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The first thing I noticed when LeAnne opened the door was she wasn’t wearing her glasses. The second thing that jumped out at me, in addition to the orange aura, was the glow in her eyes. My pulse ratcheted up a notch as I looked for Georgia while I guarded my thoughts, masked myself from LeAnne.
LeAnne was wearing sweats. Not unusual for a woman whose body was snapping back after a pregnancy, but the other times I’d met her, she’d been in a dress or ‘business casual’ type pants and tops. Then again, what did I know about maternity clothes? She had a right to be comfortable in her own home.
“You’re looking well.” My voice came out breathy. Would she notice? I shook my head. LeAnne had come to me in search of family. I chose to anticipate the best, rather than the worst from her. “You sure Jason won’t be upset you’ve invited me over?”
“What he doesn’t know won’t hurt him, and I’m determined to find out more about his family. There’s always a chance you might need information about a health issue, and I find it hard to believe his parents wouldn’t want to meet their grandchildren.”
I took her words at face value, declining to comment on what Aunt Theresa and Uncle Jerome would or wouldn’t want. I was the last person who would know. “I hope you don’t mind I brought my cat along. Georgia seems to love her.”
“I think she’d like that.”
I glanced around, no sign of Georgia or the baby. “Is the baby sleeping?”
Georgia came running from a hall I suspected led to the bedrooms and launched herself at my legs. “Aunt Bwinn.”
“Hey, little girl. I’ve missed you.” I swept her into my arms and hugged her. She clung to my neck. “And look, Ash came to visit, too.” I opened the basket and Ash leapt out, dropping to the floor to roll around.
Georgia snuggled closer, setting off more warning bells inside my head.
“Is Remy sleeping?” LeAnne asked Georgia.
“Yes, Mommy.” She pulled away and rubbed her eyes with her fists—eyes that looked bruised from lack of sleep.
“You look tired, too,” I said. “Is it nap time?”
“The baby doesn’t sleep through the night,” LeAnne said. “He’s keeping us all awake, I’m afraid.”
“Would you like a nap now?” I asked Georgia.
Georgia glanced at LeAnne, then nodded and burrowed closer. I carried her to the sofa and sat down, but she was in no hurry to leave my lap. Ash leapt up beside us, nuzzling Georgia’s legs.
LeAnne sat in a chair opposite. “I’m so pleased she’s taken to you,” she said. “Think how much the rest of Jason’s family would love her if they had the chance to meet her.”
The rest of the family. Like Jeannine? Not that Jeannine didn’t love her, more like she didn’t know how. Georgia represented what had been stolen from Jeannine. What would Aunt Theresa do when she discovered Jason had not one, but two children?
“Georgia has been a blessing,” LeAnne went on. “She’s such a help to me with Remy, and I can tell he already loves his big sister.”
I shifted while Georgia’s sweet, warm weight grew heavier. “I’m sure that’s true, but there’s only so much a three-year-old can do, right?” I eased her onto the sofa and Ash curled against her.
“She sings to him. And she likes to give him his bottle.” LeAnne tilted her head. “It’s the funniest thing. You remember that old Beatles song? Not Bluebird, the other one. I can’t think of it just now, but she sings it to him. I can’t imagine where she might have learned it.”
From me. Or had Jason sung Blackbird to her? He might have heard my mother sing it to me. Then again, Jason didn’t seem the type. Once again, I considered how little I knew about my cousin.
“I’m surprised your mother isn’t here to help you out while Jason’s gone,” I said. “Is your family in the area?”
“I suppose that’s one of the things Jason and I have in common, our strained relationships. My parents kicked me out when I was eighteen.”
Something we had in common, too—sort of. “I’m sorry to hear. You seem to have landed on your feet. How did you and Jason meet?”
“I had a health insurance claim the company was disputing,” she said. “They assigned Jason to my case. We talked on the phone fairly regularly for a while. He was so helpful, and when the issue was finally resolved, I had to pick up my check at the insurance office. As soon as I met him, I knew there was something special about him. I guess he felt the same way, because when I asked him to dinner to celebrate, he accepted. I ended up getting a job working at Wisconsin Global and the rest, as they say, is history. We were married three months later.”
