“Why are they here?” I gritted out.
“Steve wants to be closer during this investigation,” Landon replied. “I know it makes things more difficult for us, but it makes sense.”
“How?” My annoyance was about to go through the roof. “How does it make sense?”
“Because this is the team that Steve wants to stake his reputation on. He wants this to be his legacy. I know you didn’t sign up for this, but he’s going out of his way to appease you.If you’re going to shut him down, maybe you should just do it now.”
I didn’t appreciate his tone. I also was embarrassed because I’d turned into such a Debbie Downer when it wasn’t warranted. At least not yet.
I pressed the heel of my hand to my forehead. I was starting to get a headache. “I don’t want that. I just … I’m nervous, Landon. I thought we would have more breathing room. We couldn’t even tell everyone about the footprint this morning.”
“The footprint from last night?” Chief Terry asked.
I frowned and glared at the side of Landon’s head.
“Fair point.” Landon bobbed his head, shot me a mischievous smile, then sighed. “We found a print outside the guesthouse from last night. Bay compared her foot to them. They’re longer and narrower. And whatever is out there doesn’t wear shoes.”
“Whatever was out there was staring directly at our bedroom last night,” I added.
“Geez.” Chief Terry kept his eyes on the road as he drove, his knuckles turning white as he gripped the steering wheel tightly. “I hate to say it, but it’s probably best that you didn’t drop that information in front of Steve.”
“Because he’s going to want to move in with us next?” I asked in a snotty tone.
“He doesn’t understand that you can take care of yourself,” Chief Terry replied. “His first instinct will be to protect you, whether that means putting armed men outside your home or installing cameras. Every shred of privacy you have will be gone.”
I hadn’t yet gotten that far in my thinking. I glanced at Landon.
“If this goes forward, Bay, we’ll have to come up with ground rules.” Landon’s tone was even. “There’s no getting around it.Terry is right, Steve’s first instinct will be to protect you. He won’t understand why that’s not my first instinct.”
“That is your first instinct,” I argued. “You always want to race to the rescue, boss me around, and question my choices when a fight is coming.”
“I would appreciate you not phrasing it like that,” Landon said petulantly. “Just because I question your choices occasionally does not mean I want to boss you around. I don’t want to lose you.”
“We’re not having this argument again,” Chief Terry warned. “Spencer and Steve are right behind us.”
“Eventually, if things go well on this case, we’ll continue to work together.” I chose my words carefully. “He’s going to find out that we don’t swoop in, toss around a few spells, and save the day most of the time. He’ll see that we screw things up and occasionally have to deal with enchanted clowns or Christmas decorations taking over the town.”
“We also deal with the sort of monsters that come for the family with a purpose,” Chief Terry said. “You’re right, Bay, eventually Steve will have to know about that. We need to get through this to see if we can even get to that point.”
I grumbled but stopped arguing. It was a waste of time. “Just out of curiosity, do you think it’s weird for three guys to come up here camping—but in a cabin—in the spring?”
“You think they were doing something else,” Landon realized.
“I am curious. It’s a weird time of year for them to do something like this.”
“I don’t disagree.” Landon said. “We’ll figure it out. Just be yourself, Bay. If you’re concerned that maybe you shouldn’t say something, don’t say it. We can talk it out on a superficial level and bring up the deep stuff when we’re alone.”
I nodded. “I’m just a little nervous,” I admitted. “I can’t help but feel that I’m going to ruin things for all of us if this doesn’t go the right way.”
“Bay, you’re not going to ruin things for anyone,” Landon promised. “It’s going to be okay. We’re a team. We’re going to figure this out together.”
I hoped he was right. “It’s going to be okay,” I repeated. “We always figure this stuff out.”
STEVE AND SPENCER WERE RIGHT BEHINDus, so there was no waiting when we reached the cabin. I immediately set out to circle the building, unfurling magic as I went. It bounced against something dark, which had me walking into the woods searching for prints. I found some, but they weren’t the same as those we found outside the guesthouse. By the time I made my way back to the front of the cabin, Steve and Landon were arguing.
“You can’t let her wander around by herself,” Steve insisted. “It’s not safe.”
Landon was annoyed. “She’s the most capable person I know. If she didn’t think it was safe, she would have asked me to go with her.”
