Spellbound Falls [5] For the Love of Magic Page 5

  “Caro, you’re seven and a half months pregnant.”

  “So which is it, Mom? Am I fragile or strong?”

  “It’s not that you can’t camp out in the wilderness, but rather why would you want to? What’s the point of living in this wonderful century if you’re going to cook over a campfire and traipse to a privy every time the baby kicks your bladder?”

  “Having the choice is the point. And besides, I have some pretty fond memories of camping out with Alec.”

  “And after the baby arrives,” Rana whispered so she wouldn’t shout, “are you planning to continue living in a lean-to with a newborn?”

  “We’ll be fine, Mom. So why are you going to town?”

  Rana took a calming breath and started walking again, deciding Carolina had inherited her stubbornness from Titus. Because considering how hard their daughter had fought to live in this century, only to ironically choose to forego indoor plumbing every summer, the girl was also determined to remain Alec’s girlfriend right up to her due date. Rana wondered if Alec ever questioned his decision to save “Jane Smith” from her abductors eighteen months ago.

  “Mom?”

  It took Rana a moment to remember the question. “The ladies are meeting at The Bottoms Up to discuss our progress on the clinic and women’s shelter.”

  “You’re meeting in a bar?”

  “It’s closed at this hour, Caro. Vanetta suggested we meet there instead of at the Drunken Moose because of the breakfast rush hour.”

  “Ski season is winding down here, so you can expect me to be a more active member of your little group in a couple of weeks.”

  “You’re going to be busy getting married and giving birth. Mayday is less than six weeks away.”

  “Julia’s such a great event planner that all I have to do is show up,” Carolina said, blatantly ignoring the last part. “And I want to help with your women’s clinic, because I’m planning to start one in Pine Creek when we move back next fall.”

  “Caro.”

  “I’ve already talked to Maude, and she suggested that if I can find a local nurse willing to spend the summer interning with her in Spellbound Falls, she might be able to persuade Dr. Bentley to split his time between both towns.”

  Rana picked up her pace as she wondered why she was surprised, since Carolina had obviously inherited her love of community service from her. “It took more divine persuasion than I’m comfortable with for us to get Roger, and now you want to ask the poor man to open a second birthing clinic almost three hours away?”

  A pause as pregnant as the woman on the other end of the line came through the earpiece. “Are you saying Mackie was instrumental in getting Dr. Bentley?”

  “I believe it was Olivia’s idea for your brother to gently inspire Roger to come practice medicine in the wilds of Maine.” She gave a soft laugh. “I’m sure our paying off his school loans in return for a five-year contract didn’t hurt, either.”

  “I understand midwives have to be supervised in this century, but I’m still surprised you hired a male doctor.”

  “That was Olivia and Peg and Julia’s suggestion, since the clinic will also offer family medicine,” Rana explained. “They pointed out that folks around here are still quite traditional and would feel more comfortable with a man being in charge. In fact, they suggested we look for someone in his late sixties or early seventies, white-haired or balding, with a cranky bedside manner. Oh, and if he has an accent, it better be Canadian.”

  “Are you serious?” Carolina said on a gasp. “Who wants a cranky doctor?”

  “Peg also thought recruiting a hunter or fisherman would be easier than finding a woman willing to move to the middle of nowhere.”

  “What about the crisis center? Please tell me you aren’t searching for a man to run a shelter for abused women.”

  “Not actively,” Rana said. “Olivia claims we can’t discriminate on matters of gender or age or race, but she’s confident we’ll find a qualified female administrator.”

  “A woman who likes to hunt and fish?”

  “I seem to recall you went hunting with Alec.”

  “Just once,” Carolina muttered. “It was more boring than fishing. Alec left me sitting on a rock freezing my backside for three hours, and the only critter I saw was an obnoxious red squirrel. It ran up a tree beside me and proceeded to tell the entire forest I was there, until I finally got it to shut up by tossing it bites of my apple. Oh, speaking of men,” she rushed on. “Have you heard you’re getting a police chief?”

  “It’s been decided, then? Olivia told me the councilmen from Spellbound and Turtleback were only discussing the idea.”

