“Me too. Tomorrow at midnight.”
“I’ll be there,” I said then started the ignition.
Horatio stepped away from the car and waved good-bye.
I smiled. If only Mom could see us now.
Chapter 13: Rayne
After I left the suit shop, I walked down to the lakeshore. I’d tried to call Viola back, but she didn’t pick up. I knew Cassidy meant no harm, but I’d sensed Viola’s suspicion the night we’d gone to Falling Waters. Like all faerie, Cassidy had a sparkly glow. No doubt Viola had noticed it, and it had set her on edge. Certainly Cassidy had gotten Rick’s attention, when he wasn’t too busy casting glances at Viola.
I looked at my phone once more. It was almost time for her to start work at the restaurant. Now what?
I walked slowly down the beach eyeing the dark blue waters as they lapped against the rocky shoreline. The sun was starting to set, trimming the sky with deep purple and vibrant pink colors. The water reflected its shimmering light, each crest trimmed with the vibrant hues.
I closed my eyes and felt the soft wind blowing off the lake. The sweet perfume of spring filled my nose. I was not surprised when, a moment later, I heard a familiar buzzing sound. Two of my little ones had found me.
Opening my eyes, I listened as they reported in. Alice was happily preparing for her dinner tonight, and Luc was over at Lavender Fields Bed and Breakfast trying to figure out what to wear. And both of them were delightfully happy. The bees, magical creatures that they are, did what they could to help plant romantic ideas in both their minds. Everything, it seemed, was finally coming along for Alice. But long distance relationships rarely worked well. Did that mean that in order to help my girl, I was going to have to lose her?
“Well done,” I whispered to my friends who then directed my attention toward a figure walking down the beach toward me.
I cast a glance down the beach to see Kate, with whom Alice would be having dinner that evening, walking along the lakeshore.
“Rayne,” she called happily.
Her long golden hair was blowing in the soft wind. She was a lovely thing.
“Hi, Kate,” I said, stuffing my hands in my pockets, walking to meet her.
“I’m not sure if I should be happy with you and Viola Hunter or angry. Alice is head over heels for this Frenchmen you introduced her to. If she runs off to France, I may never speak to you again.”
I laughed. “Let’s go with happy. You’re having them over tonight?”
“Yeah, Cooper and I wanted to check this guy out.”
“He seems a good sort.”
Kate nodded, her bright eyes shining. She looked closely at me then said, “Something’s troubling you.”
“How did you know?”
“You’re here,” she said, motioning toward the water.
I smiled at her. Alice and Kate had been friends for many years. Alice’s report of her was always good, and moreover, Alice trusted her. That was good enough for me. “In love, I think. Not sure if she loves me back.”
“Hmm,” Kate mused. “I know how you can find out.”
I raised an eyebrow at her.
“Ask,” she replied playfully, giggling. The sound of her laughter, I noticed then, chimed like a bell which echoed on the waves. The sound of it was captivating. For a moment, I felt transfixed. Strange.
Kate took my arm, seemingly breaking the spell, then turned and walked with me down the beach. “Love is something so rare, and never easy to come by, not true love, at least. If you love this woman, tell her. What’s the risk? I once had to make a great leap of faith for love. It wasn’t an easy choice, but I did whatever it took.”
“Did you get what you wanted?”
“You’ve met my husband? Seen my children? Their worth is beyond measure. And the cost, well,” she said, glancing across the waves, “seems very small in comparison now. If you love her, truly love her, do anything for her. Do everything you can to make sure she knows what she means to you.”
Kate’s words struck my heart. It was exactly what I needed to hear. “Thank you, Kate.”
“Of course,” she said then took my hand. Opening it, she lay two pieces of beach glass in my palm. I noticed then how the tiny pieces, one pale pink in color, the other one green, looked like hearts. “I was wondering who they were for. Now I know,” she said, then closed my hand.
The sun dropped below the clouds and dipped toward the horizon. It cast stunning pink and golden light on the beach. In that moment, the air around Kate shifted and changed. What a sparkly thing she was, all golden and glimmering in the sunlight. She was luminescent. And there seemed to be no other place in the world where she fit more perfectly than on that beach. And in that moment, I knew without a doubt what I had long guessed.
“Mermaid?” I inquired softly.
Kate giggled lightly, her voice like a small melodious bell. “Once. No more. And you, fey thing that you are…I remember another like you in Chancellor many years ago. No wings though, huh?”
“Those are pixies.”
“Thought I saw one in my garden last summer. Wasn’t sure if that was you or not. I thought maybe you could shrink down and ride in a walnut.”
“I wish.”
Kate squeezed my hand then let me go. “I need to get back, finish getting ready for dinner tonight. Good luck, Rayne.”
“Thank you.”
“Not going to forgive you though if she moves to France, though.”
“Won’t shipwreck me, will you?”
“Retired,” she said with a laugh then headed back down the beach.
I watched her as she went. A lovely creature, she melded into the beachline. Mermaid. Chancellor really was a special place. With all the witches haunting the ladies’ auxiliary and beauty salons, of course it made sense that we’d have our own mermaid.
I smiled. If the bees and I could finally find a match for Alice, there was no way I could mess things up with Viola. I just needed to show her that she was, beyond all measure, the thing I wanted most in the world. And I was willing to do anything to have her…even ask her brother’s permission.
Chapter 14: Viola
“Maybe this trunk, Miss Hunter?” Dorothea asked, pulling an old box out of the back of my mother’s closet.
I was standing on the other side of the room looking in the garment bags hanging at the back of Dad’s closet. So far I’d found a few gowns, but not the one I was looking for.
Dorothea opened the trunk to reveal a dress box inside.
“Oh my gosh, that’s it!” I squealed.
I don’t know why the idea came to me, but the second Horatio told me to go check in my closets for a dress, I remembered an amazing blue gown my mother had once worn to some formal event. I remembered, very vividly, her coming down the stairs in the midnight blue gown which was covered in glimmering beads and intricately sewn embroidery. Stars and moons had been sewn with sparkling beading all along the sheer material covering the skirt of the vintage dress. She’d sparkled like the night’s sky. It was an image of my mother I always carried in my heart.
“I can’t believe you found it,” I said, gently lifting the dress out of the box.
Carefully, Dorothea and I looked over the garment.
“It will need a few stitches. You’re a bit smaller than your mother was. I can have it ready for you by tomorrow. Let’s try it on,” she said as I quickly slipped off my clothes and slid into the gown.
It was large, and the material was very fragile, but something magical happened when that dress slipped over my head. A dizzy feeling took over me, and I swore I could hear music. The feel of Rayne’s lips pressed against mine, and his sweet honey taste came to mind. I closed my eyes, feeling myself swoon.