wicked witches 08.6 - a witch in time (23 page)

The colors began swirling, and I jerked my head to the left and right, wondering whether this would be the last time I’d see Calvin and Ginger.

“Good job, Bay,” Calvin said, smiling. “I’ll see you one day, too, but it won’t be for a long while.”

“I’ll see you in your dreams,” Ginger said.

“Until we meet again,” Calvin called out.

Then everything went black.

I love you all. I don’t say that enough, but it’s true … well, some of the time. Now get out of my face. Togetherness is great and all, but you’re all starting to chafe my butt, and there’s a bottle of wine with my name on it.

– Aunt Tillie spends quality time with the family on Christmas

Twenty

I  was falling.

Even before I opened my eyes I could feel it. In the split-second before I opened my eyes I saw the hospital’s linoleum floor rushing toward me, and then Landon reached down and caught me before I made contact.

“I’ve got you,” Landon said, grunting as he lifted me toward his chest and settled me back on his lap. “That was close, huh?”

I laughed despite myself. “You always manage to catch me.”

“That’s what I’m here for,” Landon said, kissing my nose.

“Oh, Criminy,” Aunt Tillie muttered from the bed, her eyes accusatory when they landed on me. “You two are sickening in life and in memories.”

“Aunt Tillie,” I said, exhaling heavily as I climbed off Landon’s lap. “You’re here.”

“Of course I’m here,” Aunt Tillie snorted. “Where else would I be?”

“I don’t know,” I answered. “I was … worried.” Instinctively I reached forward and grabbed her hand, happy to see there were no marks on her wrist from where I grabbed her and refused to let go.

Instead of pulling away, Aunt Tillie offered me a weak smile and squeezed my hand. “That’s your problem, Bay,” she said, collecting herself. “You worry about too much.”

“I guess we share that problem,” Landon said, moving in behind me. We were back in our hospital scrubs, not that we ever really left them. “How are you feeling?”

“Like I got hit by a tree,” Aunt Tillie replied, gingerly touching the bandage on the side of her head. “How long do I have to stay here? I want to go home.”

“I think we should let the doctor decide that,” I said.

“Aunt Tillie?”

I jerked my head to the door when I heard Mom’s voice, giving Aunt Tillie’s hand a squeeze before releasing it to make room for distraught family members circling around the bed.

“We were so worried,” Mom said, hurrying to Aunt Tillie’s side. “Bay and Landon went in the ambulance with you, but we got here as fast as we could.”

“The roads are a mess,” Thistle said, locking eyes with Aunt Tillie. “We almost died getting here. I hope you’re happy.”

“Thistle,” Twila chided, cuffing the back of her daughter’s head. “Your great-aunt is injured. She could’ve died … or been in a coma or something. Treat her with some respect.”

Thistle had the grace to look abashed.

“Don’t you dare treat me any other way than you normally would,” Aunt Tillie ordered. “I’m fine. A little head bump isn’t going to slow me down.”

“What did the doctor say?” Marnie asked, glancing at me. “She doesn’t have brain damage, does she?”

Thistle opened her mouth to say something snotty but Twila silenced her with a murderous look.

“You can let some of them go, Thistle,” Twila said.

“The doctor hasn’t said anything yet,” I offered, choosing my words carefully as I glanced at Aunt Tillie. “I … what time is it?”

“It’s a little after seven,” Mom said, sending me an odd look. “We just saw you an hour and a half ago. How can you have lost track of time?”

“It seems longer to me,” I said.

“Those two fell asleep,” Aunt Tillie volunteered. “Bay curled up in Landon’s lap like a teenager, and then they proceeded to snore for a half hour. It was extremely annoying, especially when you have a head wound.”

“Why would you do that?” Mom asked, slapping my arm. “You were supposed to be taking care of her.”

“She did take care of me,” Aunt Tillie said, winking. “Only she did it with Landon’s hand on her butt.”

“I’m going to throw a bucket of ice water on you two if you don’t stop doing things like that in public,” Mom warned, shaking her head.

I locked gazes with Landon, a myriad of questions fighting for supremacy.

“Let it go, Bay,” Landon whispered. “Now isn’t the time. If you tell them what happened now they’ll all freak out. Just … let it go.”

I reluctantly nodded and leaned into him, forcing a smile when Dr. Walter Lucken stepped into the room. He was already shaking his head.

“There are far too many people in here for my patient to get the rest she needs,” Lucken said.

“We won’t stay long,” Mom said. “We have dinner waiting at the inn.”

“Pot roast,” Landon said, pumping his fist and causing me to giggle.

“We’re going to take shifts staying with Aunt Tillie,” Twila said. “I have the first one.”

Aunt Tillie groaned. “Goddess, help me!”

“Very funny,” Twila said, fussing over Aunt Tillie’s blanket.

“How is she?” Clove asked, barreling into the room with her boyfriend Sam at her heels. “I didn’t get your message about Aunt Tillie’s accident until we got to the inn because of the spotty coverage due to the storm. Is she okay?”

“I’m fine,” Aunt Tillie said as Clove released a relieved sigh. “Don’t go being a kvetch. I can’t take it in my delicate condition.”

“You can’t have it both ways,” Mom chided. “Either you’re fine or you’re delicate. Which is it?”

“It depends on what I want at any given time,” Aunt Tillie replied. “You’ll live with my whims.”

“We always do,” Marnie said, grinning.

“The good news is that Tillie’s head wound doesn’t appear to be too serious,” Lucken said. “We need to keep her overnight for observation, but you should be able to take her home tomorrow.”

