How in heck had her mother not gone insane?
The major reason Katy had decided to become a paramedic was to help her understand what she was seeing whenever she inexplicably found herself rooting around inside someone else’s body in her mind’s eye. Unfortunately, every anatomy class in the world wouldn’t help her make sense of the pulsing colors and conflicting emotions that assaulted her every time she went hurtling through bone and cartilage and various organs.
Well, except for three weeks ago, when she sure as hell hadn’t had any trouble recognizing Brandon Fontanne’s loathing.
Darkness threatened to overtake her, and Katy shuddered. She pushed it back as best she could but didn’t feel confident she could keep it at bay.
“You don’t gotta be afraid,” a soft voice whispered. A small hand touched her arm, and Katy’s eyes snapped open. The young boy, Shiloh, sat looking up at her with shining, alert eyes. “That loud thump was just the landing gear going up inside the belly of the plane, so the wheels won’t drag in the wind and slow us down.”
Oh, good Lord, she’d forgotten where she was. “How old are you, Shiloh?” Katy asked. Talking had to be better than remembering.
His small shoulders went back. “I’m almost nine, and in September, I’ll be in the third grade.”
Nine? The kid barely looked seven. But then what did she know, having been born into a family of giants? Well, except for her mother, who topped out at five-foot-three.
“Mom named me after my grandfather, ’cause she said that, even though he was born too early just like I was, he still managed to grow up big and strong and live to be ninety-four.” Shiloh leaned over to glance up the aisle then looked back at her with a heavy sigh. “But I’m still waiting for the growing big part to kick in, ’cause even though I was the oldest kid in my class, people kept thinking I was too young to even be in school.”
Poor little guy.
“Well, you’ve definitely started the strong part of growing up,” she said, giving his forearm a quick squeeze. “And I predict you’re going to be six feet tall by the time you’re done growing. So, Shiloh . . .” She nodded at his catalog. “How many chickens are you planning to get?”
He stared at her for several heartbeats, his big brown eyes both hopeful and skeptical as he apparently tried to decide if he believed her about being six feet tall. Finally, he said, “I might only be able to get six pullets. But I’m really hoping to get four dozen so I can sell their eggs to the resort where we’re gonna live. Mom said she’s gotta ask the top boss lady if I can have any chickens, ’cause I don’t want to keep them penned up if I don’t have to.” He gave another glance up the aisle then shot her a grin. “And if Mom lets me go with her when she asks, I can tell the boss lady that she wouldn’t have to spray chemicals around the resort, ’cause free-range chickens would eat all the bugs and worms and even small frogs and baby snakes.”
“Hens might be a good alternative to pesticides,” Katy drawled, “but they do like to leave little . . . packages all over the place. So don’t be surprised if the boss is reluctant to have resort guests dodging chicken droppings. Also, four dozen are a lot of birds to take care of,” she added at his frown. “I know because, from the time I was five, it was my job to take care of my family’s eighteen laying hens.”
“It was?” Shiloh gasped, looking like he’d just won a prize. “So you must know a lot about chickens. Did you order them as chicks through the mail? What breeds did you get? Did you have a rooster? I’m thinking I should get some roosters so I won’t have to keep ordering chicks every year. And that way I won’t have to set up a brooder, either, ’cause the hens will raise them for me.”
Katy bit back a chuckle at the kid’s enthusiasm over going into the chicken business. “Well,” she said, “I don’t know where we got our hens originally, since there have been chickens at home for as long as I can remember. And we always have at least one rooster, and every year we end up giving half our chicks away to neighbors.”
She wanted to tell him the fancy boss lady at the resort might not want her guests waking up to crowing roosters, but she didn’t have the heart to dampen his excitement.
“You say your mom has a job at a resort, and you’re going to be living there? Is it in Maine?”
He nodded.
“Do you know the name of the town it’s in?”
“The resort’s called Inglenook, and it’s far, far up in the mountains almost all the way to Canada in a town called Spellbound Falls.”
“No,” Katy said on a gasp of her own, imagining she also looked like she’d just won a prize. “I’m going to be living and working in Spellbound Falls, too.”
