“Charlotte, your ex-lover,” Herman said.
“Charlotte, my ex-assistant, and yes.” He lifted his hand to bite his nail. “My ex-lover.”
“Is she going to want to pick up everything where you left off?”
“I’ll make it clear to her right from the beginning that that’s out of the question.” He dropped his hand to his lap. “All she’ll be doing is assisting me on stage.”
“Whatever,” Herman said, too tired to disagree. “You need someone with me being pregnant, so why not? At least I’ll have you to myself in Edmonton. Call Charlotte, see if she’ll do it.”
“So now that’s settled, what are you going to do with Nina?” Margaret asked. “Just because she’s had a hysterectomy after the baby’s born won’t mean she’s going to give up.”
“I’ll have to find a way to make her go away permanently.”
“How can you do that? First of all, you’re going to lose your daughter, and second of all you can’t simply make a free woman ‘go away’ against her will.”
“I’ll have to convince her that she wants to. And I know I’ll likely lose my daughter in the process. But I’m not willing to risk Herman’s well-being, or the well-being of our daughter, for the sake of bringing up Nina’s baby.”
“And how are you going to convince her that she doesn’t want you anymore?” Margaret asked.
“I’m surprised you haven’t thought of it too.”
“Magic,” Margaret whispered.
“What sort of magic?” Herman asked.
Stephen answered. “The coven’s magic. It could work, but not unless we have all six of us.”
“Can you find the rest of them? And would they all come back if you did?”
“They would bend over backward for Stephen,” Margaret said. “And for the sake of his love for you.”
“Do you have to wait until the hysterectomy?” Herman asked. “Can’t you do it right away?”
“I suppose we could do it as soon as we get everyone together and decide on how we want to approach it,” Stephen said, looking to Margaret.
“Do you have to be in close proximity to Nina?” Herman asked.
“No, we just need something that belongs to her for most spells,” Stephen said.
“You should probably talk to your parents about her mental state as well,” Margaret said. “If she’s insane, there’s no point even trying.”
“I’ll do that. Maybe we can get the coven together in Kingston while I’m training Charlotte,” he continued. “Bryce is in Ottawa; can you ask Charlie if she knows how to contact Sarah?”
“Yeah. And if Kerry can’t get to Canada in time, should we try to look up Ethan?”
“We’ll have no choice.”
“Ethan is the guy …” Herman let the question trail off.
“Yes,” Stephen answered.
Herman hauled herself from her chair and crossed to the bed, unable to resist any longer.
“Well,” Margaret said, standing, “we have lots to think about, and to do. I’ll let you two get some sleep. I’ll catch up with you for breakfast in the morning.”
Herman heard Stephen say okay, and she mumbled, “Good night,” as Margaret left the room.
Stephen lay down and snuggled up against her.
“Thank you,” he whispered in her ear.
“For what?” she asked into the pillow.
“For trusting me.”
“I trust you with my life, and I trust you with my heart and soul. If I don’t know by now that you’ll be faithful, then I never will.” She turned her head to look at him. “I know you love me as much as I love you, and that you’re as dedicated to me as I am to you. I’ll never question that again. No matter what.”
He helped her out of her clothes and tucked her into bed. She fell asleep watching him get undressed.
CHAPTER 27
It took less than a week to get Charlotte on board, for which Herman was grateful. Her morning sickness wrung her out for most of each day, and she doubted it would be long before she was unable to make it through a show. They didn’t see her father again until the last show in Toronto, which they performed for a sold-out crowd at Massey Hall. Even so, Stephen had clung to her side every moment since Sudbury like he was afraid she would disappear. Herman wondered, with a certain amount of sarcasm, how long before the bodyguards showed up.
Charlotte had joined them the day before at a smaller show in Niagara Falls. The redhead’s enthusiasm at seeing Stephen again prompted Herman to ask Margaret whose decision it had been for the two of them to part company. It was five minutes to show time; Stephen had gone off to make sure everything was ready to go onstage.
“Stephen stopped sleeping with her after he found out she was going to have her ex-husband’s baby.” Margaret rolled her eyes. “That was a tense couple of months before the tour finished.”
“Why do I get the feeling she wasn’t happy that it wasn’t Stephen’s?”
“She tried to convince him it was. But Stephen knew long before the ex’s paternity test came back.”
“Well, it was decent of her to agree to bring her baby on tour with us.”
“Yeah, Charlotte’s okay. She was jealous of me, so we didn’t get along that well, but she’s not a bitch. I think if you can just coexist, you’ll be fine.”
Herman and Stephen left the stage for the final time before Christmas, and headed off to party with the crew, as well as Charlotte, Margaret, and Charlie, who had come to see the final performance.
Stephen stayed even closer than usual, holding her hand or wrapping his arm possessively around her waist wherever she went. With a plan in place for her to go to Aunt Beryl’s house in Edmonton while he spent three days at home in Kingston with six of his ex-lovers—the reunited coven and Charlotte, whom he would teach the ladder trick—she was glad of the attention.
They were enjoying a drink at the back of the barroom with their friends when Herman’s father finally caught up with them.
