Hazel's Heart

by Terri Reid

  “We might want to step back,” Henry suggested. “At her current rate of velocity, she might not be able to stop as quickly as she’d like.”

  Just as the words were out of his mouth, Hazel’s red pickup careened onto the driveway and headed in their direction. Quickly taking Henry’s advice, the foursome jumped back off the driveway and onto the lawn adjacent to the barn. However, Henry had underestimated Hazel’s skills and the truck stopped precisely in front of the barn. The door opened and closed with a bang, and Hazel strode around the front of the truck to face them.

  “What?” she demanded shortly.

  “We all felt your distress several miles away,” Agnes explained. “And we wanted to be sure that you okay.”

  Hazel sighed and leaned back against the truck. “My day has pretty much sucked and then I got a ticket,” she said. “And I didn’t even deserve it.”

  “I’m so sorry,” Rowan said, immediately stepping forward to hug her younger sister. “What happened?”

  “Well, it seems that the whole town is talking about a coven war,” Hazel explained with a glint of anger in her voice. “And since we are the best-known witches in the area, suddenly we are frightening.”

  “Frightening?” Agnes asked, astonished. “What have we ever done that would frighten anyone?”

  Hazel shook her head. “Nothing,” she said. “Absolutely nothing. But when I walked into Harley’s Feed Store, I was not only accosted by Wanda Wildes, but as soon as I walked in, a bunch of other customers walked out.”

  Cat stepped up and nodded. “Yes, I’ve noticed a sudden decrease in clients at the shop,” she added. “Most of the locals are staying away, my main business has been tourists.”

  “That’s ridiculous,” Henry exclaimed, angrily. “Do these people realize what you’ve done for them? What you’ve sacrificed for their safety? What this town would be like if you all just walked away and let them deal with this curse on their own?”

  Hazel sighed, her eyes moist and shrugged. “No, they don’t, Henry,” she said. “And I don’t really know if it would make a difference if they did. We’re different, so we need to be feared.”

  “That’s a complete load of bollocks!” Henry growled.

  “Wow, professor,” Hazel replied, surprised into grinning. “I don’t think I’ve ever seen you this riled up before.”

  Henry blushed and took a deep breath. “It’s not a laughing matter,” he said soberly.

  Hazel shook her head and went over to him, putting her hand on his arm. “No, it’s not,” she agreed. “But it’s comforting to have true friends who are loyal no matter what.” She turned to her mother and her sisters. “Harley asked me to call in my orders for the time being. But, bonus, he’s going to give me free delivery.”

  “What?” Rowan asked. “We have always been one of Harley’s best customers. What the hell?”

  Hazel shrugged again. “Yeah, well, when you scare away the other clients, I guess Harley would rather us remain silent and invisible customers,” she said.

  “That’s it,” Cat said. “We’ll find a new vendor for things we get from Harley. We can go to Madison or Milwaukee and get the exact same products.”

  “No, I want to stay with Harley,” Hazel said. “He’s just looking out for his business and the people who work for him. I wish he would have been more loyal. Actually, he said he wished he could be more loyal. But it is what it is.”

  “What happened with Wanda?” Agnes asked.

  Hazel met her mother’s eyes. “She’s pretty angry about her dad and the whole prison thing,” she began.

  “Then maybe they shouldn’t have tried to kill us,” Cat said sardonically.

  Hazel nodded. “She said that she’s seen what the Master has in store for us. And she said that we were going to be locked in our own prison.”

  “He’s got to win first,” Rowan said. “And I am not even considering that we are going to fail. I have too much to look forward to, to even contemplate that.”

  Henry lifted her hand and placed a kiss on it. “I agree entirely,” he said softly to Rowan.

  Hazel smiled at them. “You’re right. We have everything on our side,” she agreed. “Doesn’t good always conquer evil?”

  Agnes nodded. “In all the best stories it does,” she agreed.

  “Oh, and finally, I can’t prove it, but I think Wanda moved my truck and parked it in front of a fire hydrant,” she said.

