Page 49 of A Touch Enchanted

The look he gave me was so cold that my blood froze. I wasn’t even sure if I was still breathing at this point. “After the meeting.”

The command in his tone had me bristling. I pushed past him and went inside, opting to sit with my parents instead of the rest of our group. When he took a seat and glanced at me over his shoulder, it was pretty obvious that he thought I was standing with the town. Which wasn’t at all fair to me. His feelings might’ve been hurt, but big fucking deal. The decisions my parents had to make in this war meant the difference between eating and not eating. As a Latham, he’d never get that. I didn’t know why I expected him to.

Voices echoed off the wood panel walls of the hall. The sheer number of bodies in the room raised the temperature by twenty degrees and I wiped the sweat off my brow with the back of my arm. It always smelled vaguely of cheese and boiled hot dogs in here. I squirmed in my seat as more people shuffled past me, giving me curious looks.

They must’ve been wondering why I wasn’t sitting up front with everyone else, now that it was pretty much known and accepted that Donovan and I were together.

The mayor stood at the podium, smug as could be, while he droned on with town business that most people didn’t care about. At the end of his spiel, he looked out on the crowd like the ringmaster of a circus. Getting down to the real reason why people had come out tonight.

“I’m ready to open the floor to other matters.” The mayor gave Wes a toothy grin. “Mr. Latham, I believe you have a proposal for the town?”

Wes stood. If looks could kill, the mayor would be little more than a pile of ash. He swallowed, knowing he’d possibly pushed Wes too far and there would be hell to pay. Wes took the stage and looked over the residents of Zodiac Cove. No doubt assessing the mood of the room and calculating his next move.

“I’d like to present a proposal to shut down the island for two days. Giving those of us with magical ability the time to manage the issue of the eels without tourists getting in the way.”

A murmur went through the crowd. That wasn’t what anyone had been expecting, including me. The mayor hadn’t been expecting it either, judging from the light purple pallor of his skin. He’d been all set for an us-versus-them war, and Wes just took the power out of his hands. It was downright brilliant.

The mayor sputtered as he joined Wes at the podium. “You’re suggesting a shutdown of the island? When all these good people depend on tourist dollars for income?”

“For two days.” Wes’s hand shook. It was taking all his will not to slam his fist into the mayor’s face. “I think we can agree those eels aren’t helping anyone’s summer income. Give us time to dispose of them, then it will be business as usual.”

It was both rational and reasonable, and as I looked around the room, I could tell that the crowd at large agreed. Those eels weren’t helping anyone’s business. It had only been a day, and half of the week’s reservations had already been canceled.

“Let’s put it to a vote.” By the mayor’s resigned tone, he too had read the room. “All in favor of shutting down for two days to allow for the removal of the eels, raise your hand.”

Seventy-five percent of the hands shot into the air. The ones who didn’t raise a hand either didn’t have businesses affected by beach traffic or had simply just come to watch and didn’t care what happened here one way or the other.

“Fine.” The mayor’s lips pinched tight in anger. “We’ll shut down for two days, starting tomorrow. But if you and your friends try any more funny business like this—”

“I know you’ve got a vendetta against Thora because she refused to kiss your ass, but if you think we’re responsible for these eels, you’re a lot dumber than you look.” Wes stared him down. With his unwrinkled linen suit, bowtie, and handlebar mustache, the mayor looked like the lost member of a barbershop quartet. “And believe me, that’s saying something.”

At Wes’s words, a few people in town narrowed their eyes, as if they were just now putting two and two together and realizing the mayor’s warnings about magic were a lot more personal than he’d first let on.

The mayor pulled on his collar. “Meeting adjourned.”

The high I rode from watching Wes beat the mayor at his own game didn’t last long. I caught Donovan’s eye, but he just shook his head and walked away. When I finally made it outside the hall, he was gone.

Chapter sixteen

Donovan

BythetimeIgot home, I’d cooled off some, but I was still pissed she’d lied to me. Overhearing her telling her parents not to stand with us had been a punch to the gut. She’d asked for my trust, I’d given it to her, and she couldn’t do the same for me. I couldn’t deny that it hurt like hell. I thought we’d gotten past those types of obstacles.

I grabbed a beer and went out on my back porch. I couldn’t even sit on my damn swing. If we didn’t fix this shit, I’d tear it down and light it on fire. Every time the wind blew or a branch creaked, my pulse jumped, expecting to hear her airy footsteps. I fully expected her to come marching through my front door with an explanation, or at the very least, to light me up for leaving her at the meeting.

But that didn’t happen.

The more time that passed where she didn’t show up, the more I stewed and drank. It was an ugly combo, and if I’d had half my wits about me, I would’ve been glad she’d decided not to show up tonight to see me like this.

An hour later, there was a knock at my door, followed by a series of barks. Sandy came charging through the back slider with Wes on her heels. She panted and jumped all over me, knocking my beer into the grass. It had been a few days since she’d been home and it was nice to know I was missed. Even the shittiest days could be made better by a dog.

Wes crossed his arms and leaned against the railing of my porch. “Brought Sandy back from Mom and Dad’s. Figured you could use someone who’s happy to see your ugly face.”

I flipped him off and went inside to grab two more beers. I popped the tops and passed one over to him. “Meeting didn’t go the way we’d planned.”

“Had to read the room, brother. Chase was setting us up to be the Jokers of his Gotham. Lucky for all of us, I’ve been blessed with brains as well as looks.”

“What’s two days going to do for us?”

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