The Witch's Christmas Wish (Miracle Express, #9)

by Rebecca Lovell

  “There’s something I need to tell you,” she said, then bit her lip. She was trying to think of a way to start the sentence when Gard smiled at her.

  “Is it about your magic?”

  Terra’s world seemed to freeze in place for a moment. In the space between heartbeats she could see Gard’s knowing smile and the Christmas tree, and hear the snow blowing around outside. She wanted to tell him, and it had been trying to burst out of her, and all the time he had already known.

  “How did you know?” Her mouth was dry as she asked, wanting to know the answer and wishing she had told him earlier.

  “When I saw you touching the train at the station with your eyes closed, I suspected it. You looked like Tilly when she’s trying to get a vision to come to her. Then you seemed really interested in talking to her alone. There are times when you just stop, or act as if you’re in a daze. I’ve seen Tilly do the same thing.” He shrugged. “I figured you’d tell me when you were ready.”

  “I guess you really are a great detective.” Terra leaned over and put her head on his shoulder. “You’re right, I do have visions. For most of my life I’ve had mainly had ones of the future, but touching the train was the first time I ever saw the past. I was afraid you’d think I was being strange or dramatic. My mother never believed me, but Tommy did. Until I met Tilly, he was the only one.”

  “You’re not strange.” Gard turned to her and she sat up straight. “I think you and Tilly are lucky, possibly even blessed, to have your magic. You can help so many people with it, and it’s a damn shame that there are people who think you’re evil or would ever hurt anyone. I wish you’d told me earlier, I wouldn’t have thought any different of you.”

  “What do you think of me, Gard?” Terra wanted the answer to this more than she wanted to know who had caused the train accident, but they were taking up equal space in her head. She had hoped to tell Gard about her magic and ask him once the case was done but the time had come already.

  “I think you’re a beautiful, intelligent woman with a mind of her own, who knows exactly what she wants and isn’t afraid to reach out and get it.” He laughed a little. “I knew that the minute I saw you, and when you grabbed your suitcase and slammed the door I knew I would be growing fond of you before this case was over. I didn’t tell you because I thought you didn’t need my feelings for you weighing you down.”

  “Your affection wouldn’t weigh me down,” Terra said. “If anything, it would keep me afloat when I was second-guessing myself.” She smiled at him. “If you still have affection for me after I’ve been hiding from you all this time.”

  “Of course I do. If I could, I’d keep you here with me forever. As I said before, though, the only thing I want is for you to be happy.” He put a hand under her chin and it felt like the most natural thing in the world when he leaned down to kiss her. In response, Terra put her arms around his neck and pulled him closer.

  When they parted, she kept her arms around him and he put his around her as well. She felt more than just affection for him, she knew it now just as she’d known it when they were walking around looking at the tree. Being in his arms only confirmed it and she wished she could stay with him forever. It was too much to ask to sleep in his arms but if he had asked at that moment, she would have agreed. Gard would never do that, though. He was too much of a gentleman.

  “Thank you,” he said, and Terra frowned at him.

  “For what?”

  “For trusting me with your secret. Everyone knows about Tilly in Garden City, but I won’t tell anyone that you don’t want me to. I swear.” He kissed her on the forehead and Terra closed her eyes to push back her tears.

  “You’re so kind. You’re the first man who ever encouraged my work rather than telling me I should settle down with someone and be a good wife. I’ve had so many people who were sure they could change me, and I knew it. You’re the only one who truly cares about me, and wants to be with me in spite of everything.” She took her arms from around his neck and leaned onto his chest instead.

  “I don’t want to be with you in spite of anything. I want to be with you because of your talent and your intelligence.” He put his arms around her and enveloped her in his warmth. “Good, quiet girls never interested me much.”

  “Good news for me, I suppose.”

  Chapter Eleven

  “Shh, they’ll hear you!” Gard put a hand over his brother’s mouth as he looked out of the crack between the doors of the wardrobe. Richie shook Gard’s hand off and pushed his head through the clothes so he could look out as well.

