Driving south down the 49 in Louisiana on a hot summer's day probably wasn't a good idea Lynn thought to herself. She looked down at the dash of her '87 Ford Ranger and saw that her tank was down to it's last quarter. Shit, she thought to herself, where am I going to find a place to get some gas? Not to mention some food; I don't even care if I just get some jerky for the road. She drove for another few miles until she finally saw a sign off the road promising gas, food and lodging after the next exit. She took it and soon enough found her self parked at a gas pump taking a look at the roadside motel.

The place wasn't that bad looking. The lounge had a kind of rustic feel to it. The place was mostly made out of wood and kind of looked like an over sized cabin, followed by a series of smaller actual cabins in the surrounding area. They didn't bother paving around the pumps or the lounge. Lynn figured it would have ruined the feel of the place if they did.

She took a step outside her truck; looking small compared to it. She wasn't really a small woman. About average height for a woman but she had a slim build to her making her look delicate. She just got around to the side of the truck to start filling her up when she heard a crunching sound behind her followed by a gravely voice,

"Well hello there little lady," from a gentleman in his late 50's. "What will you fill her up with?" he asked while motioning to take over for her.

"Um…well I put regular in her but really, I can take care of this. I don't need the service."

"Now now, don't be like that. It's part of the package here. Plus with this hot weather and not many people comin' I'm dyin' to do something."

Lynn ran a hand through her mess of hazel colored curls. " Well I guess, if you don't mind."

"Don't mind at all! And while I'm out here you get yourself over to my wife, Mrs. Johnston, she'll fix yourself up a nice dinner. Get some meat on them bones o' yours."

"That's very kind of you Mr. Johnst-"

"- That's Pappy to you hun."

"Oh, well that's very kind of you Pappy. I've been looking for some food now for a few miles." Lynn grabbed her bag from the back of her truck and walked over to the lounge. As she entered she took a quick look at the front of the building. A name plank swung over the door with the name Pepper's Garden engraved on it. Just over the door she saw a crucifix that looked like it was placed there long ago. Long enough to loose it's color and gather dust on a hot windy day.

The interior of the lounge was fairly similar to the outside. It looked like a pub from an old western movie. It even had some country music playing softly in the background, not to mention the soft buzz of a TV with no reception. It was enough that Lynn had to smile to herself. The 'lounge' even had a couple of gentlemen drinking at the front counter looking like they were long time customers. Two older women were playing cards in one of the side tables and a young couple seemed to be trying to make babies without actually having sex in one of the far booths.

She walked up to the front counter and took a seat in one of the stools. Just then a woman came out of the back kitchen with an arm full of plates exclaiming loudly "Randy! Fix that God-awful stick on the roof. Something's hit it again and the tube is nothin' but fuzz."

"Ma! I can't be goin' around fixin' every little thing that's broke. I'm tired of havin' to be goin' round fixin' every little thing. Get someone else to do it. I got my hands full back here."

The woman spinned around so quickly, Lynn didn't know how the food didn't fall off the plate. Ma quickly walked over to the old ladies, gave them their food and then practically ran back into the kitchen. Soon after a clatter of pots and a large thunk could be heard from the back followed by Ma's bellows, "Don't you dare go talkin' to me like that young man! I have the mind to ring your sorry neck for shouting such garbage through my establishment. If it wasn't for poor Pappy's back he'd be back here doin' the work that you are so tired of doing. NOW be on your way and fix that stick up there before I have the right mind to kick you out on your sorry ass!"

As Ma Emerged from the kitchen a door slamming in the back could be heard. She signed heavily and took her place behind the counter and started to clean glasses. While starting to work on her second cup she finally noticed Lynn sitting there. " Why child! I can't believe you didn't speak up. Gracious," she said as she poured a glass of water for Lynn. "Welcome to my Garden. What brings you all the way out here? My name is Pepper, obviously, but call me Ma hun."

Lynn took a good look at this woman. She looked about the same age as Pappy, figuring that she must be his wife, and she had this look about her. This timeless look that only certain women can grow into. She was a bit round but not overly and her salt and pepper hair was neatly tied back into a loose bun. Even the apron she wore was covered with old stains. She looked like the perfect mother figure. "Well I'm on a road trip right now. Trying to make my way to a place called…called Myrtles Plantation," she pulled out a very used, folded, map out of her bag and pointed to a red circle on the map. "I know it's over in St. Francisville but I'm not sure where I am in relation to there.

"Then with my gas tank getting low as with my stomach I thought it was about time to find some rations for the road and ended up here."

