“So,” Jenny said, figuring she should get the conversation moving in a safe direction, “are Caitlin and Alex off yet?”
“I think Tricia said they’d planned to leave around nine-thirty,” Lysette replied. “There’s someplace up in Scottsdale that’s supposed to have an amazing Sunday brunch, and they wanted to head there first before they go to the condo.”
The “condo” was more like a full-on house, from what Jenny had heard. It belonged to the de la Paz clan and was shared among the family for special occasions. So Caitlin and Alex were going to spend the greater part of a week in the lap of luxury before they headed back to start their life together. Well, truthfully, they’d already begun their life together, since they’d been living together since June, but Jenny supposed it was nice that they’d get some time in different surroundings as a way of separating the life where they’d been living together from the one they’d be sharing now that they were married.
“That sounds nice,” she said, but absently. Her mind was still on Colin Campbell, on the astonishing fact that he wanted to spend more time with her, wanted to have dinner with her while she was still in town.
Still in town. There was the real problem, wasn’t it? Tomorrow she’d turn into a pumpkin and have to head home to Jerome. Go back to being a dysfunctional witch in a clan full of people who mostly had their act together. Unfortunately, it seemed as if there was usually one screw-up in a clan each generation, and she figured that title had fallen to her this time around. A talent that didn’t work right, a string of failed relationships…yes, she was a real prize. Not for the first time, she wondered how many people in the clan had secretly wished she’d been the one to fall victim to Matías Escobar’s dark magic, rather than her much-beloved sister. Deep down, she knew that wasn’t true, but she still couldn’t keep the ugly thought from resurfacing every once in a while.
“…sure you don’t want to head back with us?” her father was saying, and Jenny blinked.
“What?”
Marcus McAllister sent her a curious look but said mildly enough, “I was just asking if you didn’t want to change your mind and go home today. It seems as if everything is pretty well wrapped up, and I’m sure you could work it out with the hotel.”
And miss seeing Colin again? she thought. Not a chance in hell.
However, she just said, “No, I want to stay. I wanted to do some shopping. Might as well while I’m here.”
“That’s fine, Jenny,” her mother put in. “Lord knows the shopping isn’t so great up in our neck of the woods.”
Adam looked mildly disgusted, but Jenny knew that was because he spent his whole life in jeans and flannel shirts and hiking boots, and so didn’t give a good goddamn about the limited shopping opportunities in the Verde Valley. Mason appeared slightly more sympathetic, although she’d grown up in Flagstaff, in Wilcox territory, where at least they had a decent mall.
To Jenny’s relief, they changed the subject, instead going on to discuss how Danica and Robert had found a house they wanted to buy.
Mason said, “It’s off Fort Valley Road somewhere, so it’s got some land around it, and isn’t right in the heart of things. I think sometimes our modern life gets to be a bit much for Mr. Rowe.”
“Really?” Jenny’s mother said. “It looked to me like he was adapting beautifully.”
“Well, he is doing really well, all things considered, but there’s something to be said for having some peace and quiet.”
Adam grinned and said, “But Mason, I thought you liked living in the heart of things.”
The two of them shared a flat in Flagstaff’s old town district. It was great if you wanted to wander downstairs and be only a few doors away from a bar or restaurant, but Jenny could see how having that sort of activity around at all times could be exhausting. Especially if, like Robert Rowe, you hailed from a century that didn’t have cars or the internet or cell phones.
“I love it,” Mason said pointedly. “But I also wasn’t born in 1858. Anyway, they found a house, and it sounds like they’re planning their wedding for sometime in May.”
Another damn wedding. The only good thing about this one was that Jenny knew she wouldn’t get dragged into it, except as a spectator. It would be Mason’s job to play field marshal for her sister Danica’s nuptials.
