Witch Reborn Box Set: Books 1-3: Includes Gemstone Coven Holiday Shorts 1 & 2

by Belinda White

  But it just might be time to concede that I needed help.

  It was time to bring in my sister.

  I LEARNED FROM MY MISTAKES. We locked the door to the shop ten minutes before closing time. The shop was just about as full as it could get, anyway. If this continued, I’d be in for a record-breaking week in sales. And by the middle of the week, too. I didn’t sell this much stuff in the height of tourist season, or at Christmas, for that matter. Whatever was up, it was certainly going to be good for my bank account.

  The bad news, though, was that it meant me having to help out in the front of the shop rather than spend a few minutes here and there doing wedding planning stuff. Why did this week have to be the busy one?

  The sign on the door clearly said that we closed at four. I sent Kimberly and the kids home then and stayed behind to wait on the stragglers. There were always a few, weren’t there?

  I’d called Sapphire earlier, in a very tiny break between helping customers—and yes, I made the call from the bathroom if you must know—and arranged to have dinner with her tonight.

  For once, she was coming to us. As it happened, Archie was out of town for a few days, and my sister was at loose ends. I perked up at hearing that. Finally, something was going my way.

  I’d told Kimberly not to worry about starting supper. It was going to be a Carney’s pizza night. Everyone deserved a few of them. I would have invited my man, but he’d warned me last night that he would be tied up with the case for the next few days.

  Now that he could concentrate on it again.

  I was hoping to get one thing crossed off my list tonight if nothing else. The wedding dress. Mom’s dress was safely tucked away in Sapphire’s attic, as we’d been sure of the two of us, she’d be the one to use it. Only she hadn’t. Which, in my mind, meant it was available for me.

  As we munched on pizza, we started talking about the wedding. Namely, all the trouble I was having trying to get the darn thing off the ground.

  I must have been showing more concern than I thought I was because I noticed Kimberly and Sapphire giving each other a knowing glance.

  “What?” I asked.

  “You know we’re here to help out, right? We just didn’t want to step on your toes, so we were waiting for you to ask. You get persnickety sometimes when people assume you can’t do these things all on your own.”

  I’d have argued, but deep down I knew she was right. Being the eldest meant something to me. Independence was something I valued very highly in my life. But now? I needed help, dang it all. If that meant asking for it, so be it.

  “Fine. Then I’m asking. Can you two help me with this thing?”

  Sapphire grinned at me. “Absolutely. Oh, I have so many ideas! And I brought along my wedding book, too, just in case.”

  I stifled a groan. How on earth could I have forgotten about that blasted wedding book? Sapphire had been all about getting married, even as a teenager. That’s when she’d started the book. Pictures of wedding gowns, flower arrangements, you name it, it was in there.

  “Orville and I are going with a very simple ceremony. No flowers, other than what the Goddess provides, and family and very close friends only. Not a super big deal, Sapphire. I just need help with a cake, a preacher, and invitations. I think I can handle the rest.”

  “What about the dress?” From her look, I could tell she knew one of the reasons I’d invited her over.

  I looked her straight in the eye. “I was kind of thinking I’d wear Mom’s wedding dress.”

  There was a story behind that dress. It had never actually been worn. Mom never quite got around to getting married. Up until Orville’s surprise proposal, I’d kind of thought I’d just be following in her footsteps. Funny that I’d be the one wearing the dress down the aisle.

  Then I noticed that Sapphire hadn’t said anything. In fact, she was no longer meeting my eyes.

  “What?”

  She took a deep breath and shook her head. “It’s nothing. I’d just had all these visions of me wearing that gown down the aisle. I guess it took this for it to hit me that now I’ll never get that chance.” Another deep breath and a smile. “But it will be nice watching you do it, all the same. The dress deserves to be worn for the purpose it was made for.”

  “It does.” I glanced at her wedding book. Goddess, but that binder was a thick one. She’d put a lot into that thing over the years.

