Pandora's Box (22 page)

“Why are you acting this way?”

“What way? I’m not channeling the BobGoblin.” There was amusement in his voice. “This is really just me this time. Why, do
I sound goofy?”

“No, worse. You sound distant. I thought . . . what about last night?”

He tensed, the humor, even a pretense of it, leaving him. “What about last night?”

“Well, didn’t it mean anything to you?”

“Didn’t what mean anything to me?” He sounded alarmed now.

“Oh, good god. So even pucas get cold feet the morning after. This is too much. I didn’t ask you for anything. But you gave
me the impression that we were on the same page. You know. Feelings-wise.”

She raised her eyebrows, feeling increasingly stupid when he didn’t reassure her. “Look, maybe you said more than you wanted
to say to me. Maybe you didn’t even mean half of what you said. You felt bad for me. I get that. But you can’t tell me now
that you feel nothing for me beyond friendship and gratitude. I remember everything you said and how you said it. I was there.”

“Yes. You were, weren’t you?” His voice sounded hollow. Almost as though he were speaking in her head again, but he wasn’t.
“You remember.”

“Hey, I wasn’t
that
drunk. Of course I remember. It meant a lot to me. I thought it meant something to you, too.”

He didn’t move for another few moments, and she felt the intensity of his gaze on her. Finally, he sighed and shook his head.
“I’m an idiot. I should have known better. I thought I could glam it up, make you forget—”

“
What
?”

He tensed even further, but more on an oh-shit level than anything else.

“Explain. What do you mean by glam it up?”

“It’s a fairy trait I inherited from my father.” Riordan spoke with slow reluctance. “Or a skill, rather. To glamour means
to . . . achieve an illusion in the human mind. We can cloud perceptions or memories. Influence them. Even painlessly remove
them. It’s how we protect our culture and yours and maintain the human barrier of disbelief.”

“And this is what you tried to do to me?”

Riordan nodded.

Mina stared, taking it all in. “You. Yooooouuuuu. Oh. I can’t believe this. The most romantic evening in my life and you were
just playing with me. And you intended, all along, to take the memory from me.”

“But I didn’t mean—”

“Didn’t mean what you said last night? Bull. You meant every word of it. Your hands were trembling, you meant those words
so much. Why would you want to glamour it off, try to make me forget? Did you think I didn’t care the same way? Well I
do
. Hell, you’re in my head half the time. Can’t you tell what you mean to me?”

“Yes.” He spoke softly. “But you’ll get over it if I help you.”

“That’s what this is? You want me to get over you?”

“It can’t work between us, Mina. You know it can’t. I was just trying to—”

“You wanted to get out of it the easy way—get rid of the memory so you won’t have any sloppy tragedy to deal with when it’s
time to say good-bye. Well, too damn bad. I’m here and I remember. So there.”

He sighed. “Obviously. And even more obviously, I should have realized I couldn’t pull off a glamour on you, of all people.
You’re my guardian. No doubt Akker was trying to protect you from my influence.”

“No doubt.” She bit off the words. “Men. I swear. In every form you can all act like gutless imbeciles, can’t you.”

So saying, she dumped the eggs he’d cooked for her into the sink and left the room.

Once she slammed the door behind her, Mina paced the bedroom, angry and hurting. Even Jackson hadn’t hurt her this much. Jackson
was weak; she knew that. In fact, part of her was convinced that he’d wanted her to catch him in the act and thereby save
him from the commitment she’d pressed him to make.

That was her own fault. Only a fool presses a reluctant man for a commitment.

And, she supposed, an even greater fool presses a reluctant puca for words of love. Or worse, a future together. And, oh,
she could not believe that he would try to tamper with her memories like that. It was no less than a violation. Nobody should
play with somebody’s mind, especially on such a literal level. Major trespassing. She wouldn’t tolerate it.

Just as she headed out the bedroom door to harangue him for this as well, the doorbell rang. She stopped short, then changed
directions. Opening the front door, she encountered a face she hadn’t seen in a while. Teague.

