The Crones - A Witches of Blackwood Grove Mystery, Book 2 (PAPERBACK)

Chapter 1
Basil, lemon balm, and chamomile or lavender flower tea. Steep the herbs and drink to relieve headaches.
A teaspoon of a tincture made of ginkgo, gotu kola, rosemary, and peppermint taken three times a day to help with memory issues.
Rosemary and lemon thyme tea to drink for sheer pleasure.
What else could I create with the herbs in our garden? The options were endless, and my notebook was full of ideas for cures, creams, and spells. And with more than a month to go before the first frost did its damage, I still had time to create with the fresh herbs and plants too. Then I would harvest them and hang them from the rafters to dry.
I’d gotten so much done today, I allowed myself to clock out a few minutes early and take the leisurely route to pick up my granddaughter, Cricket, from preschool. This meant a walk along the Mississippi River. Breathing in deep lungsful of fresh air and watching the sunlight glisten off the water as it slowly made its way south was both rejuvenating and relaxing.
When I came to where a set of stairs led down to the river, I stopped to notice a houseboat docked there. The owner, Harriet Wong, told everyone who’d give her five minutes about the boat she was having restored. She saw me up on the road now and gave me a beckoning wave.
“Come on down, Dusty!”
Much as I’d love to see it, I needed to get over to the playground.
“Soon, I promise,” I called back as I gave her a wave. Then I crossed the street to another short flight of stairs that led directly up to my family’s diner. About fifty yards west of there was a large playground that drew children like a magnet. I had yet to see anyone crying or fighting there and suspected some of the town’s witches had cast a spell over it. Life was hard enough, even for children, so I approved of a place where things simply went well.
This was the pickup point. We dropped the kiddos off at Autumn Trainor’s organic flower farm in the morning and picked them up here in the afternoon, where they ended their day burning off a bit of their seemingly endless supply of energy. I envied their stamina.
“Hi, Lola!” Cricket called out the Filipino word for grandma her mother had taught her and waved to me with her whole arm from the top of a forest-green and tan tower. “Can I play more? Please?”
She dragged out the word please for about five seconds.
“Sure. Ten minutes.” I wasn’t in a hurry to get home but did still need to pick some tomatoes before I could call it a day. Cricket could help me with that.
I turned to find someplace to sit and spotted a toddler triumphantly releasing the lock on the strap holding him in his stroller. In a flash, I saw him topple forward and fall on his forehead. Another flash showed me him years older with a jagged scar over his left eyebrow.
I blinked and then reacted, like anyone would; I reached out as though I could stop the fall from happening. Except, I was a witch and, along with being able to see into the future, I could also alter the course of current events by simply reaching out.