  My guilt ratcheted up a couple of notches too. Not because I was having the wedding that she’d always dreamed of, either. More because it was more than likely that I was the reason she didn’t have one, to begin with. The whole reason she’d run off and eloped was because of me and my feelings about Earth witches.

  My feelings on that matter, I’ll admit, may have been more than a little prejudiced. I’m still working on that, now that we have Earth witches in the family. The fact that their Earth magic had turned out to be useful more than once helped.

  It didn’t seem right not to put some of that book to good use. But not just for me. I wanted a simple wedding, dang it.

  But that didn’t mean I couldn’t share it, now did it?

  I knew I should have run something this big by Orville first, but I knew my man. I’d be dead shocked if he had an issue with what I was about to say.

  “You know, Sapphire, you could still have a wedding.”

  She gave me a small smile. “Isn’t that kind of like closing the barn door after the horses get out? I’m already well and truly married, Opal. No regrets on that, either.”

  “True. But people renew their vows all the time. And people that run off to Vegas often have a ceremony back home for everyone else. Don’t see why you and Archie can’t do the same. In fact, how hard would it be to make my wedding a double one? Share the work and share the day?”

  She gasped in glee. An actual gasp with actual glee. That was my sister.

  “You’d do that for me?”

  “Seems only fitting as I’m the reason you didn’t have your big day to begin with.” Then I hesitated. “But nothing too fancy, okay? Close friends and family, up on the hilltop under the light of the full moon. Would you be okay with that?”

  Sapphire threw her arms around me. “More than okay with it! Oh, Opal, thank you. This is wonderful.” Then she sat down on the couch and patted the cushion beside her before pulling the huge and heavy book onto her lap. “Now, let’s plan our wedding.”

  And that’s just what we did. I kept her restrained, for the most part. But she wasn’t budging on the issue of flowers. We both had to have bouquets. Pink and white roses for her, and white daisies for me. Our personal favorites.

  And yes, she was also holding out for a flower-covered archway for us to walk under. One side of the arch was to be covered in daisies, the other in roses, with the top a delicate weaving of both. According to her, we had to have one “for the photos, if nothing else”.

  Which brought up another thing I hadn’t thought of. Wedding photography. Not that it was an issue. Sapphire’s daughter, Amie, was great behind a camera. And I really couldn’t see her telling her mom and me no. Family did for family.

  At least one piece of the puzzle fell neatly into place. Unfortunately, with the new double wedding plan, another piece fell out.

  I looked at Sapphire. “Now for the big question. Who gets to wear Mom’s dress?”

  Her face fell as she looked at me. “Oh.”

  Yeah, 'oh' was right.

  By this time, Kimberly and the kids had all gone upstairs, and Sapphire and I had long since moved into my little apartment for our discussions and negotiations. At Sapphire’s wish, baby Pearl was spending the night with us.

  That’s all kind of need to know information for what came next.

  Bridget, my macaw familiar, had been sitting on her post, watching our deliberations quietly. Now, she shook her head and spoke. “Divide the dress.”

  We both just looked at her, then at baby Pearl. We’d thought baby Pearl was fast asleep, but
two bright eyes looked out at us from the little travel crib.

  Then we looked at each other. “Is she talking like King Solomon and the baby? Whoever loves the dress more will agree to let the other have it?”

  Bridget cackled. It sounded a lot like Mom when she got tickled. “You can sew.”

  Oh. Now I got it. She really meant the whole divide the dress thing.

  And you know? It just could work.

  Chapter 5

  With all the negotiations, we were still at it late into the night. With that being the case, plus the added help of Archie being away from home, it wasn’t hard for me to talk Sapphire into spending the night. Good thing, too.

  Baby Pearl didn’t sleep through the night. To be honest, that was still a hit or miss kind of thing. We took what we could get.

  But the teething on top of all the wedding talk was just too much for her, it would seem. She didn’t wake up just at midnight, either. She was up again at three in the morning. Sapphire took the first round, and I took the second.

  It was only fair.

