Almost Lost

by Blake Pierce

  “Easy. It’s magic!”

  Just as they arrived, the magician completed his trick, to gasps and applause, and then as the crowd dispersed, he turned to face them.

  “Welcome, good people. Thank you for being here on this lovely afternoon. What a fine day it is. But tell me, little lady, are you not a bit cold?”

  He beckoned Madison forward.

  “Cold? Me? No.” She stepped forward, half smiling in wary amusement.

  He held out his empty hands and then moved forward and clapped them close to Madison’s head.

  She gasped. As he lowered his cupped hands, in them was a small toy snowman.

  “How did you do that?” she asked.

  He handed her the toy.

  “It was on your shoulder all along, traveling with you,” he explained, and Madison laughed in amazed disbelief.

  “So now, let’s see how quick your eyes are. This is how it works. You bet me—any amount you like, as I move four cards around. If you can guess where the queen lands, you double your money. If you can’t, you leave empty-handed. So, would you like to place your bet?”

  “I’ll bet! Can I have some money?” Dylan asked.

  “Sure. How much do you want to lose?” Cassie rummaged in her jacket pocket.

  “I want to lose five pounds, please. Or win ten, of course.”

  Aware that a new crowd was gathering behind her, Cassie handed Dylan the money and he paid it over.

  “This should be easy for you, young gentleman, I can see you have a quick eye, but remember, the queen is a wily lady and she has won many battles.

  “Watch carefully as I deal four cards. See, I am placing them face up, for total disclosure. This is almost too easy. It’s like giving the money away. The queen of hearts, the ace of spades, the nine of clubs, and the jack of diamonds. After all, as they say about marriage, it starts off with hearts and diamonds, but by the end all you need is a club and a spade.”

  There were roars of laughter from the audience.

  The magician’s allusion to marriage going bad had Cassie glancing nervously at the children, but Madison didn’t seem to have understood the joke, and Dylan’s attention was fixed on the cards.

  “Now, I turn them over.”

  One by one he deliberately flipped the cards face down.

  “And now, I move them.”

  Swiftly, but not too fast, he shuffled the four cards. It was a challenge to follow but by the time he stopped, Cassie was fairly sure that the queen was on the extreme right.

  “Where is our lady queen?” the magician asked.

  Dylan paused, then pointed to the card on the right.

  “Are you sure, young sir?”

  “I’m sure.” Dylan nodded.

  “You have one chance to change your mind.”

  “No, I’ll stick with that one. She’s got to be there.”

  “She’s got to be there. Well, let us see if the queen agrees, or if one of her consorts has managed to spirit her away into hiding.”

  He flipped the card over and Dylan let out an audible groan.

  It was the jack of diamonds.

  “Dammit,” he said.

  “The jack. Always ready to cover for his queen. Loyal to the end. But our queen of hearts, the emblem of love, still eludes us.”

  “So where’s the queen?”

  “Where indeed?”

  Cassie had noticed, while he shuffled the cards around, that there was one he hadn’t touched at all—the one on the far left. That had been the ace of spades.

  “I think she’s there,” she guessed, pointing to the card.

  “Ah, so here we have a clever lady, pointing to the one card she knows it couldn’t possibly be. But you know what? Miracles happen.”

  With a flourish, he uncovered the card—and there was the queen.

  Laughter and applause rang through the square and Cassie felt a surge of delight as Dylan and Madison high-fived her.

  “What a pity you didn’t put money on it, my lady. You would have been richer now, but that’s the way it goes. Who needs money, when love has chosen you?”

  Cassie felt her cheeks redden. If only, she hoped.

  “As a memento, you may have the card itself.”

  He dropped it into a paper bag and sealed it with a sticker before handing it to Cassie, who put it in the side pocket of her purse.

  “I wonder what would have happened if I’d chosen that card,” Dylan remarked as they walked away.

