Page 9 of A Touch Charmed

None of those things surprised me.

It’s why I’d stayed away from the only home I’d ever known for seven years.

“There has to be something else I can do right now. Some other task I can handle that doesn’t include dealing with Finn.” Audrey opened her mouth to protest, and I held up a hand to stop her. “I will deal with him eventually, but I’d rather it be on a limited basis.”

“Have her find the missing Leo.” Selene flung open the stockroom door, and I nearly fell off my stool. “Morning, Thora. Good to see you out and about.”

Audrey smirked as she took in my wide eyes and my hand pressed over my heart. “Now you see what I deal with every day.”

“You don’t know who all the fire signs are yet?” I asked.

“You and Jocelyn Everett.” Audrey lowered her voice, even though there wasn’t anyone in the store. “She’s matched with Rafe.”

“Yikes.” That certainly put my issues with Finn into perspective.

“We’re hoping we can defeat the curse without them, which we might stand a chance of doing if we can find the other fire sign. Getting Galen to work with his opposite won’t be a problem. He’ll treat it like a science experiment.” Audrey went on to explain the familial connections, which made sense in a way. Except when it came to me and Jocelyn.

“I honestly don’t have any idea,” I said.

I’d gone to high school with Jocelyn. We knew each other in the way that everyone knows each other in a small town, but she’d been a cheerleader and dated Kyle Ketner, and I was the mayor’s daughter. People used to like Jocelyn. Not many people had liked me. We didn’t have anything in common outside of fourth-period biology. Though I had a feeling our connection needed to run a little deeper than that.

“Give it some thought. See if anything comes to mind.” Audrey hopped off the counter and flipped the lock to let in a customer who hovered outside. “And that girl who was your best friend in high school? She wasn’t your friend. If you want to hang out with someone who has never wanted to sleep with Finn Wilder, my door is always open.”

“Thanks.” Her comment should’ve made me laugh, but instead, a quiet sob lodged its way into the back of my throat. How starved for affection was I if a simple offer of friendship nearly had me in tears? “And thank you for what you did at the town hall meeting.”

She waved it off. “No problem. I’ve been the object of gossip for years, but that was fucking ridiculous. Your father should’ve known better.”

“Yeah.” Except my father knew exactly what he was doing. He only played the affable idiot because that persona let him get away with his act of not knowing any better.

I said my goodbyes and stepped out into the sun. Any warmth I’d been able to gather from the early morning heat evaporated at the thought of running into more well-meaning people in town. I didn’t want to deal with being purposefully provoked so they’d have something interesting to say at their morning coffee gatherings. I didn’t need to hear about who Finn was dating as if it was an oh-so-innocent, by-the-way, did-you-know courtesy on my behalf.

There was always the long way around, but if anyone saw me, they’d assume I was headed to Finn’s house. What other reason did I have for going to that side of the island? Which would just lay more drama at my door. The only way to really avoid people would be to take one of the trails through the woods, although it would add an hour to my walk. Worth it.

The canopy of leaves offered plenty of shade and a crisp, earth-scented breeze teased the ends of my hair. Birds tweeted shrill love songs to each other across branches and insects hummed in static tune from the underside of rotted logs. All the early morning joggers had already come through and the dense overgrowth blocked out most of the sounds coming from town.

About five minutes into my walk, a thick cloud of black smoke swirled on the path before me, blocking my way. I took a step back. It rolled upward, then curved forward as if trying to sniff me out. A sense of unease trickled over me. I backed away, stumbling over an exposed root. The smoke dropped to the forest floor, forming a small wind funnel.

As it cleared, a black snake, darker than midnight ocean waters, reared its head. It lashed out. Poisonous fangs sank into my ankle. My head went light as pain seeped into my veins and crawled through my bloodstream. I let out a weak scream, but no one was around to hear me.

I was completely alone.

Chapter 4

Finn

“Shouldwetrysomethingelse?” I reached up and pulled off the wire connected to a sticker on my temple. “You haven’t put me through all your machines yet.”

“Yes, I have.” Galen pushed his wire-frame glasses up his nose and dropped his notebook and pencil on the beat-up sea captain’s trunk he used as a coffee table. “And I’ve gone through all the data. There’s been no change in your brain activity.”

“I don’t think this shit lives in my brain.” At least that’s not the head that was doing any thinking on my behalf when Thora pulled me on top of her the other day. “What about putting me on the treadmill, then seeing what happens in my chest?”

“We did that last night.”

“There’s got to be something else you want to test.”

I’d spent the last two days at Galen’s, letting him hook me up to various machines and monitor the results. Last night he concluded my head was just as empty as it had been before I’d used my powers. He could be a real prick when he wanted to be.

There were perks to staying at his cottage though. For one, Brooke brought over dinner every night. She was the chatty sort and hated eating alone, which ended up being our gain. She was an excellent cook. And two, it gave me an ongoing excuse to avoid a fight with Thora. Couldn’t go to her place and get tossed out on my ass when Galen needed me.

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