Winter Falls

by Nicole Maggi

  “She doesn’t hate people,” Jonah said quickly.

  “She certainly doesn’t hate guys,” Jenny said.

  I glared across the bonfire where Bree was draped all over Josh, a smug little grin on her face. It wasn’t my problem if she made a fool of herself over the biggest player in the school. I just wanted to know exactly how much she knew about the Benandanti, the Guild, and the magic. I watched them carry their blanket toward our group, my thoughts darkening with every step they took. If Bree knew the Guild’s real intentions, how much of a leap was it to think she was in even deeper? I couldn’t stop seeing her fierce look in the coffee shop, so like the Panther’s . . .

  That’s insane, I thought. Lots of people had green eyes, Jonah included. But nobody else knew about the magic . . .

  “Careful where you put those hands, Baker,” Jonah said as Josh and Bree walked past our blanket. “That’s my sister.”

  “I can handle myself, brother dear,” Bree said as Josh’s hand moved from her waist to the curve of her hip. She shifted her gaze to me. “Sorry to hear about your barn.”

  “Yeah, right,” I muttered.

  “Alessia.” Jonah touched my knee. I looked at his hand for a second before the seething inside me boiled over. Shoving his hand off, I stood up. “Just admit it,” I said, stepping practically nose to nose with Bree. “You’re not sorry. Not at all.”

  “Control your woman, Wolfe.” Josh laughed.

  I felt Jonah stand behind me. “Go back to the fifties, Baker.”

  He laid a hand on my arm, but I didn’t turn. I dug my gaze into Bree, breathing heavily. “You can act like you’re above it all,” I said in little more than a whisper, “but you and I know better.”

  Bree’s lip curled. “I have no idea what you’re talking about.”

  “Oh, I think you do,” I said, my voice rising. “I think you know plenty.”

  “Let’s go for a walk,” Jonah said to me.

  “I’m watching you,” I snarled before I let him drag me away.

  “What is wrong with you?” Jonah asked when we had gone down the beach, away from the bonfire. Jenny, Carly, and Melissa walked over, casting worried looks at me. “Look, I know you don’t like Bree, but she is my sister. It would be nice if the two of you weren’t mortal enemies.”

  I peered into his face, lost for words for a moment. I didn’t believe that Jonah knew anything about the Guild, but it still burned me that he would defend Bree. “She threatened my mom. She said to take down those signs or else.”

  Jonah threw his hands up. “She was just messing with you. That’s how she gets her kicks.”

  “My mother put those signs up, and less than a week later our barn burned down.” I swiped angry tears off my face.

  “Whoa.” Jonah held me by the shoulders. “You can’t seriously think that Bree had anything to do with the fire.”

  Swallowing hard, I looked from him to the girls. I realized how I must appear to them, my eyes wild and my voice hysterical. “I’m being paranoid, aren’t I?”

  Jonah slid his arms around me and kissed the top of my head. “I think we can forgive you,” he whispered in my ear. “I know you’re worried about the farm, but it’s going to be okay. And maybe my dad’s company can help.”

  I nodded, not looking at him. They’ve already done enough.

  Jenny stepped forward and touched my arm. “My turn, Wolfe.” She pulled me into a hug. “Stop being such a conspiracy theorist. Who do you think you are, my parents?”

  I forced a laugh. “You’re right. I’m sorry, you guys. I’m just really upset about the fire.”

  Carly and Melissa joined our hug, crushing me in the middle.

  “Air, air!” I laughed, for real this time.

  They glanced at each other. “We’ll give you air,” Melissa said and grabbed my arm. She and Carly dragged me to the water’s edge where they tried to throw me in the water. But we were all laughing too hard and collapsed into a heap on the sand.

  “That’s for breaking the Girl Code,” Carly gasped.

  “And being a paranoid freak,” Melissa added.

  Jenny dove in the middle of the pile, and we shrieked, kicking sand at one another. We sat up, facing the ocean, still tangled together. Their love surrounded me on all sides, like a fortress against the mess the rest of my life was in. I held tight to them, wishing I never had to leave the safety of their walls.

  Jenny squished up next to me, laying her head on my shoulder. “Don’t worry. We’ll help. We’ll bring over food—”

  “We’ll carry lumber and hammer nails,” Melissa said.

