Chapter 3

After uttering this chilling statement, Eira saw her husband beckoning and hurried away to join him.

Ella Mae watched as Robert Morgan took his wife’s hand in his own and gave her a reptilian smile. His eyes were still dark with fury and Ella Mae could tell that he was squeezing Eira’s hand too hard. His knuckles had gone white with the effort and her pretty mouth twisted in pain.

“That bastard.” Ella Mae pushed her way toward the couple, intent on rescuing Eira from another second of abuse, but Opal suddenly appeared in front of Robert, a waiter on her heels.

“I tracked down a platter of Thai shrimp just for you,” she said and shot a quick glance at Eira. “Mrs. Morgan, your husband will probably need something to drink. I believe the caterers made these even spicier than the previous batch.”

Releasing Eira, Robert said, “A member of your household generously offered me whiskey from Mr. Gaynor’s personal supply. I was told to help myself from the decanter in his office.” He gave his wife a tight, cold grin. “Do you think you could find it for me, dear?”

Eira nodded rapidly and hurried off.

“Am I taking liberties?” Robert asked Opal, whose hostess smile had slipped at the mention of her husband’s whiskey.

She recovered quickly, however. “Of course not. You’re welcome to anything you find within these walls.”

Clearly appeased by her solicitousness, Robert eyes roamed up and down Opal’s formfitting dress. “A man does long for the best.” His gaze lingered on her décolletage. “Your husband is a very lucky man.”

“He is. And he knows it,” Opal said, an unusual hint of playfulness in her voice.

“Traveling for three weeks,” Robert went on. “Quite a lengthy business trip. He trusts you to look after everything while he’s away?”

Ella Mae saw a flash of annoyance cross Opal’s face. Either Robert Morgan didn’t realize that Opal ran the family business or he preferred to pretend that her husband was in charge. “We’re quite accustomed to being apart,” Opal said airily. “I’ve heard it said that a marriage works better when one spends time away from one’s spouse. For Jarvis and I, that’s certainly proven to be the case. We have our personal ventures and those activities often prevent us from spending a great deal of time together, but when we do, we have a great deal to talk about.”

Robert raised his brows. “Then you subscribe to the ‘absence makes the heart grow fonder’ adage? Perhaps it’s true, but in my experience, distance encourages . . . indiscretion. I like to know where Eira is and what she’s doing at all times. Who could blame me? She’s a beautiful woman. I see the way men look at her. They’d kill to be leaving this party with her tonight. But she belongs to me.” He popped a shrimp in his mouth.

Smiling politely, Opal excused herself, saying she had to check on her other guests. Robert Morgan murmured something and continued to gorge on shrimp. He then pivoted his wheelchair to better focus on the dancers, and since Eira had yet to return, Ella Mae decided to resume her search for Suzy.

She found her friend in the dining room, filling a plate with slices of beef tenderloin, roast turkey, smoked salmon, and roasted vegetables.

“You’ve worked up a healthy appetite, I see,” Ella Mae teased.

Suzy paused in the middle of digging into the center of a vat of garlic mashed potatoes. “I used my gift to memorize all of the titles of the books in the Gaynors’ library. That always makes me hungry. Grab some chow and then I’ll fill you in while we’re eating. And before you say another word, I got the book. So let’s relax and pretend that we’re at a party, okay?”

“You’re awesome,” Ella Mae said, feeling a thrill of relief mixed with excitement. “Now that I know you have the book, I’m suddenly starving.”

Minutes later, she sat across from Suzy with her own laden plate. Taking a bite of the beef tenderloin, Ella Mae gasped. “Wow, this Cognac sauce is good.”

Suzy speared a piece of turkey. “This has a delicious cider glaze. I’m loading up on the main course because there’s no way the desserts are worth the calories. After all, you didn’t make them.”

Ella Mae glanced at the dessert table. “I don’t know. Those red velvet cupcakes and the warm chocolate bread pudding don’t look too shabby. But I don’t want to stick around long enough to sample either. I want to read that book. How did you get Loralyn to part with it?”

“I just asked to borrow a few volumes from her library. Specifically, I told her that I’d like to read books written by her relatives because I wanted to get to know her family better. It’s the truth,” she added, loading her fork with mashed potatoes. “I’m very intrigued by both the LeFayes and the Gaynors. Talk about your colorful histories. No work of fiction could compare to a war dating back to Arthurian times.”

