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~
Jennifer heard the creak of the old boat and felt the magic all around her. She knew the witches had her back and knew taking the ghost with her was important because nobody should be alone.
Stretching her fingers, she reached for Verity with her magic. Just as her fingertips met the ghost, strong arms snatched her from the sand to carry her away. “No, Parker, no!” Jennifer said, twisting, reaching back and pulling with her magic. She was tugging Verity from inside the veil and was determined not to let go.
“Parker!” Evie called from behind, and he changed direction, skirting the three witches and the strange older man heading towards them and delivering Jennifer to her aunt. “Oh, my, god, Jennifer, are you okay?” Evie demanded, snatching the child from Parker’s arms and collapsing onto her knees on the sand with Jennifer in her lap.
“She’s fine,” Parker said, placing a calming hand on Evie’s shoulder and trying to soothe his mate’s nerves. He felt the waves of emotion from her overwhelming his senses.
CHAPTER TWENTY TWO
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“All together now,” the man said, reaching out with the magic within him, building a bridge with Faith, True, and Nana’s magic to push the boat upwards, and securing it with an invisible brace that allowed the ship to rest easily.
“Oh, dear god, someone tell me I’ve gone senile, or the ship fell on me, and I’m dead,” Nana said in clipped tones of annoyance.
“Cheer up, my lovely; I’m here to make everything better,” he said, amusement glinting in his eyes and a roguish smile on his thin lips.
“Hey, Grandpa,” Faith said, grinning like all her Christmases had come at once.
True turned with a look of disbelief at her sister. “Why don’t you look surprised?” she hissed, knowing the answer.
For one moment, Faith smiled and considered a lie. But she was her own person and didn’t need to answer to anyone else. “Because I knew he was coming,” she whispered, opening her mouth wide and offering her sister a silent mocking laugh.
True shot a look over Faith’s shoulder to Nana, who was facing out to sea and mumbling under her breath. “You know Nana hates Grandpa!” she whispered.
Faith mocked her sister with another bright smile.
“Come now, True,” Grandpa said with the Irish lilt of his ancestors thick in his voice. “That’s a little exaggeration, don’t you think?”
“I don’t!” Nana said, turning and eyeballing him with a mixture of fire and ice.
“See, doesn’t hate me,” Grandpa said.
“I mean,Idon’tthink she’s wrong; I think she’s spot on, you old fool,” Nana said.
“But would you look at this, my girls together again,” he said, opening his arms wide like he expected to be hugged and grinning like an idiot. “Group hug?”
“Oh!” Nana groaned, rolling away from the sight of her ex-husband and heading up the beach towards the guesthouse. “I need a drink; someone bring Verity to her father.”
“See,” True hissed at Faith. “You’ve driven Nana to drink.”
Faith leaned in towards her sister. “And what better way to get Nana out of here as quickly as possible?” True could see her point, but that didn’t stop her from groaning at Faith’s devious plan. “Come on, Grandpa, let’s get you a drink and something to eat,” Faith said, stepping around True and heading off.
“This is not going to end well,” True muttered, looking up at the ship before turning on her heels and following the others.
~
“What were you thinking?” Evie berated Jennifer.
Jennifer pushed away from Evie’s hold and pointed towards the ship. “Look, Aunt Evie, it’s Verity. I pulled her out with magic,” she said.
“But you put yourself in danger doing it,” Evie said, trying not to wrap her arms back around her niece in a death grip and hold onto her so tightly that they would be glued together forever.
“I knew they had my back,” Jennifer said calmly as if nothing much had just happened. “It’s what witches do,” she said, looking up at Parker. “And your mate.”
Evie couldn’t help the little squeal that caught in the back of her throat. The last thing she needed to think about was having a mate. Her mate had distracted her when she should have been looking out for her niece. But it had also been Parker who had rushed to save Jennifer.