But that was a crappy thing to think, and Jenny pushed away the shame that rose in her, even as she managed a smile at the waiter, who’d appeared right then to bring them all their coffee — except Jenny’s mother, who was a tea drinker — and take their orders. Jenny hadn’t even really done much more than glance at the menu, but she’d seen enough to quickly order a Greek omelet and a side of fruit and sourdough toast. All things considered, she was doing pretty well, but although she didn’t have an actual hangover, her stomach was telling her that it needed something to soak up the remnants of her excesses from the night before.
The rest of the group chattered away, with Adam and Mason talking about how Adam had just lined up an awesome restoration job at one of the old Victorian houses just outside Flagstaff’s downtown, but Jenny wasn’t paying that much attention. She drank her coffee, and wondered what Colin was doing right then. Was he the type to go out for his breakfast, or was he a stay-at-home coffee-and-Chobani kind of guy?
Probably the latter, or something close to it. All you had to do was look at his car and his apartment to know he wasn’t exactly rolling in cash. She really didn’t care, because as a McAllister, she had her own money. Colin’s finances weren’t the issue. No, it was the man himself who was the real problem.
Because she liked him. Liked him a lot, even after only being around him for one evening, spending one night in his bed. She hadn’t really met anyone like him before. All her former relationships with civilians had been with active, outdoorsy kind of guys — a fireman, a cop, the hunky Forest Service ranger who had the Mingus Mountain gig one memorable summer. Colin didn’t seem like any of them at all, but Jenny thought that might be a change in the right direction.
Except for the little problem of him living down here in Tucson. Sure, Caitlin had bailed on Jerome to live down here, but Jenny didn’t think she’d be able to do the same. She wasn’t cut out for big city life, shopping expeditions or no. And she didn’t like the heat. It got hot up in Jerome in the summer, but nothing like the weather they experienced down here in the southern part of the state.
And here you are, projecting all sorts of problems and roadblocks when you haven’t even had a second date yet, she thought. Getting a little ahead of yourself, aren’t you?
Maybe just a little.
She refocused enough to answer a couple of questions about her flat and the art gallery. Her mother, probing, just trying to be helpful, although Jenny knew Lysette was worried about her. What was that like, to be a civilian surrounded by witches, to know your own offspring possessed powers you didn’t have and couldn’t entirely understand?
Jenny’s own trials with attempting to control her apparently uncontrollable talent had only made matters worse. They’d tried everything — the elders had showed her techniques for focusing her concentration, her cousin Jason had encouraged her to smoke pot, her mother had suggested seeing a psychiatrist, only to have that particular idea shot down almost at once. Going to a shrink wasn’t a very good idea when a massive part of your existence involved keeping your true identity a secret. She’d wondered at Danica’s parents sending her to a psychiatrist after her ordeal with Matías Escobar and the Aguirre cousins, but they’d been at their wits’ end. Anyway, Danica herself had put the kibosh on that idea, ditching the therapy after only a few sessions.
For Jenny, the only thing that seemed to work at all was yoga and meditating. Most of the time she started out her morning that way, with a routine of simple poses, followed by sitting on her deck in the lotus position, eyes closed, mind blank while she breathed in Jerome’s fresh mountain air and centered herself in her body. If she kept up that daily ritual, her talent
barely intruded at all.
But because of the hubbub of Caitlin’s wedding, Jenny had skipped her routine the past few mornings. She didn’t want to admit how relieved she was that she still seemed to be okay. When she’d woken up in Colin’s bed this morning, she’d been horribly frightened that her talent would descend, and she’d be able to look into his mind and see everything he thought about her.
The worst hadn’t happened, though. He’d been a gentleman, insisting on driving her back to the hotel. And she was going to see him again later today.
Part of her thought that was a spectacularly bad idea. What was the point in getting even more attached when he was so geographically undesirable? True, she could find out after spending a few more hours in his company that she really didn’t like him as much as she’d thought she did, but Jenny had a feeling she wouldn’t be that lucky.
