Page 22 of Enduring Magic

Autumn snorted.

“You don’t think so?” A sick feeling settled in the pit of Summer’s stomach. There had been a lot of misunderstandings and breakups back then. Too many for her liking. And now, the others acted as if they knew something she didn’t, and she was going to feel foolish if she learned anything bad about Coop at this stage.

“Oh, no, Ido. One thousand percent. I just think it’s funny you’re trying to reason with the squirrel mafia’s kingpin, one who has a brain the size of a pea, I might add.”

“Pea?! Why, I’ll…” In the face of Autumn’s challenging stare, Saul backed down, but not without grumbling under his breath.

“We’re losing the point of the conversation here. Where’s the ring?” Summer demanded, done with the games.

“Can’t say.”

“Can’t or won’t?”

“Can’t. I’ve been spelled to secrecy.”

“Oh, for fuck’s sake!” Autumn scooped him from Summer’s palm. “You stay here, sister, and I’ll get to the bottom of this.” With that, she sailed out the door, leaving Summer to recommence her meltdown.

* * *

“We’ve got a problem, C.C.”

Coop turned from where he was straightening his tie in the cheval mirror and glared at Keaton. “I fucking hate those words. Every single time you say them, it’s more than a problem. It’s a crisis.” He dropped his head back and inhaled deeply. When he was marginally more centered, he asked, “What’s the problem?”

“I can’t find the ring.”

His stomach dropped. “Which ring?” But he suspected he already knew.

“Yourring. Or rather, the ring you intended to give to Summer.” Keaton looked ill.

Coop gripped his brother’s upper arms and gave him a hard shake. “What do you mean? Where the hell did it go?”

“I don’t know. One second, it was in the box on the dresser in Zane’s room, then it was gone.”

“Jesus H! You hadonejob, Keat.One!And I can’t get married without it. Summer and I designed those damned rings. Where am I supposed to come up with one in”—he checked his watch—“less than an hour? I’m a fire elemental and a piss-poor one at that. It’s not likeIcan remake it.”

“Didn’t Knox create them in the first place? Get him to whip up another one.”

“He mined the metal. From some sacred place that can only be accessed at the peak of the lunar cycle or some mystical crap like that.” Coop ran shaking fingers through his hair. “Summer’s going to be heartbroken.”

And in turn, he would, too. He’d bruised her heart on one-too-many occasions in the past, mostly with doubts and misunderstandings. Oh, she’d put on a brave face because that’s what Summer did when faced with adversity, but Coop never wanted to see disappointment in her wide blue eyes again. His stomach churned at the thought.

“We’ll find it, C.C.”

“Let’s start where you saw it last. Maybe the dresser got bumped, and it rolled under…”

The emphatic shaking of Keaton’s head made him want to wallop his brother.What best man loses the ring?

“I’ve already checked.”

“We are damned well going to check again. As a matter of fact, we’re going to look under every piece of furniture in that freaking room, and then we’re going to look in the vacuum cleaner canister just in case one of the Thornes went crazy cleaning this morning.”

“Dude, they’re a family of witches. They don’t clean when they can snap their fingers and have everything pristine in a second.”

Coop shoved his brother, none too gently, toward the door. “Come on.”

As soon as he whipped open the door, Coop saw Autumn hurrying down the hall. The second she spotted them, she stopped short and tucked one arm behind her back. An uncomfortable expression flashed across her face, quickly replaced by her standard sassy smile.

“Hey, fellas. What’s up?”

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