The Witching Hour Page 5

  “Barrett,” she cried out. Stars exploded behind her eyelids and she cried out, her heels pressing into his back, and the orgasm ripped through her.

  “You’re so beautiful,” he said softly, kissing the inside of her thigh. “This is killing me, my love. I need you outside of dreams. I need you in my life and my heart forever.”

  Eloise felt tears prick her eyes and she turned her head away, but Barrett wasn’t going to let her hide. He moved up her body and shifted their positions so she was cradled in his arms. His shaft was still hard against her, but he wasn’t seeking relief for his own pleasure. He wanted only to comfort.

  “I need to tell you about Sam,” she confessed.

  His hand stroked her hair and he kissed her forehead. “I wondered if it was a man who caused the hurt I see in your eyes.”

  “A boy,” she corrected. “My family is not the only one to have magic in their blood. There are others—not many—but they exist. Sam’s parents and my own were good friends, and they traveled often together and the visits between them were frequent, even though the Blackwoods—that’s Sam’s family name—lived in London.

  “When Sam was about thirteen his powers got much stronger and he had some trouble controlling them, so his parents sent him to live with us here in Cauldron’s Hollow.”

  Eloise traced a pattern on his chest with her finger, remember the lost and defiant look on Sam’s face when he’d showed up on their doorstep.

  “My mother is a very powerful witch, a lot like Minerva will become over the next several decades. And she was also known as someone who could grow and channel someone’s magic. Our job as witches is never to harm. But to do good and help whenever and wherever we can. And it’s best to channel it for good during those hormonal years, because it can get out of control and harm can be done if not.”

  “I’d like to meet your parents.”

  “They’ll be back in a couple of weeks. They’ll certainly be surprised to see you.”

  “Why?”

  “Because I’d decided never to let another man get close. I’d already made plans to make sure my gifts as the oldest went to Minerva’s eldest daughter if she has one. Or Lily’s if Minerva doesn’t produce the next Goodnight daughter. I even cooked up a potion to ensure that I’d join with no one who wasn’t my true soulmate for the protection of the people we’re sworn to keep safe.

  “You see, I thought Sam was my soulmate, so I never expected the potion to become void the moment I drank it.”

  “You had what we have with Sam?” Barrett asked, the confusion evident. There was also hurt hidden within and jealousy.

  “No,” she hurried to assure him, laying her palm flat against his heart. “I was young, and the magic—especially someone who has particularly powerful magic—can make you see what you want and yearn for instead of what’s real.”

  “And Sam was powerful.”

  “More than his parents or mine realized.” She took a deep breath and prepared herself to say the rest aloud. “I was dazzled when he came to us. I was only eleven at the time, but I recognized his power and was drawn to it. And he was drawn to me. Not to Minerva and Lily. Minerva could barely stand to be in the same room with him, and I told her it was because she was jealous she wasn’t as powerful as he was.”

  “I’m sure Minerva took that well,” Barrett said gently, giving her a moment to forget the guilt that still plagued her over such hateful words to her sister.

  “Lets just say Minerva is excellent at getting her revenge,” she said, choking out a laugh. “Anyway, my mother worked with Sam and he stayed with us, went to school here, and became a beloved son of the community, just as we were beloved daughters. He and I became closer and closer, our bond strengthening as we aged, and I could see my parent’s worry as they watched us fall in love. Because though Sam had control over his powers he was wild with them, reckless, and not always having a care how he used them.

  “But his power was strong, and even he had been able to convince my parents that we were true soulmates. And they knew not to stand in the way of magic such as that. The illusion of magic made him beautiful and good in my eyes, and I didn’t want to hear the warnings from my parents and sisters to take things slow. So when I was seventeen, I gave myself to him—heart, body, and soul. At least what I’d thought the giving of those things entailed.”

  He squeezed her close, and she realized this had to be almost as hard for him to listen to as it was for her to remember, so she squeezed him back to comfort them both.