"Well now, you don't say. You sit yourself here and I'll find some fixin's in the back. You fancy anything?" Ma asked, practically in the kitchen already.

"Not really, burger and fries would be fine. A nice cold coke would be good too!" She had to finish her order with a yell because Ma had disappeared behind the door and the smell of hamburger started to waft from the kitchen. Surprisingly Ma brought back exactly what Lynn had ordered. It had been quite some time since Lynn had such good home cooking. Ma went back to cleaning glasses as soon as she delivered the food and a pop from behind her, followed by the local weather signaled the TV was working again.

"So what kind of road trip are you on hun? You far from home?" Ma asked while pouring a new drink for one of the gentlemen at the bar.

"Well I'm from California so I guess this is fairly far. I'm out here though for research for a paper I'm writing."

"Oh! You still in school?"

"Um…something like that."

"Oh jeez," Ma suddenly stopped, "I'm terribly sorry but I forgot to ask for your name. I'm awful sorry about that."

Lynn chuckled while wiping some ketchup from her lip, " The name's Lynn. Lynn Murphy." She quickly wiped her hand on a napkin and extended her hand towards Ma and they shook hands.

"That's funny," Ma paused, "I could have sworn I've heard your name before."

"Hey Ma!" a male voice called from the kitchen, "I fixed it. Some bird must've flown into it. We getting anything on the TV?"

A man in his late 20's early 30's came bursting out of the kitchen. The first thing that Lynn noticed was his hazel eyes. They sort of looked like honey and he had dirty blonde hair to top it off. Wearing a dirty white T-shirt and ripped faded jeans he looked like a mess from climbing around on the roof and his build looked like he spent a lot of time climbing around the roof, chopping wood and lifting anything heavy for the Johnstons. He was tying an apron around his waste as he came through the door, "I asked if we where getting any-" He noticed Lynn and started trying to straighten out his hair. "Well hello there Miss," he extended a hand towards her with a sly smile on his face, "My name is Randy, what's yours?"

Just before Lynn could accept his hand Ma took the cloth she was using as a rag and snapped it at Randy. "Now don't go flirting with her. You've just met her and you're already drooling. Get back in that there kitchen before I throw you in." A couple of the gentlemen at the front snickered over their drinks.

"I'm mighty sorry about that Miss Murphy," Ma began. Before Ma could really get into it though one of the women on the far side of the lounge yelled for the TV to be turned up. Pretty much everyone in the room gathered around the tube, wondering what she wanted to hear. When Lynn looked up it was like she was looking in a mirror. There she was, on the TV, talking to a reporter she had an interview with about a month ago. The reporter was asking her about the book she had just published. Asking her when she knew she was a witch and was able to sense the feelings of areas and of people. Lynn couldn't believe it. She thought they had finished that. She didn't know if she should feel embarrassed or mortified.

"So when did you come to the conclusion that you had these 'gifts'?" The reporter asked in a perky voice.

" 'Gifts'?" Lynn asked, unsure of exactly what she ment.

" Oh you know. Of being a witch and feeling things."

"Well my Gran actually taught me all I know about both actually. Since I was little she used to tell me of magic and that I had the gift of empathy."

"Empathy?"

"Yes, empathy. It's the power to feel emotions in your surrounding area. Some people can even feel things from all over the world."

"Oh really? Can you?"

Lynn chuckled then, " No. I'm not strong enough yet."

"Okay, so I'm guessing you get this all the time but, what would you recommend would be a good love spell for a curious woman?"

Lynn chuckled again, "I hope you're not referring to yourself. And really the only love spell that would be a good one is one to let yourself love yourself. Because really, if you can't love yourself how can you except others to love you back?"

"Well that's a good question. But let's say you've done all that and still nothing. What then?"

"I guess you could do a simple spell then. Just write down the qualities of the person you're looking for on a paper. Place the paper on a fireproof surface and light a pink candle over top. Now think of all the qualities you are looking for, and make sure you do not ask for a specific person, then feel that fill you and then envision that energy going out into the world to find the perfect person for yourself. You could even say something simple like 'Oh Diana, Goddess of Love. Guide my wish to the person of my dreams and help bring them to me. May it harm now, so it be done.'"

"You can't ask for a specific person?"

"Oh no. Even if the spell worked on them, would you really want to live with the idea that they don't actually love you? What if it's just the spell that clouding their judgement and not actual love?"

"I see your point," the reporter looked towards the camera. "Well you've heard it here folks. This is Miss Lynn Murphy. Just wrote her first book on growing up a witch and giving some help for new witches. And this has been Cynthia Wright for channel 9 news…"