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“I never doubted for a second that you’d be able to find the best spots for shopping.” He rounded the table, pulled out a chair, and sat down. “Did you clear them all out?”
My mom shrugged. “I bought a few things.”
A few things?I barely held back my snort. We’d been so loaded down with bags that my arms still hurt from carrying most of them.
“I’m glad you managed to keep busy. Sorry I was later than I expected.”
“Have you eaten dinner?” My mom gestured toward the containers where we’d packed up the leftovers. “I could make you a plate since I over-ordered as usual.”
I heaved a deep sigh over how they both pretended they were a normal couple who actually cared about each other. Unfortunately, that drew my dad’s attention to me. “Did you enjoy shopping with your mother?”
When he asked questions like that, I couldn’t help but wonder if he ever really saw me. “I found a pie iron that I can’t wait to try out the next time I go camping.”
“Your daughter insisted upon dragging me into this horrible little trading post store.” My mom gave an exaggerated shudder. “They actually carried live bait, can you believe it? You could purchase worms, insects, and tiny fish right there to take home with you.”
I smiled at the memory of how she’d shrieked when the customer in front of us bought some crickets. “How else did you think people got their bait when they wanted to go fishing?”
She pursed her lips. “I don’t know, dear. I’ve never given much thought to anything having to do with fishing.”
“Maybe James will be interested in fishing.”
My mom’s attention shifted to my dad as she asked the question I was thinking. “Who’s James?”
“John Winston, the client I golfed with today, brought his son as a part of our foursome. James was quite impressive. He even came close to a hole in one.” He chuckled softly. “Now that he’s gotten his MBA, John is training him to take over the business someday.”
Knots were forming in my stomach. “Why would it matter if his son is interested in fishing?”
“The boy will be the head of a company that accounts for more than a million dollars in revenue annually for my business.” He speared me with a look. “He’s offered to show you around town, which is an opportunity we cannot afford to pass up.”
“Oh.” Going against what my dad wanted was a lot harder than resisting what my mom wanted.
“Please try to be more articulate when you meet with him.” He wagged his finger. “The sooner, the better. We’re only in town for so long.”
“Yes, sir.” I pushed away from the table and stood. “I think I’m going to take a walk to work off some of the calories from dinner.”
The excuse was an easy one since my mom was always worried about weight—hers and mine. The low murmur of their conversation drifted toward me as I slipped my feet into a pair of hiking boots, grabbed a coat, and searched for a flashlight in the drawer in the table next to the front door.
Although I was certain my parents assumed that I was going to stick to the sidewalks lining the neighborhood where we were staying, the lure of nature was impossible to resist. Darting across the street, I crossed through the park toward the tree line on the opposite side. Stomping into the woods in a town where I wasn’t familiar with anything probably wasn’t my best idea, but I had always taken comfort in nature—much to my parents’ dismay. I assumed that I would be safe enough…until I wandered just deep enough into the forest that I couldn’t easily find my way back out again, and my flashlight died.
3
Silas
Ifinally shook off my thoughts of the past and got up to take my dishes into the kitchen. My phone buzzed in my pocket as I dropped my bottle in the recycle bin. Before answering, I put my plate in the dishwasher and touched the coin in my opposite pocket. Then I withdrew my cell and grinned at the sight of my sister’s smiling, green face.
“Hey, Mags,” I greeted. “How was the muggle date?”
She sighed. “That joke is so old it crawled into a coffin and died.”
I laughed and leaned my hip against the counter, crossing one leg over the other. “Only because you have no sense of humor,” I teased. In reality, I was making light of the situation in case the night had gone badly. Like all the other times she had tried dating. “So?”
Maggie was quiet for a moment, and her sadness bled through the phone, forming a lump in my stomach. “He stayed through dinner,” she answered softly. “I thought I might actually make it to dessert for once. I tried to fool myself into believing he was just engrossed in his meal and not trying to avoid looking at me. But I should have known better.”
I wanted to kill the asshole. One handshake was all it would take…but me going to jail wouldn’t do anyone any good.
“He didn’t deserve you,” I declared. It was true, but I knew it wouldn’t do much to heal my sister’s bruised heart. “He obviously couldn’t see the good thing right in front of him.”
“And how would he have seen something good?” she scoffed. “The only thing sitting in front of him was a green witch who everyone blamed for all the havoc that Lindsay caused until the house dropped on her—also blamed on me. He tried to do it when I wasn’t looking, but I saw him checking out my shoes. The Wicked Witch of the West.”
