Page 105 of A Spell for Midwinter's Heart
“Dad,” she ventured, “how did you ever know that what you felt for Mom was…real?”
He raised an eyebrow and settled back in his chair, pulling off his glasses and massaging the bridge of his nose. “As opposed to a love spell?” Rowan nodded, and he let out a long breath. “Well, there’s a question, because if there’s anything that feels like being enspelled, it sure as heck is young love.”
“I mean, you moved across the country for her.”
“I moved across the ocean for her,” corrected her father. “Technically.” He had been studying abroad when he found his attention pulled away from the dusty old tomes of Europe’s libraries by a young woman at his hostel, who somehow cured his nagging cold with a piece of candy from her pocket.
“But did you ever wonder? You had to wonder, right?”
“Never.” She raised an eyebrow his way. “Okay, maybe once or twice I might’ve asked the question.”
“Reasonable. Given the circumstances.”
“At the end of the day, I never really ‘knew’ if knowing is something you do with your head, where facts can be analyzed and added up to make informed decisions about what is and what isn’t. But most of the big issues in life don’t go down that easily. Least of all love. All you can do is look at yourself, and the world you’ve made, and ask, ‘Is this where I wanna be? Am I happy here?’ Sometimes people find the answer is no, even when the other person’s done nothing wrong, but as for my life with Lili, the answer’salways been yes. Trust, like love, is not just a feeling—it’s a course of action. Hard, but for the life you want, worth it.” He reached over and clasped her hand. “You’ll figure it out, kiddo.”
“I know,” she said, surprised to find that she finally believed it.
Canvassing for Operation Holly and Ivy continued throughout the morning—one final push toward the afternoon when the meeting would take place. Many of the flyers they’d put up the day before were gone, replaced with posters for Christmastown and Elk Ridge Every Season. When Rowan dropped into Coffee Time for a latte, Cal Arthur was there and he reported having seen a “terrifying-looking blonde tearing them down.”
“Hayleigh,” Rowan muttered, remembering that she had unfinished business in that respect. It no longer mattered what Hayleigh knew or didn’t. Everything was in the open now, as far as Gavin was concerned.
“And there’s this horseshit,” he muttered. The older man opened his phone, sliding on thick reading glasses to slowly flick the screen. He revealed a sponsored post outlining how good Goshen Group’s plan would be for Elk Ridge, how many jobs it would create.
“They must be dumping money in this,” said Cal. “Shows up every time I open the damn phone.”
As strong as their magic might have been, the power of Goshen’s money and connections exceeded it. Hopefully, enough people had seen their video before the corporation buried it, because while the Goshen Group could bury a video, they couldn’t bury a vision.
Coffee in hand, she shadowed the front door of the Crescent Inn until a familiar figure in impractical boots emerged.
“You,” growled Hayleigh. It was clear she remembered everything now. The Goshen Group rep wrapped her furry silver coattight to her body and retreated a few steps back. “You just wait until I tell Gavin what you did, what you are…”
Rowan lifted a hand. “Say whatever you want, he already knows. I came here to apologize. Not for the truth spell, you had that one coming, but for wiping your memory. That’s not who I am. I lost control.”
Hayleigh regarded her closely, hunting for her angle. “Okay. What do you want me to say? ‘Apology accepted’? Because it’s not. And I don’t believe for a second that’s ‘not who you are.’ ”
Rowan shrugged. “You know, you’re right, actually. It’s a part of me, even if it’s not who I want to be, and I own that.” Hayleigh stared at her, open-mouthed, continuing to look both perplexed and wary. “Anyway, that was it, so, I guess I’ll go now.”
She spun on a heel to leave, but the other woman barked, “I saw what you all are up to—it’s pathetic. No one is going to show up to your little ‘demonstration.’ Tonight’s going to be a rude awakening.”
The words swept through her, and fear edged its way to the surface. Legitimate fear, but one she knew anxiety would use to assume control of her system and paralyze her better instincts.
She talked it back:There is a risk of that, but let that take the lead, and you will not be ready for what’s coming. Work with what is certain, not with what isn’t.
So instead, she simply paused, turned, and looked Hayleigh in the eye. The other woman flinched, startled by what she saw on Rowan’s face.
“If you’re really so sure of that, why tear down our flyers?” Hayleigh opened her mouth and then closed it again, face scrunching in frustration. Rowan almost turned to leave again but paused with a slight sigh. “Can I ask you something? No, don’t answer that—I’m just going to ask. What’s in this for you?”
A look of confusion passed over Hayleigh’s face. “What do you mean?”
“What do you get—a bonus? A promotion? A line on your résumé? What?”
“I mean, I don’t know exactly what…” began Hayleigh, and then her face shuttered. “Why?”
With a sweeping wave of the hand, Rowan said, “I’m just wondering what it all means to you. What are you getting out of it? Anything material at all? Or are you just getting to keep your job?”
Hayleigh only stared, unresponsive, her eyes darting around wildly.
Rowan nodded, looking to the ground, kicking a bit of snow with her shoe. “I can see why it might seem like it’s worth it, with the way things are right now in the world. It’s you or us, right?”
