The Matchmakers

by Jennifer Colgan

  Chapter Twenty

  Nick woke restless again in the middle of the night. Callie had fallen asleep almost instantly, and he felt like a cad for toying with the idea of carrying her into bed just so he could be with her. Though he couldn’t get thoughts of intimacy out his mind, he’d have been content just to have her next to him again. Well, maybe that wasn’t exactly true. If she’d been in his arms, stretched beside him under the blankets, he wasn’t sure he’d be able to just hold her. He wanted her, and for once in his life, he didn’t know what to do about it. Their indefinable relationship, up until now, had been comfortable if a little unnerving. Where would it lead? Would they still be platonic roommates if she remained with him for another six weeks, until the night of the Oak Moon? Suppose they failed to unite two more couples in true love before the night of December’s full moon. Would he spend the rest of his life with Callie making him breakfast, borrowing his clothes and sleeping on his couch? He’d go insane. He had no right to ask her for anything, but, good Lord, he ached to put his hands on her, to kiss her and feel her warm and pliant in his arms. He’d noticed the new things she’d bought today, crammed into his closet among his clothes. She was settling in, putting down roots. While part of his brain liked that just fine, a faint alarm bell sounded in the back of his mind. How had he gotten to this point with a complete stranger? The worst part was, it felt like she belonged here, belonged to him. He didn’t question the bottles of feminine mystery he’d found crowded under the bathroom sink or the pretty light blue bra he’d found in his underwear drawer. The last time he’d felt at home with a woman underfoot he’d been with Claire in Tallahassee. He remembered the day everything fell apart and felt a twinge of regret still. Why had the prospect of living with Claire scared the daylights out of him back then? He’d decided long ago he hadn’t been ready to call someplace home and assign a new address to all the emotional baggage he carried. He and Claire might have been good together, but no one turned him around and kept him on his toes the way Callie did. No one he’d met in his life, including Claire, had made him lie awake at night wondering how long she’d be in his life or how he would feel if she suddenly disappeared. Nick rolled over, punched his pillow back into shape and tucked it under his head. The glow of the alarm clock mocked him. His nerves danced under his skin, and his stomach churned. Something had to change. Something had to give, or he’d go crazy with Callie so close and still out of his reach. He had to come up with a plan to bring her closer without scaring her away. Callie’s heart dropped into her stomach when she arrived at the bar on Tuesday to find Diane perched on a stool talking to Andrew. Farley’s brother waved her over, his smile bright. `Hey Callie, how are you feeling? I’m really sorry about the truffles. I had no idea you were allergic to alcohol.´ `Oh, that’s okay, Andrew. I should have mentioned it. It’s not an allergy as much as an intolerance.Ćallie smiled tentatively at Diane as she spoke. Farley’s former waitress looked great. Her skin glowed, her blond hair was newly styled, and she bore the smile of a satisfied woman.

  `Hi, honey. I don’t think we’ve been formally introduced. I’m Diane Martin. I believe you took my job.Ćallie reached out to shake Diane’s hand, trying to hide a nervous laugh. Was this where she got fired on top of everything else that had gone wrong? Diane grasped Callie’s fingers in a firm, confident grip. `Don’t look scared. I’m not coming back to work.´ `You’re not?´ `Nope. I’m working at D’Angelo’s, the Italian place over in Grandview.´ `Oh.´ Farley appeared then, sauntering in from the back room. His friendly grin had returned, but the sparkle in his brown eyes was only for Diane. The couple gazed at each other, and Callie frowned. How could these two not have found true love? They giggled and blushed like teenagers in heat. `Well, Callie, now that I’ve lost my head waitress, I guess I can order you a printed t-shirt.´ `Oh. Thanks.Ćallie glanced back at Diane who grinned at Farley over her shoulder. Andrew’s gaze bounced between his brother and Diane, and he shrugged as he swiped a cloth over the bar. `I’m also going to need someone to help with inventory and learn some of the accounts. Are you interested?´ Farley asked. `Sure, but what about Hayden? She’s been here longer than I have.´ Farley shrugged. `Well, she’s not here now. She called to say she’d be late. You may have to cover for her for a few hours.´ `I’ll hang around and help if things get busy,´ Diane offered. `And I’ll show Callie around the storeroom. The inventory is going to get a lot more complicated if you start using that kitchen properly and serve lunch.´ `Lunch?Ćallie’s mind spun as she followed Diane toward the back room.

