Everspell (8 page)

“What a thing to ask a mother, Logan. Yes, he treats me just fine, son. And you didn’t ask, but I’ll answer anyway; I am having a wonderful time. Does it bother you, honey?”

I hadn’t thought about it until the very moment she asked. I knew she loved my dad very much, but I also knew she wasn’t the one who died. She’s a pretty great lady and if this guy made her happy, that’s all that mattered to me. She deserved it. She was really pretty when she smiled.

“No, Mom, it doesn’t bother me. Everybody should have someone who makes them smile.”

“Oh, honey.” My mom sounded hoarse. “You make me smile every day.”

“Come on, mom. Don’t go mushy on me.”

“That’s what moms do, Logan. But we can change the subject. Elizabeth told me we have friends arriving soon?”

“Yeah. She called in the troops.”

“I let her know she could count on me for whatever she needed. I went through this once before. I’ll be ready again.” She meant when Jade got kidnapped. My mom sounded fierce and my heart swelled with pride. I guess I knew where I got my strength and determination. I said as much to her.

“Oh no, I can’t take all the credit. Most of it belongs to your dad, Logan.” she said firmly. “He was the strongest man I knew. When things seemed at their worst, he could look at me and calm me with just a glance. He never went to pieces over anything, just assessed the situation with the precision of a military strategist. And with you kids, he was like a gentle giant. There is so much of your father in you.” Even over the phone I could hear her smiling. I could even picture that silly “that’s my boy” grin she has. “That’s where most of your strength and determination comes from. And I suspect, the parts of you that Serena loves, those are the best parts of your father, too.”

“Well, I think I got some good stuff from you too, mom. But speaking of Serena, I want to check on her and Tabitha before I go to sleep. Tabitha really went through it tonight.”

“I’m sure she did. And you are sweet to call them. I’ll let you go, darling. I guess we’ll see you in the morning. I’ll tell your sister you called. Goodnight, son. I love you.”

“G‘night, Mom. Love you, too.”

I rang off and immediately keyed in Serena’s number. She answered after two rings.

“Hey, It’s me. I just wanted to check on you and say good night. How’s Tabitha?”

“She’s fine. Sleeping like a baby. Today wiped her out. Me too.” I felt better just hearing Serena’s sweet voice.

“I won’t keep you. It’ll be a long day tomorrow.” I realized I was tired too.

“Don’t I know it. Just the thought of it keeps me yawning. I’m just so exhausted.”

“Go to sleep. I just wanted to make sure you were okay.”

“I am. We all are. Thank you for tonight, Logan. I never thanked you.”

“You never have to. Good night Serena. Sleep tight.” I pictured her snuggling into the covers and wished feverishly that I was there with her.

“Good night, Logan. Dream of me.”

“I always do.”

I hung up and crawled into bed, beat but satisfied. I knew where my family was, my friends, and my beautiful Serena. For this reason, I knew I would doze easily and well. Knowing everyone I loved was safe allowed my weary eyes to close and as I sank into my soft, welcoming pillow, I fell into a deep and restful sleep.

Chapter Thirteen

LILY

Since Elizabeth and Serena were expecting guests today, Elizabeth and I agreed that I would open the flower shop alone and work by myself all day. I had done it before. It wasn’t easy, but it could be done. We had prepped all the orders the day before, so mostly I had to just make sure the blooms looked fresh, and the ribbons and bows all matched, and the correct cards were on the right arrangements. As expected, the morning went smoothly.

I worked steadily on arrangements for the next day when I heard the little bell over the door jingle. I wasn’t expecting anyone and we usually didn’t get walk-ins in the late afternoon. I put my scissors down and took off my work gloves.

“Be right there!” I called out. I pushed the arrangement items aside and made sure the flowers were still in water, then I went around the corner to the front of the store.

“Hi.” It was Declan. He smiled warmly at me and came forward as though to hug me. I held back for a split second. It unnerved me that he had shown up unannounced. He had done that once or twice, and I had casually mentioned I wasn’t that fond of it. He didn’t seem to be taking the hint. I considered saying something, but he looked so happy to see me, I chose not to. Instead, I stepped into his hug and returned it. As his arms wrapped around me, and I remembered what it was like to be held by a handsome man, I
was
glad he stopped by. “Declan. What a nice surprise. I’m glad you’re here.”

