Secrets and Lies (Cassie Scot) (6 page)

“So, listen,” Nicolas said as he pulled his car into an empty parking spot about a block from the diner, “about Evan.”

“What about him?”

“I’m having trouble coming up with ways for you to void the life debt, so I had another idea.”

“Oh?” So did I, although I wasn’t ready to mention it to Nicolas yet. What I really needed to do, I reasoned, was to convince Evan he didn’t want me anymore. I just had no idea how to actually do it.

“I made an appointment with someone I think can help.”

“Who?”

“Grace Blair.” Nicolas spoke so softly I could barely make out the name, and in fact, it took me a second or two to recognize it.

“Are you kidding me?”

“Come on, Cassie. You’ve always been stubborn about her, and it’s never made any sense. Mom and Dad trust her.”

“That’s because she tells
your
Mom and Dad what they want to hear.”

I sighed. Perhaps, on some level, my dislike for Grace Blair was irrational, but I had simply never trusted her. Her family gave me the creeps and frankly, she scared me. Many thought of the ability to see the future as a passive gift, but I knew better. There wasn’t a big leap between being able to predict the future and being able to control or manipulate it, and the stronger the seer, the more damage she could do for her own personal benefit. Grace Blair was among the most powerful seers in the world, and I never could help but wonder if her family’s political success had anything to do with her gift.

But that wasn’t all of it. My mind flickered back to my father telling me about our family being in danger from the Blackwoods. Well, yeah, because he couldn’t find a way to put it in the past. He was creating his own danger, and the prophecy did nothing except confirm it, and possibly even strengthen it. How many other prophecies were as self-fulfilling?

“I don’t trust her,” I said.

“She doesn’t lie about her prophecies. It would destroy her reputation.”

“Yeah, I guess.” Which wasn’t to say that she didn’t use the truth to her own end.

“Will you at least think about it?”

“Sure.”

Luckily, we had reached the diner, so I no longer had to talk about it. Inside, the place was packed. From the number of customers milling around the lobby, I thought we would have at least a half-hour wait. Not sure I wanted to wait so long before getting started looking for Regina, I was about to suggest going someplace else, when I spotted Madison seated at what had once been our usual booth.

I smiled and waved. She didn’t seem to see me, at least not at first, because her oddly pale face was fixated on someone seated across the table from her. I could only see the back of him, but I knew instantly that it was Evan. Whatever he had said to her must have scared her half to death.

“What in the world?” I muttered under my breath.

Evan had scared most of the town over the years to some degree or another by showing hints of his power at key moments, while letting mystery and rumor fill in the rest. It was a carefully cultivated image. Madison was, in fact, one of the many people in town who feared him, but I still couldn’t picture Evan doing – or saying – anything to overtly cause that reaction.

“Oh, look,” Nicolas said into my ear. “It’s your lord and master.”

“You’re not helping.”

“And you’re not even trying. All I want you to do is visit a seer.”

Ignoring him, I wound my way through the busy diner to the booth where Madison and Evan sat. I planned to put myself between them to defuse the situation. Madison saw me first, her brown eyes showing clear relief for an instant before flickering to uncertainty. Evan turned his head, following her gaze, his initial look of annoyance quickly melting into a tense smile. The sound quality of the room suddenly shifted, telling me they had been under a veil of privacy.

“Am I interrupting something?” I asked.

Madison bit her lip and looked helplessly at me. “It’s not what you think. It was just... He was just...”

It took me a moment to realize that she was afraid I would think there was something between her and Evan. The possibility honestly hadn’t occurred to me, though I tried to convince myself I wouldn’t mind if it were. Didn’t I want him to lose interest in me?

Well, yes, but not if he then focused his interest on Madison. She was terrified of him.

“Join us,” Evan said, making a space for me to sit beside him. I doubt he noticed that he had just ordered me to sit, as opposed to offering. I tried not to resent it, since I had wanted to sit there anyway.

Meanwhile, Nicolas took the vacant space beside Madison, but he barely noticed her. He had eyes only for Evan. Hostile eyes. They looked ready to burst into flames.

Madison, for her part, looked as if she were caged in. Given the seating arrangements, she kind of was.

“Um, Nicolas.” I needed to rein in the conversation before it became hostile. “You remember my friend Madison, right?”

Nicolas gave her a quick sideways glance and a nod, then turned his attention back to Evan. “What are you doing here?”

“Having lunch?” Evan’s tone clearly showed what he thought of the question.

“With Madison?” Nicolas said.

“The diner’s full today,” Evan interjected smoothly. “Madison was nice enough to let me share her booth.”

“Oh, please,” I said.

Evan gave me a warning look, while Madison’s already pale face somehow managed to grow paler.

“Cassie,” Madison said, “it’s not what you think.”

“I know.” I tried to soften my voice, now that I realized Evan’s warning look had been for Madison’s benefit, not his own.

Kaitlin saved me by showing up with a round of sodas and taking our orders, although she still didn’t spend much time looking at or speaking to me. I mentally added her to the list of people who I had somehow neglected, and decided that the next time I had the chance, I would make her tell me what her problem was.

I stared after her when she stalked away, only returning my attention to the table when Evan took one of my hands in his and drew me around to face him.

“I tried to call you this morning,” he said.

“She doesn’t have a cell phone anymore,” Nicolas said.

“I can speak for myself,” I said.

“Yes, but I’m still mad about it,” Nicolas said.

“Can we please not argue for a few minutes?” I looked pointedly between Nicolas and Evan. “Please?”

