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This was a mistake. She shouldn’t be out here anyway. What did she expect, that he’d leave after she asked nicely? What if someone drove by and saw her talking to him?
“Forget it.” Her feet slammed the packed earth as she walked away.
Another ball. The air moved with his swing. Crack.
But then she heard his voice from behind her. “Wait.”
Emily stopped halfway to the office, but she didn’t turn around.
“My father,” Michael called, “said he’d take my keys for the rest of the summer if he caught me coming back here.”
Crack.
She came back to the fence. “Really?”
“Yeah. Really.” He ducked his head to wipe his forehead on his sleeve.
“But you came back anyway.”
The pitching machine died, and Michael finally turned, stepping up to the fence. “So did you.”
She’d never stood this close to him before, to where she could see the flecks of gold in his brown eyes, could count each individual strand of hair that the sun had lightened. He still smelled like summer, cut grass and sunscreen with a hint of something woodsy.
hought was both exciting and terrifying.
And the worst part was that a selfish little piece of Michael wished one of his brothers would turn out to be as powerful as he was—just so he didn’t have to carry this burden alone.
As soon as he had the thought, he squashed it.
The back door slid open and their mother stuck her head out. “Michael?”
Chris had flung the ball hard, so Michael didn’t look over. “Yeah?”
“Can you come in here for a moment?”
She was using her Serious Voice, and since she was pretty laid-back, it made Michael look over. “What’s up?”
“Your father and I want to talk to you.”
Five minutes later, Michael was fuming at the kitchen table. He wanted to put a fist right through the wood surface. “But I didn’t do anything. I didn’t even know she worked there.”
His father sat across the table, his expression implacable. “It doesn’t matter. You should have left. You know we’re in a precarious position here—”
“That’s not my fault!” Michael shoved his chair back from the table and half stood. “I didn’t want this stupid deal to begin with—”
“Keep your voice down.” Dad looked ready to come across the table himself. “I’m not having this argument with you again. This deal sets a precedent for your brothers. We have a family to consider—”
“You think I don’t know that?” God, didn’t his parents have any idea what his life was like? Couldn’t they see just how much he gave up, just because of their agreement?
His mother reached out and put a hand over his. Her voice was gentle, her eyes compassionate—a direct contradiction to his father’s. “We’re not angry with you.”
Michael jerked his hand away. His breathing felt too quick. Had Emily said he’d done something? Knowing that family, she’d probably said he stole her five dollars.
One place. That’s all he wanted. One place to call his own, to do something that had nothing to do with elements or deals. One place where he could forget all this.
And now it was gone.
His throat felt tight. “I hate this.”
