Lover Beware

raising,
    “that’s rather up to you, now, isn’t it?”
    “Why would it be up to me?”
    “I thought you said he was one of the smartest men on the planet,” Kate teased. “Didn’t you design some top-secret defense system?”
    Damon glared at the women, at Sarah. “If I did and it was top secret, no one would know, now would they?”
    Hannah laughed. “Don’t be angry, Damon, Sarah didn’t tell us. We share knowledge, sort of like a collective pool. I can’t tell you how it works, only that we all have it. She would never give out that kind of information, even to us. It just happens. None of us would say anything, well,” she hedged, “except to tease you.”
    “So why is it up to me whether or not Libby comes home?”
    “She’ll come home if there’s a wedding,” Kate pointed out with a grin.

Chapter 11
    DAMON LOOKED AROUND him at the four pale faces. Each of the Drake sisters was lying on a couch or draped over a chair, exhaustion written into the lines of her face. For a moment he felt helpless in the midst of their weariness, not knowing what to do for them. They had sat in Irene’s car, not speaking, with their white faces and trembling bodies. He had barely managed to help them into the cliff house.
    The phone rang, the sound shrill in the complete stillness of the house. The women didn’t move or turn toward the sound so Damon picked up the receiver. “Yes?”
    There was a long pause. “You must be Damon.” The voice was like a caress of velvet. “What’s wrong with them? I can feel them all the way here.” The voice didn’t say where “here” was.
    “You’re a sister?”
    “Of course.” Impatience now. “Elle. What’s wrong with them?”
    “They went to Irene’s to see Drew.” Damon could hear the sheer relief in the small sigh on the other end.
    “Make them sweet tea. There’s a canister in the cupboard right above the stove, marked MAGIC .” Damon carried the phone with him into the kitchen. “Drop a couple of teaspoons of the powder into the teapot and let the tea steep. That will help. Is the house warm? If not, get it warm: build a fire and use the furnace, whatever it takes. When’s the wedding?”
    “How soon can you and your sisters get back home?” Damon asked.
    “You know I should be angry with you. Not that burner, use the back burner. That’s the right canister.”
    “I don’t see what difference a burner makes, but okay and why should you be upset with me?” He didn’t even wonder how she knew what he was doing or what burner he was using. He took it as a matter of course.
    “Because I’m concentrating on it, the burner I mean. As for being upset, I think you started something we have no control over. I have no intention of finding a man for a long while. I have things to do with my life and a man doesn’t come into it, thank you very much. The infuser is in the very bottom drawer to the left of the sink.” She spoke as if she could see him going through the drawers looking for the little infuser to put the tea in.
    The house shuddered. Stilled. A ripple of alarm went through Damon.
    “What was that?” Elle sounded anxious again.
    “An earthquake maybe. A minor one. I’ve got the kettle on, the teapot is ready with the powder, two teaspoons of this stuff? Have you smelled it lately?” Damon was tempted to taste it. “It isn’t a dragon’s liver, is it?”
    Elle laughed. “We save those for Harrington. When he drops by we put it in his coffee.”
    “I really feel sorry for that man.” To his astonishment the teakettle shrilled loudly almost immediately. He poured the water into the little teapot and tossed a tea towel over it for added warmth. “Are you really going to have seven daughters?” he asked curiously, amazed that anyone would even consider it. Amazed that he was talking comfortably to a virtual stranger.
    The house shuddered a second time. A branch scraped along an outside wall with an eerie sound. The wind moaned and rattled the windows.
    “So the prophecy says,” Elle replied with a small sigh of resignation. “Damon, is something else wrong there?”
    “No, they’re just very tired.” Damon poured the tea into four cups and set the cups on a tray. “And the house keeps shaking.”
    “Hang up and call the sheriff’s office,” Elle said urgently. “Do it now.”
    He caught the sudden alarm in her voice and a chill went down his spine. Damn them all for their psychic nonsense. There wasn’t really