The Matchmakers (19 page)

And see my
truck in
 
the lot
and think we don’t want to be disturbed.
Nick didn’t voice the thought, but
Callie must have seen the worry in his eyes. Panic crossed her face. `We can’t
get out.´ `Relax.´ He put his hands on her shoulders to calm her and felt her
trembling. Was it normal, he wondered, for faeries or ex-faeries to be
claustrophobic? `We’re not going to die. At worst, Farley will be back tomorrow
afternoon. But we’ll figure something out before that.´ `Like what?´ `I don’t
know. Give me a minute to look around.´ Nick surveyed the door. It was heavy,
reinforced but thankfully not solid metal. The hinges were old and grimy. If he
could remove the pins, he might be able to jockey the door open wide enough for
Callie to squeeze out, but he doubted he could break the lock by dismantling
the hinges. `We need something, like a file or a screwdriver. Does Farley keep
any tools in here?Ćallie crossed her arms. `You’re the one who told me
Farley and tools don’t mix.´ Nick contemplated the ceiling. `I could lift one
of the ceiling tiles, then maybe you could climb up there and crawl across the
beam into the other room.´ Her jaw dropped. `Are you kidding? Even with wings,
I wouldn’t try that.´ He smirked. `Come on. You’re light as a feather. The
frame would hold you, and you’d just have to slide over the partition and jump
down on the other side of the door. Come here.´ Nick pulled a rectangular
carton of canned peanuts toward the door and stepped up on it to test its
strength. It held his weight and gave him enough of a boost so he could reach
up and dislodge one of the pressboard ceiling tiles. The wall separating the
storeroom from the back room didn’t extend above the drop-ceiling frame. `Why
don’t we just wait for Farley?Ćallie said when he reached for her hand. `This
will work.´ Nick sensed Callie’s reluctance as she stepped up onto the box with
him and he put his hands on her hips. The cans creaked beneath their combined
weight. `This is never going to work,śhe said.

 
`You’re right. Not like this.´ Nick
let go and stepped off the box. He put one foot up and bent his knee. `Step up
here. I’ll hoist you up.´ Normally her skeptical look would have amused him,
but the last thing he wanted was to spend the night cramped in Farley’s chilly
storeroom. She obeyed, placing her right foot gently on his thigh. Nick
steadied her as she stretched upward and her upper body disappeared above the
open ceiling tile. `Ew! It’s disgusting up here.´ `You certainly sound human.´ `Well
it is.´ Her voice echoed against the ductwork. `It’s dark and musty, too.´ `This
from the girl who was crawling around the parking lot, letting air out of tires
a few weeks ago. Get a grip on the beam and pull yourself up.´ `There are
spiders.´ `How can you tell what’s up there if it’s so dark?´ Her muffled reply
sounded sarcastic. Nick hoisted her a little higher, trying to ignore the
expanse of naked belly revealed at eye level when she stretched her arms above
her head into the crawl space. `What are you doing up there?´ `I’m making tea.
What do you think I’m doing?´ `You should be looking for the beam. Can you see
it?´ `I see it.´ `You’re just going to slide across it and push the next
ceiling panel out of the way. Then turn around and lower yourself down, feet
first, outside the door.´ `I don’t think so.´ `Why not?´ He tried to adjust his
grip, though the proximity of her navel to his nose drove him wild. `You can do
it.´ `There are a lot of wires and metal boxes up here. There’s no room to turn
around.´ `Metal boxes? Those are the heating ducts. Be careful of the wires.´ `I
was planning to chew my way through a couple of them.´ `Yep. You definitely
sound human. Or do they teach Sarcasm 101 in Faerie School?´ `Stop shoving.´ `I’m
trying to help.Óf course having her perfectly curved rear end in the palm of
his hand was probably more distracting than helpful at this point.

