“Oh, yes,” Levi cut in. The last thing he wanted was for her to think she was imposing on him, when inwardly he was thrilled that she’d made it so easy for them to spend some more time together. “I mean,” he went on, “Cottonwood isn’t a very large town. There isn’t that much to show you. But I suppose it always helps to have someone familiar with a place give you a bit of a tour to get started.”
A smile touched her full mouth. Levi realized he was staring again, and looked down at his plate so he could pretend to be interested in breaking off a piece of bread. Although he already could sense his own attraction to her, he didn’t want to frighten her off by acting too aggressive. Was he acting too aggressive? It was so difficult to gauge these things. But he did know that he wanted to behave in a way that would make her want to spend time with him.
“Well, remember, I’m from Payson,” she said. “I totally get the whole small-town thing. Still, I appreciate the offer.”
“Of course. Maybe we could start with lunch in Old Town Cottonwood, and go from there?”
She had the most delicious dimples. “Sounds like a plan.”
What neither of them said — although it seemed implied — was, It’s a date.
3
Levi got a text message from someone partway through their shared meal, and said he had to walk up the hill when they were done rather than going back to his flat. Hayley didn’t ask who or what was “up the hill,” since it felt too much like prying. They might have shared an appetizer and a glass of wine, but it wasn’t as though she was suddenly entitled to learn all his secrets.
So she’d smiled and said that was fine, and would see him tomorrow. And even though she’d only had the one glass of wine, she still felt as though she was floating down Main Street when she went back to Brandon’s place, even after climbing up two flights of steep, narrow stairs.
Still no sign of her brother, which was fine. Hayley wanted some time alone to bask in the afterglow of her time with Levi. He really wasn’t like anyone else she’d ever met — serious enough, but kind, and with a sort of subtle humor that seemed to catch her when she least expected it.
And she was going to see him again tomorrow. Could she really be that lucky? Was a change of scenery really all she’d needed to get her love life out of the doldrums?
For a moment, she almost forgot about the grim reason for her being in Jerome. She wanted to forget. So much better to think about Levi, about his bright blue eyes, and the lock of hair that seemed to always fall over his forehead. The strong lines of his jaw, the breadth of his shoulders. How such a hunk could’ve been hidden away in Jerome all this time, Hayley really didn’t know, but the Goddess must have decided to smile down on her by allowing their paths to cross.
She pulled out her phone and looked at the time. Just past six-thirty. Most people with normal nine-to-five jobs would’ve been home by now, but she knew it would still be a few hours before Brandon decided to grace her with his presence. The cheesy bread and artichoke dip she’d shared with Levi would hold her for a while, but she wasn’t quite sure whether it would serve as a complete meal replacement.
An inspection of the refrigerator told her there wasn’t much hope there, since all she found was some coffee creamer and a long-expired bag of salad. She put the salad in the trash, then planted her hands on her hips and looked around. The way Brandon had set up the living room really didn’t make much sense, because when you sat on the couch, you were staring at a wall without a window, which was a total waste when you considered the gorgeous view outside.
And if her brother was going to force her to amuse herself for who knows how long, then he really deserved what he got.
Witches and warlocks didn’t have to work the way nonmagical people did, since all the old witch clans had investments going back generations, investments that provided all the members of the family with a stipend that covered the usual expenses as long as they didn’t get too extravagant. Actually, from what Hayley had heard, the Wilcoxes did tend to throw money around, probably because back in the day they hadn’t scrupled at using their powers to make sure their investments grew at a rate no normal portfolio manager could explain. Even so, most of witch-kind took up some sort of avocation or career, depending on their interests and talents.
And Hayley had always entertained thoughts of being an interior designer, had even taken some online courses, although if she wanted to get serious about having that kind of a career, she knew she’d have to go to Phoenix and attend school there. She’d actually opened up that line of discussion with her parents, who weren’t thrilled but who had seemed as if they were about to cave and give their blessing — and then the whole thing with the Santiagos blew up, and she knew there wasn’t a snowball’s chance in hell that they’d agree to her going off to school in Phoenix now, not when a bunch of people had apparently been murdered by demons down there.
