Spellbound Falls

by Janet Chapman

  “I’d rather not have to explain to Olivia why I killed her lover,” Sam said softly. “So come out, Oceanus, and we’ll have us a friendly little chat.”

  “About what you’re doing here at Inglenook?” Mac asked from the shadows.

  Sam moved in a blur, feinting to the right but diving in the opposite direction. Only when he ducked into a roll to come up behind Mac, Mac landed a blow across the man’s back with the flat of his sword, then used the hilt to catch him in the jaw, flinging Sam back into the path. Yet despite what should have been a debilitating blow, Sam merely grunted and continued rolling, springing back to his feet facing Mac again, his knife poised to slash—that is, until he felt the sword tip pressing into his chest.

  “Son of a bitch,” Sam snarled, going perfectly still.

  “I believe my mother would take exception to that, Waters. I would ask what you’re doing out here on this beautiful night following us.”

  Sam slowly straightened, his hands dropping to his sides. “I guess you weren’t just playacting with your boy tonight, and now that I’m seeing it up close, I guess this thing isn’t a toy,” he said, looking down at the sword just below his chin. His hand holding the knife rose slightly and fell. “Maybe I should look into getting a longer knife.”

  “I believe your weapon is equally lethal in your experienced hand. What exactly were you hoping to learn by following us?”

  Sam started to shrug but apparently thought better of it, seeing how he had a sword tip resting on his chest. “I was hoping to get a feel for the man who didn’t bring Olivia home from her dinner date until after sunrise this morning.”

  “I believe that’s something only a woman’s father need concern himself with.”

  “And if Olivia’s father happened to be asking what your intentions are toward her, what would your answer be?”

  Mac pressed the sword a little more heavily against Sam’s chest. “I would tell him that I will never abandon her like he did. So maybe instead of discussing my intentions toward Olivia, we should talk about yours.”

  Sam looked down at his chest, his eyelids hooding his expression. “You’ve already decided I mean her no harm, or I wouldn’t be alive right now.”

  “I believe you’re right,” Mac said even as he pressed his sword deeper. He felt Sam’s flesh tighten against the tip, though the man held his ground. “I have been known to change my mind, however,” Mac continued, “when I can’t seem to get a straight answer. What are you doing at Inglenook, Waters? Or more specifically, why have you shown up here now, twenty-eight years too late?”

  Sam lifted his steel-gray eyes, his glare as solid at the moon reflecting in them. “I never abandoned her. From the day my little girl was born, I’ve known every detail of her life. I can tell you the color of the frosting on all thirty-three of her birthday cakes, I know who the first boy was that she kissed, who took her to the prom, and the exact minute Sophie was born. Hell, I was the goddamn photographer at her wedding.”

  “Yet you weren’t there to help her blow out the candles on those cakes, or walk her down the aisle at her wedding, or to once hold your granddaughter in your arms.”

  Mac felt Sam’s shudder travel up the length of his sword. “My being a part of Olivia’s life would have gotten her killed. There’s a price on my head in more parts of the world than I’ve even set foot in, and if any of my enemies knew I had a daughter they’d go after her to get to me.”

  “Then what are you doing here now?”

  Sam eyed him in silence for several seconds. “I’d be more inclined to answer that question if I knew exactly who was doing the asking. Because from what I’ve been able to gather from my sources, you don’t actually exist.”

  Mac set the tip of his sword on the ground to rest his crossed wrists on the hilt.

  Sam took a heavy breath and rubbed his chest. “What gave me away?” he asked, gesturing at the path behind Mac. “I know damn well you didn’t hear me.”

  “Why have you come to Inglenook?” Mac repeated.

  Sam bent to slide his knife into his boot before limping over to a rock and sitting down. “What nationality are you, anyway?”

  “I was born at sea, actually.”

  Sam glared at him. “You need to call someplace home, because you need a passport issued by a country in order to enter the United States.”

  “Apparently not.”

  “Dammit, you don’t exist. How the hell do I know you’re not one of my enemies?”

  “Because you’re still breathing. Why are you here, Waters?”

  When all he got was stubborn silence, Mac moved too fast for the man to defend himself, striking Sam’s old injury with the flat of his sword and knocking him to the ground before placing its blade on Sam’s neck. “Why now?”

  “Because for as strong as she is, I can’t be certain Olivia will survive the storm headed her way now,” Sam growled, cradling his ribs. “And I wanted to… if she needs… hell,” he snarled. “I felt I needed to be here for her in person this time.”

  Mac pulled away and sat down on the rock. “What storm?”

  “Olivia’s been planning and saving for years to buy Inglenook, but Eileen put it up for sale last week without telling her. And instead of looking for interns for this summer’s sessions, she is right now accepting a position at a think tank in California.” Sam relaxed back into the moss with a groan. “She and John intend to close this place in September and move to California.”

  “And Olivia knows nothing of this?”

  “She’s been expecting Inglenook to go up for sale, but not until after Eileen gets her doctorate at the end of August.”