  “The ticket,” Cat said. “The one you didn’t deserve.”

  “Yeah, and let’s just say that I don’t think the new police chief is going to be very sympathetic to our side of the cause,” Hazel sighed.

  Chapter Four

  Chief Joseph Norwalk watched the red pickup drive down the road and sighed. Really, did people think he was that stupid? Someone stole my car and parked it illegally? She really thought he’d believe that?

  Shaking his head, he moved to put his cruiser into gear when he saw Harley, the store owner, wave him over. He turned the car off, slipped out of the vehicle, and strode across the sidewalk. “Did you need something, Harley?” he asked.

  “Yeah, did I see you talking with Hazel Willoughby out here?” Harley asked.

  “If she owns a red pickup truck you did,” Joseph replied. “Had it parked out here in front of the fire hydrant.”

  Harley looked down at the sidewalk, leaned back on his heels and then slowly pushed his hair back on his head. Finally, he looked up and met the policeman’s eyes. “The thing is,” Harley said slowly. “Hazel always parks in the back because her order’s so big. I saw her come in and go out the back door myself.”

  “She didn’t have a big order with her,” Joseph countered.

  “Yeah, well, that’s my fault entirely,” he said. “I insisted on delivering it up to her place. She would have taken it in a minute.”

  “She said she thought someone had taken her car and parked it here illegally, just to get her in trouble,” Joseph said, watching the old man’s reaction.

  To his surprise, the old man didn’t smile or even chuckle, just nodded slowly and ran his hand over his hair once again. “Yeah, that sounds about right,” he said slowly. “That Wanda Wildes was none too happy with Hazel when she left the store. Tried to get Hazel’s temper up, but Hazel’s too cool of a customer for that.”

  Joseph smirked and shook his head. “Yeah, she didn’t really seem like a cool customer when I spoke with her.”

  “Well, that’s probably my fault,” Harley admitted. “Won’t say much more about that, just…I’m not proud of how I had to treat her in there.”

  Joseph shook his head. “So, you’re saying that I should have believed her?”

  “Never known a Willoughby to lie,” Harley replied. “If she had parked her truck illegally, she would have admitted it and taken the ticket with no argument.”

  Joseph stared at Harley for a long moment, glanced up at the security camera attached to the front of the store, and then shrugged, “Those cameras up there, do they really work?”

  Harley nodded. “Yes, they do,” he said. “But I got to warn you, things in Whitewater aren’t what you’re probably used to. You got to watch those tapes with an open mind.”

  “Harley, I’ve got one of the openest minds you have ever met,” Joseph answered.

  “What the hell?!?” Joseph exclaimed fifteen minutes later, rewinding the tape yet another time. He was sitting in the backroom, behind the customer service desk, replaying the camera footage from just the past hour. He started with the front camera, but the tapes from the front of the store had just shown the front bumper of the pickup suddenly appearing on screen. It didn’t show the windshield or the driver’s area, so Joseph couldn’t make a good determination on who was driving when it was parked there. Then Harley had gladly supplied the camera tapes from the back of the store.

  Joseph watched Hazel park her car in the parking lot and then walk into the store. He fast-forwarded the video until he watched her leave the
store, searching for her keys. Then he saw the panic on her face and saw her pull out her phone. She next looked toward the road, placed her phone in her purse and hurried toward the street.

  Damn! She hadn’t been lying. Someone had moved her truck!

  But now, when Joseph had slowly rewound the tape to discover who had driven the truck away, all he could find was one frame where the pickup was in the parking space and the next frame it was gone.

  “This can’t happen,” he said softly, slowing the playback down even more. “Trucks just don’t unmaterialize and then rematerialize in another place.”

  Harley cleared his throat and Joseph turned to see the old man leaning against the doorjamb.

  “There’s this thing about Whitewater,” Harley said slowly. “It just isn’t like any town you’ve ever lived in.”

  Chapter Five

  Particles of straw glistened in the sun beams that shot through the overhead windows in the barn. Hazel hefted a bushel of hay, carried it across the barn to the inside of the goat pen and dropped it into the large circular feeder. The half dozen does and their kids rushed toward the hay, eager for fresh food.

