“And didn’t you just buy flannel and thermal underwear in bulk?”
“I did.”
“Then shall we?”
“Give me two seconds to put on my Arctic wear,” I joked as I closed the door and threw on some clothes over my pajamas.
I grabbed my insulated gloves, a scarf, my hat with earflaps already conveniently attached and, according to Stig himself, the warmest dolgone (yes, he used that exact word, dolgone) hat ever made from here to Alaska.
Shoving my feet into my new boots, I zipped up my ice-blue down jacket and looked up to the ceiling.
“Win’s wooing me, Arkady. I’ll catch you later, okay? Thanks for your help tonight. Mind Whiskey for me, would you?”
Arkady’s hearty laugh was soft. “Ah, love. It is beautiful on you. I am team hashtag #Stewinforever. Of course I will watch Whiskey. Now, shoo. Have wonderful walk with Zero.”
Pulling open the door, I peeked out and when Win offered his hand, I accepted it, letting him lead the way.
He tugged me down the long hallway, over some stray trim still waiting to be installed, through the living room, and out the front door, where it was very dark save for the quarter moon. We trekked down the stairs of the front porch and followed the shoveled cobblestone path.
I hadn’t really had the chance to see the outside of the house in all its glory today. We’d left via the heated double garage, which was on the right side of the structure, and we were so busy talking, I never looked back.
But even in the dim light of the soft moon, despite the below-freezing temperatures, I saw the reason Hal’s mother had chosen this house to raise her daughter.
It was probably more an L-shaped ranch with the garage to the right than it was a farmhouse, but somehow, Hal had managed to pull off a farmhouse vibe. Shingled in white vertical planks of siding, it sprawled out before us with either side going on for miles, it seemed.
There were tall posts on the wide porch where her double doors sat in the middle of it all and, in the dark, I could just see the outline of more decorations.
Snow covered her front yard, now hard and compact with the freezing temperatures, blanketing everything as far as the eye could see. Topiaries in gray stone pots bracketed the walkway and there was a big leafless tree, covered with so much ice, its limbs bent toward the ground.
The ocean roared all around us, waves pounded the rocks of the cliff, and the wind wasn’t exactly kind. But I didn’t mind. I was with Win and we were somewhere beautiful.
There was a big barn behind the house and what looked like a guest cottage that matched the exterior of the farmhouse, nestled into a slight incline.
Just when I thought I was all sighed out, I found myself sighing again as I clung to Win’s hand.
“It’s beautiful, isn’t it, Win? Even in the dark.”
“’Tis, Dove. But I have a little surprise for you,” he said, digging into the pocket of his new jacket.
“Did you build me an igloo? You know, fun fact, female penguins exchange favors for—”
“Ta-da!” Win whispered in my ear as we were bathed in light.
Again, just when I think I’m all blink-in-astonishment, dreamy-sighed out, there was yet another wonder for me to behold.
Win held some sort of remote control as he smiled down at me. “I knew you didn’t have the opportunity to see this in all its brilliance due to your exhaustion, so I asked Hal if she’d mind if I set up a small surprise for you, Dove. Come, let’s go somewhere so you might have the best view in order to take in the house in all its lighted glory.”
“You did this for me?” I whispered as he led me under the glowing icy tree I’d just been admiring, where there sat a small round wrought-iron table, two chairs positioned next to one another, a carafe, two mugs, a blanket and a heat lamp.
Pulling out my chair, Win gallantly gestured for me to sit. “I’d certainly like to take the credit for the sensational light display. Alas, I can only be credited for the hot cocoa with fluffy homemade marshmallows and the heat lamp. The rest was all Atticus and Hal.”
I slipped into my chair and smiled up at him. “It’s beautiful, Win. Thank you.”
Pressing a kiss to the tip of my nose, he whispered, “I thought you’d appreciate the view. But this isn’t all chivalry. We haven’t had a moment alone together almost since Hal arrived, and I’ve missed out on our evening conversations for two nights in a row.”