“At Inglenook?” he asked.
“No, I’m going to be a paramedic at the new fire station right in town. Which,” she rushed on at his crestfallen look, “is only about eight or nine miles from Inglenook. And not only do I happen to know your mother’s boss personally, I also know that Olivia keeps a large flock of laying hens up at her other resort on the top of Whisper Mountain called Nova Mare.” Katy shrugged. “I’m not sure what she’s doing at Inglenook, but I bet she’d be open to your proposal about supplying the dining hall with eggs.”
“When Mom got back from her interview to be the director of family activities,” Shiloh said, back to being excited, “she told me Inglenook’s got a huge barn full of horses and that the workers and their children are allowed to ride them.” His chest puffed out again. “I’ve never ridden a horse before, but I bet I could learn real quick.”
“I bet you could, too,” Katy agreed, giving him a wink. “In fact, I might even be able to teach you, seeing how I’m going to be boarding my own horse at Inglenook.”
“You are?” he asked, his face exploding into dimples again. “You have your own horse?”
Katy nodded. “Her name is Quantum Leap, and I’ve had her since I was twelve.”
“And you’ll teach me to ride her?” he whispered, back to looking hopeful and skeptical.
Katy chuckled and shook her head. “Very few people can ride her, I’m afraid. Even though she’s twenty-three years old, Quantum can still be quite a handful. But if it’s okay with your mom, we can borrow one of the resort horses and go on trail rides together.”
“Oh,” he said, dropping his gaze to his forgotten hatchery catalog. “I don’t think Mom will let me ride outside the fenced area, ’cause she’d be worried my pony would run away like what happened to her when she was a little girl. She told me she held on a really long time before she fell off and broke her arm.” He went quiet for several heartbeats then suddenly grinned up at her. “But if my pony had a lead line and you held it, Mom might let me go on a trail, since you must know a lot about controlling horses if you got your own.”
“That would work,” Katy said with a nod. “But just so you know, Inglenook doesn’t have ponies, only full-sized horses.”
He blinked up at her, then shook his head. “Mom’s definitely not going to let me go riding, then. If she broke her arm just falling off a pony, she’d be afraid I’d break my neck falling off a tall horse. Even if it was just walking, it’s a long way down.”
Katy was pretty sure Shiloh was the one who was worried about that possibility. “I’m going to teach you how not to fall off. And I’ll explain to your Mom that horses are generally safer than ponies for kids to ride and that the ones at Inglenook are especially gentle.”
“And we wouldn’t go out on the trail until I’m really good at it?”
“Nope. You’ll be trotting and even cantering like a pro before we leave the paddock. And we’ll use a lead line if it will make you—your mom—feel better.”
“Okay, then,” he said, his dimples back in full force. “I guess I’m gonna like living at Inglenook after all.” Just as suddenly, he looked down at his catalog. “I wasn’t sure before, ’cause I really didn’t want to move al
most all the way to Canada. I mean,” he said with a shrug, looking up again, “Mom gave me the resort brochure to read, and it looks real nice and everything, but we don’t know anybody there. I won’t have any friends.”
“Sorry, buddy; wrong on both counts.”
“Huh?”
Katy shot him another wink. Where she’d first bristled at the idea of sitting next to this little chatterbox, she now felt grateful—both for the distraction and for the honor of meeting this champ of a kid. “You know me. And I’d feel honored to be your very first friend in Spellbound Falls.”
“You want to be my friend? But I’m just a kid.”
“But you’re such a smart, strong—” Katy halted in midsentence when a shadow fell over them. She looked up to see the boy’s clearly stricken mother.
“Shiloh,” the woman whispered, darting an apologetic smile at Katy then scowling down at her son. “You’re supposed to be reading, not talking the lady’s ear off.”
“But Mom, she’s going to Spellbound Falls, too,” Shiloh said before Katy could speak up. “And she’s been raising chickens since she was five, and she knows your boss lady personally. She owns a horse that she’s gonna keep at Inglenook, and she wants to teach me to ride and even take me out on the trails. But on a lead line,” he rushed on between breaths, “so’s you don’t have to worry about my horse running away.” He grasped his mother’s sleeve. “I don’t mind moving to Maine no more,” he added, gruffly, “’cause Katy wants to be my friend.”