  “I just fed you this morning,” Hazel laughed. “Don’t act like you’re starving. I know better.”

  Brushing the pieces of hay from her work shirt, she moved around the enclosure, checking to be sure there were no breaks in the fencing that would allow predators access or conniving goats an escape route. Bending forward to inspect a spot where the steel fencing met a wooden post, she nearly toppled forward when she was gently butted on the back of her thigh. She looked over to see Lefty, the kid she, Rowan and Henry had helped deliver because his hooves had been tangled together inside his mother.

  “Excuse me,” she said, turning and sitting down on the ground in front of the baby goat. “I think I have work to do here and can’t just stop and play with any goats who needs me.”

  Lefty pranced with delight for a moment, then quickly climbed onto Hazel’s lap and settled in for a nap. Hazel’s heart melted as she stroked the little goat. At most farms, the male offspring would be sold off or used for food, but even if that had been part of her production plan, she knew that Lefty would have found a permanent place on the farm, just as he had her heart. He’d been her favorite since the night he was born, and, as he softly nibbled on her work shirt, she pulled the treats she always carried for him out of her pocket.

  “Hey, that’s not something to eat,” she complained, pulling the corner of her now wet work shirt out of his mouth. “Try these instead.”

  She lay her hand flat in front of his mouth and he delicately ate each small grain treat from her palm. “That’s a good boy,” she crooned, bending over and hugging him. “You’re getting so big.”

  His mother, now finished with her hay, bleated reproachfully at her wayward son and, his ears perked forward, he turned towards the doe.

  “You really should listen to your mother,” Hazel recommended. “She’s just looking out for you.”

  The tiny goat struggled to his feet, climbed off of Hazel’s lap and hopped over to stand next to his mother.

  “Wise words,” Agnes said, coming forward from the interior of the barn.

  Hazel sat back, leaning against the fence post. “Aren’t they adorable?” she asked.

  Agnes smiled and nodded. “Yes, they are all adorable,” she replied. “And weren’t you the smart one to pick a breed that produces milk and fiber, so the little bucks don’t have to be sold off.”

  Hazel looked up at her mom, shielding her eyes against the sun, and nodded. “How do you do that?” she asked.

  “What?” Agnes asked, coming over and sitting down next to her daughter.

  “Read my mind,” Hazel replied.

  “Well, I don’t have to read your mind to see that you and Lefty have a special connection,” Agnes said. “You spoil him rotten. I’m surprised that he doesn’t follow you up to your room at night.”

  Hazel chuckled and nodded. “Yeah, well, he’s like a little miracle,” she explained. “And lately, I’ve really needed to remind myself that good things are still happening. It’s not all curses and fear.”

  Agnes sighed. “And that’s why I came out here,” she said sadly. “To talk to you about what happened in town.” She paused. “Would you rather I go away while you enjoy your miracle and we can talk later?”

  Hazel shook her head, watching Lefty dance around his mother. “No, I think watching my miracle while we talk will be helpful,” she said, then she turned to her mom. “What do you want to know.”

  “I want to know what frightened you,” Agnes said bluntly.

  Hazel nodded slowly and took the time to mentally review what had happened that morning. Finally, she inhaled deeply and replied. “I think it was the hate I felt from Wanda,” she said slowly. “I’ve never had such deep-rooted hate hurled at me. I mean, Wanda and I were never friends, but I didn’t think we were enemies. But today, when she approached me, she was my enemy and she meant me, all of us, harm. I don’t understand that kind of emotion.”

  Agnes put her arm around her daughter and Hazel laid her head on her mother’s shoulder. “No, you don’t,” Agnes said softly. “Because you don’t hate. You protect, you love, you fight for what’s right. But you don’t hate. I’ve never seen that emotion come from you – or any of you girls.”

  Hazel smiled wistfully. “That’s because you never taught us to hate,” she said.

