“Not that ‘L’ word,” she said. “Love. As in:“I love you, Ryder Bailey with your dreamy green eyes and your hunky strong shoulders and your superpower patience when I’m being stupid like getting myself shot. Or when I’m being too stubborn to justcallyou and tell you I miss you. Or when I’m too moody to admit I want you to come home before Christmas.”Love-love. I checked the rule book and women are allowed to say itfirst.”
“Good. You should say it toHogan.”
“You think Ihaven’t?”
“Have you?” I wouldn’t be surprised. Out of all of us sisters, she was the freest with heraffection.
But she and Hogan hadn’t been dating for very long. She had spent most of that time worrying about letting him in on all the supernatural secrets of thetown.
I’d just assumed she would be cautious with the secrets of her hearttoo.
On the other hand, this was Jean. Fearless and full ofsurprises.
She grunted as she hopped from rock to rock. “Not yet. I’m waiting for the right time to spring it on him. When it’s totally inappropriate and he least expectsit.”
I laughed and wiped rain off my face. We ducked under the cave’s overhang. “Why is it so easy for you to believe that romance always worksout?”
Jean’s cheeks were red from the wind. Her hair, bright green today, escaped her hood to frame herface.
“Wait. I have an answer for this one. Romance, my dear Delaney, is also known aslove. Love is one of the best things about life. A magic thing. A magical romantic thing. Magical romantic things always work out, otherwise they wouldn’t bemagical.”
Her blue eyes sparkled. “You know what else is magical andromantic?”
“Don’t saysnow.”
“Snow! Especially Christmas snow. Add in a handsome guy, a nice warm fire, and ooh la la, is it hot in here orwhat?”
“Stop it,” Isaid.
“What?” Allinnocence.
“Stop trying to make Christmasromantic.”
“Why shouldn’t Christmas beromantic?”
I opened my mouth to tell her it couldn’t be romantic because my boyfriend wasn’t going to be around, but before I could say anything, movement deeper in the cave caught myeye.
I flicked on my flashlight and Jean did the same with hers. Twin beams cut into the restlessshadows.
“It’s the police,” I shouted loud enough to be heard over the waves grinding behind us and the damp dripping inside the cave. “We need to talk with you. Please come out into thelight.”
My heart beat a little faster, a little harder. I wasn’t sure what we were dealing withhere.
An over-excited rockhound who shouldn’t have been exploring the hidden cave at this time of year, had come into the station thismorning.
He had insisted some kind of huge, dangerous creature was snarling around in theshadows.
He said it was a gigantic crocodile. Or a massive snake. Or adinosaur.
He hadn’t gone so far as to suggest it was a seamonster.
I wouldn’t have believed him anyway. At this time of year most of our sea monsters liked staying out atsea.
That didn’t mean some other kind of monster hadn’t decided to stake claim to the cozy cavethough.
Jean and I had hot-footed it out here while Myra and Officer Shoe took the rockhound’s statement. We wanted to get this under control before the papers picked up thestory.
I could feel the tension radiating off of Jean as the cave’s blackness remainedblack.
