After we cleaned up from breakfast, we took a short ride around the town to make sure things were more or less back to normal. All of Nita’s guests had checked out during the night or first thing in the morning, and there were no strange cloaked figures dancing on the courthouse square. When we stopped at Dairy Queen for lunch, there was some talk of kids setting off fireworks in the park, but otherwise, it appeared that a major magical battle had gone entirely unnoticed.
Mom held one of her big family dinners that night to say farewell to Owen. I watched him across the living room, chatting with all three of my brothers while he held Lucy. I’d been surprised earlier at how well he fit in with my family, but now I knew that wasn’t as surprising as I’d thought. As odd as my family was proving to be, he fit in perfectly, magic and all.
The rest of the family said their farewells at the dinner, so we were alone when Owen left the next morning. The odd distance I’d noticed when he first arrived was back in full force as he prepared to leave, getting his magical case from under my bed and carrying his bags out to his car. He closed the trunk and gave it a pat, then turned to me and said, “So, I guess I’d better be going. Thank your parents for being such great hosts.”
“I will. They loved having you here. I’m sure they’ll be telling me right away to invite you back any time.”
“And maybe the next time we won’t be fighting magical battles.”
“Let’s hope not.”
“Teddy and your grandmother will have to keep an eye on Dean. I think he’ll be okay, but it wouldn’t hurt to watch him.”
“That’s a good idea.”
An awkward silence fell, and I wasn’t sure what to do. Should I kiss him good-bye, hug him, shake his hand, or just wave? Did I make the first move, or should I let him? “It was good to see you,” I said at last. “I really missed you.” I figured that counted as a verbal first move. Whatever happened next was up to him.
“Yeah,” he said, looking down at the ground and turning red. “It hasn’t been the same without you.”
I could come back! I wanted to scream, but I wasn’t going to beg, not even for him.
He came around the car and opened the driver’s-side door, then paused as he stood inside the open door, leaning against the top of it. “Thanks for your help, as usual.”
“Say hi to everyone for me.”
“I will.” There was another long, uncomfortable silence. I wasn’t sure what was going through his head, but I was imagining throwing myself at him and giving him a kiss that would have drawn every naiad in a three-county area. His cheeks turned even redder, which made me really wonder what he was thinking. After a pause he said hoarsely, “I’m sorry you had to go because I screwed up.”
“It wasn’t because—”
He smiled ruefully and shook his head. “I know you didn’t blame me, but let’s face it, that’s the reason, because I have this bad tendency to lose perspective when it comes to you. But, you know, I have those same perspective problems whether you’re near or far, and it’s a whole lot easier and a lot less distracting for me to drop everything when you need help if you’re near than if you’re far away. I can’t seem to get you out of my head wherever you are.”
I was stunned silent—something I hadn’t been sure was possible. With Owen, you often had to read between the lines. Had he just said what I thought he’d said? “So, you weren’t mad at me for leaving?” I asked at last.
“I was mad at me for getting us into a situation where you felt you had to leave. And I guess I thought you were disappointed in me, like everyone else was.”
“I was worried about you. I didn’t want you to have to go through anything like that again, to have to make that choice again. And that didn’t go so well, did it?”
“All’s well that ends well. Whenever you’re ready, I’d like to have you back.” Before I could respond, he got into the car and shut the door. I stood in the driveway until his car was out of sight.
When I couldn’t even imagine a trace of him anymore, I went to my truck and drove to the store.
“Did Owen get away on time?” Dad asked when I got there.
“Yeah, his flight isn’t until this evening, so he should have plenty of time, even with any security holdups.”
“Good, good. Now, when will you be going back to New York?”
“Huh? What do you mean?”
“That’s where you want to be, isn’t it?”