Men Love Witches Page 17

  Adam reached over to wipe a tear from my cheek.

  “As I got older, it became even more clear how special my parents’ love was, and I started to think maybe they’d just been super lucky, and that it was a once-in-a-lifetime kind of thing, and that it wasn’t something I could have. And then … I met you. We might not have fallen in love at first sight, but rather slowly, the whole thing unwound bit by bit until one day I woke up and realized how intertwined our hearts are, and how I never wanted to be without you. You make me feel safe and treasured, even when we disagree. I know you’re loyal and that you always want the best for me, and for us. As for my promise to you, what I offer is simple: I love you, Adam St. James, and I will always love you.”

  Adam blinked quickly, smiling as he tried to hold back the tears. “I love you, too, gorgeous.”

  He leaned in, about to steal a kiss, and the minister playfully chided him, much to the audience’s amusement. She directed us through the next part of the ceremony and we exchanged our rings—and fooled the entire audience into thinking we had an insanely well-trained cat when Boots came down the aisle with the rings hanging from a ribbon clenched between his teeth. We couldn’t leave him out of the big day, after all.

  When we finished, Boots ran off to stand beside Evangeline, and the minister smiled at us in turn. “Holly, Adam, it is my immense pleasure to declare you officially husband and wife. Adam, you may now kiss your beautiful bride.”

  And kiss me he did.

  Chapter Eighteen

  Harmony and Evangeline cleared out so we could have the manor to ourselves to enjoy our first night as husband and wife. We made it to midnight, tipsy on champagne and joy, eventually collapsing into bed to dream of our next adventures together, whatever they might be.

  The following morning, the sun streaming through the curtains woke us around seven o’clock, but we stayed in bed until ten. Finally, desperate for food and coffee, we stumbled into clothes and wandered down to the kitchen. Adam immediately dug into leftover wedding cake while I made a pot of coffee and apologized profusely to Boots for missing his normal breakfast window.

  The doorbell rang while we were discussing what items we still needed to pack before we could take off for our trip down the 101 to Oregon. It would be faster to take I-5 but we didn’t mind taking it slow, especially when it would make for some pretty breathtaking scenery as we took the coastal highway route.

  Adam got up from the table and extended a hand toward me. “Come on. That’s for both of us.”

  Frowning, I took his hand. “What do you have going on, Mr. St. James?”

  He flashed a grin. “You’ll have to come with me and find out, Mrs. St. James.”

  “Boldt-St. James,” I corrected him. “I decided to hyphenate.”

  “Aha.”

  “Hey, in my family line it’s customary for the husband to take the woman’s name,” I told him as we stepped into the living room. “Although, I can’t imagine that would score me any points with your parents,” I added under my breath.

  Adam didn’t comment, and somewhere between the kitchen and the front door, his demeanor changed. He was still smiling, but it had softened at the edges. He opened the door and greeted the delivery man standing on the porch. “Morning.”

  “Adam St. James?” the man asked.

  “That’s me.”

  The man pressed an electronic tablet into Adam’s hands and instructed him to sign at the bottom of the digital page. Adam did so and handed it back with a smile. “Thanks.” He took a step outside. “I’ll show you where to unload it.”

  “Adam, what is all this?” I asked as I followed him out onto the porch. There was a large white delivery truck backed into the end of our driveway and another man in a delivery uniform pressed a lever and rolled open the garage-style door.

  “I got us something for the house,” Adam said before pressing a quick kiss to my temple. He padded down the front steps, his feet still bare. He paused at the bottom and grabbed his cell phone from the pocket of his sweatpants and fired off a quick text. The delivery men lowered a metal ramp and then disappeared into the truck for a moment, emerging with a wrought iron park bench.

  Adam led the men around the side of the manor, near the large windows of the study, and gestured for them to place the bench in front of three rosebushes. The men set the bench down and made a few adjustments at Adam’s request. When he was satisfied, he held up a finger and asked them to wait for a moment. He dashed into the house and came back holding his wallet. He pulled out two twenties and handed one to each of the drivers.

