Spellbound Falls

by Janet Chapman

  “Sophie, wait,” Janice said excitedly as the girl turned away.

  “No!” Olivia snapped, stepping between them. “Go on, Sophie; go help Henry buy the magic kit. And thank Ezra for letting us use the shanty,” she said while giving Janice a warning glare. “I don’t want anyone mentioning this to her,” she said when she heard Sophie running down the aisle. “Understand?”

  Clearly taken aback, Janice flapped her jaw several times, trying to speak.

  Olivia slashed her hand in the air to cut her off. “You can’t just up and decide to send us on a trip without discussing it with me first. And you sure as hell can’t get a little girl excited about something that is not going to happen.”

  “But, Livy,” Christina said, her face darkening. “This is a great honor. Why wouldn’t you accept it?”

  “And just exactly what did I do to deserve this honor?”

  “Your husband died in Iraq,” Janice snapped, “leaving you to raise your daughter all by yourself. These trips are a town’s way of thanking all the people left behind for their sacrifices, especially the lonely widows and children.”

  “And is Spellbound Falls going to thank Peg Thompson for her sacrifice?” Olivia whispered, shoving her hands in her pockets to hide her fists. “Are you going to send her and her children to Disneyland?”

  “But Billy Thompson didn’t die in the war,” Christina pointed out.

  “No, Billy died in a construction accident while working to feed his family. Does that make him any less of a hero in their eyes? Or does it make Peg any less of a widow?” Olivia sucked in a calming breath and released it slowly. “Look, ladies; I really appreciate what you’re trying to do, but I’m afraid I’m not going to let you do it to me. Sophie and I have everything we need, and if I thought a trip to Disneyland would be good for her, I’m quite capable of getting us there on my own.”

  “But what about Eileen?” Janice asked.

  “What about her?”

  “She and John lost their only child, Livy. And when we told Eileen what we were planning, she was truly honored.”

  “We all lose people we love,” Mac said quietly, finally wrapping his arm around her. “So I think what Olivia is trying to say is that yes, your brave troops and their families deserve to be recognized for their sacrifices, but that she would be uncomfortable being honored while Mrs. Thompson is not. How about if at your next Grange meeting you discuss a compromise? Maybe you could erect a plaque for your fallen heroes from all wars someplace here in town, and use what money is left to start a general widows’ fund. That way you would be helping so many more people.”

  Once again, Olivia witnessed Mac’s quiet authority work a magic of its own, and both women’s expressions turned thoughtful.

  “Well… I suppose that does make a certain sense,” Christina murmured. She smiled sheepishly at Olivia. “We’re truly sorry, Livy. I guess none of us stopped to think how this might open up an old wound that’s obviously still painful for you. It’s just that everyone knows how much you miss Keith, and we really wanted to show you that all of Spellbound Falls still loves him as much as you do.”

  Olivia felt Mac’s arm tighten around her and realized she was trembling.

  “If you ladies will excuse us,” he said with a nod. “I believe we need to go check on the children.”

  “Yes, of course,” Janice said, each woman giving Olivia a sad smile as they left.

  “Easy now,” Mac whispered, turning to wrap both of his arms around her. He chuckled. “I’m beginning to understand your propensity for ducking out back doors.”

  She really shouldn’t be standing in the center aisle of the Bottomless Mercantile & Trading Post wrapped up in the arms of her employee, but Olivia simply melted into him with a groan.

  Forget the baseball bat and taser-thingy, because really, she just needed to wear Mac whenever she came to town.

  Chapter Eight

  “If you’d like, I can give you folks the key to cabin three, seeing how it’s a lot more private than the middle of my store.”

  Mac looked over Olivia’s head at the man shuffling down the aisle toward them and immediately knew two things: the gentleman was her friend, since she didn’t stiffen and try to step away, and judging by the twinkle in the old man’s clouded blue eyes, the storekeeper was rather pleased to see her in Mac’s arms.

  “Ezra Dodd,” he said when he reached them. “And if you don’t mind, I’d like to shake your hand, big fella.”

  “Mac Oceanus,” Mac said, taking his offered hand. “Olivia’s employee.”

  “So I understand. Eileen told me how you saved Olivia from that idiot punk the other day, and I want to personally thank you for that.” The twinkle in the old man’s eyes intensified. “I’ve been noticing a pattern of you pulling our girl here out of the pickles she keeps getting herself into,” Ezra said, still pumping Mac’s hand as his gaze traveled to Olivia, who still had her face buried in his jacket.

  Mac gave a chuckle when the man finally let him go. “Yes, I believe I may have to change my job description from handyman to bodyguard.”

  “Well, big fella, you seem to have the qualifications, your size being the most obvious. You gonna hide in there till closing, Olivia, or you want me to run back and fetch that key to cabin three? I just got it scrubbed up and aired out yesterday.”

  Mac felt Olivia take a deep breath, and when she finally lifted her head, she was wearing a sassy little smirk. “Last I knew, cabin three only has short double beds,” she said, stepping out of his embrace and turning to her friend. She nodded over her shoulder. “And I don’t think this ‘big fella’ will fit in any of them.”

