“I would agree,” he said, taking the picture from the mantle. “What should we do with this?”
“The photograph should have gone to you, my fiancé. I’m giving it to you now. Mona told me I had to get back what was mine, and that is it. The curse was broken last night, when I recovered it from the bottom of the lake and confronted your beast with my love.”
I rose from the bed and went to where he stood by the fire, putting my arms around his waist. He kissed my temple and put his arm around me.
“Maybe we should talk to Mona.”
“Let’s get back to the house,” he said.
Nathanial put the picture in a bag, and we walked to the house hand in hand. We went through the back door and found everyone but Penny in the kitchen. They sat around the breakfast nook and stared at us with wide questioning eyes.
Morgan jumped up and ran to throw her arms around her father’s waist. He tousled her hair and leaned down to pick her up. The three of us sat in the family room as the employees gazed at us expectantly.
“What happened?” asked Patty, handing us both steaming cups of coffee.
“Nothing much,” said Nathanial.
“I found Morgan last night, and then we spent the night in the settler’s cabin on the lookout for wolves.”
“We heard a whole lot of howling last night, but it weren’t wolves,” said Joshua.
“It sure as hell wasn’t wolves,” said Clive.
“Okay, you got us,” Nathanial said, shrugging.
“You two are so perfect together,” Daisy gushed.
I giggled and leaned into Nathanial. Morgan crawled over to me and whispered into my ear.
“Last night, Mommy said she had to go. She said everything would be fine now.”
“Really, are you alright?”
“I’m not afraid anymore. She said you and Daddy will take care of everything.”
I hugged her little body into my chest. Feeling her fragile frame in my arms, filled me with love and tenderness.
“We will,” I said.
“I need to make a phone call.” Nathanial stood with the bag in his hand.
I let Morgan slide off my lap and followed Nathanial upstairs to his office. He placed the bag on his desk and sat down to dial the phone. Morgan tiptoed into the room and shut the door behind her. She climbed into my lap as I sat watching Nathanial listen to the phone ring. His eyes lit up when the call was answered.
He explained to Mona everything that had happened in the last few days, leaving out a few choice words to spare Morgan. He shook his head, listening to her speak.
“That’s what Jane said. So we don’t need to burn it or anything? Okay, we’ll do that. Thank you Mona.”
He hung up the phone and smiled at me.
“Mona says we should use the sage smudge wand on the picture frame and then display it in a prominent place in the house. She believes that retrieving it from the lake and what we did last night, banished the spirit, and my curse.”
I went to the drawer where we kept the smudge stick and lit it. Nathanial held the picture frame while I said the chant Mona had taught us. I passed the smoking sage around and around the picture frame until I felt it was done.
We went downstairs to the front parlor, and Nathanial put the picture on the mantel above the fireplace.
“That looks just like Jane,” said Morgan. “But all old fashioned.”
“It’s something like that,” I said, patting her back.
“Let’s go to the kitchen. I have something to tell the staff.”
We followed Nathanial to the kitchen where everyone still sat around the breakfast table.
Penny burst into the room behind us, her face as bright as morning.
“I overslept! Morgan. You’re alright!”
Penny threw her arms around Morgan and wept. Everyone stared at her in shock. She stood up and dried her eyes.
“Can I help anyone with anything?” she asked with genuine kindness.
I was dumbstruck. Penny had never been anything but nasty to most of us. What had happened to change her attitude? Had she been affected by the curse too?”
“Are you feeling alright Penny?” asked Patty. “I haven’t seen you this happy since we moved here.”
“I’ve never felt better!”
“Okay,” said Nathanial, scratching his head. “I have an announcement to make. I’m taking Morgan and Jane to winter in New Mexico. The work on the Miller house is done for the summer. It’s livable. I’d like Clive to care take over there for the winter. Is that alright with you Clive?”
“Sure, plenty of privacy.”
“I’m shutting down the hunting lodge indefinitely after our bookings are up. You will all still have employment here as long as you want it. Daisy. After we leave, I want you to take my Range Rover and the small trailer, and whatever horse you need. You go ride the rodeo like you were meant to.”
“Nate! I can’t take that!”
“You can and you will.”
She ran over to him and flung her arms around him.
“You have a home here whenever you need it,” he said, kissing the top of her blonde head.
“I’m depending on Patty and Joshua to oversee this place while I’m gone. But without the hunters or the family to take care of, it should be a much easier job.”
“We’re going to miss you so much,” said Patty, a tear falling from her eye.
“We’ll be back in late spring. And I’ll fly up if I’m needed for any reason. I want to give you all a bonus for being so loyal and dealing with the insanity of the last year. The wolves are gone. They won’t be coming back.”
Nathanial took my hand and led me out of the room. Morgan stayed in the kitchen with the overwhelmed staff, dancing around in the excited energy of the room. We walked up to his room and up to the turret, overlooking the lake. He held me close, rubbing my arms and back with his big hands. Gentle snow fell over the silver black water and fell on the bare white branches of the aspen trees.
“It all seems so peaceful now.”
“It does,” I breathed into the crisp air.
“After all these years. How quickly everything changes.”
“And to think, all you needed to do was ravage me like a beast,” I teased.
“And for you take to back what was yours.”
“You finally found me Nathanial.”
“We found each other.”
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