He took his seat and reached for the carafe, opening it and pouring the steaming cocoa into my mug. Flipping open the top on a plastic container, he used tongs to scoop out two fat marshmallows and drop them into my cup with a plop.
Often, after dinner back home, when our day was complete, we’d sit together on the front porch or on the couch with a glass of wine or coffee and talk—about everything—for hours.
Except, obviously, Miranda. Win talked about all sorts of spy missions and his life before joining MI6, but never Miranda or even any of his other past girlfriends. I almost winced. The thought of her made me feel that stab of guilt. I wanted to broach the subject, but decided maybe it was better not to spoil this moment he’d made such a sweet effort to create.
I’d missed seeing him today, too. My day never felt quite right if he wasn’t a part of it—if we didn’t have time to touch base.
He filled his mug with the steaming brew, too, and held it up and smiled, the lines on either side of his mouth deepening with the gesture, his eyes bright under the romantic radiance of the tree.
“To you, my dove. You’re a vision beneath the glow of these lights. I can’t tell you how fortunate I feel to spend my days with you.”
I grinned at him as he covered us with the blanket. “To us.”
As we huddled together under the frozen tree in an umbrella of ice and lights, our chairs side by side, we talked and admired the brilliance of the decorations. The lighted Santa Claus on the chimney, one leg in the opening, his bag stuffed with goodies over this shoulder. The tall maple and oak trees around the property, all lit to perfection.
I especially loved the family of snow people in the center of the lawn, holding a string of lights next to a fully decorated Christmas tree. The eaves of the front porch held the same icicle lights I’d seen in town, shedding light on the two rocking chairs with Christmas pillows and blankets.
Black iron lanterns lined the steps, filled with red and white ornaments, each with poinsettias and pine attached to their tops.
“I wonder if Hal sells those lanterns at her factory? I’d like some for our front steps. Wouldn’t they be beautiful?”
“Speaking of, Stephania…”
“Speaking of lanterns?” I asked, playing dumb.
I didn’t want this time to end. I didn’t want my guilt to creep back in. I didn’t want to face what I knew I was going to have to face.
He brushed the hair from my face with a gentle hand, the occasional sharp gust of wind making my eyes tear and sting. “Speaking of home. I think I’ve made a decision, Stephania, and I’m hoping you’ll agree it’s the right thing to do.”
I leaned forward and set my mug of deliciously creamy cocoa on the table, my stomach turning and twisting in protest. “And what’s that?”
“In the interest of honesty, in the interest of Dana being your dear friend—”
“He’s not my dear friend, Win. He’s my…he’s my—”
“A man you invite for Thanksgiving dinner, Stephania. If that isn’t dear, what is?”
“I invite old Hermus the homeless guy to Thanksgiving dinner, too, Win. He just never wants to come because he’s afraid he’ll lose his place on the docks to Gary Moses.”
Win gave me a look that said I was full of baloney. “Dove, don’t diminish Dana’s role in your life to suit my agenda. Dana is your friend. You love Dana. He loves you. He was there for you at a time when you were at your lowest. You wouldn’t be the person I love if you didn’t recognize that. I respect and honor your choice to side with me, but truly, this i
sn’t about sides.”
Gosh, I hated when he made complete sense. But I made a face and sniffled. “Then why the frackity-frack is he causing trouble, Win? Why is he stirring things up? If he’s my friend, why would he even bring you and that whole mess up?” I asked with a huff.
“Because first, he’s an officer of the law. He’s doing the right thing, Dove. I’d do the same. He doesn’t know all the details of our relationship. He only suspects I’m a criminal, and you’re consorting with the likes of the kind of man he handcuffs and puts behind bars. He’s likely protecting you from me based on the idea you aren’t aware of who I am. Surely, you see that?”
I hated that Win was defending Dana when he was going to ruin our lives. I hated that he was right.
I sat back and tamped down a childish temper tantrum, feeling as though my back was against a wall.
“I see your point, and I’m sorry for interrupting. It’s just that there’s so much more to this than Dana can ever understand.” I shook my head and flapped a dismissive hand. “Anyway, what decision have you made?”
