Spellbound Falls [5] For the Love of Magic (21 page)

This time he did the laughing. “Sweet Zeus, no! I barely survived the two we have!”

Rana gave him a big noisy kiss on his mouth, wiggled for him to put her down, then turned to Maude standing in the doorway gaping at them. “Yes. Well,” she said, tugging down the hem of her blouse and then wiping her cheeks on her sleeve. “Thank you for the news, Maude. Oh, and the clinic is beautiful. I can’t wait—”

A compact car covered in road dust—the front and back seats loaded to the roof with what appeared to be trash bags and mounds of clothes—came rattling down the driveway beside the church and braked to a stop when the driver spotted them. He shut off the engine, which rattled even louder before finally dying, then opened his door and slowly contorted himself out of the tiny car. Rana watched with amazement as the blond-haired, red-bearded, thirtyish-year-old man stood with one hand on the door and the other on the roof, and slowly finished unfolding his lanky body until he reached his full height of somewhere just over six feet tall.

“Please tell me one of you speaks English and that I’m not two hundred miles into Canada,” he rasped, sounding as tired as he looked.

“Dr. Bentley,” Maude said, rushing to him with her hand extended. “I recognize you from your picture,” she added when he looked startled. “I’m Maude White-Cloud, your midwife.”

Roger Bentley grabbed her hand as if it were a lifeline. “Oh, thank God. I really thought I’d overshot Spellbound Falls and was about to drive off the edge of the world.”

Maude gave a laugh. “Yes, I imagine it might feel like that to a man from the city.” She led him over to Rana. “Dr. Bentley, this is Rana Oceanus, our clinic’s benefactress, and her husband, Titus.”

Roger Bentley shook Rana’s hand with a polite smile, shook Titus’s hand, then frowned at Maude. “I’m sorry, but I thought Olivia was underwriting the clinic. Or that’s what I assumed when she and Mac came down to Boston and interviewed me.”

“Our daughter-in-law’s support,” Rana said, drawing his attention again, “is more in the way of administrative help, as well as providing you with housing at Inglenook. Welcome to Spellbound Falls, Dr. Bentley.” She gestured toward Bottomless and then at the cluster of buildings behind him. “This might truly be the end of the road, but I believe you’ll be happy with your decision to practice medicine here once you meet the townspeople. In fact, the ladies of our local grange are planning to host a welcome reception for you next weekend.”

Roger set his hands just above his hips and surreptitiously stretched the kinks out of his back as he turned to look at the waves gently lapping the shoreline not a hundred feet away. “It really is an inland sea,” he murmured, shaking his head in disbelief, “with actual tides and the smell of salt in the air.” He took a deep breath and looked over his shoulder at them. “Is it true it has whales and sharks?”

“And orcas,” Titus added.

“
Friendly
orcas,” Rana clarified. “They don’t much care for the taste of humans.”

“What about the sharks?” Roger asked, looking at the water again.

“In the four years since it formed,” Titus said, “there have been no reports of any unpleasant encounters with any of the sea creatures.”

“Would you like to see our clinic, Dr. Bentley?” Maude asked.

“Please, call me Roger,” he said, turning back to them—his eyes widening when Maude gestured toward the small door in the granite foundation before he lifted his gaze to the building above it. “The clinic is in a church basement?”

“Temporarily,” Rana said. “We’re having difficulty finding a building right in town, which is where we want the clinic so it will be easily accessible to the women.”

Roger sighed tiredly again and started toward the church, only to stop when a four-door pickup, its bed loaded with camping gear and towing a sleek-looking boat, came down the driveway.

“Oh, Carolina and Alec are here,” Rana said excitedly. “Our daughter and her fiancé,” she clarified for Roger.

“And the first one of our patients who will give birth,” Maude added as they all watched Alec drive past with Carolina waving wildly at them. He turned the pickup in a large circle and backed it down the boat launch, stopping just at the water’s edge.

“Mama!” Carolina cried as she threw open her door. “Oh, thank the gods,” she said as she ran—or rather waddled—up to them and leaned over her bulging belly to hug Rana. “I called your cell phone for two days before finally calling Mackie, and he said you went camping with Daddy,” she continued in a panting rush, her gaze darting to Titus then to Rana again. “Are you two back together?” she whispered.

“We were never really apart,” Titus said before Rana could answer. “MacKeage,” he went on, shaking Alec’s hand. “Have you come to your senses yet about my offer?”

“What offer?” Carolina asked before Alec could answer.

Rana reached over and pinched her husband’s arm, but to no avail.

“I offered to make him a wealthy man if he persuaded you to run off and get married
before
you became parents.”

