After the Summerland (The Witches of Spring Hill Book 1) (2 page)

Fortunately for the cat, Liam’s
quick reflexes kept him from eliminating one of its nine lives. Taking a couple
of deep breaths: in and out, in and out, he relaxes, relieved that it was only
a cat. He is glad the cat has not found him intriguing enough to stick around.
He seems to be done taunting him since he is now lying in a sunny spot in the yard,
watching Liam as he makes his way to the front door.

Looking at the house up
close, Liam realizes that although the house is more than 200 years old, the
condition is impeccable. A fresh coat of white paint has been applied to the new
wood siding and the shutters and windows all appear to be brand new. The house
has clearly been well maintained; but thinking about it, Liam has never heard
of anyone working around the property. It makes sense that the old women can
bake and garden, but fixing up a house?

He thinks again of his
great grandfather Aldo and the strange connection he had with the Scotts.
He wonders if his dad and granddad have anything to do with the upkeep of the house,
seeing that they are both retired and quite handy. More than ever he feels a
strong need to know the mystery of his great grandfather. He decides right then and
there that next time he talks to either his dad or granddad, he will demand
answers and ask outright if they have been spending time up here.

On the front porch,
three rocking chairs with plush purple cushions invite him to sit and rock. A
large fountain slowly trickles water into two planters bursting with colorful flowers
sitting on either side of it. On the wall above the fountain, protected from
the weather by the covered porch, is a piece of art made of metal that looks like
a full moon surrounded by two crescent moons. Although Liam can’t remember ever
having seen that symbol before, he somehow recognizes it.

At the front door he
knocks, once, twice and then rings the doorbell a couple of times. Peering in
the windows, he sees nothing out of the ordinary. Is it possible the women have
left or gone on vacation? No, Liam chides himself — that is impossible. In all
his 27 years, he has never heard of the women coming down off the hill; and he
would have heard about it in this small town where everyone knows everything about
everyone, especially when it comes to the 3 Sisters.

He decides to go back around
to the side door and have a look at the back of the house before he forces
entry. Of all the houses in town, he doesn’t want to break into this house,
knowing how much the women value their privacy. He feels a trickle of sweat at
the base of his neck stemming from the fear of what he will find when he enters.
Not for the first time, he wonders if he should have called his dad and
granddad to come up with him, but his intense need to prove something to them,
and himself, overrides his gut instinct.

Liam walks back along
the sidewalk to the driveway and knocks at the side door. Peering in the
windows, he sees an orderly kitchen with everything in place. A pie sits on a
rack on the counter with a knife lying next to it, not at all threatening
looking, more as if someone was just waiting for the pie to cool before having
a slice. Again, nothing external has given him the impression that something is
amiss, but intuition tells him that something unusual is definitely happening
at this house.

Moving toward the
backyard, he becomes aware of a quiet buzzing sound and a slight vibration. As
he rounds the corner, he gets a more expansive view of the gardens. Although
not obvious from the driveway, the gardens are arranged in a circular pattern.
From where he stands, he can clearly see they are designed to make it easy to
harvest the herbs quickly. Round paver stones provide pathways through the
plants and herbs, and then continue back toward the dense woods at the edge of
the yard. Although plenty of fruits and vegetables grow in and around the
garden, he can only smell the herbs. He smells rosemary, basil, thyme, mint,
coriander, and sage.

He is surprised that he
can identify each herb by smell, since he is not a gardener or a cook. The name
of each plant comes to his mind as if from a whisper, telling him not only the
name, but also guiding his eyes to the plant in the garden. He can easily
picture when and how to plant and harvest the herbs, and when he stops to
consciously think about what he is seeing and feeling, he knows something
profound is happening to him. Had someone asked him about the garden five
minutes ago, he would not have been able to name any of the plants, let alone
know when to harvest them.

Moving on, he discovers the buzzing sound coming
from a beehive that is obviously intended to produce honey. Again, he visualizes
himself wearing the protective clothing and extracting the honey from the
honeycomb, although he has never done so before and has never seen the process
that he is now picturing himself doing.

Confused by the litany
of images flashing through his mind, Liam shakes his head to pull himself out
of this reverie, déjà vu, or whatever is happening to him. He cannot imagine
doing the things he just pictured, but he knows that somehow he has acquired
the knowledge and the skills to plant, grow, and harvest everything in this
garden. Unsure of what it all means, he continues examining the house for any
sign of forced entry or for any sign of the three sisters.

Arriving back at the
front door with no more knowledge of what is going on, no evidence of foul play,
and no sign of the women, he decides to break in. He continues around to the side door
where the windowpanes can be broken individually, which will allow him to easily
reach in to unlock the door with minimal damage to the window and himself.
Careful so as not to break more of the window than he intends, he butts the end
of his Maglite against the windowpane. The glass pane shatters easily and he puts
his ear close to the opening, listening for any sounds from within the house.

After hearing nothing,
he calls, “Hello? This is Chief Alexander. Isabelle? Cora? Abigail?” Still not
hearing or seeing anything, he carefully reaches through the broken pane to
unlock the door. He steps over the basket of groceries and once inside avoids
the newly broken glass on the hardwood floor. He draws his gun again and looks
around for anything unusual or suspicious.

The kitchen appears to
be a central gathering point, as it looks more lived in than any kitchen he has
ever seen, certainly more than his own. The original stone hearth sits in the
corner and Liam can easily picture generations of women standing over the
hearth stirring a large bubbling pot. An oversized dining table sits close to
the hearth creating a warm and inviting area for gathering. Next to one of the
chairs sits a basket with pink yarn and knitting needles, and although most of
the kitchen is tidy, the entire table is covered with old books and papers. Though
curious, Liam continues looking around the kitchen.

