The little boy’s eyes lit up. “Like right now?”
“Pretty much.” She smiled as he scanned the garden anxiously. “Does your nana know you’re here?”
Jason shook his head. “She thinks I’m playing in our yard.” He grimaced comically. “But you have better bugs.”
“Well, I don’t mind you coming to see them, as long as everyone at your house knows where you are.” Lilith indicated the gate. “Go tell your nana, then let’s see if we can find Balthasar.”
“Who’s Balthasar?”
“The praying mantis. He likes it around the compost for some reason. He’ll sit on your finger if you’re still because he likes how warm it is.”
“Cool!”
And the little boy ran for the gate as fast as his legs could carry him. Lilith smiled, more than looking forward to sharing her knowledge of her garden.
Especially with such a curious pupil.
* * *
In the end, Ralph did come, delighting Jason once more as he sipped nectar from a flower the boy held. Balthasar sat on Jason’s finger for an eternity, before finally bounding away. They explored the toad’s favorite hiding places and found him lurking in a damp back corner.
Lilith invited Jason to give the toad a name and, inexplicably, the toad became Millie.
It was a wonderful morning. They laughed together and watched dragonflies and bumblebees. They tied the tops of the hollyhocks together and made a teepee which seemed to have flowers for walls. Monarch butterflies came when the phlox released their heady perfume in the late morning and Jason watched wide-eyed as they sipped nectar in their turn.
When Andrea called for lunch, Jason folded his hands in front of himself and stood before Lilith. Lilith bit back her smile as he politely and formally thanked her for letting him see her garden and her bugs. He looked like a miniature version of Mitch, solemnly doing what he knew was right.
Abruptly, Jason was five years old again, running for the gate and calling for his nana, all boundless enthusiasm, dirty fingers and scraped knees.
Lilith watched him go, thinking all the while that Mitch was a very, very lucky man. Her doorbell rang and she reluctantly abandoned her sunny garden.
It was Andrea, bouncing Jen on her hip.
“Oh, Jason just went home, around the back.”
“He’ll be fine for a moment.” The older woman glanced quickly toward Mitch’s house. “That’s not exactly why I’m here. I’m sorry to bother you, dear, I know you’re busy, but I was wondering whether you could do me a little favor.”
“Certainly.”
Andrea grinned. “Don’t agree too quickly, Lilith! I’m usually the one to leap before I look.”
Lilith smiled in turn, then sobered at Andrea’s next words.
“It’s about the cruise. I forgot that I promised to watch the children on the weekend that’s right in the middle. Mitch is going to a conference and if I don’t find someone else, then I’ll have to cancel.”
Oh.
Lilith looked at Jen. The little girl smiled tentatively, just as D’Artagnan wound his way out to the porch.
Her shyness was immediately banished.
“Kitty!” Jen squealed. “Nana! I want to pet the kitty!”
She squirmed and reached out. Lilith winced, expecting nothing good from her cranky live-in companion. The cat stiffened predictably, but then haughtily sniffed the little girl’s outstretched hand. Lilith prepared to intervene, but he sat back on his haunches, like a king prepared to receive his subjects.
He gave Jen a look that Lilith called the Ol’ Fish Eye, which was the closest he came to tolerance of humans, and Lilith breathed a sigh of relief.
“It’s okay,” she confirmed, then lowered her voice to Jen as if confiding a secret. “Pet him behind his ears. He likes that.”
Jen edged closer, her eyes shining. The cat visibly braced himself, but the little girl was surprisingly gentle when she reached out her hand. D’Artagnan averted his gaze as though unaware of her presence, though his ears moved tellingly. She patted him carefully, hitting his special spot, and the cat leaned into her touch as though powerless to do anything else.
And he purred.
Jen was enchanted. She hunkered down to lavish attention upon the cat, whispering little stories to him as he purred like an outboard motor.
