Rebecca’s Cove

Chapter 24

No one knew who was more surprised when Baylor and Hobie walked hand in hand into Evelyn’s room. Baylor and Hobie looked at each other as Evelyn and her guest, Rebecca Ashby, exchanged their own looks.

“See, Evie, I told you they would come back together,” Rebecca said. “It is together, is it not, ladies?”

Baylor and Hobie nodded.

“Let me guess,” Baylor said. “You’re the head witch.” Hobie elbowed her in the ribs.

“Wiccan. I meant Wiccan,” Baylor added as she rubbed her side and glared at Hobie.

Rebecca chuckled. “I do like this one,” she said to Evelyn. “Baylor, Hobie Lynn, come in and sit, please. I have some information that I think you’ll be interested in hearing.”

Once they were seated, Rebecca began. “I understand, Baylor, that you have some concerns regarding how you came to visit Ana Lia.”

Baylor felt the edges of her ears begin to burn. “We sorted that out,” Hobie said.

“Yeah.” Baylor winked at Hobie. “We pretty much agreed that I overreacted and acted like an idiot.”

“Maybe I can help Evelyn in answering some of your questions anyway,” Rebecca said. “I had a feeling I might be needed.”

Hobie’s brow furrowed. “Mrs. Ashby, how did you get here so fast? Did Evelyn call you and tell you we had an argument?”

“In a manner of speaking, I suppose she did. Like I said, I had a feeling you needed me, and here I am.”

“You are a witch—damn, I’m sorry, Wiccan,” Hobie said. She looked over at Baylor, who wore a smug smile.

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“Let’s start at the beginning, so we don’t get confused. Shall we?” Rebecca suggested.

“I think it’s already too late for that, but give it your best shot,” Baylor said.

“I think I should start off by saying that you ladies are correct. I’m the present leader of our coven, and it’s true, we prefer ‘Wiccan,’ mostly because of the connotation that other name has. It may help to know that we don’t worship the devil and we don’t drink blood. Actually, most of us are vegetarians.” Rebecca paused.

“It’s perfectly acceptable to laugh,” she said as Baylor tried to cover a giggle by clearing her throat. “We ought to at least be able to laugh at ourselves. We can talk more about our beliefs later, if you’re interested. I thought I’d attempt to ease your minds. Now, Baylor, there are two important things you should know. The accident that Hobie Lynn and your grandmother were involved in was an accident and nothing more. Are we clear on that?”

“Um, yeah. Thanks,” Baylor said. “I guess it was my paranoia showing through. When I’m thinking clearly, I know that there’s no way you can really bring two people together.”

Baylor’s chuckle froze in her throat with Rebecca’s next words. “Yes, well, about that...”

Baylor and Hobie each raised an eyebrow.

“Please don’t tell me we’re under some kind of spell,” Hobie said.

“Heavens, no, my dear. Even if we could do something of that sort, we don’t play with people’s lives that way. We serve nature, not things that go against nature.”

“There’s more, though, isn’t there?” Baylor grew suspicious. “I see it in your eyes, Tanti.”

“We don’t put spells on people, but we do believe in the Fates. We’re students of human nature. We simply...coordinate.”

“And what exactly does that mean in regards to us?” Baylor asked.

Rebecca took a long breath. “That’s the second thing I was going to tell you. We never manipulated either of you in any way, but we did arrange to have you, well, meet each other, spend time

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together.”

“And you don’t call that manipulation?” Hobie asked. “Starting when? All the way back to Chicago?”

“What?” Baylor chimed in. “Honey, that’s impossible.”

“Not so impossible. Cheryl, my office assistant, makes all my travel arrangements. That includes booking my hotel rooms and recommending restaurants to eat at.”

“That could just be coinci—”

“And Cheryl belongs to the Ladies Guild,” Hobie finished. Hobie and Baylor looked to Rebecca for an answer.

“Yes, all the way back to Chicago,” Rebecca admitted. “But we never did anything other than arrange for the two of you to be in the same area at the same time. Anything more has always been up to the Fates, I promise you that. We never could have made the two of you love each other, or even like each other, if it hadn’t been a part of your destinies already.”

“I don’t believe what I’m hearing,” Hobie said angrily. “Wait a minute. Are you trying to say that Hobie and I were

destined to be together? That sounds like one of Harriet Teasley’s plotlines,” Baylor added with a smirk.

“Can I ask why you did all this in the first place?”

“To save our island.” Evelyn finally spoke. “To keep its power alive, at any rate.”

“Okay, this is starting to get a little too woo-woo for me,” Baylor said.

“I think we need to tell them everything, from the beginning,” Evelyn said to Rebecca.

“What a refreshing change,” Baylor said.

“We’re all ears.” Hobie folded her arms across her chest. “I’m going to ask only one thing,” Rebecca said. She quickly

continued when neither woman responded. “I’m going to ask that you listen to this with a completely open mind, no preconceived notions about witches, spells, or anything of that nature. When I’m through, simply ask yourselves if what I have told you feels right. Agreed?”