At that moment, Eira’s dance partner entered the room. He paused, looked around, and left again. There was such misery in his glance that Ella Mae’s eyes followed him as he strode from the room, his hands clenched.

Suzy noticed him too. “He must be really upset. And yet he was so happy a little while ago. Did you see the way he and that pretty blonde danced together?”

Ella Mae nodded. “I did, and though the man who just stormed out of here might have been having the time of his life, I don’t think the blonde’s husband was pleased.” She went on to share her observations of both Eira and Robert. “The man’s a bully,” she said after she was finished. “I’m worried about Eira.”

“After we eat, I’ll introduce myself to her. It sounds like she could use a friend or two, especially since she’s joining our community.”

“She’s not the only one who needs a friend.” Ella Mae explained her plan to open up Partridge Hill to the displaced Tennesseans.

Suzy smiled in approval. “Hey, I’ve got a spare bedroom. Count me in. Who knows? Maybe Eira’s handsome dance partner has a brother.”

Once they were done eating, the two women didn’t linger for long. Ella Mae couldn’t find Eira and she was impatient to get home and spend the rest of the night reading Lake Lore of the Americas. Loralyn was on the dance floor when she and Suzy decided to leave, so they thanked Opal for her hospitality and drove back to Partridge Hill. The moment Ella Mae put the Jeep in park, Suzy handed her a thin book with a dark blue cover. “Call me tomorrow, okay? I’ll be on tenterhooks waiting to hear about what you discover in these pages.”

Ella Mae gave Suzy a quick hug and promised to talk to her first thing in the morning. She then rushed inside, gave Chewy half a dozen kisses and twice as many treats, and changed into pajamas. She’d just hung her dress in the closet when the phone rang.

“Well, Cinderella. How was the ball?” Reba asked.

“I didn’t meet a prince, but Suzy got the book we were after. And Reba, I learned some awful news about another grove.” She told Reba everything she’d learned at the party. “I need you to get in touch with my aunts tonight. I know it’s late, but I’m calling an emergency meeting tomorrow. I’m done letting grief rule my life. It’s time I stepped up and fulfilled my role as the Lady’s voice. We’ll visit my mother and then present the Elders with a course of action. Until then, here’s my plan. I’m going to bring new life to the pie shop, free my mother, and take care of our people—both the new and the old.”

Reba gave a joyful holler that reverberated through Ella Mae’s phone speaker. “Praise the Lord! My girl is back! I knew you’d rally. You always do.”

“Thanks for believing in me,” Ella Mae said and wished Reba good night.

It didn’t take long for her to become engrossed in Lake Lore of the Americas. Rupert Gaynor wasn’t a skilled wordsmith, but his subject matter was fascinating. She read about water spirits and sprites, devils and demons, and elementals. According to the tales, many of the water spirits were playful, fun-loving creatures. They were primarily nocturnal and avoided contact with humans, but there were instances in which they’d saved a drowning child by turning into a large turtle and carrying the child to shore.

Gaynor didn’t waste much ink on these innocuous spirits, instead choosing to focus on demons and monsters. Ella Mae’s eyes grew round as she read about horned water serpents. These mammoth snakes, which had thick scales and daggerlike teeth, lurked in lakes and rivers. According to legend, the horned serpents possessed powerful magic and could control the weather. Other monsters, like the water panther, were even more dangerous. A cross between a dragon and a cougar, the water panther lured men and women to the deep water and then proceeded to drown them.

“Okay, but what does this have to do with Lake Havenwood?” Ella Mae rubbed her eyes and sighed. It was getting late. The wind was whistling outside and Chewy was sound asleep at the foot of her bed, encouraging Ella Mae to snuggle under her comforter. She felt warm and drowsy and it was tempting to turn off the lamp and surrender to sleep, but she couldn’t give in to the feeling.

Throwing aside the blankets, she moved to the window and stood there, uncomfortable in her thin cotton nightgown, and stared out into the dark garden. Even in the dead of night, it was easy to picture her mother moving among the plants, a pair of pruning shears in one hand and a basket in the other. Ella Mae could see her dressed in her favorite straw hat and waterproof clogs, murmuring to the flowers as bees and butterflies hovered above the magnificent blooms.