  “I don’t see anyone,” Richie whispered. With no one in sight, he sighed heavily. “I don’t like this one, we should hide a different place.” He raised his voice to say this and the sound of feet running down the hallway made Gard groan. Light streamed into the wardrobe as the doors were yanked open, revealing one red-haired boy and one blonde boy.

  “Found you!” The two boys whose sing-song voices announced they were the winners looked so much alike that they could have been twins, though they were two years apart in age. “You two are the worst hiders,” Geoff said.

  “I wanna switch teams,” Richie said, stumbling out of the wardrobe and onto the floor. “I don’t wanna hide with Gard.”

  “You’re the noisy one.” Still between the dresses, Gard scoffed at his little brother. “You always give us away.”

  “What on earth is going on up here?” A woman’s voice came from the hall over quickened footsteps and three of the boys froze. The only exception was Gard, whose panicked attempt to get out of the wardrobe resulted in his tripping and falling out of the wardrobe, pulling one of the dresses with him just as his mother walked in the door. “Gardner Stewart Lewis, what do you think you’re doing?”

  “I was—-I was just—-” He looked around at his brothers, who were all carefully examining the ceiling. His mother grabbed him by the arm and hauled him onto his feet.

  “If you’ve ruined my dress, you’re not going to sit down for a week, young man.” She picked up her dress and Gard held his breath, hoping it would be all right. “Thank goodness, it seems to be in one piece. Now go outside, all of you, and get some fresh air before I throw you out.”

  The boys trooped down the stairs and out the back door into the yard. The Lewis family’s lake house had plenty of land for the boys to play, and the early summer sun was just starting to feel good on their skin. A boat bobbed in the water off the dock and the family’s dog was laying on the planks sunning itself. Everything seemed perfect, except for the siblings’ squabbling.

  “You two have to be on the same team, you’re the youngest.” Marty folded his arms over his chest and shook his head. “We’re not playing with babies like you.”

  “We aren’t babies!” His face bright red, Richie yelled at his brother. “We’re not!”

  “Shh, be quiet before Mother yells at us again,” Gard said, looking over his shoulder at the house. “But we’re not babies.”

  “You two lost fair and square. Now you have to find us.” Geoff slapped Gard on the arm and ran away with Marty around the side of the house.

  “I hate playing with you,” Richie said as Gard rubbed the red mark that was already coming up on his light skin. “You’re not fun.”

  “I am so.” Gard folded his arms over his chest. “Are you counting yet?”

  “You aren’t fun and I hate hiding with you! I’m going to find Marty and Geoff!” Tears were welling up in Richie’s eyes and Gard was about to tell him to be quiet again when his little brother pointed at him. “Your stupid orange hair gets us caught every time!”

  “You got us caught last time!” Gard shoved Richie as hard as he could and sent his brother falling onto his backside. Before he could start crying, Gard stormed around the side of the house and over to the tree that held the fort their grandfather had made for their father when he was a boy. According to their mother, Gard had gotten his red hair from this grandfather so he climbed the ladder and
hid in the corner of the fort so no one could see him. Once he was completely alone, he finally started to cry.

  When Gard woke up on the floor of the treehouse the sky was almost completely dark. His mother was calling his name frantically and he sat up and rubbed his eyes with the back of his hand. Not wanting to upset her, he slid down the ladder and walked toward the house. The moment he walked in the front door, his mother threw her arms around him.

  “Oh my God, Gard! I was so worried!” She hugged him so tightly it was painful and he looked around the room. His father was talking to a policeman and his brothers were sitting on the couch watching him. “David, he’s back!”

  “Gardner, son,” his father said, rushing to his side. “Where’s Richie? Was he with you?”