  “And my dad already said he’d get some of his guys to work for free,” Carly said. Her dad owned a construction company. “We’re all here for you.”

  I smiled at them, warmed inside despite the chilly salt-sea air.

  Jonah ambled toward us, hands shoved deep in his pockets.

  I turned my head and kissed Jenny on the cheek. “Thanks, you guys.”

  “You don’t have to go through this alone,” Jenny said.

  And just like that, the fortress crumbled. I knew they meant well, that their words were filled with good intentions, but they had no idea. Despite this close circle of friends around me, I was utterly alone.

  Chapter Twenty-three

  The Snowstorm

  The little bell over the door to the hardware store dinged when I entered. Inside, it was warm and smelled like fresh-cut wood, newly made keys, and turpentine.

  “Morning, Alessia,” Mr. Salter greeted me from behind the counter. He stacked some brochures and set them at the corner by the register.

  “Hi, Mr. Salter. Smells like snow outside,” I added.

  He rubbed his hands together, grinning. “Oh, good. We should be busy today, then, with everyone rushing in for last-minute snow supplies. I’m glad you were free today.”

  “Me too,” I said, smiling as I shrugged my coat off. I hadn’t put in any time at the hardware store in weeks—since before I had learned I was a Benandante—and I had missed it.

  “There’s fresh coffee.” Mr. Salter pointed toward the back office where he kept an ancient coffeepot. “And I brought doughnuts.”

  “You really went all out,” I teased as I threaded through the aisles to the back. The bittersweet scent of coffee wafted out from the office, and my stomach rumbled. I took a chipped mug with a picture of a moose on it down from the shelf and poured myself a cup, then took a doughnut from the open box on Mr. Salter’s cluttered desk. The doughnuts were from Joe’s and still warm. I carried my coffee to the front counter and joined Mr. Salter behind it. “What do you need me to do first?”

  “Finish your doughnut, then make sure we have all the snow shovels in stock out front. There might be some in the storeroom that you’ll need to bring out.” Mr. Salter cracked open a roll of quarters and poured them into the register.

  I broke off a piece of doughnut and popped it into my mouth. While the glaze melted on my tongue, I surveyed the current mess on the counter. I could hear Dolly, chiding Mr. Salter for not keeping it tidy. I set my mug down and started to sort the piles of papers on the shelf under the counter. “Do you need these?” I asked, holding out a stack of junk mail.

  “I’ve been meaning to go through all that,” Mr. Salter said with a sigh. “You don’t have to do it.”

  “It’ll just take a minute, and then we’ll have this whole mess cleaned up,” I said cheerily and dumped the junk mail into the wastebasket tucked in the corner.

  “Dolly used to take care of all this,” he muttered, his face turned away from me.

  I put my hand on his arm. “I know. I miss her too.”

  He covered my hand with his own and gave a little squeeze. “She loved snow,” he said with a sad tilt of his head toward the wind.

  “So did my dad.” We both looked outside through the glass. There were no flurries yet, but the sky looked grey in the way that foretold snow. After a long moment we glanced at each other.

/>   Mr. Salter shook himself and smiled. “How’s your mom?”

  “Since last night? Fine,” I said. Mr. Salter had been over almost every night since the fire, helping around the farm. We had gotten the last of the goats over to their temporary homes yesterday, and the farm felt empty without them. “Thanks for all your help this week.”

  “Well, your mom has been so good to me since Dolly passed. It’s the least I can do.”

  We had a steady stream of customers until the early afternoon, by which time several inches of snow covered the world outside. One by one the customers paid for their supplies and left to hurry home to their warm and cozy hearths.

  “I think we’ll close early,” Mr. Salter said. “I’ll give you a ride, so you don’t have to walk home in this,” he added, peering out the window beside the register. “It’s really coming down.”

  I gazed out the window, thinking about tomorrow when the snow would be fresh and untouched over the hillside behind the house. Jenny and I would go sledding, and Lidia would have her homemade hot cocoa waiting for us when we came inside. I could almost taste the chocolate on my tongue.

  The bell over the door interrupted my daydream. I peeked out from behind the now-meager display of snow shovels.

