Protector(27)

Luz flashed her mother a smile, then bent down to give her a goodbye hug and a quick kiss on the cheek. Once she had stepped away, Alex bent down to do the same, while Caitlin lingered in the background, looking uncomfortable. Well, she wasn’t the only one who felt uncomfortable; he had to force himself not to wince at how frail his grandmother seemed as he embraced her, how cool and papery her cheek was against his lips. He’d had almost six months now to get used to her condition, but he was beginning to think he’d never fully accept it.

After Caitlin said a quiet goodbye to Maya, they all went back out to his SUV and got in. It would be almost seven-thirty by the time they got back to Tucson, and that was if they didn’t hit any traffic. Should he take Caitlin out for dinner somewhere, or fix something at home? For all he knew, his mother would want them both to come back to her house. Alex wasn’t sure he liked the idea of that; he’d rather have Caitlin to himself for a while, if for no other reason than she looked tired now, and having to be “on” around his mother and father and sister for dinner might be more wearing than she would like.

They were all quiet during the drive, as Phoenix finally dropped behind them, even while the sun began slipping down to the horizon. He was grateful for that, since he got the distinct impression Caitlin was fairly talked out and didn’t need his mother grilling her all the way back to Tucson. For himself — well, he wanted to talk to her some more, but not with his mother around.

To his relief, Luz only asked, “Is there anything else you need, Caitlin?” once they were off the freeway and headed back to the store.

The McAllister witch shook her head. “No, thank you, Mrs. Trujillo.”

“Luz,” his mother corrected her gently, and beside him, Caitlin managed a weary smile.

“Thanks, Luz, but I have everything I need in my luggage. Right now I think I just want to sleep for a hundred years.”

And dream? Alex wondered, but he didn’t ask. Caitlin hadn’t gone into a lot of detail, so he wasn’t sure what kind of visions she had, whether her “sight” visited her when she was asleep, or whether she had waking dreams as well. Witches could experience both kinds, depending on how their powers manifested, or so he’d been told; the last de la Paz seer had died when he was still a toddler.

“I can imagine,” Luz said, her tone gentle. “Well, the spare room at Alex’s place is very comfortable. I’m sure you’ll be fine there.”

Caitlin nodded, a lukewarm response, but Alex found he didn’t mind too much. If she’d acted too enthusiastic about staying over at his place, that might have sent up warning flags to his mother. On the other hand, maybe having Caitlin McAllister shacked up at his house was exactly what Luz wanted, since God knows his mother had been pestering him about settling down ever since Diego finally got himself hitched. Whatever her motives, Alex decided he was too tired right then to figure them out.

They pulled into the parking lot at the mercado, two spaces down from where his mother had parked her silver Lexus. By then it was full dark, except for the faintest dark orange smudge on the horizon. “I’ll go in and check to make sure everything is okay,” Luz said.

“Why wouldn’t it be?” Alex asked. “I left Manuela in charge.”

“Yes, and she has a good head on her shoulders. But it never hurts to check in.” Luz put her hand on the door handle but didn’t pull on it. Instead, she looked toward Caitlin where she was sitting quietly in the passenger seat, then said, “We will talk more in the morning. But for now, try to get as much rest as you can.” She didn’t bother to add, You’ll need it, but her meaning was clear enough.

“I will, Luz. And — thank you.”

“You are most welcome, Caitlin.” Then Luz finally did get out of the SUV, closing the door behind her before she strode purposefully through the back entrance to the store, through the break room.

Alex didn’t quite let out a sigh, but he knew he’d be lying if he didn’t admit to a certain sensation of relief. Not that he didn’t get along with his mother, but he could tell Caitlin wasn’t as inclined to talk openly when Luz was around. “So,” he said, as he turned the key in the ignition, “you hungry?”

Caitlin nodded but didn’t say anything.

“We could go out, or we could go straight back to my house and fix something there. I have some carne asada in the fridge — we can have a little barbecue. Does that sound okay?” Was that too casual? He was desperately trying to sound normal, even though nothing about this situation was even close to normal.