6
“Sweets!” I hissed into the phone.
“Linda?”
“Yes!” The paranoia was strong in my voice.
“What’s wrong?”
My mind spun. “The whole thing got messed up!”
“Oh no, what happened?”
I swallowed as I paced the length of the empty lady’s room. “First of all, they both made their own toasts before I could even get mine out—at which point they both drank from their glasses!” I gushed. “Then I said my toast and before I’d even put the paper away, Mark drank my wine.”
I heard Sweets suck in her breath. “He drank your wine?”
Even though she couldn’t see me, I nodded. “Yeah, but it was an accident. His was right next to mine, he just grabbed the wrong glass. So I was going to finish his glass, but before I could, he drank the rest and ordered us more wine!”
“So you’re saying you did the toast and didn’t drink any of the wine?”
“Yes!”
“But the men drank it all?”
“Yes!”
There was silence on the other end of the phone.
“Sweets?” I was panicking now.
“Yesss,” she said slowly.
“What’s going to happen now?”
Sweets blew out her breath, making a crackling sound in the phone. “Well, one of two things is likely to happen.”
“Okay?”
“One, nothing will happen. The spell won’t work. In which case, you can try for a do-over by pouring them more wine and see if doing the toast over again works.”
“Oh-kaaay?” I said slowly, wondering how I was possibly going to speak that ridiculous toast again without feeling like an idiot. “Or?”
“Orrr,” she purred. “Or it might have worked after all.”
With the phone pressed to my ear, I shook my head wildly. “No, no, no. It didn’t work. I don’t feel any different. I still can’t pick.”
“I didn’t mean it worked on you. I meant it might have worked on them.”
A second ticked by as those words sank into my brain. “So you mean one of them will fall out of love with me and the right one will stay in love with me?”
“Not exactly…”
“Okay? Then exactly what, Sweets? I’m panicking here!”
Sweets didn’t say anything.
“Sweets!” I hissed. “Tell me! Exactly what could happen?”
I heard her gulp. “It’s possible they could fall in love with each other.”
My eyes widened and I had to clap a hand over my own mouth to keep from screaming. What?! “Sweets. You can’t be serious! Why didn’t you tell me that could happen?!”
“How was I supposed to know that you couldn’t pull off a little toast with three glasses of wine!”
“Uh!” I breathed. “It wasn’t my fault they came in ready to drink!”
“Calm down, Linda. Like I said, it’s highly possible that nothing will happen. The love potion will just roll off their shoulders like water off a duck’s back, and the spell will be ignored.”
“Or I could go back out there and the two men that I love could be madly in love with each other?” I hissed into the phone.
“Or—that could happen,” agreed Sweets. “Listen, Linda. I have to go. Corey’s here now. We’re headed to the dance. If things go badly, bring both men to the dance, and I’ll see if we can’t figure something out. Okay? Gotta go now. Bye!”
Click.
I stared at the phone. She hung up on me! What was I supposed to do now?! I stared at my reflection. I looked like a ghost, my face was so white. Sheer terror had gripped me and it was overwhelmingly evident in the mirror in front of me. Slowly, I edged my way out of the bathroom, saying silent prayers to the spirits that I would discover that the spell had done nothing.
I dodged the assortment of bar customers, until I was finally back at my table. “Sorry about that,” I said, eyeing the two men carefully.
Merrick waved a hand at me as if nothing had changed while I was gone. “Not a problem. It gave Mark and me an opportunity to get to know each other a little better.”
“It did?” I asked. My heart palpitated in my chest.
Mark grinned. “Merrick’s actually a really great guy.”
“He is?”
“Yeah, much better than I’d ever given him credit for. I get what you see in him now.”
“You do?”
Mark reached forward and put a hand on Merrick’s shoulder. “I do. I’m really sorry that I haven’t given you a chance.”
I swallowed hard. Mark and Merrick had never gotten along. On a normal day, I might have been thankful for this turn of events, but right now, I didn’t like it one little bit.
