"I don't think she is coming back," she said with a sigh. "It's been so long."
"Yes, she is. She promised. Maybe we should look for her."
"We don't know where to look."
"We could go down by the boats, where Mama took us that day. Maybe she's there."
Rose shook her head, feeling her stomach turn over at the thought. She hadn't liked their trip to see the boats. She didn't even want to think about it. "We can't cross the street by ourselves, and we don't even know where the boats are."
"I bet I could find them," Lily said confidently.
"We're not going. Mama said she'd come back. We just have to wait for her."
Lily's eyes sparkled with a new idea. "Maybe Mariah can help us." She took the crystal ball off the dresser and set it on the bed between them. They'd gotten it a week ago for their sixth birthday, a present from their grandmother, Sophia. Inside the glazed blue glass were the head and shoulders of a beautiful lady with long blonde hair, a glittery face, and a bright pink wizard's hat. Their grandmother said she had found the wizard in an antiques shop. She told them it had belonged to a little girl who swore it could make magic—but only for people who believed in it.
Lily rubbed her hand over the top of the ball.
A spark of light surprised her. "What was that?" she asked, her eyes widening with alarm. She felt butterflies in her stomach, the kind that came whenever a new nanny arrived.
"I don't know. It didn't do that when I touched it yesterday," Lily said.
"Well, ask the question."
Lily rubbed her hand over the ball again, drawing another flash of light. "Mariah, we want to find our mother. Do you know where she is? Do you know where we should go to look for her?"
The lady's mouth began to move. Lily looked over at Rose in awe. "Did you see that?" she whispered.
Rose swallowed hard. She felt scared, but she wanted to hear the answer.
Mariah's voice came across, sounding as lovely as a melody. "For children who believe in me, school is just the place to be."
"What?" Lily asked in confusion.
"Go to school?" Rose repeated in doubt. She didn't want to go to school. It was summer, and they'd already done kindergarten.
"I'm going to ask her again. I don't think she heard me right." No matter how many times Lily asked the question, the crystal ball remained dark and Mariah remained silent. "Maybe the batteries are dead," Lily said as she turned the ball upside down.
"Where do the batteries go?" she asked.
"I don't know. I can't find anything."
"Maybe we should ask Daddy."
Lily rolled her eyes. "I don't think so."
"I didn't mean out loud," she said, although it was getting more difficult not to talk to him, especially when he was being nice or when he kissed her goodnight. But they'd promised their mother they could keep a secret, that they wouldn't speak to their dad again until she came home. She couldn't give up now. If she did, Mama might never come back.
"We'll try Mariah later," Lily said. "Maybe she needs to rest."
* * *
Michael stared at his waterlogged, smoke-filled kitchen in disgust. The cookbooks on the counter had been doused with water. The edges of the yellow-trimmed curtains that his mother-in-law had hung for them just after they moved into the house were charred around the edges. There were puddles on the floor with ashes floating like little boats in a murky river. What a mess—just like his life.
He wished he had a magic wand that he could wave and everything would be all right again. He didn't know why he kept hoping for a miracle. He'd said enough unanswered prayers to know that magic and miracles did not exist.
He took off his suit coat and tossed it over the chair at the breakfast room table. Loosening the knot in his tie, he rolled up the sleeves to his elbows. Wading through a couple of inches of dirty water, he made his way to the refrigerator and opened the door. The inside was dark. Apparently the firemen had turned off the electricity, but the beers were still cold. Thank God!
He pulled out a can and opened it. One draught went a long way toward easing some of his frustration. As he took another sip he walked into the dining room, eager to get away from the kitchen disaster. That's when he saw the list of summer schools Mrs. Polking had left on the credenza. He reached for the paper, but his foot caught on the carpet and he stumbled, spilling beer all over everything.
"Damn." He shook the beer off the top of the paper, but the ink smeared and only one of the school names remained legible. "Happy Hollow School—summer school programs, kindergarten through second grade," he read aloud. The school was in North Beach, just a mile away. Maybe he could convince the twins' grandmother to take the girls after school until he could find another baby-sitter.
Of course, he didn't have much credit left with the family. The girls had terrorized their aunt, uncle, and grandparents long before they'd started in on the nannies. And he hated to ask Sophia to baby-sit. She usually spent her afternoons at De Luca's, helping her husband, Vincent, and her son, Frank, run the family restaurant.
School was the best answer, at least until he could find another nanny. With any luck the teachers at Happy Hollow would be tough enough to take anything his girls could dish out.
Book List
The Callaway Family Series
**
Nobody But You
(A Callaway Wedding Novella)
The Wish Series
Standalone Novels
The Sanders Brothers Series
The Deception Series
#1
Taken
#2
Played
The Angel's Bay Series
#1 Suddenly One Summer
#2 On Shadow Beach
#3 In Shelter Cove
#4 At Hidden Falls
#5 Garden of Secrets
About The Author
Barbara Freethy is a #1 New York Times Bestselling Author of 40 novels ranging from contemporary romance to romantic suspense and women's fiction. Traditionally published for many years, Barbara turned to Indie publishing in 2011 and has since sold over 4.8 million ebooks! Nineteen of her titles have appeared on the New York Times and USA Today Bestseller Lists.
Known for her emotional and compelling stories of love, family, mystery and romance, Barbara enjoys writing about ordinary people caught up in extraordinary adventures. She is currently writing a connected family series, The Callaways. The first six books in the series are currently available.
Barbara also recently released the WISH SERIES, a series of books connected by the theme of wishes including: A SECRET WISH (#1), JUST A WISH AWAY (#2) and WHEN WISHES COLLIDE (#3).
Other popular standalone titles include: DON'T SAY A WORD, SILENT RUN, SUMMER SECRETS, and RYAN'S RETURN.
Barbara's books have won numerous awards - she is a six-time finalist for the RITA for best contemporary romance from Romance Writers of America and a two-time winner for DANIEL'S GIFT and THE WAY BACK HOME.
Barbara has lived all over the state of California and currently resides in Northern California where she draws much of her inspiration from the beautiful bay area.
For a complete listing of books, as well as excerpts and contests, and to connect with Barbara: