Chapter 3
Penny’s eyes flew open. “Did you hear what he said?” she hissed at Maggie. “And he didn’t even put it back where it belonged.” Her eyes shot daggers at the neanderthal’s back. A well-defined, very muscular backside, but still a neanderthal’s.
“Finally,” Cal said as they approached. Both men turned, and Penny felt Maggie stiffen.
“Penny and Maggie, this is Bash Vetter, and you probably already know Lucas Rodriguez, although maybe only Maggie does?” Cal tugged at his cap like he did when he was nervous.
“Maggie, great to see you again.” Lucas leaned in as if to hug her, but Maggie stuck her hand out, blocking him. He looked at her hand and smiled before shaking it and then shaking Penny’s. Maggie flexed her fingers.
“Nice block,” Bash said, sounding amused, and Maggie blushed. “And nice to meet you.” Penny kept her hands in her pockets and gave him a tight smile.
“Do you still want to do the Bigger Falls, or was practice too tiring?” Penny asked, moving toward the exit. The sooner they started, the sooner they’d be done with these men. One hated books and the other upset Maggie. And her baby brother was too clueless to notice the undercurrents of dislike, bless his heart. She needed to get Maggie alone to find out what was going on. All three Buchanan sisters were well-liked—a side-effect of their gifts, and only the people closest to them saw their real selves—but Maggie was everyone’s favorite. She oozed warmth and goodness, but Penny had never seen her react like this.
“What’s the difference?” Bash asked, opening the door. The heat smacked her in the face and Penny slipped on her sunglasses. They’d protect her eyes, and she could roll them to her heart’s content with no one seeing. Her poor peepers would be tired, and Penny chuckled, envisioning her eyeballs relaxing and putting up their feet after the hike. That could be a cute children’s book.
“Bigger Falls is a little longer and to get the best view you need to leave the paved trail, which is why most people wear appropriate shoes,” Cal said, pointing at Maggie’s sandals. Penny fought the urge to intervene between her squabbling siblings. Given their easygoing temperaments, Cal and Maggie rarely squabbled.
“I’ll be fine,” Maggie said as they approached Cal’s fully loaded, fresh-off-the-line, black pickup truck. He’d bought the beast after signing his contract with the Tetons. His old, smaller truck, which was a hand-me-down from their dad, was now ranch property. Nanna happily bounced around the property in the smaller truck since it was easier for her to load her supplies into.
“Maggie and I will meet you at the trailhead,” Penny said, unlocking her car which beeped at them from a few rows away.
“We can all fit in mine,” Cal argued, opening a back door, and resting his foot on the running board. He looked so proud of his baby, but in typical, oblivious Cal-fashion, he hadn’t picked up on his sisters’ distress. Maggie didn’t want to be near Lucas, and Penny didn’t want to be trapped in a truck with a book-hating monster.
“Last one there buys desserts,” Maggie said over her shoulder as she sprinted toward Penny’s car with Penny close on her heels. Maggie yelped when the back of her thighs hit the hot seat. Penny tossed her cross-body bag onto the back seat—she hated driving with it strapped to her chest—and carefully slid behind the wheel. The men scrambled into the truck as she carefully backed out. Cascade City’s tourist season was in full-swing and Penny didn’t want to get hit by someone looking at Tumble Falls instead of where they were going.
“Do you want to tell me what that was about?” Penny asked as she pulled into traffic.
“Why aren’t you breathing hard?”
“Because running away from men isn’t the only running I do,” Penny said, hoping Maggie would finally take the hint and join her on her morning runs. Maggie always complained that morning came too early and there wasn’t a bra built to secure her girls. Penny agreed with her on the first complaint. Morning did come too early, but running had too many benefits for her and it kept her powers strong. And after much trial and error, and a small fortune, Penny had found a bra that worked for her. Maggie could, too, if she wanted. But she didn’t. So, Maggie stayed cuddled up in bed in the morning while Penny hit the streets.
“They’re gaining on us, and with your slow-poke speed, Cal will easily overtake us.”