  “I already knew my path. Where the strength of my magic was, and I’d been dreaming of opening my shop since the moment Minerva saw it in her scrying mirror, though she wasn’t supposed to influence the future by looking for things like that.

  “We’d decided we’d get married once I finished college, but my magic started to grow. I’d never be as powerful as he was, but I was powerful enough that I could see the chinks in the perfection he presented.

  “He was cruel. Beloved animals would go missing from around town, only to be found out on the highway. You see how secluded we are. Someone would have to lead them down there. There were other little things—a business that might have made him angry would start to have financial trouble—a happily married couple would begin to have public fights.”

  “He used his magic to harm?”

  “Oh, yes. And then Elizabeth Peters disappeared. She and I had gone to school together. We were always friendly, if not friends. But Sam used his magic to seduce her and make her think they were going to be together.

  “Minerva’s powers had also grown over the years, and it was her who came to me and made me see. I knew she spoke the truth, but I didn’t want to believe it. I’d seen enough cracks in his magic to get an idea of the kind of witch he really was. And though Sam was quite good at hiding his affair with Elizabeth, Elizabeth wasn’t so good at it. She started making noise around town. Started sending me emails and calling me at the shop. She wanted me out of the picture. And then she got the bright idea to call the newspapers and a couple of the religious fanatic groups and tell them that Cauldron’s Hollow was under the spell of a family of witches.”

  “What happened to her?”

  “She just disappeared one day. Left for work and never came back. They never found her or a note. There was no sign of her again. As if she’d never existed at all.”

  “But the newspapers and the fanatics came anyway,” he said, reading between the lines.

  “Oh, yes. And they came with a vengeance. It took all of us to cast them out and put up a wall of protection around the town. No one could come in who didn’t already live here. Not for years. Cauldron’s Hollow couldn’t be found on a map or a GPS.

  “The level of power for that kind of protection spell left no room for illusions or lies in magic. We all saw Sam for who he really was and what his plans were. His heart wasn’t pure and he wasn’t my true soulmate. He wanted to control us all. Use his power to control the people here. Like a king over his own land. And his plans didn’t stop at Cauldron’s Hollow. There’s nothing he wouldn’t have done to get what he wanted. He’d already murdered Elizabeth Peters, but there was no body left to use to convict him. No evidence at all to bring him the justice he deserved.

  “So we gave him the only justice we could. We cast him out. My mother and Minerva were able to combine their powers to strip some of his away. It’s impossible to take all of a witch’s powers away, but they took as much as they could without doing damage to their own powers.

  “Why do you continue to punish yourself for his deceptions?” Barrett asked, moving to a sitting position and then scooping her up in his lap.

  “I should’ve been able to see through him from the beginning. I can’t trust myself or my magic.”

  He held out his hand, just like he had the first night they’d walked out to The Sorcerer’s Rock. “Take my hand. Tell me you can’t trust yourself or your magic.”

  Eloise reached out this time and tou
ched him, so they were palm to palm. She opened herself and her magic. He’d opened himself completely to her. Giving her the most precious gift he ever could—a glimpse of his life until the moment he met her.

  “He wasn’t your soulmate. I am. Anything that happened before the moment when you and I first crossed paths is just a page of the book we’re about to write.”

  Tears streaked down her cheeks and she felt the weight of the burden she’d carried for years—the responsibility she’d been trying to shoulder on her own melting away.

  “You’re mine, Eloise,” he said, lifting her into his arms and taking her into the bedroom.

  “And you’re mine,” she answered.

  He laid her on the bed and stripped off his sweatpants, giving her a second to get her fill of him—the hard length of him impressive to see. Sadness overwhelmed her as she realized everything that was happening between them—this final act of love—was only in her dreams. And she knew it’d be the last time she could allow it to happen. She was starting to want the dream more than reality.

  Barrett came down over her and she parted her legs so they hugged his hips and the head of his cock nudged against her opening. Her breath came in pants and she was caught in the steadiness of his gaze. The amount of love there—the past they’d shared and the future they would share—was so potent that it made her heart clutch in her chest.

