Hannah elbowed him. After the bride and groom turned to face the community as man and wife, she and Aaron stood with the rest of the audience. The new ring on her finger practically vibrated love and hope. She cried with everyone else as the newly wedded couple walked up the aisle.
Aaron held her as she sobbed. Hannah hoped she could impress this memory in her brain to savor for a lifetime.
And then they went home and made love and maybe babies—while planning Aaron’s dream of a network of eccentric guardians who might someday circle the world.
Crystal Magic Characters
Hillvale residents:
Aaron Townsend—owner of antique store; practices psychometry
Amber Abercrombie Gabriel—tarot reader
Brenda—retired nurse practitioner
Carmel Kennedy—mother of Kurt and Monty; emotional vampire
Cassandra Kennedy Tolliver—family once owned all of Hillvale; Sam’s great-aunt on paternal side
Chen Ling Walker—Hillvale’s police chief and owner of corporate investigative agency
Dinah—cook and owner of restaurant
Fiona Malcolm McDonald—orphan, chef, Monty’s significant other
Hannah Ling Simon—Malcolm Librarian
Harvey (aka Isaac Harvey Berkovich) Menendez—itinerant musician, friend of Monty’s
Josh Gabriel—Hollywood director, writer, Amber’s husband
Keegan Ives--mineralogist
Kurtis Dominic Kennedy—architect; part owner and manager of Redwood Resort
Lance Brooks—Carmel’s brother; artist who lives at resort
Mariah Ives (Zoe Ascension de Cervantes) creates ghost-catchers; married to Keegan
Montgomery Kennedy—Hillvale’s mayor, part-owner of Redwood Resort
Orval Bledsetter—retired veterinarian
Pasquale—grocer
Samantha Moon Walker—environmental scientist; wife of police chief Walker
Sydony Devine-Baker Bennet—Teddy’s sister; interior designer; mother of two small children
Theodosia (Teddy) Devine-Baker Kennedy—empathic jeweler; married to Kurt Kennedy
Tullah—owner of thrift store; psychic medium
Valerie Ingersson (Valdis)—goddess of death; former actress
Wan Hai—feng shui expert
Xavier Black—contract lawyer, Kennedy property rental agent
Moonstone Shadows Characters
Daphne Daisy Ives—Mariah’s newborn
Malcolm Eversham—a commune artist; oil painter who paints his dreams
Natalie—Aaron’s late wife
Nan—Aaron’s late aunt, a Malcolm
Aunt Jia—Hannah’s 93-year-old time-traveling great-great-great aunt
Francesca (Frannie)—Hannah’s airplane pilot psychic cousin
Jack—Hannah’s finder cousin
Sally—elementary teacher and sometime waitress
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* * *
And again, thank you so much for taking the time to read this book. Please stop by my website or Facebook page to let me know if you enjoyed it.
I am an independent author, so getting the word out about my book is vital to its success. If you liked this book, please consider telling your friends, and writing a review at the store where you purchased it. Reviews help other readers find books. I appreciate all reviews, whether positive or negative!
And be sure to check out my mystery series Tales of Love and Mystery as well as my Crystal Magic series
Moonstone Shadows
Patricia Rice
Copyright © 2019, Patricia Rice
Book View Cafe, July 9, 2019
First Publication: 2019
All rights reserved, including the right to reproduce this book, or portion thereof, in any form.
This is a work of fiction. Any references to historical events, real people, or real locales are used fictitiously. Other names, characters, places, and incidents are the product of the author’s imagination, and any resemblance to actual events or locales or persons, living or dead, is entirely coincidental.
Published by Rice Enterprises, Dana Point, CA, an affiliate of Book View Café Publishing Cooperative
Cover design by Kim Killion
Book View Café Publishing Cooperative
http://bookviewcafe.com
Ebook 978-1-61138-810-7
Print 978-1-61138-811-4
Without limiting the rights under copyright reserved above, no part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in or introduced into a retrieval system, or transmitted, in any form, or by any means (electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or otherwise) without the prior permission of the copyright owner.