  By the time the child woke up the third time ready for the day at six o’clock, I was more than ready to hand her off to Nancy for the ritual first of the morning feeding. The girl was good at helping out like that. She insisted on doing her part... as long as her part didn’t involve the southern half of the baby, that is. Nancy had a distinct aversion to diapers.

  Not that I blamed her. Changing diapers wasn’t high on my list, either.

  Normally, after that feeding, Nancy handed her off to Kimberly, and we all started the day with showers, breakfasts, and the general getting ready to go chores.

  Not today.

  I opened the bathroom door after my shower to find Nancy standing there with wild eyes. She was holding baby Pearl, but I noticed there was a little more distance between the two of them than there normally was.

  “What’s wrong?”

  Nancy swallowed. “I think maybe Pearl is a witch, Mom. Only... well, witches don’t get their power until later on, right?”

  I arched an eyebrow at her and led her out to my living room. Even after six months, I still hadn’t figured out a way to break the news to the rest of the family. Or Kimberly. Kimberly, being Pearl’s mother, definitely had the right to know what she was in for. And, of course, that I would have her back all the way.

  “What happened?”

  She swallowed again, then held baby Pearl out to me. I took the hint and strapped the grinning baby into her bouncy chair. All the better for Nancy and me to have a nice little uninterrupted chat. I really hoped that Mom would stay out of it.

  I glanced over at Bridget, but she didn’t appear to be paying us much mind. She liked to linger over her breakfast. So far, so good.

  “I took her upstairs and got the bottle ready. I know I put the bottle on the table beside the rocking chair. But then I realized I needed a cloth for burp time, so I put Pearl in the playpen and went down to get one.”

  She stopped, staring hard at baby Pearl.

  “And?” I prompted.

  “And when I got back, Mason was still sawing logs as I went past his bedroom. You know he doesn’t get up easy, right?”

  Oh, I knew all right. There was a reason that getting Mason out of bed in the morning was up to Kimberly. That boy loved his morning sleep-ins. Getting up early? Not so much.

  At my nod, she continued. “Well, when I went back to our playroom... Pearl was still in the playpen, but she had her bottle.” Yet another swallow. “She was drinking it, only, well, she wasn’t exactly holding it.”

  That sounded like Mom’s favorite levitation spell, all right. I glanced down at baby Pearl and then up at Nancy. “You’re right. She is a witch.” I hesitated. “But there’s a bit more to it than that. Only, I kind of think maybe I need to tell Kimberly first. She should be the first to know, don’t you think?”

  Nancy nodded. “No problem. But she really is a witch? I’m not losing my mind?”

  I smiled at her. “You aren’t losing your mind, child.”

  “Good.” She glanced down at baby Pearl, who now seemed fascinated by her own foot. Just a normal little baby discovering new things every single day. Yeah, not buying it, baby Pearl. You’ll have to try harder than that. “Is it okay if I leave her down here with you and just let Kimberly know she’s here?”

  I bit my lip. “That will be fine, dear. But I hope you don’t let this upset you too much, or let it change how you feel about her. She is a witch, yes, but she’s also a baby. And a member of the family.” Twice over, but she’d find that out later, after my little talk with Kimberly.

  She nodded, but I didn’t like the uncertainty of her expression. I hoped she’d come out of it soon. It was rather a shock now, but hopefully, the idea would eventually just take root and grow. After all, baby Pearl being a witch could actually draw the two of them closer together. Another young witch in the family.

  Once Nancy got used to the idea, she’d be on board. I hoped. Especially as I was going to need all the help I could get with baby Pearl. I hadn’t realized until now just how much I’d been counting on Nancy for that help.

  I WAITED UNTIL AFTER we dropped the kids off at school and got the shop properly opened. At least there weren’t customers waiting outside this morning. I was kind of hoping that they’d hold off coming for a bit longer too.

  Long enough for a nice little heart to heart chat with Kimberly.

  We were straightening out the window display, freshening things up a bit, when I finally turned to her. “Kimberly...” and then the words just vanished. Right up in smoke.