  She recognized the shimmer for what it was immediately and she screamed out in protest as his body began to fade away.

  “Looks like we’ll have to finish this in a few hours. Be patient, love. We’ll be together soon.”

  And then he was gone and Eloise curled up in a ball and cried until she was empty.

  *

  The bell above the door of Witch Hazel rang and Eloise jumped, so caught up was she in the memory of the dream. Tears tracked down her cheeks and she wiped them away quickly.

  Jenny Mosely stuck her head and smiled, a to-go cup of coffee in her hand.

  “Just seeing if you needed anything,” she chirped, her cheerful disposition normally a welcome sight. “I had to get my morning fix of caffeine or there’s no way I’d make it through my next meeting. Heavens, it smells good in here.”

  She came all the way inside and inhaled deeply, her round cheeks flushing with pleasure. Jenny was constant energy and happiness, and she’d worked at the bank since just after they’d all graduated from high school. Everyone loved Jenny.

  “I’m good, thanks, Jenny. I’ve got my cider brewing and a good book.” Eloise held up the romance novel she hadn’t been able to read more than a paragraph of without thinking of Barrett. “You know how Mondays are always slow.”

  Eloise looked over at the jug of cider she had sitting on the counter for her customers and realized it was bubbling without the aid of a warmer beneath it. She waved her hand next to the jug and the bubbles stopped.

  “I could spend every bit of my paycheck in here. You’re a dangerous woman, Eloise Goodnight.”

  Eloise smiled, though it was an effort, and said something she hoped was appropriate. But Jenny’s words had caught her off guard. Was she a dangerous woman? She’d brought danger to her community by blinding herself to Sam’s faults. But he’d been the dangerous one. And now he was gone and she never had to worry about him again. There were enough other problems they might be facing without having to worry about the past.

  And since the appearance of the blood moon and Barrett Delaney in such a short span of time, she had to wonder if they were destined to relive what had happened to her ancestors so many centuries before.

  But every day she spent apart from him was torture, and she couldn’t keep repeating the dreams. They were meant to be together. At least in theory. He was still a stranger, despite the familiarity she felt from the dreams. But they’d seemed so real. And her heart broke at the thought that her magic had given her so much only to take it away. She felt like she had the weight of cinderblocks on her chest, so heavy was her sadness.

  Eloise heard a sniffle and looked up in time to see tears coursing down Jenny’s cheeks.

  “I—I’m s…sorry, Eloise,” she said. “I don’t know why I’m cr…crying. I j…just got so sad all of a sudden.”

  “Oh, honey. I’m sorry.”

  Eloise grimaced and grabbed the box of tissues from underneath the counter. She’d had shaky control of her emotions all week, and just because she repressed them didn’t mean others—especially anyone who was particularly sensitive—didn’t feel them.

  “There’s no reason to cry. I promise.” Eloise clamped down tighter on her emotions and tried to think happy thoughts, but she was having a hard time coming up with any at the moment. “Puppies,” she blurted out. “Puppies make people happy.”

  “I don’t understand,” Jenny said, burying her face into a tissue and blowing her nose. “I don’t want a puppy. I’m allergic to dogs.”

  “Oh. Okay then. Nevermind. Puppies aren’t happy. How about spice cake with cream cheese frosting? That always makes me happy.”

  Jenny cried even harder and dropped her head on Eloise’s shoulder, her body shaking with each sob. Eloise patted her on the back, wondering why her magic wasn’t hiding her feelings better. She hadn’t felt this out of control since she was a child and first learning how to use her magic. Jenny hiccupped and Eloise wished desperately for Lily.

  They each had their strengths when it came to magic. Eloise’s was potions. Minerva’s was the raw power of magic itself, drawing strength from the elements around her. And Lily was able to feel what others felt and manipulate human nature—a true empath.

  “I l…love sp..spice cake,” Jenny said. “But I can’t h…have any because I h..have to lose twenty pounds before my sister’s wedding next month.”

