Free Rosemary for the Holidays (Consulting Magic) by Amy Crook Page A

if Fenway's house isn't, and they've moved the fence and now we're doing some landscaping and warding on the little mini-park they've set aside for it to live in," said Julian. "We might have people by for after, too. I think some people from the Temple were going to come and bless it."
    "If it's that nice Father Stephen, he's more than welcome," said Alys, pleased. "You go on, now, and give these to Mary Margaret." She handed him a tin of biscuits, and then vanished into thin air to encourage him to stop dawdling.
    Julian laughed and headed out, bundled up warm against the winter chill and feeling very much in the spirit of the season.
    ~ ~ ~
    Morning work done, biscuits gifted, and lunch eaten, Alex and Julian headed to the wish tree together in a cab. All the plants and supplies they'd need had been sent ahead of time, so they just had to bring themselves and their magic, not to mention their willingness to work. After 3 months of proper wishing, the tree was starting to regain its health, though of course in the winter its branches were bare of leaves for a different reason. The cab let them off by the little turnoff onto Shaftesbury, which was pedestrian-only. They went through the very same gate that Horace had unlocked, which was now invitingly open, and across the cracked parking lot to where the wish tree was nestled in one corner in a little cul de sac of fresh-tilled soil reclaimed from the asphalt.
    There were curved stone benches waiting to be installed in their final spots, and people waiting on those benches – not only Father Stephen, but James and Jacques, as well as the acolytes Raj and Roger, and even Officer Tiny and Detective MacLean.
    "You managed quite the roster of volunteers!" said Julian, heading in to give Father Stephen a hug first.
    "Tiny and I are getting our community service credits for helping," said Thomas with a grin.
    Tiny huffed. "Not that we wouldn't help anyway, but that let us take the afternoon," he explained.
    Julian hugged everyone, while Alex shook hands mostly. Horace wriggled his way out of Alex's coat and began chirping happily and hopping from person to person, getting little pets and blessings and praise. He'd grown quite lively in the past few months, his personality becoming more firmly established as Alex added to his spells and Julian his energy. He could tell time now, so he often served as their alarm clock, and he'd been given an interesting ability to ferry power from one person to another. Or, mostly, to the tree – once the fund for the park had been established, people's money went into that instead of hung atop the tree, and Horace instead took the energy from the person to the wish tree in some manner that Julian never did quite understand.
    "Your little pet gets smarter every time I see him," said Father Stephen cheerfully.
    Julian paused in hugging Jacques to reply, but Jacques distracted him with a blessing-kiss to his forehead that Julian suspected was also a little bit diagnostic. "He's getting all sorts of energy now, and he helps out nearly every day."
    "A very useful pet," said Father Stephen, giving Horace a little kiss on his metal head. "He'll watch over us well while we're here."
    "At least it won't be as much work as the luck garden," said Raj.
    Roger chuckled. "You like the luck garden," he teased.
    "I like it now, doesn't mean I wanted to plant it," replied Raj, unperturbed.
    "Speaking of work," said Julian, "why don't we get started and catch up while we make progress?"
    They all agreed, and Julian handed out the tasks, which was mainly each person evenly distributing grass seeds and some wildflower seeds into the tilled soil. They wouldn't plant anything living with winter on the way, but the seeds would be safe until spring. They talked as they worked, catching up on James and Jacques' last Charge, Raj and Roger's studies, Father Stephen's pet projects, and everyone's various work and personal lives.
    They got the grass and flowers seeded and the