Win was silent for a moment before he made a request. “I want you to promise to hear me out, Stephania.”
Oh, I can tell you here and now, this wasn’t going to be good. “I promise.”
On a ragged inhale, he looked me directly in the eye. “I propose we tell Dana my story.”
My mouth fell open. “Did all the marbles in your head get knocked out when that car dumped you into a snowbank, Spy Guy?”
“No, Mini-Spy, they did not. I can’t see any other way around this than to tell Dana the truth, can you?”
The snow began to fall again, fat flakes floating in the chilly air. “But what about this Mandrake? I thought he was going to help you get new credentials.”
“Oh, I’m certain he will, Dove. But he’s in a place that doesn’t allow for expediency. We can’t stay here in Marshmallow Hollow, hiding forever. We must answer to Dana at some point. This is why I’d prefer you stay out of this.”
I shook my head as the cold flakes pelted me. “Not gonna happen. We did this together. We finish this together. I won’t say it again, Win.”
“Then it’s time we consider telling Dana the entire story—our story—from its inception.”
My eyes went wide with shock as I sat forward. “Wait. You…you mean…all of it?” I sputtered. “Madam Zoltar’s death? The loss of my powers? The reason I came back to Eb Falls? You and your former ghost status? Have you lost your mind? Seriously, Win? Who’s going to believe any of this?”
He looked down at me for a good long minute, before he reminded me, “Ah, but we do have proof…”
“Proof that we’re going to end up in the psyche ward, because not a soul’s ever going to believe us, especially ultra-skeptical Dana.”
“Nay, Dove. That isn’t true. We do have proof what I say is the truth. I’m simply not sure it’s the right thing to present to Dana.”
I gave him a blank look. “I don’t get it.”
His warm eyes went serious and intense. “We have a talking bat who can prove to him we’re not telling tall tales.”
As I was about to protest, as I was about to ask him how we could possibly even think of exposing little Belfry, what had begun as a beautiful night ended when a shot was fired.
A loud shot.
One that whizzed right past my head.
Chapter 8
Win took action before I even had the chance to make a single sound. He dove for me, knocking me over in the chair, where I promptly face-planted in the snow.
He covered my body with his when another shot rang out, and this one sounded a whole lot closer than the last. The boom of it wasn’t all that loud, yet it managed to make my bones rattle and my head ring.
“What’s going on?” I squealed, my panicked question muffled by the snow in my mouth.
“Stephania, listen carefully. We’re too exposed here. We need to take cover quickly!” he ordered, rolling from me and to his knees, his eyes scanning the property. “Over there! The barn. Follow the line of the trees on my command. Are you ready?”
Was I ready? So silly. Of course I wasn’t ready! I had snow all over my face and I couldn’t see a thing. Not to mention the white stuff was easily calf deep. How was I going to run anywhere?
Add in that I hadn’t done a whole lot of exercising since Win’s return (read: none) and out of shape be thine name.
But did I back down in the face of adversity? Did I cower? No, ma’am.
I, too, rolled, spitting the rest of the snow from my mouth and shaking my head to get the icy bits off my face while my heart crashed against my ribs.
Or maybe roll was the wrong word. Maybe I wiggled more than I rolled. Or maybe I looked more like a sausage trying to get out of its casing, because I sure didn’t get up with the finesse Win had.
Whatever I did, it was awkward and trippy and I stumbled forward, but then Win was grabbing hold of my arm and dragging me behind him, heading toward the line of arborvitae trees covered in lights along the side of the house.
He pointed and I followed, running behind him as fast as my legs could cut through the deep snow.
We made it to the trees without incident, but then whoever was out there, shooting at us like we were tin cans, started shooting again. The smell of gunfire permeated my nose, the muted boom of the gun sounding loud in the wide-open space where the only other house was easily two miles away.
“The barn!” Win hissed as shot after shot kept ringing out. “Bob and weave, Stephania! Then zigzag in the shadows!”
