Charley shook her head, let her hair fall across her face. “Of course you can’t. James couldn’t. No one can tell me who’s calling the shots, yet they want me.” She waved her hands in the air. “Never mind.” She cut herself short and finished the distance to the car.
Cael held the door wide. As she slipped into the back seat, she clung to the frame. “This doesn’t mean I agree, just that I’ll let you drive me. Then we can waste time fighting about it.”
“Of course.” Cael nodded.
Two door slams later, the engine purred, and the car exited the school’s lot. On the highway, tires rolled to a smooth cadence. Lulled, Charley let herself fall into a memory from so long ago, she with her three friends in the back of a limo-fun the only rule.
Rarely did they have a driver. Cael as a passenger meant whoever called for her held power and authority.
A change of lanes jostled her. “Why does everyone except me know who’s called this meeting?” She peeked with one eye.
Neither man turned around.
“Some things are best left unsaid,” Cael said. “For now, the team is needed. And that means you.”
The team. She, Lily, James and Cael. An unstoppable team. The guys-
“I thought I was the one who knew everything, though?” Charley spoke without punch. Under normal circumstances, she would have been the one in the know-called for missions, adventures, projects, whatever, thanks in most part to her shape-shifting ability but also for her mind.
Cael remained mute.
She gave up. Deep breath in-out-in-out, and one muscle at a time, she unfurled the tension she’d built up in herself. She folded her arms across her chest, let her hands rest against her body and relaxed.
Alone in her thoughts, she considered the possibilities: someone famous, political, a foreign dignitary, or a family member to any of the same. Her mental list blanked on her, with no particular person standing out. That she did not know did not bode well and ratcheted up her nerves again.
Tree-lined roads flew past as they moved from highway to countryside. If they’d turned left, they’d head downtown. The opposite direction and they’d end up near Turner Point where the girl Wyatt knew as Mira disappeared but never left. A surge of memory-fueled adrenaline rushed through her.
She smiled as the images of her town passed through her mind. Suburban to the point of excessive. A railroad stop with a rich history. The trains had run since the nineteenth century and continued, blowing their horns as they passed, adding noise and disrupting traffic. She loved the contrast it held to her work-stressful and fast mixed with heritage and timeliness. Some days Charley hated the departure from small town to large. On others, her excitement got the better of her.
Trees grew more sparse, the buildings more dense as they drove on. She ignored the car as it slowed, but the sharp squeal of metal against metal took her attention. The gate before them began to move. At only a foot every couple seconds, she had time to process her location and gawk at the house to which they’d driven. Charley leaned forward-elbows on the seat in front.
Home. House. Whatever they called it, Charley termed it ‘huge’. The house on Turner Point had been hers for at least half her life. Although small in comparison to the one before her, many thought it grandiose.
The statuesque Queen Anne Victorian held its position with regal elegance. Three stories towered in the center, encircled by a wrought-iron fence. Traditional gables and ornate flourishes accented the exterior-adding to the feel royalty once lived within its walls. Charley could stand outside and marvel for hours if left on her own.
The circular drive brought them to the home’s base in short measure. Behind them, James’s car followed.
“Who’s here?” It had unnerved her for far too long to be deliberately kept out.
What they’d asked her to do-to be-would not be difficult. If it required education, skill or stamina, she’d educate herself or acquire the ability. With Lily’s help, she’d look the part.
The question of why bothered her most.
James and Lily flanked her within seconds.
“You guys made good time.” Charley crossed her arms, stood with her feet shoulder width apart. “But I’m still royally pissed you won’t tell me who’s called us.”
A creak preceded a lazy, enchanted swing of a white-washed panel door.
As its angle widened, the group waited.
From within, a man stepped. Under his weight, the porch groaned.
Charley gasped. Her body swayed.
James caught her before she hit the concrete but not before she understood.
There could be no mistake.
“Just give her a second,” Lily said.
“I told you she’d probably pass out.” James’s voice carried to Charley.
“I’m glad you were there,” Cael said.
The ruffling of paper suggested the exchange of dollar bills, but she kept her thoughts to herself.
“Can I help?” Wyatt’s voice, deeper yet the same, licked at her ears.
“She’ll be okay in a sec… the heat and all.” Lily’s lie flowed like a lazy river. The wave of her hand added a small breeze across Charley’s face.
Charley hadn’t imagined she’d ever get to see him again, let alone work with him. Her team seemed to think she’d be the perfect candidate for a simple project.
“Oh Chaaaaarley!” Lily sang her name, adding a slight beat to the made up tune.
The sounds of life cleared, but Charley’s mental tsunami would burn into her psyche. With flush cheeks, she’d be the butt of jokes for the rest of the day.
She wished Wyatt would leave so she could get herself on her feet with some semblance of dignity. Yet, at the same time, she wanted him to hold her, touch her and kiss her like he had so long ago.
Lily’s hand ran over Charley’s face again, and the chill interrupted her thoughts. “Wake up, Charley.” Lily’s tone held a little more force.
Charley cracked one eye-enough to see Lily’s nose inches from hers, James at her shoulders, Cael at his and Wyatt above them all.
Heat raced back into her cheeks.
A squeeze of Lily’s hand, and Charley pulled herself out of James’s arms to sit on her own. She swayed an inch before she caught her balance again.
“Ma’am,” Wyatt said. “Should I get you a chair?”
Gone were the wisps of curls that infused his dark hair-he’d opted for a long military cut. His green eyes tugged and pulled at hers-same as before. Her fingers itched to find their way to muscles hidden under his dark suit. Soft warred with hard as small creases added to the corners of his eyes, reflecting age and wisdom.
They stood, the four of them focused on Wyatt. Charley took a deep breath, blew it out and counted.
She caught each of her companions’ gazes. “Shall we try this again?”
At their nod, she gave herself another single count.
“Let me apologize-”