  “And you believe… what? That Eileen is assuming Olivia and Sophie will move to California with her and John?” He arched a brow. “Considering all the storms Olivia has weathered that you haven’t felt the need to attend in person, I ask again, why now?”

  “Because putting Inglenook up for sale without telling Olivia is only a rain shower compared to the hurricane that’s about to hit.” Sam dragged himself backward and settled up against a tree. “The child Keith Baldwin fathered six years ago needs a bone marrow transplant, and the only likely candidate left is Sophie.”

  Mac stilled. “Baldwin fathered another child?”

  “The bastard had an affair with a woman named Jessica Pilsner about six years ago when he was stationed in California.” Sam shook his head. “Olivia refused to let him drag her around to wherever he was stationed, especially after she had Sophie.” He looked up at Mac again. “I guess Baldwin didn’t mind too much, seeing how a wife and kid would have cramped his style. Pilsner wasn’t the only woman he cheated on Olivia with; just the only one he got pregnant.”

  “Does Olivia know about the child?”

  “That’s something I haven’t been able to find out.” He looked past Mac’s shoulder and gestured at nothing. “Hell, she’s been squirreled away in these woods for eleven years; there’s a good chance she doesn’t.” He brought his gaze back to Mac. “John and Eileen do, though. They make two, sometimes three trips a year to California to see their grandson and have been supporting the mother. And I know for a fact that John and Eileen were screened as marrow donors, but were eliminated.”

  “And you’ve come to be with Olivia when they tell her they’re selling Inglenook as well as about the child, and that they want to test Sophie to see if she’s a match?”

  Sam snorted. “Olivia’s not going to like telling Sophie her daddy was a no-good cheating bastard who fathered a half brother.”

  Mac slid his sword into the sheath on his back, then stretched his legs out in front of him and folded his arms over his chest. “I have no idea if Olivia knows about the other child, but I do believe she knew her husband was unfaithful, as her marriage to Baldwin ended six years ago instead of with his death.”

  Sam shrugged. “That’s around when I heard she intended to divorce the bastard, only my source couldn’t find out any more than that.” He shook
his head. “She must have known about his being unfaithful but kept it to herself.”

  “Then why didn’t she follow through with the divorce?”

  “Baldwin got deployed to Iraq just about then. Could be Olivia decided to wait until he got back.” Sam snorted. “She probably didn’t say anything to John and Eileen because she didn’t want to risk her position here. And then when the bastard died it became a moot point, didn’t it? How do you know Olivia’s marriage ended six years ago? Did she tell you?”

  Mac didn’t answer him. “I don’t understand why the Baldwins are assuming Olivia will move to California. They know how much this place means to her. There’s no reason she wouldn’t want to stay and run the camp for the new owners.”

  Sam shook his head. “Eileen’s not about to let her programs continue if she’s not here to oversee them; she’s taking the concept with her. And Olivia knows it, and that’s why she’s been planning to advertise the new place as a family adventure camp, knowing the goodwill she’s built with the campers all these years will keep them coming back. But considering the asking price, I’d say Eileen is hoping a developer buys the land, which puts Inglenook out of Olivia’s reach.” He shook his head. “That girl’s too damned stubborn to let anyone help her financially.”

  “Who’s your source?” Mac asked. “Who’s been feeding you information on Olivia and Sophie and Eileen these last eleven years?”

  Apparently figuring he didn’t have to answer every question any more than Mac did, Sam grabbed a small tree and pulled himself to his feet with a grunt of pain. He stared at Mac for several seconds. “I’d appreciate it if you didn’t tell Olivia who I am. I don’t want to stir up old emotions, considering she’ll have enough on her plate.”

  Mac also stood up. “I see your daughter’s preference for living in the shadows comes naturally. You intend to quietly slip away after the storm, and not only continue to let Olivia believe she was abandoned but abandon your granddaughter as well?”

  “I did what was necessary. And both Olivia and Sophie are better off without me. What in hell’s up with the three albatrosses, anyway?” Sam asked, apparently done discussing his daughter. “They’re a bit far from home, don’t you think?”

  “I’ll be returning them in a couple of days. Anything else I should know about the coming storm?” Mac asked. “Such as when you expect it to arrive?”

  Sam shrugged. “My guess is when Eileen and John get home. They’ve been in California finalizing the details of Eileen’s new job and visiting their grandson. And Jessica Pilsner is getting desperate to find a match for her son. Riley’s a little over five years old now, and from what I’ve been able to gather he’s not going to see his seventh birthday without that transplant. So you might want to prepare yourself, Oceanus; Olivia’s going to either explode when all this gets dumped on her, or pull so far inside herself that no one will be able to reach her.”

  “Olivia will not disappear,” Mac said quietly, “because I won’t let her. And when she explodes, I will clean up whatever mess she makes.” He folded his arms over his chest. “She’s on my watch now, Waters. You gave up all rights to your daughter when you made the choice not to return for her.”

