Enchantment (105 page)

Chapter
T
w
enty-Eig
h
t

Paddy sat in her
s
pacious
living
room quilting
y
et
another
blanket.
It was
one of her favorite hobbies.
Hu
m
ming to
herself,
s
he
sat
with
needle
and
thread
in
hand,
wielding
her
craft.

Todd’s
de
m
eanor,
on
the
other
hand,
was
the
exact
opp
o
site
of
conten
t
m
e
n
t.
He
paced
the living
roo
m
,
fretting
about
the
future.
Pad
d
y
stopped
what
she
w
as
doing
for
a
m
oment
and glared
at
hi
m
.
“Todd,
would
y
ou
sit
d
o
wn
for
j
u
st
two
m
inu
t
es?
You’re
driving
m
e
cra
z
y
.
You haven’t
had
a
peaceful
m
o
m
e
nt
in
two
weeks,”
she
scolded.

He
continued
to
pace
with
his
tail
thu
m
p
ing
the
floor
as
he
went.
“
Padd
y
,
how
can
y
ou
just sit
there
sewin
g
?
Don’t
y
ou
feel
it
in
the
ai
r
?
”

“What
are
y
ou
talking
abou
t
?
Ma
y
be
Kerrigan’s
right;
y
o
u
have
been
working
too
hard.
I think
y
o
u
’re starting
to
lose
it.”

“I
think
I
was
wrong.
I
should
never
have
cocooned
the
girl
and
the
Le
m
ren.
What
if
s
omething
truly
bad
happen
s
?
”

Paddy
put
her
sewing
down
and
placed her p
a
ws
on
her
bel
l
y
.

“Todd
Beaver,
y
ou
have
lost
it!
D
o
y
ou
not
see
h
o
w
hap
p
y
our
s
on
is
when
she
is
around?
I think
he’s
in
love
with
her
and
doesn’t
want
to
ad
m
i
t
it.
I’ve
never
seen
him
this
wa
y
.
Todd,
he
m
a
y
have
never
have
found
a
m
a
te if
y
o
u hadn’t
brought
her
here.
D
e
sti
n
y
do
e
s not
alwa
y
s make things
ea
s
y
,
but in
the end,
he
will learn to
open
his
heart. You
did
a
good
thing, Todd,
and
I
love
y
o
u even
m
ore for
it.”

Todd
glared
at
his
wife.
“
A
m
ate?
S
he
can’t
st
a
y
here,
Pad
d
y
.
Kerrigan
has
been
searching for
a
way
to
get
her
off
Enchan
t
m
e
n
t
without
killing
her.
The
Counselors
won’t
let
her
st
a
y
here indefinite
l
y
, even
if
it
means
killing
her
in
the
process.”

But
Pad
d
y
’s
eternal
opt
i
m
i
s
m
w
ouldn’t
be
quelled.
She
settled
back
to
her
stitching
with
a s
m
ile. “Kerrigan
would
never
let
them
send
her
back
to
U
pper
World
if
s
he
m
ight be
killed.”

“I
still
think
it was
a
m
is
t
ake.
I
shouldn’t
have
brought
her
d
o
wn
here.
Kerrigan
would
have eventual
l
y
found
a
nice
Enchanter
and
settled
down.”

Paddy
w
a
s
frustrated.
“
I
can’t
listen
to
y
o
ur
no
n
sense
a
n
y
m
o
r
e
.
Tod
a
y
’
s
market
da
y
,
so
I’m going
shopping.”
She
stood
and
fetched
her
purse
off
the
table.

“I’m
stressed,
and
y
o
u
’re
going
shopping,”
he
fretted.

“Todd,
go
for
a
s
wim
and
cut
so
m
e
trees
d
o
wn.
It
will
help
y
o
u
feel
better.
You
real
l
y
need to
relax.
Eve
r
y
t
h
i
ng
will
be
fine.
Trust
m
e.” Paddy
gave
h
i
m
a
peck
and
walked
out
the
door.

“Another
beautiful
da
y
,”
Pad
d
y
declared,
and
closed
the
front
door
behind
her.
She
strode d
o
wn
the
front
steps
of
her
ho
m
e.
Wonderful
s
m
ells
drifted
to
her
nose—roses,
lilacs,
and
lilies. Paddy
took
a
deep breath and
closed
her
e
y
es.

A
walk will do
me
goo
d
.

She
heard
the
whoop,
whoop
of
large
win
g
s
overhead,
and
waved
up
at
the
gargo
y
l
e
s Kerrigan
had ordered
to
follow
her
ever
y
w
h
ere
s
he
w
ent. She
s
m
iled,
kn
o
wing her son
had
taken care
to
ensure
she
was
properly
protected.

The
m
ark
e
t
b
u
stled
with
Enchanters
co
m
ing
and
going.
Tod
a
y
see
m
ed
exceptio
n
al
l
y
bus
y
. Paddy
m
a
d
e
her w
a
y through the crowd, stopping
to
talk
to
eve
r
y
o
ne.
Mrs. Pearson,
w
ho
had the best
vegetables
around,
w
a
s
alw
a
y
s
a
treat
to
visit
with.