Witch Christmas Read online

  Witch Christmas

  A Romantic Comedy

  Caroline Mickelson

  Witch Christmas

  © 2015 Caroline Mickelson

  Published by Bon Accord Press

  Cover and formatting by Sabrina Mickelson-Begic

  All rights reserved

  For Meg

  In memory of our

  time spent with

  Meg & Mog!

  Table of Contents

  Title Page

  Newsletter Sign Up

  Chapter One

  Chapter Two

  Chapter Three

  Chapter Four

  Chapter Five

  Chapter Six

  Chapter Seven

  Witch Baby

  Get a Free Book

  Other books by this Author

  Join my VIP Reader Newsletter to

  get a FREE copy of

  The Return of Kris Kringle

  Click here to get started:

  www.carolinemickelson.com

  Chapter One

  “Tessa Von Hellengaard Kennedy, without a doubt, you have to be the wickedest witch ever to take flight. The very wickedest.”

  Tessa stared straight at her character assassin without blinking. She knew what she was doing. And justifying how she was going to handle her first Christmas as a newlywed was not on her list of things to accomplish today. “I’m a witch, Aunt Trudy. I don’t do Christmas.”

  The members of her silent spell coven burst into jeers but Tessa didn’t flinch. “Just hear me out. I have a plan.”

  The jeers morphed into laughter. Tessa narrowed her eyes. The old crones were enjoying themselves far too much for her liking. What she wouldn’t give to let her fingers cast a silent spell, even if doing so was a direct violation of coven rules. But that wasn’t what stopped her. She’d willingly pay a fine for the satisfaction of silencing the lot of them. No, what stopped her was what her new husband’s reaction would be if he found out what she’d done. The very thought of his inevitable look of disappointment was enough to quell the desire, at least most of it.

  Liam Kennedy, Tessa’s incredibly sexy and unbelievably kind husband, frowned on her spontaneous spells. Why use a spell when you could use your words, he’d ask, clearly not understanding her instincts. But how could he? He was a fairy god-father and she was a witch. He was always good-natured and she was, well, not.

  His type of magic involved gold glitter and making dreams come true. Her magic, she was honest enough to admit, usually just satisfied her anger or frustration.

  “Let’s hear your plan, Tessa.” Her Aunt Trudy motioned for her to take a seat at the round table where the Upper Hallows Witch Council held their coven meetings. “It’s not on the agenda but seeing as how you’ll no doubt get yourself in trouble unless we intervene, tell us what you have planned.” She looked around at the assembled group of witches. “Objections?”

  Not a one. Tessa wasn't surprised in the least. It figured that they’d all love to put aside their business to meddle in hers. She took the last seat at the table and settled Minx, her familiar, onto her lap.

  Aunt Trudy looked around the table and then settled her gaze on her niece. “Go ahead, Tessa. Tell us why you should be the first newlywed in the history of the world to be exempted from spending the holidays with her in-laws.”

  Tessa waited for the laughter to die out. For silent spell witches, her coven members certainly were anything but quiet. “I never said I wasn’t going to attend the Kennedy’s Christmas celebration. Trust me, I’ve studied this from every angle and I see that there's no way out. No mortal way out, that is. I realized-”

  “Stop right there,” her Aunt Trudy interrupted her. “I think I see where you’re going with this. Using your magic on your in-laws is in violation of our coven rules.”

  Tessa raised an eyebrow. “We have coven rules that cover the treatment of in-laws? That seems odd considering I’m the only one here who has managed to snag herself a husband.”

  As so often happened, Tessa’s comment set off a storm of protest. She sat quietly and stroked her cat while dissension brewed around her. Minx, as black as a moonless midnight, purred. At the moment, it felt as if her familiar was the only one who truly understood her. Most of the time she could say the same for Liam but not when it came to this Christmas mess she found herself in. This was their first holiday together and Tessa wanted to spend it alone with Liam on a deserted tropical beach. She’d even have settled for a solitary mountain top cabin like the one they’d spent their honeymoon in. But neither option was one Liam would agree to. A Kennedy Christmas it was going to be. Spirits preserve her.

