Time Travel Romances Boxed Set (173 page)

Or at least she wouldn’t just stand by and
watch.

Lilith stormed into the room and tried to
pick up the card. She tried to turn it over and make it go
away.

But she couldn’t get a grip on the card. It
seemed to be stuck to the table and clung there with a force she
couldn’t undermine. Lilith couldn’t lift it from the table - she
couldn’t even slide her nail underneath it.

Its stubbornness made her panic. Lilith
scrabbled at the card, then turned her attention to the next one.
She tried to force things to move on, understanding that there was
much more at stake her than the inexplicable flipping of cards.

But she couldn’t turn over the next one
either.

Lilith sat down with a thump, pressed her
fingertips to her temples, and took a trio of deep breaths. She
sternly told herself to get a grip.

She focused on the card. It didn’t always
literally mean death and Lilith knew that, as little consolation as
that was.

The Death card could mean transformation,
change, a shift in viewpoint. It could mean metamorphosis. She
tried the cards one more time but they all were apparently sealed
in place.

And Lilith knew there was only one way to
make them move.

Something had to happen.

Something had to
change
.

Okay. If there had to be transformation for
the cards to move on, then Lilith would engineer some changes
around here. She was a can-do kind of witch, after all. She would
short-circuit the cards, whatever their intent might be.

A feline yowl carried from the yard in that
moment, followed by a wolfhound’s low bark. Lilith straightened and
looked to the kitchen. She could take a hint, she thought with a
smile, and knew exactly what her first change was going to be.

*

If D’Artagnan wondered why he was being
given his very favorite salmon at a strange time of the morning and
for no obvious reason at all, he didn’t show it. In fact, he
practically inhaled the unscheduled meal, then sat back, burped
inelegantly and began to clean himself with satisfaction.

Lilith smiled, knowing he hadn’t even tasted
her little amendment. She waited until his eyes started to droop,
then scooped him up and headed next door.

D’Artagnan squirmed drowsily at the sight of
Mitch’s back gate, evidently guessing where Lilith was going but
not having the fight to do much about it. She could get used to him
being mellow like this, but knew the herbal addition to his meal
would wear off in an hour or so.

For the moment, D’Artagnan was
uncharacteristically placid, which was exactly what Lilith
needed.

Cooley wagged with enthusiasm when Lilith
opened the gate, his gaze sharpening when he spied the cat. He
sniffed excitedly and Lilith put D’Artagnan down right under his
nose. She held her breath hoping that familiarity would breed a
lack of interest.

The cat wobbled slightly and shook his head.
Cooley sniffed on full power, circling the dazed cat with evident
fascination. He drew near warily, ducking and weaving until he was
certain he wouldn’t be clawed. When the dog sniffed D’Artagnan’s
ears, always a sensitive spot, the cat half-heartedly tried to bat
the dog’s nose away.

The move made D’Artagnan lose his balance.
He sat down with a thump and hissed at the dog, though the gesture
lacked his usual vehemence. His tail was already starting to flick
with displeasure.

Abruptly, Cooley’s curiosity was satisfied.
He considered the cat only a moment longer before wandering off to
explore more interesting matters in the garden. D’Artagnan
straightened clumsily and stared after the dog. His tail waved like
a banner, his ears stood up, he mewed loudly. Lilith had the
distinct impression that he was insulted to have lost the dog’s
attention.

D’Artagnan yowled but Cooley barely even
looked back. The cat ran a few uneven steps, he puffed out his tail
and hissed in a more typical manner. The dog collapsed on the back
porch, stunningly indifferent, and nosed out something that had
gotten into his paw.

D’Artagnan glanced accusingly to Lilith and
she could only smile. Just as she had hoped, Cooley had only wanted
a good sniff. Now that he had had one, there was no curiosity to
satisfy. The cat tiptoed closer and boldly batted the dog on the
nose, as though challenging him back to the chase. D’Artagnan ran a
few uneven steps, glancing back in consternation when he was not
pursued.

Cooley wagged his tail, then dropped his
chin to his paws with a noisy sigh and started to snore.

The cat’s tail dropped. He seemed so
uncertain as to what to do that Lilith laughed aloud.

