Creating Merry Hell Read Free

putting a brave face on it when what she really wants is someone to call her own.”
    Grace closed her eyes and pressed cool fingertips to her temple, needing a moment to gain her composure. She hadn’t been surprised when Merry had called to tell her the engagement to Rex was off. Truthfully, she’d been more surprised her friend had accepted his proposal in the first place. What kind of friend was she that she hadn’t noticed Merry was so unhappy? She’d talk to Merry later but first things first, she had to concentrate on sorting this mess out and for that she needed hard facts.
    “How many charms are in the cake?”
    “I lost count.”
    Another deep breath later she somehow managed to restrain herself from what she really wanted to say. “Oh Goddess, give me strength, we don’t have time for games. What did you enchant?”
    “Only the cherries,” confessed Rose, a wicked grin spreading across her face. “I was very reserved.”
    Reserved, hah! That would be the day. “How can you be so sure?”
    “Because I only mixed in two cherries, that’s why. Despite what you think, I’m not senile.”
    “Did you at any point give consideration to who might actually eat that other cherry?” It was at that moment Grace’s eye’s flicked to where Jack was still chatting with her Aunt Iris and felt her stomach lurch. Jack was holding a plate with a massive slice of cake. Panic shot through her and she actually felt the color drain from her face.
    “Mother. Who has the other slice of cake?” Barely coming up for air, she went on. “Please, please, please tell me you did not give the other piece of cake to Jack.”
    For once Rose had nothing to say for herself.
    “Oh, sweet Diana, how could you? This is a disaster.” Grace had to hand it to her mother, she really had outdone herself this time.
    Sighing, Rose reached out to tuck an errant curl behind her daughter’s ear. “Calm down, Gracie, you worry too much.”
    “Someone has to. You have to go over there right now and get that cake back from Jack before he eats that damn cherry.”
    “Stop worrying, you wait and see.” Rose patted Grace’s shoulder. “Everything will be fine. Everything will turn out exactly as it should.”
    “I doubt that,” Grace insisted, her gaze firmly on Jack.
    “Has it ever occurred to you that some good may come of this?”
    “No.”
    “Be careful, Grace, it sounds like you are also making decisions for Merry.”
    “Hardly. Unlike some people, I’m actually trying to help.”
    Rose looked as though she was about to say something else then thought better of it. Turning away from Grace, she set off toward Jack, her heels clicking on the slate floor. Grace tried to convince herself that everything would be okay. Then what happened next made her heart stop. Jack Campbell dug his fingers into the cake, picked out a sticky red blob and chucked it into his mouth. Looking over her shoulder, Rose caught Grace’s eye and shrugged as if to say I tried . And then she was gone. No doubt in search of more trouble.
    Round one to Rose.
    Just when Grace thought she might actually be sick, Finn came toward her balancing their ten-month-old daughter on one hip while holding a glass of water. “ Merry’s been commandeered by one of your aunts. She asked me to bring this over.”
    Accepting the glass, Grace took a big gulp of the water.
    At his wife’s crestfallen expression Finn asked, “Everything okay?”
    “No. Not really,” she said flatly.
    Finn put his arm around her waist, pulled her close to his strong body and dropped a kiss on top of her flame colored curls. “What’s up? Your mother?”
    “However did you guess?”
    “What’s my second favorite witch been up to now?” Finn chuckled.
    Drawing comfort from his strong body, she sank into him and let out a long, weary sigh. “You really don’t want to know.”
    * * * * *
    Jack scowled at the picture he’d wedged between the bathroom mirror and the wall and wondered for