“Hi, Mina.” He offered her an awkward but genuine smile. “I’ve missed you. Look, I feel like an ass and I need to explain—
Can I come in?”

Wordlessly, she stepped back and motioned him inside.

“I’m sorry. I know I haven’t called in a while. Weeks even.” He turned to face her as she closed the door. “It’s not that
I haven’t been thinking about you.”

She cleared her throat and gestured awkwardly. “Yeah. Me too. I took a while returning your phone calls, I know. I guess I
just thought . . .”

“That we’d run our course?”

She nodded.

“I could let you continue to think that, but it would be wrong.” He eyed her intently. “The truth is, I’ve been confused and
running from things.”

“The law?” She tried a halfhearted joke.

That tugged a reluctant grin from him. “No. Not the law. Smart-ass.”

She didn’t respond.

He cleared his throat. “Look, I have something to say to you. It’s something I was running from, but then I realized I couldn’t
run from it. Didn’t really even want to.” He met her eyes. “I’ve fallen in love with you.”

She stared. “I think I need a drink.”

He closed the distance between them and took her hand. “Yeah, I know. Smooth, suave, and I’m just sweeping you off your feet,
right?” He gave her a rueful smile. “I screwed things up. And will likely continue to screw things up, given past experience.
You see, I’ve never been in love before. Isn’t that hilarious?” He grinned down at her, inviting her to share the joke.

“I see.” She exhaled in a shaky whoosh. “Um. I need a few minutes. To digest a little. Can I get you anything? Something to
drink?”

“No thanks.” He studied her. “I’ve made you uncomfortable.”

“Well,
I
need a soda.” She forced a smile, her gaze sliding over his shoulder instead of meeting his eyes. “I’ll be right back.”

She escaped to the kitchen, closed the door and leaned against it. “This is seriously screwed up.” She closed her eyes. It
was really, really good to see Teague again. His handsome face, the sincere look in his eyes, the sense of humor. He was so
hot—her dream man—and unlike Riordan, he was saying everything a dream man should say. All the right words.

He was perfect. Perfect for
her
. But how could any man be perfect? How could she believe in the perfect man? And yet, during the past weeks, she’d unbent
enough to believe in something as unrealistic as a shape-shifting puca cursed by Druids. Why was it so much harder to believe
in the existence of a man who was perfect for one Pandemina Dorothy Avery? Was she that jaded?

Carefully, still pondering, she peeled her spine off the door and aimed herself at the refrigerator. A soda. She opened the
fridge, pulled out the milk and reached for a mug. As she was pouring, she focused and realized what she was doing.

“Losing it. Of course that’s what I’m doing.” She put the carton away, glanced around indecisively for a solution to her mug
of milk, then simply poured it in the sink. Sometimes a girl just needed her chemical-laden carbonation. Grabbing a soda from
the fridge, she returned to the living room and Teague.

Leaving the kitchen door open behind her, she focused on Teague, who was standing right where she’d left him. Obviously unsure
of his welcome. “Have a seat.” She wasn’t petty. Hey, an I-love-you made up for a certain amount of absence, and she’d accept
part of the blame for pushing him away, too. Besides, after this morning’s romantic disappointment, a surprise love declaration
was balm to a bruised ego and heart.

Teague dropped onto the couch, and she watched how his knees seemed to poke up too high. The man was tall. Easing back a little,
he crossed an ankle over his knee and slid his supporting foot out a little. “Have you finished digesting?”

She smiled ruefully. “No, I can’t say that I have. You. Here. Saying that out of the blue. Yeah, that was pretty much the
last thing I expected today.” Riordan. She’d expected Riordan. Curious, she glanced around, wondering where he’d gone.

I’m trying to give you the privacy I should have given you before.
Consider yourself, for all intents and purposes, alone with
Teague.

She closed her eyes. Oh, Riordan.

No response.

She opened them and focused on Teague, who was eyeing her intently. She took a long drink from her soda and set it aside.

“I guess this is overwhelming.”

She nodded. He could say that again.