  The drivers thanked us and then headed back to their truck. Adam turned to me. “Well, what do you think? Do you like it?”

  I nodded. “It’s really nice! And this is a good spot for it. It gets a little shade and when the roses are in bloom, it smells heavenly over here.”

  “I’m glad you like it. There is one more thing.” Holding up one finger again, he dashed back to the house. When he returned, he carried a long white box.

  I planted one hand on my hip. “You’re just full of surprises this morning, aren’t you?”

  He smiled, but it didn’t quite reach his eyes. “This one is a little bittersweet.”

  “Oh?”

  He placed the box on the bench without opening it and then came over to take hold of both my arms. “Scarlet is on her way over with Posy and Earl and the other ghosts. Harmony and Evangeline, too.”

  My breath caught in the back of my throat. He didn’t need to finish the explanation. I knew what was about to happen, and even with the warning, my heart clenched and twisted, the pain like a knife stab.

  “I’m sorry, gorgeous. But it’s what they wanted. They wanted to say goodbye before we left for our trip.”

  Sniffling, I wiped at my eyes. “But this isn’t goodbye, like see you later, have fun on your honeymoon.”

  Adam shook his head, then cradled me against his chest.

  He held me like that until we heard a car door shut. Evangeline’s sports car was parked behind our SUV and all three ladies piled out, their expressions varying shades of distress. Scarlet was stoic; she was used to saying these kinds of goodbyes, but I knew it still affected her. Goodbye was never easy. Harmony was glum and had apparently dressed for the occasion, in black skinny jeans and a black rain jacket. Evangeline was openly crying, and looked to have been doing so for the better part of the morning.

  The juxtaposition of the moment hit me. Hours ago, we’d all been laughing and dancing together under the stars, not a hundred feet from where we gathered now, only somehow in that small sliver of time, everything had changed.

  Wordlessly, Evangeline jogged over to me and I left Adam’s arms to wrap mine around her instead. Harmony joined in, making a calming, shushing noise. “Come on, guys, they’re going to be here any minute. We need to keep it together, for Posy.”

  She was probably right, but I couldn’t stop the tears from sliding down my cheeks. Adam wrapped one arm around my waist; his other went around Evangeline’s shoulders. Another car pulled up along the curb and Nick and Meryl stepped out. Meryl carried a bouquet of sunflowers tied with a white ribbon.

  “Thanks for being here, everyone,” Scarlet said. “Posy and Earl should be here soon.”

  We formed a half-circle and waited, the silence occasionally broken by a sniffle. After a few minutes, a small herd of ghosts came into view. Hayward, Flapjack, Gwen, Posy, and Earl all soared up the walkway together. Gwen held tightly to Hayward’s arm as Flapjack took the lead, his fluffy silver tail held high, almost like some kind of banner. My eyes met Posy’s and I nearly lost it all over again. She was smiling softly, but I spotted a silver tear on her cheek. Somehow, she looked more transparent than normal, as though some part of her had already begun crossing over to the next realm.

  The ghosts closed the circle and for a moment, no one said anything.

  Finally, Posy broke with a small laugh. “All this fuss for a couple of old relics, huh?” />
  We laughed together and for a moment the pain fled.

  “I hope this doesn’t overshadow your beautiful wedding,” Posy said, her eyes glossy as she looked to me and Adam. “But, as you can see, we’re fading fast.” She gestured down at herself. “We’ve held on as long as we could.”

  “I wish I could give you a hug!” I said, my voice breaking.

  Adam squeezed me into his side a little tighter.

  “I do, too, dear.” Posy blinked and a tear slipped free. “You were the most beautiful bride I’ve ever seen in this long, long life of mine.”

  “Do you really have to go?” I asked, my voice barely a whisper.

  She winked. “Chin up, dear. It’s all going to be all right. Look at all you two have already accomplished. I have no doubt that you will be fine without me.”