  Mr. Wolfe stood in the doorway. Behind him, Jonah was dwarfed by his father’s imposing size, made all the larger by the enormous puffer coat Mr. Wolfe was wearing.

  My stomach flip-flopped. I leaned on one of the shovels against the wall. I loved that the unexpected sight of Jonah still gave me butterflies.

  “Afternoon, Wolfe.” Mr. Salter came out from behind the counter and crossed his arms over his chest. “What can I do for you?”

  I stared at Mr. Salter. A hard edge tinged his voice, something I had never heard. His gaze was dark and pointed at Mr. Wolfe. I clenched my fist at my side. Had Lidia said something to Mr. Salter about our suspicions? Even after I asked her not to?

  Mr. Wolfe surveyed the store as though he had just planted a flag on the top of a mountain. “A bag of salt and a shovel.” He squinted at Mr. Salter. “You got those?”

  “Yeah, we got those.” Mr. Salter pointed to the few shovels that were left. “Help yourself.” He watched Mr. Wolfe select a shovel, his shoulders stiff and tense.

  Jonah shot me a look, tilting his head toward Mr. Salter.

  I shrugged as though I had no idea what was going on.

  Mr. Wolfe leaned his shovel against the counter and turned toward the bags of salt piled at the door. He bent over to pick one up, then straightened and cocked his head. “You think you could help me?”

  “You think you could leave my town alone?” Mr. Salter stepped toward Mr. Wolfe.

  I hurried between them. “I’ll help you.”

  Jonah rushed to my side and lifted the bag to his shoulder. I held the door open for him and followed him outside.

  Jonah dropped the bag into the back of his dad’s SUV with a thud and turned to me. “What’s all that about?”

  “Nothing.” I forced a smile and tilted my face up to his, hoping to distract him with a kiss.

  Jonah reached out and took my face in his hands. When his lips touched mine, I closed my eyes, feeling snow on my lashes.

  “Next week? Fat chance. You’ll never get away with it.” Mr. Salter’s voice bled through the closed door.

  “Watch me.” Mr. Wolfe’s voice boomed so loud I swear I saw the glass window shake.

  I broke away from Jonah and opened the door to the store.

  Inside, the air sizzled with tension as the two men stood inches apart, glaring at each other.

  “I have half this town on my side,” Mr. Salter growled. “And I can get the other half like that.” He snapped his fingers like a whip crack.

  Jonah leaned into me. “What the hell is going on?”

  “He’s mad about the power plant,” I murmured.

  “I’d like to see you try,” Mr. Wolfe said.

  I froze. The effortless threat in his voice sent chills running up and down my spine.

  “We at the Guild have a way of getting what we want.” He strode to the counter, plunked down two twenties, and seized his shovel. “Come on, Jonah.”

  Jonah rolled his eyes and grabbed my hand before he followed his dad out. “Call you later.”

  “This ain’t over, Wolfe,” Mr. Salter shouted just as the door swung shut with such force the bell clanged violently. “It ain’t even begun!”

  I watched the SUV back away, the tires spinning on the slippery surface of the road, before rounding on Mr. Salter. “What were you thinking?”

  “I’m thinking someone has to stand up to them.” Mr. Salter pushed past me and flipped the Open sign to Closed.

  “Yeah, my mom did that, and our barn burned down.” I tagged close behind Mr. Salter as he crossed the store and moved behind the counter. “These people are serious. You can’t throw threats around like that.”

  Mr. Salter banged the register open and snatched the cash from the drawer. “And you’re dating his son? What are you thinking?”

  “Jonah is not the enemy.” I pressed my palms flat on the counter. “His dad is.”

  Mr. Salter locked the register. “Like father, like son.” He tucked a stack of papers into a bag and turned off the lights in the store.

  “Jonah is nothing like his father.” I followed him out the back door to his truck. “You have no idea how not like his father he is.”

  We climbed into the cab of the truck. Mr. Salter slid the key into the ignition. I placed my hand on the steering wheel. He stopped and looked at me. “Mr. Salter, if I really thought Jonah had anything to do with the Guild’s plan to build a power plant next to my house or the fire in our barn, I would stop seeing him. Immediately. Come on. Give me some credit.”