“Feel free to buy your own getaway car.” Penny changed lanes and saw the flash of guilt on Maggie’s face. Maggie didn’t have a car. When hers died, the sisters fell into the habit of sharing Penny’s little hybrid.
“What are you doing?” Maggie screeched as Penny slowly approached the intersection. They were next to an immaculate older sedan in front of Cal, with a minivan behind them.
“Wait…for…it.” Penny turned her head, checking traffic. The cars on the cross street were still stopped. The light turned yellow and, just as she hoped, the sedan braked, and Cal didn’t have room to change lanes. Penny punched the accelerator, and they raced through the intersection just as the light turned red.
Maggie clapped her hands and squealed. “That was the best! You should have seen Cal’s face. Oh my gosh, Penny. You’re my shero,” Maggie said between laughs.
“That’s the longest light in town, and with this heavy traffic, he won’t catch up,” Penny said, pleased that her plan had worked. She’d seen it in a movie and had always wanted to try it. “Now, will you tell me what that was about?”
“What what was all about?” Maggie asked.
“The fact that you couldn’t get away from Cal’s roommates fast enough.”
“You heard Bash say the movie’s always better. For his own safety, I needed to get you away from him.”
“I’m ignoring his boorish comment, but I was referring to your insta-hate of Lucas. What was that all about?”
Maggie shrugged. “We were at Valley Community together. I just don’t like him.”
“That’s not like you. You like everyone. Did something happen?”
“No. But he was like my own personal dementor sucking the joy out of my life until he transferred to State.”
“Dementors were the worst creatures in Harry Potter. I’m sorry you had to go through that.” Penny gave her a sympathetic smile.
Maggie shrugged. “What doesn’t kill ya’ makes ya’ stronger and all that crap.”
“You haven’t seen him in what, seven years? You’ve changed. Maybe he has, too?” Penny pulled into the crowded lot and parked in the last shaded space. “I want you to be happy and I want Cal to be happy, but he won’t be happy if he knows you’re unhappy and uncomfortable. This is important to him.”
“You want me to be nice to the person who made my life miserable?”
“For Cal. Yes. And for you.” Penny was about to offer more sage sisterly advice when Lucas opened Maggie’s door, and from the look on his face, Penny knew Maggie had it all wrong. He didn’t want to suck the joy from her life; he wanted to be a source of it.
Bash opened her car door. “Nice trick.” He sounded impressed.
“No trick. All skill,” Penny said, unbuckling her seat belt. It surprised her that Mr. The-Movie’s-Always-Better hadn’t already seen it in one of the gazillion car chases he’d probably watched. Ugh. This hike won’t end soon enough, Penny thought, regretting her play nice lecture to Maggie. She’d have to follow it, too.
“Let’s go,” Cal said, heading for the trailhead. Penny grabbed her bag from the backseat and cracked the windows before sliding out and locking the doors. Maggie trotted after Cal with Lucas glued to her side. Penny was stuck with Bash. Bash? What kind of stupid name is that? It’s like he was destined to play football.
They followed in silence, and Penny felt the energy radiating off him. Even after a full day of practice, he had energy to spare. If she was an athlete and had already put in a full day of work on the field or in the weight room or whatever else they did, hiking was the last thing she’d want to do. She’d be on her couch with a book in hand.
Lucas’ voice floated back to them, mixed with one-word answers from Maggie. Penny couldn’t make out the words, but she knew Maggie wasn’t trying. You’re not either.
“Hows’ the house working out? Is Cal doing his share?” Penny asked.
“It’s good. Lots of room and it’s close to the stadium, which is nice.”
“And Cal?”
“He’s fine.”
“Really? You’re not having to pick up his stinky socks in random places, make him an emergency sandwich, or deal with wet towels on the bathroom floor?”
The corner of his mouth twitched. “We have our own bathrooms, so towels aren’t an issue, and I haven’t seen any socks lying around. He did trick me into making him a sandwich, but I was making one for myself, so it wasn’t a big deal.”
“Well, watch yourself. Sandwiches are the gateway to full-meal requests.”
“Lucas cooks and we clean. Cal’s a good person.”
