Magic, New Mexico Boxset books 1-3

Chapter 2

Chapter Two

Lacey sighed as Ginger, the beautiful three year old Golden Retriever that had been dropped off at the Touch of Magic Animal Shelter two weeks ago, wagged her tail as she stepped into the large airy barn. The sound of puppies growling in the stall behind her brought a smile to Lacey’s lips. The smile felt stiff and unfamiliar, but at least it was a smile.

“Hey, girl,” Lacey murmured softly. “How are your babies doing today?”

A wet lick of a tongue and a tired sigh answered Lacey’s question. A malnourished Ginger and her litter of four puppies had been dropped off a little over six weeks ago at the gate leading to the animal shelter Lacey and her husband, Sean, had started six years before.

Lacey sent a wave of warmth through her fingers to the tired mother. The smile on her lips widened when Ginger picked up the bright orange tennis ball she liked to carry and stood up with renewed energy. Lacey reached down and took it, ignoring the dampness. With a flick of her wrist, she tossed the ball into the outer courtyard area.

“Go have some fun, girl. I’ll look after your babies for a little while,” Lacey told the wagging Golden before she called out to Evan, one of her part-time helpers, who had picked up the ball as it rolled by him. Lacey watched as he began to play with Ginger. “Thanks, Evan.”

“No problem, Lacey,” Evan called back cheerfully.

Lacey sighed again as she turned back toward the stall containing the puppies. She knew it was crazy for her to be down in the dumps today, but not even the sunshine outside could soothe her restless soul. A sense of apprehension swept through her as she thought of the unusual storm that had rolled through last night. She could smell the change in the air. Something was coming.

“Yes, something is coming,” Topper said, leaning against the door to the stall.

Lacey jumped, startled as her eccentric aunt’s tiny head popped up. Today her hair was a blaze of purple that matched her eyes. Lacey couldn’t stop the chuckle that escaped her.

At almost sixty, Topper was just one of the colorful residents of Magic, New Mexico. The town, aptly named due its unusual assortment of residents, was home to a strange mixture of people from all over the world. It was a place where people could be themselves without fear of being labeled bizarre, threatening, or being hunted down for research. Topper was just one of those residents.

“Topper, I thought you were in Bermuda!” Lacey exclaimed. “You scared the daylights out of me.”

“I was, dear, but I could feel your sadness all the way there. I thought you might like a bit of company,” Topper said cheerfully.

Lacey looked skeptically at her aunt. “I’m fine,” she started to say before she stopped short. Rolling her eyes, she knew her aunt didn’t believe her when her bottom lip stuck out. “Okay, so I’m not ‘fine’, but I will be.”

“Sean wouldn’t want you to feel sad, love,” Topper commented, opening the door to the stall. “Come in and sit with the new babies. They are so much stronger now.”

Lacey’s mouth drooped at Sean’s name. No, he wouldn’t have wanted her to be sad. He loved life and would have wanted her to embrace the beauty surrounding her and to appreciate every day for the joy it could bring. She missed him so much.

Lacey started again as a withered hand captured the tear that began to slide down her cheek. She released the breath she didn’t realize she was holding as the glistening drop rose into the air and burst into a million tiny diamonds.

Sean’s laughing face formed for a brief moment. Lacey closed her eyes as warmth brushed across her cheeks, eyelids and lips. When she opened her eyes, a deep sense of calm swept through her, lifting her mood.

“Thank you, Aunty,” Lacey murmured.

“Anytime, child. Now, look at what these darling little fur balls can do,” Topper replied, grabbing Lacey’s hand and pulling her down into the hay next to the litter of rambunctious eight week old puppies.

Lacey covered her face as the puppies realized they had a new play toy, namely her. Laughing, Lacey couldn’t quite protect her face as the tiny mouths pulled on her hair and licked her chin. She was gasping for breath by the time they all piled onto her stomach and chest to wrestle with each other.

Dropping her hands, she lay back against the fresh hay as all but the runt of the litter hurried over to their mother to play as Ginger came back in to check on her family. Soon, the puppies were piled on top of each other, content after their feeding and play time. Well, all of them except for the runt. Little Bit was busy working on the top button of Lacey’s red blouse. How anyone could just dump such a wonderful little family, Lacey would never understand as she ran her hands over the blondish-brown pup.

“I felt a change in the air,” Lacey murmured as she continued to stroke the puppy that had settled down for a nap. “Something is coming.”