“Are you?” he asked. “For a moment there, I thought I may have overstepped.” He looked concerned and I felt immediately contrite. I thought I had covered well, but apparently not quickly enough. He had seen my hesitation.

“Oh, no Declan. I’m just preoccupied. We have a lot of orders for today.” I deliberately tried to change the subject. “Now, tell me; what brings you this way?”

“Well, you do, Lily.” Declan actually blushed. “I had such a great time last week, I hoped I could get you to agree to another date. How about it? Free tonight?”

I wanted to say yes immediately. But, I knew our coven sisters were going to begin arriving today and throughout the next few days. Actually, I wasn’t sure when I would next be available. I hoped Declan wouldn’t think I’d been deliberately avoiding him.

“Declan, I’m sorry, I’m not. I have family arriving tonight and this week, for a family reunion of sorts. Can I get a rain check?”

Declan’s face fell as I began to speak, but as I mentioned the rain check I thought I saw a spark of hope flash across it.

“Of course, Lily. We can get together after your family leaves. So, a family reunion, huh?” I nodded. “Those can be fun. Have you seen them in a while?”

“Not for a little while. Most are dear, sweet friends that are like family. I’m really very excited to see them.”

“Well, you have a wonderful time with them, Lily. I should let you get back to work. It’s always so nice to see you. I’ll look forward to getting together with you soon. Perhaps, I’ll stop by and say hello?”

“Oh, I would like that, Declan, very much. Let me walk you out.”

I walked Declan to the door and gave him a kiss on the cheek. He grasped my hand warmly with both of his.

“You take care, Lily Daniels. I’ve got my eye on you.” Then he winked, which seemed completely out of character for what I knew about him, dropped my hand, and walked out the door.

I stood there for a few minutes, staring after the closed door, until the phone rang. The jangle of the ring jolted me and I lunged for the phone on the third ring. It was Elizabeth.

“Hey. Are we that busy?”

“No, I, um, I’d just been saying goodbye to Declan. He stopped by.”

“Really? Were you expecting him?”

“Not at all. He just came by to ask me out again.”

“When are you going?”

“Well, I’m not. Not anytime soon anyway. With all the coven sisters arriving soon, I told him I had family coming into town and we were having a family reunion. With the shop and their visit and this new business with Tabitha, where will I find time for socializing? Besides, he acted a bit odd today.”

“Odd? Odd how?”

“I don’t know. It’s the same thing again, just something I can’t put my finger on. Sometimes, I feel like I’m in a type of trance when I’m near him. Just before you called, I was staring out the door like a zombie. Ugh. Enough about this, what’s going on there? How are the girls?”

“Tabitha is fine, but Serena is a bundle of nerves. She’s actually making me nuts. I called Logan and he’s going to leave work early and take her for a drive or something. And I hope Prudence is one of the first coven sisters to arrive. She always had such a calming effect on Serena.”

I agreed with her. Between Prudence and Logan, they both had ways of soothing Serena when she got wound up tight as a top. As all of us had had to face at one time or another, our way of life wasn’t an easy one.

“Today’s orders are all out and tomorrow’s are prepped. Since everything is done, and the afternoon is slowing down, I may close the shop early. Jade and I will be over as soon as I get dinner done.”

“Oh, no you don’t. Dinner is over here tonight. It’s about time we did a big family night together. I won’t take no for an answer.”

I laughed. One of our big overstuffed dinner nights sounded like heaven. Jade and I eating alone at our dining room table meant for six could seem a little sad. And when she went out with Sully, which
was
often, I ate alone. A lot.

“You got it. We’ll see you later.”

“All right. Bring a pretty centerpiece home. See you then.”

I hung up the phone and went back to work. The afternoon moved forward as quickly as the morning did, and before I knew it, I had finished all the prep work. I decided I would close the shop early and I locked the front door and turned the OPEN sign to the CLOSED side and drew the shades.

