Contents
Chapter One
Chapter Two
Chapter Three
Chapter Four
Chapter Five
Chapter Six
Chapter Seven
Chapter Eight
Stormy Sky Magic
by
Sara Bourgeois
Chapter One
It was a dark and stormy night…
Okay, it was raining, and it was dark, but the stormy thing was a bit of an exaggeration. It had been raining for days in Coventry, and people were blaming the return of the unseasonably warm temperatures.
I was personally disappointed because if not for the increased temperatures, it would have been snow. We’d had a little bit of snow around Christmas, but it had warmed up again a couple of days later.
No one really expected spring to start in January, but that seemed to be what was happening. I figured there was plenty of time for it to get bitterly cold again by February, but I also thought that perhaps we’d just been blessed with a mild winter.
Either way, I had dinner in the oven, and Thorn was due back from work at any moment. Meri was curled up around his food bowl “patiently” waiting for his dinner.
Thorn finally came through the front door, and Meri jumped to attention. He seemed to think that Thorn coming home was the signal that it was time for his dinner, and I’d just gone with it.
I filled his bowl with flaked tuna and crumbled bacon on top. All the while, I could hear Thorn taking off his boots in the entryway.
“There are dry clothes for you folded on top of the dryer,” I called out when I heard him set down his second boot. “It’s sweats, socks, and your unmentionables.”
“Thank you so much,” he said. “I don’t think you understand how much that means to me right now.”
I wouldn’t have any idea what he meant until later when I went into the laundry room to wash his uniform. It was soaked through like he’d fallen in a lake, but I found out it was just from having to stand out in the rain. Well, actually help a nearby farmer get his cattle away from a swelling creek.
But, a couple of minutes after I told him about the dry clothes, Thorn appeared in the kitchen. He looked exhausted, and more than that, his mouth was set in a grim line.
“That smells delicious,” he said and managed a soft smile.
“Tater tot casserole,” I responded. “I hope you don’t mind. It’s a pretty simple recipe, but it’s good. Should warm you right up too. You look cold. Are we finally getting some real winter?”
“I thought you were all in tune with nature and stuff,” he teased.
“Lately, the only way for me to be in tune with nature is to tune into the Weather Channel. I haven’t done that since yesterday, so I didn’t know if we were expecting a temperature drop tonight,” I responded.
“I’m sorry,” Thorn said sheepishly. “I shouldn’t tease you about that stuff.”
“It’s okay. You don’t have to walk on eggshells about it,” I said, but it had stung a little. Totally not his fault, though. My mood about our magical reset changed based on the day. Sometimes I was happy about it, and some days, like that day, I missed the little things like being so in tune with nature. “So, did we get a big drop in temperatures?”
“Not huge,” Thorn said. “It’s upper forties and lower fifties. Probably won’t freeze up overnight, but that rain just had me chilled to the bones.”
“Well, sit down. I’ll get you a beer and fix you a plate,” I said.
“I can get my own,” Thorn protested.
“Just sit down and let me fuss over you a little,” I said and pointed toward his usual chair at the kitchen table with the spatula in my hand.
“All right,” he relented with a chuckle.
“So, are we looking at significant flooding?” I asked as I got a beer out of the refrigerator.
“We might be, but since Coventry is on a slight elevation, I’m more worried about the surrounding area. We’ve got some cattle and horse farms that could be in trouble with their animals, and there are a few places that will be cut off.”
“Are people stocked up in case they have to hunker down for a few days?” I asked.
“That’s what I’ve been spending most of my time doing. The county doesn’t have the manpower to go to every farm in time, so my deputies and I have been going door to door making sure the people know. We’ve been telling people to get to town and stock up on what they need while they can and to bring their livestock back in close. I had to help one farmer get part of his herd out of danger. That’s how I got soaked.”
“Oh, my,” I said.
“But for the most part, these old farmers are ready. They don’t need anyone to tell them to be prepared for a rainy day,” he said.
“Well, it’s good that you’re checking on them anyway,” I said.
After dinner, Thorn did the dishes and I dried. We tried to watch a movie on the big screen television I’d installed over the fireplace just for him, but he fell asleep fifteen minutes in. Knowing that he was going to get up early and go running with Tangerine, I nudged him awake and told him to get his butt to bed.
While he was trudging up the stairs, I took Tangerine out back and we found the driest spot in the yard for her to do her business. The back yard wasn’t totally submerged, but there were a few huge puddles forming. I made a mental note to ask Thorn if he could build one of those little doggie shelters outside the back door. I wanted one with a roof to keep the rain and snow out and I’d seen ones with a gravel floor for drainage. I’d have to think about that part, but it probably would have helped.
Lightning flashed overhead and thunder rolled over us like a thousand stampeding horses. Tangerine let out a little yelp and made a beeline for the door.
“I agree,”