  `Andy’s food went over big at the party. Ted’s thinking about starting a sandwich business. That means he’ll need some daytime help. Andy’s going to be working here full time for a while when his classes are over.´ Pride tinged Diane’s voice as they made their way past the pool table and into the storeroom beyond. `He wants to make a lot of changes around here, and I think you can take some of the credit, Callie.´ `Me?´ `You suggested that party, and it got Ted thinking. It got him moving«on a lot of things.´ Diane winked. `Thanks.´ `Sure« I just thought it would be fun.´ Callie forced herself to concentrate on Diane’s first lesson in bar and restaurant inventory procedure, though her heart wasn’t in it. Everything seemed perfect between Diane and Farley. Despite her not returning to work, Diane seemed comfortable in the bar and extremely happy, like a woman who saw the path of her future lying before her. Without her Fae senses, Callie couldn’t be sure, but even a human could see the spark between the older Farley and his former waitress. How come Meri had said only Catfish and his redheaded dance partner had found true love? What could still be wrong between Diane and Farley? Halfway through the evening, after a long, steamy goodbye kiss at the front door, Farley escorted Diane to her car. Shortly after that, Hayden arrived looking pale and drawn. Bluish circles darkened the skin under her eyes. `Why did you come in?Ćallie demanded when she met Hayden in the ladies room. `You look terrible.´ `Thanks. I’m so glad someone noticed.´ Hayden’s words fell flat and lifeless. She splashed cold water on her face and dug a cover-up stick out of her purse. `I’m sorry, but you look like you haven’t slept. What’s wrong?´ `Nothing. Everything. My life stinks.Ćallie watched while Hayden smeared cover stick under her eyes and rubbed viciously at the dark circles. She dashed on bright lipstick that only intensified her pallor. `Is this because of Andrew?´ `He’s a jerk. I hate him.Ćallie scowled. Was Nick right about Andrew being a player? `What did he do?´ `Nothing. I don’t want to talk about him or any other man.´ `Uh oh. What other man? Did something happen with the fireman from the other night?´ `Ugh. No! He didn’t even call me. I hate him, too.´ Callie put her hand on Hayden’s shoulder and silently cursed her lost abilities. She should have been able to tell exactly what Hayden was feeling and about whom she was feeling it, but she could only guess. `If you tell me what’s wrong, maybe I can help.´ For a moment, Hayden’s veneer of self-pitying anger dropped away. Her newly made up eyes misted, and her lower lip trembled. Then the mask of determined martyrdom crashed back down over her features. `It’s nothing. I’m just having a bad day. I get bitchy once a month. I’m sorry.´ `It’s okay.Ćallie studied Hayden’s reflection. `If you need to talk«´ `Thanks.´ Hayden sniffled, then stared hard at her face in the mirror. After a moment, she pasted on a smile and left the bathroom. Callie sighed as she followed her friend out the door. She’d never felt so useless in her life. Nick swerved his truck into a parking space. The breaks squealed and the tires crunched on loose gravel. He yanked the keys out of the ignition and took a deep breath to calm his anger. He gripped the steering wheel to steady himself and counted to ten. The exercise did nothing for his mood. His mind raced, and his stomach churned. He hated himself for feeling the way he did over a woman he barely knew. His work boots hit the gravel, and he slammed the door hard enough to rattle the truck’s entire frame. He thought of opening the door and slamming it again just for good measure, but an angry tirade had built up in his chest. If he didn’t get the words out soon, they’d
burn him up from the inside. He strode across the parking lot and into Farley’s, ignoring the lackluster greeting he received from Hayden. Callie stood by the bar, flirting with Andy and Bud Wylie. She yelped in surprise when he grabbed her wrist and pulled her toward the door. `Come with me,´ he said in a tone that left no room for discussion. She stumbled after him, barely sliding her tray onto the bar as she went. `Where’ya going?´ Hayden called as they pushed past her. Callie shrugged, and Nick merely growled. `We have something to discuss.´ He blew through the door and didn’t stop walking until they’d crossed half the parking lot. There, he stopped and whirled her around to face him. `Nick, what’s ´ `This has gone far enough.´ `What? What are you«?Śhe looked innocent and sweet and scared. Nick’s chest went tight at the thought of what she’d done today. It hurt to think she was capable of such malice. `Your little trick worked very well.