Andrea smiled, then leaned closer. “Lilith, you’re the only one who understands how important this trip is. I couldn’t help noticing how good you were with Jason this morning. Do you think you might be able to manage the children for those few days?”
Watch Mitch’s children? After their last encounter, Lilith couldn’t imagine that he’d take well to the idea.
But on the other hand, the only way for Lilith to get herself into Mitch’s eyes where she rightly belonged was to work her way into his life. Things had to be set to rights and Lilith knew she was the woman for the job.
After all, she and Mitch were destined to be together. Fortunately, Lilith wasn’t one to be shy about taking chances. And winning her own true love back again was a prize well worth putting herself on the line. She was going to make Mitch remember and acknowledge their entwined destiny if it was the last thing she did.
Love, after all, was worth fighting for.
But before she spoke, Lilith’s gaze fell on the little girl. She remembered Jen’s upset of the other morning and her aversion to change. “Andrea, I don’t even know Jen…”
Andrea waved dismissively. “It’s not for almost three weeks!”
Lilith dropped her voice. “Doesn’t she get frightened when she’s alone?”
“Sometimes, but Lilith, I’ll make sure they both get to know you well enough that there won’t be any problems. And she’ll be settled into the house by then. Please?” She smiled. “So the course of true love can run smooth?”
Lilith looked at Jen and considered. She just couldn’t say no. She couldn’t make Andrea miss this cruise. Lilith knew how happy this new love was going to make Andrea.
And if Andrea thought there was time for both children to get used to her, she must be right.
Mitch would come around.
“I’ll do it.”
“Thank you! You won’t regret this, dear!” Andrea squeezed Lilith’s hand, then kissed her suddenly on the cheek. Then she straightened and offered her granddaughter a hand. “Come on, Jen. Jason is waiting for his lunch.”
The little girl shook her head. “I’ll stay with the kitty.”
It was as good a time as any to start forging familiarity.
Lilith squatted down beside Jen and scratched D’Artagnan’s ears too, well aware that Jen watched her. “His name is D’Artagnan,” she confided quietly, immensely relieved that the cat tolerated this attention. “And you can come to see him anytime you like.”
“Dartaggin.” Jen smiled and Lilith didn’t have the heart to correct her. The cat looked mildly insulted by this variant of his name. “Nana! I can come pet the kitty!”
Her noisy delight, or perhaps her mispronunciation of his name, seemed to persuade the cat that it was time to leave. He leapt to the windowsill and proceeded to clean himself, as though unaware that they all watched him.
Andrea captured the little girl’s hand when she might have given chase. “Isn’t that nice of Lilith. Now, let’s leave the kitty alone for a few moments and have lunch. You thank Lilith.”
Jen grinned and waved to Lilith, before turning her attention to the stairs. “Thank you, Lillit.”
The mangling of her own name made Lilith smile. “You’re welcome, Jen.”
Two kids for a weekend. Oh, she would be running!
Lilith grinned at the prospect. She felt suddenly much younger than her six hundred years or so. D’Artagnan bounded past her and stalked into the house, his tail straight as though he was proud of his own role in this.
He might come to regret it, if Jen chased him for the whole weekend. In fact, they both might sleep well after a few days with two chil
dren underfoot.
Lilith could hardly wait.
* * *
It seemed that every day of the week was hotter than the day before. The mercury inched higher and Mitch’s temper wore thinner. He couldn’t stop thinking about Lilith. He blamed it on guilt over his less-than-chivalrous behavior.
Just to make matters worse, Mitch wasn’t sleeping at night. He blamed that on the heat. He deliberately ignored the cluster of men on the sidewalk in front of Lilith’s house, refused to so much as glance in the direction of her house.
Mitch settled Jen and Jason into a friendly day care at the end of the street by midweek and waved Andrea on her way home that same morning. He walked the children home every night, and unpacked with merciless persistence after they were in bed. One night, he drove over to the lumberyard to get materials for the fence. He bent his not-inconsiderable will on getting Andrea to change her mind – without any noticeable signs of success.
