Magic in the Wind (Drake Sisters 1)

"I could use a cup of tea," Jonas said, "if anyone's asking. And a touch of sanity in the house would be nice, too. Baby Doll was going to huck me right out the door and you all just stood there watching."

"I'll make it for you." Hannah leaned against the door frame and looked up at the sheriff. Her fingers twisted together, the only sign of her agitation. "Do you like it sweet? I'm certain I can come up with an appropriate concoction."

"I think I'll pass altogether. One of these days I'm going to retaliate, Hannah."

She made a face at him as he crossed to the sliding-glass door to stare outside at the pounding waves. "I have a bad feeling about this, Sarah. I know you're used to doing things differently and people have no idea how you do it. Maybe you don't know either, I certainly don't, but I believe in you. I sometimes just feel things. It's one of the things that makes me good at my job." He turned to look at her. "I have a very bad feeling about this. Frankly, I'm afraid for all of you."

There was a small silence. "I believe you, Jonas," Sarah said. "I've always known you had a gift."

His gaze moved around the room, restlessly touching on each woman. "I've known this family since I was a boy. Feuds"--his smoldering gaze went to Hannah--"are petty when it comes to your safety. I'm not losing any of you over this. I want to be called if one of you stubs your toe. If you see a stranger or you hear a funny noise. I'm not kidding around with you over this issue. I want your word that you'll call me. You have my private number as well as the number to the office and 911."

"Jonas, don't worry, we'll be fine. I'm very good at what I do," Sarah said with complete confidence.

Jonas took a step toward her, very reminiscent of a stalking panther. Damon was grateful he was too old to be intimidated. "I want your word. Every one of you."

Damon nodded. "I have to agree with Harrington. These men tortured us. They don't play around. I'll admit when I'm around you, I feel magic in the air, but these men are evil and capable of torture and murder. I have to know you're all safe or I'll have to leave this town."

"Damon!" Sarah looked stricken. "They'll just follow you." Worse, he would carry Death with him wherever he chose to go.

"Then cooperate with the sheriff. Give him whatever he needs to stop these men." As ridiculous as it seemed when he'd just met her, Damon couldn't bear the thought of leaving Sarah, but he wasn't about to risk her life.

"I don't mind calling you, Jonas," Kate said readily.

Abbey held up her hand. "I'm in."

Sarah nodded. "I'm always grateful for help from the local law."

All eyes turned to Hannah. She shrugged indifferently. "Whatever helps Damon, I'm willing to do."

Jonas ignored the grudge in her voice and nodded. "I want all of you to watch your step. Be aware of your surroundings and any strangers. Keep those dogs close and lock up the house!"

"We're all over it," Sarah agreed. "Really, Jonas, we don't want any part of men with guns. We'll call you even if the cat meows."

He looked a little mollified. "I'll want extra patrols around here as well as around Damon's house, Sarah."

"Well, of course, Jonas," Sarah agreed.

"It will give me every opportunity to make friends with them," Hannah said. "I don't know many of the new people in town."

Jonas glared at her. "You and your slinky body can just stay away from my deputies."

Hannah made a face at him, raised her hand to push at the hair spilling across her face. An icy wind rushed through the room, giving life to the curtains, so that they danced in a macabre fashion, fluttering, reaching toward Jonas as if to bind him in the thick folds.

Sarah glimpsed a dark shadow moving within the drapes. Her hands went up in a casual, graceful wave. Kate and Abbey followed the gentle movements with their own. The wind died abruptly and the curtains dropped into place.

Damon cleared his throat. "Does someone want to tell me what happened?"

Jonas shook his head. "Never be dumb enough to ask for an explanation from any of them, Damon. You might get it and your hair will turn gray." His gaze swung to Hannah. "Don't even think about it. Ladies, I can find my own way out."

Damon didn't take his eyes from Sarah. She was looking at Hannah and there was accusation in her gaze. Out of the corner of his eye, he could see Abbey and Kate doing the same thing.

Hannah threw her hands into the air. "I wasn't thinking, okay? I'm sorry."