On impulse, Ella Mae threw open her window. Chewy raised his head and growled in alarm, but she whispered softly, telling him to go back to sleep. The cold air rushed into the room but Ella Mae ignored the discomfort it caused. Hugging herself, she closed her eyes and breathed deeply. All she could smell was wet grass and wood smoke. And then, she caught the faintest hint of roses. It was subtle, but the perfumed air served to drive the drowsiness away. Shutting the window, Ella Mae climbed back into bed and continued reading.

“Here it is!” she declared thirty minutes later and tried to slow her pace as she read Gaynor’s introduction to Lake Havenwood. He didn’t identify the lake by name, but Ella Mae knew it by the way he described its size, shape, and the island in its center. She knew it was the lake she’d dipped her feet into, swam in, and rowed boats on for most of her life.

“Listen to this, Chewy,” Ella Mae said to her snoring terrier. “Gaynor writes that this beautiful lake surrounded by blue green hills is quite unique. He says that it is a place of great power and greater peril. I don’t like that second bit. He claims that a magical object resides at the bottom of the deepest part of the lake. This object is guarded by a fearsome . . .” She turned the page, eager to read the next sentence, and frowned. Flipping back to the previous page, she shook her head. “No, no, no. This can’t be. The pages jump from one-twelve to one-seventeen. Someone’s torn out two pages!”

Sliding the book under her lamp, she gently pressed the open pages as flat as they’d go and peered into the gutter. A pair of ridges was still embedded in the gauze glued to the spine, proof that two pages had been meticulously cut from the book.

“Damn it!” Ella Mae swore and Chewy groaned in his sleep as if in sympathy.

Fighting a wave of despair, Ella Mae kept reading, but whatever secrets Rupert Gaynor had been about to share concerning Lake Havenwood’s enchanted object and its guardian were gone. In his concluding paragraph, however, Gaynor confirmed Ella Mae’s theory that obtaining a Flower of Life was the key to freeing her mother and renewing the magical powers of her people.

“‘Seeds from the original Flower (as described in the Gilgamesh legend) were entrusted to a select group of water nymphs.’” Ella Mae read the words aloud, absorbing each and every one. “‘The seeds were planted in oceans and lakes across the world and were cared for by the nymphs. These lovely and lethal women were also tasked with helping or hindering those seeking the Flower. A Flower of Life was only given to the pure of heart during times of dire need and could be used to restore their health, magic, and vigor.’”

Closing the book and switching off the lamp, Ella Mae lay back against her pillows and gazed out at the night sky. She wondered what Gaynor had written about the dangers lurking beneath the surface of Lake Havenwood.

“I must find the Flower,” she whispered to the bright, high stars. “And figure out what monster I’ll face when I do.” She reached down and stroked Chewy’s fur. “I’d better work on purifying my heart, because all I want to do at this moment is strangle the person who cut out those two pages.”

• • •

The next morning, Ella Mae called Suzy from the pie shop to report her findings. Suzy gave a little shriek when she heard about the damage the book had suffered.

“All book vandals should be struck by lightning,” she said heatedly. “It sounds like someone took a straight edge to those pages. But why?”

“To make sure that no one could get the magic flower in Lake Havenwood. Think about it. The Gaynors’ powers have always been connected to water. What if they’re the nymphs bound to guard the Flower of Life?”

Suzy made an unintelligible noise. “Neither Opal nor Loralyn strike me as being very nymph-like. Nymphs are willowy and ethereal—more like Eira. They love nature and are playful and capricious. Opal and Loralyn are slim and gorgeous, yes, but they’re bossy, ambitious, and direct.”

“Have you ever met a nymph?”

“No. I’m just regurgitating facts,” Suzy said. “But I’ll swing by to pick up Lake Lore of the Americas during my lunch break. I want to take a look at the section where the pages were removed. Maybe Loralyn knows what happened to them.”

Ella Mae snorted. “If she does, you’re my only hope of finding out. She’s not likely to lift a finger if it means helping me.”

“I’ll give it my best shot,” Suzy promised. “Speaking of lunch, what are you serving today?”

“A huge helping of happiness, warmth, and satisfaction,” Ella Mae said. “If I’m going to pack my café, reel in a bunch of catering jobs, and hire some of the folks from the Tennessee grove, then I need to turn my business around. Fast.”

