Page 17 of Dream Weaver (Spellbound in Sedona #3)

ABBY

My hands were still shaking that evening, hours after I’d arrived at the school to find Claire buried in Cooper’s arms. She’d hugged me tightly when I rushed over, and I’d held her a long, long time.

I’d thanked Cooper and the principal so many times, they begged me to stop.

I promised Claire everything would be all right just as often, but she clung to me for hours.

Too shaken to work, I swapped cars at the shop, took the afternoon off, and headed home. Cooper followed us most of the way, just in case — a case I really, really didn’t want to think about.

Before splitting up, I thanked him another hundred times, and every time, he’d murmured the same two words.

“All good.”

Words I repeated to myself for the next few hours, letting his deep voice echo in my mind.

All good. All good. Somehow.

Claire put on a brave face, and feeding and grooming the horses helped too. But even after I’d tucked her into bed that evening, she wouldn’t let me leave her.

Good, because I never wanted to go.

“I don’t have to go with Jay, do I?” she whimpered.

My heart bled. Like mother, like daughter — we both called our fathers by their first names.

“He said he was getting cusdody,” Claire fretted away.

Cusdody . She couldn’t spell it, but she sure knew what it meant.

“No. Never. I won’t let him.” Then my voice cracked. Words couldn’t capture how I felt, but I tried. “I’m so, so sorry I was late, sweetie.”

She patted my back. “It’s okay, Mommy. Cooper was there.”

I held on to her, wishing Cooper were part of that embrace.

“I’m so glad he was,” I murmured.

“I’m glad too.”

The understatement of the year. Cooper was convinced the principal could have held Jay off on her own, but Claire would have been doubly traumatized without her big, strong buddy there.

I held her tightly, cursing myself again and again. I’d let her down. My own daughter. How could I?

“Go to sleep, sweetie.” I kissed her. “Dream good dreams.”

I caught myself too late to reel back the words.

“Will you help me?” Claire clutched my hand.

My heart cracked. She really believed I could. Once upon a time, I’d believed too. But not anymore.

On the other hand, I had woven magic into Kevin’s ax. I’d drawn power from the vortex on our ranch in times of need. And the new axes I was making now practically hummed with magic. So maybe…

I settled down beside Claire, then stroked her cheek gently. “You bet I will, sweetie.”

* * *

It was late — very late — when I finally wandered downstairs, but Pippa and Ingo were still there.

“Hi,” my sister whispered, forcing a smile.

My reply was all scratchy. “Hi.”

A shadow fell over the moonlight filtering in through the window, and I peeked out.

“Erin and Nash are keeping an eye on things, just in case,” Ingo explained.

I watched the dragon pair glide through the inky night, illuminating it with small puffs of fire.

I’d always been grateful for my sisters — and for their partners — but I was doubly grateful two of them could shift into dragon form and two into wolves. The world’s best neighborhood watch program, right here on my ranch.

Plus one bear, a little voice whispered in my mind.

I pursed my lips, silently thanking Cooper. Dreaming, even, for him to come join us someday.

I took a deep breath. Did I dare weave that wish into my own dreams sometime?

But it was one thing to fill your mind with pleasant images for a night or two. It was another to make those dreams jump dimensions and come true — and living with the disappointment when you failed.

“Okay to talk?” Ingo asked softly.

I bit my lip. Did I look that unapproachable?

Yes, I realized. I did.

The thought filled me with shame.

“Yes. Please,” I added quickly. “Thanks.”

Some of the tension went out of his shoulders. “What can you tell me about this Liselle?”

I told him everything, down to any detail that might prove significant. Being in supernatural law enforcement, Ingo knew much more about such things than I did. So, I described the woman, her house, the brazier she wanted, and the mind-bending I suspected her of. I showed him the sketches I’d made, along with her card.

Ingo frowned at the runes. “Mind if I take a few pictures and send them to the agency?”

I gulped, looking at Pippa. As an agent of the ADMSA, Ingo was required to report suspicious supernatural activity. But as a member of our family, he had a duty to protect, and protect he did — including protecting us from the attention of that agency.

“Can you keep it incognito?” I asked.

“I’ll call it a routine check, and if they ask, I can say I have to protect my source. But I can’t promise that no one will start putting two and two together. I’ll do my best, though.”

I looked at Pippa, then nodded.

“Do it.” Then I hastened to add, “Thank you.”

While Ingo submitted the pictures through his phone, Pippa fingered Liselle’s business card.

“Very fancy,” she muttered. It wasn’t a compliment. “Embossed and everything.”