The silence lengthened, disapproval thick in the room.

Hannah sighed. "I really am sorry. I forgot for just a moment about Dea--" She broke off abruptly, her gaze shifting to Damon. "About the other thing we're dealing with. It won't happen again."

"It better not," Sarah said. "You can't afford to forget for one moment. This is too dangerous, Hannah."

"Wait a minute," Damon interrupted. "If you're talking about me and those men the other night, I don't want your family involved in any way."

"The men?" Kate raised her eyebrow. "Not in the least, Damon, didn't give them a thought. There are things far more dangerous than human beings."

He watched the four women exchange long knowing looks and was exasperated. They knew something he didn't. Something regarding him. "I can understand why poor Harrington gets so frustrated with you."

Sarah rose and blew him a kiss. "He loves all seven of us. He just likes to puff out his chest."

"He was genuinely worried," Damon said. "And I am, too. The things he said make sense. It's bad enough to think of you in danger, let alone all your sisters." He raked a hand through his hair in agitation. "I can't be responsible for that."

To his shock they all laughed. "Damon." Sarah's voice was a mixture of amusement and tenderness. "We accepted responsibility for our own decisions a very long time ago. We're grown women. When we choose to involve ourselves in problems, we accept the consequences." She leaned toward him.

Abbey groaned dramatically. "She's going to do it. She's going to kiss him right in front of us."

"That is so not fair, Sarah," Hannah protested.

"Go ahead," Kate encouraged. "I need to write a good love scene."

When Sarah hesitated, her gaze lost in his, Damon took advantage and did the job thoroughly, not wanting to let Kate down.

Chapter 7

DAMON HEARD LAUGHTER drifting up from the beach as he limped around the corner of his deck to set his teacup on the small table beside his rocking chair. His hip was bothering him more than usual and Sarah wasn't there to make it better. She'd spent the last several days dragging more and more equipment into his house, setting up a security system that might rival Fort Knox.

Jonas Harrington followed him, but instead of taking the chair Damon waved him toward, he stepped to the corner of the deck to watch the figures running barefoot in the sand on the beach far below. "They're up to something."

Damon sank into his chair where he had a great view of that small, private beach. The Drake sisters often were on it, day or night, their laughter drifting on the wind, the sound as soothing as the sea itself.

He missed Sarah. It was silly to miss someone when he saw her every single day. He'd always been a loner and it didn't make sense to him to need to see her quick, flashing smile. He especially loved to watch her eyes light up each time she saw him. He'd take the memory of that expression on her face to his grave.

"I'm beginning to think there really is something magical about the Drake family. I've never needed to be around anyone, but I can't imagine never seeing Sarah Drake again. I thought my life was my work. My brain runs a hundred miles an hour, always sorting through ideas, but she calms me. Don't ask me how." Damon could pick her out easily, her long dark hair blowing free in the wind. She often swept it up in a ponytail, her natural beauty so real to him when she thought nothing of her looks. "She doesn't think she's beautiful. Isn't that strange?"

Jonas shrugged. "I don't think any of them think about their looks all that much, other than Baby Doll. They spoil her and treat her like a little princess.

" He raked a hand through his hair, frowning. "Well, I shouldn't say that." His gaze remained on the tall, thin blonde with the waves of platinum hair streaming down her back. "Sometimes I think they cater to her--and other times I think they take advantage of her. Don't ask me how, it's just a feeling."

"You like them." Damon took a sip of the hot tea. He never drank tea as a rule, but Sarah had brought him a special blend from Hannah and he found it made him feel better when the weight of guilt and memories seemed to crouch heaviest on his shoulder.

"I love them," Jonas corrected. "They're family. My family. I take that very seriously, even if they don't. They spend all of their time getting into trouble, and I don't mean something casual, I mean something dangerous."

"Like me." Damon returned the cup to the saucer and sighed. "Sarah won't back off. She took the job of guarding me and nothing I say will stop her. I've thought a hundred times about leaving so she'd be safe, but..." He trailed off, wishing he were a bigger man. He'd never had anyone look at him the way Sarah did and he just couldn't quite make himself give that up.