With a brave face belied by nervous hands, he confronted Herman. “I have a seat on the same flight as you to Edmonton tomorrow.”
“I’ll make sure we have a curtain put up around our seats,” Stephen said.
“Don’t worry,” said George. “I’m not in first class anyway.”
She heard a humph from Stephen’s throat, but he didn’t elaborate on his thought.
“Will you be sticking around for all of Christmas?” Herman asked her dad.
“Yeah, and after Christmas, you’ll be coming on the road with me.”
“That won’t be necessary,” Stephen said. “We’re going straight from Edmonton to Newfoundland in January.”
“If you’re not replacing her, Dagmar, why’d you get your old assistant back?” He cocked his head in Charlotte’s direction without looking at her.
“For emergencies,” Stephen replied.
“So you are taking me seriously then,” George said with a self-satisfied grin.
“I’m pregnant,” Herman said. Her father’s eyes snapped wide open, and she didn’t resist smiling. Stephen squeezed her hand.
“Is it too late to abort it?” George asked.
“Yes.” It was Charlie who spoke.
“Who the hell are you?” George asked her.
“I’m her obstetrician.”
George, who was about to dismiss her, did a double take.
“What? You don’t think people with youth and beauty can have brains, too? You should get to know your daughter’s boyfriend better.”
“He’s a serial breeder. How much more do I need to know?” He turned to Charlotte. “I heard you had one of his little bastards, too.”
Stephen stood, almost knocking over his chair. “That’s enough. Either apologize to the ladies and get out, or we’re taking this outside.”
George’s hands twitched into fists; an instant later he came to his senses. To Herman he said, “I’m sorry
you got caught up in this. I’ll see you in Edmonton.” He stalked away without saying goodbye.
Stephen sat and pulled Herman to his chest. “I’m not sure I want to leave you with him,” he said in her ear. She glanced across the table; Charlotte sat head to head with Margaret, presumably asking her who George was to Herman.
“I don’t think he’ll go as far as to take me away from you now that he knows I’m having your baby. Do you?”
“I wouldn’t put anything past him. I’ll have to find a way for us to stay in touch, no matter what.”
“I’m sure if I go missing, Aunt Beryl will let you know.”
“I’m still not going to know where you are.”
“Do you have any psychic powers I’m not aware of?”
“No, but I know someone who does. I’ll talk to her.”
“Yet another woman in your life?” Herman asked, rolling her eyes.
He smiled. “My mother.”
“Ah.” Herman took his hand. “I wish we could spend Christmas and New Year’s at home. I’d love to decorate our own tree together, go riding in the snow, sit by the fire. It’s been so long since we spent any time alone.”
“Maybe next year we can go to the island for Christmas. Just you, me, and our little Peanut,” he said, stroking her belly. “In the meantime, I promise to make this one as special as any first Christmas together deserves to be.”
“Thank you,” she said, snuggling her body against his. “Will Margaret and Charlie be able to join us?”
“Actually, I think Margaret wants to bring Mark, if he’ll come.”
Herman smiled. “That would be nice.”
In his eyes she glimpsed the reflection of her love and the knowledge that she and their unborn daughter were as essential to his well-being as he was to theirs. He cupped her cheek and kissed her tenderly. She noticed vaguely that everyone else had left the table.
CHAPTER 28
After a small dispute, Herman convinced Stephen to allow George to ride in the limo from the Edmonton airport to Beryl’s house. He cited her dad’s disagreeableness and had wanted to make him rent a car, but Herman argued there was no point making things worse before she was left alone with him, so Stephen gave in. Sitting on the back seat with her head on Stephen’s shoulder, Herman contemplated the fact that she would soon be without her lover and the father of her baby, and she sympathized with Nina, just a little. When that pissed her off, she held him tighter and kissed his chest through his leather jacket. He squeezed her and sighed into her hair. She smiled seeing her father’s lips tighten as he gazed out the window. Served him right. For what, Herman wasn’t sure. She couldn’t fault him for wanting to protect her. For being so obstinate about it, and so rude to Stephen, perhaps.
Chad was overjoyed to see them all, particularly Stephen, such was his fascination with him, and with magic. Herman dreaded having to pick up the pieces when he found out what their father did for a living. Or perhaps he’d blame her, too, for keeping George’s profession, and his gift, a secret.
Her brother was as devastated as George was surprised to find that Stephen planned to leave right away on a much later flight—one that was so late, he’d be able to pretend to have slipped out when everyone was asleep. Thirty minutes after they arrived, he excused himself, saying he wasn’t feeling well and needed to lie down. Herman followed him into the spare room Aunt Beryl had made up for them. She listened to his side of his phone call with Margaret, confirming that his room at home in Kingston was ready to transport into.
“I’ll be back as soon as I can,” he promised Herman after he hung up. “I won’t bother with a plane.”
“Do you really think the coven can direct Nina’s affections elsewhere?”
“I hope so. And once Charlotte knows the ladder trick, I can spend the rest of the holiday with you.”
With a swallow and a deep breath, Herman resisted the temptation to ask him not to have sex with the coven in the playroom.