“They caught the man who robbed the bank last week,” Madison said, supplying a much-needed topic of conversation.

“When?” I asked, my interest piqued.

“This morning. The sheriff stopped by the bank to tell us.”

“That’s great.” I tried not to think about the fact that the sheriff had not tried to get in touch with me, as I kept hoping he would.

“I can’t wait until I can quit,” Madison said.

“Have you told your father you’re only working there for the summer?”

She looked down, shaking her head. I didn’t entirely understand her relationship with her father, but I knew there was tension there. He didn’t like the idea of her teaching music. No, it was more than that. He hated the idea of her singing, and had forbidden her to do it since her earliest memories. It all seemed out of proportion to me, and had since Madison had confided the truth to me a few years back. Many parents wanted their children to have a stable, backup career, but Madison didn’t even want to perform. She was one of those rare musicians who set out wanting to teach. Besides, why forbid her to sing in the shower? That was the story that had confused me the most.

Madison’s father wanted her to work at the bank he managed. She had accepted a part-time job there for the summer, but she still planned to student teach in the fall, which would complete her requirements to become an accredited music teacher.

My hope that polite conversation would dispel the tension was dashed when Evan leaned forward to take a sip of soda. He immediately began to cough and splutter. Only then did I notice the steam coming out of his glass.

“Nicolas!” I cried.

The steaming contents of Evan’s soda cup suddenly flew out of the glass and into Nicolas’s lap. He yelped, leaping to his feet and drawing the attention of everyone in the diner who hadn’t already been looking at the strange mix of Scots and Blackwoods at the same table.

“Evan.” I laid my hand on his arm to get his attention, not expecting the intense feelings of awareness that came with the contact. Quickly, I withdrew my hand. “I’ll get you some water.”

I practically dashed for the counter, more to give myself time to calm down than anything else. If I had a magical gift of my own, it would be boiling right now, too, and even though I felt Nicolas had started it, I was just as angry at Evan. He was older than Nicolas, stronger, more practiced, more in control, and...

...and of the two, Evan was the one who could hurt me the most.

“Cassie?” a male voice asked.

My heart jumped into my throat, which said more about the state of my nerves than it did about the fact that someone had just snuck up behind me. Whirling, I found myself face to face with my ex-boyfriend, Braden.

“Hi,” I said.

“I’ve been trying to call you for days,” Braden said.

I groaned. He and everyone else, apparently. Maybe if I charged people directly for calling me, I could afford a cell phone again.

But I knew what he wanted to talk about, and now was not the best time – with Evan lurking so near. Braden planned to attend law school in Chicago in the fall, and he wanted me to go with him, possibly hoping we could get back together again. I didn’t think that would happen, although the idea of leaving Eagle Rock appealed to me more than it once had.

“I wanted to talk to you about...” he trailed off, and I was sure he had just spotted Evan.

It didn’t surprise me when Evan came up behind me and placed an arm around my shoulder, drawing me fully against him, but I did stiffen at the blatantly possessive posture.

“What do you need to talk about?” Evan asked.

To his credit, Braden didn’t shrink away, although his face grew noticeably paler. “It’s private.”

“How about if I call you later tonight?” I asked, hoping to forestall further idiotic male posturing.

“Yeah, that’s fine.” Braden looked like he wanted to say something else, but he didn’t, nor did he stick around. With a final nod of farewell, he left the diner.

“I’ll just get you that water.” I tried to pull away from Evan, but he held me close.

“Don’t worry about it. I’m fine.”

“Is Nicolas?”

“He’ll live.”

“Great. I just love the standards we’re setting.” I allowed Evan to guide me back to our table, trying not to notice the hand he kept on my lower back.

When we arrived, Kaitlin was delivering plates of food.

“Thanks,” I said, touching her on the shoulder before I sat down. I had recently developed a new appreciation for how hard she worked, but she didn’t acknowledge the gesture.

“Can I get you anything else?” she asked. I noticed she had dark circles under her eyes, as if she hadn’t been sleeping.

“Are you okay?” I wondered if I snored as loudly at night as she did.

“Fine.”

“Can I get a new Coke?” Evan asked, handing her his empty glass.

“Sure.”

After she had gone, I tried to busy myself with my French fries while I searched for a new topic of conversation. The tension between Evan and Nicolas had not eased in the slightest.

“What did he want?” Evan asked.

“I’m not sure.” I shrugged, not letting my face or posture reveal anything. The last thing I needed was for Evan to think I might leave town. I didn’t think his reluctance to order me around would survive that kind of blow.

“Are you still seeing him?”

“So what if she is?” Nicolas cut in. His face was red, his fingers drumming ominously on the table.

“No, I’m not.” I didn’t want the argument, especially since Braden and I were not, in fact, seeing each other. “We broke up weeks ago.”

“I think it broke Kaitlin’s heart, too,” Madison said, a small, uncertain smile on her face.

Beside me, Evan relaxed, though Nicolas continued his drumming.

We ate in painful silence for several minutes, until Madison once again tried to fill the conversational void.

“Are you coming to the concert on Saturday?” she asked. “My kids are performing for the fourth of July. Well, the third. Everyone was too busy on the fourth.”

There was something a little sweet about how she said, “My kids,” and I couldn’t help but smile. She had been spending some of her free time volunteering with the summer arts and music program – something else she probably hadn’t told her father about. The program was made up largely of college-aged volunteers supervised by a handful of paid employees who set the curriculum. A sliding fee structure ensured that any child could attend.

“I saw something about it in the paper,” I said.

Madison winced. “Yeah, my father saw it.”