I nodded. “You’re welcome.” I had to stop myself from wringing my hands. I hoped I hadn’t offended her.
Willow came running over. “You’re leaving?”
Nina bent down and gave Willow a one-armed hug. “This baby girl needs a bath and bed,” she explained.
“’Night, Isabel!” Willow patted the baby’s chubby thigh.
“Next time you’ll have to come over to our apartments,” Nina said. “We have a miniature patio of our own. I want to show you the herb garden that Autumn is designing for me.”
Relieved, I smiled. “I’d enjoy that.”
“See you later.” Nina waved and headed down the path.
Willow came and stood beside me. Together we watched as Nina and the baby traveled down the winding footpath towards the mansion.
“I don’t need a bath,” Willow said, before I could suggest it.
I smiled down at her. “Yes, darlin’ you do.”
“Nuh-uh,” Willow argued.
With a laugh, I gathered up the wine bottle and glasses and herded my reluctant daughter inside the house.
***
The magnolia trees in the front of the cottage didn’t disappoint, and when they bloomed, the exterior of our cottage was more romantic than ever before.
I met Duncan, Thomas, all the groomsmen, and the ring bearer for their tuxedo fittings and was satisfied that everything was well in hand. Duncan had been nervous, and while I found it endearing, Julian, Wyatt, his brother, Xander and Duncan’s friend Marshall had managed to keep him grounded and on task during the appointment. The suits and vests for their wedding were going to be a soft silvery-gray. The men would wear white shirts, and the ties would all be a warm ivory. For fun, I’d purchased different colored socks for the groomsmen to match the bridesmaid they were partnered with. That touch had made Duncan roar with laughter.
Morgan, Autumn’s nephew and the ring bearer, had chattered up a blue streak the entire time. He seemed very interested in Thomas, and while everyone else was relaxed and happy, I had picked up on some tension between Thomas and Bran, Autumn’s brother. They were perfectly civil to each other, but yet I felt it none-the-less.
A few days later I was working at the kitchen table, enjoying the peace and quiet as Willow was at pre-school. I’d just finished unpacking the decorating supplies for the Jacobs’ gender reveal party, when Autumn dropped by with a gift.
“For you,” she said, holding out a book.
“Oh.” I had no choice other than to accept the book she cheerfully shoved into my arms. “Thank you.” I stepped back and allowed her to enter the cottage.
“Your grandmother has been hounding me for weeks to give that to you,” she said, and shrugged her jacket off.
“My grandmother?” I asked, flipping through the pages. It was an old vintage cookbook and a tad worn. I shrugged and shut the door behind her.
“Yeah, Irene wants you to have it,” Autumn said, walking over to the couch. She caught the toe of her shoe on the rug and tripped.
“Careful!” I called out.
“I swear,” Autumn grumbled as she caught herself. “If I didn’t trip on something at least once a day, I’d wonder what was wrong…” She heaved a mighty sigh and sat on the couch. “Anyway, what was I saying? Oh, yeah, Irene. She wants you to have the book now.”
I frowned over her use of present tense as opposed to past. “Don’t you mean she wanted me to have it?”
Autumn met my eyes. “No,” she said calmly and clearly. “She wants you to have it. Irene reminded me herself this morning.”
I bobbled the old cookbook, but managed to set it on the coffee table as I took a seat beside her. “Autumn, my grandmother has been dead for thirty years.”
Behind her trendy glasses, those green eyes considered me. “Maggie, your grandmother has been haunting the house I own for decades. When I bought the property last year and moved in, Irene came out to play. She’s a very active spirit.”
“Well, isn’t that nice…” the comeback was automatic. I realized it probably sounded condescending…but in all honesty, I didn’t know how else to respond.
“You don’t know.” Autumn shifted on the couch to look at me fully in the face. She gently laid one of her hands on mine. “Maggie, I’m a psychic sensitive. I can see and hear spirits on this plane.”
I studied the pretty brunette that sat cheerfully on my sofa. Bless her heart, I thought.The porch light’s on but no one’s home.
“What’s that about a porch light?” Autumn asked.
I flinched.
Autumn grinned. “Didn’t anyone ever tell you to be careful with your thoughts around a psychic, Maggie?”
“I…” I stopped and considered her. “Are you telepathic?”
“Not normally, no. I’m more of a Seer.” Autumn shrugged. “However, I sometimes can pick up on people if their thoughts are directed at me, and if I’m touching them.”
Even as my mind raced with questions, the urge to yank away from her was damn near overwhelming. I forced myself to sit still and brazen it out. “So you’re a real psychic?”
“Among other things.” Autumn wiggled her eyebrows. “I had a vision of you and Willow long before we ever found that lock box with all the information in it about your mother.”
“You did?”
“Um, hmm.” Autumn flipped her hair over one shoulder. “I saw a child, a girl running down the sidewalk in front of the cottage. The magnolias were in bloom…Her hair was in two long pigtails, and she wore a blue dress and white shoes. You were standing on the porch waiting for her and you called her, ‘Sugar pie’.”
My heart slammed against my ribs. “How long ago was this?”
“Last fall,” Autumn said. “Ask Thomas about it, if you don’t believe me.”
“I believe you.” I blew out a long shaky breath. “When Willow left for school this morning she had on a blue dress, and I’d put her hair in two pigtails…she was wearing her white dressy shoes as well. We’d argued about her wearing them to school, but I’d given in.”
“Really?” Autumn smiled, and swiped a mark in the air as if