  “Dammit, I tried moving heaven and earth to come back for her, but I couldn’t. So I did everything in my power to keep her safe instead.” He snorted. “Hell, I even hijacked one of our military satellites about three years ago to search for those idiot campers everyone claimed she lost.”

  Which told Mac two things about Sam Waters: the man was an entirely new breed of warrior, and he apparently had access to more than just an amazing network of information. “Is there anything else I should know?”

  “Yeah; you break my little girl’s heart or let any harm come to her or Sophie on your watch, I’ll kill you.”

  “You’ll be too late. The only way any harm will come to them is if I’m already dead.” He stepped closer. “And now I have a warning for you. You think long and hard and be very sure before you tell Olivia who you are. Because if you come into her life only to abandon her again, I will hunt you down to the ends of the earth and make you wish your enemies had found you first.”

  “Fair enough,” Sam said with a nod just before heading down the path, his limp more pronounced though his steps remained silent.

  “Henry! Dammit, Henry, get back here!” Carolina shouted, the sound of her voice moving closer. “Mac! I’ve lost him!”

  Sam stepped off the path and disappeared into the shadows with a wave over his shoulder just as Mac folded his arms across his chest and went very still. And despite being furious, he couldn’t help but also be proud. Instead of charging headlong into trouble, Henry was sneaking back parallel to the path like a stalking tiger.

  And Sam, thank the gods, continued on to the bunkhouse—probably having had enough of the Oceanuses for one night in favor of protecting his abused injury.

  “Sweet Athena!” Caro said as she ran up, bending over to set her hands on her knees as she fought for breath. “The little brat ran off just as we reached the cabin, saying something about needing to guard your back.” She straightened, sucking in heaving breaths. “I wasn’t ten steps behind him when he suddenly just vanished.” She turned in a circle, trying to pierce the forest before looking at Mac in horror. “He doesn’t have any powers, does he?” she whispered, clutching her throat. “Henry can’t actually shape-shift or anything, can he?”

  “Not successfully,” Mac said, listening to the distressed breathing coming from the bushes ten paces away, where the boy had stopped. “So now what is your plan, little man?” Mac said in a normal tone. “Exactly how are you going to guard my back with no hands to hold a weapon, as I don’t believe those claws will inflict more than a scratch.”

  “He turned into an animal?” Caro whispered on an indrawn breath.

  “A tiger cub,” Mac drawled. “Henry, come out here. Now.”

  “I—I don’t want to,” a tiny voice said from the bushes. “I’m stuck. I—I don’t know what happened but I can’t… I don’t want to come out right now.”

  “He shouldn’t know how to change into anything,” Caro hissed.

  “He doesn’t,” Mac assured her. “It was an accident.” He chuckled softly, keeping his voice low. “I scared the hell out of myself and Mama when she was teaching me Sanskrit when I was four. Wanting to be anyplace but in the classroom, I started imagining myself swimming with my friends in the ocean, and all off a sudden I was flopping around on the floor as a young shark.” He shook his head. “I remember Mama screaming and running out of the room, and Father coming in and sitting down in her chair, where he just watched me gasping for breath.” Mac unfolded his arms and lifted Carolina’s mouth closed with his finger. “And that, baby sister, was my first lesson on being careful what I wished for.”

  She made a disgusted sound, her hands balling into fists at her side. “I hate that you got all the neat powers. That is so unfair.”

  “Apparently only males need them, seeing how we’re the weaker sex. Henry, come out here.”

  “Are you going to punish me?”

  “Yes.”

  “But I didn’t mean to.”

  “Now, Henry.”

  A small, scruffy tiger cub stumbled out of the bushes onto the path, its head hung low as it approached. Stifling a smile, Mac turned him back into a little boy—though he was naked—by the time Henry reached them. Mac then slipped his sword sheath off his back and handed it to Carolina, and dropped to his knees. He shed his shirt and wrapped it around his trembling son, then held the boy’s pale face in his hands and used his thumbs to brush the tears off his cheeks.

  “I’m not going to punish you for shape-shifting, Henry, but for disobeying me. If I had been battling an enemy and realized you had come back here, I would have been distracted by fearing for your safety. And that would have put me in a defensive position instead of remaining on the offense. Do you understand?”

  Henry nodded, his eyes so fu
ll of shame and a good deal of terror it was all Mac could do not to hug him. Sweet Prometheus, he’d been dreading this day. And for the first time in his life Mac realized that the true curse of fatherhood was having to punish someone whom he loved more than life itself.

  “You will spend the next three days in your room, and be served nothing but bread and water,” he said, shooting Carolina a warning glare when she gasped. He tilted the boy’s head to bring Henry’s eyes to his. “And during that time you will contemplate the danger you put us all in tonight by disobeying my order to stay with Carolina. And you will also consider the fright you just gave your aunt, and apologize to her.”

  Henry tried to turn to her, but Mac held the boy looking at him. “Just saying you’re sorry is not enough, considering you put her life in jeopardy as well as yours and mine. So not only will you give Carolina your apology in three days, you will spend the following week serving her every need.”