The Witch's Christmas Wish: Miracle Express, #9

By Rebecca Lovell and Miracle Express

Terra Rendon's first vision of the future was of her twin brother Tommy in a train accident, and as a result she became a mechanical engineer so she could keep him safe. When she is summoned to Virginia to help investigate a fatal trainwreck she meets Gardner Lewis, the newest detective in the Roanoke Police Department. Handed a case no one else wants, he relies on her instincts but finds himself wondering how she comes by her knowledge. Terra has never told anyone about her power but the more she gets to know Gard the more she wants to confide in him. When her childhood vision threatens to become a reality, only a miracle will be able to save Terra's brother and make her Christmas wish come true.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Frozen Flame Press
• Release date: Dec 3, 2019
• ISBN: 9781393902676

Book preview

The Witch’s Christmas Wish

Miracle Express, Book 9

Rebecca Lovell

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Frozen Flame Press

COPYRIGHT 2019 REBECCA LOVELL

Cover design by Victoria Miller

This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, and incidents are the product of the author’s imagination or used fictitiously. Any resemblance to persons living or deceased is unintentional.

For the Other Rebecca. Here’s another EL book just for you!

Table of Contents

Prologue

Chapter One

Chapter Two

Chapter Three

Chapter Four

Chapter Five

Chapter Six

Chapter Seven

Chapter Eight

Chapter Nine

Chapter Ten

Chapter Eleven

Chapter Twelve

Chapter Thirteen

Chapter Fourteen

Chapter Fifteen

Chapter Sixteen

Chapter Seventeen

Author Note

About the Author

Prologue

New York City, 1900

Can I play with your trains? The little girl in the sailor dress looked down at her brother, and he nodded up at her with a grin.

Uh-huh! You can help me make a track! The boy had the same sparkling blue eyes as his sister, and the same honey-brown hair. The only difference was that his hair was mostly straight, and hers tended to have curls in it. It was almost like looking in a mirror; there were a few differences here and there but it wasn’t hard to tell that they were born minutes apart instead of years. Here, Sissy. He handed her a train and she marveled at it as she sat down.

Terra Rendon was fascinated by trains, even at five years old. She wished she could take the toy trains apart and put them back together but they were mostly solid and far too difficult to open. Not to mention the fact that it would break her brother Tommy’s heart to see it in pieces. Instead, she picked up sections of the metal track and started to fit them together to make an interesting pattern while Tommy set up rail stations and coal cars.

Playing together was one of their favorite things to do on a lazy Sunday when the sun was behind the clouds and snow was accumulating on the ground. Once it stopped, they would put on their clothes and go outside to play. For now, though, they just wanted to set up Tommy’s trains.

How are my two favorite children? A man’s booming voice filled the nursery and the twins looked up to see their father towering over them. Abandoning the track but not the train Tommy had handed her, Terra jumped up off the ground and hugged him.

Daddy! Her arms barely went around her stout father’s legs but she continued to squeeze until he had to peel her off. You’re home!

I missed you too, Little T, Clarence Rendon said, kissing her forehead and scooping her into his arms so he could spin her around. Then he looked at the train in her hand. What’ve you got there?

A train, Terra said, holding it up. It’s really nice.

Oh, a train? Are you and your brother making a railroad? He sat the little girl on the floor and looked down at them with his hands on his hips. It’s looking nice. Next time I go on a trip I’ll see if I can find some wooden trees for you to put around them.

Thank you, Daddy, Tommy said without looking up from what he was doing. Once again it was left to Terra to keep the conversation going.

Tommy says he wants to be an engineer when he grows up, Terra said proudly. He wants to drive the trains.

Is that so, Big T? Clarence knelt down to see the tracks more closely and Terra put another piece in place. Another nod from Tommy and Terra poked him hard enough to make him look up at her with annoyance.

I wanna be an engineer. I wanna sit in the engine and honk the horn at people! Tommy’s eyes had finally lit up and he started to babble about the things he loved about train engineers while Terra continued to lay track. She expertly made it turn a corner that led back to the station and put the last piece in with a grin. Tommy noticed what she was doing and clapped. Yay, you finished it!

That looks good. It was rare for Terra to get a compliment from her father when she was playing with what he called ‘boy’s toys,’ so she grinned at him as widely as possible.

I like making tracks. Terra sat back and started sorting the pieces of track she had left. When I grow up I want to build the tracks so Tommy can drive on them. It’s like solving a puzzle! Still beaming, Terra looked to her father for approval. Instead she saw him shaking his head.

Building railroads isn’t a job for a woman, Clarence said. It’s dirty and dangerous, and I’m almost certain that they don’t let women work there anyway. You should find a nice hobby like sewing or playing an instrument, then you wouldn’t get silly ideas like this.

But I don’t want to do those things. Terra couldn’t help being a little confused. She’d known her father would say she shouldn’t try to do a boy’s job but he’d never said anything before about doing something more girlish. I want to build the tracks!

You’ll do much better finding a nice husband and starting a family. A baby is much more fun than a dirty old train. He was still talking to her kindly but the smile that was on his face had turned to the sort that prefaced his telling her ‘no,’ and Terra’s face turned red as her eyes filled with tears.

"I hate babies!" She threw the remainder of the pieces of track down and jumped up, then ran out of the playroom with tears streaming down her face.

Crying at the top of her lungs, Terra ran down the hall looking for her mother. Eliza Rendon appeared at the top of the stairs, a look of concern on her face. When Terra saw Eliza she tried to speed up but tripped over her own feet and took a tumble forward on the stairs. Her tears of anger turned into ones of pain and she clutched her knee as she sobbed.

