Believe: The Complete Channie Series (96 page)

An inappropriate giggle escaped Channie’s throat, but laughing felt better than crying. “He calls it exotic dancing, but he’s a male stripper.”

“No way! Ain’t no woman gonna pay to see that kid’s scrawny ass.”

“Once he started getting regular meals, he filled out real nice.”

“You still got a thing for Hunter?”

“No! I’m in love with Josh.” As if to prove her point, a blast of golden light shot out of Channie’s chest. She pressed a hand over the glow and closed her eyes.

She’d felt their bond tugging at her heart sporadically ever since Momma had erased Josh’s memory, but more frequently in the past few days. A part of her wanted to believe it was because Josh was fighting the remember-not spell. She wanted to believe that he remembered her, but a bigger, more noble, part of her wanted him to stay safe, so she tried to sever the bond. It didn’t work. Josh was the only one with magic. He was the only one that had any control over their bond.

Shep kept one hand on the wall as he limped across the room. He leaned over and picked the shotgun up off the floor—then cocked it and pointed it at the floor in front of Channie’s feet. “What happens if someone kidnaps you? Does your death pledge allow for things beyond your control?”

“You can’t trick a curse. So, unless I actually believe you’re willing to shoot me, I’ll die the instant I step off the front porch.” Channie fisted her hands and held her breath.
Come on, Shep, convince me.

He sighed and lowered the gun.

Channie’s heart sank as she exhaled. “I can’t even give you a message for Aunt Wisdom without risking my life.”

She kept her gaze locked on Shep’s muddy boots. She was already tempting the curse to strike, hinting for him to ask Aunt Wisdom for help. She needed to change the subject. “Momma didn’t tell me not to talk about Hunter. Do you want to know more?”

Shep licked his lips and nodded.

“He goes by Hunter Brown and all his documents say he’s twenty-one. Oh! And he has a phone!” Shep wasn’t the sharpest tool in the shed, but Hunter was. He’d find a way to get her out of—
No!
Don’t think about that! I’m just helping two brothers find each other. I’m not trying to get rescued. I know I’ll die if I leave. No one can help me.

Channie grabbed an ink pen out of her backpack and scribbled Hunter’s number on a scrap of paper. “Go to Whistler’s Gulch and call him.”

A dull “click” startled Channie. She looked up in time to see Shep remove the live round from the barrel and put it in his pocket.

“What are you doing?”

He grinned at her as he emptied the magazine and added those shells to his pocket. “I ain’t gonna risk getting shot at as I limp outta here.”

“I’m not going to shoot you!”

“How do I know your Momma didn’t order you to shoot any trespassers?” He plucked the scrap of paper with Hunter’s number out of her hand. “Do you have more shells somewhere? I don’t want to leave you defenseless neither.”

“I’ve got a couple boxes of ammo on the top shelf of the cupboard. Momma didn’t give me any orders to shoot anyone, but I don’t blame you for not trusting me.”

“I’d like to say it was nice seeing you again, but…” He nodded at his bandaged leg. “Thanks for telling me where Hunter is and for giving me his number. I appreciate it.”

“Are you headed to Las Vegas?”

Shep winked at her. “It’s best if you don’t know the answer.”

He was right about that.

Channie’s heart ached as she watched Shep make his way down the path. He turned around at the edge of the woods and gave her a nod then disappeared into the shadows. She hoped he’d be long gone before Momma came home. A feeling of dread settled over Channie as she nailed a quilt over the gaping hole in the front door. There was no telling what Momma’d do to her when she saw the damage.

Josh
wasn’t surprised to find Kassie waiting for him after third period. She grabbed his arm and dragged him to his car. “I’ve already called in our order at Chili’s. We need to talk.”

Neither of them said anything on the way to the restaurant. Josh ran in and grabbed their order then returned to his car. “What’s up?”

Kassie cocked her head to the side and raised her eyebrows. “Are you kidding me?”

“Well…other than all this magic crap.”

She punched his arm. “What happened this morning?”

“What have you heard?”

“Eric’s claiming that Hunter held him down while you tasered him. He’s already told Principal Whitcomb and he’s threatening to go to the police. No one else saw it, but there’re security cameras in the halls. What are you going to do?”

“I was standing ten feet away from Eric. I had my hands in front of my body. The only thing I was holding was a ball of energy…that won’t show up on video. It’s obvious I wasn’t holding a taser.”

“What about Hunter?”

“He was standing behind Eric, shielding him so I wouldn’t kill him. The curse shattered Hunter’s shield and knocked them both down. Eric turned towards Hunter right before I cursed him. I think it’ll look like Eric attacked him.”

“Do you think Hunter’ll lose his job?”

Josh shoved three onion rings in his mouth and used that as an excuse not to answer.

“He’s already gone, isn’t he?”

Josh nodded. “He said to tell you good-bye…and good luck with the baby.”

Josh expected Kassie to scream or cry or throw some sort of tantrum, but she just stared out the side window.