 
`I think I’ve got it. Boost me
higher.´ Nick obliged. `So why didn’t you tell me sooner?´ `Tell you what?´ `About
your wings.´ `I«was ashamed.Śhe wiggled out of his grasp, her feet
dangling above the floor now as she pulled herself up a little farther. `Oh.´ `Freya
doesn’t take away wings lightly«I don’t know if I’ll ever get them back.´ `I’m
sorry. Being human might not be so bad, though.´ `Please.´ `You get used to it
after a while. It took me about eighteen years. Then I was fine with it.´ `Huh?Ábove
him, Callie squirmed and shifted. She peered down from the ceiling. `What did
you used to be?´ `Oh. Before I was human? I was a kid. Like most other kids, I
thought I was immortal and invincible«you know, smarter than the average bear.
Somebody took my wings away, too. It takes a while, but you get used to not
being able to fly.´ `I don’t think I’ll ever ah!Ćallie’s sudden sharp gasp
froze Nick’s heart. He not only heard her pain, he felt it a quick, hot stab in
his gut. `Callie? Come back down. Here, I’ve got you«´ He lowered her to the
floor, and she sank into his arms, her hands clutched over her stomach. `What
happened?´ He pried her fingers apart. Blood seeped through a ragged tear in
her shirt. `Sharp nail or something, sticking out of the beam.Śhe drew a
breath in through clenched teeth as Nick prodded the gash that marred her flesh
just above the waistband of her pants. She paled visibly at the red stains on
her fingers. `Oh«´ `It’s okay. Sit down.´ Nick helped her settle on the floor
and unbuttoned his shirt. He shrugged it off and pulled the white t-shirt he
wore underneath over his head, wadded it up and held it against her wound. `It’s
a deep scratch,´ he said, dabbing at the oozing blood. `Doesn’t look like it’ll
need stitches, but we should get you a tetanus shot.´ `A shot!Śhe reacted
like a petulant child«no, a
frightened
child.
Nick patted her shoulder and rubbed her hand which had grown very cold. `Don’t
worry. You’ll be fine. I’m sorry. I shouldn’t have made you go up there.´ `How
else are we going to get out of here?´ `We’ll figure something out. Lean back
and try to relax a minute.´ Nick pulled the bloody t-shirt away from Callie’s
wound. His heart contracted at the sight of the jagged tear in her delicate
skin. She winced when he dabbed at the blood. `I’m sorry, sweetheart.Śhe
looked up, a reply poised on her lips, then right past him. `What’s that?´ `I
said I was sorry ´ `No, under the back shelf, that white box. It says flatware!´
Nick turned to look behind him. Far under the back shelf, a dusty white box lay
almost hidden behind jars of cocktail onions. Nick stretched his arm under the
shelf and pulled out the heavy carton. Its contents rattled as he slid it
across the floor. `Knives and forks. Can you use them to take apart the
lock?śhe asked. Nick had already torn open the box. He grabbed a
thin-bladed stainless steel butter knife and brandished it in the light from
the bulb overhead. `We’re home free.Ćallie scuttled out of the way,
clutching his t-shirt to her side. Before Nick tackled the first of the screws
that held the doorknob in place, he bent over and kissed her forehead. `There’s
my girl,´ he said. Her faint smile reassured him, and he went to work. `We’ll
be out of here in a minute. Don’t worry.Ónce again, things hadn’t gone
according to Nick’s plans. He had to be losing his touch. Nevertheless, a strange
sense of calm settled over him as he watched the sunrise through his kitchen
window the next morning. The steaming cup of coffee he held came from the all
night donut shop, and it tasted great. Callie lay sleeping in his bed, a frown
creasing her sumptuous lips, testament to her discontent at having received a tetanus
shot at the First Aid Station. He’d managed to get her there for treatment of
her injury only after he’d agreed to stop at Hayden’s to drop off the key. Of course,
Farley’s youngest waitress hadn’t been there. After another mild argument, they
agreed to leave a note, telling her where to find them and her key if she
needed it. He’d brought Callie home, put her to bed and kissed her again,
chastely, with all the tenderness he remembered from years past when he’d had
someone who cared enough to tuck him under the covers at night. Reluctantly, he’d
left her to rest. Now, while she slept, he stood contemplating once again how
he’d ended up here, feeling this way about someone he barely knew.