´ `What are you talking about?Ánger replaced Callie’s confusion, and she reared back, crossing her arms over her chest. `What trick?´ `You look innocent, but you’re not. You were there today at the construction site. You were invisible, but I know you were there. I can feel you. I can smell you and practically taste you, even when I can’t see you.´ Her jaw dropped. `I wasn’t there.´ `It worked. Seeing Teresa get hurt today, it worked on John. You must be happy.´ `Teresa got hurt? When? What happened?´ The quiver in her lower lip did nothing to deter Nick. He wanted to shake her, but he didn’t dare touch her now. `The sink hole that conveniently opened up beside the trailer. Teresa fell into it as she was leaving work, just as you planned. John rescued her. She almost drowned, but he pulled her out and saved her life.Ćallie’s arms dropped to her sides. She couldn’t believe what she was hearing. How could Nick think she would hurt someone just to bring a couple together? `Is she okay?´ `They’re at the hospital now. She should be fine. Everything went according to your plan with John.´ `I don’t know what you’re talking about. What plan?´ `He told her he loved her.´ Nick stared hard, searching for a small sign of triumph in her eyes, but she didn’t react to the news. `I had nothing to do with this. I wasn’t there, Nick.Ćallie’s heart shriveled like a dry apple. A shiver ran through her at the cold look in Nick’s eyes. He didn’t believe her. `It’s too perfect. The whole thing played out like a scene from a movie, only this is real life, and Teresa didn’t deserve to get hurt so you could fulfill your quota.Ćallie sputtered the beginning of several replies, but none of them made any sense. Her throat burned with tears, leaving her mute until Nick turned his back on her. `Nick, wait!´ `I’m going home. I need some sleep. Because of what happened, the town may condemn the building site. Most of the guys on the crew will be looking for new jobs tomorrow.Ćallie stood frozen to the spot, her knees locked to keep her from falling down. The cold November air raced around her, the wind whipping her hair into her eyes, blurring the tears that hung unshed on her lower lashes. She watched Nick’s truck slam into reverse and screech out of the lot. She didn’t move a muscle until Hayden laid a hand on her shoulder. `What happened?´ `I don’t know«I need to«Śhe had to tell Nick the truth. If she could have confessed that she was human now, he would have understood. `I need to sit down.´ Hayden walked Callie back inside and led her to an empty table. Their gloomy expressions drew Andrew over from the bar. `Hey, I heard yelling outside. Are you okay?Ćallie didn’t dare nod. She was as far from okay as she’d ever been. `He’s very upset. There was some kind of accident at the construction site, and Teresa got hurt.´ `Who’s Teresa?´ Hayden asked when Andrew’s face went pale. `Is she all right? What happened?´ he demanded. `She’s at the hospital,Ćallie whispered. Andrew fled, leaving Hayden staring after him, bewildered. `Who’s Teresa?´ `Cat Girl,Ćallie said. Hayden sank into the chair opposite Callie. `Oh.´ `Nick said she’d be all right, but«´ `But what? Why is he so angry with you?Ćallie couldn’t explain. Hayden would never understand. Instead, she shrugged. `I don’t know.´ Hayden made a face. `Men. They all stink. Come home with me tonight. I could use some company. If Nick’s mad at you, let him stew in it for a while.Ćallie forced herself to smile, though she’d never felt so empty and alone in her entire existence. `Thank you, Hayden. I’d like that.´ Hayden patted Callie’s hand. `It’s settled then. Let’s get this place cleaned up and get out of here.´ Nick paced the length of the living room, his anger at Callie waxing and waning by turns. She’d looked shocked by his accusations, wounded. Yet how could he believe she hadn’t been involved? He’d seen her abilities. He hadn’t wanted to believe them, but he’d learned long ago that denial didn’t make something go away. The facts spoke for themselves. The construction site had been surveyed by professionals months ago and deemed perfectly safe for the project. The first sinkhole that had opened up a week prior had been small, a fluke caused by decaying tree roots just beneath some newly disturbed topsoil. This new one was larger, deeper and filled with muddy water from the recent rain. Nick had been too far away to help Teresa. He hadn’t even seen her fall as she turned left at the bottom of the trailer steps. But John had. He’d thrown his body flat on the ground and caught Teresa’s hand as she clawed for the collapsing edge of the hole, gasping for breath.

