Page 17 of The Marriage Auction 2: Part 3

Ann was showing us where she’d like to have the reception in their lavish garden.

“And for the ceremony, of course we’ll have the altar where we’ll request the blessing of our goddesses. The coven will offer a prayer to the couple, and there will be a unity candle lighting and a hand-binding. I’m going to speak to the Fire Keeper about placing the fire over in that corner for safety reasons. We’ll have the offering table with the blessed wine over there. And I’ll be performing the ceremony right there,” she pointed to another section of the garden.

“Wait, what? You’re performing the ceremony?” I asked, a bit shocked by this turn of events.

“As high priestess, it is tradition. There is none better,” Ann stated magnanimously.

“High priestess? This is the witchy stuff you warned me about,” I turned to face Summer who was grinning like a Cheshire cat. “Candle lighting, altars, hand-binding. Fire Keeper, offering table, coven prayer? What does that even entail?” I frowned as the realization hit me that my wedding would be attended by a bunch of Pagan witches. “You said we’d have hay bales, cornucopias, autumn-colored flowers, and fairy lights.”

“And we will have those things, but, honey, my faith is important to me. And the coven and our practices are sacredto my family and our community. They are not only welcome to attend and share in our ceremony, but they are expected. It would be a great dishonor for us not to invite them and vice versa if they didn’t attend. It simply isn’t done.” She shrugged as if it was all the same to her.

I leaned closer to her ear. “Are we going to have a bunch of women wearing all black and pointy hats?” I whispered.

She cracked up laughing. “No. Imagine Stevie Nicks the singer and how she dresses. Lots of jewel and earth tones, crystals, jewelry, scarves, silks, skirts and intricate dresses. That’s what you’ll see.”

I took a deep breath and then let it out slowly. “Okay, that’s one concern down, now how about you explain to me what a hand-binding is?” I asked as my cellphone rang.

“Saved by the bell,” she chuckled.

I reached out and palmed her nape before stealing a kiss. “You’re going to keep me guessing, aren’t you?”

She cupped my cheeks as my phone stopped ringing. “Always and forever,” she pecked my lips and my phone promptly started ringing again.

I pulled it out of my pants pocket and glanced at the screen display. It was Ellen. Which was odd not only because I’d just spoken to her, but it was much later in the day for her to be calling.

“Miss me already?” I joked in answer.

“Hello, is this Jack Larsen?” a male voice I didn’t recognize asked.

“It is. Why are you calling me from Ellen’s phone? Who is this?”

“Um, yeah. I’m sorry. I’m…uh…Emil Hagen. I’ve been dating Ellen. And she told me if there was ever a problem to call her brother, Jack Larsen. We have a problem,” he croaked. “Ellen’s been in an accident.”

“An accident? I just spoke with her this morning. Where is she? Where’s TJ?”

“I have TJ here. With me. She never came to get him from school after work. I called her phone, and a nurse answered. I came as soon as I found out.”

“Let me talk to Ellen,” I demanded.

Summer placed her hand on my arm, her brow furrowed. “What’s wrong?” she mouthed.

The man on the phone whispered, “Oh my god. Oh my god.”

“Emil. Put. Ellen. On. The. Phone!” I growled.

“I can’t.” Emil burst into sobs and gooseflesh rose across my skin as the hair on the back of my neck stood on end.

“Why?” I barked, running my other hand through my hair and gripping the roots until I felt a spike of pain.

“Because she’s in a coma,” the man cried, and everything around me turned a bright blinding white.

Episode 64

Transcend in Peace

SUMMER

Jack was staring numbly at the image of Ellen and TJ on his laptop screen. He hadn’t spared a single word other than yes, no, and thank you to me or his private jet staff, starting from the time we’d arrived, taken off, to now as we made our descent into Oslo, Norway. It had been a harrowing experience from the moment he got the call. I’d never packed so quickly in my life, my mother and I tossing items into a suitcase while Jack made the plans to fly out immediately. Thankfully, the company jet had been stored in a Northen California airport the entire time we were there, making leaving far quicker.

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