  “Well, they finally agreed. Duncan called Alec Saturday night and said he tried to hire Rowan or Dante or Micah, but Nicholas refused to give up one of his men. Father suggested he offer the position to Niall MacKeage, but Duncan is against it.”

  “Why? Niall would make a wonderful police chief. Besides being a laird, he was a great warrior back in the twelfth century. That’s why your father brought him here as a potential husband for you.”

  “Yeah, well, Jack Stone had to drag Niall into the police station when some parents complained that he was stalking their sixteen-year-old daughter.”

  “Stalking?” Rana said in surprise. “But that doesn’t sound like Niall. Wait,” she said with a laugh. “He would see nothing wrong with pursuing a pretty young lass, as most twelfth-century girls are married and have a babe by the time they’re sixteen.”

  “Yeah, which is why Greylen and Jack had to sit Niall down and explain modern courtship. Anyway, Duncan asked Alec if he wanted the job, but my very wise boyfriend said he was perfectly happy being a ski bum seven months of the year and a supportive husband and doting daddy the other five.”

  “I hope you realize what a lucky woman you are, Caro.”

  “Really? I prefer to see myself as smart.”

  “Yes, I definitely meant smart.” Rana finally came to the end of the camp road. “I’ve reached town, so I’m going to hang up and pay attention to traffic.”

  “Spellbound has traffic at eight thirty on a Monday morning during mud season?”

  “Geriatric traffic. Apparently the grange ladies are also meeting this morning to discuss their summer project.”

  A soft groan came through the earpiece. “Any idea what they’re planning to spring on the poor townspeople this year?”

  “When I was in the Trading Post Friday afternoon, Ezra mentioned that Janice Crupp asked him to keep an eye out for any storefronts coming up for rent that would be appropriate for a historical museum.”

  “But you’re trying to find a building in town. And Spellbound needs a women’s clinic a lot more than it needs a museum.”

  Rana turned at the sound of a racing engine to see Christina Richie peering over the steering wheel of the fast-approaching red sedan, even as she recognized Janice Crupp in the passenger’s seat beside her. “Preserving a town’s history is also important,” she said as she scurried into the church’s driveway.

  “What’s that noise? Are you already nearing the waterfall or is that a . . .”

  Rana lost the last of Carolina’s words when the car suddenly gained speed as it passed by, just as she also spotted a pickup with three women in the front seat crossing the bridge from the opposite direction—both vehicles apparently headed for the one remaining parking space across from the Drunken Moose.

  “Mom!” Carolina shouted over the screech of the pickup braking to a halt when Christina Richie shot into the space ahead of it.

  “I’m okay,” she assured her daughter, only to gasp when the victorious car’s right front tire hit the remains of an old snowbank, driving the sedan’s nose into the air before finally rocking to a halt at a precarious angle.

  “Sweet Athena, what’s going on?”

  “Two vehicles, one parking space, and some very determined women,” Rana said, only to give a squeak and bolt for the closest storefront when the t
hwarted pickup suddenly shot toward the church’s driveway. “Don’t worry, Caro,” she said dryly. “I definitely won’t be purchasing a motorcycle.”

  “Walking doesn’t appear to be any safer. I guess you really do need a police chief, if for no other reason than to write traffic tickets.”

  “I hope he has balls of brass if he intends to ticket the grange ladies.”

  “Mother!”

  “Because the driver of the losing vehicle just got out and shot Christina Richie a very unladylike gesture. Bye, baby. I’ll give you a call this evening and bring you up to speed on our progress.”

  “Okay. Tell everyone I said hi and that I’ll see them in a couple of weeks.”

  “I will. You give Alec my love. Oh, and be a dear, would you, and tell him I was able to fill his request and that it will be here in plenty of time.”

  “What request? And in time for what? Mom, what are you and Alec up to?” Carolina asked when Rana said nothing.

  Rana pulled her cell phone out of her pocket. “Bye, daughter. Take good care of my grandchild,” she said, hitting the END button.