Katy stuck out her hand when Mom lifted her misty-eyed gaze to her. “Katy MacBain. I’m a paramedic on Spellbound Falls Fire & Rescue.”
The woman grabbed her hand in a nearly bruising grip. “I can’t believe this is happening,” she said, her voice also thick with emotion. “What are the chances of our meeting someone going to the same town, and . . . and . . .” Her eyes started to tear as she looked down at her son. “And Shiloh sitting beside you.” She gave Katy’s hand a squeeze. “Thank you, Miss MacBain, for showing Shiloh he’s going to find warm, welcoming people in Spellbound Falls.”
Katy’s cheeks warmed, and she gently pulled her hand free. “Trust me, Mrs. . . .”
“Oh. Oh! I’m sorry.” The woman swiped at the moisture in her eyes. “Marjorie Fox. And it’s Ms.,” she added, softly, darting a worried glance at Shiloh. “But if you would consider being my friend, too,” she rushed on with a tentative smile, “I would like if you called me Margo.”
“Then Margo it is. Shiloh told me you’re Inglenook’s new director of family activities.”
“Yes,” Margo said, though she dismissed the title with a little wave. “Mrs. Oceanus seemed to feel my being a counselor at a large, multicultural school in Phoenix for twelve years more than made up for my lack of experience in the hospitality industry.”
Katy nodded. “Once you get to know the various directors at both Inglenook and Nova Mare, I believe you’ll find that Olivia not only prefers hiring people from outside the industry but that she has an uncanny knack for choosing exactly the right person for her positions. You’re going to love working for her.”
Margo relaxed on a soft sigh. “I’ve never looked forward to anything more.” She smoothed a hand over her son’s neatly cut straight black hair. “And Shiloh’s going to love living in the cute little house that comes with my job. Spending time outdoors hiking and fishing and swimming with children from all over the world instead of being holed up in his room all day, reading.”
“Only when I’m not taking care of my chickens,” Shiloh said. “They need lots of attention while they’re little, so I’ll be too busy to do all that nature stuff. Especially with kids I don’t even know and who’ll only be there for a week.” He looked over at Katy. “But I’m sure my chicks will be okay for a couple of hours while you teach me to ride.”
What Katy could see was that young Mr. Fox was a hermit in training. And that his fears lay close to the surface, poor kid. It wasn’t easy making a big life change. She knew all about that.
“I’m afraid I’ll only be able to get to Inglenook two or three times a week,” she told him, stifling a smile at his frown. “As a paramedic, I have to live at the fire station twenty-four hours at a time every third day, and if I end up running ambulance calls at night, I’ll probably spend a good part of the next day catching up on my sleep.”
“What’s Quantum supposed to do on the days you don’t come see her? Isn’t she gonna get lonely?” The boy brightened. “I could visit her and even bring her carrots.”
“That’s why I’m keeping her at Inglenook, Shiloh. Just like people need to get outdoors and do stuff with other people, Quantum’s going to make friends with the other horses and play with them in the pasture on the days I’m not there.”
She shot Margo a wink when Shiloh scowled down at his catalog, then touched the boy’s arm to get him to look at her. “And trust me; hanging out with a bunch of chickens all day isn’t nearly as exciting as kayaking on an actual inland sea full of playful dolphins that’ll come so close you can almost touch them.”
“Do you kayak?”
Katy nodded. “I do. I’ve been kayaking since . . . well, for as long as I can remember,” she added with a laugh. “Only Pine Creek doesn’t have interesting ocean creatures like Bottomless does.” She leaned closer and lowered her voice. “I have ten-year-old twin cousins who live right on the fjord just a few miles from Inglenook, and they told me they have a pet whale named Leviathan that only a handful of people have ever seen.”
Fear replaced the curious expression on Shiloh’s face. “Whales are big. And a kayak isn’t—” The plane gave a sudden shudder, and a chime sounded. Katy looked up to see the “Fasten Seat Belt” sign illuminate just as a distinct crackle of a mike being keyed came over the speakers.
