A Fantasy Christmas

by Cindy Bennett, Sherry Gammon, Stephanie Fowers

  “You broke the code,” I said simply.

  Felecia, who had grabbed an apple from a bag on the table, froze mid-bite. Fiona shot her a hard glare and shook her head ever so slightly, before facing me. “What are you talking about, witch?”

  “Exactly what I said. You told everyone who’d listen that I was a witch. You broke the code. A witch or warlock is never to out another witch or warlock.”

  “Like I said, I have no idea what you’re talking about, but I’m glad you’re finally admitting you’re a witch. Good for you.” Fiona’s smile fell from her face. “Now get out.”

  “You have no idea what I’m talking about?” Tired of the game, I waved, and the apple in Felecia’s hand flew across the room and exploded as it hit the wall.

  “Hey, there’s no need to act ugly, witch.” She frowned, digging out another apple. Not exactly the reaction I’d hoped for. I wanted retaliation. Magical retaliation.

  “Now that you’ve proven what you are, leave.” Fiona stood, her anger growing if her tight eyes and pursed lips were any indication.

  I waved my hand again and the couch tipped over, as well as the dilapidated lamp, which shattered.

  “My mom gave us that for Christmas!” Felecia yelled.

  I waved my hand and the lamp reassembled itself. “Are you ready to admit what you are?” I asked.

  “Sexy, enticing sisters?” Fiona flashed a smile. “Okay, you win. We’re sexy and enticing.”

  “Fine. I can fix that, too.” With another wave, their shirts not only untied themselves, but also buttoned clear up to the twins’ neck. The girls were now modest, on top anyway. The daisy dukes were a lost cause. Felecia tugged on the buttons, but the shirt held firm.

  Fiona laughed. “Always said I was too sexy for my shirt.”

  I rolled my eyes. “What did you drug Jack with?” I spoke directly to Fiona since her aura appeared slightly stronger. I guessed her to be the one messing with Jack’s head.

  “The truth.” Her eyes narrowed. “You pretend to be some sweet little thing who lives up on the ridge, raising goats, and not bothering anyone. But we know what you really are. A conniving, evil witch who makes potions and sells them to the innocent.” She moved toward me. “I also know you cursed us that day at Jack’s farewell party. Thanks to you we are still known as the Fartious twins.”

  “That’s right,” Felecia said. “But Jack has finally seen the light about you, witch. Now maybe Fiona and I will have a chance with him.”

  I laughed. “Seriously? And why would Jack want to get tangled up with a pair of pathetic witches, who are probably disease ridden if Gus is any indication of what you’re up to?”

  Bingo! The insult pushed Felecia to the edge and she jumped. With a wave of her hand, the lamp I’d just repaired wobbled feebly through the air, before dropping to the floor in front of me.

  Fiona shot to her feet. “You fool!” She pointed at her sister and Felecia stumbled back a few inches. Impressive for a weak witch.

  “I also figured out you two enchanted the stills.” I chuckled as Felicia shook her head. “Sorry, but the aura around the stills is the same dull gray aura surrounding you two. Not very strong magic, girls.”

  “Really? It sure took you long enough to figure it out,” Felecia gloated. Fiona wheeled around to me, her eyes wide. She knew I had her. She also knew I possessed more power and she didn’t raise a hand to me. Too bad. A magical duel would be enjoyable right about now.

  “Okay, ladies, and I use that term loosely, here’s the deal. There will be no more drugging Jack, and you’ll stay away from him, far away. Never again will you call me witch, and you’ll stop trying to destroy my life.”

  Fiona crossed her arms. “And if we don’t?”

  “I’ll expose you to the entire town,” I said simply. “You broke the witch’s code. You know exactly what will happen when the other witches in Sugar Maple learn the truth about you and what you did. We can be an unforgiving lot, right, Fartious?”

  Fiona balled her hands into fists and stomped her foot so hard, she punched a hole in the floor clear to the basement as uncontrolled magic surged through her body. “Get out, wi . . . ugh! Get out now!”

  Before I cleared the door’s threshold, the twins were embroiled in an all-out fistfight. Fiona had a clump of Felecia’s hair and the two shrieked like a couple of cats in heat.

