Charms & Chin Hairs: A Paranormal Women's Fiction Novella, page 1
Charms & Chin Hairs
THE ORACLE OF WYNTER BOOK 8
LISA MANIFOLD
Copyright © 2022 by Lisa Manifold
Charms & Chin Hairs
The Oracle of Wynter Book 8
Cover by Molly Burton, Cozy Cover Designs
All rights reserved.
No part of this book may be reproduced in any form or by any electronic or mechanical means, including information storage and retrieval systems, without written permission from the author, except for the use of brief quotations in a book review.
Created with Vellum
Contents
Chapter One
Chapter Two
Chapter Three
Chapter Four
Chapter Five
Chapter Six
Chapter Seven
Chapter Eight
Chapter Nine
Chapter Ten
Cranberry Cake
About the Author
Also by Lisa Manifold
This is for Drusilla, who encouraged me to think bigger in all the ways this summer.
I’ll always be grateful.
xoxo
Chapter One
December Twenty-First
Morning
“Hello! Welcome!” I walked out onto the porch, arms open. Embraced the sweet, sticky smell of kids who had been traveling, had more snacks than they probably needed, and were glad to be at their destination.
Nathan, Natalie’s son, hugged me tightly around the middle. “Hi, Wynter,” he said, his voice muffled as he velcro’d himself to me.
Sophie, Natalie’s daughter, waited her turn, and then tucked herself under my arm. “I’m glad to be here. Your house is so pretty. Your skirt is pretty, too.” She leaned back to take in the lights that were on every surface of the house.
“Thank you,” I said, smiling down at her. “On behalf of both my house and my skirt. It’s very nice to have them both appreciated.”
They wouldn’t know that just thirty minutes before, I’d been glaring at my reflection in the mirror, peering at my face with tweezers in hand, plucking out the offending hairs that seemed to have sprouted overnight on my chin.
Really? This had to happen now? Merry Christmas indeed. But I’d done what I could with Caro and Florry fussing at me to get downstairs in anticipation of company, and I hoped no one would notice. I’d never had chin hair before.
There were lots of things I’d not had to deal with before going into full-blown menopause. When would it end? Seriously? The hot flashes had eased, although occasionally they still hit. They weren’t as bad as they’d been. I was hoping this was the trend that would continue.
But not if I was going to be sprouting a beard.
It’s not a beard, Goldie said. It’s just part of aging.
Says the golden tattoo, I shot back.
I could swear I heard him laughing. Pushing any retort away, I focused on my newly arrived guests, and how happy they seemed to be here. I wanted them to be happy, so this was a good start.
We’d gone all out this year. All three of my kids, waiting behind me, were home. Contrary to my suspicions, not one of them had brought home a significant other. I was sure at least one would. But I didn’t pry, and none of them, not Kris, Theo, or Rachel, had breathed a word.
This was one year I wouldn’t have minded. I mean, I was having half the county in, so what were a few more?
Natalie came up the steps of the porch, pushing a strand of brunette hair out of her face.
Letting go of the kids, I opened my arms to give her a hug, too.
You wouldn’t have thought about it, a year—no, less than a year ago. Natalie was also a Chastain. A Mrs. Derek Chastain, to be more precise. She’d been married to my husband, and the two kids, Nathan and Sophie, were Derek’s kids.
There were times I was glad Derek was gone, because had I discovered this dual life while he was living, I might have offed him before the helicopter that crashed and killed him did. I wouldn’t admit that to anyone else, ever, but what he’d done to me, to all of us, was unforgivable. The fallout would have been worse had he been alive.
None of that mattered now. Me, Natalie, all the kids—we were all in a better place. This Christmas holiday was both proof and hope for that fact.
“Thank goodness we’re here,” Natalie said into my shoulder. “This has been the trip from hell. Leaving so early,” she stopped and shook her head. “Although you said you had fun things planned, so that will be good.”
They’d flown in from Arizona, so it was a long trip. When she’d told me they were taking a red eye, I’d gotten together with all my friends here to do something special. I wanted something that would mark this time as a family.
Hopefully, we would do it again.
“How did the ferry ride go?” I asked.
Natalie laughed. “It was a saving grace. They were so tired that I wasn’t worried one would fall in, but still awake enough to look over the edge and be quiet.”
We laughed together. “Come in,” I said. “All the kids are here,” I stopped, hearing my three welcome their two younger siblings.
As one, Natalie and I stopped, watching all our kids together. Earlier this year, the kids and I had gone to meet Natalie and her two, and while part of my skin had crawled—then—at meeting the woman my husband had been cheating on me with, I wanted my kids to know their brother and sister. Watching the five of them now—I knew it had been the right thing.
“I’m so glad you took that first step,” Natalie whispered. She turned to look at me, her arm still around my waist. “I don’t know if I would have, and then I’d be missing this.” Her eyes sparkled with tears.
“Oh, no, missy,” I said, leaning over to kiss her cheek. “None of those tear things. Not now. We have so much to do, and you have no time for tears.”
“Mom!” Nathan shrieked. “Look at the tree!”