“Thanks, buddy,” said Merrick with a grin. Then he looked at me. “We were actually thinking about going to the dance as a group. What do you think?”
I pointed my finger at Merrick and then at Mark and then back again. “You mean instead of me picking one of you to go with?”
Merrick nodded and threw a casual arm over Mark’s shoulder. “Yeah. I mean, why worry about picking right now? We’re all getting along so well. Why don’t we just all go hang out together? It could be fun!”
My eyes widened. This was soooo not good. “Seriously?”
Mark patted Merrick’s arm. “Yeah, Rick’s right, it would be a lot of fun for us all to hang out together. I think we should all go together.”
“Rick? Mark, since when do you call Merrick Rick?”
Mark glanced sideways at Merrick. “You don’t mind, do you, buddy?”
Merrick shook his head. “Not at all. I much prefer it over you calling me Stone.”
My hands shook as Merrick stood up and reached for my hand. “Shall we?”
Even though my legs felt like jelly, I took Merrick’s hand and let him pull me to my feet. I was sure that I saw the two men exchanging doe-eyed glances. I swallowed hard. I had to get to Sweets!
“Yes, I think you’re right. I think the sooner we get to the dance, the better!”
7
On the short walk down the street to the fire hall, I felt like the odd man out watching Mark and Merrick exchange seemingly flirty elbow rubs and playful slugs to the shoulder. At one point Mark even threw an arm over Merrick’s shoulders. I couldn’t tell if it was just good-natured manly fun or if the love fairy had bitten them both squarely on the butts.
The song “Crazy Little Thing Called Love” poured out of the fire hall and into the street. Mark and Merrick’s shoulders began bouncing to the catchy song almost immediately.
Mark struck a pose and pointed a finger at Merrick. “There goes my ba-aaby,” he sang with a broad smile.
Merrick laughed good-naturedly.
I quirked an eyebrow. This was definitely not good.
The second we entered the fire hall and the music and energy of the room surrounded us, Merrick grabbed Mark’s hand and twirled him around as he’d done to me only minutes earlier.
Mark laughed as the two men danced together.
Eyes around the fire hall turned to stare at the two of them. Detective Mark Whitman was usually more reserved than this, so to see him yukking it up in such a fun-loving way with Merrick Stone certainly raised a lot of eyebrows. I felt my temperature heating up. I had to find Sweets.
“Will you two excuse me for a moment?” I asked, stepping onto the dance floor near them.
Merrick didn’t even notice me standing there.
Mark grinned at me and gave me a little flutter of his fingers. “Oh man, I haven’t danced like this in years!” he said as he jitterbugged past me.
“Uh-huh,” I said uncomfortably. What have I done?! “I see Sweets over there, I’m going to go say hello. Maybe you two should go have a seat until I get back?” I suggested weakly.
“And sit this song out?” Mark hollered back over the music. He wagged a finger in the air. “No way! I love Freddie Mercury!”
And then Merrick pulled him
away to twirl him around the dance floor.
I palmed my forehead and rushed across the dance floor to where I had just seen Sweets leaning against a wall with her date seconds earlier.
“Linda!”
I stopped and turned around. My mother, Phyllis, and my mother’s friends, Char, Gwyn, and Hazel, were all hanging out together, dancing and laughing.
“Mom!”
“Do I need to up the prescription on my glasses, or is that Merrick Stone and Detective Whitman dancing together over there?” asked Char, pointing to the other side of the room.
I grimaced. Even if I could undo the spell, Mark and Merrick were never going to be able to live this down. “It’s a long story. I really can’t talk about it right now. I need to find Sweets. Have you seen her?”
Mom pointed towards the refreshment table. “I just saw her and her date heading that way.”
“Thank you!” Pushing my way through the warm-bodied crowd, I found Sweets and her date filling cups with punch. “Sweets!” I hollered over the loud music. “I need to talk to you, immediately.”
Her date looked at me curiously but didn’t say a word.
Sweets grinned nervously. “Okay, just a sec.” She whispered something in Corey’s ear and then pulled me backwards towards the bathroom. “Well? What’s going on?”