Penny’s insides warmed. As the baby of the family, and the only boy, they pampered and spoiled him. Nanna joked Cal was the family’s prized pig, but Cal was one of Penny’s favorite people. He was easygoing and kind and quick to smile. People were drawn to her and her sisters by their magics’ low magnetic frequency, but Cal wasn’t a witch. If someone liked Cal, it was genuine. The dunderhead next to Penny didn’t impress her, but if they both liked Cal, maybe he wasn’t as bad as she thought he was. She shouldn’t give up on him.
“Where did you grow up?”
“New York.”
“City?” she asked, wondering if they knew similar haunts.
“Of course.” Arrogance oozed out of him, as if growing up on a tiny island made him superior. She’d bumped into that attitude a lot when she’d lived there that brief summer. Living in the greatest city on the planet did not inherently make its citizens great. There were lots of great cities with lots of great people, but great people were everywhere, even in Cascade City. “Get Lost is an odd name for a bookstore.”
“How so?” she asked, playing dumb.
He shrugged. “It’s not very welcoming.”
“The store’s real name is Get Lost in a Book Store, but over the years, customers shortened it to Get Lost. If you can read the sign, you’ll see the word In stacked above the A.” Penny knew the answer by rote, and it never bothered her to explain it until now. Most people were curious. He was judgmental.
“It must be nice working for your aunt.” His tone suggested she was a charity case. For Cal’s sake, she’d tried to be nice, but this guy pushed all her buttons, reminding her of her questionable life choices.
“You know—”
Bash yanked her against him as a biker sped around the corner yelling, “Sorry,” as he zoomed past, sounding far away. Or maybe she was far away and having an out-of-body experience, because right now, tucked firmly against Bash’s body, was the best place on earth. He was warm and solid against her cheek and his large hand pressed against her lower back.
Penny forced herself from the cocoon of his body. “We should probably catch up.” She didn’t wait for him to follow, assuming he would, but not caring if he didn’t. Bash Vetter needs to come with a warning label. If she didn’t know better, she’d think he had the gift, too, but his energy was wrong for that. He was nervous, with a hint of desperation, which was nonsensical. People were rarely nervous around her. Besides, he was too arrogant to be nervous.
He was a good-looking, good-smelling puzzle. Knowing what people wanted was her primary gift, but his pieces didn’t fit together. Ignorant, arrogant, irksome man. She scowled.
“Bad day at work?” Cal asked, walking backward facing them. Maggie had a false smile plastered on her face, so Penny assumed Cal was asking her.
“Pretty good, actually,” Penny said. “We got another shipment of Gloria Sebastian’s latest thriller, which we weren’t supposed to get, and it was perfect timing since we were down to our last two, and five teens showed up for the teen book club.” She didn’t mention the rejection letter from Sebastian’s team. It was too raw.
“Did any of them read the book?”
“Yes.” Penny stuck her tongue out at Cal. Her love and support of book clubs was a running joke in the family. Penny considered herself to be a book club matchmaker. She knew the right group for people to join and she knew the perfect books for them to read.
“Did you hear back from her publicist?” Maggie asked. Penny winced, wishing she could lie, but Maggie would find out the truth, eventually.
“We got a nicely written rejection email. So sincere and heartfelt I actually taped it to the wall.” Taped? Stabbed? Almost the same, right?
“Maybe that’s why you got the extra books,” Bash said.
“That’s not how this usually works.” Penny sounded as if she was talking to a five-year-old. Cal’s eyebrows raised. She’d embarrassed him and she didn’t enjoy the feeling. Luckily, the oaf next to her hadn’t caught her patronizing tone.
Maggie asked Lucas about practice, and Penny could have kissed her for changing the topic to something that focused on the men. If Lucas and Bash were like most of the men she’d dated, they’d carry the conversation for the rest of the afternoon, and she wouldn’t need to say much other than a few ahas and reallys?
“Good. Hard. The coaches are pushing us more since opening day is getting closer,” Lucas said.
“And they keep adding plays to the playbook, which doesn’t help,” Bash added.
“Is that just x’s and o’s or do you need to read words, too?” Penny asked sweetly, forgetting her plan to keep her mouth shut. But she couldn’t resist. He’d practically gift wrapped the insult for her.