“Well, I’ll be there at high noon. There’s no way I’m going to pass up one of your enchanted pies.” After a moment’s hesitation, she added, “Unless it’s going to give me the urge to take my clothes off. It is way too cold to go streaking through the town square.”

Ella Mae laughed. “Don’t worry; I won’t be injecting any feelings of lust into my pies.” At the mention of lust, her merriment vanished. “My dates with Hugh haven’t exactly been hot and heavy.”

“Do you want them to be?”

“You have no idea how much,” Ella Mae said, turning on lights in the kitchen and dining room. She paused for a moment to consider how long she’d waited to be with Hugh Dylan. She had fallen in love with him in junior high, but he’d been too captivated by Loralyn to notice her. Following her college graduation, Ella Mae had married Sloane Kitteridge and moved to Manhattan. Seven years later, after leaving her cheating husband and returning to Havenwood, she soon realized that her feelings for Hugh were unchanged. She was just as hopelessly in love him as she’d been as a gawky teenager. And now Hugh was courting her in an old-fashioned and rather chaste manner. Ella Mae would have preferred things to be a little less chaste. “On one hand,” she continued to answer Suzy’s question, “it’s been nice to have gotten to know each other all over again. I didn’t think it was possible to love him more than before, but I do.”

“And on the other hand?”

Ella Mae touched the framed four-leaf clover hanging over the cash register. “Loving him shouldn’t make me miserable, but how do I do this, Suzy? How can I be with Hugh, knowing I’ll always keep secrets from him, knowing I’ll have to lie to him again and again, knowing I can never show him who I really am?”

“You get used to it,” Suzy said gently. “Secrets are the only way to protect those who aren’t like us. Do you know what happens to people who suddenly start believing in magic? They end up in psych wards.”

“I understand that, and I know keeping these kinds of secrets have worked for other couples, like Aunt Verena and Uncle Buddy, but what if things get really serious with Hugh? What if we get married? He’ll have no idea what he’s gotten himself into and I won’t be able to tell him.”

Suzy hesitated. “You can solve that riddle after you get your hands on a Flower of Life. You don’t need to stress about that now.”

Ella Mae smiled. “One miracle at a time, right? I should get started on today’s culinary miracles. See you at noon.”

By the time Reba arrived, Ella Mae had a dozen breakfast pies in the oven and had begun to mix graham crackers and butter to make crusts for some of the dessert pies.

“No country music this mornin’?” Reba asked as she slipped her apron over her head. Like Ella Mae’s, it was peach and had been embroidered with a rolling pin and the phrase, “That’s How I Roll.”

“Nope, this kind of magic requires Elvis. We’re going to fill every chair today,” Ella Mae said.

Reba grinned. “I like the sound of that. What are today’s specials?”

“A pork and apple pie with a cheddar cheese crust, a winter vegetable tart, and a hearty beef and ale pie. For dessert, we have warm chocolate tarts, caramelized pear and hazelnut turnovers, apple and pomegranate cobbler, and dulce de leche pie. Everything will make our customers feel cozy and cheerful.”

“Talk of yesterday’s impromptu concert is all over town, so I expect us to be real busy. I hope you’re plannin’ on givin’ a few of these pies that extra sparkle.”

Ella Mae nodded. “Not just a few, Reba. All of them.”

Reba’s eyes went wide. “Then I’d better get the coffee brewin’. You and I had better drink a whole pot before I hang the open sign.”

• • •

Ella Mae hadn’t felt so good in months. There hadn’t been an empty seat in the dining room for either the breakfast or lunch services. All day long, the murmur of conversation and merry laughter had drifted around The Charmed Pie Shoppe, mingling with the aroma of buttery dough, melted cheese, warm chocolate, and baking fruit. By the time Ella Mae’s aunts arrived, Reba’s apron pocket was stuffed with cash.

“Best tips I’ve had in ages!” she declared, carrying the last of the dirty dishes into the kitchen.

Verena was close on her heels. “What did you put in those pies, Ella Mae?”

“Memories. The snowflake mittens Reba knit for me, a handful of plump marshmallows bobbing in a cup of hot chocolate, the feeling of sinking into a steaming tub of water at the end of a long day, winding a soft scarf around my neck, holding my hands in front of a roaring fire. Warm, happy thoughts.”

