He watched Belinda hug Baba, who seemed taken aback for a moment, but also warily pleased. But then, he reminded himself, her life probably hadn’t included many hugs up until now.
“Thank you so much for everything you’ve done,” Belinda said, tears of joy sliding down her cheeks. She looked down, noticing the quiet little girl standing by Baba’s side, drinking in all the unaccustomed chaos and humanity with wide brown eyes. “Well, hello! Who’s this?”
Belinda looked at Liam, baffled. “Was there another missing child we didn’t know about?” She glanced around the room, as if looking for another set of exultant parents.
Baba nodded. “Yes and no. This is my daughter, Babs. Maya stole her before she came to this area. I followed Maya here trying to find out what she’d done with Babs, and that’s how I got involved with this whole thing.”
Belinda’s mouth formed a stunned “Oh, my.” She struggled to keep a straight face. “How interesting.”
“And once she realized I was here, Maya kept trying to get me in trouble, tampering with my herbs and spreading nasty rumors about me, to keep me from discovering where she was keeping Babs and all the other children. She must have seen Peter Callahan and his connections as a way to make an even bigger profit on the children she stole.”
Mariska shook her white head, smiling indulgently. “So that’s your story and you’re sticking with it, eh?” Belinda grinned, obviously pleased with the neat fairy-tale ending.
“Well, we’re very glad you came to town, no matter what brought you here,” Ivan said, patting Baba’s arm fondly, and beaming down at the little dark-haired girl.
Belinda suddenly looked alarmed. “Oh, dear. I never did the last impossible task! Is that going to cause a problem?”
Liam raised an eyebrow at Baba. She hadn’t mentioned anything about impossible tasks to him. Of course, getting information out of her was something of an impossible task in and of itself. He was still trying to get a straight answer on whether or not there was something between them. Well, clearly there was something. But what, he still didn’t know.
Baba looked around her at the joyful crowd, at Liam restored to his rightful place, and then down at the small child holding resolutely on to her hand. She winked at Belinda and said. “I think between us we’ve managed to achieve even more than three impossible things. I suspect that tradition has been more than satisfied.”
Seeing the Ivanovs and Belinda so happy, and Mary Elizabeth safely home where she belonged, Liam could feel his own face breaking into what was no doubt the first genuine smile he’d let out in days.
Then Ivan said in a calm tone, dropping the words into the conversation like tiny, Russian-accented bombs, “I suppose now that you’ve gotten your daughter back, and all the children have been returned to their parents, you’ll be leaving us.”
And Liam felt the smile slide away, to the place where things go when dreams die.
THIRTY-THREE
THAT EVENING, LIAM and Baba sat together on the couch in the Airstream, careful not to look at each other. Baba stared out the window at the plume of dust that floated through the calm summer air, barely visible in the vanishing red taillights of three motorcycles on their way to somewhere else. She supposed she’d soon be on her way too. For the first time in her long life, that thought lacked its usual appeal. Perhaps because something else appealed to her more.
What the hell was she going to do now?
She stole a glance at Liam. Like her, his eyes followed the sight of the Riders disappearing down the road. Unlike her, he was clearly pleased to see them go. Not that they hadn’t all gotten on well enough, she thought—just too many alpha males in one room for anyone’s comfort. It was like having a cage full of lions . . . and only one steak.
Even Chudo-Yudo had finally said he was going to take a walk and not to expect him back until morning. She had a sneaking suspicion that he was going to pay a visit to a female German shepherd that lived up the road. She didn’t begrudge him a little fun after the last couple of weeks, and she could easily watch the Water of Life and Death for him. It wasn’t as though she was going anywhere. Yet.
Little Babs had gone home with Mary Elizabeth for the night, because Belinda had suggested quietly to Baba that the best way for the child to adjust back to human life was to spend some time with another little girl. Belinda had an evening of Disney movies and popcorn planned, and Babs had begged to go. She’d never seen a movie either. Baba couldn’t say no.
So now she and Liam were alone together. No Riders. No dragons. No Otherworldly threats to fight or battles to win. Just one ridiculously attractive sheriff with broad shoulders, dimples, and shaggy hair, and her. She could feel her heart beating like a caged bird, its wings fluttering against her ribcage like jungle drums in the night. Fear and desire danced a tango in the pit of her stomach, and she took another sip of wine to try to quiet their tapping feet.
A gentle hand pried the goblet out of her fingers and placed it on the table with a quiet but decisive click, then lifted to stroke her cheek.
“Barbara,” he said. Then corrected himself. “Baba. Don’t be sad.”
Baba blinked, surprised. “I’m not sad,” she said. “What would I be sad about? Everything worked out perfectly.”
Liam raised an eyebrow. “You seem upset. I thought maybe you were sad to see the Riders go. I know they’re old friends.”
A smile tugged at the corner of her lips. “I love the boys, but they are always a little intense. Not to mention rough on the furnishings. I’m fine with them leaving.”
He slid a little closer, dropping his hand to her shoulder to knead muscles she hadn’t even realized were clenched. She tried to ignore the feelings that rose in her like heat from a summer road, but his nearness made it hard to think.