  “Richie?” Gard looked from his father to his mother. “We had a fight and he said he was going to go find Marty and Geoff.” He turned to look at his brothers, whose faces and eyes were red. “I don’t know where he is. I’m sorry, Mama!” Gard dissolved into tears and his mother put her arms around him.

  “Gard?” A completely different voice broke into his dreams, followed by a hand on his shoulder, shaking him gently. He opened his eyes to see Terra standing beside the bed with a worried look on her face. She was wearing a dressing gown over her nightdress and her honey-brown hair lay in curls over her shoulder. “Are you all right?”

  “Terra?” For a moment he couldn’t remember where he was. Then it all came flooding back to him and he sat up. “Yeah, yeah, I’m fine. I just—-” He ran a hand through his hair. “Did I wake you up?”

  “You sounded like you were yelling. I came in to check on you and you were moving around a lot.” She sat on the edge of the bed as he leaned against the headboard. “Were you having a nightmare? Is there something I can do?”

  “No, I’m fine,” Gard said, wiping his eyes with the backs of his hands. Terra was looking at him with concern and he couldn’t lie to her. “I have a nightmare every now and then about my brother Richie. I know I told you that he went missing, but I didn’t tell you it was my fault.”

  “Your fault?”

  “My brothers and I were playing and he and I got into a fight over the stupidest thing, so I pushed him down and ran off.” Gard rubbed his face with his hands to try and get rid of the dream. “If I hadn’t left him alone, he might still be here.”

  “You don’t know that,” Terra said, a smile in her voice. “Maybe they would have taken you instead. Forgive me for being selfish, but I’m glad you’re still here.” Gard was trying to think of something to say that wouldn’t make him sound like a complete jerk when she nudged him aside and sat on the bed beside him.

  “And I hope you’ll forgive me for possibly being a bit forward, but I’m glad you’re here now.” He took her hand and she leaned her head on his shoulder.

  “Can I ask you something?”

  “You just woke me up from a nightmare, which means you can ask me whatever you want.” Gard squeezed her hand. It was tiny compared to his, and cold.

  “Do your parents blame you for your brother’s kidnapping?” It was a simple question, but one he had to think about. “How about your other brothers?”

  “I don’t think any of them do,” Gard said. “We all just sort of came together. I’m really the only one who still believes I am.” He sighed. “I know that. It’s just hard to know that.”

  “Can I tell you something I’ve only ever told one person before?” Terra’s face was serious and Gard nodded. “When I was five, I had a vision that my brother died in a train. He was the engineer and he was on fire. It scared me so much that I told my mother about it and she didn’t believe me. That’s why I became a mechanical engineer, so I could keep it from coming true.”

  “You never told him about it?” Gard let go of her hand and put his arm around her.

  “No, I didn’t want to scare him. Being a train engineer was his dream, so I made keeping him safe mine.” Terra snuggled into him. “I told him about other visions and some of them came true, so he believed me. But I honestly think Tommy would have believed me anyway.”

  “What was your dream?”

  “My dream?” Terra looked surprised that he had asked. “I don’t know. I’ve always loved flowers. It would have been nice to be a florist.” She sighed. “If I had been a florist, though, I never would have met you.”

  “I guess that’s true.” Gard craned his neck so he could see his wristwatch on the nightstand. “We should get some rest. We have to meet Detective Brooks tomorrow at the police station at 10:00 and I have no idea how we’re going to get there without your friend’s car.”

  “You’re right. I suppose we’ll have to walk.” In response, Terra curled closer into his body and Gard leaned his head on top of hers. Neither made any moves toward leaving the bed and Gard figured that since no one in Baltimore knew them, no one was going to be spreading any rumors about them so he pulled her a little closer and figured he would wait a little longer for her to get up and go back to bed.

  Chapter Twelve

  “Good morning,” the man who met Gard and Terra at the front desk of the police station said with a smile. “You must be our consultants from Virginia.” He offered a hand to Gard. “I’m Detective Leslie Brooks. Nice to meet you.” Terra noticed that he didn’t offer to shake her hand and she was about to just stick it out when Gard put a hand on her shoulder.