And he thought about Lilith every moment of every day.
He noticed that Lilith had cleaned up her garden so that it didn’t look so bad. He found himself listening closely to Jason’s stories about Balthasar, the praying mantis near Lilith’s compost, and was startled to feel envious of his son for the chance to enjoy Lilith’s company.
Mitch tore apart the files at the office, and found nothing more about his neighbor than he had the first time. He looked again and again, he tried to dig deeper, but without success. Even Isabel was starting to think he had lost it.
On Thursday night, as Mitch lay staring at the duo-green ceiling, he resolved to spend any Christmas bonus on installing air-conditioning before the next summer. It was not only the heat keeping him awake, though. Mitch wasn’t going to admit – even to himself – that he was thinking of Lilith’s soft curves tangled in her sheets not that far away.
It was a matter of principle, though, that kept Mitch from Lilith’s door – as much as a conviction that she would land another one of those kisses on him and his control would melt like butter in the sun.
She probably used that technique all the time. No wonder it worked so damn well.
Mitch hated that hew as even susceptible.
Because it was wrong to swindle people. Criminal. The issue was perfectly simple and clear. Mitch was right and he knew it.
So why did being apart from Lilith feel so wrong? She was nuts, or a manipulative con artist, or a witch, or some combination platter of the above.
But Mitch wanted her in ways he had never wanted a woman before. It was more than her luscious kisses. It was that mischievous twinkle in her eye, her cleverness, the way she surprised him, the way she kept him guessing. Mitch wanted to know more about Lilith, and what he wanted to know wasn’t going to be lurking in any dusty office files or government databases.
Mitch was starting to wonder about his own sanity. Because the fact was, even knowing everything he knew, he was really looking forward to the possibility of crossing paths with Lilith this weekend.
Accidentally, of course.
It made absolutely no sense. And – remarkably – it had nothing to do with being right or being wrong. Mitch would be rebuilding a fence on the property line. It was only natural that they would see each other, that Lilith might come out to see his progress or make a suggestion.
The prospect of seeing her again was enough to make Mitch anxious for Saturday morning to begin. He told himself that his anticipation was a natural part of his quest for the truth about Andrea’s cruise.
But even Mitch noticed that the thought lacked a ring of truth. He scowled at the ceiling as the clock struck three and he faced an uncomfortable reality.
What he was looking forward to was, plain and simple, a glimpse of Lilith’s smile. Just the acknowledgment tightened everything within him. Mitch’s hormones were winning the field, despite his perfectly reasonable suspicions.
It wasn’t like him to lose his professional detachment when he chased a story. It wasn’t like him to lose track of the point. It wasn’t like him to be…beguiled.
Maybe Lilith had cast a spell on him.
The idea was so troubling that it ensured Mitch couldn’t sleep at all.
* * *
6
The Lovers
By Saturday morning, Lilith was done with it.
She had had more than enough of Those Men mooning around in front of her porch and she wasn’t going to take it any more. She had been hoping that time would do its thing on wearing down the spell, but no such luck. The calendar was wrong for her spell, but it didn’t matter. Lilith couldn’t wait any longer.
Besides, she had a sneaking feeling that their presence was affecting the reestablishment of her relationship with Mitch. And that simply wouldn’t do.
Lilith put her cauldron on the stove and set to work. An unbeguiling spell took a lot of concentration. It was a delicate balance to persuade a smitten man to simply not to love a woman anymore, at least without pushing the man into actively disliking or even hating the woman in question.
Do whatsoever you will but harm none. The old oath was tough to hold in this circumstance. Lilith was determined not to mess up.
She peeked through the front curtains and counted Those Men. If anything, their ranks had increased over the week. Lilith might have been pleased to have concocted such an effective potion - at least, if it had worked as it was supposed to.
She would not think about Mitch or the argument they had had the other night. And she certainly wouldn’t think any more about him having no one lurking in his eyes - let alone what she could do about it.