I nodded. “Some kind of flower, I think.”

A weird, spiky flower.

“Edelweiss,” Pippa mused.

My blood ran cold, and I stared.

Pippa tilted her head. “What?”

I snatched it out of her hands. “Edelweiss? Are you sure?”

“Well, I’m no Heidi, and I’ve never been to the Alps, but yes, I’m sure.” She typed into her phone, then held up the image her search had turned up. “See? Edelweiss.”

I stared, then started sputtering. “My father stopped by the shop today—”

Pippa’s eyes went wide. “Your father was here?”

I made a face. “He was passing through, and he dropped into the shop.” I dug through my memory for what he had said.

It’s that damned Edelweiss Corporation again. They’ve been bought out by a couple of magic-wielders…

I explained to Ingo, who started typing into his phone.

“Edelweiss Corporation…” He waited, frowning at the screen. “Luxury property development with projects in Colorado, New Mexico, Montana, Oregon… All over the West, it looks like.” Another pause as he skimmed through what he’d found. “New partnership announced a few months ago with Steinmeier Associates…”

I made a face. “That would be that bitch, Liselle.”

I chastised myself, then decided it wasn’t snippy if it was the plain truth. What kind of person messed with someone’s child?

Ingo set his phone aside. “I can’t access classified agency files from here. We’ll have to wait until tomorrow to run a background check.” Then he rubbed his jaw and looked at me. “Actually, I could drive into town now if you don’t want to wait.”

My heart panged. Ingo truly was a good man. To think he’d started out on my red list…

Which only served as a reminder of what a bad judge of character I was and what other men I might have misclassified…like Cooper.

“Thanks, but it can wait,” I said.

Pippa tapped her lips. “Then there’s the question of Jay…”

That shithead, I nearly growled.

“Is it a coincidence that he turned up now? With a lawyer, no less?” Pippa went on.

My mind saw evil connections everywhere, but maybe I wasn’t the best judge. So I did my best to stick with the facts.

“Two things don’t sit well with me,” I started, though several hundred would be a closer estimate. “Jay hates lawyers. He would never get it in his head to hire one. And he certainly doesn’t have the money to pay one.”

“So, who would?” Pippa scrunched up her face, thinking. “And why? What kind of person would bother getting involved with someone else and their kid?”

“Someone who cares about Jay’s relationship with Claire?” Ingo tried.

I snorted. “Jay doesn’t care about his relationship with Claire. Why would anyone else?”

“Good point,” Ingo conceded. “That leaves someone who stands to gain from all this.”

We all went quiet, stumped.

Then Ingo’s expression changed, and he looked at me.

I tilted my head. “What?”

He hesitated, like I was a dog who’d snapped at him too many times. And, hell. I probably had.

Finally, he spoke. “What if we turn the proposition around? Maybe it’s not about who gains from Jay getting custody, but who stands to lose.”

“Claire,” I answered immediately.

Pippa and Ingo looked at each other, then at me.

“Claire and you ,” Pippa said gently.

True, but I couldn’t follow her train of thought.

“Awarding custody would give Jay power over you ,” Ingo emphasized.

“Why would he want that? What do I have control of that he — or someone else — wants?” I asked.

Pippa paled, and a heartbeat later, I did too.

“The ranch,” we both said at the same time.

Ingo took it from there. “That warlock — whatshisname…”

“Harlon Greene,” I practically spat.

“Right. Him,” Ingo agreed. “If he was interested in this property, then another witch or warlock could also be for…er, similar reasons.”

Ingo was putting it delicately, but we all knew what those reasons were. The secret vortex — or vortexes — on our property.

The room went quiet. So quiet, I could hear the horses nicker outside.

“Maybe Harlon told someone else about the ranch.” Pippa looked at Ingo. “Is there a way to check on his closest associates?”

Ingo looked grim. “Another thing I need the agency database to check.”

They both looked at me.

Impatient as I was, I shook my head. “Tomorrow.”

“The good news is, Erin called her dad, and he’s on his way,” Pippa said, pressing a cup of tea into my hand. “Mike will be here as soon as he can.” Her tone softened. “You know my dad would rush over too if he weren’t leading a fire crew.”

I nodded past the lump in my throat. I owed Mike and Greg so much. Claire did too.

I knew what they would say. You’re family. Of course we would do anything for you

“But he’ll come if we think we need help,” Pippa assured me.

Ingo patted her hand. “I don’t think that will be necessary, though.”

I prayed that wouldn’t be the case. But only time would tell.