Cuckoo in the Coven

“Celeste, good to hear from you.” Sunny sat down in her grandma’s favorite chair, the cushions settling her in. “It’s going well. I’ve got to make huge strides though, my parents are visiting soon and they’ve been really negative about me taking this on, on top of starting my own company. I dropped out of college, you see. They think I’m too young for all of this. They said I should’ve completed my degree, or at least got the company going before I took time out for the cottage.”

“You’ve made some ambitious choices in life, but it’s in you to do so.”

“I’m always ready for a challenge.”

Celeste hummed to herself on the other end of the line, like a doting aunt. “We like your spirit, Sunny, we welcome it.”

It was nice to get a thumbs-up from someone, when her parents had been so negative. “You’ll have to come over and see the changes at the weekend. I think I’ve uncovered ten different wallpapers in the office alone.”

“I’ll look forward to it.” She paused. “Then all you’ll need to do is meet the man of your dreams.”

“Man of my dreams?” Sunny repeated, somewhat guiltily. She felt as if she’d been caught musing over her nocturnal escapades.

“You’re a strong, independent young woman, but you still need some male attention, a passionate mate, a soul to share things with.”

Sunny chuckled. “Tell me about it.” She couldn’t deny it. “Alas, I haven’t met any dashing heroes on my trips to the local DIY merchants, and my social life is on hold.”

“Oh it’ll happen, Sunny, it’ll happen.”

Celeste had a way of making her feel warm and sure about the world. “I’m still trying to find out when this place was built,” she commented, glancing around as she spoke. “No one seems to know for sure.”

“As you’ve probably noticed,” Celeste replied, “we Cornish love mystery, it makes us feel even more special than we already are...but I’m sure you’ll find out soon enough.”

“True. The local builders” merchants swore they know everything about the buildings in the area, but they haven’t a clue about this one, although they may just be keeping me in the dark. The librarian reckons the house is mid eighteenth-century though.”

“You’ll discover everything you need to know,” Celeste’s tone grew mischievous, “even if you have to go back in time yourself to unearth the facts.”

“Ha, you may be right.” The joke tickled Sunny. “I’d really love to know.”

Celeste hummed happily again. “And are you wearing your lucky locket?”

“Yes, I am.” Sunny’s fingers went to her collarbone, where the silver heart-shaped locket Celeste had given her nestled. The thoughtful gift had surprised her, for inside it was a cropped photo she had taken of Sunny standing by the door of the house, early on in the renovation. It was a touching gift, and Celeste told her it would bring her luck throughout her task here.

“Good, good. Well, I’d better be on my way. Mrs. Davith needs one of my special teas or she won’t be having her sweet dreams tonight.”

“Sweet dreams indeed,” Sunny replied, without thinking.

“Have you been having good dreams?”

“Well, I...how did you know?”

“Just a lucky guess. But, if you’ve been having dreams, maybe we should meet later today. I love to interpret dreams.”

Perplexed, Sunny wondered how she’d describe her mystery dream man without revealing the eroticism of those visions. “I’ll be down in town this afternoon.”

“Call by the shop, we’ll get an afternoon cuppa together.”

What would Celeste make of it? Sunny wondered as she put down the phone. Knowing her, she’d get all mystic, her strange green eyes bright with humor, and then she’d relate some Cornish proverb about longing and need conjuring men from out of the ether. There was a deep-rooted sense of time and history about parts of Cornwall though, a spiritual quality about the folk there. Even the local shopkeepers seemed to trade more on herbal brews and old wives’ tales than modern supplies.

Sunny sighed. She was a single woman, that was the hard truth. Even so, she couldn’t help wondering if it was her desire to have the dream about the man that made it happen over and over again. She certainly wouldn’t mind sharing her life with someone as sexy and enigmatic as he seemed to be.

The blue-eyed stranger. Had he lived here?

Were her dreams actually visions of a spirit?

Maybe time would tell.

CHAPTER TWO