“I’ll be honest and say I was hoping to overwhelm you. At least enough to talk you into giving me another chance.”

“Another chance?”

“Let me make it up to you. I know you have feelings for me. Or at least you did?” He eyed her in question.

She couldn’t deny that. There was a whole mix of feelings she hadn’t completely identified. Chief among those had been her
yearning for the happily-ever-after that she’d always been denied and always desired. Add to that a body to stop traffic,
enough charm to melt her knees, and a sense of humor to soften her heart . . . there was a lot there. She’d been just this
side of falling in love with him before. Could she fall now? Maybe she already had and was in denial.

She stood up. Was she infatuated with Riordan and in love with Teague? Riordan, after all, represented fantasy and adventure.
Excitement. Lust. The forbidden. Maybe, on a boring day-to-day basis, without the shared challenge of breaking a curse, he’d
lose a lot of his charm. Maybe.

Yeah, she doubted it. Not that she could ever have a day-to-day with him anyway.

And so there was Teague. But how could she get any more involved with a man when she was keeping a secret from him’a secret
as big as guardianship of a puca?

She should tell him and see how he reacted. Maybe?

She glanced back at him.

“Mina?”

“I just need a minute or two to think. Okay?” More than a minute or two.

He nodded. “Take all the time you need. Just make your answer a yes.” He grinned at her.

How about a qualified yes? Or not. If she really cared about him, she should tell him about Riordan. If Teague was the guy
for her, she should be able to share with him even her weirdo secrets, lifelong bogeyman or no.

Determined, she turned back to him. “I would like that, too. But first I have to . . .”

He leaned forward attentively.

She couldn’t continue.

“But first you have to . . . ?”

“Have to . . .” She swallowed, opened her mouth again. “To . . .”

“End another relationship? Renew your library card? Ask your mother?”

She smiled reluctantly, as he’d obviously intended. Come on. She could do this. Just a short, freaky explanation and she could
move forward with this amazing guy. Have everything she ever wanted. Just get the words out. It couldn’t be that bad, right?
Hey, sexy, fairytale-perfect man, did I mention that I’ve been living with a shape-shifting puca? Yeah, he’s my ward forever
unless I break this ancient Druid curse. Teague would be shocked, sure, but she could at least try to convince him she wasn’t
nuts and that this was a workable situation. Right?

Um. Maybe?

She licked her lips, glanced at him. Steeled herself. Risky or not, she had no choice. Tell him or it had to be over. “First
I have to . . .” She inhaled. “Tell you . . .” This was good. She was closer. Just a few more words to start the conversation.
“About . . .” Yes. Getting. There.

He waited.

She could tell him. If she loved him, she’d have to trust him in this. If she trusted and loved him, she had to tell him.
If she loved and trusted him, she’d feel
capable
of telling him. If she loved him . . . she’d trust him. But . . . She slumped. Apparently she didn’t trust him enough. Or
love him.

Shit. She dropped back into her chair and buried her face in her hands. Why? Why did this stupid thing always happen to her?
She had, absolutely, the worst taste in men. What was her problem, anyway? This perfectly wonderful man comes to her door,
tells her he loves her and she can’t even bring herself to trust him because—

Shit.

CHAPTER TWELVE

Mina raised her head and met Teague’s eyes. “I’m sorry. Honestly, you have no idea how sorry I am about this. But I just can’t.
Not because of anything you’ve done or haven’t done, but because . . . I’d be leading you on.” She inhaled. Seriously. The
absolute worst taste in men. This sucked. “I’m in love with someone else.”

Teague stared, obviously nonplussed. Not heartbroken, really, just at a loss. And troubled. “You’re sure?”

She smiled a little. “About my decision, or about being in love with someone else?”

He leaned forward, bracing elbows on knees, and met her eyes. “Both. I can give you time. And I’d be so attentive, I swear.
You could forget this other guy. Even if you’re not in love with me now, maybe we could just spend time together. Help you
get over this other guy first and see where things go from there. I mean, it sounds like you know he’s wrong for you. Am I
right?”

