Read Online Upon a Mystic Tide by Vicki Hinze - Free Book Online Page B

“What was it? Do you know?”
    Lucy smiled. “That even though they couldn’t afford it, if Charles would agree, Collin would take a leap of faith and buy the land.”
    “Just like Lester and Dora.” A joyful warmth bubbled in Bess’s stomach.
    “Yep.” Lucy whacked the table.
    “So he sold them the land and they built Seascape.”
    “Eventually,” Miss Hattie said. “They didn’t have the money until 1918.”
    Lucy cleared her throat, clearly ready to again be the storyteller. “They lived at Seascape all their married lives, Bess. Isn’t that romantic? Collin was a wood-carver and Cecelia a healer. Have I mentioned that?”
    “No,” Bess said. “You haven’t.”
    “Well, they were. And they were very happy, Bess. So much in love.”
    “Tell me about their children.” Miss Hattie had said they’d had two. Bess hoped they’d been happy. Surely they had been, being raised in a home so full of love.
    Miss Hattie’s eyes clouded and Lucy answered. “They had two kids. A son who was killed in the war, and a daughter, Mary Elizabeth. She moved away and Collin and Cecelia stayed home and grew old together.”
    Envy slammed through Bess. She was supposed to have grown old with John. Now, she’d grow old alone. “Did they live a long time—happy together, I mean?” For some reason, it seemed important to know. Maybe to reassure Bess long, happy marriages were possible.
    “They did,” Lucy said. “And they were loved by all the villagers. Collin carved the cross that hangs above the altar in the church. He helped carve that bar too.” She pointed to the bar where Fred stood. “Very community-minded. Both of them. And when Collin got cancer, everyone said it was Cecelia’s love that kept him alive as long as he was.”
    “Defied medical science and that’s the simple truth.” Miss Hattie nodded to lend weight to her claim.
    “Love can do that,” Bess agreed. She’d seen it more than once in her practice. “So what exactly is the legend?” This wasn’t the rendition Maggie had given Bess.
    Lucy grinned. “It happened the night Cecelia passed on. All the villagers held a candlelight vigil out on the Seascape lawn. Mary Elizabeth was with her mother, of course. And when her mother departed, Mary Elizabeth swore that her father, Collin, came down out of nowhere and carried Cecelia’s spirit away.”
    Ah, Maggie’s version. Bess didn’t know what to think about this. Having been at Seascape, feeling its comfort and warmth, she could almost believe it. Almost  . . .
    “It’s true, Bess,” Lucy said, as if sensing her skepticism. “You know what Mary Elizabeth really saw, don’t you?”
    Bess shook her head that she didn’t. Why did her throat feel tight? Why did she feel so relieved that when Cecelia most needed her Collin he had come?
    “Personified love.”
    Miss Hattie sighed. “Some don’t believe the legend, of course.”
    “Many of us do, though,” Lucy quickly added. “You know what I think, Bess?”
    Again, she nodded that she didn’t.
    “Fred and I disagree. He thinks Cecelia’s healing magic lingers in the house. But I think it’s Seascape itself that has magic because all that was really important to Cecelia took place there.”
    “I don’t understand.” Bess frowned.
    “She loved her husband, her children, healed the sick—everyone at Seascape. She was the only medical help around. When a place holds that much magic, it doesn’t just disappear.” Lucy smiled softly. “No, Seascape held magic then, and it holds magic now. The kind of magic that lives on forever.”
    “Love.” The word came out before Bess realized she’d spoken it.
    “Love.” Lucy slid back her chair and stood up. “Isn’t it romantic?”
    “Yes. Very.” Wishing she’d known that magical love with John, Bess looked at Miss Hattie. “It makes sense, doesn’t it?”
    Dabbing at the corner of her eye with her hankie, Miss Hattie nodded.
    “Collin risked everything in the world he