Reba waved a licorice twist at Ella Mae. “Well, your memories sure did the trick. We filled a dozen takeout orders too. Another few weeks like this and you’ll need another waitress and a delivery driver. And then there’s the winter carnival.”

Sissy performed a graceful twirl as she entered the kitchen. “It is such a delight to see your gifts in action, my talented niece. People are walking down the street, arm in arm, smiling as if they can’t even feel the cold.”

Dee hooked her thumbs under the straps of her overalls. “Since we’re all here, I wanted to tell you that we’ve decided to open our homes to those in need of shelter, but most will end up at Partridge Hill.” She studied Ella Mae. “How will you organize living arrangements and job placement for these people while running your pie shop?”

“You need a manager!” Verena announced. “Someone from their grove who’s well liked and can act as a liaison between our two communities.”

Ella Mae nodded. “I’ll ask Eira. She has a friend who works at the local coffee shop. This woman, Jenny Upton, probably knows everyone.”

“Eira’s the dancer, right? I cannot wait to meet her.” Sissy folded her hands over her heart. “Suzy told me all about her before she left clutching some book to her chest for dear life.”

After placing a beef and ale pie and three pear and hazelnut turnovers in a picnic basket, Ella Mae checked her watch. “It’s time. Dee, can we all pile in your car?”

“Sure. I’m assuming you’d like to get Charleston Chew from Canine to Five first?”

Reba answered for Ella Mae. “Do you know how many squirrels that dog can chase up there on the mountain? Of course we’re takin’ him.”

“Better bring your man a treat too!” Verena advised.

“I’m way ahead of you.” Ella Mae pointed to the white bakery box on the counter. “I made that one especially for Hugh.”

Verena threw her hands into the air. “I do not want to know what memories went into that pie. To me, you’ll always be a little girl with pigtails. Let’s move it, ladies!”

• • •

When Ella Mae entered Canine to Five, she was met by the usual cacophony of barks, yips, bays, and a growl or two. The woman behind the front desk smiled, gave Ella Mae a detailed report of Chewy’s activities for the day, and went off to collect him.

Ella Mae headed for Hugh’s office and found her boyfriend standing in the threshold with his back to the hall, talking on the phone. As owner of Canine to Five and one of Havenwood’s volunteer firefighters, Hugh was as busy as she was. Ella Mae tried to bring him homemade food whenever she could. Placing the pie on the floor, she studied her handsome man for a moment and then stepped up behind him and slid her arms around his waist.

He faltered midsentence and then covered her left hand with his. “Hey, Dan, something’s come up. Can I call you in the morning?”

Hugh tossed the phone onto the desk and turned around. “Hello, beautiful.” He smiled and traced the line of her jaw with his fingertip. “I missed you last night. I can’t remember what I used to do on Friday nights before you came along. How was the party?”

“It was okay. Loralyn and I managed not to pull each other’s hair out and Suzy enjoyed herself, which is all that matters.”

“It was nice of you to go so Suzy didn’t have to be there by herself,” Hugh said. “You’re a good friend.”

Ella Mae wanted to confess that it was Suzy who deserved his praise, but she couldn’t tell him about the book, what happened to her mother, or the Flower of Life. Instead, she kept another secret from him. Added another lie to a growing list of lies. “I would have liked to have danced with you,” she said, gazing into his brilliant blue eyes. “Tonight, I’m all yours.”

He kissed her lightly on the lips. “I like the sound of that.”

Ella Mae pulled away before his kiss became more demanding. She’d been avoiding his embrace too much lately, but whenever their lips met for any length of time, she felt a burning sensation. It wasn’t just the heat of desire she felt, but an actual, physical pain. It always started slowly, like a spark igniting against her skin, but the more she and Hugh kissed, the more the fiery feeling intensified. At first, Ella Mae had assumed that the bizarre reaction had something to do with magic, but Hugh hadn’t come to the grove for the harvest festival, and that meant that he was human.

Or something else, Ella Mae silently thought. If there are nymphs and assassins called Shadow Children in the world, who knows what other creatures live among us?

“I brought you a pie.” Ella Mae took the box off the floor and put it on Hugh’s desk.

He frowned. “That’s not fair. You won’t let me give you a discount for Chewy’s care and yet you’re constantly bringing me food.”