Please purchase only authorized electronic editions, and do not participate in or encourage electronic piracy of copyrighted materials. Your support of the author’s rights is appreciated.
Thank You.
Crystal Magic Series
An exciting new series from the author of Unexpected Magic and Tales of Love and Mystery
Sapphire Nights
Book 1 of the Crystal Magic Series
A lawman haunted by his past . . . a scientist haunted by her future.
* * *
Samantha Moon arrives in Hillvale bereft of friends and family, money and memory. All she has to her name is a stray cat . . . but that's apparently enough for the people of Hillvale to take her in. Except for L.A. investigator Walker, who sees how Sam's arrival disturbs the deceptive peace of the small California town.
Buy Sapphire Nights
Topaz Dreams
Book 2 of the Crystal Magic Series
An empathic woman searching for safety. . . An architect yearning for dreams. . . And the haunted house that endangers them both
* * *
Teddy Devine-Baker arrives in her childhood home of Hillvale with a box of crystals and enough trouble to fill her VW van. With Teddy’s life in pieces, her parents’ old house is her last refuge, but Kurt Kennedy—the aloof architect whose sword-wielding heroics once tickled her childish fancies—claims it belongs to him.
Buy Topaz Dreams
Crystal Vision
Book 3 of the Crystal Magic Series
He is Earth, she is Air, together they catch Fire....
* * *
Mariah lives off the grid by waitressing, weaving ghostcatchers to send Hillvale’s ghosts across the veil, and keeping clear of electronics that haunt her—until the day her friend and mentor, Crazy Daisy, is murdered, and Mariah goes on the hunt for a killer.
Her prime suspect is geologist Keegan Ives. Following clues left by Daisy and Hillvale’s past, Keegan and Mariah are caught in a whirlwind of crystals, power, and cyber-fraud. If they survive, will their world be changed for better—or worse?
Buy Crystal Vision
Wedding Gems
A Crystal Magic Collection
Book 4 of the Crystal Magic Series
Succumb to temptation and follow the call to Hillvale - population 325 - a cozy little mountain town filled with love, mystery, and ghosts...
* * *
Award-winning author Patricia Rice presents three romantic novellas from her celebrated Crystal Magic series—together for the first time in one collection.
The Wedding Gift
Having overcome the obstacles of their past, Samantha Moon and Chen Ling Walker are ready to walk down Hillvale’s eccentric version of a wedding aisle. Can they also conquer the complications of the present—a mysterious doll that won’t stay in one place and the dubious assistance of a feng shui master who moves in with them?
The Wedding Question
While juggling the demands of their busy lives, Theodosia Devine-Baker and Kurt Kennedy find that love and living together require just as much work. Halloween always brings out Hillvale’s spooks, but when Teddy declares a ceramic dragon is sending smoke signals, Kurt wonders if it’s time for him to flee the eccentric community to look for a more normal life.
The Wedding Surprise
With Christmas excitement raising Hillvale’s spirits—both literal and figurative—Keegan Ives and Mariah are setting out on new careers and a new relationship. As the town’s future draws them in different directions, can their love survive an unanticipated bundle of joy?
Buy Wedding Gems
Azure Secrets
Book 5 of the Crystal Magic Series
A chef who brews magic challenges a mayor with secrets
* * *
After a childhood of being tossed from foster homes for claiming she can detect liars by their scent, Fiona Malcolm McDonald does her best to conceal her secret these days. But when she sniffs a wrongdoer and drives him off with jalapeño cheesecake, she loses still another cooking job and is homeless again. She places her last hope on her mentor in Hillvale, a town as weird as she is.
Buy Azure Secrets
Amber Affairs
Book 6 of the Crystal Magic Series
She sees the future; he lives in the past. Danger shadows the present. . .
* * *
Once a childhood TV star, now a tarot reader in the town of Hillvale—home of 325 people and countless ghosts—Amber Abercrombie is content now that she’s escaped the horror of her stage mother and the constant pressure to kill herself with dieting. Then her former teen-idol lover crashes into her tranquility, bringing with him the Death card.
