Spellbound Falls by Janet Chapman Page A

that sad? Henry doesn’t have
anything
to remind him of his mother.”
“He has his memories, sweetie.”
“But he’s only six. He’s going to forget if he hasn’t got pictures. Sometimes I can’t remember what Daddy looked like when he wasn’t wearing his uniform, so I dig out our photo albums.” Her tiny hands pressed deeper into Olivia’s cheeks. “Please can we take them with us tomorrow? Andwhen you have a chance, could you ask Mac to get a picture of Henry’s mom for him so he won’t forget what she looks like?”
Four hours. All she wanted—all she looked forward to all week—was four hours every Sunday alone with her daughter: away from Inglenook, away from John and Eileen, and away from anything that reminded her of Keith.
“Okay,” she said with a quiet sigh. “Tomorrow at breakfast you can invite Henry and Mr. Oceanus to come with us.”
Sophie threw her arms around Olivia’s neck with a squeal of excitement. “Oh, thank you! He’s going to be so happy!” She pulled away and ran into the hall toward her bedroom. “And we can fly the kites Gram bought us today.” She hopped into bed, burrowing under the blankets when Olivia sat down beside her. “So the surprise place you pick out this week needs to have a really big field.”
She had planned on disappearing for the entire day and driving down to Bangor to take Sophie to a movie and do some shopping, their picnic being in a really nice restaurant for a change. Only that plan was blown to hell now, thanks to the big old sappy heart Sophie had inherited from her.
And the don’t-take-any-prisoners determination she’d gotten from the Baldwins.
Olivia gave her daughter a kiss on the forehead and stood up. “I’ll make sure there’s room for kite flying,” she promised. She shut off the bedside lamp. “And don’t take too long talking to your daddy tonight, okay? You’re up at the crack of dawn with me tomorrow, so we can find a safe place for Tinkerbelle to raise her kittens. The hay truck is coming in a couple of weeks, and we need to move her out of the loft so she can get used to a new nursery for them.”
“The kittens would be safe in my bedroom closet.”
Olivia stopped in the doorway. “Tink’s a barn cat, sweetie, and likes to come and go as she pleases. Even a beautiful home like ours would feel like a prison to her.”
“Mom?
Are
you ever going to get married again?”
“Not in the foreseeable future, I’m not.”
The young girl gave a soft snort as she folded her handson her stomach and looked up at the ceiling. “I guess you would need to get a
boyfriend
first in order to get a husband.” Olivia saw the blankets shudder. “Just as long as it’s not Simon Maher.” Sophie lifted her head to make a face at her. “Ezra told Gram today that Simon is moving to Spellbound Falls. You know he’s going to keep bugging you to go out with him if you don’t just tell him to get lost.” She bolted fully upright. “Or unless you got another boyfriend first. I know; maybe Mac could be your boyfriend.”
“Don’t even go there, young lady.”
“But he’s really big and handsome and strong looking, and a whole lot closer to your age. Simon wouldn’t dare keep bugging you if Mac was your boyfriend.”
“Sophie.”
“And next time we went to the Drunken Moose, I’d get to finish my oatmeal.”
“Sophie.”
“And you wouldn’t have to hide from everyone anymore.” She beamed Olivia a brilliant smile. “Because Mac would protect you, just like he protected you from Mark the bastard.”
“Sophie! You don’t
ever
call anyone a bastard, young lady.” She stepped back into the room. “Who told you about Mark?”
The blankets pulled up to her chin, Sophie’s cheeks turned a dull red. “Henry did,” she squeaked, her eyes widening as she slapped a hand over her mouth. “But you can’t tell him I told you! And please don’t tell Mac, either. It’s my fault; I kept bugging Henry until he told me how you really hurt