Midnight Surrender (A Paranormal Romance Anthology) Page 6

  ~***~

  The next morning, Channie woke up with a pounding headache. One look in the mirror was all it took to convince her she needed a master healer. She didn’t want to risk Momma trying to heal it and leaving a scar. So she wrote a note on the chalkboard in the kitchen then rode her bike to Aunt Wisdom’s place.

  Channie found her in the greenhouse, grinding herbs with a mortar and pestle.

  “Good lord, Channie. What happened?”

  “I bumped my head on that old pine support beam again.”

  “Come here.” Aunt Wisdom shifted from favorite aunt to master healer. She set the mortar and pestle on the work table then cast a cleansing spell on her hands. “Let’s have a look.”

  Aunt Wisdom tilted Channie’s head from side to side as she examined the cut. She pursed her lips and frowned. “Have a seat. I’ll go get my supplies.”

  Channie hopped her butt up onto the table then picked up the mortar and pestle. Might as well make herself useful. She swung her bare feet back and forth as she worked. The sharp, clean scent of lavender tickled Channie’s nose. She rubbed the tip of it with the back of her hand to keep from sneezing.

  When Aunt Wisdom returned, she poured a quarter cup of magically enhanced disinfectant into a glass bowl and added a handful of cotton balls. “This might sting a little.”

  “Wait!” Channie hugged the mortar and pestle to her chest and leaned away from Aunt Wisdom. “Just clean it with regular witch hazel. I don’t need the enhanced stuff.”

  “If this were a fresh wound, I might consider it. But it’s already scabbed over.”

  Healing Magic — whether administered directly from a healer’s hands or through enhanced herbal remedies — was painful. The more powerful the magic, the greater the pain.

  As a first year apprentice, it was Channie’s job to enhance the plants. She knew exactly how much magic was in that tincture. ‘Sting a little’ nothing. This was gonna hurt like hell.

  Channie flinched every time Aunt Wisdom dabbed at the cut. “Ouch!”

  “Keep grinding that lavender. This’ll hurt less if you focus on something else.”

  “It’d hurt a whole lot less if you’d just use regular disinfectant.” Channie knew she was acting like a child, but she hated pain and Aunt Wisdom was taking forever.

  When she finished, Aunt Wisdom patted Channie’s knee. “That wasn’t so bad now, was it?”

  Actually, it was, but Channie didn’t ride her bike all the way over here just to have her cut disinfected. She took a deep breath and squared her shoulders. “Finish it.”

  “Are you sure? It’ll heal just fine if you keep it clean.”

  Channie gritted her teeth and nodded. “I don’t want any hint of a scar.”

  Aunt Wisdom didn’t waste any time. She held her hand over the lump on Channie’s head and closed her eyes. “On the count of three. One … two … three.”

  White-hot pain flashed across Channie’s forehead. It was quicker than a heart-beat, but hurt worse than ten of Momma’s stinging-spells combined. Channie blinked away tears.

  “That bump on your noggin was more severe than usual. You must have smacked that beam pretty hard. Did something startle you awake?”

  Channie gasped. There was no way Aunt Wisdom knew about Hunter’s visit last night. She winced, hoping Aunt Wisdom would think her gasp was one of pain instead of guilt. “It wouldn’t have been so bad if I hadn’t hit my head on a knot.”

  “It’s been four years since your daddy built that loft. There’s no excuse for him not finishing it.”

  “I’m gonna whittle it off myself when I get home.”

  Aunt Wisdom smiled and winked at Channie. “Just carve a heart and a couple of random initials into the knot. I guarantee your daddy will have it ground down to nothing before sunset.”

  “Nobody’s gonna believe I have a boyfriend.”

  Aunt Wisdom’s smile disappeared. She sighed and shook her head. “We’ve already talked about this.”

  “Please, I’ll do anything you ask. I’ll clean out your chicken coop every day for a year. Just boost my hormone levels a little. I’m sick and tired of being flatter’n a pancake.”

  “You’re just a late bloomer, that’s all. Be patient. Your time will come.”

  “But Spring Gathering is only two weeks away.” 

  Aunt Wisdom put her hand on Channie’s shoulder and gave it a gentle squeeze. “There are consequences for tampering with nature.”

  Channie dropped her chin and let her shoulders slump, rounding her back. “There’s consequences for looking like a bean pole, too.”

  “Listen to me.” Aunt Wisdom cupped Channie’s face in her palms and tilted her head up. “You are a beautiful young woman with your whole life ahead of you.”

  Channie twisted her head out of Aunt Wisdom’s hands. “All the best boys will be spoken for before I ever get a chance.” 

  “I won’t risk your health just so you can fill out a new dress.”

  “I ain’t getting no new dress. Momma’s taking one of Abby’s in for me so it won’t fall off.” Channie dropped her gaze to the crushed gravel floor of the greenhouse. “Not that anyone would notice.”

  “What’s it going to take to get you to stop using double negatives and saying ‘ain’t?’” Aunt Wisdom took the mortar and pestle from Channie then nodded towards the house. “Go grab some shoes out of my closet.”

  “What for?”

  “We’re going to town.”