  She looked at me. “Yes, Opal?”

  Desperate for something to talk about now that I had once again chickened out of discussing the real issue that needed to be discussed, I lit on the fact that she was raised in the same neighborhood where Orville lived. It was worth a shot.

  “You used to live close to Orville, didn’t you?”

  She nodded. “Yes. My stepdad’s house was just a couple of blocks over from his. Why?”

  I shrugged. “I was wondering if you ever went to Reverend Castle’s church. Were you and your family members of that congregation?”

  Her lips thinned out. “We were. It was a requirement of my stepdad’s. Every Sunday, rain or shine, and in sickness or in health, our bodies had to be sitting in a hard pew to listen to the good reverend spout out his sermon.”

  The way she said the words ‘good reverend’ had me thinking that she was talking more than a little sarcastically. “Did you not like Reverend Castle? I mean, I know you and your stepdad had very obvious problems.” Namely, that the man was a pervert. “But that doesn’t mean the church was bad, does it?”

  In fact, a good church should have been a comfort during the times that Kimberly went through with her stepdad. Obviously, that hadn’t been the case, though.

  “Not by itself, no. But Reverend Castle wasn’t the saintly man all the menfolk seem to think he is. We women of the church knew better.” She hesitated. “At least us younger women did.”

  “I think I’m going to need a little more than that, Kimberly. What do you mean, exactly?”

  Kimberly shook her head. “He just wasn’t a very nice man to the girls. When his wife was still alive, it wasn’t so bad. I think she evened him out a bit. Kept him honest, if nothing else. But once she died a few years back, things changed.”

  I let that sink in. “Well,” I said slowly, “that is a pretty big life change to go through.”

  She just looked at me. “It wasn’t grief that changed him. More like someone taking the reins off a wild horse.” She tilted her head and thought for a few seconds. “I rather think that’s how he envisioned himself. A wild and free stallion out to sow some wild oats.”

  Crapsnackles. That didn’t sound good. Not for the reverend of a church.

  “Are you saying the man took advantage of his position to be with young women?”

  Kimberly fidgeted. “I can’t say a defi
nite yes to that because no one was talking. Part of that was Reverend Castle’s saintly reputation. I mean, one or two girls came forward about a year after Mrs. Castle died.” She shuddered. “It wasn’t pretty for them. Everyone rallied behind the good reverend and called it a witch hunt.”

  I bristled at the phrase. Witch hunts weren’t good, even when they didn’t involve actual witches. Which, honestly, was most of the time.

  “Sorry. But that’s what the good old boy network called it. No one else came forward after that. That isn’t to say the bad behavior stopped, though, is it?”

  “I truly wish I’d known about this before now. This kind of thing can’t stand, you know.”

  She lifted a shoulder. “Well, it did for a long time.”

  That brought up a good point and a whole list of possible murder suspects. “Can you think of anyone who might have wanted the man dead? I mean, I know there are a fair few that wouldn’t like him, being what he was, but hate him enough to kill him?”

  Her eyes met mine. “Besides me, you mean?”

  I blinked at her twice before I could find the words to respond to that. “Please don’t tell me you were one of the ones that stepped forward.”

  “No, I wasn’t his type. Thank God. But when things started going wrong with my stepdad, I went to him. I guess I was hoping that the men were right and that he was a decent shepherd to his flock, other than the randy tendencies. I found out that wasn’t the case.”

  “What happened?”

  She took a deep breath and looked away, tidying up the display a bit more. Tidying that didn’t need to be done, I might add.

  “He acted like he believed me. Made me think he was on my side. Told me he’d take care of it. That it wouldn’t happen again. All the right things.”

  I waited. There was more to come, but I didn’t want to push her. Reliving those days couldn’t be easy for her.

  “Then, as soon as I left the church, he called my stepdad. Told him everything I’d said. He wanted to let him know that I was telling stories on him.” Her face flushed. Yup, still a whole lot of anger there. Not that I blamed her one bit.