Kitabı oku: «Spellbound», sayfa 2

Chapter Four

Kelsey smoothed her hands over the front of her vintage dress as she stared at her reflection in the bathroom mirror. Which was silly. There was no need to be nervous. It wasn’t as if the dinner was a real date. Will Ross just wanted to talk to her about her business. And if she could charm him, then maybe she could bring him over to her side.

Her breath caught in her throat. Was that what she really wanted? Life in upstate Maine was pleasant enough, yet there were times when she couldn’t bear the loneliness, times when she wanted to just pack up and leave. And yet, she had people who depended upon her, people who believed that she was the only person who could heal them.

She had never really been sure whether her efforts actually helped. Most of her customers had regular doctors and used conventional medicines. But for some reason, they believed that her remedies held the key to their good health, so she was committed to doing what she could.

But if push came to shove, would they really choose her help over traditional medicine? Maybe she ought to start thinking about her own happiness instead of everyone else’s. Maybe she should leave and find a place where she wasn’t known as the town witch.

But Barstow Ferry was the only home she’d really known. It was the source of her power, the place that her ancestors’ spirits lived. The family home she now owned was here, as was the business she’d inherited from her great-aunt. She was the last of her family line, the last female descendant of Bridie Quinn, the powerful Irish witch. If she left, would she lose everything that made her special?

Kelsey hurried out of the bathroom to the kitchen, then checked the bubbling pot on the stove. She’d found the recipe for the persuasion potion in the old leather-bound journal she’d inherited from great-aunt Tizzy. It contained all of Bridie’s magic, carefully written out with recipes and incantations and counter-spells.

Though in theory she should have inherited Bridie’s powers, Kelsey had never considered herself a full-fledged witch. She knew the calming and healing qualities of plants, but she couldn’t affect someone’s behavior by just chanting a few words. She couldn’t blink her eyes and wiggle her nose and change the course of events.

The potion’s recipe was complicated, and Kelsey wasn’t sure it would work, but if she ever needed a little help persuading someone to her cause, now was the time.

She ladled a small measure of the potion into one of the glasses, then added ice and lemonade, before preparing a drink for herself.

None of the herbs were dangerous. In fact, she’d used them all for various remedies. But this combination was supposed to work on a man’s mind, to make him more open to the power of suggestion.

Will Ross was on a mission, determined to put her out of business. And she was just as determined to win him over. This was her livelihood, she had to use any weapon available to her, and if it took a little herbal concoction, then that was fair, wasn’t it?

“Hello? Anyone home?”

“Here we go,” Kelsey murmured as she picked up the glasses. She pasted a smile on her face, but the moment she saw him through the screen door, she realized that she was in a lot deeper than she thought. Everything about him—his eyes, his smile, the way his hair fell across his forehead—made her weak in the knees.

“I—I thought we’d have something to drink,” she said, her voice cracking.

Will opened the door for her and she walked over to the porch swing and sat down, holding his glass out for him. Rather than join her on the swing, Will leaned up against the porch railing and observed her silently for a long moment.

“This is a beautiful house,” he finally said. “How old is it?”

“About a hundred years,” she replied. She felt like a silly girl, all giddy and nervous and breathless. Why did things seem so uncomfortable between them?

He took a sip of his drink. “It’s good,” he said.

“Thanks. I made it myself.” If he could taste the potion, it didn’t show. He took another gulp and she relaxed, hoping the effects would show themselves soon. “How was your day at work?”

Will groaned softly then pushed off the rail and sat down beside her. “I really don’t want to talk about work,” he said. “Why don’t we talk about you?” He stretched his arm across the back of the swing. “Tell me why the entire village board wants to shut you down.”

Kelsey turned to look at him, and the moment her gaze met his, she forgot what she was going to say. She opened her mouth, ready to babble anything at all. She swallowed hard. “The council has its own agenda, but people have always been suspicious about my family. When bad things happen and there’s no one to blame, they blame me. People fear what they can’t control.”

But Will Ross didn’t seem to have any fears at all. A moment later, he leaned forward and his lips covered hers in a sweet and gentle kiss.

It was the last thing she’d expected. She hadn’t brewed a love potion! And yet, it seemed like the most perfect moment she could have wished for. His kiss was definitely persuading her to do a lot more than just…kiss.

His fingers slipped through the hair at her nape and he drew her closer, and all Kelsey could think about was the exquisite taste of him and the sensation of his tongue touching hers. She’d never expected the potion to work, much less create such a strong reaction.

But then, maybe it wasn’t the potion at all…

Chapter Five

The kiss seemed to go on forever, but in reality, it was no longer than ten or fifteen seconds. When Will drew back, Kelsey looked up at him, her gaze registering what he could only read as shock.

Stifling a groan, he turned away, stunned by his impulsive behavior. What the hell was he doing? Sure, he’d been thinking about Kelsey Quinn all afternoon and he wasn’t going to deny that kissing her had been part of many of those thoughts. But he had professional obligations where she was concerned, and kissing her wasn’t going to help that cause.

Will stood up and handed her his half-empty glass. “I—I have to go,” he murmured. He turned and hurried to the steps, then glanced over his shoulder to find her watching him with wide eyes.

Stifling another groan, he jogged down the steps and headed to the police cruiser parked on the street. He sat behind the wheel for a long moment, wondering if he ought to go back and explain himself. But there was absolutely no explanation for what he’d done. No matter how he looked at it, the kiss had come out of nowhere.

It was like she’d… “Oh, hell, don’t even go there,” he muttered, reaching for the ignition. As the police car pulled away from the curb, he glanced over and saw her standing at the top of the porch steps, her shoulder braced against the simple wooden porch column.