  She then gave the old man a warm hug, confirming for Mac that Ezra Dodd held a special place in her heart. “Thanks for trying to warn me.” She shook her head. “I swear I didn’t see that one coming. I’d caught wind they wanted Sophie and me to be in the Memorial Day parade, but I had no idea they planned to send us to Disneyland.”

  “They meant well, girl.” Ezra gestured toward Mac. “But your fella there ended up giving them an even better bone to gnaw on.”

  “You heard that from way down back?” she asked, clearly surprised.

  “I might be half blind but my ears still work,” he said, his grin implying he wasn’t offended. “So, how was your picnic? Were the fish biting?”

  “They were until around one o’clock, then just suddenly stopped.”

  “You might wish to pull your rental shanties from the lake soon,” Mac interjected. “I believe Bottomless is getting ready to shed its winter coat of ice.”

  Ezra sighed. “I was hoping to get another two or three weeks out of that lake, but seeing the shoreline’s already starting to rot in places, I made plans for Grundy to drag them off for me. How’s Whisper holding up, Olivia? That’s usually the first lake around here to go out.”

  “Its edges have softened and the center’s already darkening.”

  “Mom, look,” Sophie said, running up with a pair of boots in her hands, Henry right behind her clutching his magic kit to his chest. “Mr. Ezra got in some new mud boots just for girls. See, they’re pink.”

  “Mr. Ezra?” Olivia asked.

  Sophie darted a glance at the storekeeper and then frowned up at her mother. “When Henry heard me calling his dad Mac, he said his mama told him that children shouldn’t call adults by their first names. So he puts a Mr. or Miss in front of them, and he calls strangers sir or madam. I think it sounds kind of neat so I’m trying it out, because Henry says people like kids better when we act respectful to our elders. Do you think it’ll make Missy stop scowling at me every time I say hi to her?” The girl’s eyes suddenly widened. “Miss Missy’s gonna sound funny.”

  “But better than just plain Missy.” Olivia shot Mac what appeared to be a grateful smile, as if this were somehow his doing. “I think it’s a wonderful idea, Sophie. What do you think, Mr. Ezra?”

  “Sounds like a fine plan to me.”

 
“So, can I get the boots?”

  “You already have a perfectly good pair of mud boots. I bought them a whole size too big last spring, remember?”

  “But these are pink.”

  “They won’t be the first time you wear them outside.”

  “Please, Mom.”

  Mac started to reach for his wallet. But when Ezra cleared his throat and gave him a barely perceptible negative headshake, Mac shoved his hands in his pockets with a thankful nod. Yes, knowing Olivia, she wouldn’t want him to think she couldn’t afford to buy her daughter a pair of boots, just as she’d refused his offer to contribute to their picnic, not even letting him pay for the beer she’d thoughtfully brought for him.

  “Next year, sweetie,” she said, passing the boots to Ezra. “Come on, let’s go show Henry and Mr. Mac the falls.” She took Sophie’s hand and started toward the door. “We don’t want them to be late for supper, as Eileen is serving veggie burgers and bean sprouts tonight. See you around, Ezra,” she said with a wave over her shoulder.

  Mac felt Henry give a shiver when he took the boy’s hand, and after a nod to Ezra, they began following the women. “I assume by that shiver you don’t care for veggie burgers and bean sprouts?” he asked.

  “I’m not exactly sure what they are,” Henry said, shuddering all over again. “But I am glad I don’t have to find out tonight.” He frowned up at him. “I wasn’t supposed to tell Miss Olivia I’m going to be a theurgist, was I?”

  “It’s okay, son. I explained it’s just another word for a magician.”

  “But it’s not, really.” He stopped at the door and held out the magic kit. “Only Sophie was so excited when we found this, I didn’t want to disappoint her by explaining that theurgists don’t do tricks with coins and scarves. We use the magic to help people.”

  Mac crouched down to be level with him. “But first a theurgist must learn how to control the magic.” He tapped the kit. “And though this is nothing more than a toy, there’s no harm in you and Sophie playing with it. Nor is there any harm in letting her and Olivia believe that you intend to be a magician.” Mac straightened and opened the door, ushering him outside. “Just try to remember to use modern words from now on. And especially not the Latin your old tutor taught you; except in the sciences you’ll be studying in school it’s considered a dead language. And I’m not going to be able to explain that one away quite so easily.”

  “I’ll try to remember, I promise.”

  “That’s all I ask, Henry.” He stopped at the street and checked for traffic, once again noticing there was barely a car in sight, and led Henry over to his truck. Since he’d given his key fob to Olivia, Mac set the magic kit on the roof, then followed Henry over to the narrow bridge where the women were standing.