  Her Aunt Trudy banged her gavel several times for order. Once it was quiet, she gestured to a tall, thin witch with an angular face. “You may have the floor, Evelyne.”

  Evelyne leaned forward and fixed an accusing expression on Tessa. “Mrs. Kennedy, you do realize that the only reason you have a husband is because we procured him for you?”

  Tessa’s laugh was dismissive. “You were all responsible for my meeting Liam, I’ll grant you that much. But he fell in love with me based on who I am.” Even as she said the words, she marveled at her good fortune. Liam Kennedy was kind, gentle, intelligent, and sensitive. In short, he was nothing like her. But he loved her. And that, Tessa knew, was nothing short of a miracle.

  “How long do you think he’s going to stay in love with you if you go home to meet his family and ruin their Christmas?” Evelyne looked around the table for support, which she readily received in the form of nodding heads and murmured assent. This only served to embolden her. “In fact, I think you should go away and leave your magic behind. Let this Christmas vacation be your chance to have a near mortal experience with your husband.”

  Tessa stiffened. She’d never had a mortal experience and she wasn’t about to volunteer for one now. But judging by the expressions on the faces of her coven members, they appeared to favor the idea. Instinct told her to proceed with caution for these were the same witches who had once taken away her magic, saddled her with one hundred extra pounds, and sent her away to a workout spa where she'd been tortured on a treadmill. “I don’t think we need to go to any extremes, Evelyne.”

  “Ha,” another witch piped up. “I bet you anything that the plan you were just bragging about involved your magic, didn’t it?”

  Tessa shook her head wordlessly. Misleading the coven was one thing but outright lying was another. She turned to her aunt. “Aunt Trudy, I think we’ve gotten way off topic. I never meant for my plans to take center stage.”

  Her aunt studied her over the rim of her crystal accented reading glasses. “Perhaps not, but I’m glad it’s come up. I think Evelyne might have made a very good point.” She looked around the table. “Is there anyone here who objects to our helping Tessa through this holiday?”

  Minx jumped out of Tessa’s lap and onto the table. The cat arched its back and hissed at the coven at large. That was all the warning Tessa needed. She too jumped to her feet. “I don’t need any-” but before she could finish her sentence, the assembled witches all raised their hands and, in perfect unison, cast a spell on her before she could try to stop them.

  Zapped by the strength of the group spell, Tessa dropped into her chair. She didn’t even need to bring her fingers together to know that her ability to cast a spell had been taken from her. She remembered only too well the sense of weakness she’d felt the first time they’d done this. She narrowed her eyes but bit the inside of her cheek to keep from saying something that they’d make her regret later. Last time they’d also temporarily taken away her power to speak, and she wasn’t going through that again. Curse them all.

  “Speechless is a good look on you, Te
ssa.”

  Tessa refused to acknowledge Evelyne’s taunt. Instead, she turned to her aunt. “What if I had plans to use my magic for good?”

  “Really, Tessa? We know you too well to believe that. I think I can speak for the entire coven when I say it’s been joyous to see you happily married. But it seems this Christmas trip has you all wound up and we don’t want you to do anything to jeopardize your marriage.” Her aunt came around to stand beside Tessa's chair. She reached for her niece's hand. “Don’t look so crestfallen, I can offer you a compromise.” With the fingers on her right hand, she traced an intricate pattern onto the palm of Tessa's left hand.

  Tessa watched helplessly as her Aunt Trudy worked her magic.

  When she was finished, her aunt smiled at her. “There you are, three spells to use as you see fit over the holidays. Consider it our Christmas gift to you.”

  ***

  Liam Kennedy pulled his Range Rover up in front of the white clapboard house he’d grown up in and switched off the engine. The house looked exactly as it always did at the holiday time, decked out with enough Christmas lights that it could probably be seen from space. He smiled as he got out and filled his arms with gifts. Like the rest of his family, he loved the holidays. And this year was going to be the best Christmas ever because he was going to share it with both Tessa and his family. Life didn’t get any better than this.

