatly coiffed blonde head, he said, "We left promptly upon receiving your telephone call. It took us no time at all."
Glenda didn't appear concerned. She even smiled warmly at him. "Come in, and we'll sort out the details."
Beth felt like two different conversations were taking place. She followed Glenda further into the shop, but only a few feet. "Before we… I need to ask…" Beth squared her chin and started again. "Are you a witch?"
"Of course, dear. I thought you'd worked that out long ago." Glenda positioned herself behind the sales counter, and started to sift through piles of paperwork. She paused in her search long enough to perch a pair of stylish fifties-era reading glasses on her nose.
Beth wasn't sure where to even start, but Edward wasn't nearly so reluctant. "How did you manage the time traveling?"
Glenda looked up from her search, seemingly pleased by the question. In a confiding tone, she said, "No one ever asks how. Clever boy. The key is the math. Most witches rely on magic, intuition, and luck. But I'm a firm believer in the power of math." She removed her reading glasses and looked at them both. "Naturally, there's magic. But math and magic combined—well, look at the two of you. Splendid." She replaced her reading glasses and continued her search.
"I'm sorry. You moved us through space and time with the power of math?" Beth couldn't believe her ears. This lady wasn't a witch; she was a loon.
"Math and magic," Edward said dryly.
As quietly as she could, head tilted away from Glenda, Beth whispered, "You believe her?"
"Darling, it's my eyes that are poor, not my hearing. Of course he believes. He's here, isn't he? But there may have been a potion or two involved, a little spell crafting. But the important bit was the math." Glenda crowed with delight and lifted up a manila envelope.
Taking a calming breath, Beth exhaled and was about to speak when Glenda cut her off: "Unicorns."
It was so out of the blue, it caught Beth off guard. She exchanged a look with Edward but he shook his head.
"When you were a little girl, your very favorite animal in the whole world was the unicorn. You knew they were real, in your heart. They weren't fantasy creatures of myth and legend; unicorns existed. Do you remember?"
Beth closed her eyes. "I'd forgotten that." When she opened them, Glenda peered back with a hint of sadness just barely tugging at the corners of her mouth.
"Every child outgrows magic, but sometimes, sometimes magic finds you again." Glenda brightened. "It's one of the perks of my job."
"Not your position as proprietress of this establishment, I presume." Edward had moved closer to Beth and he now stood inches from her shoulder.
"No, no. My other position." Glenda smiled benignly at both Beth and Edward. When they didn't respond, she said, "Matchmaker? I gave you my card."
Suddenly, Beth remembered. She laughed, more at the absurdity than anything else. "Improbable matches made." Turning to Edward, she explained, "That's the slogan on Glenda's business cards. The ones for the shop."
Big green eyes stared at Beth. "You expected matchmaking witch, specializing in math and magic?" Glenda seemed to consider this. "Times change so fast; it is hard to keep up. I suppose that's a possibility."
"Ah, maybe that's not a good idea." Beth was feeling guilty, like she was leading an innocent astray. But this woman wasn't an innocent; she was a menace. "If you're a matchmaker, what could you possibly have been thinking? We're from different times. Not different time zones—which is bad enough—different points in time. How does that even work?"
Edward touched her hand, just barely. "I stay."
"But…" Beth's heart jumped. She wanted him to. So, so much, she wanted him to. But she couldn't ask him to leave his home, his time.
He twined his fingers with hers. Voice firm, he said, "I'll stay.” Giving Glenda a stern look, he said, “You can make that happen, can’t you?"
"Of course, I can.” Glenda replied. “And exactly as it should be." She peered at Beth over her glasses. “Didn’t he tell you? He has no one in his time.”
Beth’s heart hurt. No one? Why hadn’t she realized? His sister had died young. His wife and child. His parents. She squeezed his hand, probably too hard. But it was that or cry. She should have realized.
Glenda either didn’t notice or ignored Beth’s reaction, and said, "You'll need a passport, a birth certificate, a driver's license—no, that one you've got—a social security card. Ah, banking information."
Ignoring Glenda's chatter, Beth pressed her lips together then asked Edward, "You're certain?"
"I couldn't be more so."
Glenda gave Beth a disapproving look. "Of course he's certain. I've done the math. You're meant to be. Numbers never lie. Now…" She stuffed several documents inside the manila envelope, and Beth realized their witchy matchmaker must have been cataloguing the contents earlier. Glenda handed the packet to Edward. "Your paperwork. Now pay attention; this is very important. What I must have, from you both, is your consent."
Beth shared a look with Edward.
He shook his head. "I'm afraid I don't understand. You need our consent for what?"
Glenda peered over the tops of her spectacles, first at Edward then Beth. "I need your mutual consent for the introduction."
After sharing a confused look with Edward, Beth said, "Truly, you've lost us."
Glenda clasped her hands together then spread them wide, encompassing both Beth and Edward. "Your introduction to each other." Glenda wrinkled her nose. "That's a matter of perspective, isn't it? The administration is such a stickler for the rules. Interfering in mundane lives without consent, especially in matters of the heart, could get me in a great deal of trouble." She blinked wide green eyes at them both. "In this instance, the timing was complicated, but needs must. Well?"
"Yes." Beth and Edward spoke as one. Edward’s voice was firm and assured. Beth blurted the response quickly, afraid any hesitation would be perceived as a no.
Glenda clapped her hands. "Lovely. It's settled. Have a happy life. Off you go." She shooed them to the door. "On with your lives and your lovely new… Oh, too soon. Can't say. Bye-bye."
And the door clicked behind Beth.
"What…?" Beth felt like the world has just spun round at five times its normal speed.
Edward sighed. "I don't know. I'm fairly certain I don't wish to know." He opened the envelope and flipped through the paperwork. "I appear to have a bank account, a trust set up in…"
"Eighteen ninety-nine?" Beth guessed. When he nodded, she tipped her head and said, "Well, at least she didn't rob anyone to provide you with a startup fund."
"That is fortuitous. I'd rather not start my new life as a thief." He wrapped an arm around her shoulders. "You will marry me, won't you, darling?"
She grinned up at him
. "Hm. I'll consider it, if you ask me properly."
"Fair enough. And you'll teach me to drive? I do have a license…"
Beth laughed. Yes, she'd marry him. Yes, she'd teach him to drive. Yes. Just yes.
Epilogue
"Why?" a deep male voice asked.
Glenda removed her reading glasses and swiveled on her stool to look at the small mirror behind the register. "Quiet. The girls will hear you."
"Your staff are in the back room. Why Beth and Edward?" The silver surface rippled with his vocal vibrations.
"I may have had a little peek into their futures."
The glass turned dark then lightened again. "Their probable futures, futures that you have now irrevocably altered."
Glenda rolled her eyes. "Please. Altered yes, but for the better. They would have been alone but for one another. Forever. Even you couldn't be so cruel, Bedivere."
A soft sigh brushed the surface, creating a momentary haze. "It's not cruel; it's the natural progression of time. And you still haven't explained why those particular two. There are any number of lost souls wandering through your current point in time."
"Hm. Yes. But I did the math, and they had the very best possibility of success. Accounting for attraction, personality, family life, interests, sexual compatibility—"
"Enough. You and your magical math. Stick to potions and spells. They're much more reliable."
"Is that an order from my boss? Or the recommendation of a dear friend?"
The silver surface remained flat.
Glenda smiled. "Thank you." She put her glasses back on and turned back to The Goode Witch's backlogged accounting.
THE END
Ghostly Love
A Sweet Paranormal Romance