I had paused long enough, Lu filled the silence. “Is it because he was there at your beginning?”
“I’m angry at him for leaving,” I said. “I’m angry at him for cutting off all communication. But it’s old anger. Old hurt. And it’s not enough for me to throw him to the gods. He’s made mistakes. So have I.
“I’m willing to help him. If we find the coins, we do. If not, well, he will pay the price for his decisions. There’s nothing I can do about that.”
“We’re coming your way.”
“No. Listen to me, Lu-lala. We have until noon tomorrow. Unless you have the coin in your hand, there’s nothing you can do here. Not now.”
“But...”
“If we run into demons, I’ll call,” I said. “Or the Hush, or any of the other nasties that hang out around here—if they show up, you’ll know. This is just a couple coins and a dryad-wizard who made one too many stupid choices.”
I heard her soft exhale. “Anything comes up, you’ll call.”
“Anything I can’t handle. Yes. Of course. You know in all the years I’ve been here, there hasn’t been anything I couldn’t handle.”
“Except that shop you wanted me to build for you,” Brogan chimed in. Lula must have been holding the phone away from her ear enough for him to listen.
“Oh, I can handle that. But wouldn’t mind sipping lemonade while someone else pounds nails.”
“Did you take down the tree that was in the way?” he asked.
“Not yet. You’re handy with an axe, aren’t you?”
Brogan chuckled, and I heard him murmur something to Lula.
“All right. Fine,” she said. “I’ve been talked out of it. For the moment. If you need to, Ricky—I mean it—call me.”
“I will.”
“I could contact your dad for you. See what he wants.”
“No. I’ll deal with him. Thanks, Lu-lala. Always.”
“Love,” she said.
“Love,” I replied.
I disconnected the call.
“Do you think your dad knows about the coins?” Val asked.
I rubbed at the bridge of my nose, trying to pinch away the headache starting behind my eyes. “He might. He sticks his nose into a lot of people’s business. If he doesn’t...well, that note is a hell of a coincidence, isn’t it?”
“You could ignore it. Ignore the message,” Val said.
“Tempting.” I scrubbed fingers over my scalp.
“You could wake up Card.”
“Yeah. I’m gonna give him his hour and a half. I’ll grill him while we’re driving to wherever we go to get the hidden coin.”
“So, tea? Coffee? Whiskey?” Val offered.
That last suggestion made me smile. “Nothing yet, but I reserve the right to change my mind.”
I left the kitchen and thought about how I should contact my dad. Phone would be easy, but I wanted to see his face when we talked. That way I could get a better idea of how many lies he was telling me.