Anyway, even though she hadn’t gone to design school formally, she knew enough to recognize that her brother’s apartment needed some serious rearranging. Since she was going to be living here for the Goddess knew how long, Hayley figured she might as well try to make the place a bit more aesthetically pleasing.
Moving everything around took about an hour, and she was sweating by the time she was done, even though a delicious evening breeze had begun to steal in through the open windows. Certain finishing touches would have to wait until tomorrow — the couch needed some throw pillows, and the walls were sadly bare of art — but just shifting the layout was enough to make the flat appear much more welcoming. And since she’d be spending her own money on whatever pictures and other trinkets the place needed, she couldn’t see that Brandon would mind all that much. He was hardly ever here anyway.
But he did come home, a little before eight, and stopped dead after he’d taken a few steps into the living room. Expression disbelieving, he looked around, then apparently caught sight of Hayley, who by that point had settled onto the couch and was drinking a glass of water and texting with her friend Becca back in Payson.
“What the hell did you do?”
He didn’t sound very happy. Hayley typed a quick, Gotta go, B’s home, and put her phone down on the coffee table. “I just rearranged things a little. I can’t believe you were okay with having your back to the window.”
“It was fine the way it was.”
“I don’t know about that.” She got up from the couch. They weren’t a very huggy family, and she certainly wasn’t going to try to hug him now, with the way he was frowning. Besides, his T-shirt was smeared with axle grease and the Goddess knows what else. “You’ll get used to it. Anyway, I had to do something, considering I was sitting here, bored out of my mind.”
His expression softened a bit. On Brandon, Hayley’s bright blonde hair was darkened to a sort of dishwater color, and his eyes were gray rather than blue. “Sorry about that. I left as soon as I could.”
Hayley didn’t know about that — he was wrenching cars, not performing brain surgery or piloting a jet. Still, even though her brother tended to be easygoing, she really didn’t feel like getting into an argument with him. “On the upside, I met your next-door neighbor. You might have told me you had a hottie living across the landing from you.”
“I do?”
“You know, Levi?”
“Oh. Yeah, he seems like a nice guy.”
Typical. A few years earlier, Hayley had honestly wondered whether her brother might be gay, just because he never seemed to show much interest in the opposite sex or having any kind of a real relationship, beyond a few girls he’d dated in high school. Now she realized he was just so focused on his work, and on using his magical abilities to enhance that work, that he simply didn’t have any room in his mind for women. She supposed that same preoccupation had prevented him from noticing anything about Levi, except that he was a) a guy, and b) breathing.
“He is nice. We had a drink, and we’re going to have lunch tomorrow.”
Brandon raised
an eyebrow. “That was fast.”
“Well, what else was I supposed to do? It wasn’t planned or anything. I was on my way out, and we sort of bumped into each other on the landing.”
For a moment, her brother didn’t say anything. Then he shrugged. “Well, like I said, Levi’s a nice guy. If you have to go running around with someone, I suppose he’s a good choice.”
Hayley almost retorted that having lunch with someone wasn’t exactly “running around,” but she realized that since Levi was going to give her a guided tour of Cottonwood and its environs, then those kinds of activities could possibly be classified precisely as running around. “I’m glad he has your approval,” she said primly.
“Like you’d stay away from him even if he didn’t. Anyway, I came home early so we could get some dinner. Just let me change my shirt and get cleaned up a little, okay?”
Since she’d been starting to feel distinctly peckish, dinner sounded like a good idea. “Okay.”
He inclined his head slightly by way of acknowledgment, and began to head toward his room. Just as he entered the short hallway where the bedrooms were located, he paused and said, “Oh, and Hayley?”
“Yes?”
“I do kind of like what you did to the living room.”
He disappeared into his room, and she couldn’t help smiling.