  “I’m sure it would have been the jack of diamonds,” Cassie said. “That’s how he makes his money, by switching the cards when people bet.”

  “His hands were so fast,” Dylan said, shaking his head.

  “They must be naturally good and then train for years on top,” Cassie guessed.

  “I suppose they would have to,” Dylan agreed, as they reached the bus stop.

  “It’s also misdirection, but I’m not sure how that applies when there are four cards so close together. But it must work somehow.”

  “OK, let’s practice. Try and misdirect me, Cassie,” Madison asked.

  “I will, but the bus is coming. Let’s get on it first.”

  Madison turned to look and while her attention was distracted, Cassie snatched the toffee apple out of her jacket pocket.

  “Hey! What did you do? I felt something. And there’s no bus.” Madison turned back, saw Dylan burst out laughing, paused for a moment as she replayed what had happened, and started giggling herself.

  “You got me!”

  “It’s not always that easy. I was just lucky.”

  “The bus is coming, Madison,” Dylan said.

  “I’m not looking. You can’t trick me twice.” Still snorting with laughter she folded her arms.

  “Then you’ll get left behind,” Dylan told her as the sleek single-decker country bus pulled up at the stop.

  During the short ride home they all did their best to misdirect each other. By the time they reached their stop, Cassie’s stomach felt sore from laughing and she was warm with happiness that the day had been a success.

  As they unlocked the front door, her cell phone buzzed. It was a message from Ryan, telling her he’d be bringing pizzas home, and were there any toppings she didn’t like?

  She typed back, “I’m easy, thanks,” and then realized the connotations as she was about to press Send.

  Her face felt hot as she erased the words and replaced them with, “Any toppings are good. Thank you.”

  A minute later her phone buzzed again and she grabbed it, eager for Ryan’s next message.

  This text wasn’t from him. It was from Renee, one of her old school friends from back home.

  “Hey, Cassie, someone was looking for you this morning. A woman, calling from France. She was trying to find you but she wouldn’t say more. Can I give her your number?”

  Cassie reread the message and suddenly the village didn’t feel remote or safe anymore.

  With her ex-employer’s trial upcoming in Paris, and the defense team searching for more witnesses, she was terrified that the net was closing.

  CHAPTER SEVEN

  As she helped the children with their evening routine of bath time and pajamas, Cassie couldn’t get the disturbing message out of her mind. She tried to convince herself that Pierre Dubois’s legal team could have called her directly, without needing to track down an old school friend, but the fact remained that someone was looking for her.

  She urgently needed to find out who that person was.

  After she’d tidied the bathroom, she messaged Renee back.

  “Do you have a number for the lady? Did she give you her name?”

  Leaving her phone behind, she headed through to the kitchen and helped Madison set the table with all the extras that accompanied pizza—salt and pepper, crushed garlic, Tabasco sauce, and mayonnaise.

  “Dylan likes the mayo,” she explained. “I think it’s yuck.”

  “I do, too,” Cassie confessed, and her heart lea
ped as she heard the front door open.

  Madison rushed out of the kitchen, with Cassie close behind.

  “Pizza delivery!” Ryan called, handing Madison the pile of boxes. “It’s good to be indoors. It was getting icy out there, and dark, too.”

  He saw Cassie and just as she’d hoped, his face broke into that wickedly attractive grin.

  “Hello, Cassie! You’re looking beautiful. I see you have some color in your cheeks after all our seaside air. I can’t wait to hear about your day.”

  Cassie smiled back at him, grateful that he’d assumed her flushed face was caused by the fresh air, and not by the fact that she’d started feeling excited and strangely self-conscious as soon as he’d walked in.

  As she took the boxes from him, she told herself it would be a good thing when this crush on her boss calmed down.

  A few minutes later, Ryan joined them in the kitchen, and Cassie saw he was holding a brown paper bag.

  “I bought gifts for everyone,” he announced.

  “What did you get me?” Madison asked.

