LJ Maas - Rebecca’s Cove

“Uh-oh. I think I know where we come in now,” Baylor whispered to Hobie.

“So you saw us?” Hobie asked.

“We weren’t certain because of...shall we say, the animosity you initially had. The signs are unmistakable, though,” Evelyn said.

“Signs?” Baylor and Hobie asked.

“There are only three qualifications,” Evelyn said. “Of course, you must be in love...”

“Check.” Baylor grinned and looked at Hobie.

“One of you must be skilled in healing, and the other must make her way in the arts...”

___

LJ

Maas

“Check again,” Baylor said.

“Finally, you must be the ages that Ana and Lia were when they came together. Ana was forty-two and Lia was thirty-eight.” “Che—oh, wow,” Baylor said. “Wait a minute. What exactly

are you saying, that we’re some kind of reincarnations of these women?”

“No, not at all,” Rebecca said. “I’ll say it in the simplest way I can. For hundreds of years, this island has had some sort of power associated with it. The Ladies Guild passes on the knowledge that this power comes from love.”

“Love?” Hobie looked at Baylor and was surprised at her expression. “You’re not buying into all of this, are you?”

“I know it sounds crazy, and you know me. Usually, I’m the first one to tell people that they’re wacko, but this feels...I don’t know what it feels like, but it’s kind of weird.”

Hobie rolled her eyes. “Part of me wants to believe. It was a beautiful story, but things don’t happen that way in real life. Do they?”

“Hobie, can you explain us? Didn’t we just admit that some sort of power changed the two of us? For some reason, I’m just not convinced that an emotion like love doesn’t have that kind of power. Look at us. Love nearly destroyed our lives, mine from the lack of it and yours from the fear of losing it. I don’t know about you, but I was a mess. My whole life was a complete and utter bust up until the point I met you. Now if love has that much power, couldn’t it happen as they say? Couldn’t it have an even stronger power when used positively?”

“Okay, now I don’t know what to think,” Hobie said. “I figured you’d be more skeptical than me.”

“Maybe it’s the island.” Baylor chuckled as she nudged Hobie.

“Very funny. When I hear you, it makes sense, but when I start to think about this whole thing—”

“Ah, there’s your problem. Mrs. Ashby said to listen with your heart, not your head. Does all of this feel right to you? Well, does it?”

“I guess...”

___

Rebecca’s

Cove

“Then there you are. Don’t think it to death, Hobie Lynn.” Hobie suddenly grinned. “What, and lose my membership

in Skeptics Anonymous? Oh, all right, you win. Yes, it does feel right, and if I think with my heart and not my head, this all sounds perfectly plausible. So what is it exactly that you want from us?”

“I’m glad you asked,” Rebecca said. “The power of Ana Lia, which comes from a love unlike many others, changes hands every fifty years. Every fifty years since the first night that Ana and Lia spent together, when the stars became as one, the stars repeat that miracle if the selected women commit to each other in a ceremony on that evening. Only once was the guild unable to find the right couple. During that cycle, Ana Lia’s power was noticeably depleted.”

“Do we have to live here for fifty years? What if we need to—”

“No,” Evelyn said. “The guild found that it was the coming together that brought out the power in the island.”

“So all you want us to do is to have, like, a wedding ceremony on one particular night?” Baylor asked.

“Correct. Well, um...” Evelyn looked uncomfortable.

“What Evie is trying to say is that the ceremony goes hand in hand with the physical expression of your love.”

“Oh,” Baylor and Hobie said in unison, both blushing.

“I don’t know. Hobie? I mean, we did already agree to...” “Yeah, I know. I guess. I mean, it’s not like we have to drink

blood or bite the heads off of chickens or anything. Right?” Hobie asked Rebecca.

“We tend to prefer champagne and pâté at these functions, but I suppose allowances could be made if you have a preference.”

Baylor laughed aloud. “I believe she has a sense of humor,” she told Hobie.

Hobie couldn’t think of a witty enough response, so she settled for sticking her tongue out.

“Oh, that’s attractive.”

“You are such a comedian all of a sudden,” Hobie said, but she couldn’t help smiling. “Just one more question. What if we don’t believe it, not completely, anyway? Will that affect this power?”

___

LJ

Maas

“Not at all, my dear,” Rebecca said. “You don’t necessarily have to believe in the magic. All you have to do to make it work is to believe in each other.”

Hobie smiled. “That I can do. I guess the next logical question is, when does all this have to happen?”

“In three days,” Rebecca and Evelyn said.

“Three days!” It was Baylor and Hobie’s turn to respond as one.

The room was silent for a few moments. Finally, Hobie looked up at Baylor. “Were we really going to do it anyway?”

Baylor smiled gently, then lifted Hobie’s hand to her lips. After placing a light kiss on Hobie’s fingers, she responded. “Absolutely,” she said. “Absolutely.” There was conviction in the repeated word.

“Then I guess we’re to be married,” Hobie said at last. Rebecca and Evelyn began discussing plans for the ceremony.

The other women didn’t mind. Actually, it was probably a good thing because Baylor and Hobie were in the middle of a kiss that looked as though it was going to last awhile.

Hobie put the cast saw on the sturdy metal tray and pried the rest of the plaster off Baylor’s leg. “Voilà,” she said with a flourish.

“Oh, my god!” Baylor cried out. “What? What is it?” Hobie asked.

“I have a toothpick for a leg. What happened to it?”