As soon as I turned back to the counter, I knew something seemed different. I no longer stood in the center of
Free Spirit Flowers
, my boutique flower shop. It seemed to no longer exist. I looked around warily, and I could see that the stalks of beautiful blooms in their vases I had so recently been arranging had also changed. In their place were ugly, snarling flowers with live heads, bobbing and leaning toward me with tiny rows of snapping teeth. Quickly I backed up out of their reach, and straight into the outstretched arms of thick, ropy vines that appeared out of nowhere, snaking their way around the frame of the front door, and down and around the freezer case where we kept the delicate flowers and roses.

I tried to cast a spell to keep them at bay but found my powers had been compromised. When had that happened? The vines slithered around my waist and arms and began to tighten. I grabbed the closest one to me and yanked it hard, loosening myself from its leafy clutches. I ducked underneath it and whirled around toward to the counter. Several stalks I had cut earlier, intending to bunch and tie, lay on the counter. As soon as I got close, the stalks transformed into a pile of writhing serpents, some of them dropping to the floor and slithering away. I screamed and ran around to the back of the shop. Why did I have no powers? How long had that been the case? I had to get control of this situation before it got control of me. About to mindcall for help, I heard his voice.

“Mom! Mom! We’re here! Don’t worry! Serena is casting a spell right now! We’ll get you out of here!”

I peeked out from the back room and was relieved to see my brave son and his amazing girlfriend standing in the center of the shop. Serena had her eyes closed and her arms waved. As she did that, the hoard of snakes turned, in the blink of an eye, into a pile of curling ribbon. Then she directed her attention to the overgrown weeds now nearly covering the front door and refrigerated case. She reached out for one of the vines and as she touched it, it turned to water and splashed to the floor at Logan’s feet. Lastly, she pointed at the flowers with the hideous heads that had rows and rows of razor-sharp little teeth. Right before my eyes, the petals of each flower rose up and closed over the head of the flower. Even as the flower-heads protested, the petals closed and twisted until the heads gave a final twitch and ceased movement. Serena made a final chopping motion through the air and beheaded every single flower, with Logan handily catching the heads in a bucket as they fell. He then lit a match and we solemnly watched them burn in the bottom of their make-shift grave.

“Serena, Logan, thank the stars you got here in time. Something’s happened to my powers. I can’t seem to cast a spell.” I looked at my son. “How did you know I’d be calling you?”

“I didn’t.” Logan shot me a look. “Serena did. We were going for a drive when she suddenly turned to me and said, ‘Logan, your mom’s in trouble.’ She totally freaked me out. But when she uses that one tone of voice, I don’t ask questions. I just say when and where.”

I turned toward Serena.

“Serena. How did you know?”

“I don’t know if this is going to make sense, Lily. I just, well, I
felt
your desperation.” Serena cast her eyes downward as though she were embarrassed. I had to put a stop to that.

“Well, thank heavens you did, child. I don’t know what those nasty creatures would have done if you hadn’t.”

I looked around the shop.

“Do you think Elizabeth would be mad if I left the cleanup here for tomorrow? All of a sudden, I just really want to get out of here.”

“Mom, given the circumstances, I think she’d understand. I’ll come back with you tomorrow and help. Let’s go.”

I glanced at my son. I couldn’t believe this was the same boy who used to argue with his sister over who got the last toaster pastry. He opened the door for Serena and escorted her outside, one hand on the small of her back. She gazed up at him with the same look of deep, unspoken love I used to use with Logan’s father. I felt a wellspring of pride for him burst open and found myself close to tears. I shook it off and put my arms around both of them.

“Yes, let’s go. I’m sure there’s a big, noisy dinner waiting for us.” If they saw me wipe away a tear or two, they never said a word. The three of us left the shop together, arm in arm.

Chapter Fourteen

SERENA

The rental cars stood out like colorful beacons in our driveway, even from a few blocks away. At this distance they looked like multi-colored flowers in a cluttered garden. I was all too aware of the reason our coven sisters were again converging on us, but it was still exciting to see everyone. Although impossible to tell who had arrived just from the rentals parked out front, that only made me all the more impatient to get inside the house.

“Logan, can’t you go any faster?”

“Serena, we’re at the end of the street. We’ll be there in like three seconds.”