  Now, time to put Jack Mahoney in his place.

  Chapter Fourteen

  Jack

  “Thank you, Agent Waddell.” I hung up the phone and chuckled. The Feds discovered even more dirt on the Abbott boys. They wouldn’t be free for a long time, if ever.

  Even that did little to cheer me up. I shoved my hands through my hair, upset that the stupid potion Marigold had given me hadn’t worn off yet. The disillusionment, the anger had subsided, but my heart still ached for her. And last night I dreamt about her again.

  “Stupid fool. You know it’s impossible to love someone like that. That should have been your first clue that you were under some kind of spell.” I dropped back in my chair. “No one loves with that kind of intensity. No one. I’m such an idiot.”

  “Morning, Chayton. Is he here?”

  I jumped up at the sound of Marigold’s voice coming from the front office. With all that I had, I wanted to kiss her again. Hold her in my arms, tell her I loved her. “No.” I shook my head, refusing to act on it. “That’s the love potion talking.”

  “If you’re referring to my sourpuss deputy, he’s in his office.”

  “Thank you. What happened to your wall?” she asked.

  “The sourpuss, I believe,” Chayton grumbled.

  I stood, my chair scraping behind me. “Thanks for having my back, bro,” I complained under my breath.

  My office door burst open and in stormed Marigold. She tossed her coat on the chair next to my desk, looking amazing in her green turtle neck sweater and jeans. I loved her in green. It made— No. Love potion. I tore my eyes away. Not an easy task.

  “What can I do for you, Miss Yarrow?”

  “Shut up?” she suggested.

  “I don’t think—” I began.

  “That’s obvious.”

  I shoved my hands in my pocket. “Why are you here?”

  “Two things. One, the twins are witches, lousy ones, but witches just the same. They’re the ones who’ve been enchanting the stills.”

  “They told you that?” I asked.

  “After I confronted them. Well, it did take a little persuasion.” She smiled proudly.

  I wondered what exactly a little persuasion meant, but bit my tongue. I’d had my fill of the magical world. I needed her to say her piece and get out before I went insane. I cleared my throat. “And what’s the second reason you’re here, Marigold?”

  She waved her hand and the blinds snapped shut. Another wave and the door slammed shut and locked itself. She spun around and jabbed her finger at me, anchoring me onto the corner of my desk. My hands moved on their own volition from my pockets to the desk on either side of me, where my fingers wrapped around the edges as if I had to hold on.

  Marigold marched up to me. We were now eye-level. She waved her hands and everything blurred into slow motion as her hands weaved into my hair.

  She kissed me.

  It was like coming home as my mouth acclimated to hers. I knew every inch, every centimeter of her lips. I let go of my anger. I pushed out all negative thoughts: thoughts of potions, thoughts of deceptions. This would be the last time I kissed Marigold. I intended to enjoy it. Never again would I feel this way. Never again would I love with such intensely. It was humanly impossible. It was magic. And I didn’t care at the moment. Could it be that bad to be bewitched when kissing her felt this good?

  I strained to pull my hands from the desk. I wanted to bathe them in her hair. But they wouldn’t budge. I’d have to be satisfied with her taste, her honey sweet lips as they exploited mine. Nothing felt as wonderful as loving her. Nothing.

  St
upid potion.

  She finally released me. I don’t know who was breathing harder. Anger at myself for caving in to her crept into my bones as I fought to gain control of my emotions.

  She straightened her shirt. “Just so you know—the blinds shutting? Magic. The door closing and locking? Magic. Stickin’ your sorry butt to the desk and slowing time? Again, pure magic. But the kiss? The kiss,” she leaned closer, a self-satisfied smile on her face, “the kiss was pure Marigold.” She flipped her curls over her shoulder, snatched up her coat, and stormed out the door.

  With my butt still fixed to the desk, Chayton strutted in, chuckling. “You stuck, boy?” he asked in his phony southern drawl.

  “Yes,” I growled.

  “If there’s one thing I’ve learned, it’s to never cross a witch, especially a powerful one.” Chayton folded his arms and chuckled again.

  “You’re telling me. I’m going to be—did you say . . . How did you know?” I gave up trying to stand. No way could I break free.