  He was only half way up the icy path when his mother flung open the front door. She threw her arms open wide. “Liam, my baby boy, welcome home.” Once he reached the doorway she tried to hug him, which wasn’t exactly easy considering his arms were full. Still, she managed to plant a kiss on each cheek as she ushered him inside.

  The warmth of the entryway was blissful compared to the cold car. “Hiya, Mop.”

  His mother smiled at the use of his childhood nickname for her. “Why did you drive, honey?” Her eyes widened. “Is there something wrong with your wings?”

  Liam laid the presents neatly on the staircase. He shrugged out of his jacket and hung it up in the hall closet. “No, of course not.” He rubbed his hands together. “Where’s Pop?”

  “Looking for me, my boy?” a deep voice boomed from down the hallway. “Come into the kitchen. I’m being held hostage by Christmas cookies.”

  Liam grinned as he followed his mother down the hallway and into the kitchen. It felt great to be home. He’d spent precious little time with his family since his marriage but he’d just assumed this was normal for newlyweds. He entered the bright, airy kitchen and was greeted by the smell of gingerbread, the sound of his two college age sisters’ cheery greetings, and the sight of his father’s welcoming grin. It was good to be home. Tessa was going to love it here.

  “Welcome home, my boy,” his father, cookie in hand, waved from across the room. “Girls, don't hang on your brother.”

  Liam wrapped an arm around each of the girls and hugged them to him. “They’re fine, Pop. I’ve missed them too.”

  “How was your flight?” Suzi, the younger of the two asked.

  His mother answered for him before he could. “Your brother drove.”

  The room grew silent as all eyes turned to him.

  His father dropped his half-eaten cookie. “What happened to your wings?”

  “Nothing, Pop.” Liam followed his sisters to the table and took the seat between them. “I’ve just been doing more driving than flying lately.”

  His mother sat opposite him, her face grave. “It just doesn’t seem normal, Liam. You appear to be in perfect health and yet you drive?”

  Liam had forgotten just how deeply his family was immersed in their lives as fairies. He’d been the same way before he met Tessa. “It’s no big deal, honestly. It’s just that Tessa prefers the car.”

  He watched as his family exchanged telling glances.

  “Does she now?” his father said.

  “Pop, we’ve been over this.” Liam looked around the table at each of his family members in turn. “The gold glitter can be a bit much for anyone who isn’t used to traveling that way.”

  It wasn’t lost on Liam that his mother placed a retraining hand on his father’s arm. She did that whenever she wanted him to bite his tongue. Liam sighed. What a way to start the holidays.

  “Is Tessa's car gold?” his sister Kari asked. “Or her broomstick?”

  He smiled at her. “Nope, they’re both black. And so is her cat Minx.”

  “Is she bringing the cat?” Suzi asked.

  Liam nodded. “She is.”

  “When’s she going to get here?”

  “Why didn’t she come with you?”

  “Girls! Enough questions,” his mother protested. "Go see if Uncle Rodney is still watching football. Tell him it's almost dinner time.”

  Duly dispatched, his sisters tumbled out of the room. Once they were gone, Liam turned his attention to his parents. “What am I sensing here? Are you uncomfortable that Tessa is joining us for the holiday? Because you know we’re a package deal, right?”

  “No, of course not,” his mother protested. “I mean, of course you are. We’re not uncomfortable around your new wife, at least I don’t think we’re going to be.” She turned to her husband. “Are we?”

  By now, seemingly recovered from the fact that his son was willing to drive several hours when he could have flown in the blink of an eye, Liam’s father picked up another cookie. “What your mother really wants to know is when we’re going to be grandparents.”

  So there it was. Liam should have known it was only a matter of time before the subject came up. He needed to set some ground rules before his wife arrived. “Mop, Pop, listen, the subject of grandchildren isn’t something I want discussed in front of Tessa. Let’s just call it off limits, at least for the holidays, okay?”