"She'd just follow you, Damon," Jonas said. "The Drakes are tenacious. Once they sink their teeth into a problem, it gets resolved, because they don't know the meaning of the word quit. Sarah won't quit you, so don't quit her."

Damon didn't flinch away from the steel in Jonas's eyes. "Don't worry, Harrington, I hear your warning. I doubt very much I can hurt Sarah, other than if my past does, but she's in danger of ripping out my heart and handing it to me on a silver platter."

"You've got it that bad?"

"Hell yes, I do. I never thought it would happen to me and in such a short time, too. I can't stop thinking about her." His mouth was dry and his heart pounding just talking about Sarah. He couldn't imagine why a woman so full of life and laughter and love would choose to be with someone so melancholy and dark. He didn't have the least bit of social skills and tended to run roughshod over people with his intellect. He rarely engaged in small, polite conversation and, in fact, knew he was rarely polite. It had never mattered before, but it mattered to Sarah.

"If it helps, I've never seen Sarah really interested in a man before. She dated some, but kept it away from the family and Sea Haven. All the girls probably have dated, but we don't see it here." Jonas frowned and turned back toward the sounds drifting on the wind, his gaze finding the tallest of the Drake sisters.

"What is up with that locked gate they all talk about?" Damon asked.

"The infamous gate." Jonas smirked. "They keep that gate padlocked at all times, like that's going to save them from something."

"Save them from what?"

Jonas shrugged. "I think love. I hear them talk sometimes, but they don't tell me much and in all honesty, I don't want to know. Their house holds generations of power. Real power. I hate talking about this stuff because it sounds too heebie-jeebie for me. I like to deal in facts, not magic, but you can feel the power in the house. A few years back they decided to padlock that gate and it's been kept that way ever since."

"It wasn't locked a week after Sarah came home. When I came up the path leading to the house, it was standing open. I felt like the house was welcoming me. The inscriptions on the bottom of the gate, one in Italian and one in Latin say the same thing."

"You can read Italian and Latin?" Jonas grinned at him. "No wonder Sarah's attracted to you. What does it say? I always wanted to know but wasn't about to ask them."

"'The seven become one when united.' All the symbols have meanings as well. Several are symbols of protection. Do they practice ancient religion?"

"Who the hell knows what they practice. They're magic and they have very real powers. Libby is a doctor and I've seen her work miracles. Abigail is a loose cannon sometimes. She utters the word 'truth' and everyone around her starts telling every secret they have. Hannah's just plain scary. Elle's very quiet and she doesn't talk much about what she can or can't do, but if she loses her temper, she could probably flatten Sea Haven. It drains them, though, to use their gifts. I've seen them to the point they can't walk or even talk. They drop in their tracks and it takes time for them to recover."

Damon looked up at the worry in the sheriff's voice. "What are you not saying to me? Why do you have that look on your face?"

Jonas nodded toward the beach. "They know something. Sarah has precog. At least I think she does. Every single morning I see her drive to your house."

"She's been working on a security system."

"I noticed. It's state of the art. But she didn't come this morning and she wasn't here this afternoon. And now it's evening and they're on the beach."

"Believe me, I know Sarah hasn't come to see me. It's all I can do not to pick up the phone and call her or go on down to that beach to see what she's up to."

"I think you should."

"Go down to the beach? I looked at the trail, Jonas. I don't think my hip will hold up."

"I'll be happy to help you."

"Why do I have the feeling you're trying to get me into big trouble with those women?"

Jonas flashed another grin. "Better you than me. The sun's going to be setting soon and they're preparing for that. The moon rising to meet the setting sun. We can make it to the small dunes and sit there and watch them up close and personal. If you want to be part of Sarah's family, you're going to have to just accept that they can do extraordinary things."

"Like walk on water?"

"I wouldn't rule it out."

"You really are a believer. I don't know that I can believe in anything I can't back up with scientific fact."

Jonas's grin grew wider. "You're in for a few shocks, Wilder. Come on, you may as well learn what the Drake family is all about."