Lilith had lain awake enough nights over that already.
She was going to fix all of that, first things first.
Lilith frowned and considered the problem at hand. A potion gone wrong should definitely be countered with another potion, although Lilith winced as she guesstimated the quantity of elixir she would need.
This concocting could take all day.
And it would clean out her supplies.
But there was no choice. She had to make this come right. In fact, righting this unexpected wrinkle in her magick could put her back in Mitch’s eyes where she belonged. You never knew. At that promising thought, Lilith pushed up her sleeves and went to work.
With luck, by late afternoon, she’d be able to offer Those Men a quenchingly cool “herbal drink”. And then, provided they each only had a precise measure, one of Lilith’s troubles would be solved. She turned on the radio and grinned as the chorus of The Supremes’ “Where Did Our Love Go?” filled the kitchen.
In that moment, Lilith decided she liked the oldies station after all. She danced barefoot across the cool tiles and opened her cupboards with purpose, as her cauldron came to a boil.
She even sang along.
* * *
Saturday went better than expected. Not only did Kurt declare Mitch’s house basically sound, he set to work with a vengeance that Mitch found hard to match. Cooley and both kids defied expectation by staying out of the drying concrete in the fence postholes.
In fact, they all played so amiably together that Mitch tried not to look surprised. The fence took shape with surprising speed and Mitch could have called the day a great success.
Except for one critical detail. Lilith didn’t make an appearance. Mitch peeled off his shirt in the afternoon sun and couldn’t help thinking of her comment.
Instead, it was Andrea who appeared, lugging a great big box emblazoned with the logo of a fancy clothier. It looked as though she’d been indulging herself again.
Mitch smiled and shook his head indulgently, nodding to his stepmother. The kids called delighted greetings, while Andrea waved to the two men. “Hello, Kurt! How are you?”
“Great, Andrea.” Kurt paused to rub a hand over his perspiration-drenched brow and grinned his most charming grin. He whistled low at the sight of her and Andrea preened playfully. “How do you manage to look younger every time I see you?” he demanded.
Andre
a shook a finger at Kurt and laughed. “And how do you get smoother and smoother every time I see you? Still breaking all those hearts?”
“As many as I can.”
“And not getting any younger while you’re at it.” Andrea sniffed disapprovingly. “What you need is a nice steady girlfriend.”
“Bah! A man needs variety. I’m a dyed-in-the-wool bachelor, Andrea, and don’t even imagine that I’ll change. Gonna die with my boots on.” Kurt winked devilishly at Mitch, then nailed a board in place. “You’ll never catch me committing to one flavor of ice cream for the rest of my life.”
“Ice cream!” Jen echoed, picking up on a key word with her characteristic selective hearing. “Who has ice cream?”
“Are we having ice cream?” Jason asked, poking his head out from behind the massive thistle that had claimed the back corner of the yard.
Mitch rolled his eyes good-naturedly. “Now, see what you’ve started?”
Kurt chuckled, then began to whistle as he worked.
“Ice cream in a minute,” Andrea declared.
“Funny,” Mitch mused as though he hadn’t already guessed what Andrea had brought. “We don’t even have any ice cream.”
Jen pouted, Jason sniffed and went back to his current investigation.
But Andrea grinned. “Now, how did I know that? You know, I just happened to bring a gallon of my favorite double chocolate chip. It jumped right into my basket at the quickie mart.”
Both kids cheered and Mitch shook his head. He pointed his hammer at Andrea. “Then, this afternoon, you can scrape them off the ceiling with a spatula,” he informed his unrepentant stepmother. “It would serve you right for filling them up with refined sugar.”
Andrea stuck out her tongue, then waved the big box. “First, you all have to be suitably dazzled by what I bought!” She hauled out an armload of blue chiffon and held it up to herself, swirling on the steps. It was a great color for her and Mitch had a sinking feeling that he knew exactly why she had bought the dress.
His smile disappeared in record time.
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