La ferme des sapins de Noël

Laurie Gilmore

Description

Meet Camille LaMontagne. Her parents have a surprise for her. A motorbike, a legacy as a voodoo priestess, and an arranged marriage. What's a girl to do?

Through the years, I'd been sheltered from the family business. While some kids were groomed nearly from birth, I had no idea what my mother actually did for a living. After all, her answer was different every time. If she was running late, she could be teaching a craft class. I thought she meant basket weaving, since we had plenty of baskets around. When she told me she was going to work early to do a reading, I thought she might be an author, since she was constantly writing in books. So naturally, when I overheard her talking about whipping a batch up, I imagined she was a baker...not that she'd made so much as a cookie around our house.

Not once did I think my mother was a voodoo priestess. Never did I imagine that she expected me to take over her shop and replace her when she was ready to retire. So, you can imagine my surprise when I graduated with a degree in library science and she tried to present me with a husband for my graduation gift.

James was from Haiti and our merger...I mean...our marriage would unite two of the most powerful voodoo families. Of course, I knew nothing about any of this...not the arranged marriage, not magic, and not our family history. I had an entirely different path planned. For years, I'd been taking solace in books. This was how I managed to stay out of trouble. When I didn't lose myself in a story, strange things happened. Now, I realize this was probably magic. All I knew for sure was that I wanted no part of it.

That's why I left and my mother wasn't stopping me. That's all I could ask for. Even my father feared her. And yet for some reason, when I reached the driveway, he mimicked the sound of a morning dove to call me over to the garage. Inside, he had a motorcycle. This was his graduation gift to me. I wasn't sure I could drive it, but I wanted to badly. He gave me a quick tutorial and sent me on my way. Daddy had always understood me, even when I didn't know myself.

I had no plans. I was going to let the road decide my destination. Soon, I ended up in Georgia. And I thought I might have reached the end of my journey too. Somehow, I blew a tire and wiped out. I wasn't badly injured, but if it weren't for Serena, I would've been killed. I'd stumbled into a goblin trap.

Yes, goblins were real. Yes, goblins were deadly. And yes, I was seething because my mother taught me nothing all these years. Serena saw straight to my soul and took pity on me. Though not a voodoo priestess, she shared what she knew. I thought she was doing this out of the goodness of her heart. I should've known better. Serena needed me. The goblins were too much for her alone. She needed my help. I needed her counsel. I'd seen her chase off no fewer than three potential suitors the first day I was in town. If she'd teach me how to lose James, I'd do whatever she asked to get those goblins gone.

A pact was made. Lessons were learned. I only hoped that with our combined skills love would be lost and goblins would be gone. I'd never imagined the goblins and James could be so...stubborn.

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