Yes, Jerome seemed to be working out just fine.
Although Angela’s text hadn’t been completely unexpected, Levi did wish it had come through just a little later. If it had, maybe then he would have had the chance to walk Hayley home, to say a proper goodbye. As it was, he’d only been able to hurriedly reaffirm their lunch plans for the following day before he headed up the hill to the big Victorian house that was the prima’s residence while she was here in Jerome.
And what do you think would have happened if you had been able to take Hayley home? he asked himself as he trudged up the steep incline. No street in Jerome was perfectly flat, but the one that led up to Paradise Lane and Angela’s house was more sharply pitched than most. Do you think she would have invited you inside? Kissed you good evening?
Probably not. It was her first day here in town, and she did share the flat with her brother. Besides, while Hayley seemed friendly and open enough, he hadn’t caught any of the signals he’d begun to recognize as signs of attraction, of a woman inviting him to do something more than simply talk.
Not that he’d ever pursued any of those invitations. A good deal of his hesitation stemmed from simple fear that he wouldn’t get something right, that the woman he was with would recognize his utter inexperience when it came to any kind of intimacy. Yes, this world provided ample instruction on the physical act of love, and Levi thought he’d familiarized himself with the basics, and yet, he didn’t know if that would be enough when the time finally came. Also, he’d found himself holding back because he thought he should have deep feelings for a woman if he was to be intimate with her, and so far he simply hadn’t had that kind of reaction to anyone he’d met.
Except Hayley, it seemed.
He came to the white picket fence that surrounded the house where the prima lived, opened the gate, and headed up the flagstone walkway. As he climbed the steps on the porch, the front door opened, and Angela smiled out at him. “Hi, Levi.”
“Hello, Angela.” Over the past year and a half, he’d gotten a little more used to calling her by her given name, although some part of him found the practice too casual, as though she should be called by her title. Then again, there wasn’t much about Angela that was very formal. If he hadn’t known she was the leader of the McAllister clan, he would never have guessed it to look at her — today she wore faded jeans and a short-sleeved peasant top, her dark, wavy hair pulled back into a barrette.
“Come on in,” she said, then opened the door and ushered him into the house. “Connor took Emily and Ian down the hill to the store, so we can chat for a while without having to worry about all hell breaking loose.”
Levi offered her an uncertain smile as he followed her into the living room. The prima’s twins were somewhat legendary for their ability to cause havoc, although they seemed to have calmed down a bit in the last few months. Perhaps they’d just begun to realize that the approaching summer was the last one they’d be able to enjoy before starting school, since they would be old enough to enter kindergarten this coming August.
“Go ahead and sit down. Can I get you something?” Angela asked. “I don’t have much except water or lemonade, but — ”
“Nothing, thank you,” he replied, then seated himself on one of the leather couches as she followed suit. “I just had a light snack with Hayley McAllister.”
Angela’s green eyes glinted. “So I heard.”
Was Hayley the reason Angela had texted him and requested this meeting? Levi supposed he should have known that one of the town gossips would have sent word that he hadn’t wasted any time in getting acquainted with Jerome’s newest inhabitant. But really, he and Hayley had been bound to trip over one another sooner rather than later, considering that she now lived just across the landing from him.
“Was that wrong of me?” he said. “I thought it might be a good idea to make her feel welcome.”
To his relief, Angela let out a chuckle and shook her head. “Of course it wasn’t wrong. You’re both adults — you can do whatever you like.”
Was he an adult, though? For all intents and purposes, he appeared to be a normal adult male in his late twenties. However, he’d only been living in this world for a year and a half.
No wonder he couldn’t quite figure out how he was supposed to act around women. They both fascinated and intimidated him, to some extent. And, although he did not like to admit it to himself — for he knew that Zoe had found her consort, and was therefore lost to him forever — the thought of being with someone who wasn’t the woman who’d summoned him to this world had felt like a betrayal.
