believe he’d remain a man. If curses
were real. She sighed as a smidgeon of doubt filtered into her thoughts.
Did she truly believe this?
Caledonia read the next line. What did love have to do with
this? Thinking about it, love had a lot to do with it. Mary lingered, caught
between heaven and Earth because of her unwavering love for Struan. Mary didn’t
know if he felt the same for her. According to her, he never actually spoke the
words. But in her heart, she believed he did. Caledonia leaned back in her
chair.
What would it be like to experience a love like what Mary
felt for Struan? She closed her eyes and tried to visualize anyone who’d love
her strongly enough to beg the angels to let their spirit remain to guard her
cursed and trapped soul for all eternity—or until someone found her and set her
free, whichever came first. She opened her eyes and knew only her parents loved
her like that.
A tap on her door snapped her from her thoughts.
“Caledonia, are you well?” The sweet lilt of her mother’s
brogue filtered through the door.
“Aye,” Caledonia replied as she opened the door. “I
overslept.”
“Nay, you didn’t oversleep. I heard the shower and know you
didn’t stop working until the wee hours o’ the morning. Your body needed the
rest so it took it.” She walked into the room with a tray resting on her hip.
She set it down on the desk. “I made your breakfast. Your poppa’s already down
at the shed. He said not to wake you. So I didn’t. I waited to hear you moving
about before I came up.”
Caledonia couldn’t help but smile. Her parents had the best
relationship. It’s what she wanted and thought she had when she married Kip.
The thought of him chased the smile from her lips so she quickly lifted the
teacup and blew across its rim. No need for Momma to see her smile disappear.
Any discussion of Kip always upset Momma and that was the last thing Caledonia
wanted.
A soft mew and the brush of fur against her ankle made her
almost snort tea through her nose. Even before she looked down, she knew the
source. She set her cup on the desk and scooped up the tiny, gray kitten. It
had the oddest jet-black stripe running from the bridge of its nose down its
back to the tip of its tail, giving it a distinctive appearance.
“I see we’ve gained another stray to the brood,” Caledonia
said as she stroked the velvet-soft kitten. Big blue eyes stared up at her
while it attached its claws to her robe as if afraid Caledonia would drop him.
“Not a stray,” Momma proclaimed proudly as she detached the
kitten from Caledonia’s robe. She took it and snuggled it close. Extreme joy
showed on her face. “Tabby had a litter. We now have five new editions to our
brood. You’re going to love the little buggers when you see them.”
“So that’s where she went.” It was good to know Tabby had
returned safely. She’d become the family pet and when she disappeared for a few
weeks, Momma was heartbroken. Seeing her with this new kitten made Caledonia’s
smile return because she knew it healed Momma’s heart.
Tabby was near death when she landed on the stoop about a
year ago, and didn’t leave like the others once they were well. Momma never
turned away a stray animal, especially an injured one. It didn’t matter that
they lived on a tight budget. She somehow managed to make ends meet, fed the
stragglers and healed whatever illness the animal might have when it showed up.
But that was Momma, tenderhearted and loving.
Caledonia plopped into her chair. Did Momma believe in
curses? She was the one who enlightened Caledonia to the fact that spirits
walked among them. She taught her to recognize the signs that a spirit may be
near. A chill in the air when there was otherwise none, a scent or fragrance
that seemed out of place or a faint vision of a person in the form of a shadow
or transparent figure. If anyone could help with this, it would be Momma.
“What’s your opinion of
were real. She sighed as a smidgeon of doubt filtered into her thoughts.
Did she truly believe this?
Caledonia read the next line. What did love have to do with
this? Thinking about it, love had a lot to do with it. Mary lingered, caught
between heaven and Earth because of her unwavering love for Struan. Mary didn’t
know if he felt the same for her. According to her, he never actually spoke the
words. But in her heart, she believed he did. Caledonia leaned back in her
chair.
What would it be like to experience a love like what Mary
felt for Struan? She closed her eyes and tried to visualize anyone who’d love
her strongly enough to beg the angels to let their spirit remain to guard her
cursed and trapped soul for all eternity—or until someone found her and set her
free, whichever came first. She opened her eyes and knew only her parents loved
her like that.
A tap on her door snapped her from her thoughts.
“Caledonia, are you well?” The sweet lilt of her mother’s
brogue filtered through the door.
“Aye,” Caledonia replied as she opened the door. “I
overslept.”
“Nay, you didn’t oversleep. I heard the shower and know you
didn’t stop working until the wee hours o’ the morning. Your body needed the
rest so it took it.” She walked into the room with a tray resting on her hip.
She set it down on the desk. “I made your breakfast. Your poppa’s already down
at the shed. He said not to wake you. So I didn’t. I waited to hear you moving
about before I came up.”
Caledonia couldn’t help but smile. Her parents had the best
relationship. It’s what she wanted and thought she had when she married Kip.
The thought of him chased the smile from her lips so she quickly lifted the
teacup and blew across its rim. No need for Momma to see her smile disappear.
Any discussion of Kip always upset Momma and that was the last thing Caledonia
wanted.
A soft mew and the brush of fur against her ankle made her
almost snort tea through her nose. Even before she looked down, she knew the
source. She set her cup on the desk and scooped up the tiny, gray kitten. It
had the oddest jet-black stripe running from the bridge of its nose down its
back to the tip of its tail, giving it a distinctive appearance.
“I see we’ve gained another stray to the brood,” Caledonia
said as she stroked the velvet-soft kitten. Big blue eyes stared up at her
while it attached its claws to her robe as if afraid Caledonia would drop him.
“Not a stray,” Momma proclaimed proudly as she detached the
kitten from Caledonia’s robe. She took it and snuggled it close. Extreme joy
showed on her face. “Tabby had a litter. We now have five new editions to our
brood. You’re going to love the little buggers when you see them.”
“So that’s where she went.” It was good to know Tabby had
returned safely. She’d become the family pet and when she disappeared for a few
weeks, Momma was heartbroken. Seeing her with this new kitten made Caledonia’s
smile return because she knew it healed Momma’s heart.
Tabby was near death when she landed on the stoop about a
year ago, and didn’t leave like the others once they were well. Momma never
turned away a stray animal, especially an injured one. It didn’t matter that
they lived on a tight budget. She somehow managed to make ends meet, fed the
stragglers and healed whatever illness the animal might have when it showed up.
But that was Momma, tenderhearted and loving.
Caledonia plopped into her chair. Did Momma believe in
curses? She was the one who enlightened Caledonia to the fact that spirits
walked among them. She taught her to recognize the signs that a spirit may be
near. A chill in the air when there was otherwise none, a scent or fragrance
that seemed out of place or a faint vision of a person in the form of a shadow
or transparent figure. If anyone could help with this, it would be Momma.
“What’s your opinion of
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