“What are you waiting for, Ron? You’d better get going before you’re arrested. You’ll have hell to pay with Jennifer if you wind up booked down at the station.”
Jennifer takes no shits, and if the fear bulging in his eyes is any indication, he’s terrified of her. “You heard the lady. Let’s go, guys.”
A thrill of satisfaction zings up my spine. It quickly evaporates when I spot Stone Maddox exit his trailer just as the men pile into trucks and cars and leave for the day.
His gaze whips around until it finds me. The confusion in his eyes quickly dissolves into aWhat the hell?expression as he takes in the police tape.
His face changes again, and this time he’s pissed.
Which means I’d better hurry.
“What are you doing?” he demands. He breaks the tape and throws it on the ground. “This is crime scene tape. It’s for the police.”
“You will tie that back,” I snap.
“I will not.” He gestures toward the trucks driving off. “Did you tell my men to leave? You have no right!”
He storms over as I finish securing tape to the last beam. “I have every right!” I shout. “You’re going to ruin this town. I’m filing paperwork today. By tomorrow, you’ll be served with papers that say unless you comply, you may not build on this land.”
“Unless Icomply?” He shakes his head. “Lady, you cannot shut this down. You have no authority. You’re supposed to show up, tick some boxes, and leave. End of story. That’s all there is to it.”
The nerve of this man! “You know what?”
“What?” he shouts, his face inches from mine.
“You don’t deserve that lambicorn.”
His expression pinches in confusion. “What?”
I point behind him, to the creature who has followed him outside. The poor baby bleats pathetically. “The lambicorn. You know, the small, innocent being who thinks you’re its mother? Well, you would make the worst mother in the world.”
His face changes then, shifting from its slow-boiling fury to a cold, icy mask.
When he speaks next, his tone makes me feel like I’m being erased. “Get off my site. Take your police tape and leave.”
“Fine by me.”
“Good!”
I grab the roll of tape, and even though I’m doing everything to calm my inner turmoil, power builds, ley lines throb red, and the tape bursts into flames.
I screech and drop it to the ground. I stomp on the flames until they’re out, hoping Stone didn’t see.
“Are you an arsonist, too?” he accuses.
“No, I am not an arsonist.” I snatch the tape from the ground.
“Then why was it on fire?”
“The sun ... did something.” The tips of my fingers are singed, and I blow on them.
“It’s cloudy,” he corrects.
“It spontaneously combusted!”
As I walk away, he shouts, “Don’t ever show your face here again, or I’ll make sure you’re fired!”
My stomach plummets. This is the job I was meant for. No one else can do it, and I’ve completely screwed up.
