short for? Antonia, as in My Antonia . And my younger sisters’ names? Charlotte and Emily, as in Brontë.” She shakes her head. “I could talk until my tongue falls out and she’d never understand that I just want to be in a band. I don’t want to go to college and be an English major.”
“Maybe you could do both?” I ease out the question so I don’t appear to be taking Toni’s mom’s side. “Maybe not major in English but music.”
Toni starts shoving money and her ID into her jean pockets. “Maybe, but it feels like giving in. And I hate giving in to pressure.” She looks up at the sound of an engine outside. “The guys are here.” She spins back toward us, a big Toni smile plastered on her face, one that doesn’t quite reach her eyes. “Let’s go rock The Barn.”
We hurry down the stairs and out the front door before Mrs. Dawes can say anything else that might dampen the fun of the evening. And I’m in the mood for some fun. I can be careful and still have a good time. This new life might not last long, so I’m determined to enjoy it while it does.
My nerves spark and jump around inside me like thousands of firecrackers. Before this night is over, I may be in Keller’s arms dancing. At the moment, I can’t think of anything I want more.
Keller and Eric stand next to Keller’s truck.
“Good evening, lovely ladies,” Eric says as he bows in courtly fashion. He’s about to say something else when he comes out of the bow to find himself face to face with Paige.
“Paige?”
“Yes.”
I feel her anxiety from five feet away and hope Eric doesn’t crush her. I’ll be forced to make good on the tossing him off a mountaintop threat.
“Wow, you look . . . great.” He gives her a lopsided smile, and Paige looks like she might melt in response.
When I shift my attention to Keller and see him staring at me with totally unmasked appreciation, I understand how Paige feels.
“Come on, people,” Toni says as she climbs into the truck. “Let’s cut the googly eyes and hit the road before my mother decides you all are a bad influence and locks me in my room.”
Keller smiles at me. “You look nice.”
There will be enough nervous energy riding in the Tundra tonight to fuel a nuclear reactor.
As soon as Keller pulls away from the curb, his cell rings. When he glances at the caller ID, he sighs, looks like he might not answer, then hits the Send button.
“Hey, Dad.”
My blood chills at the thought of even Rev. Dawes’ voice being that close to me. I listen but can’t make out the words on the other end of the call.
“Now’s not a good time. I’m driving.” Keller pauses while his dad says something else. I notice his hand squeeze the steering wheel harder. “I’ll do it later.”
Do what later? Go hunting? Or get rid of me? Am I unknowingly riding into a trap? Have I misjudged my new friends? Could they all be in this together?
Stop it.
I manage to rein in my paranoia. Rev. Dawes probably just wanted Keller to patrol or take out some troublesome spirit. After all, the covens have been very good at concealing their true natures for hundreds of years. Despite my slips, I’ve done nothing that would suddenly allow Keller and his father to figure out the entirety of my real identity.
I resist the urge to ask if everything is okay. It’s not like he’s going to tell me the truth anyway. I’m not supposed to know what he is or how he usually spends his evenings, am I?
But the quiet that has settled in the truck, particularly the front, keeps me tense as Keller maneuvers the truck through the night. I only relax, and then just a little, when we reach our destination.
I hear the thump of the music as soon as Keller switches off the truck engine outside The Barn. Already, I’m imagining being inside, trying to dance away the anxiety gripping me, an anxiety that is ruining what could be construed as a first date.
Toni slides out of the truck and jogs toward a van where
John McEnroe;James Kaplan
Abby Green
D. J. Molles
Amy Jo Cousins
Oliver Strange
T.A. Hardenbrook
Ben Peek
Victoria Barry
William K. Klingaman, Nicholas P. Klingaman
Simon Brett