I bent over, peering under all the bathroom stall doors to make sure that we were alone. When I was sure, I leaned against the wall and held a hand to my head. “Oh, Sweets. Everything’s all messed up!”
“Calm down, Linda. I’m sure it’s not that bad. What’s going on?”
“The spell worked. Just not for the right people.”
“It worked on them?” she asked, lifting her brows.
I nodded. “Yes. They’re flirting and being silly and not themselves at all. And everyone in town is watching!” I covered my face with my hands. What had I done?
Sweets held my hands to calm me. “Okay, first of all, you need to relax. There’s got to be a way to undo it. I just haven’t thought of it yet.”
“You mean you don’t have an antidote?” I asked.
Sweets shook her head. “I didn’t think I needed one! I mean, how do you mess up pouring a couple of drinks and making a toast?!”
My eyes widened. “It wasn’t my fault that Mark drank my drink! I had no idea he was going to do that!”
Sweets groaned. “I’m so sorry. I didn’t mean it that way. I just meant that I didn’t make an antidote because I really didn’t think it would be needed. This is my fault. I am so, so sorry.”
I sucked in a breath. No antidote?! This wasn’t happening! “Sweets. We have to do something! Mark and Merrick are acting like a couple of teenagers in love out there for the whole town to see.”
She nodded. “I know, I know. I’m thinking, I’m thinking!”
I paced the bathroom, my heels clicking on the tile floor. My mind swirled as I debated what to do next. I tried to think of reversal spells I knew, but in my panicked state, nothing was readily coming to me. “Don’t you know any reversal spells?”
Sweets’s mouth hung agape. “Reversal spells? I wish I did…” She put a hand to her reddened cheeks. “Maybe we could run up to the Institute to borrow a spell book?”
I shook my head. “No, we don’t have time to go find a spell book. By then Mark and Merrick will have found a minister to have married them or something. No. There has to be something quicker. We need more time!”
Suddenly, an idea hit me. I had to get to my mother! “Sorry, Sweets, I gotta go.”
“But, Linda…” she called out after me.
But I was already back out into the main area of the fire hall, on a mad search for my mother. I pushed my way back through the crowd to find Mom, Gwyn, Char, and Hazel staring at Mark and Merrick, who were now slow dancing to the song “Can’t Help Falling in Love.” When I looked around, most of the town was staring at them, too. Even those on the dance floor were swaying to the music, but their eyes were clearly on the two men. “Mom! I did something really really bad!”
My mother looked up at me with one quirked brow. “Let me guess, sweetheart. You put some kind of spell on the lovebirds over there?”
I covered my face with a hand. “Yes!”
Mom elbowed Char. “I knew it! I told you she had to have done something.”
“Mom. I can’t think right now. My mind is literally drawing a blank. I need a minute to think of a reversal spell!” I put my hands on either side of my head. “But all I can think about is how embarrassed Mark and Merrick are going to be when they realize the whole town saw them slow dancing together.”
Mom waved a hand at me dismissively. “Oh, Linda. Aspen Falls is in the twenty-first century. No one judges anymore. If they want to be two men in love, no one cares!”
My eyes widened. “Mom! But they aren’t two men in love for real. I did this to them by accident.”
“What were you trying to do, dear?” asked Char.
“I was finally trying to pick between them! I had Sweets make me a love potion to help me pick and, needless to say, things didn’t go as planned.”
Char winced. “Ooh. Tough break.”
“Yes! And Sweets didn’t make an antidote! Mom, I need you to do a freezing spell on everybody here, like you did at Char’s wedding, and then I need you to rewind the clock to seven fifty. Can you do that?”
Mom’s head bobbled on her shoulders. “I mean, I could do that, but I’m a little concerned.”
My shoulders dropped. We didn’t have time for her concerns. “Concerned?”
She nodded. “I’m concerned about who you’re going to pick.”
“Mom! That’s none of your business.” I stared at Mark and Merrick. Merrick’s head now rested on Mark’s burly chest. “Mom, I don’t have time for this. Look at them! The whole town is watching this. I need to do damage control. Can you please just freeze them and then we’ll talk about your concerns?”