  “Let’s just say Marigold and my wife are cousins, albeit distant cousins, but cousins nonetheless.” A wide smile cut across his bronze face.

  “Your wife’s a witch, too?” My mouth hung open as Chayton’s mammoth hands lifted with a shrug. No way! “First Marigold, then the Fartious sisters, now Gina?”

  “Hold on, my stuck friend. I never said—” He stopped. “Did you just say the Fartious twins are witches?” I nodded. “Well, I’ll be.” He shook his head. “Gina’s going to be surprised. And speaking of Gina and her being a witch, all I’m sayin’ is that she and Marigold are cousins. If you draw the conclusion that Gina’s a witch from that, just remember you didn’t hear it from me.” He glanced out the door nervously and lowered his voice. “Word to the wise, you’d better apologize quickly, whether you’re guilty or not.” He patted my shoulder.

  “So how long am I stuck here?” I jerked fruitlessly on my hands.

  Depends on how mad she was when she cast the enchantment.” He pulled a chair over and sat down in front of me. “I once ticked off Gi . . . a witch. It took almost a month, and a whole lot of groveling, before I could enter a room she was in without falling flat on my face.”

  “A month.” I dropped my head back. “I can’t sit here for a month.”

  “What did you do, anyway? It must have been pretty bad.” He leaned back. “I’ve never seen Marigold that mad before.”

  “I didn’t do anything. She’s been giving me a love potion and it’s made me crazy in love with the girl.”

  “Marigold has? That doesn’t sound like her.” He scratched at the stubble on his chin. “What in the world possessed her to confess that to you?”

  “She didn’t. If the Fartious twins hadn’t told me, I’d . . . still . . . be . . .” I exhaled loudly and dropped my head as my gargantuan mistake hit me square in the chest. “The Fartious twins are witches. They duped me. Oh man, I really screwed up.”

  “Boy, I can’t believe you were stupid enough to believe the twins.” Chayton stood and put the chair back. “You’re not the brightest pig in the poke, are you?” He patted me on the back again, and this time I went flying onto all fours across the floor. Chuckling, he helped me up. “Seems you’re unstuck.”

  “Yeah, I figured that out.”

  “Know what’s really pathetic about all this?” I brushed some dirt off my knees as I stood. “Back in high school those two dragged me into an empty class room, handed me a Diet Pepsi, and told me to sit down because they had some bad news. They proceeded to tell me that Marigold had a boyfriend and that she was just stringing me along.” I punched the air in anger. “That was a lie, too.”

  Chayton scratched his head. “They handed you a soda?”

  “Yes.”

  “Was it already open?” he asked.

  “It was nine years ago. I can’t remember.” I opened the blinds. It was snowing, again.

  “Can you remember how you felt after they lied to you about Marigold?” His brow pinched. I’d learned over the past few months that meant he was deep in thought.

  “Disillusioned. Angry. So angry, I stomped into the hall and punched a locker.” I rubbed my hand at the memory. My knuckles were bruised for a week after that.

  “And when you punched a hole in my wall the other day, had the twins just told you about Marigold and the love potion?”

  “Yeah, I was going to mend that. Sorry. I’ll bring some supplies in on my day off and patch it.” I felt sheepish. “And yes, I punched the wall after they told me. Losing Marigold brings out my temper, I guess.”

  “Did the twins give you anything to eat or drink the other day before they lied to you about Marigold?”

  The pie and lemonade. I groaned. “They gave me some sort of potion, not Marigold. First in high school in my soda can, I’d bet, and then in the office. What a moron I am.” I slouched into the chair and dropped my head into my hands.

  “They probably used an anger potion,” Chayton said. “Maybe some disillusionment to discourage you.”

  “I just blew the best thing in the world, didn’t I?”

  “Jack, don’t give up so easily,” he said, patting me on the back. “Let me think. Does Marigold like chocolate? Gina pretty much melts in my hand whenever I give her chocolate. It’s my secret weapon. ’Course if you tell her that, I’ll have to shoot you,” he chuckled, tugging on his gun belt.

  “Marigold loves animals. I guess I could get her a goat.” I stood and paced to the window, watching as the snow blanketed Sugar Maple Ridge—the ridge I’d probably never climb again, unless I wanted to be turned into a toad.

