a girl-power alliance? I might even be able to help you train this one to keep her guard arm up.”
They shook hands over Hecate’s spluttering laughter.
Chapter 11
Nell heaved a sigh of relief as she climbed out of Aaron’s van. Here in the middle of nowhere, she could finally stand down from high alert. Four-year-olds and airplanes were a fun mix for about an hour. Unfortunately, it took a lot longer than that to get from California to Nova Scotia.
And she’d had to clamp a silence spell on Aervyn going through customs. The nice border agent didn’t really need to know what an unhappy witchling thought he could do to make planes go a little faster.
“Try not to lose your brother before dinner, Ginia,” she called out to her daughter, already halfway across the lawn happily greeting Lizzie, with Aervyn not far behind.
Kevin waved. “Don’t worry, Aunt Nell. We’ll make sure he doesn’t fall in the ocean.”
It was hard to take that promise seriously from a boy whose pants were wet up to the knees. “Just make sure you all come back for dinner.”
In moments, all five children were around the end of the house and gone.
“It will do them good to run for a bit,” Aaron said, grabbing some of her luggage.
Nell grinned. “You just don’t want them burning it off inside your inn.”
“That, too. Although Elorie assures me it’s been witchling-proofed.”
“Nothing is Aervyn-proof.”
Aaron chuckled. “Remind me to triple your damage deposit, then.” He picked up a bag. “What the heck is in here—rocks?”
“That would be Ginia’s collection of potions. She wanted to show Sophie and Moira some of her latest creations. Unfortunately, potions are heavy, and not all that easy to get through customs.”
Aaron eyed the bag with sensible caution. “I can imagine. Will any of them turn me into a frog or cause me to express my undying love to the wrong woman?”
“Don’t worry. I’ll make sure you’re pointed at your wife if you drink that one.” Aaron laughed, and they began lugging bags into the house. Nell decided she approved of Elorie’s guy.
A sense of humor was an important quality if you were married to a witch, particularly if there were witchling babies on the horizon. Nell knew a case of baby fever when she saw one. Elorie’s eyes had strayed to every baby on the West Coast during her visit. She’d be shocked if there weren’t a little Shaw in at least the planning stages.
Moira was waiting in the inn’s parlor. “How very lovely to see you.” She hugged Nell and gestured to the table. “Come, sit. I’ve tea already poured. I assume your children ran away with our ruffians.”
Nell breathed deeply and downshifted to rural Nova Scotia speed. “They did, but Ginia can hardly wait to sit down with you and Sophie. She’s been practicing her potions and threatening to turn our entire back yard into a garden.”
Moira beamed. “She’s most welcome in my garden. My flowers could use some tending by young hands. They feel a bit neglected these days.”
“None of your witchlings have earth magic?”
“Our Sean has a wee bit, but his talents are mostly with the rocks and land. He’s not at all interested in the plants, and I don’t think he’s got the patience to sit and tend to flowers.”
“That’s women’s work,” Marcus said from the doorway, nodding at Nell. She wasn’t entirely sure he was kidding.
Moira looked heavenward. “Nell, you’d do me the most wonderful favor if you could tinker with my nephew’s thinking while you’re here. Some of his brain appears to be stuck in the Middle Ages.”
Marcus poured himself a cup of tea. “I’ve never denied it. Welcome to our corner of the world, Nell. I won’t ask about your trip—I assume that with two witchlings in tow, it was less than pleasant.”
Nell could feel a hiss of protest coming on, even though Marcus was exactly right. He just rubbed her the wrong way.
“Marcus, behave,” Moira said, an amused look on her face. “So, Lauren didn’t travel with you then, Nell?”
“No, she didn’t. There was some last-minute deal she had to wrap up this morning, so she took a different airline and routed through Colorado. She and Sophie will be coming in together in a couple of hours.”
Marcus sat and offered Nell a bowl of berries. “Perhaps she reassessed the wisdom of spending hours on an airplane with a four-year-old.”
Nell just raised an eyebrow. She knew how to handle bullies. Her pithy reply, however, got cut off by