The lyrics of the song hit a crescendo. “Falling in love with you…”
Merrick lifted his head off Mark’s chest and their eyes met. Ever so slowly their faces moved in closer and closer.
My heart pounded furiously in my chest. I couldn’t let this happen! “Mom! Please!”
My mother sighed but threw out her hands in front of her as if she were flicking water off her fingers. I heard a little crackle and a zap, and the whole room stopped moving instantaneously. Everyone on the dance floor froze. The music stopped. Only Mom, her friends, and I remained unfrozen.
I felt a huge surge of relief wash over me. “Oh, thank God! Mom! Thank you! I owe you one!”
Mom’s head bobbed. “You do. You owe me many! Trust me!”
“But I need you to rewind time for me too,” I pleaded.
“But what good will rewinding time do?” asked Gwyn. “Are you going to give them the potion again? Won’t this all just happen again?”
I sighed. I didn’t know. I felt the same way I had the last time my plan had been thwarted. I felt like the spirits were telling me that this wasn’t the proper way to pick a mate. I felt like I needed to make the decision on my own.
I shook my head. “I don’t think I can give it to them again,” I whispered.
“Which means you have to pick on your own. You have to pick the one that you like best and see a future with,” Char said.
I nodded. “Yeah, I guess so.”
Mom put a hand on her hip. “You know, I bound you and Scarface all those years ago for a reason. The Stones are no good.”
“I know, Mom. But Merrick’s different. I just wish you’d give him a chance.”
She shook her head. “Oh, I’ve had my eye on him. Trust me. I still don’t think he’s good enough for my daughter.”
Char elbowed my mother. “Phil, I don’t think it’s really any of your business who Linda picks. She’s a grown woman, for goodness’ sake. She’s got two children of her own! If she wants to pick Merrick, I think you’re going to have to let her.
”
Mom scowled. “Fine. If she wants to make a bad decision, that’s on her. I don’t want any part of it. I’ll just unfreeze everyone and those two fellers can just stay in love with each other.”
“Mother!” I gasped.
“Phyllis Habernackle!” breathed Gwyn. “That’s terrible! Why would you do that to your daughter?”
Mom narrowed her eyes. “I’m only trying to do what’s best for my daughter. I’m sure you’d do the same for your daughter!”
Char squeezed her arm. “Phil, it was one thing to do what you thought was best for you daughter all those years ago when she was a child. But now you have to let her go. She’s all grown up.”
“I know that!” snapped Phyllis.
“Mom,” I begged. “Please. Just let me make my own decision. I’ll make the right one. I know it.”
“Maybe we can help you decide, Linda,” suggested Char. “Or do you already know who you’re going to pick?”
I shook my head. “No. I have no idea who I should pick.”
Phyllis sighed. “Well, I’ll say this and it’ll be my final word on the subject. You’ll never find the right person if you don’t let go of the wrong one.”
Hazel, Gwyn’s mother, who had been quiet all that time, stepped forward and patted my arm. “Picking a man is like picking shoes, Linda.”
I smiled at her. “Oh? How so?”
“Women generally go after the sexy, good-looking shoes, but do you really want to wear a pair of shoes that pinch your feet for the rest of your life just because they look good? No. You want a pair of shoes that are comfortable. Pick the shoes that are comfortable and that you can see yourself wearing for the rest of your life.”
Something about her advice made me just an ounce less anxious than before. I nodded. “Thank you, Hazel. I’ll try and apply that to my situation. Unfortunately, I’m trying to pick between two pairs of sexy, good-looking shoes.”
“Yes, but which one do you still want to be wearing at the end of a long day?” she asked, holding up a finger before shuffling away. “I’ll be back. I gotta use the john.”
While I wasn’t sure that her advice was helpful, I knew I needed my mother to fix my situation so I could actually make my decision. “Mom, can you please rewind time? Before this spell wears off and it’s too late?”
Witch, Please! Page 3
