Hand shaking as she pointed to the back of the church, she took a breath to start in again, gulping it back when Jenks kissed her soundly, wrapping her slim form in his arms and body, their wings somehow not tangling as they hovered in the hallway.
Ill take care of it, love, he said when they parted, his emotion so earnest that I dropped my eyes, embarrassed. Matalina fled to the desk in a dusting of mortified red, and after grinning at us in some masculine display ofmasculinity, Jenks flew to the back of the church.
Jack! he shouted, the dust slipping from him a brilliant gold. You know better than that. Get your brothers and get out here. If I have to dig you out, Im going to clip your wings!
Huh. Ivys long fingers carefully picked up a cracker. Ill have to try that.
What? I asked, shifting to prop my clipboard up on my knees.
Ivy blinked slowly. Kissing someone from agitation into bliss.
Her smile widened to show a slip of teeth, and a sliver of ice dropped down my spine. Fear mixed with anticipation, as unstoppable as jerking my hand from a flame. And Ivy could sense it as easily as she could see my embarrassed flush.
Pulling herself upright, she stood. I blinked up at her as she stretched, and brushing past me in a wave of vampire incense, she headed for the door as the doorbell rang.
I got it, she said, her pace provocative. David left his hat.
My exhaled breath was slow and long. Damn it, I was not an adrenaline junkie. And Ivy knew we werent going to shift our relationship in either direction. Stillthe potential was there, and I hated that she could flip switches in me as easily as I could flip them in her. Just cause you can do something, doesnt mean you should, right?
Exasperated with myself, I grabbed the empty cracker plate and headed for the kitchen. Maybe I needed a midnight run myself to clear my head of all the vamp pheromones in there.
Cat in the house! came Ivys call, and then a different voice filtered in, stopping me cold.
Hi, Im Marshal.
If the mellow, attractive voice hadnt jerked me to a halt, the name would have, and I spun in the hallway.
You must be Ivy, the man added. Is Rachel in?
Four
Marshal? I exclaimed as my thoughts realigned and I figured out who was standing in our threshold. What are you doing here? I added as I headed back.
He shrugged and smiled, and the cracker plate dangled from my hand as I pushed past a belligerent Ivy to give him a one-armed hug. Dropping back a step, I warmed, but damn, it was good to see him. I had felt really guilty watching him swim back to his boat last spring, having to go on hearsay that he made it back all right and that the Mackinaw Weres were leaving him alone. But not contacting him had been the best thing to ensure his anonymity and safety.
The tall, wide-shouldered man continued to grin. Jenks left his hat on my boat, he said, extending the red leather cap to me.
You did not come all the way down here for that, I said as I took it, then squinted at the dark shadow of an infant beard on him. Youve got hair! When did you get hair?
Taking off his knitted cap, he ducked his head to show its fuzz. Last week. I brought the boat in for the season, and when Im not wearing a wet suit, I can let it all grow back. His brown eyes pinched in mock agony. I itch like crazy. Everywhere.
Ivy had moved back a step, and setting the cracker plate on the table beside the door, I took his arm and pulled him in. The scent of his short wool coat was strong, and I breathed it in, thinking I could smell gas fumes mixing with the strong redwood smell that meant witch. Come on in, I said, waiting for him to finish wiping his boots on the mat before he followed me into the sanctuary.
Ivy, this is Marshal, I said, seeing her with her arms crossed over her middle and Davids hat in her grip. The guy who got me out to the island at Mackinaw and let me run off with his diving gear. Remember? It sounded stupid, but she hadnt said anything yet, and I was getting nervous.
Ivys eye twitched. Of course. But Jenks and I didnt see him at the high school pool when we returned his stuff, so I never met him. Its a pleasure. Dropping Davids hat on the small table beside the door, she extended her hand, and Marshal took it. He was still smiling, but it was growing thin.
Well, this is it, I said, gesturing to the sanctuary and the rest of the unseen church. Proof that Im not crazy. You want to sit down? You dont have to leave right away, do you? Jenks will want to say hi. I was babbling, but Ivy wasnt being nice, and shed already driven one man out of the church tonight.
