“Are you saying you love me so much you’re stronger than magic?” Landon looked pleased with his own question.
“I’m saying … oh, geez. Your head is already too big for words. I’m not saying that, because I’ll never hear the end of it.”
“That’s okay. I already know.” Landon slung an arm over my shoulders and pressed a kiss to my cheek. “I love you, too.”
I didn’t want to smile – now was so not the time – but I couldn’t help myself. That turned out to be a mistake, because Nelson didn’t react kindly to the display of affection.
“I’m not doing this,” he said, taking a step back. “Those girls like me, and this is the first time it’s ever happened. I’m not taking it back. You can’t make me.”
“You don’t have a choice,” I argued. “The other boys in this town will keep trying to kill you for stealing all of the women if you don’t take back the wish.”
Nelson jutted out his lower lip, determined. “I don’t care. For once, I’m going to get what I want.”
“No, you’re not,” Landon argued. “It’s time to return to the real world, son. I know this is hard for you, but … that’s the way things have to be. If life was easy no one would have anything to complain about.”
“Aunt Tillie would always find something,” Thistle interjected.
“I’m not doing it!” Nelson bellowed and then took us all by surprise as he bolted across the street. “You can’t make me! In fact … I’m going to make more wishes. I’m going to make the right one this time and make Bay mine. Now that I know the wishes are real I’m going to wish until I run out of pennies.”
“Ugh.” Landon slapped his hand to his forehead and rolled his head back to stare at the sky. “This is going to suck.”
“Yeah. I think we can all agree on that.”
I wished for a happily ever after when I was eight. Instead I got you people. I think that’s the universe’s way of telling me that it has a sense of humor, because if I don’t look at this family and laugh I’ll start crying. I may never stop.
– Twila explaining why she’s opted to laugh instead of cry when dealing with the Winchester family
Eleven
“Where do you think that little ferret went?”
Landon remained close to me – almost uncomfortably so, frankly – as we searched the town for Nelson. We thought he would be easy to find, but he managed to disappear while we were distracted. Thistle took off to gather Marcus to continue the search, and Landon called Chief Terry so he would be on the lookout. Until someone spotted him, though, we were on our own.
“I don’t know,” I answered, slowly scanning the library for signs of a hiding teenager. “He seemed adamant that he wasn’t going to take the wish back. I feel a little sorry for him.”
Landon’s eyebrow winged up. “Sorry? Bay, do you realize what he was trying to do with that wish?”
“Yeah, he wanted to get me as a girlfriend.” I was oddly flattered that Nelson cared enough to do that. “He’s kind of sweet, although completely mental.”
“Bay!” Landon was exasperated. “He’s a teenage boy. I need you to think really hard. What do you think he wanted to do with you if his wish came true?”
I knew exactly what Landon was getting at, and I didn’t appreciate it. “Do you really think I would do that?”
“He didn’t want to give you a choice.”
“He tossed a coin in a wishing well and made one of those wishes people make that they know won’t ever come true,” I countered, my patience wearing thin. “It’s no different from when Mom let me toss a coin in the fountain at the mall when I was a kid and I wished for a handsome prince to live with happily ever after.”
Landon thumped his chest and flashed an impish grin. “You eventually got him, didn’t you?”
My smile was rueful as I shook my head, leading Landon toward the back bookshelves so we could individually search them to be sure. “I did get my prince, but – no offense to you – this wasn’t what I pictured when I was five and tossing coins.”
Landon stilled as he stared. “What did you picture?”
“Well, do you have a castle, a footman, a sword and a crown to give me?”
The corners of Landon’s mouth tipped up. “I could probably make some of that happen.”
I snorted at his dirty mind. “You dream about different things when you’re a kid,” I informed him. “I don’t want the same things now that I wanted then. When I was five that footman was a big deal. Now I just want a guy who will give me a foot massage without complaint.”
“Are you sure that’s all that you want?”
He seemed earnest, so I took the time to stop searching and reassure him. “Do you want the same things you did when you were a kid?”
Landon shrugged, noncommittal. “I haven’t given it a lot of thought,” he admitted. “When I was a kid I wanted a Baywatch babe to fawn all over me and Martha Stewart to cook for me.”
I narrowed my eyes, the image of a really terrible threesome forcing its way into my brain. “Landon!” I was scandalized. “That is horrible.”
“I didn’t want to turn it into anything dirty,” Landon hissed. “You know how I am about food. Martha Stewart was my hero.”
I wasn’t convinced. “And now? Do you still wish you could have Martha?”
“I do have Martha,” Landon replied, not missing a beat. “I have your mother. You’re my Baywatch babe, and she does the cooking. That’s the perfect union, if you ask me.”
I tried to keep a straight face … and failed miserably, making small clucking sounds as I resumed my search. “You have a one-track mind.”
“You and food,” Landon agreed, bobbing his head. He didn’t appear to be offended by the notion. “Much like you, Bay, I realized once I got past the age of eighteen that the things you dream about as a kid aren’t reality. I grew to want real things.”
“Like what?” I honestly wasn’t fishing for compliments, but when Landon didn’t immediately answer I stalled my forward momentum and met his gaze. “Did I say something?”