  “Good to meet you too,” he said, then motioned to Terra without taking the man’s hand. “This is Dr. Terra Rendon. She’s been working on this case and has given me a lot of insight into things.” He smiled. “As for me, I’m Detective Gardner Lewis. Just here to help.”

  “It’s a pleasure to have you both here.” This time Brooks offered his hand to Terra, who shook it firmly. Only then did Gard shake his hand. “Why don’t you come into the conference room and show me what you’ve got?”

  “We’d love to.” Terra stepped in front of Gard and strode after Brooks, tossing Gard a tiny smile as she did. He winked at her and her heart sped up for a moment as she blushed.

  She had been surprised when she woke up that morning propped against the headboard beside Gard. They’d apparently both fallen asleep after she woke him up – in fact, he was still asleep – and she knew she should be ashamed of herself but she just couldn’t summon up the energy to berate herself the way her mother would have. Nothing had happened, not even a kiss like they’d shared on the couch, but it had been nice to wake up with his warmth beside her.

  Brooks led them into a conference room with a long hardwood table and sat down, prompting both Terra and Gard to do the same. She folded her hands on the table while Gard took the files out of his briefcase and set them on the table. Brooks pulled the folder over and opened it.

  “Basically, the brake lever was tampered with,” Terra said. “We believe it was done here, and we believe we have a witness.”

  “Tampered with? In what way?”

  “It appeared to have been filed or cut so that when the engineer tried to engage the brakes it snapped off, leaving him unable to do so.” Terra leaned over and tapped a sheet of paper. “This is a statement from our witness, Mrs. Lovett. She saw a man being removed from the train for being drunk and belligerent, and we believe that may have been an act by the man who sabotaged the brake.”

  “Sounds plausible.” Brooks scanned the interview. “Not much of a description. Still, if the man was removed from the platform there’s almost certainly an incident report at the train station, if not one here as well.”

  “I’d like to check on that,” Gard finally spoke up. “Or you should. I’m not sure how this works.”

  “How about this.” Brooks set the paper down. “I’ll have someone drive you to the train station so you can look around there. I’ll check through our records here on that date to see if there was a criminal report filed. There’s a telephone here, I’ll call the station and have them find you if I find anything. If not, I’ll meet you at the rail police
’s office at noon.”

  “That sounds fine to me.” Gard stood up and Terra followed his lead. “Since this has been handed off to you, I’ll leave my files here but I’ll need them back when this is over. I need to return them to the detective in Roanoke.”

  “Of course. I’ll take good care of them.” Brooks stood up and motioned for them to follow. Once again Gard let Terra go first, and this time she felt a hand on the small of her back as she walked through the door. It wasn’t the first time he had done it but it felt reassuring just the same.

  Brooks led them to the front desk again where a patrolman was leaning against the wall. He was chatting with a young woman, but when he saw Brooks he stood up straight. Terra very nearly laughed but kept quiet so she wouldn’t make them think she was a giggly schoolgirl.

  “Officer LeMont. Please take Detective Lewis and Doctor Rendon to the train station. They have some business to take care of there and I’d appreciate your getting them there quickly so they can get started.” His authoritative tone made the patrolman take notice and he nodded.

  “If you’ll come this way, sir, ma’am.” He led them away toward the garage and Terra looked up at Gard with a grin.

  “I have a feeling that’s how you were when you were a patrolman,” she said, only to be surprised when he shook his head.

  “Not really. Well, not with girls. I did my share of leaning against walls, though.” There was a sheepish smile on his face all the same and this time Terra really did laugh. “Trust me, I’m a better detective than I was a patrolman. I was always bored until they had me come down to help the detectives and I met Jake.”

  “He seems like a good man. I’ve only met him once, of course.” The patrolman opened the door for Terra and she stepped through it, followed by Gard.