He reclined on the bed to prepare for transport. “And you know how to reach my mom. Focus on her and wait for her ‘nod.’”
“I remember what that feels like,” she said as she curled up beside him. They had tried it out early that morning; the sensation had, indeed, been like a nod. Herman had unintentionally bowed her head, as though she was dropping off to sleep when she felt it. Stella had promptly called Stephen to let him know that Herman was in the car on the way to the Toronto airport. “I doubt we’ll have to use it though. I really don’t think my father will kidnap me.”
“Better to be safe.”
She thought of a conversation they’d had long ago, back when they were getting to know one another. “Why is your mother so against your father using his powers if she has some of her own?”
“I don’t know. Maybe he told her about the incubus.”
“Or maybe she just sensed it,” Herman suggested.
Stephen made a noise of agreement.
He held her in his arms, and she listened to him breathe. She had started to doze and dream that he was already gone when he whispered, “It’s time for me to go.” She squeezed the tears out of her eyes that had begun to form in sleep.
“I’ll call you when I wake up,” he said, kissing her head.
“I’ll pretend it’s Margaret calling for you so the others don’t realize you’re not here.”
“Good idea. I love you, Herman,” he said with a sigh.
“I love you too.” She kissed him and got off the bed. He smiled, then closed his eyes and folded his hands over his chest. The whistle began sharp and high. Before it subsided to a lower, windier pitch, he was gone. Lying back down in the spot still warm from his body, she cried herself to sleep.
A knock at the door—not the ringing phone—woke her up half an hour later.
CHAPTER 29
Stephen drifted into consciousness to the sound of voices. One he recognized immediately as Margaret’s; she sounded inebriated. It took him a moment to connect a name to the other, mostly because it was unusual to hear them in conversation with each other.
“So, he really feels like he’s found The One?” Charlotte asked.
“He knows he has,” Margaret said. “And I have to agree. It’s obvious when they’re together that they belong together.” It sounded snippy, even for Margaret with her characteristic forthright honesty. In his head, Stephen smiled.
“I guess I’d rather believe that’s why he had a tear in his eye when he got here, than believe The Great Dagmaru is getting soft around the edges. But I always thought it was you. That you were The One. That’s why I never really left Terry.” Charlotte’s husband. Stephen had never encouraged her to leave him, despite their affair. It had taken her months before she ceased to hint that she might.
He heard movement on the side of the bed that Margaret’s voice had come from. It was a movement of hesitation, as though she wasn’t sure what to say. She sniffed before she spoke.
“That was probably my fault. I’ve never told anyone this before, but for a long time I, like all the other women in his life, was in love with him.” More shifting. “Please don’t tell Stephen. Or Herman.”
“I won’t,” Charlotte said. Stephen imagined her lowering her green eyes. “But you guys share everything,” she continued. “Why didn’t you ever tell him?”
“Other than knowing it was stupid? Just the idea is a betrayal of our friendship.” Margaret’s voice dropped in pitch. Ashamed.
“I don’t think so,” Charlotte said. He sensed a displacement of air as she reached across the bed to touch Margaret in support. “I think it was obvious to everyone except Stephen that you two should have ended up together. He can be so oblivious at times.”
Margaret snorted out a laugh. “Stephen is anything but oblivious. He’s always known what he wants and where his destiny lies. When he found Herman, he knew right away.”
“Like he knew when he found me?” Skepticism.
“It was different with Herman. He recognized her as his other half. Not just his assistant.”
“Is that when you gave up wishing it was you?”
Margaret hesitated. Longer this time. Stephen did and didn’t want to hear the answer. He decided to try to make a sound before she had the chance to speak.
“Margaret.” A faint whisper. No vocal cords yet. They didn’t hear him. He tried a whistle. Though it only came out as a puff of air, it got their attention.
“Stephen!” Margaret exclaimed, turning in his direction.
He managed to open his eyes. Between him and the ceiling was Margaret’s face, off to his right.
“I think I’d better leave you two alone,” Charlotte said. She rose, her gaze shifting from Stephen to Margaret and back again. Stephen blinked at her, hoping it would show his assent.
“I’m glad you made it safely,” she said on her way through the curtain at the foot of his bed. Stephen heard the door to his office close, and he tried to speak again.
“Margaret,” he whispered.
“Are you okay?”
“No.”
“What’s wrong?” She looked him up and down, panicked, searching for the source of the problem.
“You.”
“You heard what I said.”
“Yes. You contradicted yourself.”
“How?”
“You say I’m anything but oblivious, and yet you assume I didn’t know you were in love with me,” he said ponderously.
“What do you expect?” She frowned, angry. “You have the blood of an incubus running through your veins. No woman can resist you, whether you try to seduce them or not. I’m only human.”
He swallowed slowly. “You don’t have to defend yourself.”
Her gaze fell to her lap; her misery hung like a fog that threatened to choke him. He spoke steadily—rhythmically—so as not to confuse his words.
“These months spent apart from you have shown me I had no business leading you on the way I have, all these years. I was selfish.”
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