A Celtic Witch - By Debora Geary Page 0,61

for a good old-fashioned Irish remedy for trying to move too fast. Let's go find me some needles."

Ah, things were afoot in Fisher's Cove.

Moira closed the door behind her departing visitors. Sophie and Cass were leaving down her walkway, heads bent together companionably. It was lovely to see.

Friends - and ones who had come to borrow knitting needles for yarn that Moira had gone to some pains not to covet. A truly lovely gift from a wise healer who understood the soul of her new friend.

The tea kettle whistled, ready with its never-ending supply of hot water. Moira turned and nearly bumped into Nell. "Oh, my. Isn't it a mite early for you to be up?" It would be the crack of dawn in California.

Her guest took a large swig from a cup that smelled of dark coffee. "Haven't gone to bed yet. I was on Kenna duty last night. Thought I'd stop by for some gossip before I catch some sleep."

Moira withheld her lecture on the evils of caffeine before bed - Nell was well aware of the biochemistry and old enough to have earned the right to ignore it. "Well, let's see. Sophie and Cass have become friends, our lovely fiddler handles sadness in the way of all the Irish, and Marcus has declined the offer of an amethyst hairclip."

Nell sat down, her eyes bright with laughter. "It sounds like there's a story behind all of those, but the last one has the best punch line."

They were nowhere near the end of the story just yet. Moira told the tale of Cass's teasing.

"Hmm." Nell contemplated a plate of muffins, still warm from the oven. "Do you think she meant anything by it, or was she just trying to cheer herself up?"

Marcus had a good friend in Nell Walker, even if neither of them admitted it most of the time. "I think he's thoroughly caught her attention, but she's wary yet. Morgan's easier." Which also had her nephew worried, even if he wasn't admitting that, either.

"Everyone loves Morgan." Nell brushed that off with the ease of a woman well used to having her children adored by a vast community.

"Aye. And Cass has had rather a shock these last few days." It was often hardest to look in the eyes of those who loved you most. "We'll know soon enough if she's brave enough to round the bend."

"She doesn't seem weak." Nell contemplated her coffee, musing. "Her music isn't."

It certainly wasn't. "You'd know something of a strong woman facing an unexpected turn in the road. It isn't always weakness that's the problem."

"Yeah." Their resident warrior witch snickered, suddenly amused. "Especially if Marcus Buchanan is standing around the corner."

Ah, they did such a good job of pretending not to have each other's backs. And Nell wasn't wrong - Marcus was a difficult man. "He's not all that awaits around the bend."

Nell slurped her coffee, thinking. "What else do you see?"

A heart squeezed. "Nan described Cass as a soul with a singular purpose. Music has been her whole life. You'd know something of that, too."

Her guest stared, perplexed.

How quickly the young forgot. "I remember a woman obsessed with her computer. Day and night, nothing but lines of code and the world you were creating."

"It's how programmers work." Nell was still confused.

"The best ones, yes." Moira smiled gently. "And as I recall, you were none too happy when Daniel showed up."

"Yeah." Nell breathed out slowly. "It was hard to make room. Even harder when Nathan arrived." Eyes filled with empathy over her cup of coffee. "Cass would have to let go of her music some."

"Yes." And to someone who had held on to only one thing for most of her life, that would feel a little bit like letting go of breathing.

Amusement hit Nell's eyes. "Tell Marcus he will need to be persistent."

Moira was quite sure that was a message better delivered by the warrior witch herself. Or possibly her husband. "Marcus and Morgan are not the only thing calling Cass to a different life."

"Her magic." Nell sobered. "Do we know anything more about that yet?"

Only feelings and instincts, and the quiet words of an old Irish healer who had known Cassidy from birth. "Her nan thinks more of her magic awakens. And that the time approaches when she will need to decide what to do with the gift she has."

They sat in silence for a while, two women who knew well what it was to tangle with sharp bends in the road.

Nell