She shrugged. “That doesn’t seem to matter. And as for getting over him . . . I don’t see that happening anytime soon. I’m
obviously a complete idiot. You’re a wonderful man and I’m going to hate myself for breaking things off with you, but it’s
the right thing to do. Goodbye, Teague.” She stood up, and Teague reluctantly rose to his feet.

“Sure you don’t want to think about it? You might change your mind.”

She grimaced a little. “I won’t.” Because she was an imbecile with stars in her eyes and rocks in her head. Her perfect man,
with the bod of the sexiest toolbelt fantasy she’d ever imagined, kind and quick-witted, self-supporting, dreams that jived
with her own ambitions . . . “A complete idiot, ” she murmured, then smiled ruefully at him.

He smiled back, green eyes thoughtful as he studied her face. “All right. This other guy . . . he’s one helluva lucky man.
I hope he realizes that. Goodbye, Mina.” He kissed her cheek, then turned and walked out the door.

Mina stared after his truck as it pulled away, then swung the door violently closed. “Oh. Dammit dammit
dammit
.” She kicked the couch. Kicked the chair. Went ahead and kicked the door. “Ouch!
Damn
it!” She staggered a few steps, swinging a moderately wild gaze around the room. “Riordan! Get your horsey butt in here. Now!”

“I’m here.” The words came softly from behind her.

Mina jumped and whirled, knocking her shoulder into the doorjamb where he lingered. “Ouch and damn it again!”

Riordan tipped his head forward, obviously training his gaze on her. She couldn’t see it, but damned if she wasn’t absolutely
certain he was smiling.

“Don’t you laugh at me. This is all your fault.
Yours
.” She poked an index finger into his chest.

“My fault? That you beat the hell out of your own furniture?”

“That’s not funny.”

“Wellll—”

“Shut up. Just shut up. How dare you come into my life, mess with it, make me fall in love with you. A freaking shape-shifter.
I’m in love with a damned puca. A faceless man tied to a rock and doomed to disembodiment unless a schoolteacher—that would
be me—breaks a Druid curse for him. Do you know what a loser that makes me?”

“You’re not a loser.”

“Oh, no? First I can’t hold on to the guy I’ve been sharing a home and a mortgage with, then I reject the guy who actually
surpasses my longtime vision of the perfect man, and now I’m hopelessly in love with a man I can never have. A man who’s not
even human. Sounds loser-ish to me.”

“It sounds brave as hell to me. I don’t deserve your love.” He gently tucked a lock of hair behind her ear.

Mina pulled back until his hand dropped away from her face. “No, you don’t—not after you tried to trick me with that whole
glamour bit. But apparently, my brain doesn’t get a say in this. So what are you going to do about it?” She stared up at him,
desperately wishing the blur would magically clear so she could try to read his thoughts. So not fair. This mind-reading bit
should be reciprocal, damn it.

Especially when he didn’t reply to her question. Mind-reading or no, she had her answer when he dipped his head, obviously
breaking eye contact.

“See? Major loser.” She turned and stalked into the kitchen.

“Mina.”

“Oh, don’t bother with excuses. Or explanations. I’ve heard them all and I don’t need the BobGoblin putting his quirky little
spin on them. This is humiliating enough.”

“I don’t mean it to be.” He paused, then continued in a lower voice. “I just wanted to tell you that your ex left a message
on your answering machine. He’s dropping by tonight.”

Appalled, Mina stomped back into the living room. “But
whhyyyyy
?” she wailed. “Because I need yet one more social challenge to round out a sucky day?”

“He mentioned a delicate issue involving a former student?”

She stared, her turn to be nonplussed. “Ye-es?”

He sighed. “Tiffany whatserface’s son. That’s all I know.”

“Oh, good god. Just what I needed today.”

And, sure enough, later that evening, there came a knock on the door. Mina glared over her shoulder at Riordan. “Go do your
doggie poof thing or leave or something. So I can get this.” She turned back to the door, waited a few seconds to compose
herself. Then opened it.

