`You’re right. Not like this.´ Nick let go and stepped off the box. He put one foot up and bent his knee. `Step up here. I’ll hoist you up.´ Normally her skeptical look would have amused him, but the last thing he wanted was to spend the night cramped in Farley’s chilly storeroom. She obeyed, placing her right foot gently on his thigh. Nick steadied her as she stretched upward and her upper body disappeared above the open ceiling tile. `Ew! It’s disgusting up here.´ `You certainly sound human.´ `Well it is.´ Her voice echoed against the ductwork. `It’s dark and musty, too.´ `This from the girl who was crawling around the parking lot, letting air out of tires a few weeks ago. Get a grip on the beam and pull yourself up.´ `There are spiders.´ `How can you tell what’s up there if it’s so dark?´ Her muffled reply sounded sarcastic. Nick hoisted her a little higher, trying to ignore the expanse of naked belly revealed at eye level when she stretched her arms above her head into the crawl space. `What are you doing up there?´ `I’m making tea. What do you think I’m doing?´ `You should be looking for the beam. Can you see it?´ `I see it.´ `You’re just going to slide across it and push the next ceiling panel out of the way. Then turn around and lower yourself down, feet first, outside the door.´ `I don’t think so.´ `Why not?´ He tried to adjust his grip, though the proximity of her navel to his nose drove him wild. `You can do it.´ `There are a lot of wires and metal boxes up here. There’s no room to turn around.´ `Metal boxes? Those are the heating ducts. Be careful of the wires.´ `I was planning to chew my way through a couple of them.´ `Yep. You definitely sound human. Or do they teach Sarcasm 101 in Faerie School?´ `Stop shoving.´ `I’m trying to help.Óf course having her perfectly curved rear end in the palm of his hand was probably more distracting than helpful at this point.
`I think I’ve got it. Boost me higher.´ Nick obliged. `So why didn’t you tell me sooner?´ `Tell you what?´ `About your wings.´ `I«was ashamed.Śhe wiggled out of his grasp, her feet dangling above the floor now as she pulled herself up a little farther. `Oh.´ `Freya doesn’t take away wings lightly«I don’t know if I’ll ever get them back.´ `I’m sorry. Being human might not be so bad, though.´ `Please.´ `You get used to it after a while. It took me about eighteen years. Then I was fine with it.´ `Huh?Ábove him, Callie squirmed and shifted. She peered down from the ceiling. `What did you used to be?´ `Oh. Before I was human? I was a kid. Like most other kids, I thought I was immortal and invincible«you know, smarter than the average bear. Somebody took my wings away, too. It takes a while, but you get used to not being able to fly.´ `I don’t think I’ll ever ah!Ćallie’s sudden sharp gasp froze Nick’s heart. He not only heard her pain, he felt it a quick, hot stab in his gut. `Callie? Come back down. Here, I’ve got you«´ He lowered her to the floor, and she sank into his arms, her hands clutched over her stomach. `What happened?´ He pried her fingers apart. Blood seeped through a ragged tear in her shirt. `Sharp nail or something, sticking out of the beam.Śhe drew a breath in through clenched teeth as Nick prodded the gash that marred her flesh just above the waistband of her pants. She paled visibly at the red stains on her fingers. `Oh«´ `It’s okay. Sit down.´ Nick helped her settle on the floor and unbuttoned his shirt. He shrugged it off and pulled the white t-shirt he wore underneath over his head, wadded it up and held it against her wound. `It’s a deep scratch,´ he said, dabbing at the oozing blood. `Doesn’t look like it’ll need stitches, but we should get you a tetanus shot.´ `A shot!Śhe reacted like a petulant child«no, a frightened child. Nick patted her shoulder and rubbed her hand which had grown very cold. `Don’t worry. You’ll be fine. I’m sorry. I shouldn’t have made you go up there.´ `How else are we going to get out of here?´ `We’ll figure something out. Lean back and try to relax a minute.´ Nick pulled the bloody t-shirt away from Callie’s wound. His heart contracted at the sight of the jagged tear in her delicate skin. She winced when he dabbed at the blood. `I’m sorry, sweetheart.Śhe looked up, a reply poised on her lips, then right past him. `What’s that?´ `I said I was sorry ´ `No, under the back shelf, that white box. It says flatware!´ Nick turned to look behind him. Far under the back shelf, a dusty white box lay almost hidden behind jars of cocktail onions. Nick stretched his arm under the shelf and pulled out the heavy carton. Its contents rattled as he slid it across the floor. `Knives and forks. Can you use them to take apart the lock?śhe asked. Nick had already torn open the box. He grabbed a thin-bladed stainless steel butter knife and brandished it in the light from the bulb overhead. `We’re home free.Ćallie scuttled out of the way, clutching his t-shirt to her side. Before Nick tackled the first of the screws that held the doorknob in place, he bent over and kissed her forehead. `There’s my girl,´ he said. Her faint smile reassured him, and he went to work. `We’ll be out of here in a minute. Don’t worry.Ónce again, things hadn’t gone according to Nick’s plans. He had to be losing his touch. Nevertheless, a strange sense of calm settled over him as he watched the sunrise through his kitchen window the next morning. The steaming cup of coffee he held came from the all night donut shop, and it tasted great. Callie lay sleeping in his bed, a frown creasing her sumptuous lips, testament to her discontent at having received a tetanus shot at the First Aid Station. He’d managed to get her there for treatment of her injury only after he’d agreed to stop at Hayden’s to drop off the key. Of course, Farley’s youngest waitress hadn’t been there. After another mild argument, they agreed to leave a note, telling her where to find them and her key if she needed it. He’d brought Callie home, put her to bed and kissed her again, chastely, with all the tenderness he remembered from years past when he’d had someone who cared enough to tuck him under the covers at night. Reluctantly, he’d left her to rest. Now, while she slept, he stood contemplating once again how he’d ended up here, feeling this way about someone he barely knew.