What in all of creation was going on? Who was shooting at us and why? But this was no time for questions. No time for anything as we raced across the snowy lawn, my legs feeling as though they were going to give out on me, they were so shaky from the effort it took to run through the deep, crunchy snow.
I clung to Win’s hand, trying to keep up, when suddenly I remembered something.
“Arkady! Arkady, where are you?” I rasped out, trying to yell and breathe at the same time. “Get Bel! And wake up Hal! Hurry!”
“Malutka? What is happening?”
One more shot zipped past us and this time, I virtually felt the breeze from it, heard the hum in my ears and fought not to scream my fear and stay focused on getting help.
“Get Belfryyyyyyy!” I screamed.
Just as we made it past the line of trees and were almost to the barn, I fell, and when I say I fell, I fell over what I think was a large rock, losing my grip on Win’s hand in the process. And I didn’t just fall, folks. I flew as though I’d donned a cape and was pretending to be Superman, testing out my new flying abilities.
Arms out, face first, I went over that rock with my guard down and crashed straight into the hard-packed snow. Blood squirted into my mouth when my face hit the ground, splitting my lip, and my chest felt as though it exploded from the impact of my fall.
“Malutka, you must get up! Man with rifle is coming!” Arkady yelled urgently into my ear. “Get up now!”
My whole body quaked with fear, but I managed to scramble to my feet with help from Win, who was right there, grabbing me by the hand once more. He tugged at me again, pulling me, or, if honesty must prevail, dragging me toward the red barn behind Hal’s house.
As we were almost to the double doors of the barn, as the snow pummeled my face and my lip stung, with my chest on fire, and yet another shot rang out, a flood of bright lights came on, bathing the entire area in a golden glow.
“Stevie? Winterbottom?” I heard Hal call out, her voice ringing with distress.
“Stay where you are, Hal!” Win shouted. “Get inside and lock the doors!”
“Is okay now. He is gone, Zero. He run off away from the house and toward woods.”
My heart raced in my chest as I gasped for breath, bending at the waist and wheezing.
“Dove, are you all right?” Win asked, bending at the waist, too. He pulled off his glove and reached toward me, wiping my face
free of snow.
“Why?” I gasped and gulped at the air. “Why aren’t you…out of breath?”
He grinned. He had the audacity to grin, his reply calm. “The elliptical, of course, Stephania. I have a date every day with Leeze, who berates me until I bend to her will. It’s paid off, I’d say. Wouldn’t you?”
Finally rising, my eyes met his and I’d swear there was in a twinkle in them. Hal came running out of her back door with Belfry and Atticus buzzing beside her head and Whiskey on her heels.
“Stevie! Oh my goddess, are you both all right?” she asked, wrapping her bathrobe around her waist with a shiver.
Bel careened to my shoulder, tucking his quivering body under the flap of my crooked hat. “Boss? What the heck’s going on?”
Atticus hovered in front of my face. “Love Child Number One, you’re positively soaked, and your lip has grown to the size of a small walnut. Hurry now, inside with you both. We must prevent further chill. I shall make tea and prepare an ice pack,” he said, flying toward the house
Win put his arm around me and pointed to the door. “We need to get you both inside, Stephania. If whoever this was comes back, we’d be nothing but moving bloody targets. After you, Hal.”
We trudged to the mudroom door located directly off the kitchen, and I was never more grateful for the warmth of the heat that enveloped me when we entered.
Hal took me from Win and set me on a slate blue hall tree with a cushioned bench and hooks to hang jackets, where she promptly helped me peel off my wet coat and boots while Win shed his wet clothing, too.
I was still so shaken up, I didn’t protest, but my mind was certainly on fire with questions. And of course, the guilt that I hadn’t told Win about seeing someone I thought was Miranda was eating me from the inside out.
Had it been Miranda in disguise shooting at us? How could that be? She was a spy. Even in a disguise, she knew how to shoot a gun. Whoever had been shooting at us was no expert, that’s for sure—or we’d be dead.
“Dove?” he said. “Take my hand. Let’s go into the kitchen where it’s warmer and you can have that tea Atticus so generously offered.”
Witch it Real Good Page 8