The food came, and she plowed greedily into her omelet, practically feeling the protein flood into her body. Everyone around her seemed similarly occupied, so all was quiet at the table for a while. When the conversation picked up again, it was more family chatter — a rumor that Angela might be pregnant again, which Jenny thought was more wishful thinking on her parents’ part than anything else. The twins might be close to preschool age, but Angela hadn’t said anything about wanting to give them a little brother or sister. Most of the time, she still looked a little frayed around the edges from having to run after a couple of three-year-olds. Jenny knew that if their positions had been reversed, she’d be holding off on having any more kids until Ian and Emily were in kindergarten.
Or possibly junior high.
The check came, and Jenny’s father grabbed for it at once. She didn’t bother to protest, and neither did Adam or Mason. All their funds came out of the same pot, anyway, more or less, although of course Mason had her own money, Wilcox money. Which was probably a lot more than the stipend all the McAllisters received, although Jenny had never had the courage to ask her sister-in-law about it. She just knew that the Wilcoxes always had enough cash to do pretty much whatever they wanted, whether that was buying houses or cars or, in several cases, their own planes.
The group headed out to the elevators after the bill was settled up. As they were waiting, Marcus asked, “You still sure you want to stay down here? We could all caravan back.”
“Oh, let her be,” Lysette said, before Jenny could reply. “After everything she did to help with this wedding, she deserves some ‘me’ time.”
Jenny shot her mother a grateful look. “Well, I don’t know about that, but I do want to explore Tucson a little bit before I head home. I’ll see you all tomorrow afternoon sometime.”
Marcus McAllister gave a resigned shrug. “Just thought I’d ask.”
Then the elevator arrived, and Jenny gave her parents a quick hug each, and made her goodbyes to Adam and Mason. Once the doors had closed, she let out a relieved sigh and headed over to the wing where her own room was located.
Now it was time to have some fun.
6
Until Jenny’s text appeared on his phone, Colin had been certain she was going to blow him off. He knew she would decide that she really didn’t want to see him again, and head back to Jerome before he even realized she was gone.
There it was, though — I’m a free bird. When do you want to come and get me?
He wanted to reply, Right this instant, but realized that would sound just a little too needy. Instead, he tapped out, I need to finish up something, but I’ll be there in about a half hour.
Her answer came back almost immediately. Okay, see you then.
Colin responded with, Okay, and set down his phone. What exactly he would do to fill up that half hour, he really didn’t know, but he figured he should probably tidy up a bit, just in case they came back here after dinner.
In case? In the desperate hope, more like it.
The apartment really wasn’t that bad — and she’d seen it the night before, after all — but he still went ahead and made sure his books and magazines were stacked neatly instead of strewn all over the place. A fresh batch of towels in the bathroom, just in case. And then he ran over the surfaces in the kitchen and bath with some Clorox wipes.
When he was done, he thought the place looked pretty presentable. Well, at least as long as Jenny wasn’t too picky. She sure hadn’t seemed that way the night before, but then again, she’d had a lot of champagne to drink.
Anyway, the activity filled up the time, as he’d hoped, and so he was able to head out with about ten minutes to spare, meaning he should pull into the parking lot at her hotel right when he’d said he would be there. She hadn’t told him her room number, so he parked in the visitor area and pulled out his phone.
I’m down by the guest drop-off, he texted.
The reply came back so quickly that he flattered himself she must have been waiting, phone in hand. I’ll be right down.
And she was, appearing a few minutes later through the doors that led to the reception area. Her bright hair fell down her back, and she had on a pair of slim-fitting jeans and some pretty ballet-style flats. He’d found her gorgeous the night before, in her chic sheath dress and her hair done just so, but right then, watching the sun shimmer along her loose hair and her mouth purse slightly as she paused to pull some sunglasses out of her bag, Colin thought she was probably the most beautiful woman he’d ever seen.
