Read Online Donna Fletcher Short Story Collection by Donna Fletcher - Free Book Online Page B

quickly
moving off her.
    It took a moment for her to catch her breath
Royce’s weight having knocked the breath out of her.
    “Brianna?” he asked anxiously and eased her
to sit up.
    Breda cried out and they both turned to see
that they had woken their daughter.
    Brianna waved at her husband to take care of
their baby while she regained her breath. When she went to stand
Royce’s arm was at her waist helping her up as he cradled his
daughter in his other arm.
    Brianna smiled, her daughter’s eyes already
closing. “She is forever content in her da’s arms.”
    “Are you all right?”
    She saw the worry in his eyes. He had
protected her from the moment they had met and he always would. It
made her feel safe and it made her feel loved.
    “I’m fine, though... I do need a bed
tonight.”
    “You’ll sleep beside me tonight.” He stopped
any protest she would make with a kiss. “I will settle the problem,
though I don’t know if I can catch the culprit in one day. Will you
give me until Christmas to finally lay this myth to rest?”
    “You must banish the ghost by Christmas Eve
for Christmas Day he will once again vanish until next year.”
    “I will see it done.” He was surprised and a
bit annoyed to see his wife’s brow crinkle. “You don’t believe me
capable of seeing this done?”
    “I wonder.”
    “Wonder what?”
    “How will you banish the ghost when you do
not believe the myth?”
    ~~~
    Royce walked in the woods the cold air
clearing his mind while his fur-lined wool cloak kept him warm. A
trickle of snow had fallen since yesterday but the gray sky and
biting chill promised more would follow.
    Brianna had inadvertently given him an idea
when she had accused him of not believing the myth. If the myth was
the cause of the problem then it was the myth that needed solving.
If he could prove to everyone that there was no ghost then the
matter would be settled. Everyone’s imaginings would cease and
sensibility would once again prevail.
    He had decided that the best place to start
was with a visit to the old woman in the woods. She had been around
for as long as Royce could remember. He had recalled a time when
his mother had taken him along when she had paid the woman a visit.
She had seemed old then to him having long white hair though he
couldn’t recall if her face had worn wrinkles. He mostly remembered
her shiny hair and the cakes she had offered him and his mother had
allowed him to eat. They were sweet and flavorful and he would have
eaten the lot of them if he’d been allowed to.
    The other thing he recalled about her cottage
that seemed strange was that...
    He stopped, stared and shook his head. He had
thought perhaps he had been wrong in his recollection but it seemed
he hadn’t been. Her cottage looked as if it sat suspended by two
trees, though it wasn’t. It was actually built between two trees.
It was the few steps to the front door that gave the illusion that
it sat suspended. Still, it gave one pause.
    With quick, strong strides he approached the
stairs. The door opened before his foot reached the bottom step. He
would have jumped back but the warrior in him held his ground,
though he couldn’t stop his startled expression. Age may have
claimed the woman with a degree of wrinkles, but her beauty shined
through along with her smile.
    “It is an honor to welcome the laird into my
home,” she said and stepped aside and with a wave of her hand bid
him to enter.
    Royce nodded and accepted her respectful
invitation, his eyes still wide as he glanced over her. Age
certainly hadn’t marred her body. She was tall and slender, no
hunch to her shoulders but rather a regal grace to her movements.
And her hair was as white, shiny and long as the day he had seen it
those many years ago.
    The one thing he could not recall about her
was her name. With most of the clan seeking her help he wondered
how it was that her name was not mentioned by many.
    Witch.
    He turned his head the whispered word