“I felt it too. There will be a battle between good and evil,” Topper replied, stroking her purple hair. “But it will be more than that.”

Lacey glanced at her aunt in surprise. Premonition was one of Topper’s specialties. She could sense things better than Lacey. If only she had been here when…

“It would not have stopped what happened, Lacey. It was Sean’s time to go. You have to accept that, love,” Topper said gently.

“Maybe if I had been there instead of staying here…” Lacey began as she gently picked up the drowsy puppy in her hands and sat up. Cradling it against her chest, she drew in a deep breath. “You’re right, you know. Sean told me the same thing. He knew that it was his time. I just miss him.”

Lacey thought back to the bus accident that took her young husband’s life three years before. Sean had gone to see his parents who were visiting an old family friend in Sante Fe. His car was in the local garage so Sean had taken the bus. A tire on the bus blew out as it rounded a curve in the road. The blowout had sent the bus careening into an oncoming semi-trailer carrying a load of concrete culvert pipes.

Eight people had died instantly including Sean. As his spirit released from his body, Lacey had awoken from a dream where she had been sitting beside him. Her screams were so loud that they had carried on the wind, drawing her sisters and aunt from their houses almost a quarter mile from the shelter that she and Sean had built.

“He still watches over you, love. He is a pretty stubborn spirit,” Topper said with a satisfied nod.

“I need to let him go,” Lacey replied softly. “But, I don’t want to.”

Topper patted Lacey’s hand. “I don’t think it’s you, dear. Sean wants to make sure that you are not alone before he is ready to leave. This is not about what you want, but what he is determined for you to have.”

Lacey glanced stubbornly up into the dancing purple eyes of her Aunt. She shook her head in determination. She would never again open herself to such pain. She would never allow herself to love someone the way she had loved Sean. She would… well, she would put a hex on any man first before she would allow herself to love again, she thought in defiance.

“So, what do you think is going to happen?” Lacey asked curiously, wanting to change the subject. “You said there would be a battle between good and evil. What type? Is it something we should warn Theo about?”

Theo was the local sheriff of Magic. It had taken a while after he first arrived to understand the strange residents, but after a few months, he had reluctantly begun to listen to them when they told him something was about to happen. This might be another one of those times if both Lacey and Topper were feeling the same sense of pending danger.

“No,” Topper murmured, stroking her hair again. “No, I think this time Theo should stay out of it. There will be another law man who will deal with the situation.”

Lacey groaned and shook her head. “Theo isn’t going to like another law man on his turf without his knowing. You know how protective he is now that he knows everyone.”

“He won’t have much to say about this one,” Topper replied as her eyes began to glow with delight, as if she was seeing something that had surprised her. “No, he won’t and neither will…”

“Neither will who?” Lacey asked with a frown.

“Nothing to worry about, dear. Everything will work out for the best,” Topper said, standing suddenly. With a wink, she tapped Little Bit on her head. The puppy jerked awake in Lacey’s arms, a small growl escaping her at being startled awake. “You, you little devil, are going to be a wonderful protector.”

Lacey carefully set Little Bit down by her sleeping brothers and sisters. Immediately, the tiny puppy pushed through the sleeping pile and settled on top of the others. Lacey shook her head at Topper’s confusing statement.

“What…” Lacey started to say when she realized she was alone again. “Oh, Topper, what am I going to do with you?”

Lacey placed her hands on her hips and glanced down at Ginger who lifted her head up and blinked sleepily at her. Well, there was no use wondering what was to come. Things always happened for a reason. Sometimes they were for the best, other times it was hard to see where the good could be. Still, it wasn’t a part of Lacey’s personality to focus on the bad for long.

“Okay, I have chores to do. If she comes back, warn me next time, will you?” Lacey asked in exasperation.

Ginger answered her by laying her head back down and closing her eyes. Lacey chuckled. She felt like doing the same thing after a sleepless night. Still, she had eighteen animals of various breeds that she needed to attend to. Evan was a great help, but at thirteen there was only so much he could do.

Lacey quietly stepped out of the stall and closed the door behind her. A special doggy-door in it would allow Ginger to come and go while keeping the puppies safe.

A smile, this time a little easier than before, lit Lacey’s face as she stepped out of the barn and raised her face to the sun. For just an instant, she swore she could feel Sean’s fingers running down her cheek. For the first time in three years, the heaviness that had threatened to drown her felt lighter.

Soon, Lacey, Sean’s voice whispered as he watched over her. Soon, my love, there will be another who will make you smile and laugh again.