“Jackson.” She spoke with all the enthusiasm of a belligerent child facing the principal. Or of a woman facing her cheating
school superintendent of an ex-boyfriend.

“Hi, Mina. Did you get my message?”

“Sure. Whatever. What do you want?”

“Can I come in? I need to talk to you. It’s a work matter.”

Surrendering to the inevitable, she swung the door wide and stepped back into her living room. Jackson followed, closing the
door behind him. “It’s about Nathan. Er, Tiffy’s son.”

“Great.”

“Well, first, let’s acknowledge that he was an innocent in all this. We all only want the best for him and . . .”

As Jackson rambled on through his politically correct speech, Mina stared up at him, wondering how she could have missed all
the signs. Weak chin. Eyes that darted to meet hers and then shied almost immediately away. Sure, they were a deep blue and
beautiful as could be. That didn’t mean there was substance behind them. And sure, they were kind eyes. When he looked at
kids or spoke of them, there was a wealth of kindness in them.

That’s what attracted her to him when they first met. A man who could make children both love him and respect his authority
. . . she knew what a narrow line that was, but he walked it well. She could still admire that about him, if nothing else.
He was a true children’s advocate, regardless of what the morality police might have said about their mortgage papers.

Mortgage—oh, shit. She’d never wondered how Jackson had reacted. He knew she didn’t have the money—

Relax. I took care of it. Tiffy, remember? In her “religious fervor”
I’m sure she was every bit as convincing as that buyout offer
was legitimate. Jackson now believes an inheritance from your
distant Cousin Gladys paid off his half of your house. Which is
true, after all. You inherited me and I paid it off.

Mina chewed on her lip. It sucked to be both indebted to and angry with a man. Puca. Whatever.

You owe me nothing. I owe you everything.

Riordan.

“It’s like this, Mina.” Jackson shifted his weight, frowning in concentration. “The boy wants to rewind his life to the way
it was earlier this fall. And that means putting you back in it as his teacher. You know Nathan loves to write, and apparently
you brought that out in him more than his current teacher does. He wants you back.” He paused significantly. “And Tiffany
fully supports this.”

“Well, thank God for that.”

“Don’t be snide. This isn’t easy for her either.”

“At least she has a decent support system in you, though, huh? Superintendent and all, you can get her anything she wants.
Why are you bothering to ask me?”

“Tiffany and I aren’t seeing each other anymore. She went back to her husband and refuses to speak to me except about school
issues.” He paused. “My . . . connection with Tiffany was a mistake on both our parts.”

“Bully for you.”

He eyed her. “So what’s your decision?”

“Of course Nathan can come back to my class. That was never an issue. But why did you bother consulting me? You could have
just plunked him down in my classroom one day and never discussed a word further with me.”

“I don’t know.” His gaze slid away from hers. Again.

She sighed. He may not know, but she did. He felt guilty, probably had some regrets about dumping her and their life together.
Maybe he was even hoping she’d make the first move. Make things easy for him and offer to take him back.

Tough. “I’ll be happy to have Nathan in my classroom. He’s an excellent student and a nice young man. Go ahead and pass on
the news. So, if that’s all . . . ?”

“Mina—”

“Look, I’ve had a long, rotten day already and I really just want to go to bed and pretend it never happened. Could we maybe
discuss this in the morning? Over the phone, even? Where it’s more appropriate?”

Nodding, he reluctantly turned back toward the door. Mina followed, refusing to feel guilty or soften toward him. Memories
did not a relationship make. Just as he reached for the doorknob, the telephone rang.

“I have to get that. Could you lock the door behind you?”

“No problem.”

Dismissing him, she turned back toward the kitchen, hurrying as the phone started its third ring. At sight of caller ID, she
slowed and let the phone ring until her machine picked up. Her mother again. Mina knew she should answer, but it was just
one more thing she didn’t need today.

It was only later that Mina puzzled over the black blur that had swept past her as she listened to her mother’s message.