“Baylor, you’ve had a cast on it for over ten weeks. It’s just a little muscle atrophy. It’ll come back as soon as you start using it again.”

“I kinda liked the way it looked before,” Baylor said with a pout.

“And you’ll grow just as attached to this new and improved version. Now, remember, I want you to take it easy today and continue to use your cane. Come on, let’s take a few practice walks.”

“I think I know how to walk.” Baylor swung her legs over the side of the examination table. “I’ve been doing it quite successfully for a number of years, and I find it surprisingly easy.”

“What a comedian you are today.”

“Thanks. Whoa!” Baylor’s leg gave out on the second step. “I thought you said it wasn’t broken anymore.”

“It’s not, but you also haven’t used it in a couple of months, not without support anyway, Miss I’ve Been Walking All My Life.”

Baylor looked up at Hobie with what she hoped was an intimidating expression.

Hobie continued to gloat.

“You know, a smirk that big is not very becoming on a lady of your position.”

___

LJ

Maas

“I don’t get to do it too much anymore. Humor me.” Hobie went to the door. “Hey, Lor, give me a hand, will you?”

Once Laura arrived, Hobie told her what she wanted her to do. “Okay,” she explained to Baylor. “Put one arm around my shoulder and the other over Lor’s.”

“This position has possibilities.” “Don’t you wish,” Hobie said.

Baylor winked. At first, she winced with every step, but after she had worked some of the stiffness out, she found that she could walk well using her cane.

“You’re a new woman,” Hobie declared. “Okay, get dressed and out of my exam room. I have a pregnant Saint Bernard who needs the bed.”

“Oh, I see where your priorities are.” Baylor got dressed as Hobie put away some of the instruments. “Man, I’ve got to get to the drugstore.”

“What’s wrong?”

“My leg looks like it belongs to a gorilla. I need to get some razors.” It felt good to finally wear her favorite old jeans. “Okay, I’m outta here. Thanks, hon.”

“Wait just a minute,” Hobie called out. “Forget something?” She waggled Baylor’s cane.

“Oh.” Baylor chuckled nervously. “Yeah, how could I forget?”

“Baylor, remember what I said about taking it easy at first?” “Sure, sure,” Baylor said distractedly. “You said not to walk

too much today.”

“No, what I said was to go home and put your foot up for a couple hours, then take a short walk, maybe five minutes. After that, put your foot up again, and repeat the walk every three or four hours.”

“Sure, sure. I will,” Baylor added defensively at Hobie’s exasperated look.

“Sweetheart, I don’t mean to be a nag. Please remember that pain is your body’s way of telling you something.”

“I know, I won’t forget.” Baylor kissed Hobie’s forehead and turned to leave once more.

___

Rebecca’s

Cove

“Baylor.” Hobie still held the cane.

“Aw, shit, I forgot! It’s because you’re confusing me.”

Hobie closed her eyes and shook her head. “Tell me again, what is your leg saying to you when it hurts?”

Baylor stood at attention as she repeated the instructions in a steady monotone. “If my leg starts to hurt, it’s saying to me, ‘For God’s sake, Baylor, sit down, put some ice on me, and have another margarita.’”

Hobie’s brows scrunched together and she pushed her glasses up. “I don’t remember saying anything about margaritas.”

“No, I added that,” Baylor said with a quick grin. “It sounded very medicinal.”

“God, I worry about you.”

“Who, me?” Baylor put a hand on her chest. “Just think, hon. You get to do this for the rest of your life.”

“To some people, that would be a threat. Go on. Out.” Hobie pointed. She couldn’t stop her laughter. Baylor might have been a giant pain in the ass at one time, but nowadays she was downright lovable. Her charm and sense of humor reeled Hobie in, just as they had done on that first night in Chicago. “I love you, go home.”

“Love you, too. Don’t forget the barbecue tonight. Tell Noah to bring his trunks and he can swim before dinner.”

“Deal. He’ll love playing in the pool with you.” “Don’t get his hopes up on that count.” “What’s that mean?”

“We’ll, um, talk about that later. Jules is going to go pick up Tanti and bring her home. I find it extremely odd that she recovered so quickly after hearing we were together. It’s probably my paranoia showing again, but I wonder if there was any hocus-pocus involved in Tanti’s illness. Aside from her broken hip, that is.”

“Nope, it’s not just you. I have a sneaky feeling that we don’t even want to think about what the Ladies Guild might have done to pull that one off.”

Baylor rubbed her hands together once more. The evening

___

LJ

Maas

had finally arrived, and her palms got clammier as the moment of their ceremony grew closer.

“You look a little wobbly, mate.” Juliana affectionately slapped Baylor on the back.

Baylor made a halfhearted attempt at a grin. “Most of me thinks this is the best day of my life, but there’s a tiny piece of me, Jules, that just feels like throwing up.”

“Actually, that sounds pretty normal, considering this is your wedding day. Or night, as the case may be. Pretty nice of Mrs. Ashby to have the ceremony here at her house. It’s beautiful by the water like this.”

“Yeah,” Baylor said distractedly. She looked over Juliana’s shoulder to the woman who just had come outside. In Baylor’s eyes, Hobie looked better than any woman had a right to.

“Hey, you two look cute. She’s wearing a dress and you’ve got on slacks. You two plan this little butch-femme thing?” Juliana asked.

Baylor graced her with an arched eyebrow and a flat expression. “With that sense of humor, it’s no wonder you’re still single,” she finally said.