Now a Hollywood director, Josh Gabriel is on the brink of a marriage of convenience when his wealthy bride-to-be, the producer of his next film, is murdered. Finding Amber—the woman who deserted him once, leaving him devastated—is both blessing and curse now that his whole world is crumbling again.
With corrupt power brokers from their past and an angry poltergeist from the present threatening to tear apart their lives, Josh and Amber must set aside their differences and rely on each other to find a killer. This time, they must trust their abilities enough to find justice—and risk a second chance of love.
Buy Amber Affairs
About the Author
With several million books in print and New York Times and USA Today's bestseller lists under her belt, former CPA Patricia Rice is one of romance's hottest authors. Her emotionally-charged contemporary and historical romances have won numerous awards, including the RT Book Reviews Reviewers Choice and Career Achievement Awards. Her books have been honored as Romance Writers of America RITA® finalists in the historical, regency and contemporary categories.
A firm believer in happily-ever-after, Patricia Rice is married to her high school sweetheart and has two children. A native of Kentucky and New York, a past resident of North Carolina and Missouri, she currently resides in Southern California, and now does accounting only for herself.
For further information, visit Patricia’s network:
http://wordwenches.typepad.com/word_wenches/
http://patricia-rice.tumblr.com/
https://www.patriciarice.com
Also by Patricia Rice
The World of Magic:
The Unexpected Magic Series
Magic in the Stars
Whisper of Magic
Theory of Magic
Aura of Magic
Chemistry of Magic
No Perfect Magic
The Magical Malcolms Series
Merely Magic
Must Be Magic
The Trouble With Magic
This Magic Moment
Much Ado About Magic
Magic Man
The California Malcolms Series
The Lure of Song and Magic
Trouble with Air and Magic
The Risk of Love and Magic
Crystal Magic
Sapphire Nights
Topaz Dreams
Crystal Vision
Wedding Gems
Azure Secrets
Amber Affairs
Moonstone Shadows
The Wedding Gift
The Wedding Question
The Wedding Surprise
Historical Romance:
American Dream Series
Moon Dreams
Rebel Dreams
The Rebellious Sons
Wicked Wyckerly
Devilish Montague
Notorious Atherton
Formidable Lord Quentin
The Regency Nobles Series
The Genuine Article
The Marquess
English Heiress
Irish Duchess
Regency Love and Laughter Series
Crossed in Love
Mad Maria’s Daughter
Artful Deceptions
All a Woman Wants
Rogues & Desperadoes Series
Lord Rogue
Moonlight and Memories
Shelter from the Storm
Wayward Angel
Denim and Lace
Cheyennes Lady
Dark Lords and Dangerous Ladies Series
Love Forever After
Silver Enchantress
Devil’s Lady
Dash of Enchantment
Indigo Moon
Too Hard to Handle
Texas Lily
Texas Rose
Texas Tiger
Texas Moon
Mystic Isle Series
Mystic Isle
Mystic Guardian
Mystic Rider
Mystic Warrior
Mysteries:
Family Genius Series
Evil Genius
Undercover Genius
Cyber Genius
Twin Genius
Twisted Genius
Tales of Love and Mystery
Blue Clouds
Garden of Dreams
Nobody’s Angel
Volcano
California Girl
About Book View Café
Book View Café Publishing Cooperative (BVC) is an author-owned cooperative of over fifty professional writers, publishing in a variety of genres including fantasy, romance, mystery, and science fiction. Since its debut in 2008, BVC has gained a reputation for producing high-quality ebooks. BVC’s ebooks are DRM-free and are distributed around the world. The cooperative is now bringing that same quality to its print editions.
BVC authors include New York Times and USA Today bestsellers as well as winners and nominees of many prestigious awards, including:
Agatha Award
Campbell Award
Hugo Award
Lambda Award
Locus Award
Nebula Award
Nicholl Fellowship
PEN/Malamud Award
Philip K. Dick Award
RITA Award
World Fantasy Award
Writers of the Future Award