Page 30 of Dream Weaver (Spellbound in Sedona #3)

ABBY

Cooper was a champion kisser, and I never wanted that moment to end. It wasn’t every day a girl got a second — or third — chance at her dream man. But car engines sounded, and headlights cut through the night. Cooper and I whirled. With the dark clouds breaking up, the moon bathed the landscape in enough light to make out a convoy of four cars.

Cooper and I hurried toward the main house, intercepting the others there — everyone but Ingo and Mike, who kept watch over Harlon.

Two of the vehicles screeched to a halt by them, and a troop of armed men piled out. Armed to the teeth, in fact, just like the men who flooded out of the remaining two cars when they pulled up to the house.

Every dog on the ranch broke into frenzied barks. I stood beside my sisters and Claire on the porch, along with a snarling Roscoe.

“Great. Now what?” Pippa griped.

“This is the ADMSA. Everyone freeze!” one of the men ordered.

“This again?” I sighed.

“Again?” Cooper muttered.

Oops. Someday, I would have a lot of explaining to do.

“I said, hands up!” another agent boomed.

“Captain Edwards. What a pleasure,” Erin said without a hint of enthusiasm.

“Miss Sattler. Miss Martin. Miss Carson,” he grumbled.

You knew life had taken a wrong turn when the leader of a top-secret law enforcement agency knew your name by heart.

“Hello, Todd,” Pippa quipped, borrowing a page from our mother’s playbook.

“Captain Edwards. Captain Tom Edwards,” he grumbled, not at all pleased.

Pippa made a gesture that mimicked our mother’s — the one that said, Whatever.

Ingo and Mike jogged over, leaving Harlon in the custody of Captain Edwards’s troops.

“Oh, Captain Edwards. You came personally,” Ingo said, not at all pleased.

“You bet I did. How is it that this family always manages to attract trouble?”

“How is it that you always arrive a little too late to be of any real help?” Erin shot back.

Edwards glared, but he didn’t answer the question.

Hmpf. Didn’t think so , Erin muttered in my mind.

Several tension-packed moments ticked by, before Ted — er, Tom — spoke.

“What exactly happened here?” he demanded.

I looked at my sisters, wondering the same thing.

“Ask Harlon,” Mike growled, pointing.

Edwards’s eyebrows jumped up. “Harlon Greene?”

Pippa nodded. “Yes, Harlon. The warlock you put away after his last attack.” After pausing for effect, she added, “Or did you?”

The captain’s face went dark with fury. “He was under a restraining spell cast by a panel of class-one warlocks.”

Mike crossed his thick arms. “Not any more, apparently.”

“But…but…how?” Edwards fumed at his men, who looked at their feet.

The bravest pulled out a phone. “Shall I call in to ask, sir?”

“Yes, goddammit!”

“I beg your pardon!” I bristled, covering Claire’s ears.

In truth, she’d heard far worse from us. But the sooner we got a leg up on the blustery captain, the better.

Amen, Erin mumbled into my mind.

Ha. If only we had Mom here, Pippa joked. She knows how to get a leg up on him — and a lot of other things.

Ugh. I tried to block out images of Mom and Captain Edwards getting down and dirty, but it was too late.

Erin looked around uneasily. Don’t jinx us—

Another set of headlights came over the hill. We three sisters groaned, and Claire cheered.

“Grandma!”

I winced. Mike went on guard. My sisters gritted their teeth.

Captain Edwards’s eyes went all shiny, and his voice cracked. “Virginia…”

A sleek Lexus SUV whisked up — the kind you saw parked in front of country clubs and five-star restaurants. When Mom traveled, she traveled in style.

The car stopped, but she didn’t emerge. Seconds ticked by as she waited for someone to open the door for her.

“Oh, for goodness’ sake,” Mike muttered while we sisters rolled our eyes.

Captain Edwards and his men practically fell over one another to reach the door first.

Edwards won — no surprise there. In one smooth move, he managed to straighten his jacket and hair as well as open the car door. He kept his eyes down, the way the queen’s footmen did.

One toned leg appeared, along with a very high, stylish heel. Mom paused there, letting the men get a good, long look. Then she stuck out a hand, which Edwards took gallantly.

I could hear his heart pounding from ten yards away. And that was before Mom had even exited the vehicle.

Finally, she slid out with a wiggle calculated to make every sequin on her dress glitter.

Yep. Mom sure knew how to make an entrance. Captain Edwards and his men practically drooled.

Cooper cocked an eyebrow and whispered, “That’s your mom?”

“Yep,” I sighed. “The apple fell pretty far from the tree, huh?”

Pippa chuckled dryly. “All three of us apples.”

“Wow. She looks like a movie star,” Cooper said, not all too impressed.

She did, especially in that glittery 1930s-style dress. On me, it would look like a moldy potato sack. But Mom could have graced the cover of Vogue magazine in it.

“Mom,” Erin said flatly. Then she cleared her throat and attempted — but failed at — a peppier tone. “I mean, Hi, Mom. Good to see you.”