  “Well, I hope that’s true,” Agnes said, stroking Hazel’s long brown hair. “Because hate is an emotion that will cause more harm to the person who holds it, than to those who it is directed towards. Hate will eat you alive and will contaminate the rest of your life.”

  Hazel grinned. “So, what I hear you saying is that maybe I shouldn’t pick up hating as a hobby?”

  “You are such a brat,” Agnes laughed and then sobered. “No, what you hear me saying is that I’m proud of you. I’m proud of the way you handled yourself this morning, with dignity and grace. I’m proud of the woman you have become, filled with love and light.”

  “Well, I don’t think I was all that love and light when I dealt with the new chief of police,” Hazel admitted with a sigh. “I can’t imagine what he thinks of me.”

  Chapter Six

  “What the hell am I supposed to do about this?” Joseph Norwalk asked himself as he drove down the country road, following the delivery truck from Harley’s Feed Store. “I can’t even believe I saw what I saw.”

  The delivery truck slowed and turned on its right turn signal. Joseph followed suit and was impressed by the home and the farmstead that appeared before him. He followed the truck past the house and back towards barn, parking a few yards away from the barndoor. He stepped out of his car.

  “Is there something I can help you with, Chief?” Hazel asked, leaning against the deck pillar next to the stairs.

  Joseph turned towards her at the sound of her voice and slowly shook his head, once again biting back a smile. For someone so little, he thought, “wait, petite, that’s the word women liked, petite… Anyway, for someone so petite, she had enough attitude in her for at least couple more feet.

  He nodded politely and walked towards her. Hazel felt her mouth go dry. He really is an exceptionally good-looking man, she thought and then she reminded herself, an exceptionally good man who thought I was a liar and gave me a ticket.

  She walked down the stairs but stopped when she was still high enough to meet his eyes.

  “I’m here to apologize,” he said, standing a few feet in front of her. “And to take back the ticket I gave you.”

  This was not what she expected to hear coming from his mouth.

  “I’m sorry. What?” she asked, astonished.

  He smiled slowly and shrugged. “Yeah, well…”

  Suddenly a giant black blur of fur leapt past Hazel, lips pulled back in a snarl, and charged against the police chief. The two tumbled backwards onto the grass.

  “Fuz
zy!” Hazel screamed as she jumped down the remaining stairs and rushed to the rescue. “Fuzzy! No!!”

  But she froze in her steps when she saw the chief hold Fuzzy’s head above his face and stare into his eyes. “We’re good,” she heard him whisper to the canine. “I’m your friend.”

  The snarl left the wolf’s face and his long tail slowly began to wag back and forth. The Chief released his grip on Fuzzy’s face and the wolf greeted him like an old friend, bathing his face in kisses. Joseph turned his face to avoid some of the licks and met Hazel’s concerned and confused eyes. “Fuzzy, huh?” he asked. “Couldn’t you have come up with something a little manlier?”

  Her knees weak with reaction, she lowered herself to the ground and breathed out a long sigh of relief. “He never does that,” she said, shaking his head. “I’ve never seen him do that.”

  Pushing the wolf off his lap, Joseph sat up and shrugged. “He perceived a threat,” he said evenly. “And thought you were in danger. He’s a brave and loyal friend.”

  She nodded slowly. How odd that he understood that Fuzzy was not a pet, but a member of the family. “Yes, he is,” she replied. “But how did you get him to understand that you weren’t a threat?”

  Joseph smiled. “Our spirit animals communicated with each other.”

  “You’re Native American?” Hazel asked.

  He nodded. “Half,” he said. “On my mother’s side. My father was German.”

  He quickly stood up, with a nimbleness that Hazel thought would be impossible for such a large man. Then he leaned over and offered her a hand.

  The minute his hand closed over hers, she felt it. Power, heat, and excitement coursed through her system as if she’d been electrified. She watched his eyes widen in surprise and knew that he had felt it too. As soon as she was on her feet, he released her hand and stepped back. She stepped back too, but the air around them was supercharged with mystical energy. They stared at each other, not speaking, trying to understand the connection that felt as old as time.