  “Right. No cake.” Eloise felt a little like crying at this point too. She was running out of happy things to suggest. “How about you take home one of the new apple pie bath fizzies I just put out this morning? You can relax in the tub and soak it all away.”

  Jenny nodded against her shoulder just as the bell above the door jangled and Lily and Minerva walked in.

  “Good grief, Eloise. It feels like a funeral parlor in here,” Minerva said.

  “Yes, I appreciate your astute observation, sister dear. So you decided to come out of hiding, huh?”

  Minerva grinned and gave her an unrepentant wink. “I told you they wouldn’t get frostbite.”

  Eloise felt her cheeks flush and her irritation rise. Her dreams were private. And that’s the only place she’d allowed the attraction to Barrett to take form. “Sorry to disappoint you, but I haven’t even spoken to the man in a week.”

  Minerva’s brow creased in confusion, and Eloise wondered if she was still having problems with her magic working correctly. It seemed to be going around.

  “Speaking of men,” Jenny said, snatching the box of tissues right out of Eloise’s hand. “I’m about sick and tired or Steve. If he doesn’t straighten up he’s going to be sleeping in the back yard with the dog.” She blew her nose triumphantly and nodded her head.

  Three pairs of eyebrows shot up at Jenny’s change of mood, and Eloise realized her irritation at Minerva was manifesting itself ten-fold.

  “Goddess, this isn’t good,” Eloise said.

  “You can say that again,” Minerva said. “Get ahold of yourself, Eloise. Lock them down.”

  “You think I’m not trying?” That question came out louder than she’d expected and she pressed her lips together and breathed in through her nose. Something was wrong with her. She never lost her temper.

  “He leaves every cabinet door in the kitchen open,” Jenny ranted. “Every. One. What kind of man does that? Is it too much to ask that after you get a plate out you shut the damned cabinet door? Look at my head!”

  Jenny pushed back her bangs and displayed a purplish knot, making Eloise wince. “I ran smack into the corner of the cabinet door. I could’ve knocked myself out. And no one would’ve noticed for day
s. Because unless I’m wearing dinner on my chest or have his damned phone strapped to my forehead, he doesn’t even know I exist.”

  Jenny was wearing a path in the floor, muttering to herself about Steve and flapping her hands around.

  “You can’t control it at all?” Lily asked.

  “I thought I was,” Eloise whispered. “It feels like I am. But obviously something isn’t working right.”

  “Are you still having trouble seeing?” Lily asked Minerva.

  “There’s a haze, but it’s not so bad that I can’t see. It hasn’t gotten worse over the last couple of weeks. Have you noticed a difference in your powers?”

  Almost immediately the thick fog of emotions began to dissipate and it was a little easier to breathe. Magic tingled across Eloise’s skin and she felt the relief she hadn’t know she’d been missing.

  “I guess that answers that question,” Minerva said.

  Lily walked over to Jenny and put her hand on her shoulder. “Jenny, I saw that sweet girl of yours on the playground as I was walking past the school on my way here. She looks more like you every day. How old is she now?”

  Jenny’s eyes were round as saucers and she looked around the shop, obviously confused. “She’s seven.” Her voice was shaky and she brought a hand to her cheek. “I don’t want to alarm anyone, but I think I might need to lay down. Or drink some bourbon.”

  Lily laughed, continuing to soothe with her voice and her magic, and Eloise started gathering a few things off the shelf to send home with Jenny. It was the least she could do.

  “Everyone has days like that,” Lily said. “What you need to do is play hooky from the bank this afternoon and go home and indulge yourself. It looks like Eloise is getting you fixed up with some special stuff.”

  Jenny nodded and took the bag from Eloise. “I’ve been working long hours lately. I think it’s just the stress getting to me. Thanks for the care package, Eloise. And next time I see you lets pretend I didn’t have a total meltdown in the middle of your store. Oh, Lord. Poor Steve.”