Sure. I can stay for a minute. Marshal took his coat off as he followed me to the furniture clustered in the corner. I watched him take a deep breath of the chili-scented air, and I wondered if hed stay if I asked. Plopping myself down in my chair, I gave him a once-over as Marshal eased his lean swimmers body down to the edge of the couch. Clearly not yet ready to relax, the tall man sat on the edge with his arms flat on his legs.
Marshal was wearing jeans and a dark green pullover that had a backwoods look to it, the color going well with his honey-colored skin. He looked great sitting there, even if his eyebrows werent grown in yet and hed nicked himself shaving. I remembered how utterly in control he had looked on his boat, dressed in a swimsuit and an unzipped red windbreaker that showed skin so smooth it glistened and beautiful, beautiful abs. God, he had had nice abs. Must be from all the swimming.
Suddenly shocked, I froze. Guilt turned my skin cold, and I settled into my chair, heartache riding high where enthusiasm had just flowed. I had loved Kisten. I still loved him. That Id forgotten for even an instant was both a surprise and a pain. Id been listening to Ivy and Jenks long enough to know this was part of my pattern of getting hurt and then finding someone to hide the pain with, but I wasnt going to be that person anymore. I couldnt afford to be. And if I saw it, I could stop it.
But it was really good to see Marshal. He was proof that I didnt kill everyone I came in contact with, and that was a welcome relief.
Uh, I stammered when I realized no one was talking. I think my old boyfriend stole some of your gear before he went off the bridge. Sorry.
Marshals wandering attention lighted briefly on the bruise on my neck before rising to my eyes. I think he recognized something had shifted, but he wasnt going to ask. The FIB found my stuff on the shore a week later. No problem.
I didnt have a clue he was going to do that, I said. Im really sorry.
He smiled faintly. I know. I saw the news. You look good in cuffs.
Ivy leaned against the wall by the hallway where she could see both of us. She looked left out, but that was her own fault. She could sit down and join us. I flashed her a glance, which she ignored, then turned to Marshal. You didnt really drive all the way down here to give Jenks his hat, did you?
NoMarshal dropped his head. Im here for an interview at the university, and I wanted to see if you were jerking me around or if you really did have a job where you thought you could take on an entire Were pack alone.
I wasnt alone, I said, flustered. Jenks was with me.
Ivy uncrossed her ankles and pushed herself away from the wall an instant before Jenks zipped in, wings clattering. Marshal! the exuberant pixy shouted, dust slipping from him to make a sunbeam on the floor. Holy crap! What the hell are you doing here?
Marshals jaw dropped. For an instant, I thought he was going to stand up, but then he fell all the way back into the couch. Jenks? He stammered. His eyes were wide as he looked at me and I nodded. I thought you were kidding about him being a pixy.
Nope, I said, enjoying Marshals disbelief.
What you doin here, old dog! the pixy said, darting from one side of him to the other.
Marshal gestured helplessly. I dont know what to do. You were six feet tall the last time I saw you. I cant shake your hand.
Just stick your hand out, Ivy said dryly. Let him land on it.
Anything to get him to stop flying around, I said loudly, and Jenks settled on the table, his wings going so fast I could feel a draft.
Its great to see you! Jenks said again, making me wonder just why we were so glad to see Marshal. Maybe it was because he had helped us when we really needed it at great risk to himself when he owed us nothing. Crap on my daisies, Jenks said, rising up and settling back down. Ivy, you should have seen his face when Rachel told him we were going to rescue her ex-boyfriend from an island full of militant Weres. I still cant believe he did it.
Marshal smiled. Neither can I. She looked like she could use some help was all.
Ivy made a questioning face at me, and I shrugged. Okay, seeing me in a tight rubber suit might have swayed his decision, but it wasnt as if I had dressed up to romance help out of him.