  John whispered words of encouragement and made the promises of a desperate man while Nick and Marty Carson ran for rope and boards to shore up the edges of the hole. With help from his crew, he’d dragged her to safety and held her in his arms until the ambulance came for her. Nick and Marty had dealt with the police and the town inspector in John’s absence. They’d broken the news to John over the phone that the town had temporarily shut down the site. Through it all, Nick had been unable to get Callie out of his mind. At first he’d pictured her injured and nearly drowning in mud, and he’d thanked God that she hadn’t come to the site that day for a visit. Then his thoughts turned on him. Her scent seemed to linger wherever he went. Her voice played in his head. No less than a dozen men had walked near the trailer that day. Why hadn’t one of them fallen through the thin, unstable layer of soil that covered the hole? John had been offsite most of the day, meeting with the owners and police regarding the vandalism, yet he’d been present, standing only a few feet away from Teresa when she fell. If it hadn’t been for his quick response, she might have drowned in the water at the bottom of the hole. Nick had sensed John’s utter terror, his self-recrimination at never telling Teresa how he felt about her. Once again, Nick had thought of Callie. After making sure the site was secure, he’d driven around town for hours. Rehearsing his argument, he played over every scene from the day and questioned the evidence. Everything pointed to Callie. Vandals could not have created the sinkhole and timed it to collapse so perfectly. By all the laws of physics, a hole that large should have opened up weeks ago and sunk in during the Halloween rainstorm. The fact that Teresa had only sprained her ankle and swallowed some muddy water was another striking coincidence. She could have broken her neck. It all seemed like Fae magick at work. Nick felt like a lunatic for even considering such a thing, but when he added Callie to the equation, it all made a sick kind of sense.