I wasn’t able to hide my surprise. “That was quick.”
“When you know, you know. We spent hours talking. Him about his family, me about mine. And then when Jeannine told us you lived right here in Hillendale, I couldn’t believe he wasn’t interested in reconnecting. You’re the one person I wanted to meet most.”
I twisted as if a spider crawled up my spine. “Why me?”
In the other room, the baby cried. Georgia startled, sat up and rubbed her eyes. She cried, too, but hopped from my lap and ran down the hall.
LeAnne smiled after her. “She’s such a little mother.”
Ash sat tall and issued a mournful meow, one of few I’d ever heard from her.
“We should see if anything’s wrong,” I said.
LeAnne sighed. “I suppose he might need a change. Georgia can’t manage that quite yet.”
I pinched my fingers, widened them, fighting the negative energy, calling on the white light. I pushed to my feet and forced a smile. “I’ve been waiting to meet your new little man. Sounds like now’s my chance.”
I headed down the hall Georgia had followed and found her inside the bedroom I’d seen in my astral visit. Her sock monkey was still where I’d left it.
Tears streamed down Georgia’s face as she clutched the slats on the side of the crib. “Don’t cry, Wemy.”
My heart wrenched. This was not normal behavior, new mother or not. Maybe LeAnne had post-partum depression. I walked past Georgia and scooped the little boy from his crib.
“What’s wrong, little man?” I crooned as I rocked him in my arms. Immediately, the baby quieted, staring at me with blue eyes. I held him out and sniffed his bottom, which reeked of urine. “Let’s change your diaper, shall we?” I looked around the room and found the changing table and a package of diapers.
His diaper weighed almost as much as he did, and his skin was red and mottled. “Oh, baby,” I whispered.
“I swear,” LeAnne said, whooshing past me to take over. “It comes out faster than it goes in. I can’t believe how much this kid pees.”
I wanted to believe I’d misjudged LeAnne’s inattentiveness, or rather, she wanted me to believe that, but the whole scenario didn’t feel right. Before she fastened the new diaper, a fountain rose from the baby and hit LeAnne in the chest.
“Now I have to change my shirt,” she fumed, and walked away from the baby. Who was still on the changing table, his diaper half-changed.
Georgia cried again.
I set Georgia on the changing table beside the baby and finished diapering Remy. “Mommy’s tired, like you’re tired. She needs a nap.” I winked for emphasis, and yet my heart broke for these children. Was LeAnne like this when Jason was home? I considered how frightened Georgia had been when I’d visited her dreams the first time, telling me Daddy was mad.
Outside the window, a mourning dove perched in the tree, cooing softly. Echoing Georgia’s unhappiness.
“I knew you’d understand,” LeAnne said. She stood behind me, wearing a new sweatshirt. “When Jason told me about you, I’d hoped by combining our bloodlines my daughter would be a powerful witch, but I never expected her power to manifest itself so early. Think of all the things we can do with that power.”
Well. No beating around the bush there. She undoubtedly saw the magic in me as plainly as I saw it in her.
“What does Jason think of all this?” I asked.
“I can manage Jason. He’s never guessed that I’m different, and I’m sure he’ll have a change of heart with you. In fact, we could hire you as a nanny.” Her eyes glittered, sending me an uncomfortable jolt.
“I have my business to run.”
LeAnne ignored me and turned to Georgia. “What do you think? Shouldn’t Aunt Brynn live with us?”
“Aunt Bwinn?” Sniffling, Georgia tucked her head into my neck once more.
Time to go. And I wanted to take the children with me. “I promised Kyle I wouldn’t be long. Let me send him a text.” I laid the baby in the crib and Georgia on the floor. Ash dashed in and walked circles around Georgia. When I tried to pull my phone from my pocket, I couldn’t move.