“That’s a tall order. I hope it won’t be a problem anymore, now that all the wizards are gone.”
“All you need is a good cover story in case you do notice something.”
“I’m glad you’re going back,” he said after a few miles of listening to the radio. “Not that I don’t love having you here, but now that I’ve seen what’s going on and what you can do, I think you belong there.”
“I don’t do anything.”
“Yes, you do. You’re the glue, the backbone, the stuff that holds everything together. I could see it during that fight. I was really impressed. My baby sister is all grown up.”
“Stop it, please, before I hurl. I don’t know how to deal with my brothers taking me seriously.” He reached over and ruffled my hair, I whined in protest, and all was right with the world.
Once the plane landed at LaGuardia, time really seemed to slow to a standstill as all the people ahead of me took their own sweet time getting their carry-on bags out of the overhead bins and then inching down the aisle. The corridor to the baggage claim stretched out miles ahead of me, and then I was finally there. I searched the baggage claim area for Gemma and Marcia, whom I’d let know I was coming, but they were nowhere in sight.
Then I saw a familiar face. Make that two familiar and very odd faces belonging to a pair of goofy gargoyles. A skinny, bug-eyed one stood on the shoulders of a heftier, squatter one. I knew the rest of the people in baggage claim saw an odd-looking chauffeur. The one on top held a sign reading “Katie Chandler.”
I made my way over to them. “Hey, Rocky and Rollo,” I said.
“Greetings!” Rocky said. He jumped off Rollo’s shoulders and added, “Go find your bags and Rolls here will carry them for you.” I wasn’t sure I wanted to know what ordinary people would see when the two of them split like that. I pulled my bags off the carousel, then Rollo levitated them over to Rocky, who led the way outside.
As I stepped out into the busy, noisy area full of honking cabs, town cars, and shuttle vans, I caught a glimpse of something bright red.
I focused on it and noticed that it was a red shoe. A red high-heeled stiletto. And holding it was one of the most handsome men I’d ever seen, dark-haired and blue-eyed, with a shy smile that could melt your heart. He stood leaning against a silver town car.
“Maybe you could help me with something,” he said. “I’m looking for the lady who fits this shoe.”
“Funny, I have a shoe just like that.” I was rather proud of how calm and cool I sounded, even though my heart was pounding and I was afraid I’d either faint or cry.
I’m not sure who moved first, but soon we were in each other’s arms, kissing like we’d been separated for months instead of only a day. In a way, I suppose we had been apart for months, our recent adventures aside.
“I’m glad you came back,” he said when we finally pulled apart.
“I am, too.”
Rocky and Rollo finished loading the trunk with my bags. “Okay, ready to head out, boss?” Rocky asked Owen.
Owen opened the back door. “After you,” he said.
I got in the backseat, buckled my seat belt, and held on for the wild ride I knew was ahead of me in the crazy life I’d chosen.