“If it’s not the Riders, are you worried about trying to raise Babs? I think you’ll be a great mentor.” He turned her slightly so her back was toward him and he could rub both shoulders at once. His breath tickled the back of her neck, sending shivers down her spine. “She’s lucky to have you.”
Baba shrugged under his strong fingers, fighting the impulse to shift even closer. Fighting thoughts of a future she couldn’t possibly have, with a man she shouldn’t want nearly as much as she did. But her pulse raced anyway, and longing rose up in her like the tide, irresistible and overwhelming. The scent of him—masculine and woodsy and something purely Liam—snared her senses. His very essence seemed to have entangled itself around her soul when she wasn’t looking. How had that happened? And what was she supposed to do about it? Babas didn’t stay. Did they?
“I hope you’re right,” she said. “I’m not all that good at being Human myself; I’m not sure I’ll be able to teach her everything she needs to know. But she’s a tough kid; I suspect we’ll find our way.” She sighed, feeling herself relax despite herself. His hands felt wonderful on her, and she had a momentary fantasy of what else they could do before she pulled herself together.
“Baba,” Liam scolded, moving even closer. “Stop tensing up. We won. Everything is fine. You should be celebrating.” He slid his hands down her arms, then slowly turned her back around to face him. “Tell me—what’s wrong?”
He was so close; she could see the flecks of brown in his hazel eyes, the thick lashes casting burnt-umber shadows as he gazed at her with a look she couldn’t quite decipher. But why should she be able to decode what he was feeling when she could barely make sense of the emotions surging up like a wildfire inside her own chest?
“Liam.” His name was like a prayer, a spell, an invocation—as if uttering it could make magic happen, no matter how impossible that might seem. After all, who knew more about magic than a Baba? And what was more magical than this strange thing that had happened between them, despite all the odds against it? “You asked me, once, if we were a pair. Do you remember?”
He nodded, hi
s expression solemn yet hopeful, watching her as if he was afraid she would vanish. “I remember. You never answered me.” The hint of a smile played around the edges of his lips. “Are you going to answer me now?”
Baba felt as though she was teetering on the edge of a precipice; for one last moment she clung to the safety of the old and familiar, then with a joyous abandon she barely comprehended, flung herself over the cliff into the strange abyss she’d been avoiding for days.
“Yes,” she whispered, leaning in to kiss him, feeling the curve of his smile blossoming into fruition. “The answer is yes.”
Then his strong arms were around her, holding her tight against the rock-hard muscles of his chest, all warmth and shelter and unconditional acceptance. No more witch and sheriff, only Baba and Liam, and the passion they’d both been holding in for far too long.
He kissed her back, his lips firm and soft against hers. “It’s about damned time,” he said in a husky voice. “If I had to wait five more minutes to kiss you, I think I probably would have turned into a dragon myself.”
And then his lips came down on hers again, and there was no more talking, only the sweet taste of his mouth on hers, his tongue slipping inside to savor her, his hands sliding through her hair, then down to her body, which waited so eagerly for his touch.
Heat burned through her from the tips of her toes to the top of her head, and too impatient to wait for him to finish unbuttoning her shirt, Baba made their clothes vanish with a gesture. Liam looked startled for a moment, then laughed out loud, pressing his naked skin against hers with a restrained strength that made Baba even hotter.
“That’s a useful trick,” he muttered as he nibbled his way down from her ear to her neck and then set about exploring her as if he could solve all the mysteries she’d hidden from him for so long. She stifled a groan, feeling warmth spreading out from her center in a turbulent aura of need and wanting and emotion.
Laughter bubbled up, joy like bubbles in a glass of champagne, and she started to do some exploring herself, tasting and teasing and running her hands over the warmth and wonder that was the man she’d waited so long for. The scent of their mingled arousal was intoxicating, and the unmistakable desire that darkened his eyes as he gazed into hers was a magic more powerful than any she had ever found in storm or earth or fire.
And then he was inside her, the two of them moving together as one at last, coming together and pulling apart, only to come together yet again, until Baba could barely tell where he left off and she began.
Higher and higher she spiraled, like a roaring bonfire sending its sparks out to light up the darkness, until with a muted cry she burst into flame, a fiery phoenix reborn out of the embers of love. Above her, Liam shuddered and moaned, echoing her joy. They collapsed together in a heap on the couch, all tangled limbs and stuttering breath and murmured endearments.
Outside the window, the full moon glowed, but its light was only a dim reflection of the look in Liam’s eyes as he gazed at her.
“I love you,” he said, holding her close and running his fingers through her tangled hair as if he couldn’t believe she was still in his arms. “I think you’ve cast a spell on me, wicked witch that you are.”
Baba thought that if this is what it meant to be wicked, she was all for it. “Anything is possible,” she said with an evil smile. And then slid her hand down the length of his body to prove it.
* * *
A COUPLE OF weeks later, Liam sat in Bertie’s, morosely drinking a cup of coffee and pretending to read the newspaper so no one would come over and try to talk to him. He’d spent the time since his return from the Otherworld tying up loose ends, taking statements, and filling out endless stacks of paperwork. Every time he reached the bottom of one pile, Molly magically produced another out of thin air.
