Lexie stood with Belinda on her hip. “Outside, you two!” She held open the backdoor. “You can scream all you want in the backyard.”
Willow grabbed Morgan’s hand and they went running right out the door.
Lexie let the screen door slam behind them. “By the goddess. I suppose I have that to look forward to when Belinda is big enough to chase her brother.”
“Bye-bye,” Belinda waved at her brother through the screen door.
Autumn’s calico cat, Luna, came out cautiously from under the kitchen table. “Meow,” she cried.
“Poor kitty.” I bent and patted her head. “Does anyone know someone who has kittens for adoption? Willow’s been pestering me for a cat.”
Lexie tossed her head, sending her dark blonde ponytail swinging. “Do you think Thomas would go for that?”
Autumn glanced over from the vegetable tray she was unwrapping. “Please.” She rolled her eyes. “He’d do anything for that little girl.”
I placed the bowl of salad on the table. “She’s right. He’s a total sucker for kids.”
“I heard he went to Grandparent’s Day with Willow at the preschool,” Lexie said.
“Awww,” Holly sighed. “That’s so sweet.”
“He truly is wonderful with children,” I told them.
Autumn grinned at me. “You know, he hides it pretty well, but the truth is, he’s an old softy—” She immediately stopped talking when Thomas opened the backdoor and stepped into the kitchen.
“Ladies.” He smiled at everyone. “Duncan says he needs more barbeque sauce.”
“Okay.” Autumn went to her pantry and came back out with a bottle.
Belinda chose that moment to try her fourteen-month-old wiles on Thomas. She smiled coyly and waved her fingers at him.
“Hello, Belinda,” Thomas smiled in return. To everyone’s shock, Belinda leaned out of Lexie’s arms and reached for Thomas.
Without a blink Thomas took her and hitched the baby on his hip. “If it’s alright, Belinda and I will take the sauce outside to Duncan.” He waited for Lexie’s permission.
“Sure thing.” Lexie smiled and reopened the back door for them. “If she gets to be too much, just hand her off to Bran.”
Thomas competently straightened the baby’s stretchy headband. “We’ll be fine, won’t we Belinda?”
Belinda’s reply was a happy bounce and squeal.
Autumn kept a straight face as she silently passed Thomas the barbeque sauce.
“Bye-bye, Mama,” Belinda beamed over Thomas’ shoulder as he carried her outside.
The door closed behind them and the kitchen was silent for five humming seconds.
“Told ya,” Autumn said with a laugh.
Holly and Ivy collapsed into giggles, Lexie roared with laughter, and I couldn’t help but join in.
“If I wouldn’t have seen it, I would have never believed it,” Ivy said, wiping her eyes. “The biggest, baddest magician in town is putty in the hands of a blue-eyed baby Witch.”
I peeped out the back window and saw that Thomas was currently sitting with Belinda on the glider in the shade. Wyatt sat companionably next to him while Willow and Morgan ran circles around them both. Julian was fishing cold beers out of the cooler and was carrying them over to Duncan and Bran who were working at the grill.
Duncan was turning the chicken, and I could hear Bran through the window. He was cheerfully debating the pros and cons of different types of barbeque sauce with Julian.
Duncan called over his shoulder. “Autumn! We’ll be ready to go in five minutes.”
“Okay!” she called back through the window.
A short time later, everyone was standing in line at the make-shift buffet, filling their plates. I helped Willow select a chicken leg, and she managed to grab a few carrot sticks to add to her plate. Eventually we were all seated at the oversized picnic table in the back.
They were certainly a noisy bunch, I thought as multiple conversations went on around me. But they were my family. I couldn’t honestly remember ever being happier.
Hours later, after the dishes had been washed and the family sat out across the back lawn, I slipped inside Autumn’s house and checked the messages on my cell phone. I had two from the bride I’d met with earlier in the day, she’d finally settled on her program style and font, so I took a few moments and messaged her back.
I tapped a quick note in my phone’s calendar, reminding myself to stop by the printer’s and get a mockup for the bride to approve. I was slipping my phone back in my pocket when I caught movement out of the corner of my eye. I bit back a startled scream.
The woman stood by the kitchen table, wearing a casual dark blue dress. Despite the lines around her eyes she was a striking. Her hair was silver and her eyes matched the color of her dress precisely. I recognized her from my mother’s family albums. It was Irene Bishop, my maternal grandmother.
“Finally,” she said. “I’ve been waiting for a chance to speak to you alone.”
“Land sakes!” I pressed a hand to my galloping heart. “Hello, Irene,” I managed.
“Don’t be so formal!” she said with a laugh. “Come over here and let me get a good look at you.”
She appeared corporeal, but as I moved closer I could see a slight shimmer around her. Before I could comment, she leaned forward and studied my features.
“Yes,” she said, sounding very satisfied. “You do have my eyes. But you favor your grandfather, Phillip.”
“I met him in a dream the other night,” I said. “I worked the Avalon Apple Pie recipe.”
“What did everyone think of it?” she wanted to know. “Did Willow enjoy it?”
“I wouldn’t let anyone other than Thomas taste the pie,” I explained. “I was worried what affect I it might have on them.”
Irene rolled her eyes. “My stars, girl! I wouldn’t have enchanted the cookbook for you to find that particular recipe if I thought for one minute it would cause harm to my great-granddaughter.”
“Autumn told me that she had a few magickal snafus with your recipes last year,” I said. “I thought it best to be cautious.”
“Well at least
