“Funny, because to me it sounded like you. I’ve never heard of a hexed pill before, though, have you?”
He shook his head, picking up one of the pebbles beneath a yucca plant and smoothing over it with his thumb. “No, but it looks like we’ve got another person to look into. Grant Hafer, H-a-f-e-r.”
As we were walking back through Ludlow House, we stopped on one of the balconies that looked over the grounds. The sun was sinking in the sky. The ranch hands who worked the apple orchards on the far side of the property were packing up and heading home. In the distance, I could see the faint outline of their trucks pulling out, bouncing and kicking up dust as they made their way down the dirt road. This was when the Land of Enchantment truly shone. The sky lit up cherry-red and tangerine against the mesas. Cicadas chirped as the sun drifted lower. A breeze rustled through the brush, trickling across the ground and lifting the roots of my hair.
I looked over at him. “Can I ask you something? And I swear to God, if you say, ‘You just did’ …”
He smiled. “Shoot.”
“What would you have done if things hadn’t happened the way they had? If I’d stayed and you could use your Magic whenever you wanted. What would you have done? Would you have taught?”
He snorted. “God, no. I’d probably be in the same place as now, taking care of the horses at Mom and Pop’s and trying to make enough to open my own ranch. Though no doubt it would be easier with a little Magic.”
I balked. “So then why do you care so much if I’m back? Why volunteer every time Robetresse wanted to find me, if your life would’ve been exactly the same?”
He looked at me for one long moment, then averted his gaze.
The look was gone so fast I might have imagined it, replaced by his cheeks brimming into a bright, mischievous grin. He gathered me up in a bear hug and squeezed, then smacked a kiss on my cheek. “Easy. So I can annoy you whenever I want.”
I pushed him away. “Barf.”
“You love it,” he called over his shoulder, loping off for the cafeteria.
I shook my head as he walked away, grinning in spite of myself. “Dork.”
When home isn’t a place where you feel safe, it becomes other things. You attach the concept to people. Or to smells, or to places where you do feel safe and warm and loved. Home for me was Max. Comfortable and familiar, and mine. I watched him from the spot on the balcony, his long loping strides, a hint of the gawkiness that remained from his younger days. He was looking at his phone and smiling about something. A dimple poked out on his cheek, and my heart twisted painfully in my chest.
Except he wasn’t mine. Not anymore.
CHAPTER SIXTEEN
Our council meeting was the next day; they were occurring weekly now during the investigation instead of monthly, and I was dreading it. It had already been a week since we started, which left only a little over two weeks until graduation. Only two weeks until the students broke for the summer or graduated and we lost all opportunity to find the culprit. Though we had suspects with their own reasons for wanting to harm Dani or Maya, we didn’t have evidence of how any of them might have gone about hexing her. Or even what they might have hexed her with, which meant we had exactly zilch to show for all our work thus far. I arrived at the meeting room without Max. He was trying to get the toxicology report from Joselyn Hart’s stay at the hospital, and I hadn’t spoken with him all day. Maybe he had some issues back at his parents’ that he had to deal with. Or maybe he was just seeing his girlfriend and didn’t want to tell me.
I walked in, found a seat at the long table, and proceeded to fidget until I had even more nervous energy, if that was possible. I sat on my feet, then readjusted to cross my legs. I put my hair up and then back down again until I finally looked up and noticed Dr. Perez watching me.
My cheeks reddened. “Oh.”
He took the seat beside me. “Saw you sit in on my ancient religions class. Thought you might stay after for a chat.”
“Oh, yeah, sorry. Lots to do, with the investigation and all.”
His brow raised. “So you weren’t avoiding me?”
I swallowed. “No.”
“Really? Well, I suppose I’ll have to take your word on that.” He kept watching me, and I squirmed.
“Fine. I’m sorry I didn’t come by to talk to you. Then, and now.” I rubbed my thumb over my leather cord. “I didn’t know what to say.”
“You mean, ‘Sorry I ran off and sent you a one-line email in response to declining the fellowship you spent several weeks securing a line of funding for. Sorry I never answered the phone when you tried to get a reason why?’”
“I didn’t want to leave the position, honest. It’s just … things were complicated.”
He raised his eyebrows, looked around the room. “You’re here now. Are they still complicated?”
I was distracted by Luce Montgomery walking into the room. I tried to send her ahey, no hard feelings can-we-please-just-not-be-enemieslook, but what I got in return was such a stone-faced glower that I shrank back a little.
Okay, so still mad.