  “Patience, sweetheart. Let’s all sit down first.”

  When the children were seated at the table, he opened the bag.

  “Maddie, I bought you this.”

  It was a black, fitted top with a pink glittery slogan that was written upside down.

  “This is my Handstand Shirt,” the slogan read.

  “Oh, that’s so pretty. I can’t wait to wear it to gym,” Madison said, beaming in delight as she turned the shirt, watching the light catch the sparkles.

  “For you, Dylan, this.”

  His gift was a neon yellow, long-sleeved cycling top.

  “Cool, Dad. Thanks.”

  “I hope it keeps you safe, now that the mornings are getting so dark. And for you, Cassie, I bought these.”

  To Cassie’s amazement, Ryan took a pair of elegant, warm gloves from the bag. Her eyes widened as she realized they were almost identical to the ones she’d tried on in town.

  “Oh, they’re absolutely beautiful, and they will be so useful.”

  To her consternation, Cassie realized she was in the throes of her crush once again and was imagining herself wearing them while sitting outside and sipping wine with him.

  “I hope they’re the right size. I tried my best to picture your hands while I was buying them,” Ryan said.

  For a moment Cassie couldn’t breathe as she wondered if he was thinking the same way she was.

  “So, did you enjoy yourselves today?” Ryan asked.

  “We had such fun. There was a magician in town. He gave me a snowman, and he tricked Dylan and took five pounds off him, but then Cassie guessed where the card was and won the card, although no money.”

  “What card did she win?” Ryan asked his daughter.

  “The queen of hearts, so the magician said love is coming her way.”

  Cassie took a drink of orange juice because she didn’t know where to look and was shy about meeting Ryan’s gaze.

  “Well, I think Cassie deserves that card and all it brings,” Ryan said, and she nearly spilled her juice as she put the glass down.

  “What did you do after that?” he asked.

  “We started talking all about misdirection on the way to the bus, and Cassie misdirected me and stole my toffee apple!”

  The words burst out of Madison, and although Dylan was too busy eating pizza to say much, he nodded enthusiastically.

  “We bought you something as well,” Cassie said, and shyly handed over the cashew nuts.

  “My favorite! I have a busy day tomorrow and I’m going to take these with me and have them for lunch. What a treat. Thank you for such a thoughtful gift.”

  As he said the last words, he looked directly at Cassie and his blue gaze held hers for several moments.

  After the pizzas had been devoured—Cassie hadn’t had much of an appetite but the others had made up for it and finished every slice—she took the children through to the family room for their allotted TV time, and after watching a talent show they all enjoyed, she put them to bed.

  Madison was still excited by the day’s adventures and by the talent show, which had featured two groups of school gymnasts.

  “I think I want to be a gymnast one day,” she said.

  “It takes hard work, but if it’s your dream, you must follow it,” Cassie advised.

  “I feel like I can’t sleep.”

  “Do you want to talk some more? Or should I read you a story?”

  Cassie tried not to feel impatient at the thought of Ryan, sitting outside with his wine, waiting for her. Or perhaps he wouldn’t wait, but would have an early night instead. In which case, she’d miss the opportunity to tell him about Dylan’s shoplifting.

  The memory jolted her. In her happiness over the thoughtful gift, and the chatter at the dinner table, she’d forgotten about that unpleasant incident. It was her duty to tell Ryan, even if it ended up spoiling what had been a wonderful day.

  “I’d like to read for a while.”

  Madison scrambled out from between the sheets, headed for the shelf, and selected a book she had obviously read many times, because its spine was creased and its pages dog-eared.

  “This is the story of an ordinary girl who becomes a ballet dancer. I really enjoy it, it’s exciting. Every time I read it, it’s exciting. Don’t you think that’s strange?”

  “No, not at all. The best stories always make you feel that way,” Cassie said.

  “Cassie, do you think they teach gymnastics at boarding school?”

  That mention of boarding again. Cassie paused.