She caught sight of his car and waved, then hurried over. Belatedly, he realized he probably should have gotten out and come around to open the door for her, but she didn’t seem disappointed by his apparent lack of chivalry. She climbed into the passenger seat and shot him a hesitant smile. “Hi.”
“Hi,” he replied. Things already felt awkward, but he did his best to smooth over the silence that followed their greeting by saying, “So…I assume the mall first, since you’ve already eaten?”
“That would be great.” She paused, and pushed her sunglasses down her nose, presumably so she could get a better look at him. “Unless you need to get something to eat? I could have another cup of coffee or something.”
“No, I’m fine.” While he doubted his breakfast had been as good as hers, he’d had coffee and toast and yogurt, and he knew that would hold him for a while. Maybe they could get a snack somewhere, not really big enough for lunch, but something to tide them over until dinner. He backed out of the parking space and pointed the car toward Oracle Boulevard. Once they were safely out into the flow of traffic he asked, “So is everyone headed home?”
“Probably. My parents were already packed, so I think they were going to hit the road pretty quickly. I’m not sure about Adam and Mason, but I don’t think they planned to stick around much longer, either.”
Some of the names sounded vaguely familiar, but portions of the evening before had been blurred by the champagne. Not all, though…there were several spectacular moments that he remembered in vivid detail.
“Adam’s your brother?”
“Right. And Mason’s his wife. Her sister is Danica. She was one of the other bridesmaids.”
Colin nodded, hoping he looked just a smidge confused. After all, he really didn’t want Jenny to know that Danica’s face was all too familiar to him. Yes, her family had worked hard to keep her out of the papers, but he’d seen her photos in the police reports, and then the real thing at Escobar’s sentencing. Back then, she’d looked scared and somehow vague at the same time, as if she wasn’t truly processing everything going on around her. A vast change from how she’d appeared at the wedding, bright and focused and beautiful. Maybe the change in her appearance had a good deal to do with the handsome man who was clearly her boyfriend…or possibly something more serious than that. Fiancé, maybe.
“Yeah, I know, there were a lot of us,” Jenny said, a ripple of laughter in her words. “You were a brave man, coming to a shindig like that all on your own. I’m surprised Alex inflicted that on you.”
“Well, he did warn me that he had a big family, and so
did Caitlin.” There, that sounded plausible enough without actually admitting to anything.
“Like I said, a brave man. But we both survived.” She smiled then, and Colin could feel himself starting to relax. Whatever had been the source of her diffidence earlier that morning, it seemed to have gone for now. Maybe it had nothing at all to do with him, and was more about her nervousness in facing her family after a fairly spectacular one-night stand.
At least, he thought it had been spectacular. It was hard to tell what Jenny thought, because although she seemed friendly and open right now, most of her previous awkwardness gone, that could have been merely a façade. Or maybe she was one of those women who didn’t consider sleeping with a guy that big a deal. For whatever reason, Colin had always attached a lot of importance to the act, and had been surprised early in his college career when a girl he’d gone to bed with after a party had been totally friendly the next morning…but also had absolutely no interest in seeing him again, except as a casual acquaintance at parties thrown by mutual friends. His eighteen-year-old self had been shocked. Weren’t you supposed to be madly in love after having sex?
Apparently not. And while Jenny appeared glad to be with him, maybe she was just being polite because she was here in Tucson and wanted someone to show her around.
No, that didn’t feel right. Colin didn’t pretend to be an authority on women — far from it, or he wouldn’t have failed so spectacularly with Shannon — but he hoped he knew enough that he could tell whether someone wanted to be in his company or not.
Because it was a fine Sunday afternoon, with the sun shining and temperatures in the upper seventies, everyone apparently had thought it was a perfect time to be indoors at the mall. He circled several times in the spots he thought were most likely to have an open parking space, with no luck. At last he gave up and headed toward the back forty. Yes, they’d have a hike, but it was better than driving around and around, attempting to locate the perfect spot.
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