A Touch of Patience: Magic's Destiny: Magic, New Mexico, #9

By Evelyn Lederman

Patience 'Pati' Harper does not possess the virtue her name depicts. She is the last witch in her family's line and feels pressured to bear a child, even though her temperament does not result in many second dates. Being only one-quarter jaguar changeling, her inability to shift almost brought her ancestral line to an end when she was almost killed in her teens.

Danyal Zabare, a jaguar shifter, who grew up hearing stories about soul mates and is determined to settle for  nothing less. He recognizes Patience as his mate the instant he lays eyes on her. Leaving everything behind, Danyal follows her through a portal to an unknown world.

Confronted with her past and a man claiming to be her future, Pati must evolve into what destiny demands. Will Pati's magic be strong enough to save her and two innocents from the violence of her past?

• Language: English
• Publisher: Evelyn Lederman
• Release date: Jul 24, 2018
• ISBN: 9781386240501

Book preview

One

Magic, New Mexico

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The small town of Magic, New Mexico was awash in dawn’s early light as Patience Harper approached from the west. This was her favorite part of the ten-mile run she did each morning. In this light, the town appeared to be as magical as its population.

Patience, Pati for short, sprinted the remaining half-mile of the run. She moved with the grace of her people, being one-quarter jaguar shifter. Her long, muscular legs made her a natural runner. Although she could not shift, she was significantly faster than any woman in town. Only full-blooded jaguar shifters could beat her in a race.

She loved the sound her shoes made as they traversed the desert floor. This time of year, the desert was in bloom and she always set a slower pace to enjoy her surroundings. It was a perfect way to start her day.

Upon entering town, Pati skirted around the small mercantile store she owned. The centuries old building was one of the first erected when Magic was originally settled. She entered the living quarters in the rear of the building and headed toward the bathroom to take a shower. The wooden floor creaked as she made her way down the hall.

Her family had owned the shop for centuries. She grew up stocking shelves and selling goods to the people of Magic. Six months ago, her parents decided to move outside of town and start a cactus farm. One day she was helping in the store, the next thing she knew… she owned it.

Initially, Pati thought her parents had lost their minds. They left the comfort of an air-conditioned store to work in the brutal heat of the desert. To everyone’s amazement, the venture was a huge success. Her parents were thriving in their new environment.

There was one distinct advantage of her parents living on the farm, her mother was no longer asking her every morning when she was going to find a man and settle down. The daily interrogation was a bit too much to handle as she ate her oatmeal and drank her life affirming caffeine. She was the last witch in her family’s bloodline. If Pati did not bear a child, the magic of her ancestors would die with her.

In a town of just over two thousand souls, Pati had yet to meet the man she felt destined to be hers. Pati did not possess the virtue her name indicated. Instead, she was easily bored and wanted to be regularly challenged by the man in her life.

She probably held the record for the number of first dates that never resulted in a second. Pati could only imagine the clever names men called her behind her back. Even when she left Magic to go to college, Pati did not meet the love of her life. The last thing she wanted to do was settle for some man just to bear a child. There were various options open to her if she chose to get pregnant on her own——none of which involved being shackled to a man who would certainly bore her to tears.

Pati did not believe in soul mates, but she did feel there was a man who was perfect for her somewhere. She dreamed of a man who would sweep her off her feet. But that was the problem, her dreams had not become a reality as of yet.

After showering, Pati dressed in her usual attire——a short skirt and a cheap violet tank top. She pulled back her long blond hair and slipped her feet into a pair of well-worn sandals. Like clockwork, Pati opened the store promptly at eight a.m.

Her first customer was waiting for her as she unlocked the door. Jerome, a dwarf, came every Monday morning to buy a week’s supply of nails. Dwarves were expert builders and constructed most of the structures in Magic. Rather than buying in bulk, he was there every week, hoping she would finally succumb to his charm and go out with him. Pati imagined the town’s gossip mongers would have a field day if she ever said yes.