  “Yes, especially since boarding schools are usually bigger schools. They’ll have lots of sports facilities there I should think.”

  Madison seemed satisfied with that answer, but then she had another thought.

  “Do boarding schools let you stay there during the holidays?”

  “No, you have to come home for the holidays. Why would you want to stay at school?”

  Cassie hoped Madison would answer, but she pulled the duvet up to her chin and opened her book.

  “I just wondered. Good night. I’ll turn my light out later.”

  “I’ll check on you,” Cassie promised, before closing the door.

  She sprinted to her room, grabbed her coat and pulled on the beautiful new gloves, and rushed to the balcony.

  To her relief, Ryan was still there. In fact, she saw with a thrill of happiness that he’d waited for her before pouring the wine. As soon as he saw her he got to his feet, moved her chair closer to his, and plumped up the cushion before she sat down.

  “Cheers. Thank you so much for today. It’s the best feeling in the world to see the kids so happy.”

  “Cheers.”

  As she touched her wineglass to his, she remembered that it hadn’t been a perfect day. There had been a serious incident. How was she going to tell him? What if he criticized her and said she should have handled it differently?

  It would be better to ease into it, she decided, and to bring the topic up in a conversational way. She hoped Ryan might mention his divorce again, because that would provide the perfect opening for her to say, “You know, I think this divorce might have been troubling Dylan more than we’ve been realizing, because just after Madison mentioned her mother, he stole some sweets from the store.”

  They spoke for a while about the weather—tomorrow was supposed to be a fine day—and the children’s schedule. Ryan explained that the school bus would pick them up at seven-thirty in the morning, by which time he would already be gone, and that the children would tell her what time school ended, and if they needed to be taken to any activities.

  “There’s a timetable on the inside of my cupboard door, if you want to check,” he said. “I update it whenever there’s a change in timing.”

  “Thank you so much. I’ll check it if I need to,” Cassie said.

  “You know,” Ryan said, and Cassie tensed, draining the last of her wine, be
cause the tone of his voice had changed, becoming more serious. She was sure he was going to mention his divorce, and that meant it would be time for her to bring up the difficult topic of Dylan’s shoplifting.

  He refilled their glasses before continuing.

  “You know, you were very much on my mind today. As soon as I saw those gloves I thought of you and I realized how much I enjoyed our chat outside yesterday The gloves were really a way of saying that I would love you to spend every evening out here with me.”

  For a moment Cassie didn’t know what to say. She couldn’t believe what Ryan had just said. Then, as his words sank in, she felt happiness fill her.

  “I’ll be glad to. I loved the time we spent together last night.”

  She wanted to add more, but stopped herself. She must be careful of spilling out the emotions that were rising inside her, because Ryan’s comment might just have been politeness.

  “Do they fit well?” He took her left hand in his cupped palm and ran his thumb gently over her fingers.

  “Yes, they are a perfect fit. And I can’t feel the cold in them at all.”

  Her heart was beating so fast she wondered if he’d be able to feel her pulse pounding as he gently stroked his fingers over her wrist, before releasing his grasp.

  “I admire you so much, taking such a big step to travel overseas. Did you decide to do this all on your own? Or with a friend?”

  “All on my own,” Cassie said, glad that he appreciated what it took.

  “That’s incredible. What do your family think?”

  Cassie didn’t want to lie, so she did her best to skirt the issue.

  “Everyone was supportive. Friends, family, and my previous employers. I did have a few friends tell me I would be homesick and would come back soon, but that hasn’t happened.”

  “And did you leave anyone special behind? A boyfriend, perhaps?”

  Cassie could hardly breathe as she realized what this question might imply. Was Ryan hinting at something? Or was it just a conversational question, finding out more about her? She needed to be cautious because she was so star-struck by him that she could easily babble out something inappropriate.

  “I don’t have a boyfriend. I dated a guy earlier this year, back in the States, but we broke up a while before I left.”