Read Online Love Potion #9 by Claire Delacroix - Free Book Online Page B

fixing things in her yard that made Lilith catch her breath.
    Not just any handsome man either. Her one true love.
    Whether he knew it or not.
    Although this was hardly the kind of interaction she had hoped for the night before, Lilith had learned long ago that the great forces could be playful. A can-do kind of witch worked with what she had.
    What Lilith had was a half-naked, grumpy Mitch fixing her fence.
    She’d have to make that work.
    Later, she’d deal with the darned cat.
    Â 
    * * *
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    Jason was feeling pretty important. He liked helping his dad just about best of all, even better than catching tadpoles. Dad had said they’d have lots to fix in this new house and he’d been right.
    They were fixing the fence already.
    Dad put out his hand for a nail. Jason picked one out of the old olive jar in Dad’s toolbox. He liked Dad’s toolbox. It was kind of a mess, but there were lots of interesting things in there, if you looked close. All sorts of bits and ends, things that Dad could put together to fix just about anything.
    Like the fence.
    Dad winked as he took the nail. “Thanks, sport. Don’t know how I’d get this done without you.” Jason grinned as his dad hammered that nail into the old fence.
    Jason was getting another nail out of the jar when the lady came out of her house next door. She looked at where the fence had landed on her plants and looked really sad. Jason felt bad that her flowers got smushed and felt a bit guilty that he had been so excited to see her yard when he got up today.
    He’d been peeking through the fence the day before. Jason just knew she had better bugs over there and he had kind of been hoping to have a chance to look at them.
    His dad stopped hammering. “Lilith, I thought you’d still be asleep.” It sounded as though Dad felt really bad too.
    The lady looked at Dad. “Some hammering woke me up,” she said quietly. She had a nice voice, kind of low. And she was really pretty. She had her hair in a ponytail, but it was all dark and curly. It looked soft. She had a long dress on, like a princess, and it was blue like Jen’s Bun.
    â€œI was hoping to get it fixed before you got up.” Dad’s ears got red. “I’m really sorry about the fence, Lilith, especially about your garden.”
    She looked at the flowers, Dad fidgeted like he didn’t usually do. “I don’t know a lot about gardens,” Dad said quietly. He was looking really hard at the lady. “So, Lilith, please tell me what to do to make this come right.”
    The lady stepped off her porch into the garden. She wandered along, touching a sunflower, then dropped to one knee beside Jason. She picked up a red flower that was broken right off and looked like she might cry.
    Dad looked really worried.
    Jason wanted to help. “That’s pretty,” he said.
    The lady looked up at him, then very slowly she smiled. Jason smiled back. “And who are you?” she asked quietly.
    â€œJason.”
    â€œMy son,” Dad said.
    The lady looked at Dad. “I didn’t know you were married.”
    Dad got That Look, the one he got whenever Nana started talking about stuff that made Dad go shhh! “I’m not. Not anymore.”
    â€œOh.” The lady smiled at Jason again. “Hello, Jason. I’m Lilith.”
    â€œHi.”
    â€œDo you have any brothers and sisters?”
    â€œJust Jen. She’s little.”
    â€œHow little?”
    â€œOnly three.”
    Lilith smiled, then wrinkled her nose. Jason felt like she understood him. “Much littler than you.” She looked down at the flower again and her smile went away.
    It was like the sun going behind a cloud. Jason wanted to make her smile again.
    Good thing he had an idea.
    â€œWe could put it back on the plant,” he suggested. “We’ve got nails and duck tape and everything. Dad can fix anything.”
    She did smile,