Kitchen Witch

14 | Nor'Easter

Charlotte loved many things about the island. The obvious beauty of the island with its bounty of beaches, breathtaking dunes, the lupins in the spring, wild roses in the summer, and vibrant colours in the autumn. Even the winter was growing on her. It was different from the winters she had known. It was milder in temperature. She was used to regular -27C or colder days, where everything was harsh and hard-edged, and the air hurt your teeth. It wasn't that the maritime winters were gentler because they made up for what they lacked in cold temperatures with storms. But the storms were different, too; instead of everyone being forced to go to work, the island shut down. Schools actually closed, businesses closed shop, and people hunkered in at home. There was a coziness to it all, almost like stepping back into a different-paced world. A chance to pause. She had giggled at the term storm chips at first but quickly saw how serious the island was at gathering their storm essentials and, you bet, chips! Islanders loved to talk about the weather, too, and her favourite new hobby was to follow the weather discussions on a local Facebook group. The group was better at predicting the upcoming weather than the local news station. The group was all a buzz over a Nor'easter coming in later that morning. Local residents had already cleared out Sarah's chip aisle and, much to Charlotte's dismay, the cinnamon buns, too. Sarah helped Charlotte go over her emergency supplies and gave her advice on what to do if she lost power. Charlotte was going to need to get a generator but would make do for now with her emergency kit. Sarah had offered for her to come and stay with her for the first big storm. But Charlotte had plans, not that she shared those with Sarah, and politely reassured her that she and Charlie would be just fine. Charlotte had begun to make the connection between her use of magic and its drain on her energy and how the natural wind also recharged her batteries. The stronger the wind, the stronger the charge. She planned on heading out into the storm before it got too bad to experiment with her newfound abilities.

Charlie whined and pushed into Charlotte's leg, pulling at her heartstrings with his big puppy dog eyes. Charlotte was in the process of trying to get out the door dressed in a million layers and trying to keep Charlie behind at home. Although she was confident she would be just fine out in the storm, she didn't want to risk Charlie getting disoriented or lost. He wasn't making it easy, though, and she was almost tempted just to let him come with her. She kissed his snout and then firmly pushed him back while shutting the door. She could hear his crying bark as she headed to the car. Trying to shake off the guilt, she cranked the music in the car as well as the heat. Her Pathfinder had four-wheel drive as well as new winter tires; she was ready for the snowy roads. The snow was a steady trickle coming down and the winds had started to pick up. Charlotte wasn't going far. She wanted to make it to the lighthouse. She felt a pull to it, like a ship, guiding her. It was where she was pulled to after that scene in the market, where all the memories had come flooding back. It wasn't snowing heavily by any means yet, but the steady sprinkle of snow combined with what was already on the ground was swirling around with the wind, making it difficult to see. Charlotte began to feel a trickle of unease, questioning whether this was a good idea or not. She called out to her magic and created her own little windstorm, blowing the snow clear in front of her. No one else was crazy enough to be out to see, and even if a car happened upon them, they would likely just chalk it up to the crazy winds. With her magic guiding her, Charlotte felt a little more at ease as she pulled into the lighthouse and parked.

Riley cleared the snow off his truck, which had gathered in the time that he had spent helping pull some idiot driver out of the ditch. Driving school certainly didn't seem to be teaching common sense these days. He thought to himself as he stomped the snow off his boots and clambered back into his truck. He started the engine and cranked the heat while checking the local road conditions page to see if there was any more need for him right now. Riley and a few others with good-sized trucks outfitted with plows were part of a volunteer roadside assistance group. In addition to helping clear the backroads, they were sent out to help vehicles stuck out in the weather. Hopefully, most people would soon get the hint, as the weather was ramping up quickly and hunker in for the remainder of the storm. He took a couple of swigs of his coffee before it cooled too much and decided to take the longer route home, just in case. Riley had his plow down, helping to clear the road, and was driving at a moderate speed, trying to keep his eyes sharp and not get lost in the mesmerizing snow swirling out in front of him. Despite his best efforts, he found his thoughts drifting off toward that woman with the red curly hair. At the picture of her opening her front door, dressed in a white night dress that did nothing to hide her curvy body, her red curls bouncing like her curves, he groaned and cursed under his breath. It had been weeks since he had been to her house to help with her sink, but he hadn't been able to stop thinking about her. He couldn't fathom why, as she had irritated him immensely with her frazzled nature. Not to mention that strange mudroom. It was just plain strange. And yet he couldn't help but smile when he thought of how adorable she looked, tugging at her nightdress when she first opened the door.