  "Why?" his mother asked.

  "It would seem to me that starting a family shouldn't be a taboo subject. It's actually quite natural, son."

  “It’s a sensitive subject, Pop. Tessa’s not quite ready.”

  “No one’s ever quite ready,” his mother said. “You just have to jump in feet first.”

  He shook his head. “Tessa didn’t grow up in a family like ours. The whole idea overwhelms her.”

  “Well, if that's all, I know just how we can get around that,” his father said, a pleased look on his face. “Let’s show Tessa the time of her life while she’s here. We can give her a taste of what life in a big, loving family is like.”

  A cold chill ran through Liam. For the first time he wondered if all the togetherness he’d been looking forward to was the makings of a holiday from hell. He needed to put a stop to this before his parents turned the holidays into a runaway train.

  His mother clapped her hands in delight. “Perfect idea, my dear. Oh, this will be fun. Don’t worry, Liam darling, we’ll embrace Tessa as if she were our own. By the time you leave here she’ll be dreaming of starting a family with you.”

  Liam groaned. Runaway train? Make that a train wreck.

  Chapter Two

  “Keep your hat on already. I'm coming.”

  Tessa bristled at the muffled sound of the voice on the other side of the door. She stomped her feet in a desperate attempt to keep some warmth in them. The frigid air blew a whirlwind of snowflakes around her. Good grief, if she’d wanted to arrive in a flurry, she'd have come via gold glitter.

  Minx squirmed in Tessa’s arms. Her meows were filled with resentment, an emotion Tessa shared in spades. “Stop complaining,” she chided the cat. “At least you can hide under a bed all weekend and no one will care.”

  She reached up and rapped the door knocker a third time. Obviously someone knew she was here, at least the buffoon on the other side of the door did. She’d give anything to be on a tropical island instead of on an icy front porch in middle-America. She lifted a black gloved hand and banged on the door.

  Just when she was sure icicles were forming on her eyelashes, the door was flung open by a man in a red and white candy can
e patterned sweater and white pants. He was slightly past middle age, with a comb-over hairstyle that would put a certain mouthy billionaire to shame.

  The man looked her up and down in a curious manner. “What are you doing out here? It's colder than a witch's...oh, you must be Liam's wife, Teresa, isn't it?”

  "Tessa," she managed through clenched teeth.

  “Right, Tessa. I'll try to remember that." He stuck his head out the door and looked around. "I thought you’d have a broomstick with you.”

  “My broomstick is in the shop so I had to slum it and drive my Mercedes.” She gave a pointed glance over his shoulder at the interior of the house. “Might I?”

  He stood back and gestured for her to enter. “Well, come in already. I don't know why you'd want to stand out in the cold when it's toasty in here.”

  Tessa tightened her hold on Minx and stepped into the warmth of the Kennedy’s house. No sooner was the door shut behind her then she was assaulted by a storm of holiday smells, sights, and sounds. The scent of an evergreen tree and burning cedar logs, the sight of red and gold bows hung everywhere, and the sound of a children’s chorus singing O Bethlehem all came together to make her wonder if she'd just arrived smack in the middle of a Christmas commercial. Only the knowledge that Liam was somewhere inside the house kept her from turning and fleeing.

  “I’m Uncle Rodney, by the way” the man said. He peered at Minx. “What’s that you’ve got there? A ferret?”

  The cat, intelligent enough to recognize an insult when she heard one, hissed.

  “Minx, be still.” Tessa struggled to keep a tight grip on her familiar but try as she might, the cat leapt out of her arms. Once her paws hit the floor, Minx tore up the stairs and out of sight.

  “So it was a cat.”

  “Brilliant deduction, Rodney.” Tessa removed her gloves and her black cape. She held them out for Liam’s uncle to hang up. To his credit, he only stared at her for a few seconds before he figured out what she wanted him to do. “Thank you," she said once he took them. "Now, where is my husband?”