“That’s a relief,” Twila said.

“Says who?” Thistle challenged. “Doctor, don’t you think you could keep her for a couple of days? You know, just to make sure and all.”

Lucken laughed. “I think she’ll do better at home under the watchful eye of her family,” he said. “For now, though, only one of you can stay. I guess that’s Twila, so everyone else say their goodbyes.”

I silently watched as my family moved to the bed and hugged Aunt Tillie. Even Thistle offered her a stiff embrace, and a few choice words.

“I’m going to make you pay for scaring me like this, old woman,” Thistle promised. “You have three days until war is declared.”

“I look forward to it,” Aunt Tillie said, locking gazes with me as I moved forward.

I leaned over her bed and gave her hug, staying close long enough to whisper something only she could hear. “We’re going to have a talk when you get home.”

“I’m not looking forward to that,” Aunt Tillie grumbled.

Landon waited in the hallway until I was done, staring at something pink in his hand.

“What’s that?” I asked.

Landon handed it to me. “It’s a ribbon.”

I wrinkled my nose. “A ribbon? Where did that come from?”

“It’s little Bay’s hair ribbon,” Landon replied. “I shoved it in my pocket when we got interrupted. I found it there a second ago.”

“But … you’re wearing scrubs,” I pointed out.

“I know.”

“We weren’t physically there.”

“I know that, too.”

“But that’s not possible,” I said, running the ribbon through my fingers. It was real. It was the same color as the one little Bay tied in Landon’s hair. There was no doubt it was the same ribbon, yet it couldn’t be.

“Turn it over, Bay,” Landon instructed.

I did as he wanted and sucked in a breath when I saw the writing on the back. The lettering was careful and deliberate, and I recognized it from a box of cards Mom kept in her closet. I read the message out loud. “I’ll see you in your dreams, sweet girl.”

“Love grandma,” Landon added.

“Oh, wow.”

“Yeah,” Landon said, grabbing my hand. “Come on. Pot roast is waiting, and then we’re going to bed for the rest of the weekend. I can’t wrap my head around this without sleep.”

I WAS
awake long after Landon fell asleep. I was sure I would never drift off, but his soft snores finally lulled me, and I slept with him wrapped around me.

I woke to him rubbing his nose against my cheek.

“What are you doing?” I asked, instinctively pushing his face away. “That is not the way I like to wake up.”

“I’m sorry,” Landon said, a mischievous grin on his face. “We’re out of whipped cream.”

“You are so sick,” I said, although I couldn’t stop myself from laughing. He looks handsome in the morning. Don’t get me wrong, he always looks handsome. In the mornings, though, his hair is tousled and he has that seductive stubble that makes me weak in the knees. What? I never claimed to be a feminist … or immune to his charms.

“Bay, we need to talk,” Landon said.

Usually those words would cause fear to well up in my chest, but surprisingly that fear was nowhere to be found this morning. “Do you want to talk about how little Bay’s ribbon got in your pocket and how Grandma Ginger managed to write on it even though she wasn’t really there? If so, I still don’t have any answers. We’re going to have to go to Aunt Tillie for those.”

“Oh, no,” Landon said, shaking his head. “I’m over that. I don’t understand half the things that happen in this family. I’m chalking it up to magic. Now you have a personal message from your grandmother and we have a ton of memories to sift through. Some of them are even ours.”

I knit my eyebrows, confused. I’m often muddled in the morning, but now I was especially befuddled. “What do you want to talk about?”

“It’s my happy day today, Bay,” Landon announced. “All of my dreams have come true.”

“Because you woke up with me?”

“Yes.”

“You’re so sweet,” I said, cuddling closer. “I can’t believe how sweet you are. In fact, you’re so sweet I’m going to give you a special gift this morning.”

“You’re definitely going to do that,” Landon said, nuzzling his face in the crook of my neck. “You’re going to do it this afternoon, too. And tonight. In fact, you should just get naked now and prepare to go without clothing for the entire day.”

“I see you’re feeling ambitious,” I said, giggling as his whiskers rubbed against my neck. “What put you in this mood, if I might ask? Not that I mind. I love it when you’re cuddly. I … Hey! Did you just lick my neck?”

Landon’s grin was sheepish when he met my gaze. “Maybe.”

“Why would you … ? Oh, no.”

“Oh, yes, sweetie,” Landon crowed. “Aunt Tillie got her revenge from her hospital bed overnight and it’s my favorite curse. Happy Landon Day!”

He beat his chest. No, really.

“This can’t be happening,” I muttered, lifting my arm in an attempt to smell myself. Yup. There it was. The unmistakable aroma of sizzling bacon wafted off of me. How did I miss that? “Why?”

“Because the universe – in the form of Aunt Tillie – wanted to pay me back for the hours upon hours of misery and abject distress she put me through yesterday,” Landon replied. “Get naked, woman. I’m not messing around.”

He pulled at my top, but I wasn’t ready to give in to his demands and rolled away from him. “I’m going to cry. I swear … I’m going to cry.”

“Get naked first.”

“You said you don’t like it when I cry,” I protested. “Was that a lie?”

Landon blew out a long-suffering sigh. “Sweetie, I hate it when you cry,” he said. “I love it when you smell and taste like bacon, though. I promise your tears will be brief.”

“But … .”

He shook his head to cut me off. “Strip!”

“I’m going to kill Aunt Tillie,” I muttered, reaching for the back edge of my tank top so I could pull it over my head. “This is … unbelievable.”

Landon was not to be deterred. “Happy Landon Day, one and all!”

Oh, well. There are worse ways to spend a weekend.

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