Goodness, Eliza said gently, going down to where Terra was sitting and kneeling beside her. Are you all right? Terra shook her head, still crying, and Eliza put her arms around her. My poor little one. You’ve torn your stockings. Come along, we’ll get you some new ones.

Though she had grown too large for it, Terra let her mother pick her up and put her on her hip to carry her upstairs. Eliza kissed her on the cheek and made Terra feel a little better as she cuddled into her mother’s neck. When they reached her room, Eliza set her on the ground and went to her dresser. She searched for a new stocking while Terra sniffled on the side of the bed.

There we are. Eliza held up a black stocking and motioned for Terra to come over to her. The little girl obeyed, but instead of taking off the torn stocking she hugged her mother around the hips. Oh, dear. What’s wrong, darling?

Daddy says I can’t make railroad tracks, Terra said, tears coming afresh. He says I should get married and have babies.

That’s because you’re a little girl. Eliza sighed and knelt down again so that she was able to look into Terra’s face. Listen to me. Women do all sorts of things that men don’t approve of. Sometimes it’s hard, because there are more men that will try and tell you that you aren’t as good as them. But you’re a bright girl and whatever you wish to do, your Mommy will be here to take care of you. She brushed a lock of hair out of Terra’s face. You should think about it very hard when you get a little older, though. It’s difficult for women who work in certain jobs to get married and have a family.

I don’t care about getting married, Terra said, hugging her mother tightly. Her words had comforted the girl more than she could express and she was thinking of nothing more than how much she loved her mother when she was blindsided by an image that filled her mind.

It was a man that looked very much like her older brother, a fully-grown man wearing an engineer’s uniform. He was rocking from side to side in a train’s engine room and there were bright orange flames licking at him from the control panel. His hands pressed buttons and flipped switches in between the blades of fire but Terra knew there was no point. The train was out of control and she was going to have to watch her brother die. She could hear herself crying from a distance and the image snapped out of existence when her mother squeezed her tightly.

It’s all right, little one, Eliza said, trying to soothe her. Don’t cry, Mother is here.

Terra didn’t know what to say. She didn’t want to say anything at all, and all of a sudden she began to shiver. Gooseflesh popped up on her arms and her teeth began to chatter. It was as if she had fallen through a pond into icy water and she let go of her mother to rub her own arms. The image of her maybe-brother was still in her mind and tears welled up in her eyes again.

Are you cold? A concerned look on her face, Eliza put a hand on Terra’s forehead. You don’t seem to be too warm but you could have a fever. Why don’t we put on your nightdress instead and have you get into bed? You can get some rest and maybe you’ll feel a little better.

Yes, Mommy. Terra stood like a statue while her mother undressed her and set her dress carefully on top of the dresser. She was still more than a little upset but more than that, she was confused. The images had come out of nowhere, and they’d been so real. She thought if she had reached out she could have touched him. Eliza came over to her with a soft cotton nightgown and Terra looked up at her. I saw something scary.

Where? Was it that darn Brothers Grimm book your uncle brought from England? She shook her head. I don’t know what he’s thinking sometimes.

No, it was in here. Terra tapped her temple. It was like a bad dream but I was awake. Her mother held the nightgown over her head and she held up her arms so Eliza could lower it over her.

You really must have a fever if you’re seeing things. Eliza felt her forehead again. Get in bed and I’ll fetch the thermometer. She helped her daughter into bed and pulled the covers up. I’ll get a cool washcloth and some lavender to help you sleep. Eliza disappeared for a moment and Terra looked up at the ceiling.

Her fever didn’t have anything to do with what she’d seen, she knew that much. If she’d been asleep she might have thought it was a bad dream, but it had felt so real. Somewhere in her heart she knew that it was real, and that it was something that would happen in the future if she didn’t do something to stop it.

She would stop it. It didn’t matter if men told her that she was feeble, or how hard she would have to work to make the world believe she was smart enough. Terra wasn’t about to let her twin brother die, no matter what the cost to herself.

He’s my brother, she thought as her mother returned with a cool cloth that smelled of lavender. Eliza put the thermometer under her tongue and Terra closed her eyes. You can’t have him.

Chapter One

Virginia, 1920

First day as a real detective, Jacob Pierce said as he slapped Gardner Lewis on the shoulder. I know there are going to be some jealous people in the department.

I wouldn’t have made it if it wasn’t for you. Gard laughed. I’ll be grateful to you ‘til the day I die. Or get fired, whichever comes first. He put his hands behind his head and leaned back in Jacob’s chair, which he had taken the minute he came into the Garden City precinct.

Just because you’re sharing my desk doesn’t mean you can steal my chair. Raising an eyebrow at Gard, he pointed at the chair on the other side of the desk. The clean half over there is yours.

C’mon, Jake, just give me a minute. I’m trying to figure out what it feels like to be the next one in line to be the chief. As if he had been summoned, the chief in question came through the door and pointed at the desk. Both Gard and Jacob pointed at themselves and the chief stabbed his finger at Gard. With a look up at Jacob, Gard let the chair fall forward with a clack.

Don’t worry about it, Jacob said as Gard stood up and straightened his tie. You can’t get fired on your first day. He considered this for a moment. At least, I’m fairly certain you can’t.

Remind me why I signed up for this again?

Because you’ll be great at it. Grinning, Jacob shoved Gard in the direction of the door before sitting in his chair. Thanks for keeping my chair warm. It’s freezing in here.

As much as he wanted to throw a quip back at Jacob, Gard walked toward the chief with a sick feeling in his stomach. It was almost impossible to read the chief of detectives, a 60 year old man who smoked cigars non-stop and had been in his position since before Gard was born. He could have been congratulating Gard on his new promotion or getting ready to shout