Chapter 26
“Are you planning on working or hanging on your phone all day?” Cal asked, leaning on his shovel. Penny stuck her tongue out at him and pocketed her phone.
“For your information, I am working.” Arguing was more accurate. The questions Bash wanted to include with their fall mystery club book pick were pretentious. He argued the reader would dig deeper and his questions would spur interesting discussions. She argued it would cause them to quit.
Penny wiped her face with the hem of her ragged T-shirt, the one she relegated to farm work. Maggie had convinced everyone that this was the year they were installing the flagstone path from the farmhouse to the fire pit. Cal and Lucas cut the path while the sisters prepped it for the stones. Three and Four played horseshoes near the still and the clank of the metal shoes hitting the steel stakes punctuated the air. Nanna, Alison, and Elspeth sat under a nearby tree, supervising the activity, while Tiny lounged near them.
“The work must agree with you,” Nanna said, looking ridiculous with the sparkly birthday crown on her head and the scarf Penny had bought for her in France draped around her neck.
“I do. It’s worked out better than I thought it would.”
“And how has it been working with Bash?”
“Fine.” Penny shrugged off the lie. There were moments when she wanted to duct tape his mouth shut, but once she called him on his behavior, he stopped. It was a bit like an unruly dog who forgot they could do better until you reminded them.
“Well, I think he’s sweet hunting down Tanya and hiring her for you,” Alison said, looking thoughtful.
Cal and Lucas laughed. “He is sweet,” Maggie insisted, lightly elbowing Lucas.
“You won’t be saying that next month when he’s back,” Cal said, dropping his voice.
“Why?” Maggie asked, and Penny leaned toward them.
“You didn’t tell her?” Cal asked Lucas.
“No,” Lucas groaned.
“What?” Maggie tugged on Lucas’ shirt. She’ll take any excuse to touch him, Penny thought, happy for her sister. Bash had been the same way with her when they’d been alone. For a reserved man, he took any excuse to hold her hand, brush her hair, touch her lower back.
“Bash has this celibacy rule during the season. When he was a rookie, one of the older players had told him to avoid women and sex during the season. They were a distraction. He said chasing skirt took your mind off the game and drained your energy,” Cal said, and the three sisters stared at him.
“What a load of crap,” Harper said.
“So, did you?” Penny asked.
Cal shrugged. “Bash isn’t a big rule follower, so for him to make a rule, well, it seemed like a good idea.”
“All three of you took this no-woman pledge?” Penny asked.
“It wasn’t a no-woman pledge, just no sex during the season.” Lucas said, sounding defensive. No-woman would have meant no-Maggie.
“So that’s why,” Maggie said, sounding as if she’d solved a puzzle. She poked Lucas in the chest and he winced. “You are not taking that pledge.”
“And if I do?”
“I will do everything I can to make you break it.” Maggie crossed her arms under her ample chest and Lucas’s eyes heated.
“Well, Sweet Bean, you’ve given me something to think about.” Lucas dropped a kiss on Maggie’s lips before walking away. Harper and Penny smirked at the hated nickname.
“Let’s get the landscaping fabric cut and laid,” Harper said. Penny and Maggie followed her up the slight incline. They could have magicked this part, but they were saving their strength for laying the stones. The sisters worked in silence as Penny battled emotions. Why would he break his rule for me? And it had been a deliberate break. It wasn’t a heat-of-the-moment situation.
Penny’s heart squeezed. He’d broken his rule and then he’d proposed. Had he loved her? But then she remembered his disdain for people who married for love. While he may have cared for, or possibly loved her, he still had a long journey of emotional growth ahead of him. Penny wanted a man who could say I love you, but Maggie insisted Bash was a doer and not a talker. And given his childhood, he probably didn’t have the emotional intelligence or confidence to express his feelings.
She remembered how he’d organized the Gloria Sebastian book signing, so she had a chance to earn her additional partnership in the store and ensure her spring vacation. He’d risked their relationship, his friendships, and his anonymity for her. And the authors who’d come every month since then. And adopting Tiny and arranging for the dog to stay at Thistlestone while he was away. Ordering and paying for the new fenced-in backyard at the rental house so Tiny could be with him during the season. And Maggie’s chandelier. Bash knew someone who knew someone who’d pulled some strings. He’d bought the former ballroom gem and shipped it to the Goddess Bakes. It had taken four men to install it. When the crystals caught the sun, miniature rainbows danced around the bakery. It was magical.
They worked steadily for the next few hours, only breaking to apply more sunscreen and drink the homemade Arnold Palmers Elspeth kept on ice near them under the tree. Three and Four had joined the women, alternating between napping and calling out helpful suggestions.
“Should we use the lawn tractor or the wheelbarrow to move the stones?” Lucas asked Three as he unwrapped the pallet of rocks.
“What? And deny the birthday girl a show? I don’t think so.” Three leaned back on his elbows, grinning. Elspeth gracefully stood and walked toward them as her skirt blew in the breeze. She looked so regal and elegant, and Penny remembered why she’d wanted to be like Elspeth when she was younger. But now? Not so much. Working side-by-side with her aunt had given her glimpses of the loneliness living behind her cool facade.
“Large ones first?” Elspeth asked Cal, and he nodded before joining the others under the shade of the tree. Elspeth raised her hand at the rocks, and they slowly shifted. “Don’t just stand there, Harper. Give me a hand.”
