Page 23 of Fated Midlife Christmas
Maeve’s jaw was tight, but she forced another smile. “Perhaps it’s something we can help with. We’ve been around for a long time, and we know a thing or two.”
But Corinna opened the front door. “Things have changed. We don’t need dusty old books or the supposed experience of older witches. We’re doing just fine on our own.”
“If you change your mind, get a hold of me.” Maeve produced a small card from her sleeve and handed it to Corinna as she passed by on her way through the door. “I hope that you will before it’s too late.”
Lucille was next, and Lars hung back to allow Amanda to go in front of him.
Corinna touched his arm as he tried to go past. “I don’t know what your attachment to that dusty old coven is, but I’m very interested in talking to you. It sounds like you really know your stuff, and we could use your help. I’d be happy to reward you handsomely.” She braced the tip of her tongue against the underside of her front teeth.
Lars stepped to the side, shaking her fingers off. “I’ve spent my whole life working in harmony with ley lines, and I’m not interested in any project that does otherwise.”
The four of them headed back toward the cars. Maeve was already ranting as she slapped aside the branches that hung over the walkway. “That little snit called me old! Telling me that things have changed and they don’t need dusty old books! As a librarian, you should be personally offended at that, Lucille!”
“I am,” her sister replied calmly.
“Whatever happened to having respect for your elders?” Maeve went on when they reached the sidewalk. “I’ve never been one to insist on social conventions, but this is ridiculous! I have a feeling that little twit is doing something incredibly stupid, and she’ll come crawling to us when it gets out of hand.”
“I’ll see you guys later,” Amanda called out, getting a nod from Lucille.
They got into her car, and she started the engine. “Aunt Maeve is really worried.”
“She didn’t sound worried,” Lars noted.
“When she gets really pissy like that, it’s a sure sign that she’s worried. She’d just rather show it as anger than anything else.” Amanda pulled away from the curb.
“I’m worried, too,” Lars admitted. “I don’t have any idea how they could store the ley energy. You can’t just put it into a battery and hold onto it. It’s not the same as electricity. Even if Corinna does find a way, I’m concerned about what effects it will have elsewhere.”
“It’s too bad she wouldn’t talk to us.” Amanda wound through traffic. “I’m sorry that we wasted your time.”
“I got to spend it with you, so it wasn’t wasted at all. Lars picked up her hand where it rested on the gear shifter and kissed the back of it. “Maybe we could find more ways to waste it.”
9
“I never should’ve agreedto this.” Amanda grabbed Lars’s hand as her foot slipped out beneath her. “I haven’t been ice skating since I was a little kid!”
“All the more reason to come and do it now,” he reasoned. He held on tightly until she was steady again. It sounded like a fun idea to him, and it was all the better if it meant Amanda would be clinging to him on and off throughout the evening.
“So that I can make a fool of myself?” she asked, slowly moving forward again.
“No one else is looking. They’re all too concerned about staying on their own skates. We’ll take it slow.” He slipped his gloved hand into hers and moved along at her side.
Her breath caught as she nearly fell again, but she managed to gain control quickly. “Good, because I don’t think you’ll see me doing any triple toe-loops anytime soon.”
Lars laughed, his breath steaming up the air. “That’s all right. I can’t do those, either.”
“That’s got to be against the law in Norway or something, right?” she joked. “Everyone is surely required to master the triple axel.”
“So we’re all figure skaters now?” he jabbed back. “Now I’ll have to assume that everyone in Salem is a witch.”
“Nah. There aren’t any of those around here. It’s just for fun around Halloween. And if there were any witches, they’d probably find it easier to fly on their brooms than to prance around on ice skates.” Amanda twirled her finger in the air.
“I think you’re doing just fine,” he noted, seeing that she was starting to move along without much help now.
“Only until you call me out on it!” She threw her right arm into the air to balance herself, laughing as she leaned against him. “It’s funny, really. I used to watch the Winter Olympics and dream of being just like Kristi Yamaguchi or Nancy Kerrigan. Once I got out on the ice, though, I was just lucky not to bust my ass.”
“Did you ever take any lessons?”
Amanda shook her head, which threw her slightly off balance again. This time, though, she was able to recover on her own. “No. I’d get really obsessed for about a month or so, just while they were showing all the figure skating on TV, and then I’d get interested in something else. We’d come out to skate in the winter, but I didn’t even think about it during the summer. Olympic athletes need a little more dedication than that.”
