Yesterday's Magic by Beverly Long Page A

to get out when
you’re feeling lower than a snake’s belly in a wagon track.”
    Aunt Freida definitely had a way with words.
Bella looked at Elizabeth, gauging her reaction, and she realized
that Elizabeth wasn’t focused on her aunt at all. She was staring
at Bella.
    “Hi,” Bella said, feeling awkward, hoping
like heck there was no egg yolk on her face. She had, after all,
almost inhaled her breakfast.
    “This is my niece, Bella,” Aunt Freida said,
waving an arm in her direction. “Bella, this is Elizabeth Clover.
She’s Jedidiah McNeil’s older sister.”
    Oh, yeah. Same blue-gray eyes. Same hair.
Elizabeth was a very feminine version of her younger brother. “I
met your brother yesterday,” Bella said.
    Elizabeth inspected the heel of her boot. “I
hope he was polite,” she said.
    She decided not to tell the big sister that
she’d had dreams about the little brother which had prodded her to
wake up and decide she needed a lover. “He’s quiet,” Bella
said.
    Aunt Freida took a step away. “I’ve got to
get this coffee going. I’ll be right back,” she said. “You’ve got
time to join us for a cup, don’t you, Elizabeth?”
    “I’d love that. It surely is cold. But you’ve
probably got ice on your well.”
    “I imagine.” Aunt Freida said. “Lucky for me,
I filled up my water barrel just yesterday. It’s colder earlier
this year than it has been in a long time.”
    Aunt Freida walked into the back room and
Bella knew that if she’d had her magic still, the first thing she’d
have done is whipped up a Starbucks.
    Elizabeth continued to stand in the middle of
the room. “Can I help you find something,” Bella asked, feeling as
awkward as the tallest girl at a junior high school dance.
    The woman sighed. “I’m sorry,” she said.
“I’ve never been a very good liar. I know you met my brother
yesterday. He came to see me last night after he’d left your Aunt’s
house.”
    “Oh.”
    “He seemed nervous,” Elizabeth said. “Talking
more than usual, about nothing really, while he paced around my
front room. It took him twenty minutes to finally tell me that he’d
had supper with the two of you.”
    Bella remembered the strangled I’ll be
there . “I’m not sure he was crazy about eating with us,” she
said.
    Elizabeth smiled. “He’s let work become too
important and sometimes he forgets the need to be social with
others.”
    Warmth spread from Bella’s stomach and
settled in her chest. This morning she’d been thinking about
getting very social with the good sheriff.
    “I said something that bothered him,” Bella
admitted.
    “What was that?”
    “I mentioned that the people in the stage had
been talking about him. He didn’t like that.”
    “Oh.” Elizabeth’s cheeks turned pink and she
looked five years younger. “He didn’t mention that. He’s a very
private person. I guess that’s what surprised me when he seemed to
want to talk about having supper with you and Freida.”
    “So you decided to check me out?”
    “ Check. You. Out ? ” Elizabeth
smiled and this time it reached her eyes. “Yes, I suppose I
did.”
    The door chimed, opened, and Jedidiah McNeil
filled the doorway. He stared at his sister, his face full of
concern. “I thought that was your rig. Is something wrong?”
    She shrugged, looking rather amused. “No. I
just thought a trip to town would do me good.”
    “You haven’t been to town in over a year,” he
said, his tone wary.
    Elizabeth looked at Bella, her face very
serious. “My husband died thirteen months ago. It was in the middle
of the fall harvest.”
    Bella’s heart broke for the woman. “That must
have been horrible for you.”
    She nodded. “Jedidiah told me last night that
you were a widow, too. I guess you would understand better than
most.”
    She hated this. She really, really hated
this. “Yes, that’s right.”
    “I think it’s wonderful that you came to stay
with Freida. Family is important at a time of