Midsummer's Magic

Chapter 13

Chapter 13 

Liam was not having a good day. By the time he arrived back at the farm, Joe was already there and grinned like a lunatic when he saw the state he was in. Whatever possessed him to do that last night? Just to add icing on the cake, he didn't even get laid....apparently, as he couldn't remember a thing. Gingerly stepping out of his jeep, he walked towards the house with a look in his eye that dared Joe to make some stupid remark about where he had been. He didn't need a smartass; he needed copious amounts of coffee if he stood any chance of doing any work today. Joe obviously took the hint saying, "I'm going on up to the top field," and sped off in the tractor. 

Walking into the farmhouse, his dogs greeted him eagerly, waiting for their breakfast. He bent down and made a fuss of them both, then stood to get their food and put the kettle on. As he straightened, a sudden wave of nausea hit him, and he grabbed hold of the back of a chair as his head swam.  

"Shit! Whatever possessed me to hit the Jager bombs?" 

After making a very strong black coffee loaded with sugar, he decided it might be a good idea to lie down for a while. There was no way he could get any work done in his current state. He trudged up to his bedroom, stripped to his boxers, washed down a couple of Paracetamol with his coffee, and laid down on the bed. 

Drifting off into sleep, his mind filled with images that ran like a slide show in his head. Beth walking up her garden path in those little shorts, Beth at the party throwing her head back and laughing, Beth on the beach with her see through top. He groaned as he turned over, clutching a pillow to his chest. 

Outside his window, two small figures stood whispering, "You know, Jory, I'm not sure he needs our help. His head is filled with thoughts of her, just look." 

They were both silent as they watched the images flashing through his head. 

"That may be the case, but will he act on those thoughts?" 

The small woman sighed, "You could be right. We need to do something to stop the guilt and his stupid male pride from getting in the way." 

"Well one thing's for sure, we need to stop him trying to bed other women if we stand any chance of this working out." 

"Oh no, Jory! Not another one of your potions!" 

"Relax, Kerensa, I worked hard on this one. It will just make him more aware of her and make his desire more difficult to ignore." 

"Well, if you're sure, but you had better get this one right. Who knows what will happen if it backfires like the last one." 

"Ha! That was just bad luck. I took my time with this one so what could possibly go wrong?" He winked at her and jumped up onto the windowsill. Climbing through the window effortlessly, he walked over to the bed and took out a small vial. Pulling out the cork stopper, he let a few drops fall onto Liam's lips. Jory stepped back quickly as Liam stirred and licked his lips, then snuggled back with his pillow. 

Jory grinned and jumped back out of the window, landing beside his companion. 

"Mission accomplished, this time everything will be fine." 

The rumble of Joe pulling into the yard in the tractor woke Liam a couple of hours later. Rubbing his hands over his face, and feeling the stubble on his unshaven chin, he took stock of his condition. His head felt clearer and the nausea seemed to have gone. Sitting up slowly, he swung his legs over the side of the bed, stood up, and waited...Not so bad, he felt almost human again. Frowning at the thought of all the work he needed to catch up on, he headed for the shower. 

By the time he walked into the yard with a fresh cup of coffee and a bacon sandwich, Joe sat on the wall, tucking into an early lunch. 

"So, good night was it?" Joe asked, raising an eyebrow at him as he approached. 

"Not really." he replied with a grimace. 

"Ok, I won't ask for details." he chuckled. "But I hope you haven't forgotten the darts match tonight?" 

"Shit!" 

"I guess that's a yes then?" 

"I really need to catch up here Joe. Can't Ben sub for me tonight?" 

"Ah, come on Liam. Apart from the fact that he sucks, you've also forgotten that he's away with his wife and kids, so no can do." 

Liam blew out a breath of frustration, the thought of being around more alcohol that night was beginning to make him feel queasy again. 

Joe nudged him with his elbow. "Come on, Liam, we're up against the Red Lion, and there is no way I'm letting you bollocks our chance of winning by pulling out now." 

Jumping off the wall, he started to walk away grumbling, then turned and glared at Joe. 

"Well, come on then, if you want me to do this, you need to help me catch up on the work I missed this morning." 

"Great, I get to suffer because you have a sore head!" Joe yelled as he got up and followed his grumpy friend.