           
A cold knot tightened in
his stomach every time he thought of her injury. Small and benign, the cut
would heal, but he felt it as acutely as if the wound were his own. He also
felt her shame now. How had he missed it before? Perhaps the tumult of other
feelings they’d both battled in the last week had masked it, but now the guilt
and terrible sense of loss that plagued her clawed at his gut. His heart ached
for her, and yet, some small part of his mind rejoiced at finding out she was
human and that she couldn’t disappear on a whim and be gone forever in the
blink of an eye. Knowing now she’d been human when he’d come to Farley’s the
other night only intensified his own guilt. He’d been cruel and stupid, yet she
forgave him. He wished he felt deserving of that forgiveness. When the phone
rang, he jumped on it, his nerves jangling and his thoughts in turmoil. `Hello?´
`Where’s Callie?´ Hayden’s voice was tinny and filled with annoyance. Nick’s
instincts told him her pique was directed at him on Callie’s behalf. `She’s
sleeping.´ `Is she okay?´ `She’s fine. Did you get the note we left you?´ `I
just did. It’s all right. My neighbor has a spare key. Can I talk to Callie?´ `I
don’t want to wake her.´ `I’m awake.´ Nick turned. Callie stood in the kitchen
doorway, soft and sleepy, draped in his football jersey, gray sweat socks
slouched around her ankles. His heart turned to liquid and his blood thrummed. Speechless,
he handed her the phone. `Callie, is that you?´ `Hayden? Where are
you?Ćallie forced herself to concentrate on Hayden’s voice. Nick’s
proximity seemed to cloud her thoughts. Or maybe it was the cursed tetanus shot
he’d insisted she have along with the extra strength pain killer the nurse at
the First Aid Station had given her. Despite the medication, her arm ached from
the shot, and her belly hurt under the thick bandage they’d stuck to her
delicate skin. How did humans stand this? `I’m home now. Andrew dropped me off
a little while ago.Ćallie frowned. `You spent the night with him?´ `No.
Yes«but no. We talked all night. I told him about,
you know
. He understands how I feel. He helped me make some
decisions.´ `What decisions?´ Nick handed Callie a glass of juice, and she took
a grateful sip. It seemed to energize her. `Callie, will you come with me? Matt’s
picking me up in a little while, and we’re going to get our marriage license.´ Three
weeks passed in a blur of activity, during which Callie thought of little else
besides the burning kiss she’d shared with Nick and Hayden’s sudden,
inexplicable rush into matrimony. `I’d offer you a penny for your thoughts, but
it looks like they’re worth a lot more than that,Ándrew said when Callie
lowered herself from the step ladder where she’d been standing, fastening white
streamers and papier-mâché wedding bells to the ceiling above the bar. At
T-minus two hours until the civil ceremony, Callie felt like she was watching a
train wreck in slow motion. She wanted to blame Andrew for Hayden’s headlong
sprint to the altar with a man she obviously didn’t love, but she just couldn’t
picture Farley’s free-spirited younger brother talking anyone into marriage. Out
of it, maybe, but not into. She tossed him the remaining roll of crepe paper
and hopped down from the bar. `I’m worried about Hayden. She hasn’t invited any
of her family to the ceremony.´ `She thinks they wouldn’t understand. They’re a
conservative bunch. She’d rather break the news to them all at once, after
there’s a ring on her finger.´ `It’s a shame. She needs their help, not their
judgments.Ándrew shrugged. `That’s family for you. Right, Nick?´ Nick had just
appeared from the back room with Farley in tow. Grease smudged the bottom of
his formal white shirt. `Oh, no, what happened to you?Ćallie grabbed a
bottle of club soda and one of the white linen napkins Andrew had just finished
folding and rushed over to survey the damage to Nick’s attire. `No one’s ever
going to get locked in the storeroom again. The new lock has a safety release
on the inside,´ he said. `Couldn’t you have waited until after the wedding to
fix it?Ćallie dabbed and rubbed at the dark stain while Nick wiped his
hands on a towel. `With my jacket on, it won’t show.´ Despite the small stain
on his shirttail, Nick looked extraordinarily handsome. Callie had been trying
to ignore him as much as possible since they’d broken free of the storeroom,
but each day that passed made her more aware of her feelings for him. Feelings
she could never act on if she wanted to return to the Fae realm. `It’s time for
me to go over to Hayden’s and help her get ready. Can you give me a ride?´ `Sure.´
Nick grabbed his dark suit jacket and put it on. He looked even more dashing.