Carolina gasped so hard she took a step back—just before she stepped up to Alec and poked him in the belly. “You better not even be
thinking
about it.”

“Of course not,” he said, rubbing his belly with a grin. “I
like
being a kept man.”

Carolina then rounded on her father. “We’re getting married in two weeks, on the top of Whisper Mountain, in a beautiful ceremony with all my friends as witnesses.” She then turned to Roger and held out her hand. “Jane Oceanus.”

“Roger Bentley,” the good doctor said, shaking her hand and then continuing to hold it as he frowned. “Is it Jane or Carolina?”

“That depends on who’s doing the— Wait, you’re
Doctor
Bentley?”

He nodded, finally letting go of her hand. “You’re cutting it a bit close, aren’t you?” he asked, nodding down at her belly.

“Yes, I am,” she said smugly, shooting Rana a wink then giving Maude a frown before looking at Roger again. “So, Doctor, do you see any reason a perfectly healthy woman can’t camp out in the wilderness the last two weeks of her pregnancy?”

“How deep into the wilderness?”

She waved toward Bottomless. “It’s about four miles to the fiord, then another twelve miles to where we’re going to spend the summer camping out while our home is being built.”

“Am I expected to travel the sixteen miles for the delivery?” He shook his head. “It’s a moot point, anyway. So, Carolina-Jane, do you want to have your baby out here in the parking lot?” he asked—his smile even more disarming than Maude’s, Rana realized. “Or would you like to go inside and see if we can’t find you someplace more comfortable to ride out your labor?”

Carolina cupped her stomach with a gasp, her panicked gaze shooting to Maude. “I’m not in labor! My muscles are just tight because Alec hit
every
pothole between here and Pine Creek.”

Apparently surprised that Roger Bentley—who looked more like a vagabond than a doctor—had read the subtle signs that
her
patient was in labor, Maude finally stopped gaping at her new boss and looked at Carolina. “Sorry, but you’ve had at least two contractions since you’ve been standing here.”

Carolina smacked Alec’s arm, further paling the highlander’s complexion. “You made me go into labor!” She then clutched the arm she’d just smacked and looked at Rana. “Mama, I’m having my baby,” she whispered, her complexion also paling as she looked at Maude again. “But it’s too early.”

“Exactly how early?” Roger asked.

“She’s not due for another three weeks,” Alec said roughly, sweeping Carolina off her feet. “For the love of Christ, would it kill you to listen to me just
once
?” he ground out, heading for the basement door. “I told ye we should stop at Aunt Libby’s and let her check you out before we left.”

“But I can’t have the baby now!” Carolina cried over his shoulder. “Mama, I’m not married yet.”

“Because you thought you were smarter than Mother Nature,” Titus called after her, even as he stopped Rana from following when Maude ran ahead to open the basement door. “We need to go find the minister of this church,” he said, “and bring him here to marry them immediately.”

Despite being aware Roger had halted on the way to his car and was looking at them, Rana glared up at her husband. “You can’t possibly be serious. We have a huge wedding planned for Mayday up at Nova Mare. Everyone from the island is coming.”

“Then they’ll be attending a reception,” he snapped, “because the ceremony is taking place
today
.”

“Is this her first child?” Roger asked.

“Yes,” Rana answered.

He glanced at his watch and shot them a grin. “Then you don’t have to drag the minister away from his dinner, because this is probably going to take a while.” He turned serious. “They are planning to get married, right? Because I think I should warn you that I don’t allow
shotgun
weddings in my delivery room.”

“I believe my wife paid for that delivery room, Bentley,” Titus said tightly.

“She may have paid for it, but I’ve got a contract saying it’s mine for the next five years.” Roger calmly began rolling up his shirtsleeves as he nodded toward the church. “You walk through that door, you play by my rules.”

Rana clutched her husband’s arm when she saw him stiffen, so excited by Roger’s response that it was all she could do not to jump up and down. “Behave,” she whispered when Roger turned away and opened his car door. She stepped in front of Titus, then had to clasp his face to get him to look at her—his glower turning to surprise when he saw she was smiling. “You have to admire the man for not caring who signs his paychecks when it comes to his patients,” she continued softly. “Oh, will you stop,” she said with a laugh. “You can’t have it both ways.”

He went back to glowering, this time at
her
. “What are you talking about?”