  • • •

  Joining the small gathering of women sitting at the window table overlooking the Bottomless Sea, Rana shed her jacket and sat down to an interesting conversation.

  “Mac told me it’s nothing to worry about,” her daughter-in-law, Olivia, said to Duncan’s wife, Peg. “And until I see otherwise, I have to agree with him.”

  “But you have to admit that ever since they got a new leader a few months ago,” Peg returned, “they’ve been acting weird. They all started wearing those freaky tunics and baggy pants, and since January, only the men come into town. We never see the women anymore or any children. I’m beginning to agree that the colony looks more like a cult now rather than a simple commune of hippies.”

  “Near as I can tell, it’s people from away who started calling them a cult,” Olivia countered. “As far as the locals are concerned, the colonists have been good neighbors for the last four years. Ezra has been selling the organic vegetables they grow at his Trading Post for the last three summers.”

  “My dad said they canceled an order for clear cedar boards,” Julia interjected—Julia being Nicholas’s wife and whose father owned a cedar mill a few miles north of town. “They wanted the lumber to build a large communal sauna, but when Dad called them in February to say he’d filled the order, the new leader told him they’d changed their mind.”

  “Duncan said they’re practicing some sort of magic,” Peg added. She looked at Rana. “He told me Titus thinks they’re trying to create a new god.”

  “Really?” Rana said in surprise, glancing at Olivia. “Did Maximilian say anything to you about that?”

  “He mentioned they were trying. But he said it takes a lot of focused energy to make it happen.”

  “Is that really possible?” Peg asked Rana.

  “I don’t see why—”

  Vanetta Quintana bustled through the door connecting the Bottoms Up with the Drunken Moose, expertly shouldering a tray laden with steaming cups and a large platter of prepared fruit—effectively ending the conversation, since the bar and restaurant owner was the only member of their group who wasn’t part of their magical family. She handed out the beverages, set the fruit in the center of the table, then plopped down in one of the chairs with a tired sigh.

  Julia moved her gaze from the fruit to Vanetta with an expectant smile. “Is the next batch of cinnamon buns coming out of the oven soon?”

  “Sorry, Jules,” Vanetta said. “The grange ladies got the last batch.”

  A heavily pregnant silence filled the otherwise empty bar. “You could have your cook throw together another batch,” Olivia suggested sweetly.

  Vanetta glanced at Maude, who was Nicholas’s mother as well as Spellbound Falls’ soon-to-be-official midwife, and then looked back at Olivia. “My cook doesn’t have the recipe for those buns. And even if he did, it takes several hours for them to rise.” She grinned at the three younger women. “But I have plenty more fruit.”

  Rana decided that bit of news went over about as well as hearing who had gotten the last of Vanetta’s infamous cinnamon buns, even as she noticed Peg MacKeage had dropped her scowl to the cup of amber liquid in front of her.

  “Um, I have someone else’s drink,” Peg said, lifting the cup by its saucer and taking a sniff, then looking around the table until her gaze stopped on the steaming mug in front of Vanetta. “You must have my coffee,” she said, holding out the cup as she reached her other hand for the swap. “One cream, two sugars,” she added more forcefully when Vanetta leaned back in her chair while clutching her mug protectively.

  Maude took the cup and saucer from Peg and set it on the table in front of her. “This one is yours,” she said with a warm smile, which Rana happened to know was the midwife’s secret weapon for disarming expectant mothers. “Ginger tea, no cream, unsweetened,” she continued, despite Peg turning her scowl on her. “And no caffeine.”

  “Tea?” Peg repeated, eyeing the amber liquid as if it were hemlock. She glanced at the cup in front of Julia, then at Olivia’s identical cup before looking at Maude again and smiling tightly. Or maybe that was desperation, Rana decided as she hid her own smile by taking a sip of her own tea. “I just read an article,” Peg told the midwife, “that said it’s okay for pregnant women to drink coffee. In moderation,” she tacked on.

  Yes, that was definitely desperation.

  Maude arched a brow. “Do you really want those two darling little boys doing cartwheels inside you all day, Margaret?”