“Grandma!” Claire ran over and hugged her legs.

Mom looked down, patting Claire’s head awkwardly, then pivoted away. “Watch the dress, darling.”

“It’s beautiful!” Claire breathed, missing the snub.

Captain Edwards’s eyes shone in a way that said ten out of ten .

And, hey. Mom was beautiful. Even spellbinding.

I froze. Was Mom more than just a dragon shifter?

Pippa must have picked up on the thought, because she muttered into my mind, I shudder to think she might be one-quarter witch or something.

Erin shuddered. If she is, I don’t want to know.

Yikes. I decided I agreed.

“Oh. Hello, Dom,” Mom said as if she’d only just noticed him.

“Tom,” Captain Edwards breathed.

Mom gestured in a way that said, Whatever .

“Well hello, Mike,” she purred at Erin’s father.

“Virginia,” he said gruffly. He didn’t seem ready to fall at her feet, though.

My mother frowned. If mojo came in a spray can, she would be shaking hers and trying again.

But no such luck. Her charm worked on most of the men there, but not Mike, Cooper, or Ingo. Nash was still circling the sky overhead, but I knew he wouldn’t fall for her either.

My mother shot Mike a sour look and glanced around, then sighed dramatically. “So, we find ourselves here again.”

Our cue to feel guilty, because we’d inconvenienced her one more time.

“Yes, we do.” Captain Edwards shot me an accusing look.

Thank goodness for Erin stepping in.

“Harlon showed up about two hours ago, kicking up a storm,” she said. “All we did was defend ourselves.”

Cooper glanced at me, and I whispered a nervous joke. “Doesn’t every family wield lightning, thunder, and hurricane-force winds?”

He shook his head, a little awed. “Here I was thinking everyone used claws and fangs.”

Well, then. We’d both broadened our perspectives.

I squeezed his hand, and he squeezed back.

“And that incident reported back in town…” Edwards consulted a notebook. “At…Heavy Metal Sedona?”

Cooper raised a hand. “That was us.”

I elbowed him in the ribs. Drat good, honest men raised never to fib.

“He means, that was us defending ourselves against Liselle Steinmeier,” I corrected quickly.

Edwards consulted his notebook again. “That’s an alias. Her legal name is Lisa Greene.”

All eyes slid over to Harlon, and Erin blurted, “They’re related?”

Edwards nodded. “She’s his daughter. Or should I say, she was?” He eyed me closely.

I gripped Cooper’s hand extra tightly in case his principles made him say something like, Yes. In fact, she died because of the way Abby spelled the brazier. We only acted in self-defense, but please feel free to lock us up for all eternity.

I cleared my throat to cover Cooper’s pained squeak and answered, “I’m not sure what happened. I was too busy taking cover from her armed accomplices.”

Or too busy deflecting bullets with magic, but Edwards didn’t need to know that. Also, I decided to withhold the name Jay Wilson for now. Claire didn’t need to hear that.

“Lisa… Harlon… The disturbances in the vortexes…” Erin mused out loud.

Pippa figured it out faster than I did. “Could Lisa — Liselle? — have used the vortexes to break the restraining spell on her father?”

“That’s what we’re here to find out.” Edwards puffed out his chest.

“So, go find out.” My mother huffed and pointed him to Harlon. “That would allow you to stop harassing my daughters.”

“Harassing?” Edwards protested.

My mother crossed her arms. “Yes, harassing. Not to mention that it’s past this poor child’s bedtime.” She patted Claire about as warmly as she tended to pet Roscoe — stiffly and from a distance.

Since when does Mom know about bedtimes? Pippa muttered in my mind.

Shh. She’s on a roll. Don’t mess this up, Erin warned both of us.

“Much past her bedtime, not to mention the trauma of having armed vigilantes appear on her doorstep,” my mother went on, incensed.

“It’s okay—” Claire started cheerily.

I led her briskly inside. “I know it’s scary, sweetie. Let’s go to bed.”

“Yeah,” Pippa announced, standing guard at the door. “We can decide about suing for harassment in the morning.”

“Suing?” Edwards’s eyes bulged.

Ingo touched his boss’s sleeve and pointed to Harlon. “She does have a point about starting there, sir.”

Having bribed Claire with brownies in the kitchen, I peeked out from behind a curtain and listened in.

Edwards glared at Ingo, then Mike, and finally, his men.

“What the hell are you waiting for?” he hollered at them. “Get over there and secure the suspect for questioning.” Then he backed away from the house. “We’ll need you to come in for a full report tomorrow, but that’s enough for now.” Looking at my mother, he added, “Thank you for your time.”

My mother rewarded him with a bored smile. His men piled back into their vehicles, leaving Edwards and my mother at ground level, with my sisters, Ingo, and Cooper looking on from the porch.

My mother looked between Edwards and Mike, waiting, no doubt, for one to challenge the other to a duel over her. Edwards would probably have jumped at the chance, but Mike turned away with a firm wave.