  Earl took his wife’s hand and patted the back of it. He glanced around the circle of faces and smiled—a rare sight in the reclusive ghost. “I know I don’t come around much, but before we go, I wanted to tell each of you that you have my sincerest gratitude for keeping my darling company all this time, and for reuniting the two of us. I’d still be stuck in that cave, terrified and alone, probably forever, if not for you. These past years have meant more to me than I can fully express. To see this town and how it’s grown, and to know it will go on without us for decades to come … well, it’s really something special.”

  He ducked his chin and Posy squeezed his hand. “I couldn’t have said it any better, my love.”

  “Shall we go, sweetheart?” he asked her.

  Posy met my eyes, then nodded. “It’s time.”

  Scarlet reached out and took Posy’s other hand, then reached for Earl. The three were locked together in a small circle within our larger one. With a watery smile, Scarlet cleared her throat and addressed the couple. “Onward to the Otherworld. May your adventures only just be at the beginning.”

  I choked back a sob as a white light flooded down on the three of them, like some kind of ethereal spotlight.

  Posy gasped, surprised, but then smiled at her beloved Earl as their spirits faded from sight. I knew that I could live a dozen lifetimes and still never forget the way they looked at each other right before they sailed into forever.

  The light faded and the rest of us stood there, staring, for a long time. I wiped a final tear from my face and leaned into Adam. I’d miss Posy terribly, but there was also a sudden peace that had rushed in at her departure. I smiled up at Adam and a flash of white caught the corner of my eye. “Wait,” I said, turning slightly, “what’s in the box then?”

  Adam frowned for a moment, then recognition dawned and he swore under his breath. “I forgot!” he said, grabbing the box from the bench. “I had a whole thing planned and then—” He cut himself off and shook his head.

  “What is it?” I asked, taking the box from his hands.

  “You can open it,” he said. “I wanted to show Posy before she left, but … well, that’s all right. Maybe she can see it from somewhere on the other side.”

  He looked to Scarlet, as if to confirm his suspicion. The ghost whisperer merely shrugged her shoulders. “I have no idea what it’s like on the other side. It’s a nice thought though.”

  Flapjack swirled around my feet and Boots swatted at the air. He’d come out to join us somewhere in the middle of everything—likely drawn to my sudden spike of emotions. Boots couldn’t see Flapjack, but could sense his presence. A fact that Flapjack found endlessly entertaining.

  Scarlet scowled at her ghostly feline. “What did I tell you?”

  Gwen reached down and hauled the fluffy cat into her arms. For a moment, Flapjack’s eyes bulged, clearly not anticipating the move. “Hey!”

  “Oh, hush!” Gwen scolded. “This is basically a funeral. Don’t you have any manners?”

  “I believe we all know the answer to that query, my dear,” Hayward replied.

  Ignoring the ghosts’ shenanigans, I unfolded the flap on one end of the box and pulled out a long, hammered metal sign. “Oh, Adam!” A fresh batch of tears came to my eyes. “It’s beautiful.”

  The metal sign had a placard at the top that read: posy’s garden.

  “I originally wanted to get it put onto the bench, but it would have taken too long, so I thought a sign was the next best thing.”

  “It’s perfect,” I told him. “It’s exactly what she would have wanted. And now, a little piece of her will always be here with us.”

  Adam took the sign and pressed it down deep into the soft soil beneath the rosebushes. Boots hopped up onto the bench, turned in a circle a few times, and laid down. I stepped back and looped an arm around Evangeline and Harmony.

  Evangeline squeezed my waist. “You made her so proud, Holly.”

  “I think we all did.”

  Harmony nodded in agreement.

  “Well, if you guys have time, we just made some coffee and there’s tons of leftovers from last night,” Adam said, gesturing toward the house. “If anyone wants to stick around for a little while.”

  “We’ve got time,” Nick said, glancing at Meryl.

