“It’s not the magic you’ve been running from, Camry,” he continued gently. “It’s your extraordinary passion for life. Your baby sister’s powers have always seemed so overwhelming that you assumed you had none of your own. But the magic works for everyone, including those who won’t accept it, and those who don’t understand it.” He shot her a wink, gesturing toward Luke. “Especially those who don’t understand it.”

“Wh-who are you, really?” she whispered.

He smoothed down the front of his tattered coat with a shrug. “Let’s just say I’m a very old distant relative, shall we?” He puffed out his chest. “But I assure you both, I have the authority—and the means—to make your marriage legal and binding. That is, if you’re both brave enough to follow your hearts.”

He held up his hand when she tried to ask him another question. “As for your little worry about getting pregnant, let me assure you that the choice has always been yours. And now Luke’s, too, of course,” he added with a nod. “Your sisters knew they wanted children, so Providence simply granted each of them their wish—though maybe not quite when they wished,” he added with a chuckle.

He held his arms out to encompass their surroundings. “To put this in terms you folks can understand, life is really nothing more than an infinite, interconnected matrix. It runs on a rather simple equation for the most part, only appearing complex when you factor in free will. And free will always trumps Providence,” he said, giving Camry another wink. “So just take having a child out of the equation, both of you, as you look deep inside yourselves and acknowledge the miracle Fiona has asked you to be for each other.”

He dropped his hands to his sides with a shrug. “You can’t make a mistake if you follow your heart. Not if you have the courage to go where it leads you. There are no wrong decisions, only the consequence of not making any decision at all by running away from life instead of toward it,” he ended gently, his eyes warm and his smile encouraging.

Absolute silence settled around them.

Roger AuClair suddenly rubbed his hands together, his expression turning expectant. “So, people, are we having a wedding or not? ’Cause if’n I can’t have the dog, then it’s gonna cost you that fancy snow machine you drove up in, and that’s my final offer,” he declared, his old hermit persona suddenly returning.

He frowned when Cam and Luke continued standing silently, staring at him.

“Okay then,” he said, holding his hands up, palms toward them. “I can see you need to think on it some. I’ll leave you to discuss it between you then, ’cause I know you two people are intelligent enough not to take marriage lightly—seeing as how you each hold a handful of fancy school degrees.” He spun around and headed to the cabin, Max and Tigger bounding after him. “Just don’t take too long, ’cause if you’re not hitched before Survivorman comes on, you’ll be unzipping those sleeping bags and finding yourselves camped at opposite ends of my cabin.” He stopped at the door and looked back at them, his sharp green eyes gleaming with amusement. “ ’Cause until I give my blessing, the entire amusement park is shut down.”

Chapter Fifteen

“When did you tell him about Maxine?” Luke quietly asked when Roger disappeared inside the cabin.

“I didn’t.”

“Then how did he know what happened to Kate thirteen years ago?” He held the papers toward her. “And this license; how could Fiona have given it to him three weeks ago, before she even met me? Every bit of information on here is correct, right down to my biological father’s name.”

Camry said nothing, staring at the papers in his hand.

Luke lifted her chin to make her look at him. “How can Roger AuClair possibly know so much about us?” he asked, fighting the alarm tightening his gut. “Even your amusement park comment. It’s almost as if he’s been listening to our conversations for the past week.”

Luke suddenly drove his hand into his pocket and pulled out the transmitter. “This,” he growled, holding it up between them. “It’s not a transmitter, it’s some sort of listening device!” He wound his arm back and threw it, watching it shatter into pieces against a tree, then took hold of Camry’s hand and started toward the snowcat. “I can’t explain what’s going on, much less why, but we are getting the hell off this mountain.”

He opened the door and tried to lift her inside, but Camry pulled free and took several steps back.

“Oh, right. The dogs.” He headed toward the cabin.

“No, Luke!” she cried, grabbing his arm and spinning around. “Wait. I can explain,” she said, her eyes searching his. “I-it’s the magic,” she whispered. “I know you don’t believe in anything but cold hard facts,” she rushed on, clutching his arms to follow him when he took a step back. “But the very energy that powers you and me is the exact same energy that powers the universe. From the cradle, I’ve been taught that it’s the magic that powers life—quietly, benevolently, and . . . and unpretentious in its desire to see each of us reach our full potential.”

She dropped her gaze to his chest. “And I’ve spent my entire adult life running from it.” She looked up, smiling sadly. “Until I woke up one morning to find a handsome, sexy, unassuming rocket scientist in my bed, who didn’t seem to take me anywhere near as seriously as I took myself.”

“I’ve always taken you seriously,” Luke barely managed to say.

She let go of him and hugged herself, her smile turning self-abasing as she shook her head in denial. “I’ve been so full of myself, it’s a wonder my head fits through doors. I’ve blamed all my problems on everyone but myself; my mother wouldn’t collaborate with me, some jerk in France was trying to steal my work, all my sisters were so damned happy I wanted to kick them, and . . .” She reached up and clasped his face in her shaking hands. “And then you magically appeared. And for the first time in a very long time, I wanted to be damned happy, too. With you.”

She wrapped her arms around his waist and pressed her cheek to his pounding heart. “Over this past week, I found myself falling in love with a man who sees brick walls as opportunities, a belligerent colleague as a challenge, and a grumpy roommate as an intimate partner.”

She tilted her head back to look up at him, and Luke’s knees turned to jelly at the raw, unadulterated truth he saw in her tear-filled eyes.

“I want to spend forever with you, Luke, seeing life the way you see it. I didn’t need a few hours to consider your proposal; I only needed the courage to admit to myself that I love you so much, my heart hurts when I think about a future that doesn’t include you. I’ve never felt this alive, Luke. Normally that would scare the hell out of me, but you make me brave.”

She covered his mouth with her fingers when he tried to speak. “There’s more,” she whispered. “A-and it’s important that you hear it from me.” She stepped out of his arms—making Luke’s knees nearly buckle—and squared her shoulders on a shuddering breath. “Roger AuClair’s eyes look familiar to you because they’re the mirror image of my father’s eyes, and mine, and those of every other MacKeage born since the beginning of time. Only Winter has blue eyes, like my mother. And Fiona.” She gestured toward the cabin. “If I had to guess, I would say Roger is one of my original ancestors, born in a time when the magic was honored instead of held suspect like it is today. Which is why he’s appeared to you—to us—as a harmless old hermit.”