failure.
Isaac handed me the gingerbread latte and placed his mocha in the Jeep’s cup holder. A couple minutes of silence passed with us wrapped up in our own thoughts. There had to be an explanation for why scrying had failed.
“What about blocking our magic? Did your parents know if that was possible?”
“It is, if you possess the powers, which she doesn’t.”
I took a sip of my latte as I pondered that. “Maybe the person she’s with does.”
He parked in our favorite area of the student parking lot and faced me. “My parents and I discussed that too. If she was kidnapped, then her captor would have to be extremely paranoid to abduct a stranger and feel the need to cast a spell to block her aura from other witches. From what my dad said, they’d have to be powerful too because it requires a complicated potion. And then that brings up the question of
“Pleasant thought.”
Isaac took my hand and squeezed. “There’s still the possibility that Natalie willingly went with someone who possesses the powers and had him or her make it so we couldn’t use magic to find her.”
“And if she doesn’t want to be found, we can’t help her.” I yanked my backpack from off the Jeep’s floor.
Isaac turned off the engine. “If she doesn’t want to be found, then she doesn’t need our help.”
“Well, if she did run away, it’s shitty of her to put her family and friends through this.”
“True, but I’m starting to think that’s what happened.”
“Which would mean she’s alive.”
He smiled. “There’s my optimist.”
“And if she is, Sarah, Kaylee, Lauren, and I are going to kill her for worrying everyone sick.”
He rolled his eyes but said nothing else on the subject. Josh and Kaylee pulled into a spot a few cars to our left.
Isaac cleared his throat. His gaze flicked from me to Josh’s Mustang. “I wanted to ask you…” He rubbed the back of his head. “The winter dance is coming up. Are you interested in going?”
By the way he kept glancing past me toward the Mustang, I got the impression Josh had informed Isaac the winter dance was my favorite. Eggnog, long flowing dresses, guys in suits, mistletoe—I loved everything about it. The posters had been up at school for a week, and since Isaac hadn’t mentioned it, I figured he wasn’t into dances. I still hadn’t decided if I was going to ask him about it or not.
I said a silent thank you to Josh. Out loud, I said, “I’d love to go with you, if you’re asking.”
He cupped my chin in his hand, guiding me closer. “It’s a date, then.” His words were slightly muffled by our brief kiss.
We got out of the Jeep and walked into the school with Josh and Kaylee. The guys left us as soon as we were inside, heading to their first period classes.
In English, I put my purse on the corner of my desk and asked Kaylee, “Are you and Josh going to the dance?”
“Isaac finally asked you?”
“Yep!”
Her eyes lit up with excitement. “It’s about time. I’ve been bugging Josh for days to light a fire under his ass.”
I lowered myself onto the chair. “I’m not sure how I feel about someone having to force my boyfriend into asking me to a dance.”
“Shut up!” Kaylee shoved me. “You know you want to go, and Isaac knew he wanted to take you. The only reason he hesitated is because he can’t dance.”
“Really.” My eyes widened in mock horror. “There’s something Mr. Perfect can’t do?”
“Apparently.” She dropped her voice to a whisper. “But Josh let it slip he plans on learning—and fast.”
I couldn’t help but grin. “Want to go dress shopping this weekend?”
“Definitely.”
Brea must have decided to check out more than just Hammond Castle, because I hadn’t seen her since Sunday. The flowers in my room remained encased in ice as if awaiting her return. I was dying to ask her how that was even possible.
Dad worked late every day that week, and his absence took its toll on my brother. On Wednesday, to keep Chase from checking out the front window every few minutes for Dad’s pickup truck in the driveway, I insisted he help me make dinner.
Chase grabbed the white pouch of powdered cheese from the counter. “I got an A on my spelling test.”
I stood at the stov,e browning the ground beef for our Hamburger Helper.
“That’s great! Now I know who to go to for help.”
“I’m really good at it,” he assured me.
“I know.” I ruffled his hair. “You don’t have homework, do you?”
“Nope.”
“Good, because Dad will kill me if he found out we played all day instead of getting our schoolwork done.” I dragged the wooden spoon across my throat and feigned dying—head tilted to the side and tongue dangling out of my mouth.
Chase burst out laughing. “No, he won’t!”
Standing on a chair, he helped me add the rest of the ingredients to the skillet. He had just jumped to the floor when the doorbell rang. He raced to get it.
“Don’t open the door until we see who’s there,” I hollered after him.
Chase had his nose pressed against the glass of the side window; subtlety was not on his list of personality traits. Not wanting to be as obvious as him, I glanced through the peephole. All I saw was the back of some guy’s head. I didn’t see a clipboard, but I was sure he was selling something.
I opened the door and pointed to the black-and-white No Soliciting sticker on the glass. “Not interested!”
The guy turned. His dark eyes met mine. “I’m not selling anything.”
“Caden?” He was the last person I expected to see at my house. “Did you hear from Natalie?”
“No.” He tucked his hands into the front pockets of his jeans. “Ben told me the search didn’t go well.”
“That’s an understatement, but there’s still hope she’s alive and hiding in the tropics or someplace exotic.”
He smiled, but it appeared forced.
“If you haven’t heard from Natalie, why are you here?” Then an even better question hit me. “How’d you know where I live?”
“I didn’t. I’m here to see Michael.”
“My dad? He’s at work.”
No sooner were the words out of my mouth when Chase squealed, “Daddy’s home!” and darted out of the house.
“I have an interview with him,” Caden explained.
Dad parked in the driveway and hopped out of his truck. He handed Chase his thermos. “Hey, sport.” When he reached the porch, he said, “Sorry I’m late.”
“You’re hiring?” I whispered, thrilled that he’d finally accepted the fact he needed an assistant.
“I took your advice and put up a Help Wanted sign at the hardware store.” He held a hand out to our visitor. “Hi. I’m Michael Riley.”
“Caden. Nice to meet you.” He shook Dad’s hand.
“Come on in,” Dad said as he walked by me.
Smiling, I tucked my hair behind my ear. This was a good thing: We’d already cleared Caden as a suspect in Natalie’s disappearance. Dad wouldn’t have to work so hard. I’d get a break from brother-sitting duties. Life would