One change made with resounding success.
Lilith let herself into the kitchen and began a quick survey of the
house, considering all the while what could be done.

Then, she headed to the paint store, more
than ready to make a little transformation of her own.

Mitch had asked for her help, after all.

*

Jen awakened in the night with the dreadful
certainty that her daddy wasn’t there. She clutched Bun to her
chest and felt her little heart go pit-a-pat.

She was alone.

Jen bit her lip, she blinked back her tears.
She had promised Daddy that she would be a big girl, that she
wouldn’t get scared, that she would be good for Lillit.

But it was hard to do in the middle of the
night. The shadows loomed large around Jen’s bed, the darkness in
the corners were deep enough to hide any kind of spooky thing. She
was suddenly quite sure that there was a monster under the bed. Jen
rolled into a little ball and felt the first tear slide down her
cheek.

She was all alone.

It was really scary, yet she couldn’t help
straining her ears. Jen hoped she wouldn’t hear that monster
breathing, she didn’t want to know for sure he was there, didn’t
want to suspect that he was hungry for tasty little girls. But she
listened all the same.

And that was when Jen heard the music.

It was coming from the kitchen.

The kitchen, where Lillit was.

And Lillit, Jen was sure, would know exactly
what to do about monsters.

Jen grabbed Bun tight, afraid he would be
eaten if she left him behind. She jumped as far out of the bed as
she could, almost certain the monster would reach out and grab her
as soon as her feet hit the floor.

He was too slow, though, that monster. Jen
made the door, her breathing fast, and bolted for the stairs. To
her relief, she could see the golden light spilling from the
kitchen at the bottom of the stairs.

Light and music, Lillit and safety.

Jen hoped she could get there before the
monster snatched her up.

*

The Beatles were singing that all you needed
was love and Lilith was painting up a storm. She couldn’t go to
sleep without being certain that Mitch was safe, she couldn’t stray
from the phone and risk missing a call. She certainly couldn’t turn
off the radio and not hear the news every hour. So, she painted and
she sang.

It was just past two, the darkness was
pressing against the windows, and the streets were silent, when
Lilith turned around to find a very distraught little girl in the
kitchen doorway. There were tears on Jen’s cheeks and Bun was
caught in a headlock.

Lilith immediately dropped to her knees
beside Jen, surprised when the little girl cast herself into her
arms without hesitation.

“
I was all alone!” Jen
wailed, but Lilith held her close. She felt the child’s heart
fluttering in fear.

“
You weren’t alone,” Lilith
whispered. “I’m right here.” Jen sniffled, apparently encouraged by
that, and Lilith made Bun dance a little bit. “And you had Bun to
keep you company.”

“
He’s scared of monsters,
too.”

“
Monsters?” Lilith let her
eyes widen, knowing exactly the demon that Jen was fighting
tonight. “There’s no monsters here. Your daddy kicked them all out
of the house.”

Jen eyed her solemnly. “There’s a big one,
right under my bed. He came back ’cause Daddy’s gone.”

“
Well, we can’t have that!”
Lilith said firmly. “We’re going to go up there and tell that
monster to get right out from under your bed and go home to his
own.”

Jen bit her lip and frowned. “But he’ll eat
you up.”

“
No, he won’t.” Lilith
dropped her voice to a whisper. “Because I know a secret about
monsters.”

Jen’s eyes went round and she whispered
back. “A secret?”

Lilith nodded. “Monsters are
scared
of love. You see, when you love someone, or they love you, you’re
never alone. And monsters can’t get you.”

Jen thought about this, too busy thinking to
remember to cry. “I love Bun,” she offered.

“
Oh, that must be why
you’re safe.” Lilith heaved a sigh of relief. “And your daddy loves
you, and your Nana loves you, too. Why, that monster hasn’t got a
chance! Once he knows about all that love, he’ll just disappear.”
Lilith snapped her fingers. “Poof!”

Jen visibly brightened at this news. “We
could sing him the Barney song,” she suggested. “That’s about
love.” Lilith’s confusion must have shown because Jen patted her
hand. “Don’t you know the Barney song?”

Lilith had to admit she didn’t.