“I want you, Bay.” Landon’s expression was earnest. “I didn’t know it when I found you, but I’ve been searching for you for a long time. When I found you, things clicked into place. That’s the thing you don’t know to wish for when you’re a kid.”
“That’s kind of sweet,” I said. “I wanted you, too. Although to be fair, Aunt Tillie warned me about ‘The Man’ so many times when I was a kid that I was afraid of you when I found you. I mean, I was drawn to you, but I was still afraid of you.”
Landon ran his hand down the back of my head, smoothing my hair. “I was afraid of you, too. I knew you would change my life. I think I sensed it that day at the cornfield. The second I saw you I couldn’t take my eyes off of you.”
“I was mean to you.”
“Your idea of mean is vastly different from mine. You were merely protecting yourself from the bad element.”
“You?”
“I was undercover as the bad element at that time,” Landon reminded me. “You needed to keep yourself safe from me because I wasn’t safe for you to be around … at least then.”
“You got shot because of me. If that’s not safe … .”
Landon’s smile slipped. “You know what I mean. You have a good heart. That’s why you’re out here looking for that idiot kid even though he wanted to do gross things to you.”
“Landon, he made a wish he had no reason to believe would come true,” I argued. “He has a lonely existence because he’s bullied. He’s not one of the ‘cool’ kids. He had a crush on an awesome woman. Can you blame him?”
I could see the struggle flitting behind Landon’s eyes before he finally gave in and smiled. “You’re feeling pretty good about yourself, aren’t you? Would you be feeling so full of yourself if he’d managed to make you chase after him?”
“I told you that wasn’t possible because I’m already in love with you.”
�
�See, I have trouble believing that,” Landon admitted. “I think if he’d worded the wish differently we’d be dealing with an absolutely horrible scenario. Don’t forget, Chief Terry said that one woman has that Star Trek actor trapped in her house – we should really get on that next, by the way, because otherwise we might have TMZ camping out in town, and no one wants that.”
“What about the actor?” I was confused.
“I’m sure that he has someone he cares about, yet he ended up here anyway.”
I stilled, his words cutting through the fog in my brain “Oh. I didn’t even think about that.”
“Well, I did.” Landon was serious. “This is a wish, not a curse. The wisher’s needs seem to overrule everything else. I think if Nelson had worded his wish better, he would’ve gotten exactly what he wanted. As it is, he merely wished for you to see me as I was – which is apparently tired – and make him more desirable in the process.”
“I see what you’re saying.” Something occurred to me and I whipped my head in the direction of the main door. “We need to get out of here.”
“What do you mean?” Landon followed my gaze. “Did you see him?”
“No, but I know where he’s going.”
“And where is that?”
My stomach twisted as I hurried toward the door. “Back to the well. He wants to improve on that wish.”
“Oh, crap.” Landon picked up his pace. “Move, sweetie. I’m definitely punching that kid in the face before the day is out.”
WE FOUND Nelson at the wishing well, exactly as I feared. He wasn’t alone, though. His gaggle of girlfriends fawned all over him to the point that he couldn’t get his arms free to make the wish.
That was our one bit of good luck so far today.
“Let go,” Nelson growled, reaching for the wishing well. “I’m trying to do something.”
“We want to do something, too,” a redhead said. “We think you’ll enjoy what we want to do.”
“Crap.” Landon made a growling noise in the back of his throat as he surveyed the scene. “Wait here, Bay.”
I opened my mouth to ask what he planned to do, but he was already moving. He hit Nelson torso to torso, knocking the boy away from the well and slamming him into the ground.
“Enough is enough,” Landon barked. “What are you thinking?”
“I’m thinking that I’ve earned this,” Nelson sputtered, fruitlessly fighting against Landon’s strong hands. “Why should you get her?”
“Because I’ve earned her, too,” Landon replied, grabbing the front of Nelson’s shirt and slamming him into the ground. “You can’t make someone love you.”
Nelson wasn’t about to give up. “You made her love you.”
“Oh, please,” Landon scoffed, his brow beading with sweat as his long hair swooped to the side. “Do you think that was easy? A few days after I met her I was shot. Then I had to deal with her family. Heck, I still have to deal with her family. Do you think that’s easy? She’s worth it, but … come on!
“You can’t make someone love you without putting in the work,” he continued, ignoring one of the girls when she tried to grab the back of his shirt and pull him away from Nelson. “And what about her? Have you considered what she wants? When you’re an adult you’ll realize that making the person you love happy is more important than getting what you want. You’re not there yet.”
Nelson balked. “I’ll make her happy.”
“She’s already happy. If you … hold on.” Landon kept one hand on Nelson’s chest, forcing him to remain flat on the ground, and pointed another at one of the girls when she tried to pinch his butt in an effort to force him to shift his body. “I will arrest you. If that happens, you won’t see Nelson anymore. Have you seen Orange is the New Black? That’s right. You’ll be looking for girlfriends instead of boyfriends if you’re not careful.”
“Don’t tell her that,” I chided. “That’s not very nice.”