From the instant he’d met her, he’d felt an overwhelming attraction to her. But he’d brushed it off as just a side effect from leading a rather chaste existence in the past few months. And single, attractive women in Barstow Ferry were few and far between. What he couldn’t understand was how a woman as beautiful as Kelsey Quinn was still single.

He pulled the car over to the curb and leaned back in the seat. “She’s the town witch,” he murmured. Maybe the men in town were all afraid of her, afraid that she might cast some sort of…spell, or curse them, like she apparently had with Wibby. Hell, from the moment he’d first seen her that evening, he’d been spellbound.

Right. A spell. Will had always tried to keep an open mind, but when it came to the supernatural, he was a skeptic. He didn’t believe in ghosts or aliens or vampires or magical powers. He did believe in the power of sexual chemistry, though, and there was no denying that he felt something deep inside him when he looked at Kelsey Quinn.

He put the car in gear and pulled into the street, then circled the block until he came back to where he started. The worst thing he could do was leave this silly incident unresolved.

She was sitting on the porch swing as he strode back up the sidewalk. He took the steps two at a time then stood in front of her. “I just wanted to explain—no, apologize for what just happened. That was completely out of bounds and I don’t know what possessed me to kiss you.”

Kelsey slowly stood and walked toward him. He held his breath, his fingers clenched at his sides, every ounce of his determination focused on resisting the urge to touch her again. But this time, she made the first move.

She pushed up on her toes and wrapped her arms around his neck. Her lips softly met his and Will grabbed a quick breath before he lost himself in another kiss. She was the one who drew away. She looked up at him and smiled. “Nothing to be sorry about,” she murmured.

With that, she walked inside the house and closed the door behind her. Will closed his eyes and tried to calm the flood of desire pulsing through his veins. He knew if he walked inside, there would be more of the same between them, which would not be good for him professionally. So for now, a strategic retreat was in order.

Once he could manage to think rationally around Kelsey, then he’d return and get down to business.

Chapter Six

Kelsey opened the front door of the grocery store and walked inside. Wilbur Fredericks was standing in the same spot behind the counter that he’d occupied for as long as she could remember. He nodded at her as she passed.

The store, like many of the businesses in Barstow Ferry, was a throwback to another time. Merchandise was packed on old wooden shelves that stretched from floor to ceiling. A more modern supermarket had opened in the next town over, but residents of the Ferry still chose to spend their dollars with Wilbur.

She grabbed an old wicker basket from the stack at the door then walked to the rear of the store. But as she approached the butcher counter, she froze. Will Ross stood in front of the meat case, dressed in his uniform and casually chatting with Harmon Peach, the butcher.

She stepped back behind a display of breakfast cereal and watched Will. It had been nearly a week since they’d seen each other, since the surprising events of that day. Kelsey had done everything in her power to avoid him and it had worked, until now.

As time had passed, she’d begun to hope that the potion had done the job and that Will had forgotten about his concerns over her business practices. She peeked around the corner and to her relief, he was gone. Adjusting the basket on her arm, she took a step out into the aisle and—

“You know, if you’ve just come here to loiter, I may have to take you in.”

The sound of his voice was at once both startling and soothing. Kelsey groaned inwardly and slowly turned to find Will standing behind her, his grocery basket clutched in his hand. “Good morning,” she murmured.

“Morning,” he said. “I’ve been hoping I’d run into you.”

“Really?”

He nodded. “I feel like we might have gotten off on the wrong foot.”

“And what foot was that?” she asked, her gaze fixed on his lips. Gosh, it didn’t take much to conjure up the memory of those kisses they shared. Even now, she recalled how his lips had tasted, how her body had melted against his, how every fiber of her being had wanted to drag him into the house and strip off all his— Kelsey stepped around him and began to pluck cans of tomato paste from a nearby shelf. “I’m really in a hurry,” she said, adding a fourth and fifth can.

“I can see that. I’d hoped maybe we could—”

“No,” she said, shaking her head. “No, we can’t. I just think it would be best if—”

He hooked his thumb beneath her chin and gently turned her gaze up to his. Kelsey glanced around, hoping that no one was watching and grateful that the aisles were empty.

“We do have to talk,” he murmured. “Maybe we can try to meet at the station?”

It was clear he was still attracted to her. But the potion must have worn off by now. Had the persuasion potion somehow had the side effect of causing a permanent state of heightened desire in the man? Maybe Bridie Quinn, the Irish witch, was more powerful than Kelsey had ever imagined.

“Do you really think it’s necessary for me to come to the station?”

“I do,” he said.

Her temper rose and Kelsey cursed softly. “I’m not doing anything wrong. I’m just operating my business and trying to make a living, and I don’t care if—”

“I thought it might be better to meet at the station so that we aren’t…tempted to repeat the same behaviors from our last meeting. I really think we may be able to work this out. I’d like to try.”

Kelsey closed her eyes and drew a deep breath, then nodded. “All right. When?”

“This afternoon?”

“Fine. I’ll be there at three?”

“I’ll be waiting,” Will said, breaking into a warm smile. He glanced down at the cans of tomato paste in her basket. “What are you making?”

Kelsey frowned, scrambling for an answer. “Lasagna,” she said.

“I like lasagna. I’ll see you this afternoon, Miss Quinn.”

With that, he walked off down the aisle, his gait long and graceful, the muscles of his back bunching and flexing beneath the tight blue fabric of his shirt. Kelsey reached out and grabbed the edge of a shelf for balance.

“He is a hottie, isn’t he, dear?”

She glanced over her shoulder to find the town’s piano teacher, Minerva Frisk, staring at her with an inquiring gaze. Kelsey giggled softly. “Yes, he really is.”