They watched as the two witches sorted the flagstone rocks into three piles based on size. Elspeth closed her eyes and floated three of the largest rocks into place. Nanna moved to the piles and moved a few stones around. “Mo-om,” Elspeth complained at her interference.
“Hold your horses. There were rocks that looked like hearts. Where are they?” Elspeth rolled her eyes at her mother, but she flicked her wrist obediently. Several rocks wiggled in the piles, and Nanna pointed at them. “I want one at each end. Can you do that?”
“Yes, Mom, we can,” Elspeth sighed as if her mother’s request was beneath her talents, but she moved the stones into place. “How’s that?”
Nanna raced the length of the walkway, but frowned when she looked at the bottom stone. She pointed to it, saying, “A little more to the left…No wait… Higher… Almost there.” Penny bit the inside of her cheek to keep from laughing at Elspeth’s expression as Nanna kept instructing her on how to move the rock. “Oh, there! That’s perfect! Thank you, honey.” Nanna squeezed Elspeth to her side and gave her a quick kiss. “Now let’s get this done, so you can clean up and we can eat.”
Harper selected and moved several other large stones and carefully nestled them into the sand. “Nice,” Cal called to her, sounding impressed.
“Yeah, how’d you manage that?” Penny asked. “You missed the last ritual.”
Harper blew at her bangs, shrugging. “I don’t know. My gift never varies in strength, no matter where I am. I just lift my face to the full moon and I’m good.”
“Me next,” Maggie said, elbowing in front of her sisters, surprising them. Maggie never volunteered. She placed the last of the large rocks and about half of the medium-sized ones before her arm fell to her side and she exhaled.
“Great job, Sweet Bean,” Lucas called, and Maggie blushed.
“Impressive,” Elspeth praised from under the tree.
“Goodbye Mediocre Maggie and hello Magnificent Maggie,” Three crowed, and the women clapped, including Elspeth.
“Your turn.” Harper nudged Penny.
Penny took a deep breath and raised her arm. She finished moving the medium stones before Harper raised her arm to help. Maggie dodged the flying stones and joined them. A few minutes later, the stones were in place and Penny magicked the bag of gravel to pour a thin line between the stones. Harper magicked the rake to smooth them out. Maggie carefully placed moss at several intervals as the garden hose watered everything. The witches held hands, and the moss spread, creating a vibrant web of color around the stones.
As twilight settled around them, Nanna clinked her knife against her wineglass. Empty bowls and plates surrounded the remaining slices of birthday cake—a three-layered lemon cake filled with fresh strawberries from the garden and covered in a bright pink buttercream frosting. Nanna still wore her ridiculous crown, as she presided over them from the head of the old table.
“Thank you all for such a wonderful birthday. I’ll remember today every time I walk on my beautiful path.”
“To Barbara,” Lucas toasted as everyone raised their glasses.
She laughed and pointed to him, saying, “You seem to have recovered from the rock show.”
“I’m not sure about that. I’m finally getting used to seeing Maggie do magic and use her gifts. But seeing all four of them together was, wow, you know?”
“Oh, I know, trust me.” She winked.
“And it helps when they practice,” Elspeth said with a pointed look at Maggie.
“It’s easier to practice when you’re confident, and I have Lucas to thank for that.” Maggie kissed Lucas—the source of her confidence and her biggest cheerleader—on the cheek.
“And Penny’s powers have returned after some much needed rest and relaxation,” Elspeth said. Before her vacation, Penny had confessed to her aunt that her gifts were acting erratic. Water spraying out of the blow dryer. Hot rollers straightening her hair. Suggesting Fifty Shades of Grey to Mrs. Howard, the head of the local chapter of the Conservative Women for America. Elspeth had been concerned—family history had no record of a witch’s gift glitching like this—but she’d decided Penny was overworked and hadn’t recovered from their sales-busting December. She’d likened it to an overworked muscle needing rest and recovery to rebuild itself to be stronger. It had taken more than her vacation, but lately Penny felt back to her old self.
“And she’s happy again,” Alison said. “I’ve noticed my girls are the best versions of themselves as witches and women when they are happy. And I haven’t seen Penny this happy in a long time.” Alison’s eyes glistened in the twinkling lights above.
“Women first, then witches,” Nanna said, and Penny hoped the birthday celebration didn’t degrade into the age-old debate of which was more important, their lives as women or witches. “And you know what I’m going to remember most about this day?”
“The flying rocks?” Lucas asked.
“No, the love. Every time I look at my beautiful path, I’m going to remember the love that went into it. You and Cal didn’t use magic to cut out the grass and Cal didn’t use magic when he bought all the supplies. We could have laid the rocks without magic, but without love, I wouldn’t have my path. Love is the greatest magic of all.”
“Well, said, my love.” Three kissed her on the cheek and Penny sighed. She wanted that: love, a committed relationship, a family someday. Nanna and her mom were right. Penny hadn’t been this happy since she’d worked in New York. And it’s because of Bash.
He’d given her back her dreams. She was working in publishing. It wasn’t what she’d originally dreamed of, but helping other bookstores fulfilled her more than editing manuscripts had. And she loved reading and choosing the books for the book clubs and writing the questions. Adding him and his world into hers made her happy.
Penny frowned. She didn’t know what to do. Maintain the status quo or convince her man of action that he loved her, too. Unlike Nanna, Penny didn’t have a clear path to follow, but she had a month to find one.