Free From the Water by Abby Wood

From the

Water by Abby Wood
    Breathless Press
    Calgary, Alberta
    www.breathlesspress.com
    This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, and incidents are products of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously and are not to be construed as real. Any resemblance to actual events, locales, organizations, or
    persons, living or dead, is entirely coincidental.

    From the Water: Book Two of Within the Circle
    Copyright© 2010 Abby Wood
    ISBN: 978-1-926771-76-2
    Cover Artist: Justyn Perry
    Editor: Sandra Rychel
    All rights reserved. No part of this book may be used or reproduced electronically or in print without written permission, except in the case of brief quotations
embodied in reviews.
    Breathless Press
    www.breathlesspress.com

    Chapter One

    Underneath the glow of the autumn moon, the Jacobson triplets wove their skyclad bodies in a circled chain in the clearing. Bonnie broke away from the others and moved into the center of their sacred area. Laying her hands on the ground, she inhaled and began the spell.
    “Goddess, we come to thee.
    Take our gifts from all three.
    Bring on the water to speed the course.
    I’d love my man to appear on a horse.”
    “Bonnie.” Alexis snorted. “Be serious.”
    Bonnie giggled and closed her eyes again. Sometimes her sisters took the fun out of everything. Fine. If they wanted to see the serious side of things…
    “Bring on the water to speed the course.
    Give me a warning, but do not force.
    Bless me, oh water, so that I might find
    A man who is gentle and kind.”
    She stood up, spread out her arms, and twirled around. Faster and faster, she danced. Leaning her head back and letting her long hair cascade down her bare back, she laughed with pure delight at the power overcoming her.
    The sky crackled, and lightning shot across the clear black canvas right before clouds rolled in out of nowhere and rained down on the women. She stopped and let the water roll down her body. Yes! Blessed be.
    “Come on, Bonnie. That’s enough rain. I’m freezing to death over here.” Carly tried to snuggle against Alexis, but her older-by-a-full-five-minutes sister pushed away from her and ran over to her pile of clothes.
    “You could start a bonfire and warm us up, Carly.” Alexis shot her a grin.
    Carly snorted. “Oh sure, and attract everyone in town. I don’t think so.”
    The rain stopped, and the clouds blew away. Bonnie skipped out of the circle with a smile on her face. Two days ago, Carly had found love with Max. Now it was her turn, and she couldn’t be happier.
    “I vote we go back, change into our sexiest dresses, and head into town to check out all the decorations Carly put up for the Halloween party. I feel like dancing the rest of the night away through Lindbergh.” Bonnie picked up her pile of clothes but didn’t move to get dressed again.
    “No, I’m tired.” Alexis yawned. “I don’t know why the water always fires you up.”
    “But what if my man is waiting somewhere for me tonight? I could totally miss out on meeting him.” Bonnie frowned.
    Carly shook her head. “Nah, I bet it’ll happen tomorrow like it did with me. Let’s go home and get some rest.”
    “Oh Goddess! I’m going to have trouble sleeping tonight.” Bonnie sighed. “This is going to be so exciting…”
    Chapter Two

    Bonnie opened the door to the inner lobby of the post office. She whistled softly and hurried to stand in line. She’d made it before the big noontime rush.
    Behind the one customer buying stamps ahead of her, she tapped her foot against the linoleum floor. Humming a tune that had stuck in her head all morning, she glanced over her shoulder and out the window. This time of year, the mist that shrouded the town and the shorter days made it hard to escape down to the river with her sketch pad to draw, but today had turned out surprisingly sunny.
    The woman in front of her turned to leave, and Bonnie stepped up to the counter. She hefted the mailbag up and with a