She threw her hands wide. “I don’t know. And I don’t even know that it was them, but, um, that’s why I said I saw them.”
“Well, the last time somebody else saw them, Marta was heading back home from the grocery store as they were hikingout of town two days ago. She warned them about the weather, but they said they were prepared.”
“For a blizzard?”
“Hell, it wasn’t supposed to get that bad. Nine times out of ten, the weather channel overestimates everything.” He winked. “Makes for a better story. But this one took them all by surprise. We just have to hope they found a haven. When I saw the smoke, I thought we’d be home by lunch, but I guess that was too much to ask. I’m going to head out. We’re going to start combing the side of the mountain. There was a big avalanche a couple of days ago, and let’s pray they didn’t get caught up in that.”
“They weren’t,” Cat said absently and then cringed as her eyes flew to Aaron’s and then Mateo’s.
“How about I just take your word for it?” Aaron said as he strolled away.
Cat immediately started to pace as Mateo closed the door. “I knew it. I knew it!”
“Was this a vision?” Mateo asked.
She nodded.I knew it.
Mateo pivoted toward the door with a frown. “And that dude knew you would know?”
She froze. “Not exactly? He didn’t know it was magic, but I have a reputation in town for finding lost things. And solving crimes.”
His fingers fumbled as he reached for a shirt. “Isn’t there police for that sort of thing?”
“One highway patrolman lives about a half hour away, and yeah, we’re in some kind of police district, I think out of one of the ski towns? But nobody can be bothered.”
She tried to think through the things her magic had shown her. Gary at the hardware store had come to her about missing inventory three weeks ago, and then there had been two more thefts, and now teenagers were missing.
“I should have Seen it!” Cat said and groaned. She paced the cabin, feeling angry and horrified.
Mateo caught her and rubbed her arms briskly. “This is not on you.”
“I had all the warning I should have needed,” she insisted
“What are you talking about?”
“That’s why I was out in the snow. There’s been some thefts.”
“You were searching for a thief in a snowstorm?”
“No! Yes. I Saw them out in the snow. Even now, I still See them out in the snow. They’re out in the snow!”
“Okay, slow down. Start from the beginning. And keep getting dressed.”
She pulled on pants. “If they’re still out there, we have to find them.”
“We will.” He put on the boots she had found, and she laughed.
“Not like that. Make sure your socks and your cuffs are tucked into the boots, or you might as well not be wearing them.”
He did as she said, stuffing the jeans that were still a little too big into the boots.
“Lumberjack chic,” he said with a shake of his head, and she remembered all over again that he was some fancy New York businessman who had probably never worn jeans in his life.
“New York has snow,” she said. She was 99% sure of that.
“Yes, and New York City has snowplows,” he said with a grin.
She rolled her eyes and began the laborious process of getting ready to go out in the weather. Wordlessly, she also helped him get his gloves into the cuffs, and the scarf sealed around his neck. He’d just wrapped it around like a fashion accessory and not the thing that would stop cold air from freezing a vulnerable part of his body.
