Spellbound Falls (24 page)

“But they’re fun. And the campers like them.”

“Exactly. And that’s why keeping the horses was one battle I refused to lose.”

“Were you surprised Miss Peg dated Dad?” Sophie asked as they neared the line of privacy Olivia had literally drawn in the dirt by putting up the fence.

“Not really. After all, they did go to school together. I imagine your daddy dated many of the women around here before he went off to college.”

“But you hired her anyway. Aren’t you jealous?”

Olivia pulled Mac to a stop by refusing to let go of his hand. “Do you expect to be the first girlfriend of the man you marry, or that your daddy was
my
first boyfriend?”

“Well, no.”

Olivia started walking again. “And the fact that Miss
Peg is such a nice person only shows what good taste your father had.”

“But he married
you
, Miss Olivia,” Henry interjected. “That shows Sophie’s dad had
really
good taste.”

Olivia looked up at Mac and smiled. “Why, thank you, Henry, for noticing.”

This time it was Henry who stopped walking, pulling all of them to a halt. “Miss Olivia, how come you haven’t gotten married again?”

Mac sighed, guessing the boy had finally figured out he’d just found a candidate to replace Gadzalina. “Yes, Miss Olivia,” Mac said. “Why haven’t you?”

“Because she needs a
boyfriend
first,” Sophie answered, moving around Olivia in order to speak to Henry. “And all the men in Spellbound Falls are too afraid to ask my mom out on a date.”

“My dad wouldn’t be afraid to ask her. He’s not afraid of
anything
.”

“Then how come
he
doesn’t ask her to go out with him?”

“Sophie!” Olivia snapped just as lightning flashed, exposing the thunderous glare she was giving her daughter. “What did I tell you about sticking your nose in someone else’s business?”

“Henry brought it up,” the girl countered, having to holler over the thunder.

Olivia let go of Mac’s hand. “Thank you for walking us home,” she said, leading Sophie down the path.

Mac rang the bell on the fence. Olivia stopped and turned to him, another round of lightning revealing her blush. Yes, she might be getting close to initiating an affair, but the woman obviously was far from ready to openly date him.

“We had a good time at your cookout, Olivia. Thank you for inviting us,” Mac said, giving Henry a nudge.

“Yes, thank you, Miss Olivia. I enjoyed making the s’mores as much as I liked eating them.”

“You’re welcome,” she answered softly, hesitating a moment before turning and heading off again with her daughter in tow.

Henry started toward their cabin, but Mac stopped him. “We will wait until the women are inside and we see the lights come on.”

“How come Miss Olivia got upset when Sophie suggested you should ask her mom on a date?” Henry asked.

“I believe it’s because Olivia doesn’t think children should be playing matchmaker for their parents.” He crouched down to be level with him. “And it likely embarrassed her that Sophie put us both on the spot by suggesting I should ask Olivia out.”

“But you like Miss Olivia, don’t you?”

“Yes, I do.”

“Then why
don’t
you invite her to go to dinner?” He frowned. “Only it really wouldn’t be a date if Sophie and I go with you, would it?”

“No. I believe when children are involved, a babysitter must be hired.”

“I know: Mr. Sam could babysit us while you take Miss Olivia out to dinner.”

“Or your auntie Carolina could watch you and Sophie,” Mac said, scooping Henry into his arms and standing up. “Maybe tomorrow night.”

“Auntie’s coming?” the boy said on a gasp, a series of blinding flashes exposing his surprise.

Only Mac had to wait until the ensuing thunder died down to answer. “Does this feel like a natural storm to you?” he asked. “Or something more… oh, let’s go with melodramatic, shall we?”

Henry clasped Mac’s face in his hands, his grin as wide as a river. “Tonight?” he whispered. “Auntie’s coming in with the storm?”

Mac glanced toward Olivia’s house to see several of the lights on and started walking to their cabin with a heavy sigh. “Caro never was one to wait for an invitation, and she certainly does enjoy making an entrance.”

“When was the last time you saw something that precious?” Carolina whispered.

“Oh, about twenty-eight years ago, if memory serves me,” Mac said, wrapping his arms around his sister when she leaned back against him as they stood just inside Henry’s bedroom door. “Though I still have a bone to pick with the gods for not telling me what sort of hell I was in for when you were born.”

“Your son’s beautiful, Mackie.” She craned to the side to smile up at him. “He’s the best thing that ever happened to you.”

Mac nudged her back around with a sigh. “Yes he is, assuming he doesn’t kill me first.” He tightened his embrace. “He scares the hell out of me, Caro. I don’t know the first thing about being a father.”

“Sure you do; you just have to be the opposite of ours.”

“He’s not really that bad, you know,” Mac whispered. “Since Henry showed up, I’ve developed a whole new appreciation for our old man.”

She snorted softly. “Did you
see
Gadzalina?”

Mac smiled over her head at his sleeping son. “No. But
Henry filled me in on what’s waiting for us back in Atlantis if we don’t get our act together soon.”

She stepped out of his embrace and walked into the cabin’s front room, and Mac followed after stopping to close Henry’s bedroom door.

