Darknight(55)

“Let her go,” he said quietly. “She has to figure this out in her own time, in her own way. You can’t erase a lifetime of hate in just one afternoon.”

True words. I knew that, but still I felt a little piece of my heart break as I watched my aunt turn her back on me, on the man I loved. Maybe she’d work through it eventually, but it was going to be a rough road until then.

“Okay,” I said at last. “But you know what? I’ve changed my mind. I don’t want to show you around town. I can’t take another confrontation like that. Not right now, anyway.”

“That’s fine. Whatever you want to do.” He hesitated, then asked, “So what do you want to do?”

“Something normal people would do,” I replied, the plan resolving in my mind even as I spoke. “I’m going to call Syd, and we’re going to go down to Cottonwood, and we’re going to go out and eat and drink and talk about anything except our crazy families. I don’t care what. Movies. Politics. Baseball.”

“It’s football season,” Connor pointed out gently.

“Whatever. Let’s just go.”

“Okay, sweetheart.” He bent down and kissed me. “Whatever you want.”





10





Normal





We didn’t make our escape quite as quickly as I’d hoped, mostly because when I called Sydney, it turned out she was working until five. “But Anthony has the night off, so that’s something,” she told me. “How about we meet you at Bocce at about a quarter to six? It’s going to be crazy-busy, but maybe you can get there a little early and get our names on the waiting list.”

I said that was fine, and hung up. Since she was at work, she didn’t have a chance to really talk, but I could tell she was bursting with questions as to why we were here in Jerome rather than up in Flagstaff. Good question. I’d begun to wonder the same thing myself.

Unfortunately, she’d have to wait a while to get any actual answers, because no way was I going to talk about any of this stuff in front of Anthony. He seemed like a nice guy, but even so, I wasn’t going to start blabbing about McAllisters and Wilcoxes and witch clans in front of him. Maybe if this thing with Sydney turned out to be really serious, and it looked like they were going to make it permanent — well, maybe then I’d feel safe confiding in him. Until then, Connor and I would just have to pretend to be another normal couple.

So I took the time to freshen up a little, to change into a long-sleeved white T-shirt and black wool jacket, and fuss with my hair so it wasn’t quite as much of a mess as usual. Connor seemed to guess my mood and went down to the study/library to look at the books on the shelves there.

I’d just finished slipping a pair of silver hoops in my ears when he came back into the bedroom, a paperback in one hand. “I hope that’s not Valley of the Dolls,” I said. “I don’t want you getting corrupted.”

“Too late for that.” But he was smiling, so I knew he’d meant it as a joke. “No, hate to disappoint you, but it’s just a copy of The Client.”

“As if I’m going to give you much time to read,” I teased.

The smile faded. “We don’t have to stay here, you know. We can go out with your friends and just head back to Flagstaff at the end of the evening.”

“No,” I said at once. “I’m not going to go running back with my tail between my legs. This is my town and my clan, dammit. Sooner or later they’ll get their heads out of their asses. I was probably being naïve thinking they were going to welcome you with open arms.”

“It just shows you’re the better person.” He shifted the paperback from one hand to another, then turned it over, as if intending to read the copy on the back. But his gaze remained fixed on my face. “I said I’d do what you want, Angela, and I meant it. But there’s no shame in leaving here and regrouping if you’re not comfortable.”

I hesitated. Never in my life would I have thought I’d consider Flagstaff a place of refuge. And it wasn’t, really. Connor’s apartment, yes, but I realized that was because it was Connor’s. I had him with me here. It was enough. I could do this.

“I know that,” I replied. “Let’s just go out tonight and clear our heads, and then tomorrow let’s see if giving them all a night to think about it has helped any.”

“Deal.” He glanced up at the clock on the mantel. “Still too early to go?”

It was a little after five. “Close enough. We’ll have to wait anyway, and if we get a table before Syd and Anthony get there, it’s no big deal. They’ll find us. The place isn’t that big.”