  Peg slapped her hands to her chest with a gasp, her vivid blue eyes widening in surprise. “Boys? You think I’m carrying boys?”

  “I’m sorry. Were you hoping for girls?”

  “No. Boys! I want boys.” Peg picked up her ginger tea. “I mean, of course I would love girls just as much, but . . .” Her eyes sparkling with excitement, Duncan’s wife used her cup to gesture at Julia and Olivia. “We plan to raise all these babies together in a little wolf pack, and the more boys the merrier.” But that sparkle suddenly dimmed as she studied Maude through narrowed eyes. “My ultrasound last week didn’t show anything even resembling penises.”

  “Maybe they’re shy little boys,” Maude said.

  Peg snorted. “They’re MacKeages.” She finally took a sip and immediately spit it back into the cup. “Are you serious? This is terrible.”

  “Trust me,” Olivia piped up. “It’s an acquired taste.”

  “So, ladies,” Rana quickly interjected when she saw Peg working her way to another scowl. “Where are we in regards to our women’s clinic?”

  “I mentioned our problem of finding a vacant building to Reverend Peter,” Julia said in a rush, apparently also eager to redirect Peg’s attention. “And he’s offered to let us use the church basement until we’re able to find something permanent.”

  “Well,” Rana said, trying not to sound disappointed, “a basement is a bit gloomy for a birthing clinic, but at least it’s right here in town. And it is only temporary.”

  Vanetta gave a negligent wave. “We can brighten it up with a fresh coat of paint and hire Grundy Watts to build some screens to section off exam rooms.” She beamed a smile around the table. “As for the women’s shelter, I found us the perfect home.”

  “Where?” Olivia asked. “Is it close to town?”

  “It’s within walking distance,” Vanetta said, her cheeks flushing when her announcement was met by silence. “It’s . . . um, my house. And it’ll be vacant just as soon as I finish moving in with Everest. I’m leaving most of my furniture, so we’ll only have to buy more beds.”

  “You and Everest are going to live together?” Peg said in surprise.

  Vanetta held up her left hand and used her thumb to push out her banded ring finger, her smile returning at the chorus of soft gasps. “You mean it’s not customary for wives to live with their husbands?”

  “You guys got married?�
�� Julia squeaked. “But when? Or more importantly, why weren’t we invited to the wedding?”

  “We tied the knot last week when we were in Las Vegas.”

  “But haven’t you and Everest been dating only three months?” Olivia asked, her own cheeks darkening—likely because Vanetta had been dating Olivia’s father, Sam, as recently as four months ago.

  Vanetta picked up her coffee again. “A few days into our vacation, Everest asked me why we were running two households when we could be waking up together every morning for the rest of our lives. Taking that as a proposal, I dragged the man to the first cheesy wedding chapel I could find before he changed his mind.”

  “Does Daddy know?” Olivia whispered.

  “He knows,” Vanetta returned just as softly. “And Sam’s good with it. In fact, he wished me well, saying he was glad I found someone smart enough to marry me.”

  “I was hoping he would be that smart.”

  “You and I both know that’s never going to happen, Olivia,” Vanetta said gently. “Sam’s too much of a loner to be domesticated. So,” she said brightly, looking around the table again. “I am officially donating my house for our women’s shelter.”

  “But you could sell it for a fortune,” Julia interjected. “Not only is it within walking distance of town, it’s right on the shore of Bottomless.”

  “Which makes it perfect,” Vanetta countered. “The women deserve a beautiful place to stay while they’re getting their lives back on track, and being able to sit by the water is healing.” She shook her head. “The real problem will be getting them to leave their abusive husbands and boyfriends in the first place. But thanks to our esteemed councilmen finally getting their acts together, we can promise the women our new police chief will keep an eye on them. And between running the Bottoms Up and the Drunken Moose, I’ll be too busy once the tourist season kicks into full swing to help with the everyday operations of the shelter. So for my part, I’m donating my house.”

  “But that’s too generous, Netta,” Olivia said. “We decided to raise the funds for the shelter because we want community support.” She winced. “As well as to include the grange ladies before they come up with any more cockamamie schemes.”