  Never trust a woman. Why had he forgotten that? Why had he allowed Callie to get under his skin and into his heart? That had to be why it hurt so much. Nick stood in the middle of the living room now, reliving everything he’d said to her, trying to recall the anger that had carried him to Farley’s on nothing but adrenaline. Somehow, now all he felt was an ache in the pit of his stomach and a nervous tickle at the back of his neck. Where was she? He wasn’t surprised she hadn’t come home. The look in her eyes when he’d left her in the parking lot had been that of a wounded puppy. He didn’t expect her to come around looking to get hurt again, but as angry as he had been, the main emotion curdling his gut right now was worry. Should he go look for her? What if she never came back? Wouldn’t he be better off? He stayed awake the rest of the night, contemplating the answer.

  Chapter Twenty-one

  Callie lay wrapped in a soft down comforter, a satin-covered pillow under her head. Hayden’s couch beat Nick’s hands down for comfort, b
ut Callie’s misery would not allow her to rest. Her head ached again from the silent tears she’d shed after Hayden went to bed. She’d tried so hard to get Nick to believe in her powers, and what had it gotten her? How could he think she would do something that would lead to Teresa getting hurt? Perhaps this further proved Freya’s estimation of him. He couldn’t trust. Not even someone he cared about. Therefore, he couldn’t truly love. Would he even notice if Freya visited her lifelong punishment on him? Probably not. Callie wrapped her arms around her stomach to ease the sour knot that lay below her ribcage. She curled up in a ball and sighed, wondering how she would spend the rest of her life without love. At least once the Oak Moon passed, her heart wouldn’t ache for Nick Garrett anymore. Sharing a bathroom never seemed to be a problem at Nick’s, but the next morning, after an hour of waiting for Hayden, Callie finally broke down and knocked on the door. `Hey, are you okay?´ The muffled sound of sobbing reached her through the door. Callie frowned. `Hayden? Let me in.´ When the door opened a crack, only Hayden’s hand emerged. She held a white plastic stick in her trembling fingers. `Tell me what you see,śhe said through a loud sniffle. Callie eyed the object. `A coffee stirrer?´ `Look closer!Ćallie took the stick from Hayden and turned it over in her hand. On the other side, two pale blue lines filled a small rectangular window in the plastic. `What am I looking at?´ `Do you see two lines?´ `Yes. Two identical blue lines.´ `Oh, God.´ `Hayden, tell me what’s wrong.´ `I’m pregnant.Ćallie took a step back from the door and squinted at the plastic stick. In her long life, Callie had very little experience with pregnancy tests. Conception was not her department. There were other Fae who helped pregnancies along and protected unborn babies and their mothers. `Are you sure about this?´ Hayden opened the bathroom door all the way. She wore her nightshirt and huge fuzzy slippers, and her hair was twisted atop her head in a damp towel. Her eyes were bloodshot, her face puffy. `Two blue lines means pregnant.´ Callie forced a smile. `Blue is for boys, right?´ Hayden replied with a sob. `I’m sorry you’re not happy about this.´ `Happy? How could I be happy? It’s a disaster.´ Hayden threw herself into Callie’s arms and wept, her sobs rocking both of them. Callie patted Hayden’s back and tried to soothe her. In the Fae realm the birth of a child was a rare and momentous event. She wasn’t so naïve as to think this was always the case in the human realm. Here, pregnancies were sometimes less than pleasant surprises. `The worst part is, I hate myself for not being happy. This is my baby, right?Ćallie blinked. `It would have to be.´ `I should be happy. It hurts that I’m not. What am I supposed to do now, Callie? I don’t know what to do.Ćallie held Hayden at arm’s length and tried to put on a resolute face. `You’ll do whatever you have to do. First you have to tell the father.´ This produced more sobs from Hayden. She sank to the floor in the narrow hallway, cradling the stick in her hands. `What if he’s not happy, either? That would kill me. My baby deserves everybody to be happy for him«or her.´ `You still have to do it. This won’t be the first child that came as a surprise to its parents. You’ll get over the shock eventually and so will he. Now, who is the father?´ `Matt. He’s the only one I’ve ever«´ `Okay. You need to go see him. Bring this.Ćallie held up the test stick. `What if he hates me?´ `I’m sure he won’t hate you.Ćallie hoisted Hayden up from the floor and guided her into the bedroom. `What do I say to him?´ `Show him the stick. He’ll probably recognize it faster than I did.´ Hayden shed the towel from her hair while Callie pulled a clean blouse and jeans from the closet. The younger girl flopped on the bed and buried her face in her hands. `I can’t believe I screwed up my life like this. I should have been more careful. I mean, I thought I was being careful. I didn’t mean for this to happen.Ćallie sat on the bed, put her arm around Hayden’s shoulders and squeezed. `From one screw up to another, sweetheart, you’ll get through it somehow. I know you will.´ `She’s right, this is horrible.´ Nick dumped his coffee in the sink after one disappointing swallow and slammed the empty cup on the counter. He turned to face the painfully empty kitchen and rolled his eyes ceilingward. `Callie? Can you hear me?Áfter a full minute of silence, he paced across the room and tried again. `Callie! Tinkerbell, come on. I’ve been thinking«and I don’t believe you did it. I mean, I know you didn’t have anything to do with the accident at the site. Come back and let me apologize.´ Nick tapped his foot while the clock above the sink ticked away another two minutes. A mischievous faerie was one thing. A petulant one tried his patience. `Tink! Come on. I know you can hear me. You’re probably laughing at me right now, aren’t you?´ He tapped. The clock ticked. `Fine. You don’t have to materialize. You can just listen. I’m sorry. I realize you could never do anything to hurt anyone. I know you wouldn’t go that far to bring a couple together. It’s no excuse, I know. But I was upset. I was shaken up. If you didn’t do it, I mean, I know you didn’t, but that means something else is going on. Whoever set the fire is trying to hurt people, and that«that scares me a little. A lot. It could have been you. Suppose you’d come to visit me at work like you did last week. You might have gotten hurt. Teresa could have died. John’s business is almost shot to hell, and twenty guys with families are out of work today. That’s a big deal. Whoever is doing this, we’ve got to stop them before things get worse. So, can you please come back?´ Nick waited a beat. Did he imagine the faint scent of lilacs in the air? `Callie? I need to know you’re okay and you don’t hate me. Please come back. I’m sorry.Ánother ten minutes elapsed, and Nick gave up staring at the ceiling. `Fine. If that’s the way you want it. Fine. Even if you don’t forgive me, I’m still sorry.Írritated, Nick grabbed his jacket and headed for the door. He’d done all he could do, but he couldn’t wait around any longer for Callie to decide to forgive him. Nick’s phone rang and rang as Callie paced back and forth in Hayden’s tiny kitchenette. Once Hayden had left to find Matt, Callie had busied herself cleaning up the breakfast she’d made for them. Scrubbing dishes took her mind off Nick for a while, but only after she took a shower and found the box from Hayden’s pregnancy test on the bathroom counter did she begin to consider a terrible possibility. She’d completely forgotten about Miranda’s visit on Sunday afternoon. While Callie turned the small cardboard package over in her hands, the thought struck her that maybe the news Miranda had wanted to share with Nick was similar.