As with every Monday, she had a stream of customers stop by to pick up miscellaneous items. Since taking over for her parents, she experimented with introducing new products. The inventory she selected matched her personality. People would stop in to see what new goods she had available and would end up purchasing what they saw. She was generating record profits for the store.

Pati had just finished ringing up her last sale when Topper entered the store. The eccentric witch stopped in daily to visit with her. She never knew what color the older witch’s hair was going to be from day to day or what zinger would come out of her mouth.

Hi, Topper, Pati greeted her friend. What color would you say your hair is today? She was not sure how the flamboyant woman achieved that particular shade of red.

Topper patted her hair with her left hand, as if she had to remind herself of the spell she cast that morning. Pati loved that Topper had such an adventurous spirit. Topper tried so many new things; even she could not keep everything straight.

Magenta, dear, Topper replied.

The hair color looked atrocious with the lime green shirt Topper wore, but it was so her. Too bad she was not a young hunk. Pati would never tire of being with someone like Topper.

When Topper became engrossed perusing the new batch of scarves recently placed on the shelves, Pati returned to unpacking the first of three boxes she received that morning. It was always an adventure to see what an item she purchased on-line looked like in reality.

Pati was half way through the second box when her attention was grabbed by Topper’s humming. That same melody had played through Pati’s head for as long as she could remember. She spent years trying to figure out what song nested in her mind.

What is that melody? Pati asked.

It is your destiny, Topper answered.

Before Pati had a chance to ask Topper what the heck she meant by that little tidbit of information, the old witch left the store. Pati knew better than to run after Topper and cross-examine her. Topper was notorious for leaving breadcrumbs and expecting the recipient to follow the trail.

Frustrated beyond belief, Pati changed the sign on the door to ‘closed’, so she could take a short break. She headed for the kitchen to make a quick cup of tea. Pati filled the mug with water, whistled, and placed a tea bag in the now boiling water.

Witchcraft involved manipulating matter. Her mind did the work, but a catalyst was required to activate the magic. Some witches snapped their fingers or motioned with their hands——Pati whistled. She’d spent her childhood stocking shelves, so she’d wanted to kick-start her magic without using her hands. It just so happened that Pati learned to whistle about the same time she was ready to cast her first spell. At the time, it had seemed logical to combine the two skills.

She closed her eyes to get a moment’s rest, but the haunting melody Topper had hummed earlier continued to play in her mind. Pati took several more sips of her tea and then headed to the front to reopen the store.

Pati’s afternoon had been hectic. It seemed as if everyone in town had stopped by. Chase, her werewolf best friend since high school, stopped by with a mushroom pizza. Pati shared the pie and chatted with Chase between assisting customers. Although she adored Chase, there had never been any physical chemistry between the two of them. Life would have been so much easier if their friendship had turned into something more.

Her best friend had an incredible body, which he continued to develop due to his obsession with weight training. His brown, curly hair and dreamy brown eyes had turned many a girl’s head over the years. She was just one of the guys in Chase’s eyes and that was fine with her.

Pati’s parents also stopped in to purchase a rake. She could only guess what magic her mother was casting that required such a tool. Her mother was continually experimenting with new spells, often with disastrous results.

The last box still sat on the counter waiting to be unpacked. She locked the front door and grabbed her box cutter to slice open the package. She knew that if the shop remained open, she would never finish pulling out the new inventory. To her delight, the box contained an assortment of crystals. Finally, the package she had been waiting week’s for arrived. Pati always had an affinity for crystals, particularly amethyst. The stones held various powers that she used when casting spells.

The greatest spell Pati was ever involved in was when the whole town opened a magical gateway to a distant planet to rescue a ten-year-old boy. Her whole body had rocked with energy as they opened the gateway. It was the greatest high she had ever experienced. She had tapped out the power of five crystals that day.

Pati pulled out the packing slip and began checking each crystal off the itemized list. Her eyes lit with excitement when she found a medium sized piece of herderite. Pati never possessed one of these rare crystals, so she purchased it for her own collection.

When she pulled the dark gray stone out of the bag, the ever-present annoying melody in her