A cold knot tightened in his stomach every time he thought of her injury. Small and benign, the cut would heal, but he felt it as acutely as if the wound were his own. He also felt her shame now. How had he missed it before? Perhaps the tumult of other feelings they’d both battled in the last week had masked it, but now the guilt and terrible sense of loss that plagued her clawed at his gut. His heart ached for her, and yet, some small part of his mind rejoiced at finding out she was human and that she couldn’t disappear on a whim and be gone forever in the blink of an eye. Knowing now she’d been human when he’d come to Farley’s the other night only intensified his own guilt. He’d been cruel and stupid, yet she forgave him. He wished he felt deserving of that forgiveness. When the phone rang, he jumped on it, his nerves jangling and his thoughts in turmoil. `Hello?´ `Where’s Callie?´ Hayden’s voice was tinny and filled with annoyance. Nick’s instincts told him her pique was directed at him on Callie’s behalf. `She’s sleeping.´ `Is she okay?´ `She’s fine. Did you get the note we left you?´ `I just did. It’s all right. My neighbor has a spare key. Can I talk to Callie?´ `I don’t want to wake her.´ `I’m awake.´ Nick turned. Callie stood in the kitchen doorway, soft and sleepy, draped in his football jersey, gray sweat socks slouched around her ankles. His heart turned to liquid and his blood thrummed. Speechless, he handed her the phone. `Callie, is that you?´ `Hayden? Where are you?Ćallie forced herself to concentrate on Hayden’s voice. Nick’s proximity seemed to cloud her thoughts. Or maybe it was the cursed tetanus shot he’d insisted she have along with the extra strength pain killer the nurse at the First Aid Station had given her. Despite the medication, her arm ached from the shot, and her belly hurt under the thick bandage they’d stuck to her delicate skin. How did humans stand this? `I’m home now. Andrew dropped me off a little while ago.Ćallie frowned. `You spent the night with him?´ `No. Yes«but no. We talked all night. I told him about, you know . He understands how I feel. He helped me make some decisions.´ `What decisions?´ Nick handed Callie a glass of juice, and she took a grateful sip. It seemed to energize her. `Callie, will you come with me? Matt’s picking me up in a little while, and we’re going to get our marriage license.´ Three weeks
passed in a blur of activity, during which Callie thought of little else besides the burning kiss she’d shared with Nick and Hayden’s sudden, inexplicable rush into matrimony. `I’d offer you a penny for your thoughts, but it looks like they’re worth a lot more than that,Ándrew said when Callie lowered herself from the step ladder where she’d been standing, fastening white streamers and papier-mâché wedding bells to the ceiling above the bar. At T-minus two hours until the civil ceremony, Callie felt like she was watching a train wreck in slow motion. She wanted to blame Andrew for Hayden’s headlong sprint to the altar with a man she obviously didn’t love, but she just couldn’t picture Farley’s free-spirited younger brother talking anyone into marriage. Out of it, maybe, but not into. She tossed him the remaining roll of crepe paper and hopped down from the bar. `I’m worried about Hayden. She hasn’t invited any of her family to the ceremony.´ `She thinks they wouldn’t understand. They’re a conservative bunch. She’d rather break the news to them all at once, after there’s a ring on her finger.´ `It’s a shame. She needs their help, not their judgments.Ándrew shrugged. `That’s family for you. Right, Nick?´ Nick had just appeared from the back room with Farley in tow. Grease smudged the bottom of his formal white shirt. `Oh, no, what happened to you?Ćallie grabbed a bottle of club soda and one of the white linen napkins Andrew had just finished folding and rushed over to survey the damage to Nick’s attire. `No one’s ever going to get locked in the storeroom again. The new lock has a safety release on the inside,´ he said. `Couldn’t you have waited until after the wedding to fix it?Ćallie dabbed and rubbed at the dark stain while Nick wiped his hands on a towel. `With my jacket on, it won’t show.´ Despite the small stain on his shirttail, Nick looked extraordinarily handsome. Callie had been trying to ignore him as much as possible since they’d broken free of the storeroom, but each day that passed made her more aware of her feelings for him. Feelings she could never act on if she wanted to return to the Fae realm. `It’s time for me to go over to Hayden’s and help her get ready. Can you give me a ride?´ `Sure.´ Nick grabbed his dark suit jacket and put it on. He looked even more dashing. Callie remembered how he’d looked in his tuxedo on Halloween, and her heart beat like wings. She almost couldn’t bear to consider how much she would miss him when the day finally came for her to leave.
The Matchmakers Page 16