Marshals eyes darted to Ivy when she pushed herself into motion. Sleek and predatory, she eased onto the couch beside him, angling herself so her back was to the armrest, one knee pulled up to her chin, the other draped over the edge of the couch. Her magazine slid to the floor when she bumped it, and she pointedly set it on the table between us with the headlines showing. She was acting like a jealous girlfriend, and I didnt like it.
Huh, Jenks said, a smile on him as he looked at me sitting with my hands clasped primly in my lap and that unusual amount of space between Marshal and myself. I guess you can teach a young witch new tricks.
Jenks! I exclaimed, knowing he was talking about me distancing myself from Marshal, but the poor witch didnt have a clue. Thank God. Incensed, I made a snatch for the pixy, and the laughing four-inch man settled himself on Marshals shoulder. Marshal stiffened but didnt move but for tilting his head and trying to see Jenks.
You said you were here for an interview? Ivy said pleasantly, but I didnt trust her mood as far as I could throw her. Which was about three feet on a good day.
Moving carefully as if Jenks might leave, Marshal eased into the cushions and away from her. At the university, he said, showing signs of nervousness.
Whats the job? Ivy questioned, and I could almost hear her think Janitor? Though not saying one cross word, she wasnt being nice, like Id asked him to come over to betray Kistens memory.
Marshal must have picked up on it, too, for he shifted his wide shoulders and tilted his head to crack his neck, clearly a nervous tick. Id be coaching the swim team, but once Im on the payroll, I can put in for a real teaching position.
Teaching what? Jenks asked suspiciously.
At that, Marshal smiled. Minor ley line manipulations. More of a high school course than anything else. A primer to bring deficient students up for the hundred-level classes.
Clearly Ivy wasnt impressed. But she probably didnt know that he had to be at a four-hundred level to instruct anyone in anything. I had no idea where my ley line proficiency put me, seeing as I was picking it up as I went along, learning what I had to when I needed it, not what was safe or prudent in a steady, progressive pace.
Cincinnati doesnt have a swim team, Ivy said. Sounds like quite a job to build one.
Marshals head bobbed, and the stubble on it caught the light. It will be. Normally I wouldnt even try for the position, but I earned my bachelors here, and coming back feels right.
Hey! Jenks exclaimed, and I shivered in the draft from his wings. Youre a Cincy boy! What year did you graduate?
Class of 2001, he said proudly.
Holy crap, youre almost thirty? the pixy said. Damn, you look good!
Almost? No, Im past it, he said, clearly unwilling to divulge just how much. But since he was a witch, it didnt really matter. Its the swimming, he said softly, then looked at Ivy as if he knew she was going to look up his records. I majored in business management, and I used my degree to start Marshals Mackinaw Wrecks. Disappointment flickered over him. But thats not going to work anymore, so here I am.
Too cold? Jenks said, either ignoring that we were likely the reason it wasnt working anymore or trying to make light of it. God, I froze my nuggie plums off in that water.
I winced, thinking Jenkss mouth was getting steadily worse. Almost as if he had to prove he was a man in front of Marshal, and the way to do it was to be as raunchy as he could. But I had heard the hint of blame in Marshals words.
The Mackinaw Weres found out you had something to do with me getting onto the island, didnt they, I said, knowing I was right when he looked at his water-stained yellow leather boots. Shit. Im sorry, Marshal, I said, wishing now Id just knocked him on his head and stolen his stuff. At least hed still have his business. Id done the right thing, and it had hurt him in the long run. Where was the justice in that?
His smile was tight when he pulled his head up, and even Ivy looked apologetic. Dont worry about it, he said. I didnt lose anything that mattered in the fire.
Fire? I whispered, appalled, and he nodded.
It was time for me to come back, he said, one shoulder rising in a shrug. I only started the diving business so I could build the capital to get my masters.
Ivys fingers, drumming on the couch, went still. Youre finishing your degree?
Saying nothing, Marshal ran his gaze over her as if estimating how great a threat she was and nodded. Hey, I have to go. Ive got a couple of apartments Im looking at tonight, and if I dont show on time, the Realtor will probably figure it was a Halloween prank and leave.