Swallow the Moon Page 21
"We need to go." Eric put his arm around June's shoulders. "It's after noon. It will be dark before we get home."
June hugged the kids, then she pulled two sets of keys from her pocket. She handed one set to Ken, hugged him, then gave the second set to Beth. With Eric by her side, she left her house for the final time. She walked past the garage where she could smell the paint she'd used to cover up her protective circle. There was only a faint, lingering tingle of magic in the garage. In time, even that would fade.
She heard the patter of feet inside the garage. Her niece was dancing with one of her dolls, her feet following the outline of the circle that had been painted over.
Maybe there would be another generation of Wiccans in this house.
Eric opened the Explorer's door for her. The back was packed with her clothes.
They left the driveway and headed south. They held hands and talked about the new house and the new job waiting for June. They drove west to pass through the suburbs of Cleveland, south through Columbus; it was already dusk when they drove through Cincinnati. They crossed the Ohio River into Kentucky, but had a couple of hours left.
"Almost home," Eric remarked awhile later as he checked traffic in the mirrors. He took the exit off the highway to a wide paved road.
June was tired. She'd had mixed emotions all day – happy and anxious to get started in her new life – sad and afraid because she was leaving her home and family behind. She rubbed the ring on her finger the way she used to rub her worry stone.
"Smile." Eric was looking at her. "You are getting that 'deer in the headlights' look again."
June smiled.
"Just a few more miles," he assured her.
They were deep into horse country. Thoroughbred farms with their black double fences dominated the night with their lighted barns. They turned off onto a side road. Eric slowed down to turn into a tree-lined driveway. The white house had dark windows – until Eric did something on his cell phone. The house came to life – light shining from every window.
"It's cute." June leaned forward to get a better look at the house she'd seen only once. Eric had been living here for a couple of months, working on the house at night.
"What do you want to do? Check it out or grab a bag?"
"Check it out!" She opened her door. "I can't wait to see what you've done to it!"
"You are going to love it." He caught up to her before she could slip into the house. "Wait a second." He held her hand while he unlocked the door. He handed her the keys, then scooped her up to carry her across the threshold.
"Welcome home!"
~^~
June was sorting boxes of books when she found Aunt Lizzie's scrap book. This was the book that the ghosts didn't want her to see.
She caressed the book before she opened it. It was part diary, part photo album. June understood her Aunt better as she leafed through the album. Lizzie went to California in the 1960's. She'd been a hippy, living in a commune, studying herbal remedies and shamanism.
There were a lot of Polaroid pictures of life in the commune. Many of them featured Aunt Lizzie and a heavy set young man. They seemed to be a very happy couple.
A loose photo slid from the back of the book.
It was a picture of her aunt in a granny dress and the heavy set young man dressed in bell bottoms, beads and a lacy shirt. Both the young people had long hair. They were holding hands in front of an art exhibition.
The caption was "Me and Billie Vanchenzo," but the sign for the gallery read "The Air-brush Art of Van Man Go."
June looked at the two people in the picture – so young and full of promise – and cried.
###
About the Author:
K. A. Jordan is a refugee from the Rust Belt of Ohio, who escaped to the Blue Grass of Kentucky in 1992. She writes and blogs from 'Jordan's Croft' a small farm where she lives with her husband, a retired Army Staff Sergeant.
She holds a degree in Applied Science, rides American Quarter horses, gardens and can often be found on the back of her husband's Suzuki M109 motorcycle.
She says of her writing: "I write the stories that I want to read and can't find - complex characters, twisty plots and contemporary settings. I believe readers want stories that appeal to the mind and the heart. There are no 'ripped bodices' in my fiction but you might find criminals, wounded heroes, mad artists and an occasional haunted motorcycle."
Author pages:
Amazon USA: http://www.amazon.com/K.-A.-Jordan/e/B003YCWKAY
Amazon UK: http://www.amazon.co.uk/K.-A.-Jordan/e/B003YCWKAY
Email: kajordan@bbtel.com
Blog: http://jordanscroft.blogspot.com
Other Books by K. A. Jordan:
"Let's Do Lunch" – Romantic Suspense
Lindsey Bennett is caught between two men, one will tease her, the other will use her – both are capable of killing.
A business owner at the mercy of her employees, Lindsey Bennett of the restaurant "Let's Do Lunch," finds her employees have no mercy. When Lindsey drops everything to be her injured mother's caregiver, relying on her sister to run the restaurant proves to be a mistake. Lindsey's trusted cook quits, the new cook changes the menu, her sister hires a waitress who can't run a register and money comes up missing. When a bug gets in a customer's food, Lindsey could lose it all! Somebody should get fired. But once she's back in charge, Lindsey finds that hiring is easier than firing.
More problems arise with the men in her life. Her new chef Brandon Pendleton – smart, sexy, fast living: he's the life of every party. Sergeant Kevin "Tag" McTaggart – handsome, aloof, this wounded warrior's blue eyes see into the depths of her soul. One will tease her until she gives up all her secrets. The other is out to use her and her restaurant.
Surrounded by criminals, deceived on all sides, and catapulted from crisis to crisis, can Lindsey stay focused? Her restaurant and her life are at stake.