Damon wanted to see Sarah. And he was curious about the magic they supposedly wielded. He didn't believe in voodoo and other religions that called on something he couldn't see or feel. Hell, he didn't even know if he believed in God anymore. He had the sneaking suspicion he was beginning to believe there really was something different about the Drakes. And if that were true, where did that leave him? A man of science, grounded firmly in fact.

He stood up, leaning heavily on his cane. "Hell. It would be just my luck to fall in love with a woman who can do some kind of magic. I don't even go to magic shows. I can't enjoy them until I figure out how they do what they do and then it isn't all that impressive anymore."

"Prepare to be impressed and you're not going to find a scientific answer for anything these women do. I wouldn't even bother to try, Damon, you'll just drive yourself crazy. Let's take the car as far as we can and save your leg."

"You're off duty tonight?"

Jonas nodded. "The sisters are home so I figured I might con them out of a home-cooked meal. I like to spend time with them when they're home. They rejuvenate me. Sometimes my job is disturbing. Too many accidents on the highway. The crime in Sea Haven is about nil, but the outlying areas get a bit more. For all their nonsense, the Drakes soothe me."

Damon followed him out to the car, aware, as they walked, Jonas's restless gaze was quartering the area back and forth all around them, looking for danger. Damon ducked his head. He hated that small feeling, so helpless with his damaged hip and damaged soul. He couldn't stop the nightmares and he couldn't prevent others from being in danger just because they were around him.

Jonas started the car and pulled onto the highway. "There's a small dirt road leading to the back of the Drake property. We can reach the very top of the path down to the beach from there. Steps have been dug out and most of the way down there's actually a handrail. I think you'll be safe. In any case, you'd better be or Sarah will have my hide."

"She'll probably have it anyway," Damon said.

Jonas's grin was very much in evidence. "You do know that woman, even on such short acquaintance. She can keep the others in line as well. If you're really serious about her..." He glanced sideways at Damon for confirmation.

"Very serious."

"Sarah

doesn't put up with nonsense. She likes straight answers. She's very tolerant of people, don't get me wrong, but she's loyal and has integrity and she expects the same from the people she lets into her life."

"Thanks, Harrington," Damon said gruffly.

"For what?"

"For thinking I have a chance with her. I never expected to fall in love. Certainly not this fast. I can't tell if she's just feeling sorry for me because my life's gone down the drain, or if she's genuinely interested."

"She kissed you, Wilder. Sarah doesn't go around kissing just anyone and certainly not in front of her family."

Damon couldn't help the little spurt of happiness that seemed to ease the weight bearing down so hard on his shoulders and chest. There were some mornings when he woke up feeling as if someone was crouched on top of him. On those days, he could hardly get out of bed and only Sarah's smile brought him a semblance of peace.

This morning he had awakened with sweat pouring from his body and the dark specter of death echoing through his dreams. His shower hadn't helped lift the weight and the rest of the day had been long and difficult. He'd been grateful to see Jonas when the sheriff had stopped by to check on him. Part of Damon was afraid he was getting too used to Sarah's presence and already relying on the joy and light that always surrounded her. He brooded over the fact that she hadn't come to see him, hadn't even called him. That scared the hell out of him. He didn't look at Jonas as they drove the small distance to the driveway leading to the Drake's private beach entrance.

Jonas parked the car just above the path leading to the beach below. He stepped out and went around to help Damon. The wind touched his face gently, almost as if fingertips were caressing him, seeking his attention. The sound of the surf pounded below him and the sound of women's voices drifted up with it. He couldn't tell if they were chanting, the voices sounded rhythmic, but for some reason, he felt a chill go through his body.

As Damon stepped out of the car, a dark shadow passed overhead. Jonas glanced up, but there were no clouds, only the setting sun and the rising moon, crossing paths over the wild waves of the sea. He glanced back at Damon and his breath caught in his throat. There was a black shadow on the rising wall behind them. The dark shape appeared to be hovering over Damon, actually crouching on his shoulders. Damon bent over with the weight of the apparition, leaning heavily on his cane.