Bash snorted. “Words and diagrams, and for the record, I know how to read more than a playbook.” He smirked, and Penny rolled her eyes, hoping he wouldn’t see the guilt in them. He wasn’t as dumb as she assumed, but reading doesn’t make him a reader.
A person had to read road signs, menus, social media posts and other information, but that didn’t make them a reader. A reader was someone who read for pleasure, who wanted to learn new things or travel to new worlds, who wanted to discover more about the world and about themselves, who considered books to be their faithful companions.
Cal led them off the paved trail to the more challenging one used by the locals. They walked in single file up the rooted trail, and the rocks loomed in front of them. It was a steep, two-step, natural stone staircase. With this height and athleticism, Cal easily climbed them, but Maggie and Penny had more unique approaches. Maggie boosted herself up by placing her knee on the next level, but Penny set her butt on the step, turned around and then stood up.
Penny stood at the bottom, willing her eyes not to watch as Bash made his way up the stone stairs. He wasn’t as fast as Cal, but that only made the appreciation and torment last longer. She watched, fascinated, as his muscles bunched, then smoothed. Contracted and released.
Maggie bumped her shoulder against Penny’s, knocking her out of her trance and hopefully knocking some common sense back into her. “Maybe if Lucas watches you as intently as you watched Bash, my worries will be over,” she whispered.
Penny peered over Maggie’s shoulder, and Lucas flashed her a grin. The man oozed besotted. “Good luck with that,” Penny laughed at her sister’s predicament as she started her butt-turning ascent. It was inelegant at the best of times, but now, with four people watching her—two from above and two below—she felt gauche and gawky. If she’d been alone, she’d have used magic for an extra boost.
Bash held his hand down to her. She hesitated. Embarrassment about her childish climbing method settled on her. She didn’t want Bash’s help, but he nodded encouragingly at her, as if she hadn’t made a fool of herself. She couldn’t use magic, but she could use a helping hand.
Penny huffed and placed her hand in his. Bash pulled her up next to him, but he didn’t release her hand. He focused on Maggie and Lucas below, and Penny felt his energy shift. He was still nervous, but it wasn’t as hard and sharp as it had been.
“Come on, Maggie. We’re losing daylight,” Cal complained. Maggie flipped him the bird before starting her ascent.
Bash dropped Penny’s hand and grabbed Maggie’s. Between Lucas’s push and Bash’s pull, she practically flew to the top. Maggie glared at Cal as she caught her breath.
“What?” he asked, wiping his face on shirt sleeve.
“At least someone has manners. Thank you, Bash, and Lucas.”
“Yes, thank you, Bash,” Penny said quickly, realizing she’d been focused on the hand holding and not the climbing.
“Well, you both seem more than capable, so maybe I should be thanking you for letting me help,” Bash said, sounding about as uncomfortable as Penny felt.
No one spoke as they looked at Bigger Falls in front of them. To the west was a glimpse of Biggest Falls and to the east was the dense forest.
“Well, it’s not Niagara Falls or Yosemite, but it’s charming. Do we go back the same way?” Bash asked.
“Is Mother Nature making you itchy?” Penny asked, resisting the urge to push him into the gorge. But, if he called Cascade City—with its three hundred thousand plus citizens—quaint, all bets were off, and the Tetons would need to find a new starting quarterback.
“No, just asking a question. I like it up here. Mother Nature doesn’t make me itchy.” Bash sat down, draping his legs over the ledge.
“There’s an easier trail to the left we take going back. As hard as the rocks are to get up, they’re even tougher to get down,” Maggie said, joining him on the ground but not close to the ledge. Sandwiched between the two witches, his nervousness should have quieted, but it didn’t. One more puzzle piece that doesn’t fit with this guy.
They drank in the beauty of the Cascade Mountains with the quiet roar of the falls surrounding them.
Lucas’ stomach growled. “It sounds like Lucas needs feeding. We should head back,” Maggie said. They both had granola bars in their bags, and Penny mentally applauded her sister for not offering them. The sooner they got moving, the sooner she could relegate Bash Vetter to a bad memory.