“This is dessert,” Ella Mae said, grabbing his hand. “You can make me dinner.”

Hugh grinned. “Deal. Meet me here at seven and bring a swimsuit.”

Ella Mae wasn’t sure she’d heard him correctly. “What?”

He ran his thumb over the back of her hand. “Trust me, I’ve been thinking about this for a long time. A hundred times a day. I want to be with you, Ella Mae. In every way. Is that all right? Are you ready?”

She knew exactly what he was saying. Her throat turned dry and her heart began hammering. “Yes,” she whispered and thought back to the only time they’d ever come close to making love. It had been late November and they’d been caught in a thunderstorm running from a restaurant to Hugh’s truck. Once inside, they started kissing. Ella Mae had peeled off Hugh’s soaked shirt and he’d unbuttoned her drenched blouse. For some reason, the water had acted as a buffer and there’d been no pain when they kissed.

“Are you thinking of that rainy night?” Hugh asked now, pulling her from the memory. “Because I’ve thought of little else since then. I don’t know why we react to each other the way we do, but there has to be a way to deal with it. Let me show you what I have in mind.”

“Yes,” she said again. “Yes.”

And then they heard the scrabble of Chewy’s paws on the tile floor, and together they moved into the hall.

“Hey, boy!” Ella Mae bent down to greet her terrier. Taking Chewy’s leash from Hugh’s assistant, she gave Hugh a smile filled with promise and then left.

“What took so long?” Reba demanded after Ella Mae and Chewy got into the car.

Sissy giggled like a schoolgirl. “Look at her face! What do you think took so long?” She sighed theatrically. “Oh, to be young and beautiful and in love.”

Reba and Ella Mae’s aunts reminisced about the men they’d known in their youth all the way to Havenwood Mountain Park. As Dee’s car climbed higher and higher into the blue green hills, the sky began to darken, turning a smoky pewter.

“This is what I hate most about winter,” Dee said. “How early night comes. It’s not even five and I can see the moon already.”

“And it’s so cold,” Ella Mae said. “I don’t remember it being this cold. Look at the lake. It’s covered with a shimmer of ice.”

Below them, Lake Havenwood sparkled like a mirror. The town seemed frozen too. The shops and houses huddled together around its shore like children gathered around a campfire.

Dee pulled the car into the lot near the entrance to the park’s hiking trails. “Where’s your friend?” she asked Ella Mae.

“Eira’s bully of a husband probably refused to let her meet me.”

Sissy put her arms around Chewy, who gave her a lick on the cheek. “Poor woman. From what you told us, it sounded like she was keen on seeking sanctuary in our grove.”

“We’d best get goin’,” Reba said. “We’ve got lots to tell Adelaide.”

At the mention of her mother’s name, Ella Mae was suddenly impatient to unburden herself, to share her worries and cares in the tranquility of the glade where her mother stood, graceful and alone.

She hurried up the winding path, turning her face away from the sharp, probing wind. Because she had a head start on Reba and her aunts, Ella Mae was by herself when she rounded the last bend in the trail. To the right, a sea of treetops stretched on and on. Straight ahead was the rock wall that signaled the path’s end for anyone who wasn’t magical. But something else was there at the base of the boulder.

Ella Mae hesitated just long enough to realize that the crumpled mass was a body. A woman’s body.

“Reba!” she shouted. Rushing forward, she dropped to her knees.

The woman was lying in the fetal position with her long legs pulled up to her chest. She wore only a gray sweater, an ivory skirt and tights, and a pair of silver ballet flats. Her face was milk white, as were her lips and fingers. Her eyes were closed.

“Do you know this girl?” Reba asked softly.

There was a sheen of frost covering the young woman from her crown to the tip of her shoes and as the last rays of the setting sun shone on her face, the miniscule pieces of ice sparkled like tiny stars. She looked like a fairy-tale princess, cursed to sleep until a prince would come along and free her. But no man could wake this princess with a kiss. The girl who’d once danced the dance of the snowflakes had become one herself. White and cold and fleeting in its beauty.

Ella Mae reached out, her fingertips hovering above the dead woman’s hand. Bowing her head, she whispered, “This is Eira. This is the woman who asked for our help, who needed sanctuary.” She turned to Reba, tears pooling in her eyes. “She was so close. So close.”