The walls are butter
yellow and the tiles on the counters and
island are
a
deep sapphire blue. The large greenhouse window over the sink holds so many
plants and herbs that the light from outside barely penetrates into the
kitchen. Even with the small amount of light from the window, the kitchen is
bright and feels both large and cozy at the same time. The appliances are all
modern, stainless steel, and look brand new. A variety of kitchen gadgets occupy
the counter space, some that Liam can identify — others that he cannot. Of
course the pie and knife still sit on the counter, but now Liam can also see five
plates and five mugs, as if the women were expecting guests. He finds this unusual
since he cannot remember ever hearing about anyone visiting the Scotts.

Leaving the kitchen, he becomes aware of the
sensation that he is not alone. He knows the feeling of an empty house; and
here, he can feel a presence of someone or something. The feeling is not
malevolent, but rather electric. Liam makes his way through the large
comfortable family room and stops short when he hears a muffled sound. Though the
sound was unidentifiable, it definitely came from upstairs. He now considers
that perhaps the women are sick or injured and every moment that he waits could
mean another second of their agony.

Instinct tells him that
he is not in danger, so he lowers his gun to his side as he sprints up the staircase.
He hesitates at the first closed door, knocks gently and opens it. He finds a spartan
bedroom with a dresser and a neatly made bed. Finding the room undisturbed, he moves
to the room right next door. Again knocking gently before opening the door, he
enters only to find a similar room in size and décor. The bed is neatly made
with a quilt that looks somewhat familiar to him.

Ignoring the nagging
recognition of the room and the quilt, he steps back into the hall passing a room
with an open door. The room is clearly used for storage as boxes are lined up
against three of the walls. A staircase leads up to a third floor, but first he
has to check one last door in this hall. He instinctively knows that whatever
is behind that door is going to change his life forever.

Without knocking, Liam
opens the door and expecting to find one or all three of the women, he is
almost driven to his knees by what he finds instead. Lying in the middle of a circle
on the bedroom floor are three infants, watching him expectantly.

Liam’s mom died shortly
after he was born. His dad, Marcus, never blamed Liam for his wife’s death and
although Liam went through a stage where he blamed himself, it didn’t last long
thanks to the love and support of his doting father. Marcus never remarried and
raised his son by himself with help from his father, Peter, Liam’s grandfather,
and more than one neighbor in town. The saying “It takes a village to raise a
child” couldn’t be more true for Liam as he was often left with someone in town
when Marcus or Peter had to deal with police business or just needed some space
from a growing, active boy.

Liam had a normal
enough childhood spending much of it at the police station with his dad and
granddad. He knew from an early age that he, too, wanted to be a police officer
so he could protect the people in town. When he was ten, he overheard a group
of kids daring each other to climb the hill, spy on the three ‘witches,’ and
then report back to get a “prize.” Knowing what they were doing was wrong, Liam
ran to the police station to tell his dad. The thought of the old women being
spied on made him feel sick to his stomach. His dad and granddad applauded him
for speaking up for what was right and reminded him that being a police officer
in this town meant he would have to serve and protect every citizen. So at a
young age he learned not to take part in town gossip, especially about the
Scott sisters.

He spent his high
school years getting good grades and playing sports. He knew he wasn’t like the
other kids who dreamed of a life outside of Spring Hill, applying to big
colleges, just counting down the days to escape. Liam liked living in a small
town and had no desire to leave.

As soon as he finished
high school, he fast tracked his education with a criminal justice degree. He
went to the police academy and became an officer, working with his dad and
granddad at the station. Soon after he joined the force, his granddad retired,
making his father chief of police and Liam, deputy chief. At the time, Liam knew he would
replace his father as chief one day, just as his father had replaced his
grandfather. He liked the role his family had as protectors in town, along with
the trust and respect that came with it. He was honest, fair, and genuinely
cared for the well-being of the people he served and protected. He made it his
business to know not only everyone, but also the history and the stories that
made his town home.

He figured he would
eventually meet a girl and settle down to raise a family. Though both his dad
and granddad married young and lost their wives early in their marriages, neither
ever remarried, instead focusing on being fathers and police officers. Neither
seemed to regret the way their lives turned out and at times, Liam envied their
peace.

Whenever Liam thinks
about marriage, he can’t help but think that three generations of Alexander men
have been left to raise their children without a mother, and whether a
coincidence or a curse, he sees a pattern. He thinks of this whenever one of
the women in town begins relentlessly pursuing him in the hopes of recruiting
him as a husband. She could be putting the nails in her own coffin, he thinks
as she bats her eyes at him.

Just shy of six feet
tall with wavy black hair, blue eyes, and in moderately good shape, he knows
the women in town think of him as quite the catch. He has dated here and there,
but over time women realize that he will never be what they want him to be and
move on. Ways are usually parted amicably with the understanding that nothing
is lacking in either person, it just wouldn’t work out in the long run. At 27,
he is still a bachelor and since bachelors raised him, he is comfortable with
the solitary life. Not that he always sleeps alone or doesn’t enjoy the company
of women, but he would much rather wake up alone than deal with the awkwardness
of conversation first thing in the morning.

His dad, Marcus,
retired early so he could spend more time with his true passion, woodworking,
or so he says, but Liam often wonders if it was just a coincidence that his dad
retired around the same time that Liam was ready for a better position. Twenty-seven
is young to be chief of police, and he knows that had his dad not chosen to
retire, he himself would still be a deputy chief. Now that both Marcus and
Peter are retired, Liam meets them for breakfast every morning in the local
diner. Not only because they enjoy each other’s company, but also because it solidifies
the family’s presence in town.