Until now. For whatever reason, daydreaming of a possible future with Hayley did not seem like an act of faithlessness.
“Actually,” the prima continued, “I’m glad that you and Hayley met up. You like her?”
“She seems like a very nice young woman,” Levi allowed, not wanting to commit himself to more than that. Somehow he couldn’t quite allow himself to wax rhapsodic about Hayley McAllister, even if she was the most beautiful woman he’d ever seen.
“Good to hear,” Angela remarked, a dancing light in her green eyes telling him that she knew he wasn’t giving her the whole truth. “Because I want you to stick to her like glue.”
Levi frowned slightly, not sure he’d heard her correctly. “You want me to what?”
“Did she tell you about her talent?”
Ah, now he saw where this was heading. He nodded.
“All right. Then you have to know how important it is that we keep her safe. There’s a very good chance that we’ll need her magical gift before this is all over, and the last thing we want is Joaquin Escobar or anyone in the Santiago clan getting their hands on her.”
Now the prima looked dead serious, the glint gone from her eyes. Her hands tightened on the knees of her faded jeans.
“I’ll do my best,” he promised. “Who else here knows about her talent?”
“Not many. Obviously, her brother, and I’ve told the elders, but they’ve been sworn to secrecy. The fewer people who know, the better. So you should impress that idea on her, in case it looks as though she’s making friends here in town and might be inclined to share that information.”
“Surely you don’t think that anyone here in Jerome would betray her.”
Angela’s full mouth tightened, and she glanced away from him for a moment, her gaze fixed on something outside the window, although what, Levi couldn’t tell. Perhaps nothing at all, except the shadow of new leaves fluttering in the breeze.
“I don’t want to think that,” she said at last. “I’m pretty sure no one would do anything on purpose to give her secret away. Prob
lem is, when you’re dealing with people like the Escobars, it’s so hard to know what they’re capable of. Matías Escobar’s gift of coercion alone is bad enough. We still don’t have any real idea as to how far his father’s talents extend.”
“But the wards — ” Levi began, and Angela shook her head.
“A delaying tactic, nothing more. We can do our best to protect Jerome itself, but we can’t tell people that they have to stay here, that they can’t go down into Cottonwood to shop, or over the mountain into Prescott to run errands there. And it’s more than that — I thought it was a good thing that the clans had opened up over the past few years, that McAllisters were going into Wilcox territory and Wilcoxes down into de la Paz territory or whatever, but now it just makes us that much more vulnerable.”
“I’m not sure I understand.”
The prima’s fingers played with the turquoise ring she wore on her right hand. Her father’s work, Levi thought; Andre Begonie was a silversmith of some note. “If the Escobars try to come here, I’ll know — Connor will know, and so will the elders, because of the wards we’ve set out. But if, say, someone from the clan decides to go shopping down in Scottsdale, then that person runs the risk of bumping into one of the Escobars’ agents — and there’s no guarantee they wouldn’t be forced into giving up any valuable information they might have. We McAllisters are all over the map when it comes to our talents and abilities, so it’s not as if I can count on everyone to be strong enough to withstand that kind of assault.”
“But surely the de la Paz clan will be on guard against such things.”
“Yes, they will be, of course. Problem is, the Phoenix area is huge. There are a lot of de la Pazes, but not so many that you could possibly expect them to police the entire area.”
True enough. Phoenix and the smaller towns clustered around it made up a huge urban sprawl, a place that still felt bewilderingly oversized to Levi. Although he knew there was no reason for him not to return, he’d stayed away ever since he’d come to live here in Jerome. Connor himself had taught him to drive, and Boyd McAllister had sold him his old truck, so it wasn’t as though Levi had been confined here the entire time. He’d gone to Sedona, driven up and over Mingus Mountain to visit Prescott, had even rattled along the back roads that connected Jerome and Williams so he could eventually take the I-40 east into Flagstaff and walk in its pine forests. But he’d consciously stayed away from Phoenix, and Scottsdale.
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