  Though it was a constant sound in the background, the roar of the falls grew louder as he approached. Once Mac reached the bridge he saw the powerful surge of water pushing through the spruce forest floor towering above him, first appearing back from the road several hundred yards. The water tumbled in a boiling froth before spilling over a granite ledge at least sixty feet straight down no more than a stone’s throw away from where he stood. The thunderous crash of the falls pummeling the narrow gorge shook the bridge beneath his feet, the force of it sending spray flying upward into a mist, creating a microclimate of cooled air and swirling breeze. The rushing stream then settled into a deep churning pool before continuing under the two side-by-side bridges, where it pushed into Bottomless Lake, cutting a long open channel far into the ice.

  The main road through Spellbound Falls effectively cut the tiny town in half, the stream bisecting the town in half again. The buildings, some more than a century old, appeared to be clinging to the mountain responsible for the falls, as if to keep themselves from tumbling into Bottomless Lake.

  Mac stepped closer to Olivia to be heard over the thunder of the pounding water. “Do you know how the falls got its name?”

  “Legend has it a group of surveyors plotting out townships set up their base camp here,” she explained, leaning against the metal rail as she shoved her hands in her pockets. “It’s said they arrived in the dead of winter and could hear the falls, but the fog from the spray was so thick they didn’t actually see it for several days.” She shrugged. “One rumor claims they named it Spellbound because they kept staring at it as if mesmerized, captured in the spell of the changing rainbow the spray created.”

  A sassy smirk appeared, lifting one side of her mouth. “But another rumor, dating back to when this was no more than a logging camp, claims that the women who came here looking for husbands are the ones who named it Spellbound Falls.” Her smirk grew into a full-blown grin. “Seems the women decided a magic spell was cast over any couple who kissed while standing in the spray, causing them to fall head over heels in love with each other.”

  She nodded across the street. “The first permanent building to go up was the church. Then some single-family homes, a general store where Ezra’s store now sits, a large boardinghouse for the bachelors and another one for the women, a livery, and a train station.” She pulled a hand out of her pocket and gestured toward Inglenook. “The road ends about ten miles up, at an old lumber mill. The railroad tracks used to end there, too, and there’s an old roundabout house where they turned the steam engines around. The timber was either rafted down the rivers or hauled by horse-drawn sleds to the lumber mill, sawed into boards, then the boards taken by train down to Bangor where they were loaded onto schooners bound for Boston.”

  “So that’s why there’s so little traffic,” Mac said, leaning against the opposite railing facing her. He folded his arms over his chest and crossed his feet at the ankles, gazing around the town. “This is literally the end of the road.”

  “We get more traffic in the summer. Logging roads continue up into the mountains all the way to Canada, only they haven’t been cutting much back there for several years. Now the traffic headed through town is mostly people going to their camps on the lakes farther north, and fishermen and hunters.”

  “I don’t see a school,” Mac said.

  “That’s the only thing I don’t like about living here; the kids have a forty-five-minute bus ride every morning and afternoon. There are about thirty kids in Spellbound, from kindergarten through high school, who get bused to Turtleback Station.” She shrugged. “That’s the closest we have to an actual town. Turtleback doesn’t have any big-box stores, but there’s a wide variety of shops and restaurants, an elementary and high school, a decent-sized grocery store, and even an old movie theater.”

  Mac looked at the bridge they were standing on, which was a separate structure from the road bridge. “I take it the train no longer comes through here? This appears to have been a train trestle that’s been converted to a footbridge.”

  “The mill at the end of the paved road closed about forty years ago and the tracks were abandoned.” She shot him a smile. “And the Grange ladies declared that the tracks and trestle were town property not a year after the last train went through. They ripped up the rails for several miles in each direction to create a nature path, turned the trestle into a footbridge, and built the park around the stream in hopes that Spellbound Falls would become a tourist destination.”

  “It appears the Grange women have always been rather busy.”

  “Oh, yeah. Only about twenty years ago the snowmobile clubs in several of the towns along the abandoned tracks started using the old rail beds for snowmobile trails in the winter and ATV trails in the summer.” She gestured both right and left of the trestle. “Which actually worked out better for Spellbound; people travel from all over New England to snowmobile here, which gives the stores and camps and inns a steady stream of winter business. The trails are groomed so perfectly they’re smoother and faster than most roads. In fact, we have a fleet of ten snowmobiles at Inglenook, and during our winter sessions we take families out on trail rides.”

  Mac remembered something Simon Maher had said.
“What was Simon referring to this morning, about your losing some of your guests?”

  That sure as hell wiped the smile off her face. “It was only a problem once, and then it ended up being the best thing that ever happened to the Minks. And it was the dead of summer, so it’s not like they were going to get frostbite or anything. We haven’t lost anyone since, because Eileen went ballistic when she realized I was losing them on purpose.”

  Mac arched a brow. “Any particular reason why?”

  Her grin returned. “It all started when I got so angry at one family that I just up and ditched them to keep from shoving them all off a cliff. But I stayed close by, waiting for them to realize they didn’t have a clue how to get back to Inglenook.” Her smile widened. “I guess there’s nothing like the fear of being eaten by a bear to get teens and parents talking to each other. Instead of constantly bickering, they quickly formed a cohesive group with the common goal of getting back before dark.” She shrugged. “So without saying anything to Eileen, I started accidentally losing any family that couldn’t seem to get their act together.”