“Hello, Jackson. Interesting to meet you finally.” Riordan watched from the shadows as the blond man jumped and turned warily
to face in his direction. Walking along the side of a darkened road, lost in thought, Jackson was just begging to be roadkill.
So Jackson lived close enough to Mina to walk home? Probably not a coincidence, whether Jackson acknowledged it or not. The
man was still drawn to his ex.

“Who are you?” Jackson took a step back, hand unconsciously patting his back pocket where a man often kept his wallet.

“I’m not going to rob you, if that’s what you’re wondering.” Riordan smiled, knowing the man couldn’t see him clearly in the
dark. He’d taken care to meld his shadow with the bushes and a tree branch hovering overhead.

Hesitantly, Jackson dropped his hand back to his side and shifted his weight. He squinted into the trees, obviously trying
to distinguish the speaker from shadows. “So what do you want, then? And how do you know my name? Do I know you?”

“No, you don’t know me. But I know of you. I’m here to help you, Jackson. I’m giving you a gift that few men are lucky enough
to receive.” God knew Riordan himself wasn’t lucky enough. No, instead, his was the hell of bestowing this gift upon a man
as unworthy as Jackson.

So perhaps it was Riordan’s job to ensure the man gained sufficient worth. Determined, if resentful of it, Riordan lunged
forward and, before Jackson could do more than goggle at him, swept the man up onto his back.

“What the hell?” Jackson scrambled for purchase as Riordan galloped off the road and into the night.

“You want Mina back.” Riordan whispered it into the man’s mind.

Jackson started. “Who—”

“Don’t turn around.” Clouding the man’s mind just a little, Riordan purposely implied he was a second rider behind Jackson.
“Answer the question. You want Mina.”

“Well. Yeah. Sort of. I miss her. Why? Are you her new boyfriend? Hell, I didn’t mean to poach, if that’s what this is about.
She’s all yours. Yeah. I mean, women are women, right? I can find another. Mina’s all yours.”

“Wrong answer.” Riordan increased his pace, gazed grimly ahead. It was going to be a long night.

He whipped sharply left, nearly dumping his protesting rider before turning sharply right so the man could regain his balance.
“Lesson one: Women are not interchangeable. Each is different and deserving of respect. Lesson two: You don’t deserve Mina.
At all. Ever. You’re going to have to work to get her back and work harder to keep her happy with you. Got it?”

“But I thought—” Jackson broke off on a sharp scream as Riordan lunged into the trees, nearly clotheslining his clumsy rider.

“Wrong again.”

“Right. Wrong again. What’s right?”

Riordan ground his teeth. “Did you ever love Mina? At all?”

“I—” Another shriek.

“Too slow. Speak up, asshole.”

“Yes. Yes, I loved her.” Jackson lowered his voice from shriek level to merely harried breathlessness as Riordan eased his
pace. “But Mina’s different.”

Riordan kicked up his back legs, eliciting another yell from his rider. “A qualifier, Jackson. You forgot the necessary qualifier.”

“Necess—?” Jackson yelled again. “Damn it, I can’t talk or think when you do that. Do you want answers?”

“I want the right answers.”

“My right answers or your right answers?”

Riordan slowed fractionally. The man had a point. If they weren’t one and the same, this whole endeavor was for nothing. “Answer
this straight. Do you want Mina back and are you willing to do what it takes to get her back?”

“Y-yes. Yes. I do. I . . . I’ve never known anyone like Mina. She is different—different in a
good
way, so don’t try to kill me over the qualifier again.” Jackson paused. “So are you, like, her guardian angel?” He laughed
nervously.

Riordan tossed his head. “You can think that if it helps. I’m looking out for her is all you need to know.”

“Got it. Respectful of Mina or the vengeful guardian angel kills me.”

“Now you get it.”

“I never meant to hurt her.” Jackson spoke low but emphatically. Riordan ducked and Jackson held tight. “I swear I didn’t
want her to see what she saw. And I left because I couldn’t look her in the eye. You’re right. I don’t deserve her. I never
did. I knew that. But do you think . . . I could
work
to deserve her?”