Free Bewitching My Love by Diane Story

where he’d found her before. She was sitting in the tall ryegrass with her knees up and her head buried in them. He could hear her sobs even before he got to her. Reaching down, he brushed back the strands of hair that had fallen down in front of her knees, concealing her from his view. “Fern, look at me. Please, don’t cry.”
    She yelled past her sobs. “What the hell do you expect me to do, Rowen? I almost had sex with a man I don’t love. Do you know how that makes me feel?” Looking up to his face, she wiped her tears away and glared at him. “How could you take advantage of me like that? I want to go home, Rowen, to hell with this stupid curse.”
    “ Are you forgetting something Fern? You weren’t the only to one to profess undying love just now. I believed myself in love with you as well.” He watched as puzzlement crossed her face. “We were the victims of the old bitch again, Fern. It can be the only explanation.” He watched a tear fall silently from her jaw to land on her knee. “I’m so sorry. I would have never made love to you without your permission, Fern. I might be a bastard, but I don’t take advantage of women.”
    Fern let her head fall back down to her knees. “What are we to do, Rowen? We have six more days to figure out a plan. We may as well go back home, we’ll never win. Elizabeth is much too strong, you know that as well as I do.”
    “ If we lose, I die. I can’t give up, Fern. Please, help me. Stay here and help me figure out a way.” Sitting down next to her, he pushed aside an urge to envelop her in his arms, to somehow protect her from this place. He wouldn’t give in to the old witch but he worried that it might be too much for Fern.
    “ You don’t actually die, Rowen, you only cease to exist. Let’s keep it straight, OK!” She flicked her tongue against the roof of her mouth in a display of irritation, then she put her head back down on her knees.
    He ignored her sarcasm. Right now he needed to keep himself together. “Fern, love, please. I can’t do this without your help.” As she raised her head and looked at him with one of her delicate eyebrows cocked in dismay, he knew his choice of words could have been better. He laughed only because he couldn’t think of any other way to lighten the mood.
    Fern frowned then laughed with him; falling to her back in the grass, she laughed until her sides hurt. Then when it was over she lay looking up at the stars in the sky and listened to the water as it traveled over the rocks in the river. “I’ll help you, Rowen. I don’t know why I’ll help you, but I will.” Hopping to her feet she looked down at him. He was superb, even in the dark. “I’m going to cool off in the river before we go back to the cave. You can sit and watch or come join me, suit yourself.”
    Rowen watched her shed her dress before jumping into the river. Her body cast a silhouette over the water before she plunged in, disappearing completely from his view. When her head reappeared he figured the best way to keep from worrying about her was to join her, he might not love her but that didn’t keep him from desiring her. Depositing his clothes next to hers on the grassy bank, he jumped in.
    Jonathan couldn’t wait to see Mary any longer. He slipped through his bedchamber door quietly, turning once to make sure Sarah still slept. He had to go past many houses before reaching the jail but since it was still early, nobody would see him. Salem was in such turmoil lately with all of the accusations of witchcraft, he often wondered about the future of their small village. Quietly, he closed the door behind him then crept to the cell she was being held in. Her hands were still shackled to the front of her body and she held them close to her chest as she slept on the dirty cot. He stood and watched her for several minutes before unlocking the door. Even with the smudges of dirt on her cheeks, her beauty was beyond compare. She woke when the key