“You can’t hand over your authority to the next generation and then hold them to the standards of
your
generation. In this place and time, babies are commonly born out of wedlock. All you should care about is that Alec and Carolina are fully committed to each other, and will marry because they
want
to,
when
they want to. And if that means saying their vows while holding their infant, then so be it.” She brushed her thumb over his tight lips. “Be happy for them, Titus,” she said softly. “Our beautiful, stubborn,
intelligent
daughter searched all of time to find her match, and Alec loves her more than life itself.” She gave his face a squeeze and broke into another smile. “Although he went against MacKeage tradition and
rescued
his woman from kidnappers.”

“And then kept her for ten days,” he said in a growl. He pulled down her hands and held them in his as they both watched Roger sprint to the church with a bulging red backpack thrown over one shoulder. “I dislike it when you turn my words back on me.”

“Yes, dear, I know.” She pulled free and threw her arms around him. “Oh, Titus, Caro’s having her baby today! Come on,” she said, slipping her arm through his and starting toward the church. “Come see what a beautiful job Maude did on the clinic while, instead of helping, I was strolling through the wilderness with the love of
my
life.”

He pulled them to a stop. “I will see it some other time, when it’s not in use,” he muttered, eyeing the basement door like it was going to explode. “Meanwhile, I’ll wait out here and keep Alec company.”

“Oh, Titus. Alec is going to stay with Carolina.”

“In the birthing room?” he said in a strangled whisper.

She patted his chest. “Fathers don’t pace the halls in this century, husband. They hold the mother’s hand and mop her brow, and they even cut the umbilical cord.”

He turned as pale as snow and took a step back. “Sweet Zeus,
why
?”

“To witness a miracle.” She leaned into him and rested her cheek on his chest to hide her smile, even as she wondered how he was going to survive the twenty-first century. “You would have stayed with me had I been with child, would you not?”

There was an interminably long silence before his arms came around her with a heavy sigh. “Yes, of course,” the blackguard blatantly lied, “if that had been your wish.”

She wiggled free and slipped her arm through his again, then headed out the driveway.

“Are you not going to attend your daughter?” he asked.

“Roger is right; it will be hours yet. Meanwhile, I intend to order one of everything on Vanetta’s menu and stuff my face until I can’t walk.” She stopped and glared up at him. “And the next time you feel like going camping, you better show up in an RV bus.”

Now this was the proper way for men to conduct themselves during a birthing, Titus decided as he drained his mug of beer: men descending on the nearest bar—this one conveniently located a stone’s throw away from the church—while their women gathered around the mother-to-be. Word had quickly spread by way of cell phones, and everyone had rushed to town, with Mac and Nicholas and Duncan dropping off their wives at the clinic before heading to the Bottoms Up. And not wanting to kick out five paying customers when closing time had rolled around, Vanetta had handed the keys to the new chief of police and told Niall to lock up when they left.

Well, all the men were here except for Alec MacKeage. Titus decided he needed to have a talk with the idiot about wearing the britches in his family—assuming the highlander ever
became
family. Thank the gods the good people of Atlantis couldn’t see how badly their king had lost control of
his
family; what with his wife running off, his daughter getting married
after
having her babe, his son treating him like a doddering old man, and his grandchildren wrapping him around their magical little fingers.

Yes, he was quite happy to be mortal, Titus suddenly decided, not wanting to hang around to see what other outrageous traditions future generations came up with. What in the name of Hades had Providence been thinking, making Winter MacKeage the first female drùidh? Hell, next thing he knew,
goddesses
would be running the world.

Then again, there would probably be fewer wars—likely because all the gods would be too busy looking for their gonads.

“That old warhorse of yours is an ornery bastard,” Duncan said from across the table, his eyes looking a bit bloodshot. “I had to chase him over a mile when he broke out of his stall, then turn the hose on him when he went after one of my mares.”

“Who?” Nicholas asked. “Which warhorse?”

“Salt was before your time,” Titus said. “I had him when I met Rana.”

Nicholas’s own bloodshot eyes narrowed. “And just how did he happen to show up in this century?”

“A
bird
must have dropped him off in the woods,” Titus said, glaring at his son.

Mac leaned back in his chair with a smug and somewhat drunken grin. “Really? I heard a
limping
old wizard conjured up a ride and two bulging satchels of food.”

“Which the new god is likely right now gorging himself on,” Titus muttered.

“So did you finally find out why Rana left you?” Nicholas asked.

“It turned out to be nothing more than a misunderstanding. All that matters is we are back together.” Titus lifted his empty mug toward Duncan in salute. “You MacKeages may be onto something when it comes to kidnapping contrary women.”

Duncan snorted. “Now if we could just come up with a way to control the lasses
after
we’ve caught them.”

