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"Power," Mia told Nell, "carries with it responsibility, a respect for tradition It ence, and an understanding of huh there is room for humor Above all, it must never be used to harm"

"How did you know you were How did you knohat you were?"

"A witch" Mia sat back on her heels She eeding her garden She earing a shapeless dress of grass green with deep pockets in the skirt, thin floral gardening gloves, and a wide-brimmed straw hat At the moment, she couldn&039;t have looked less like the witch she professed to be

"You can say the word It&039;s not illegal We&039;re not the pointed-hat-wearing, broo cacklers that much of fiction drew us to be We&039;re people-housewives, plumbers, businesswomen Hoe live is a personal choice"

"Covens?"

"Another personal choice I&039;ve never been roups or study the Craft are just looking for a pasti with that Calling yourself a witch and holding rituals is one thing, being one is another"

"How do you know the difference?"

"How do I answer you, Nell?" She leaned forward again, neatly snipping off deadheads "There&039;s so in your head, a whisper in your ear You know these things as well as I do You just didn&039;t recognize the with her weeds into a basket

"When you peel an apple, haven&039;t you ever thought if you could finish it without breaking the chain, you&039;d have a wish granted or gather good luck? Snapped a wishbone? Crossed your fingers? Little charain, "old traditions"

"It can&039;t be as simple as that"

"As sierous, potentially, as a lightning bolt Power is risk It&039;s also joy"

She picked up one of the deadheads, cupped it gently in her hands Opening theain, she offered Nell a sunny yellow blossohted, fascinated, Nell twirled it in her fingers "If you can do this, why do you let any of them die?"

"There&039;s a cycle, a natural order It&039;s to be respected Change is necessary" She rose, picked up her basket of weeds and dead flowers, and carried it to a coress, no rebirth, no anticipation"

"One flower blooms off to make room for another"

"A lot of the Craft is philosophy Would you like to try so more practical?"

"Me?"

"Yes, a si Besides, it&039;s a warm day, and a breeze would be welco er "Stir the air?"

"It&039;s aover your face, your body See it in yourYou can hear it, the music of it"

"Mia"

"No Put doubts aside and think of those possibilities Focus It&039;s a sioal It&039;s all around you You only have to stir it Take it in your hands," she said, lifting her own, "and say the words &039;Air is breath and breath is air Stir it round frohtly&039; As you will, Nell, so mote it be Say the words, one times three"

Mesmerized, Nell repeated theain and saw Mia&039;s hair lift On the third count, Mia&039;s voice joined hers

The wind spun around therant with a happy little hu round and round, her short cap of hair dancing

"It feels wonderful! You did it"

"I gave it the last nudge" Mia laughed as her dress billowed out "But you got it started Very well done for your first ti still That&039;s it Good You picture things well"

"I&039;ve always liked to draw moes that appeal or that I want to remember It&039;s sort of like that Wow, I&039;ling inside, not unpleasant Al-about sex"

"Magic is sexy" Mia dropped down beside her "Especially when you hold the power Have you been doing a lot of thinking about sex?"

"I didn&039;t give it a thought for eight months" Steadier now, Nell shook back her hair "I wasn&039;t sure I&039;d ever want to be with aa lot of thinking about sex The kind of thinking that makes you very itchy"

"Well, I&039;ve been there Why don&039;t you do soht, I&039;d assumed, that after the fireworks last week, Zack and I would end up in bed But after we drove around and he finished his patrol, he took ht at the door, the kind of kiss that lifts the top of your head off and spins it around Then he went home"

"I don&039;t suppose it occurred to you to drag him inside, toss him on the floor, and rip his clothes off"

The idea s like that"

"A o you didn&039;t think you could conjure a breeze either You have the power, little sister

Zachariah Todd is the kind of ive you the choice of time and place If there was a man like that I was attracted to, and as attracted toabout that power"

She felt the tingle again, the stir inside her this tiin"

"Visualize, little sister," Mia said wickedly "Visualize"

Zack couldn&039;t think of a better way to spend a Sunday irl he loved The water was cool, the sun warh to allow for such activities

They discussed taking a sail later, and the adoration in her beautiful brown eyes told him she&039;d follow hiht before they swah the crisp and quiet water

When a ured, he had it all

Then she gave a yip of excitement, splashed a stream of water in his face, and headed to shore Zack watched his boon coh bank

Lucy bounded onto the bank and straight into Nell, knocking her back two full steps and drenching her with seawater and doggie kisses

Zack listened to Nell&039;s laughter, watched her scrub her hands enthusiastically over Lucy&039;s wet fur Maybe a , he decided

"Hey How&039;s it going?"

"It&039;s going good" Shoulders, she thought Theshoulders "How&039;s the water?"

"Close to perfect Come on in, see for yourself"

"Thanks, but I don&039;t have a suit with rin "Which is why I didn&039;t follow Lucy&039;s exaaze shot down, then immediately back up to hover six inches over his head "Well Ha"

Visualize, Mia had told her But this didn&039;t seem quite the appropriate time

"I promise not to look You&039;re already wet"

"All the same, I think I&039;ll stay out here"

Lucy dived back in, retrieved a ain, she deposited it neatly at Nell&039;s feet

"Wants to play," Zack told her And so did he

Obliging, Nell picked up the ball and tossed it Before it hit the surface, Lucy was leaping in pursuit

"Pretty good ar up in a couple of weeks if you&039;re interested" He drifted closer to the bank as he spoke

Nell scooped up the ball Lucy retrieved, heaved it again "Maybe I was thinking about trying out another recipe"

"Is that so?"

"The catering&039;s turning into an actual enterprise If I want to expand on it, I need to be able to offer a variety of dishes"

"I&039; I can do to help"

She looked down He had such a nice face, she thought She would just concentrate on that and wouldn&039;t think about the rest of hiht now "I appreciate that, Sheriff I&039;ve been playing it by ear so far, but I think it&039;s ti and services If I do all that, formalize it, I have to apply for a business license"

That wouldn&039;t be a problem, she assured herself She was clear

"It&039;s going to keep you busy"

"I like being busy There&039;s nothing worse than not being able to do anything with your time or your interests" She shook her head "And don&039;t I sound dull and boring?"

No, but she had sounded grim "How do you feel about recreation?"

"I approve of recreation" Her eyebrows lifted as he hooked a hand lightly around her ankle "And just what is that?"

"I call it the long arm of the law"

"You&039;re too nice to pull me in after I&039;ve come over here to offer to feed you"

"No, I&039; "But I&039;ive you a chance to strip first"

"That&039;s considerate of you"

"My lanced back at Lucy, as busy paddling around with the ball in her ot a chaperone"

Why not? she thought She wanted to be with him Even more, she wanted to be the kind of woh to do so off her clothes and diving in

The grin she sent him was quick and careless As she toed off her shoes, he treaded water "I changedto watch," he warned her "I&039;d tell you I wouldn&039;t peek, but I&039;d be lying"

"Do you lie?"

"Not if I can help it" His gaze lowered as she gripped the he to tell you I&039;ll keep et in here I want you wet and naked, Nell I just plain want you"

"If I wanted you to keep your hands off me, I wouldn&039;t be here" She took a deep breath, started to peel off her shirt

"Sheriff Todd! Sheriff Todd!"