Everyone stopped, gazing at my current pride and joy. A ten-foot-tall Fraser fir, still in a pot with its root ball. I already had a hole dug in the back yard for it to go into, courtesy of Logan. He’d had it dug within an hour, and on December 27th, Mr. Fraser Fir would head out to the corner of my front yard, ready to settle into his new home. Initially, I’d planned to put it in the back yard, but every time I went out and tried to pick out a spot, nothing felt right.
Like, my back garden was definitely off. But I hadn’t had the time to investigate, or ponder what it meant, or anything, because this year, I was on a timeline. My Oracle senses told me the back yard required more investigation, but not yet.
Why did they, whoever the ‘they’ were this time, always go to my back yard? The baddies always did. The place was supposed to be my refuge. I put aside my grumblings about Oracle stuff to look over the tree, which had every ornament that had ever come into this house on it. It was that big.
I didn’t always get a live tree, but this year, it had felt like the thing to do. You only had a week where they could be inside because they dried out. So when Natalie told me they’d be here on the 21st, I’d made plans to get this beauty from L&W Tree Farm, our local place on the island for trees.
“It’s so tall,” Sophie said beside me, coming back from where she’d been talking to Rachel.
“Well, I have high ceilings, and I figured since all the people I love were going to be here, we should get a really amazing tree.”
She beamed at me.
I felt Natalie’s hand squeeze around my waist.
“Hey, Natalie,” Logan said easily. “The car still unlocked? I’ll get your luggage.”
“Thank you,” Natalie said gratefully. She turned back to look at me once Logan moved out the front doors. “Still going strong?”
I nodded, feeling a warmth move through me. Over the summer, I’d defeated Davina, a demon who wanted Logan’s soul, as well as a trio of witches who were after my consultant, one Fingal Mackay of the Fae. Once all the bad parties were properly sorted—that sounded like something my mother would have said—Logan and Caro and I went to Scotland, to bury the remains of my Fae consultant as he’d asked.
Logan and I had made a commitment to one another then, even though we’d been kind of doing that all year since we’d moved from consultant and Oracle to friends to something more. My kids had confronted me, right before we went to Scotland, when I’d had a family picnic. They wanted to know that Logan was the real deal, and for me to know that if he hurt me, there would be hell to pay.
He wouldn’t hurt me. I also knew, although I couldn’t tell the kids this, that Logan and I were together until the end, whenever that was. This was forever. I knew like I knew my name. I’d been sure that Derek and I were forever, and one might say, Well. Look how that turned out.
But Logan?
I knew.
“I’m happy for you,” Natalie said.
“What about you? Someone under the mistletoe?”
She shook her head. “No. Not yet. I haven’t been able to find the peace that you have. Of course, the hot man helps, and there has been no shortage of men, but…” she sighed.
“They’re just not the one.” I finished for her.
“No,” Natalie said. She smiled. “They’re just not. And I’d rather be alone right now. It’s still difficult with the kids. They keep looking for him.”
Him. Derek. The man who had married us both, lied to
“Well, without Derek, none of us would be here. And I, for one, am glad you’re here,” I said.
She hugged me with one arm, leaning her head against mine. “Me, too,” she said.
“Are all these presents for all of us?” Nathan bounced over, his eyes sparkling. There was no trace of the tired kid from just five minutes ago.
“There are a lot of us,” I said. “Ms. Caro, and then Ms. Shelly, and her beau, Hubie. All five of you monkeys,” I said, ruffling his hair.
Nathan giggled.
All three of my kids behind him smiled.
“And me and your mom and Mr. Logan,” I continued.
“So nice to not be part of this rigamarole,” Florry grumbled from somewhere above me. “At least the tree smells nice.”
Hush, grumpy. This is a good thing, I thought to my ghostly mentor.
“Very noisy. I’ll be up here, minding my own business.” I caught a flash of a very red housecoat as she zoomed up toward the ceiling.
While my house was small, being a cottage built by the Methodists for summering here in Oak Bluffs, it had high ceilings. They weren’t only good for Christmas trees. Zooming away to the top of the ceiling was one of Florry’s favorite things.
Kind of like a hair flip, I thought. Which made me snicker.
“You all right?” Natalie asked.
“I’m good. Look, here’s Logan. Listen, I had to cram you and Sophie into a room with Rachel. I hope that’s okay. Nathan’s in with Theo and Kris.”
I smiled at Logan. “They’re up with Rachel, if you wouldn’t mind taking their tings up. At least the ladies are,” I said.
“Got it,” Logan grinned at me, and then turned toward the stairs, taking them two steps at a time with all the luggage under his arms.
Goddess, I loved that man.
“Oh, he’s excited,” Natalie said, watching her son and both of mine. “He loves having brothers.” Then she looked back at me. “We’re just glad we don’t have to go anywhere else. You have such a lovely, warm home.”
“It’s because Caro’s always cooking, and something always smells good,” I said, welcoming my friend Caro over.
She’d been at the stove with her back to the open living room when Natalie and the kids came in, but now she reached for Natalie with open arms.