  She nodded and handed me the bouquet of sunflowers. “I never quite know what to do in these situations, but I thought these might make you smile. Posy was a lovely person.”

  “Thank you, Meryl. That’s so sweet of you.”

  She followed the others around to the front of the house. Nick hung back and held out his arms. I stepped into them and we embraced for a long moment. When we parted, he smiled. “Just think, without Posy we might not have ever met.”

  A soft laugh slipped from my lips. “Yeah, I guess that’s true.”

  Nick had originally been drawn to the Beechwood Manor after rumors about it swirled around a ghost hunter circle forum he’d belonged to.

  “Stars, that feels like it was a million years ago.”

  He nodded. “It was another lifetime, that’s for sure.”

  We stood there for another long moment, looking up at the stately manor. Posy was gone, but she would never be forgotten, and as long as I was living, I would ensure her memory stayed alive and well in the manor and the town she’d so loved.

  “Come on,” Nick said, giving my arm a gentle tug, “we’d better get in there before your new husband eats all the corner pieces.”

  Laughing, I gave the park bench and garden sign one final look, then followed Nick inside to join the others.

  Epilogue

  Six days after saying goodbye to Posy and Earl, we arrived home from our mini honeymoon just in time to say hello to a new life. Cassie gave birth to a healthy son, Ashton John Lincoln. Little baby Ashton entered the world on a blissfully sunny morning, weighing in at seven pounds, three ounces, and according to Cassie and Chief Lincoln, he already had a lot to say!

  “I think he’s got your nose, Cass,” I said, unable to take my eyes off the sleeping infant nestled in my arms long enough to glance up at his proud mother.

  “And look at all that hair!” Adam said, staring down at the baby over my shoulder, one of his hands resting on my back.

  Cassie and Chief Lincoln laughed softly. They were scheduled to leave the hospital in a few hours’ time, but we’d managed to sneak in and visit the new little family of three. “Hopefully he keeps it longer than I’ve managed,” Chief said with a grin as he patted the place on the back of his head where a subtle bald spot had formed over the past couple of years. Cassie had confided in me that it was something of a sore spot with the chief, regardless of the self-deprecating jokes.

  “You’ve got a kid now,” Adam said with a laugh. “You’ll be lucky if you’re not fully gray by forty-five!”

  I smiled up at my newly minted husband with a twinge of excitement I’d never quite experienced before. Someday the roles would be reversed, and it would be us sitting here in a room like this, only I’d be the one tucked under a white hospital sheet, and he’d be the one standing at my side, his eyes bloodshot and tired but filled with joy and wonder.
>
  Smiling down at tiny baby Ashton, my heart skipped a beat. I’d never thought I’d say it, but I was ready for the next chapter of my life to begin. I was now Mrs. Boldt-St. James and life was sweet.

  * * *

  THE END

  A note from Danielle:

  * * *

  Thank you so much for reading Men Love Witches! I hope you enjoyed finally getting to see Holly and Adam off to their Happily Ever After!

  This one was bittersweet, as we had to say goodbye to one of our dearest friends, Posy. She’s been such a rock in this series, but for the past two books, she’s been telling me it was time for her to move on. I think my favorite part about Holly and Posy’s story was the way their relationship went full circle.

  When Holly was forced to move into the Beechwood Manor (all those volumes ago!) Posy was skeptical and cautious, unsure what to think of this SPA delinquent dropped on her doorstep. Then slowly their relationship grew, and with this final goodbye, Posy’s spirit can finally rest in peace, knowing that she was leaving her cherished home and legacy in Holly’s hands.

  Our newlyweds still have one more adventure to come. The twelfth book in the series will be titled Goodbye’s a Witch and will be the last in the Beechwood Harbor Magic Mysteries series. However, it will not be the last of Holly and Adam and our beloved town. I have a trick up my sleeve. ;)

  Goodbye’s a Witch is available for preorder, and believe me, you are not going to want to miss this one!