“The captain has asked that everyone please stay in your seats and keep your seat belts fastened,” a male voice said over the speaker. “Nothing to be alarmed about, folks, we’re just heading into a small bit of—”
The plane gave a rather violent shudder, forcing Margo to grab Shiloh’s seatback. “Okay,” the voice drawled as the female flight attendant made her way toward them, “let’s nix the small and go with nuisance turbulence.”
“Shiloh?” Margo whispered just as the attendant reached her.
The boy leaned into the aisle to look up and down the length of the plane, then looked at his mother again and shrugged. “They’re all smiling.”
They? Katy wondered as she stretched to her full sitting height and also looked up and down the plane—not seeing one smile on one passenger but plenty of concern.
“Let’s get you back to your seat,” the attendant told Margo, stepping to the side to let her pass just as the plane gave another violent shake. “Hold on to the seatbacks as you make your way forward.”
“There’s nothing to worry about, Katy,” Shiloh said, and opened his catalog with a resigned sigh.
They fell into a companionable silence broken only by the drone of the laboring engines and startled gasps of passengers as the plane pitched and yawed with soft shivers and a few violent jerks.
It took Katy a moment to realize Shiloh kept looking in her direction and grinning. Or rather, he kept looking past her left shoulder. When she looked at him, he dropped his attention back to his catalog.
She went back to reading only to catch him staring past her and grinning again—finally turning that grin on her when he realized she was onto him.
“Your angel is very shimmery,” he whispered, his eyes large and shining with wonder.
“Excuse me?” Katy said, leaning toward him. “Did you say my angel?”
He nodded, first at her and then at the wall beside her. “She’s one of the brightest I’ve ever seen.”
“She?” Katy repeated, involuntarily glancing over her shoulder.
“Well, except for mine,” Shiloh
said, his grin broadening. “He’s so bright sometimes I have to put on sunglasses.” He darted a glance up the aisle then leaned closer. “Mom said I shouldn’t tell anyone I see angels, but mine said it’s okay to tell you.” He shrugged. “Most people don’t believe they’re real ’cause they can’t see them.”
“But you— Wait. Earlier when the turbulence started and you told your mom they were all smiling . . . you were seeing smiling angels?”
He nodded again. “I saw everyone’s.”
Excitement pulsed within her. Katy closed her book, looked around to see if they had any eavesdroppers, and pivoted to face him. “You called my angel she but yours he. Do girls have female angels and boys have males?”
He shook his head. “They’re not really male or female. They . . . they’re . . .” His brows puckered in thought. “They’re all. You know, like everything. They don’t even have bodies, ’cause they’re really just energy.” He grinned. “Angels can be whatever we need them to be when we ask for their help. But you gotta ask. Well, most of the time. Sometimes they know what’s gonna happen before we do and they’ll give us warnings to make us ask for their help.” A pained expression crossed his face. “But people don’t always get the message, even if their angel smacks them upside the head, trying to get their attention.”
Katy stilled, her mind racing back three weeks. “Do they ever not warn us?” she asked, searching her memory for anything happening that night that she should have taken as a sign. “Like, do they ever decide to just let us deal with . . . things on our own?”
Shiloh stared at her with a look of deep concern. He could read her pain, she thought. Or the angels were cluing him into it. Too much, she thought. For him, and for me.
She shot him a crooked smile and touched his arm. “Do they talk to you?” she asked, wanting to lift the dark mood she’d created.
He brightened again and nodded. “I don’t hear them with my ears, though. I used to talk back to them out loud but only when I was alone in my room.” His eyes took on a troubled quality again. “But I stopped after my dad came in one night and asked who I was talking to. He got a funny look on his face when I told him, and then just walked out without saying anything.” Shiloh glanced down the aisle then lowered his voice. “Later on, I heard Mom and Dad in their room, fighting. But in that whispery way, ’cause they didn’t want me to hear, you know? I think it was about what might happen if people found out I see angels. So I started talking to them inside my head after that. Even when I’m not visiting Dad, so I won’t forget and do it when I am.” He shrugged. “Mom says I’ll probably outgrow it.”
Call It Magic Page 2