“Kassie? Are you okay?”

She sighed, but continued to stare out the window. “Not really.”

“Do you want to talk about it?”

Her shoulders slumped. “There’s nothing to say. He’s gone.”

“He’s coming back. As soon as he gets Channie, he’ll bring her home.”

“But then he’ll just leave again.” Tears leaked out of the corners of Kassie’s eyes. “I don’t know why I care. He’s not worth it.”

“Why don’t you just admit that you’re in love with him?”

“What good would that do?” She swiped the tears off her cheeks.

“He loves you, too.”

“Maybe. But he loves Channie more.”

As
soon as Josh got back to school, he went to the administration office and asked to speak with Principal Whitcomb. He was ushered right in.

“So, Mr. Abrim, you have some explaining to do.”

“I heard Eric Rickmond was spreading some pretty vicious rumors about me and thought I better check it out.”

“Are you denying that you attacked him with a taser?”

“How would I get a taser?”

“Yes or no, Josh. Did you use a taser on Eric Rickmond?”

“No.” Josh took a deep breath to focus his mind.
You want to believe me.
“Eric is a bully and a liar and if I had a taser I would have used it on him. But I don’t and I didn’t.”

Mr. Whitcomb nodded. “I’ve already looked at the footage from the security camera in the west hall and I’m inclined to believe you. But
something
happened. Something made Eric fall into,” he glanced at a note on his desk, “Mr. Hunter Brown.”

“Maybe Eric’s as clumsy as he is mean.”

“He also claimed that Mr. Brown restrained him during your attack.”

“Is there any evidence of that?”

“No.” Mr. Whitcomb shook his head. “In fact, it appears that Mr. Brown was simply in the wrong place at the wrong time. I need to get his story, but no one’s seen him since the incident. Have you?”

“No.”

“all right, you’re free to go.”

The loudspeaker came on as Josh walked to his fourth period class. The announcement made him smile.
“Eric Rickmond, report to the administration office, immediately.”

The rest of Josh’s day passed without incident. Kassie declined his offer to hang out and went home, claiming she had a headache. Josh suspected it was her heart that was aching, but there wasn’t anything he could do about it. His own heart continued to glow and pulse with painful light every time he thought about Channie. Which was all the freaking time.

He tossed his backpack on the floor next to the stairs and went into the kitchen to scrounge around for something to eat. The pan of cornbread was still on the counter. But all that remained was one small yellow square. Josh smiled as the flashback washed over him. The extra energy was so much better than the headaches he’d suffered before he used magic to change the effects of the random memories.

He held the treat beneath his nose and closed his eyes as he inhaled it’s sweet, buttery fragrance.
I want to remember cornbread.

He laughed out loud as he remembered. This time it was a real memory instead of a flashback. It didn’t unfold in realtime, like their kiss. But he could still see Channie, standing in the middle of a tiny shack, covered in cornmeal, and royally pissed off at the mice that had chewed a hole in the sack.

Josh considered wrapping the cornbread in foil and freezing it but that showed a lack of faith. He didn’t need to save it. Channie would make more when she got home. He shoved the entire square in his mouth and nearly choked. According to his memory, it should have melted in his mouth, but it was as dry as cardboard. He chugged half a quart of orange juice straight out of the carton then sat down and brushed the crumbs off his shirt.

He decided to call Dad and check on Liz. But when he pulled his phone out of his pocket, he noticed that he had a voice message waiting for him. From Dad.

I suppose you have your phone turned off because you’re at school. And that’s a good thing. I just wanted to give you an update on Liz. They’ve moved her to the burn unit at the University of Colorado Hospital in Aurora. She’s in critical but stable condition. The greatest danger right now is infection. She woke up and asked for me so the nurses helped me scrub up and let me in to see her for fifteen minutes.
Dad’s voice cracked. There was a long pause before he continued.

She said to give you and Channie her love.

Josh called Dad with one hand and put the juice up with the other.

“Josh?”

“Hey, Dad. I just got your message. How’s Liz?”

“About as good as can be expected. She’s in quite a bit of pain so they’re keeping her sedated. If they can’t get it to a manageable level, they’re going to put her in a medically induced coma.”

“Have they let you see her again?”

“No. In fact I won’t get to go in again until tomorrow.”

“Do you want to come home and get some rest? I’m happy to swap places with you for awhile.”

“I checked into a hotel across the street from the hospital. I don’t want to be too far from Liz. Are you and Channie doing okay?”

Josh wanted to tell Dad the truth, or at least as much of the truth as he could, but he didn’t want to add to his worries. “I think I might go to a race tomorrow. But just for fun.”

“I think that’s a great idea. I miss watching you race.”

“You can watch me race when Liz is able to come with you. Give her my love and tell her I’m thinking about her.”

“I’ll do that.”

“You sound exhausted.”

“I am. I was just heading into the shower when you called. I’m going to order some room service, look over a couple of briefs and go to bed.”