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Chapter Forty-Two

C lover rushed to answer the door when she heard the knock. She blinked in surprise to find Ari holding Crane’s hand.

Her friend lowered her gaze. “I offered to bring Crane here.”

“Zia!” Crane exclaimed, holding her arms up.

Clover smiled and bent down to give the girl a hug. “Ciao, stregina. Ooof, I missed you so much!”

“I missed you, too, Zia,” Crane said.

Standing, Clover stared at her friend awkwardly. They’d never been in a fight before, so she didn’t really know what to do. “Will you stay and hang out with us?”

Ari shook her head. “I can’t. I haven’t seen Rhys most of the week, so I told him I’d spend some time with him tonight.”

“Oh, okay,” Clover responded, not hiding her disappointment.

“But”—Ari looked up to meet Clover’s eyes—“maybe we could get together tomorrow?”

Clover’s heart lightened, and she nodded enthusiastically. “Yes, text me in the morning. We can do whatever you want.”

Ari gave her a hesitant small smile as she handed over Crane’s play bag. “Your sister should be here around nine.”

“All right. Thanks.”

Turning her attention back to Crane after saying goodbye to Ari, Clover grinned down at the girl. “Are you ready to play pirates?”

Crane pursed her lips in displeasure. “I’m tired of pirates.”

“What? How can anyone be tired of pirates?” Clover said, shocked, which earned her a grin from her niece. “What do you want to play, then?”

“I want to play safari!”

“Safari, huh? Okay. Let’s take your coat and hat off first, though.”

Clover helped the child remove her outer layer. While Clover was pulling off her rubber boots, she said, “Well, we can’t use your pirate hat to play safari. Do you have a safari hat?”

Crane shook her head.

“Do you want to make one?”

“Yeah!”

Clover smiled. “Okay. I think we have some paper plates and bowls in the kitchen. Let’s go check.”

Crane followed Clover through the dining room, her head swiveling as she looked around the space. “Is this your house now, Zia?”

Clover nodded. “Yes, it is. Did your mom tell you I got married?”

“Yes, she said I have another zio now and that he does a different kind of magic than us. But what kind of magic does he do?”

In the kitchen, Clover pulled down two paper plates and two paper bowls from the cupboard. “Why don’t you ask him?”

Crane looked around. “Is he here?”

“He’s here somewhere. You know what’s a great idea?”

“What?”

“I bet he’s playing hide-and-seek. Why don’t you go find him?”

“Okay!”

As Crane ran from the room, Clover called after her, “Stay inside, and be careful on the stairs!”

“I will,” Crane promised.

Goose bumps raised on Clover’s arms in what she now recognized as her body’s response to the unseen ghosts of the house. So far, they hadn’t hurt her though they did seem to get a kick out of scaring her. Thus far, she’d tried to ignore them because reacting only encouraged their shenanigans.

She bit her lips, wondering if they would scare Crane.

But though she felt their presence, there were no accompanying bumps or creaks.

As she took her paper dishes to the parlor where she’d left her scissors, string, and hole punch, she thought, well, nothing too bad will happen with Whit here.

Just as she was putting the finishing touches on the two safari hats—threading the chin string—she heard Crane yell from upstairs, “Found you, Zio!”

A few minutes later, Crane and Whit appeared in the living room.

“I won! I found him!” Crane told Clover.

Clover smiled. “I see that. Come here. I finished your hat.”

“Did you make one for Zio, too?” Crane asked.

Clover’s gaze shifted to Whit, who smiled as he watched the child. Crane always had that effect on people.

“He can have this one,” Clover assured.

Approaching Whit, Clover giggled when she slipped the paper safari hat onto his head. “Now, we’re all ready for our safari.”

“Wow! Look over there!” Crane shouted, pointing at the fireplace. “It’s a herd of elephants. Do you see them?”

“I see them,” Clover responded. “They’re drinking from their long trunks.”

Crane looked over at Whit. “Zio, do you see them?”

Whit didn’t respond. Clover glanced over at him to find him whispering to himself with his eyes closed.

Whit’s unique signature of magic swirled around them like a winter flurry. From out of the mist stepped a giant elephant, raising its trunk as it trumpeted—the sound as loud as if it really stood in the room.

Clover gasped, and Crane squealed, her eyes wide with wonder.

“Zia! Zia! Do you see that?”

Clover could hardly breathe. It really felt like she was standing in front of an elephant. It kicked up dust, and the house seemed to shake with its every step.

Clover had heard of illusion magic, but she’d never seen it. How could she have? It was winter magic, and she hadn’t exactly hung out with winter sorcerers or witches until recently.

Cautiously, Crane crept toward the illusion, reaching her hand out. But when the elephant lifted its trunk to meet her hand, she screamed and laughed as she scurried away.

“Don’t worry,” Whit told her. “It isn’t real, so it can’t hurt you. It’s just an illusion.”

That was enough to satisfy her. “I want to see a zebra next!”

At the girl’s demand, Whit shifted the illusion to a zebra grazing.

As incredible as it was to see a zebra while feeling the living room floor beneath her feet, Clover didn’t look at the creature. Her eyes were fixed on her husband. Her chest tightened, and her stomach fluttered as she watched him entertain Crane with that indulgent smile on his face. It seemed every new side of him revealed to her only pulled her in closer.