“Are you really going to settle in this century, here in Maine?” she asked, going to the hearth and holding her hands to the fire. She turned to him. “It’s so… rural.”

“Which makes it perfect,” he said, sitting on the couch. He patted the cushion for her to sit beside him, and then shifted to face her. “I don’t want to add too many people into the mix until Henry becomes comfortable with me and his eventual destiny.”

Carolina shot him a brilliant smile. “See; you’re already thinking like a daddy.” She turned serious. “But why have you come up here?” she asked, gesturing at the cabin. “Spellbound Falls is too damn far from the ocean, Mackie.”

“I can handle it for a few months. And we’re only a three-hour drive from the Gulf of Maine. In fact, I’m planning on taking Olivia to visit Midnight Bay next weekend.”

“Olivia?” she asked, arching a delicate brow.

“Olivia Baldwin. She’s the widow of one of Trace’s military friends who was killed in the line of duty four years ago. It was Trace’s idea that I sign on as a guest here for the summer, as Inglenook is designed to help parents and children connect with each other.” He smiled. “And Olivia is bubbling with insightful pearls of wisdom on parenting. She has an eight-year-old daughter named Sophie, and Henry has taken quite a liking to the both of them.”

Up went his sister’s other brow. “And is Mackie liking
both
?”

Mac gave a negligent shrug. “He’s definitely interested in one of them.”

“Is she pretty?”

“According to Henry, any woman who smiles is pretty.”

Carolina smiled. “Oh, I knew there was a reason I already loved that boy.”

“Olivia’s beautiful,” Mac said quietly. “And funny and
charming and capable, and she’s a lot smarter than she lets on to people.” He frowned. “And she’s nearly mastered the art of becoming invisible.”

“Sweet Athena, you sound as if you’re halfway in love with her.”

“No,” Mac said with a shake of his head. “I can’t let it go that far even if I could think in those terms. Better than anyone, you know that love is an elusive affliction for me, Caro. And Olivia deserves better than a man who’s willing to settle for merely being… content.” He shot her a grin. “But that doesn’t mean we can’t enjoy each other’s company for the next six months, as I believe she’s not looking for marriage, either, considering she didn’t have very good luck with her first husband. Thank you for sending Henry my training sword.”

Accepting his cue that their discussion of Olivia was over, Carolina flopped against the back cushion with a laugh. “Believe it or not the sword’s actually from Father, as he figured boys and weapons are a timeless match, and that it would be a good way for you to bond with Henry.” She turned her head to him. “The book of mythology was Mama’s suggestion, as she believes every child needs to sit on a loving lap and be read to.” She snorted. “As for the toy, Leviathan refused to deliver my package unless I included that giant stuffed whale, the vainglorious old lug.”

Mac lifted a brow. “Then in all that you sent Henry, what was from
you
?”

Carolina threw up her hands with a laugh. “Me! I’ve just sent myself to Henry as a present. The other things were just to get him looking forward to my arrival.”

“And did you have to arrive in a damned blizzard? We’re trying to get Inglenook ready for its new season, and two feet of snow is going to put us behind schedule.”

“Us?” she repeated, arching a brow. “I thought you were a
guest
here.”

“Olivia needed help, and I needed something to do for a few weeks.”

“Like what? Are you helping her test all the cabin mattresses for lumps?”

Mac stood up and headed for the larger downstairs bedroom. “You have your pick of mattresses upstairs, princess,” he said over his shoulder. “Mornings come early here at Inglenook, and I intend for you to help Olivia cook breakfast for everyone while Henry and I help clear away all your pretty snow.”

Within half an hour of meeting Carolina Oceanus, Olivia decided she wanted to become a theurgist just like Henry, so she could snap her fingers and instantly change herself into a gorgeous, sexy, imposing, and obviously richer-than-God person, too.

There really should be a law against two people in the same family being so perfect. Hell, not only was Carolina beautiful, she was sincerely nice and eager to help.

And that’s why Olivia decided the Oceanuses must be richer than God, as they’d obviously grown up having servants to handle all the mundane details of their everyday lives. Because the moment Carolina started helping prepare breakfast, Olivia saw that Mac’s sister knew her way around a kitchen about as well as he did. Carolina couldn’t even make a pot of coffee because she’d finally admitted she’d never actually
seen
a coffee maker before, right after which the woman proceeded to fill all the glasses on the table—including Henry and Sophie’s—to the brim with the boxed wine Eileen kept in the fridge for when her dissertation efforts were flagging.

Maybe Inglenook really should start offering cooking classes. It would certainly help out all the newly divorced fathers who suddenly found themselves having to take care of their children on the weekends, as well as the mothers who thought home-cooked meant frozen pizza cooked at home.

“It’s quite a unique concept you’ve developed here at
Inglenook,” Carolina said as she folded napkins into swans on each of the plates she’d set around the table. “I imagine you’re overrun with requests from families looking to… how did Mackie put it? Ah yes, for parents and children wishing to connect with each other.”

Olivia turned the heat down under the pan of home fries and covered it with a lid. “It’s not my concept; Inglenook is the brainchild of my mother-in-law.” She headed to the fridge to get the eggs. “I just handle the day-to-day operations.”