I’d learned that Natalie had little family, and I’d introduced her to Derek’s parents earlier in the year. The look on Natalie’s face told me all I needed to know. When I’d considered, while still in Scotland, that Natalie and her two kiddos were part of my family, it was the right move.
I wasn’t even angry about Derek anymore. Because of him, I had these three wonderful extra people in my life. I was and would probably always be sad for my kids, for losing their father too soon. For me, I was glad that I hadn’t known of Derek’s deceit, and I was sorry he was gone. I would have been happy to divorce him.
But then I wouldn’t have this. I looked around the room and smiled. Shelly and Hubie, who had been out back having a glass of wine, came in, and the noise level rose as everyone started talking.
With Natalie talking with Shelly, I took a moment to check on the things in the kitchen. At the request of my witch friends—yes, Martha’s Vineyard had a coven—Caro had made a proper wassail. There was cider, smelling wonderful, with apples and cinnamon sticks floating in it.
And most of all, Caro had made a feast. She’d asked everyone to tell her what their favorite food was. So we had doughnuts, yellow cake, buffalo wings, cream of crab soup, lobster rolls, fried chicken, garlic mashed potatoes, and many salads and sides that Caro loved. It was a complete mish mash, but I loved the idea behind it.
Once the rest of the Chastains were settled, we all sat down to eat. It was noisy, and full of laughter. All five of the kids, led by Theo, got up and cleared the table, and filled the dishwasher. I was happy, full, holding Logan’s hand, and so very content.
“What’s next?” Sophie asked. She sat across from me.
“What do you mean? Why do you think there’s something more?” I teased.
“It feels like that. Like the night’s not going to end.” Sophie’s normally cautious expression broke into a grin.
“You’re right,” I said. “Hey, once everyone is done tidying, will you come back and sit down? I want to tell you what’s next on the program,” I smiled at Sophie, “And I don’t want to do it more than once.”
More excited chatter, but within fifteen minutes, everyone was back at the table. Nathan and Sophie weren’t the only ones with bright eyes.
Only Caro and I—well, and of course, Florry, my ghostly mentor, and Goldie, my Oracle tattoo, knew what was coming. Not even Logan knew. But that was all right—he’d been focused on making sure the tree was in, and the hole for it was dug for after Christmas, and other practical matters.
It was nice to have someone else around to help me plan. Caro was a damn miracle, which was putting it mildly.
“Okay, so who knows what tonight is?” I asked.
No one answered right away.
Then Shelly said, “It’s the night of the Winter Solstice. What that means is that it’s the shortest day and the longest night. You notice we’re eating a little early today. That’s because at precisely 4:48, it will mark the shortest day, moving into the longest night. And then, starting tomorrow, the days get longer.”
“So what do we do for the Solstice?” Rachel asked.
“We do what we’ve been doing. Eat, enjoy one another’s company, have cider, tell stories, and laugh. But I also have some friends who like to celebrate tonight.”
“What do they celebrate? Who are your friends?” Theo asked.
I remembered he wasn’t all that comfy with the idea of me being the Oracle, and I decided to keep it light.
“They’re all ladies who follow the seasons. I guess you’d call them pagans,” I said. Elizabeth would understand if I downplayed them a bit. The coven certainly didn’t advertise that they were here. “Most of them work in the herbal apothecary on the island, so they’re very in tune with nature.”
Theo nodded, although he didn’t look totally relaxed.
Oh, well. I couldn’t please everyone.
“And then tomorrow, we’re all going to hang out in our pajamas all day, and drink hot chocolate, and read, and watch movies. A slow day, a day of rest. Or maybe we’ll go see Santa. We can decide later.”
“Yay!” Nathan cheered.
“Can we sleep in?” Natalie asked.
“Can we come over?” Shelly chimed in. “I don’t want to work tomorrow. How ‘bout you, sweetie?” She leaned her head on Hubie’s shoulder.
“I already took the rest of the year off,” Hubie said, smiling at her.
“If I didn’t love you already, I would now.” Shelly laughed and kissed him.
Seeing my best friend so happy made me smile. “Good to know that everyone likes the plans. We’re going to need to bundle up, though, because we’re doing a fire pit outside.”
The little kids cheered and raced toward the back door. I heard Natalie half-yell about coats and gloves, and I left her to it.
Elizabeth had left me a list. I had red and green candles on a small table outside, near the fire pit. There were candles to give light, and then some for each of us to hold. All the furniture was moved, so we could stand in a circle together. Pinecones and pine garland surrounded the candles. It smelled amazing. I’d also, at Elizabeth’s request, mixed in some myrrh, cedar, and cinnamon.
It wasn’t a true Solstice celebration, but a variation in something they did at the store. This year, at my request, they were coming here. She’d told me they’d do their own ritual later. The important thing was to be there at the time of the Solstice, and to be surrounded by positive.
Everyone in this house was radiating positivity. Of that, I was sure.
Elizabeth didn’t know it, but Caro had prepared a feast for them to take with them. I’d talked with Nayla, one of the women in the coven, and the first member of the coven I’d met, right after I’d found Logan on my porch, asking for the help of the Oracle. Nayla was in charge of the food, and was delighted to not to have to do a thing.