“Goodnight, Virginia. Take care.”

My mother watched him go, eyes flaring. She’d always been the want what you can’t have type. On the other hand, heartbreaker came a close second, and she had a willing Edwards to indulge her.

Her eyes slid over to him, and I could see her calculating.

“I don’t suppose someone can recommend a decent hotel in town?” she asked.

Decent, unlike the ranch, her tone suggested.

Edwards jumped on the opportunity. “As a matter of fact, I know one.”

“You don’t say,” Mom cooed softly.

I caught Mike rolling his eyes. Had he once fallen for a similar line?

It was easy to picture him thirty years younger, an irresistible, handsome devil on a motorcycle, revving away at the alluring mystery woman who’d caught his eye. Hell, he still was an irresistible, handsome devil with a motorcycle. Just a little grayer around the temples — and a lot wiser.

For once, I was fully supportive of Mom putting her moves on Edwards. The sooner we were rid of our unwelcome visitors, the better.

Fifteen minutes later, red taillights shone, marking the ADMSA’s exit. My mother drove in the middle, which gave every impression of a presidential limo flanked by its escort.

By then, I’d rejoined the others on the porch. We watched the convoy drive off, then breathed a collective sigh of relief. Quiet stretched — the good kind — for the next minute or so. Then a slight breeze made the weather vane on top of the barn squeak.

I’d made that wind vane — a dragon spitting fire — without really knowing why I’d chosen that particular design. Now, with so many trials and tribulations behind me, I wondered if I’d unconsciously imbued it with a little special something.

Like magic.

I thought of the lucky ax that had kept the fire crew safe all these years. Had the wind vane done the same for us? Would it do so in the future?

“Ah, Mom. She sure has timing,” Pippa sighed.

“Does she even care about us?” I couldn’t help asking.

“She cares,” Mike assured us. “In her own way, but she cares.”

“I’m starting to think so too,” Erin mused, rubbing her chin.

I seriously doubted it, but I indulged her. “How?”

“Three times now, we’ve been in trouble. And Mom has shown up every time.”

We all stared toward the road. Could it really be?

Finally, Pippa sighed. “Maybe. Or maybe she just enjoys torturing Captain Edwards.”

I laughed, but the way Mom moved from man to man tipped the scales in favor of she cares . Which was kind of mind-blowing.

Pippa hooked her elbow through Ingo’s and headed toward their converted barn. “Well, it’s been a long night. See you tomorrow, everyone.”

We waved, and Erin signaled to Nash, who flew toward her cabin and landed there. Two points of light marked his alert dragon eyes, then faded as he shifted to human form. Erin waved to him, then looked at Mike, Cooper, and me.

“You’re welcome to sleep at my place tonight, Dad,” she offered.

His eyes blazed as he looked protectively between Erin and me. He was still on the long, rocky road to accepting that “his little girls” — a category I was touched to be included in — were all grown up with men in their lives. Plus, Erin’s cabin was pretty small, and having a warlock in close quarters with his dragon shifter son-in-law was a potentially combustible combination — literally.

Usually, Mike stayed in the ground-floor guest room in the main house, below where Claire and I lived. But with Cooper here…

“I could, uh…” Cooper started.

I clutched his hand tighter. He was not going anywhere.

“I’ll take the couch,” Mike said gruffly.

Ha. I could see right through his logic — strategically positioning himself between Cooper, in the guest room, and the stairs leading to me. No hanky-panky with a warlock in residence, no siree.

But it wasn’t a night for hanky-panky. It was a night to…to… Well, a night to put an end to one day and hope for a fresh start tomorrow.

And boy, was I hoping for a fresh start.

Cooper, too, judging by the way his eyes glowed.

I hugged Mike. “Goodnight, and thanks for being the best grandfather ever.”

“Co-best grandfather,” he said softly.

That was a joke he and Pippa’s father had come up with over the years. And boy, did we welcome the total lack of drama as far as those two were concerned. It helped compensate for my mother… A little anyway.

“Goodnight,” I whispered again. Then I took Cooper’s hand and whisked him upstairs before Mike could protest. “Feel free to use the guest room, Mike. Cooper can have my bed. I’ll be with Claire,” I said, loud and clear.

No sense in getting a warlock worked up, right?

I didn’t specify how long I planned to stay with Claire, but I hoped an hour or so would do it. She’d survived a terrifying storm and nearly been electrocuted. Amazingly, she didn’t seem too traumatized, but it was hard to judge.

As for me, I was definitely traumatized, because my daughter had witnessed a terrifying fight and nearly been electrocuted. All that after fighting my own battle.

Fresh start, I told myself over and over. Tomorrow.

You could hear a pin drop — or a warlock eavesdropping — when Cooper and I hugged at the top of the stairs.

“Thank you,” I said. “For everything. See you in the morning?”

He cupped my cheeks and kissed me softly. “See you soon.”