  Mr. Salter sighed. “You’re right. I’m sorry.” He turned the key, and the truck rumbled awake. “Just be careful, okay?”

  “Okay,” I said, facing forward as Mr. Salter threw the clutch in reverse and backed away from the building. I stared through the windshield at the snow-covered street. “But I know what I’m doing.” The lie tasted sour on my tongue.

  “I’m sure you do,” Mr. Salter said quickly.

  We pulled into the street, driving slowly in the deepening snow.

  Something niggled at me. “What did you mean when you said, ‘next week’ to Mr. Wolfe?” I asked.

  “That’s when they’re planning on breaking ground on the plant.” He clenched his jaw. “Hopefully this snow will hold them up.”

  I clutched the door handle tight. The heat was on full blast in the truck, but I felt unbearably cold. Next week? No, the snow wouldn’t hold them up. The only thing that would stop them was if the Benandanti retook control of the Waterfall and raised our own magical barrier to keep them out. Where the hell was the Concilio Celeste with their go-ahead?

  We turned into the farm’s long driveway. I took a deep breath. The Concilio had to know what they were doing—that was why they were on the council, right? They had to be preparing to send us into battle again any day now. Still, they were cutting it close.

  The black roof of the house was white with snow. Light glowed through the windows of the house, reminding me of candlelight on a deep winter’s night. Mr. Salter rolled the truck to a stop. When I jumped out, the snow came up to my shins. It was coming down harder now. Heads bent against the wind, we bustled to the front door.

  A fire burned in the hearth in the living room. The scent of Lidia’s homemade sauce, mixed with the sweeter smell of melting chocolate, wafted from the kitchen. “Hello?” I called out.

  Lidia appeared in the doorway to the kitchen. “Oh, good—I was getting worried,” She came forward to take my coat as I shrugged it off. She shook snow onto the floor, where it melted instantly to form a small puddle on the hardwood. “You’ll stay for dinner of course,” she said to Mr. Salter as she hung both our coats on the pegs by the front door.

  “Fine. You talked me into it.” He laughe
d.

  We followed her into the kitchen. I pulled up short when I saw Heath at the table, his hands wrapped around a steaming mug.

  “It’s like a snow party,” Mr. Salter said, putting out his hand.

  Heath shook it with a smile. “I was still working out back when the snow started. Couldn’t pass up Lidia’s offer of hot chocolate, could I?”

  “No sirree,” Mr. Salter said and accepted a mug from Lidia as well.

  We sank into the overstuffed couch and armchairs in the living room, a perfect New England picture on a snowy afternoon. If only I felt that calm on the inside. I wished I could tell Heath about the Guild’s plan, but there was no way to get him alone without raising suspicion.

  I sipped my cocoa and let its sweetness distract me. Outside, the snow clung to the trees in the front yard. A crow picked its way from branch to branch, its glossy black figure a stark contrast against the crystalline snow. I imagined being a Falcon right now, hunting under the snowdrifts for a morsel to eat, searching for a cozy tree hollow to take my rest.

  A knock on the front door made us all jump.

  “Who on earth can that be in this weather?” Lidia said. She set her mug down on the coffee table and got to her feet.

  A blast of snow and cold air swirled into the house when she opened the door. Jonah stood framed by the door, his dark hair lightened with snowflakes, his long coat drenched so that it molded to his form.

  I nearly dropped my mug and bounded to my shocked mother’s side. “Jonah, what are you doing here?”

  “I came to see you,” he said and glanced at Lidia. “I hope that’s okay?”

  My mother came to life with a shake. “Did you walk here? Come in. Come in. You must be freezing.”

  “Thanks.” Jonah stepped inside. His coat dripped on the floor, and he peeled himself out of it.

  “I’ll hang it in the kitchen.” Lidia took it from him. “Can I get you some hot chocolate? You look like you could use it.”

  “I’d love some,” Jonah said and looked down at me when she walked away, his eyes dancing and glittering with mischief.

  I raised my eyebrows and stared at him, shaking my head slightly. Part of me wanted to know what he was up to, but most of me didn’t care; I was happy just to see him. I slid my hand into his, wincing a little at his chilly skin, and led him to the spot on the couch that was closest to the fire. Being with Jonah was enough to put all my worries about the power plant out of my head.