“Speaking of birds,” Niall said, walking over with five full mugs of beer in his fists. “Ye actually saw the new god? What did he look like?” He scattered the drinks around the table then sat down. “The markings we found where it dragged itself to shore left a trail wide enough for a blind man to follow. So as the police chief, I’d like to know what I might be dealing with.”

“He was a medium-sized oak when I saw him,” Titus said. “But he finally smartened up and turned himself into something inanimate to escape the demons.” He shrugged again. “I imagine he’ll eventually settle on a human form, once he has time to acclimate to being here.”

“And until then?” Duncan asked. “Do we seek him out
before
he starts causing trouble?”

Titus looked at his son. “I guess that would be up to Maximilian, since his magic will soon be all that is protecting mankind.”

Mac stilled with his beer halfway to his mouth. “Excuse me?”

“In three weeks,” Titus said quietly, “my authority will be yours to command.”

Stark, absolute silence fell over the table.

“Sweet Zeus, why?” Nicholas finally whispered.

“Because it’s time.” Titus stared directly into his son’s eyes. “Atlantis no longer has any real purpose now that you’ve established your seat of power here in this place and time, which is why I’ve decided it would better serve humanity for the island to stop being a myth.” He looked down and fingered the handle of his empty beer mug. “And I have also renounced my immortality.”

An even deeper silence ensued, only broken when Maximilian pushed back his chair and stood up.

“It’s done,” Titus said quietly. “I am now mortal, and will finish aging naturally with my wife.” He finally looked up. “The day will come that you, too, will have no desire to spend eternity without Olivia. Gentlemen,” he went on, gazing around the table at their shocked expressions, “I assure you I’m not dying tomorrow. Contrary to what
some
people apparently think, Rana and I are still of sound mind and body, and have many years of grandparenting ahead of us.” He grabbed the full glass Niall had set in front of him and lifted it toward Maximilian in salute. “To the new reigning theurgist, may he serve mankind with a stronger, more modern, and hopefully wiser magic. And,” he added on a grin, “with the same patience and sense of humor as his predecessor.”

Still nothing.

“Poseidon’s teeth; I’m
retiring
, you idiots, so quit looking as if I just told you I’m dying.”

Maximilian very slowly reached down and picked up his beer, but lifted it to his mouth instead of in salute, and drained the entire glass in one swallow.

Duncan and Nicholas did the same, but apparently Niall was too busy trying to decide if he liked this new turn of events. The highlander cleared his throat. “Ah, can I ask what ye mean by Atlantis no longer being a myth?”

“He means he’s destroying it,” Mac answered—still staring at Titus. “And the people?” he asked softly.

“Most will follow their offspring into the world. Those without children will choose where and in what century they wish to live out the rest of their natural lives.”

“Does Mother know?”

“Yes—both about Atlantis and my mortality. It’s the natural order of things, Maximilian, for new generations to continue building on the foundations of the previous.” He grinned. “And for new gods to be born and old gods to quietly fade away.”

“Did it ever occur to you to
ask
me if I wanted your job?”

Titus stifled a snort as he stood up and walked around the table. “You’ve been positioning yourself to
take
it for the last four years.” He stared into the mirror image of his own sharp green eyes and clasped his son’s shoulders. “I’m sorry I stole your thunder, but I was growing tired of waiting for you to make your move.”

“You were supposed to live
forever
,” Mac said roughly, his face darkening with his admission, “which always made me wonder why you even needed a son.”

Titus chuckled and gave the boy’s shoulder a vigorous pat. “I guess I’ve always been a mortal at heart. So exactly how were you intending to take me down?”

Maximilian didn’t even try to stifle his snort. “Do I look that drunk?”

Titus pulled him forward and gave him an even more vigorous hug. “I’m proud of you, son,” he whispered thickly, wondering if
he
wasn’t a bit drunk. “And I would have been sorely disappointed if you hadn’t at least tried.”

“It’s a boy!” Alec MacKeage shouted as he slammed through the door. “Jane gave me a strapping, screaming son!” He ran over to the table, grabbed the first beer he came to and chugged it down, then collapsed into Titus’s chair, set his elbows on his knees, and hung his head in his hands. “I swear by all that’s holy I am never going through that again,” he muttered to the floor. He looked up, found Duncan, and gave him a glare. “If you ever see me heading for a delivery room again, ye have my permission to break both my legs.” He then turned his glare on Titus. “I thought the church was going to burst into flames when your daughter started cussing in every language on the planet.”

“That’s why men belong in the nearest bar getting drunk,” Titus said, grabbing the remaining beer and handing it to him, “while their wives
or girlfriends
are cursing them for having had the fun of putting the babes in there with none of the work of getting them out.”