He should be happy that things were finally getting back to normal. But ever since the day after he and Baba had made love, when he drove out to Miller’s Meadow and found it empty, his life had seemed empty too.
Katie, the waitress working his section, stopped by to refill his cup and plop a piece of apple pie with homemade caramel ice cream down in front of him. “Here,” she said. “You look like you could use this.” She peered at him more closely. “You seem different, somehow. Did you get your hair cut?”
He had, finally, but that wasn’t what was different about him. He’d discovered the existence of an entire magical world, and in the process, rediscovered his own heart. His entire reality had been turned upside down and inside out by a beautiful cloud-haired woman who’d disappeared as suddenly as she’d shown up. Little wonder Katie thought he seemed different.
“Yup, I got a hair cut,” he said, giving her a wry smile. “That must be it.”
He ignored the pie, doodling a few notes on the margins of the crossword puzzle, and trying to decide which stack of folders to tackle when he got back to the station.
Until the bell over the door jingled cheerfully and someone pulled out the chair across from him, saying, “You know, Sheriff, it should be against the law to waste a piece of Bertie’s pie. If you’re not going to eat that, I will.”
He looked up, heart skipping a beat painfully, and there was Baba, forking up a bite of pie with a mischievous look in her clear amber eyes.
Liam straightened, staring at her as if she were an apparition who might vanish if he started to breathe again. “I thought you were gone for good,” he said, forcing his voice to sound as relaxed and casual as hers.
“Without saying good-bye? Never. That would be rude.” She ate another bite of pie. “Didn’t you get my note?”
“Note?” he asked. “What note?”
Baba shook her head, the curly mass of dark hair floating around her like an undeserved halo. “Damned carrier pigeons. They’re so unreliable.”
With great effort, Liam restrained himself from banging his head on the table. “Baba, you have got to get a phone, damn it.”
“Sorry,” she said, still calmly eating his pie. “I had some things I had to take care of. I didn’t mean to worry you.” She glanced around the room, waving at a few people she knew. Once word spread that Maya had been behind all the trouble, the people in town had felt terrible about how they’d treated her. They would have apologized, if she’d been around.
“So,” she said brightly, trying the ice cream. “What’s been happening while I’ve been gone?”
“Well, to start out with, Peter Callahan disappeared, along with every cent in the company bank accounts,” Liam said, glad for a neutral topic of conversation. “And since Maya went missing at the same time, everyone is assuming they ran off together.”
“Huh. Is that good or bad?”
“Mostly good,” Liam said. “I’m not happy he isn’t going to pay for his crimes, but let’s face it, Maya was really behind most of it, and we’ll never know how much he was involved. Not to mention that his actions have made it next to impossible for his company to push forward with their drilling, which is a huge relief to everyone who was against the fracking.”
“I wouldn’t be so sure he isn’t being punished,” Baba said thoughtfully, licking a dab of whipped cream off the tip of one finger. “He wanted the power and the influence a lot more than he wanted the money, and he’s lost his wife and son. I guarantee you, wherever he is, he’s not a happy man.”
Liam snagged a tiny piece of crust, suddenly feeling his appetite return. “The kids are all doing great, although none of them remembers their time in the Otherworld. So how is little Babs adapting to her new life? It must be quite a change for her.”
A shy new smile lit Baba’s face, making her even more luminous than usual. “Remarkably well, all things considered. She’s a very clever child, and amazingly tough.”
“Now who does that remind me of?” he said with a laugh.
She wrinkled her long nose at him, but otherwise ignored th
e comment. “Still, I didn’t think it would be a good idea to make her move around the country when there are so many things she has to get used to. So I took your suggestion and went to talk to the other two United States Baba Yagas about splitting up our territories.”
The crumb of delicate pastry suddenly turned to dust in his mouth. He knew what was coming next.
“We’ve got it all worked out. Bella Young is going to take the middle states, and Beka Yancy is going to take the West Coast.”
It took him a minute to realize what she’d said. “Wait—aren’t you going to take the West Coast? After all, you teach out of Davis in California.”
“That was one of the things I was taking care of,” Baba said. “Picking up the few belongings I cared about from my apartment out there and putting in my resignation at the school. There’s a nice little community college not too far from Dunville that I can teach at part-time if I still feel the need for some kind of respectable job. And I thought maybe I’d teach folks like Michael and Lily how to grow herbs and harvest the ones that grow wild around here. There’s quite good money in that, you know. Could be a boost to the farmers in the area, if they want to get on board.”
Liam was dumbfounded. “Here? You’re staying here?”
“Where else am I going to find pie this good? Besides, I’ve grown quite fond of this town, and there are some good people here. If I’m going to settle down somewhere while Babs is growing up, I can’t think of a better place to do it.”
Liam was still trying to wrap his mind around the concept. “So you’re going to raise her in the Airstream?”
“No. It’s really too small for a growing child. Besides, I’d kind of like to have a regular refrigerator for a while,” Baba said with an infinitesimal twitch. “I bought a house out on the South River Road, the old yellow farmhouse with the gray shutters and the red metal roof.”
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