Jen scrambled to her feet with purpose and
took Lilith’s hand, as though Lilith was the one who had come
running in tears. It was funny how many of Andrea’s gestures the
little girl mimicked. She dragged Lilith toward the stairs. “I’ll
teach you and we can sing it together.”

Fortunately, the Barney song was not overly
complicated. By the time they reached Jen’s bedroom the pair of
them were singing it together. As they sat on the bed and sang it
three more times, Lilith noticed that they weren’t alone.

D’Artagnan had trailed behind them. He
jumped onto the end of Jen’s bed, kneaded the cover to his
satisfaction, then curled up to sleep.

He threw Lilith a glance that dared her to
comment on his choice and she knew better than to say anything at
all. By the time Lilith turned out the light and left Jen
slumbering, it was clear that the little girl had a bright-eyed
champion more than ready to defend her from any monster foolish
enough to slide under the bed.

Another change, credited to Jen’s charming
of the crusty D’Artagnan. Who would have guessed that the
independent cat would melt for a little girl?

Lilith paused in the hall to listen and
heard Jen’s breathing slow. Maybe Jen could get over being afraid
to be alone. That would make another change. Lilith decided to mix
up some Monster Repellant to let Jen mix into the paint when they
did her room the next day, just to help things along.

Because Lilith knew the mystic power of
threes. She had made two transformations, but her Gift warned her
that there was going to be a third.

She hoped it could be the conquering of
Jen’s fear. Lilith returned to her painting, keeping one ear tuned
to the news, and hoped that Mitch would come home safely.

Until then, all she could do was keep busy.
Fortunately, she wasn’t likely to run out of painting anytime
soon.

This was one transformation that was going
to take a while.

*

Mitch felt like hell.

Three days of lectures and networking and
being away from home had beat the stuffing out of him. His mind was
swimming with possibilities and trends, opportunities and
considerations. All he wanted was a little peace and quiet to sort
them out. And he wanted to know how everyone was doing at home.

Oh, he had called a couple of times, smiled
at the kids’ stories and warmed to the sound of Lilith’s voice, but
tonight a phone call just wouldn’t do. When a group of old cronies
settled in to drink on Sunday afternoon, Mitch decided enough was
enough. He blew off the last day of meetings, called the airline
and changed his flight.

Eight hours later - after an excruciating
wait at O’Hare that he roundly deserved for changing his flight
schedule - he was scooping up his garment bag at Pearson and
jingling his keys as he headed for the Honda.

Home.

And Lilith.

Mitch couldn’t get there fast enough.

*

The house was quiet when Mitch unlocked the
kitchen door, although the light was still on in the kitchen. It
smelled like paint and there was a can of flat ceiling latex open
on the counter. The radio was on at a low volume, some sixties
ballad echoing softly through the house. Cooley yawned and
stretched before getting up to wander across the kitchen to greet
Mitch, tail wagging sleepily.

Mitch scratched the dog’s ears with a grin.
“Some killer watchdog,” he teased. “You didn’t even wake up until I
was in the house.”

He put the lid on the paint while Cooley
took a pause outside. Mitch locked the kitchen door, turned out the
light and left his bags in the hall. He heard the wolfhound
collapse under the kitchen table as he climbed the stairs.

The smell of paint was stronger up here,
though the windows were all open. He looked in first on Jen and
smiled when he found her smiling in her sleep. D’Artagnan,
surprisingly, was curled on the end of Jen’s bed. He lifted his
head and treated Mitch to a cold glare as Mitch entered the
room.

“
It’s okay, tiger,” Mitch
whispered, biting back a smile at the cat’s protectiveness. “I’m
just going to say hello.”

D’Artagnan, unconvinced, kept a wary eye on
him all the same.

Mitch noticed Bun was abandoned on the other
side of the room for the first time since they had moved in. It was
a good sign, but Mitch scooped up the stuffed toy and tucked it
into the bed beside his daughter just in case.

Her room seemed slightly different, even in
the moonlight. Mitch realized that it had been painted, although he
couldn’t clearly discern the new colors. There was a wallpaper
border about waist high around the room. Plump unicorns pranced
through rainbows upon it, daisies scattering to all sides.