“You’re telling me.” Landon grew increasingly flustered as he grappled with Nelson. “Girlfriends are work, Nelson. You have to be mature enough to handle it. You’re not there yet. Besides that, you know in your heart it wouldn’t be a real relationship, so why do you want it?”
“I … .” Nelson held up his hands in mock surrender. “Because I’ve seen you together and you’re always happy,” he blurted out. “This summer you were at one of the festivals and you actually paid money to go into the kissing booth. Who does that?”
“Smart men,” Landon replied, not missing a beat. “Whoever thought of that kissing booth is a genius. As for the rest, we are happy. You can’t force that. You have to work for it. You’re still a kid, Nelson. You have plenty of time to work for it.”
“But she’ll be gone by then,” Nelson gritted out. “It will be too late.”
“It’s already too late,” I offered. “I love Landon. That’s not going to change. I promise you’ll find a girl of your own. You might not find her here, but you’ll find her. You have to give it time.”
“But … that’s no fun,” Nelson sputtered. “I want a girlfriend now.”
“You have us,” the redhead cooed, stroking Nelson’s cheek. “We love you.”
Nelson made a face that only Aunt Tillie could understand or love. “I don’t want you. I never wanted you. I’m still not sure how this happened. I … you know how you said relationships are work? These chicks are nothing but work … and more work … and just when you’re ready for a nap they’re even more work.”
Landon pressed his lips together, giving the appearance that he was struggling mightily to refrain from laughing. “Every woman worth the fight takes a lot of work,” he said. “You can’t have my woman, though. I’ve already done the work. I’m still doing the work. You need to find your own woman.”
“Wait a second … .” The redhead – I was pretty sure her name was Sarah Galloway – narrowed her eyes as she stared at me. “You’re after our man, aren’t you?”
I immediately started shaking my head. “Definitely not.”
“She is,” Sarah said, squaring her shoulders as she swiveled. “She’s after our man.”
I sensed the shift in the atmosphere and when I risked a glance at the girls I found them all staring at me … and they didn’t look happy. “Uh-oh.”
Landon followed my gaze, his expression slipping. “Bay, you need to run. Go to the police station and lock yourself in.”
“But … I’m not leaving you.”
“Run,” Landon ordered, forgetting his fight with Nelson and moving to intercept one of the angry-looking girls. “Run!”
He bellowed the word, but I couldn’t force myself to leave. What if they turned on him once I was gone? “Landon, I … .”
“Bay.” Landon sounded desperate as he struggled to a standing position. “They’re going to rip out your hair if you’re not careful. Sweetie … .”
It was already too late. I sensed that when one of the girls made an odd sound like a cat and launched herself in my direction. I managed to dodge her, but the three who followed didn’t give me an opening and hopped on me at the same time.
“Oomph.”
“Bay!” I could hear Landon scrambling to save me, but all I could do was cover my face as the girls started screaming and clawing.
I did my best to shield myself, all the while wondering if I would be disfigured before everything was said and done. I felt fingers tugging my hair … and fingernails digging into my skin … and even a foot slam into my ribs, causing me to groan. I was badly outnumbered with no way out.
“Bay!” Landon sounded desperate to get to me, but I couldn’t help his endeavors. I was in survival mode and had no idea how long my strength would hold out.
Just when I thought I was about to lose everything, the attack ceased as abruptly as it started. I took a moment to catch my breath, gasping for oxygen, and to perform a mental assessment of my body. I risked lifting my head and found Landon at my side. He slid his arm under me and tug
ged me to him, his wary eyes trained on the girls.
For their part, the girls looked confused as they wiped tears from their eyes and murmured in low voices to one another, increasing the distance between Nelson and themselves. Nelson looked devastated. He stood next to the wishing well, his fingers poised over the opening.
“What did you do?”
Nelson looked defeated, as if the world had given him a good kick in the butt and then added fire for good measure. “I reversed the wish. That’s what you wanted, right?”
“What made you do that?” Landon asked, running his finger down the side of my face. I had a feeling I would have a black eye before the day was out – the top of my cheekbone was extremely sore – but things could’ve been worse, so I let it go.
“Something you said,” Nelson replied, his voice distant. “You said if you love someone, you put their happiness ahead of your own. You were going to put yourself at risk to save Bay. I saw it.”
“I was more worried about hurting teenagers than anything else, but I get what you’re saying.” Landon hooked his hand under my arm and helped me to stand. “Thank you for doing it.”
Nelson pressed his lips together and nodded. “I didn’t mean for anyone to get hurt.”
“We know that,” I said, tenderly pressing my fingertips to my sore eye. “What happened with the wishing well isn’t your fault.”
“Whose fault is it?”
I exchanged a quick glance with Landon. “We’re working on that. We’ll be tackling that situation before the day is out. I promise you that.”
There are times I wish she was mine. Then there are times when I see her with her cousins and thank the maker that she’s not. Still, the times I wish she was mine far outnumber the ones where … oh, geez. What are they doing now? Is that a bottle rocket? Who would give those kids a bottle rocket?
– Chief Terry while watching Bay cavort with her cousins
Make A Witch Page 10