  Sugar Maple Ridge! “That’s it,” I said, wheeling around. “I know how to win Marigold back. I need the rest of the day off, and maybe even tomorrow, if that’s alright.”

  Chayton grinned. “Far be it from me to stand in the way of love.”

  I darted out the door to my truck. This had to work.

  It took longer than I thought for my plan to fall into place. The next morning I showered quickly and dressed in the jeans Marigold liked best on me, though I couldn’t guess why. Personally, I thought they were a little too tight in the butt. I added a blue sweater because it reminded me of her cornflower blue eyes. Snatching my coat, I jogged out to my truck, being careful not to slip in the fresh snow covering my driveway. I put my gifts for Marigold in my jacket pocket and started my truck up the road for what I hoped would be one of many, many trips up Sugar Maple Ridge.

  Parking at the top of her driveway, I worked my way down the snowy path to her front door, grateful that she hadn’t blocked me from crossing her property with an enchantment. I took it as a sign that there was still hope for us, although if I were a betting man, I’d say she probably forgot to block me. Marigold stood on the porch, shoveling the snow off with a wave of her hand. A red and green wreath hung on the front door and Christmas lights dangled from the eves. She glared at me then looked away, not saying a word.

  “I hear tell too much magic makes for a lazy witch,” I said, pointing at her hand and smiling. She replied with a foot of snow to my face. Yeah. I deserved that.

  “Quite festive around here.” She didn’t respond. I pressed on. “Is that mistletoe an invitation?” I nodded up at the sprig hanging in the eaves of her porch over the stairs.

  Without looking, she waved her hand and the mistletoe burst into flames. The remnants floated down, peppering the snow with black ash.

  So much for the humorous approach. “Marigold, I’m an idiot.” “Just figured that out, did ya?” She waved another foot of snow onto my feet.

  “Marigold, please forgive me for being a fool.” I dared to climb a step. Since I wasn’t pelted with more snow, I pressed forward. “Sorry I believed the twins when you were the one I should have trusted.” I tugged nervously on my coat. “I think they used a potion on me, probably something to induce anger, maybe even disillusionment, though I can’t prove it. It’s not an excuse. I just wanted to let you know.”

  �
�Yeah, and maybe even a little Dumber-Than-a-Stick potion, too,” she said briskly.

  Dumber Than a Stick? Guess I deserved that, too. I took a deep breath and released it with puff of steam from my mouth. I climbed another step. “The thing is, never in my life have I felt anything as powerful and mind blowing as loving you. You’ve changed my world, rocked my reality. When the twins lied and said you used a potion on me, I easily believed them because it made sense—especially after my ex-wife. She was quite the champion liar.” I shook my head at that bitter memory. “It made what I feel for you seem unreal. It was too good to be real.”

  Another step up. There was only one left between us now. “Marigold, please.” Her eyes were big with uncertainty. Her long hair cascaded over her stiff shoulders as she watched me. The last step seemed like a mountain now—I couldn’t bring myself to take it yet. “I…I love you with all that I have. I’m begging you to let me spend the rest of my life, and all the eternities for that matter, proving to you I’m worth taking a chance on.”

  “You hurt me,” she said. Her pretty blue eyes filled with tears. “No one has ever hurt me like you did. Twice.”

  I swallowed the lump in my throat. “I’m sorry, so very sorry.”

  We stood silent for a few moments, neither of us saying a word. I wrapped my hands around the gifts in my pocket. Time for my secret weapon.

  “I have something for you. A peace offering.” I handed her the rolled up paper I’d tied with red and green Christmas ribbon.

  She hesitated for a moment before taking it. As she unrolled the paper, I explained, “I worried that you might not want to forgive me right away, so I decided to find a way to be as close to you as I could. That way, with time, I can convince you that I’m worth a second chance.”

  She studied the paper, rereading it twice. “I don’t understand? This is . . .”

  “The deed to the Abbott brothers’ portion of Sugar Maple Ridge,” I said. “The Fartious twins signed it over to me late last night.” Her brow pulled tight in confusion.

  “The Abbotts needed money to hire a big city lawyer,” I said. “I offered to buy their land.”