Baylor shrugged, which surprised Hobie. “Okay, go for it.” “I think it would be easiest to tell you how Ana Lia Island

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came to be, before anything else. In 1702, Spain controlled a large portion of the area we now know as Florida. Ana Lia, which had another name back then, was one of many small islands that existed in the Gulf. Native Americans mostly inhabited the islands at that time. It was then that the Count Alejandro Santiago and his new bride arrived. The count’s job was an easy one—protect Spain’s interests in the New World. Spain always searched these new territories for gold to fund their wars.”

Rebecca paused to take a sip of water. “The count’s new bride, Countess Ana Santiago, was only seventeen, but she had a grace and dignity about her that few women her age knew. She didn’t love the count, neither did he love her. Their marriage brought two powerful families together, and that’s all that was important in those days. Ana didn’t like the role that society forced women to play, but she accepted it as her mother before her had done. What was worse for Ana was that the count was three times her age. Ana did her best, however, to be a good wife. She was different from most women of her time. She loved to learn, especially to write. Her solitude on the island did at least afford her the time to pursue such studies.

“It was during their first year on the island that the count became ill. The fever lasted for weeks, then months. Ana would have taken him back to Spain had she thought he could handle the long ocean voyage. The count’s doctors were perplexed by the illness. They worried that the raging fever would eventually prove fatal.

“One day, a girl approached Ana. She was a native girl, a Seminole Indian. She and her family worked for the count’s household. Her name was Lia, and she explained that her people knew her as a healer. Ana and Lia spent the entire day talking, and eventually Lia convinced Ana to allow her to see the count.”

Rebecca stopped for another sip of water. Baylor and Hobie’s attentive expressions encouraged her to continue. “To make a long story a little shorter, Lia’s herbs and teas worked. Unfortunately, the fever had taken its toll on the count. He never fully recovered, and day after day, he lingered in his sickbed. It’s now believed that the fever caused seizures or a stroke. Now the other side

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to this unfortunate circumstance was that the countess and Lia became good friends. Because of her husband’s condition, Ana spent more and more time with her new friend, and she taught her Spanish. Lia took the countess to the island where her people lived and taught her what she knew about healing. It surprised them both on the day that they discovered they were in love.

“Because the countess was an honorable woman, she told Lia that she could never be with her as long as she was married to Alejandro. Lia understood, and even though it broke her heart, she expected nothing less from the woman who had captured her heart. Their love grew stronger as the days and years passed.”

“Well?” Hobie asked when Rebecca stopped talking. “What happened? Did the count die? Did they—”

“I didn’t know you were such a closet romantic.”

“Very funny,” Hobie said. “I just wanted to know if they ever got together.”

“Honey, the island’s called Ana Lia. I think that’s a good indication.”

“Oh, yeah.”

“Actually,” Rebecca said, “the count did die, but not for another twenty-four years.”

“Years?” Hobie asked. “Good Lord. What happened to the two women?”

“They stayed together, and their love grew stronger with every day that passed. Ana begged Lia to find someone who was free to commit to her fully, but Lia could love no other. So they lived through the years on the island, spending their days together, but never their nights. Until the day that Count Santiago died.

“It was another three months before Ana’s mourning period for her husband had ended. Ana wrote a letter of explanation to her mother, then left the estate that had been her home for twenty-five years. She left with Lia and together they sailed to the island where Lia’s family lived. They lived there for the rest of their lives.

“On the night that the two women came together to commit their hearts and consummate their love, a miracle happened in the skies above the island. On that first night, two stars that had

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burned brighter than any other came together in alignment. Until the sun rose in the sky the next morning, those two stars looked to be as one. Fifty years later, both women died peacefully in their sleep. From then on, the island became known as Ana Lia.

“Now in the years before their deaths, the two women lived lives full of love and happiness. Their island developed into a mystical place, a place of power. In the 1500s, people looked there for the fountain of youth—to no avail, of course. In later years, it lost some of its magical properties, but to this day, people do experience a certain...I’m not sure how to put it.”

“I think we know precisely what you’re trying to say,” Hobie said.

“Okay, so even if we believed the story and the possibility that Ana Lia has some sort of...weird stuff going on, what does this have to do with getting Hobie and me together?” Baylor asked.

“That brings us to our last area of discussion,” Rebecca said. “The order that we belong to,” she indicated Evelyn with a nod, “the Ladies Guild, has existed since just before the deaths of Countess Ana Santiago and Lia. We are responsible for maintaining the unexplainable power of Ana Lia Island. You see, ever since that first night when Ana and Lia came together, the stars prepare us for the event’s reccurrence. It happens every fifty years. Members of the Ladies Guild receive...visions, for lack of a better term. These visions speak of two women with the potential and the strength to take the place of the two lovers, Ana and Lia.”

“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...”

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“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...”

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“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?”

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“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.