Callie remembered how he’d looked in his tuxedo on Halloween, and her heart
beat like wings. She almost couldn’t bear to consider how much she would miss
him when the day finally came for her to leave.

 
Chapter Twenty-four Nick’s cell
phone rang just as he pulled away from the curb in front of Hayden’s apartment.
He turned the wheel back, waved again to Callie and grabbed the phone. John’s
voice crackled over the connection, barely audible. `Can you meet me«at ´ `John?
What’s wrong?´ `Nothing. Meet me at the site«´ Nick stared at the phone after
John hung up. He hadn’t been to the site on Montgomery in weeks. Fortunately,
the mall in Grandview was expanding, and most of John’s crew, including Nick,
had found temporary or permanent positions on the construction detail there.
The investigation hadn’t gone far, despite the letter from Miranda. Skip Voss
had disappeared, and his law firm claimed to have fired him prior to the date
of the first incidence of vandalism at the site. Whatever had happened now,
Nick only hoped it wasn’t going to mean more trouble for Burns & Wright. Diane
answered Hayden’s door and ushered Callie inside. Her blue eyes were full of
worry. `Uh oh. What’s wrong?Ćallie whispered when Hayden didn’t
immediately appear. `Change of heart?´ `Ha. A little more than that, hon. She’s
in the bedroom.Ćallie followed Diane through the apartment to the bedroom
where Hayden sat, trancelike in the middle of the bed. `Is she sick?Ćallie
asked, feeling Hayden’s forehead with the back of her hand. `Not sick,´ Hayden
replied, her voice a feathery whisper. She transferred her vacant stare to
Callie. `Not pregnant, either,´ Diane added. Callie sank to the edge of the
mattress. `When did this come about?´ Hayden seemed to shake herself out of her
reverie. Her voice remained flat as she explained. `I went to the doctor this morning
for my first checkup. The pee test she did came out negative, so she did a
blood test and that came out negative, too.´ `But the other test you took«´ `I
screwed it up somehow. Or maybe it was defective. I bought the cheapest one
they had. I should have bought a better brand.´ `So you’re definitely not
pregnant?Ćallie gauged her reaction. Hayden seemed relieved, but not at
all happy about her new status. `Nope. The doctor thinks I was probably so late
because of that flu bug I had back in September. I hardly ate for a week and a
half. I lost ten pounds. That probably screwed up my cycle.´ Diane shrugged. `These
things happen, honey. Don’t feel too bad. I’ve screwed up a pee test a time or two
in my life.´ Hayden sniffled. `I’m getting married in two hours.´ `Ninety
minutes,Ćallie said. Hayden moaned. `Call him,´ Diane said. `Give Matt a
chance to swallow this.´ `He was happy about the baby. He wants kids.´ `He’ll
have them. Just not right now.Ćallie handed Hayden a tissue and the phone.
`I’ll tell him to come over here. I can’t let him get all the way to the bar.´ Halfway
through dialing, Hayden burst into tears. Callie and Diane took turns hugging
her. `It’ll be okay. Matt will bounce back. He’s no more than a baby himself.
He’ll probably be a little relieved.´ Hayden clung to Diane and sobbed. `I’m
not crying for him. I’m crying for me.Śhe swiped the tissue over runnels
of mascara that lined her cheeks. `I feel like I lost something. I didn’t even
want to have a baby and now I miss it even though I never actually had it. Is
that stupid?´ `No. Not at all.´ Diane patted Hayden’s back and wiped a tear
that had escaped her own eyes. `It makes perfect sense. It’s normal to feel a
little bit sad. Take a deep breath now. You’re going to be okay.´ Hayden
squeezed Diane’s hand, then Callie’s. `I’m glad you’re both here. Can you stay
with me until Matt gets here?Ćallie hugged her friend. `We’ll stay as long
as you need us.´ Marty Carson’s old black SUV was parked in the lot at the
construction site when Nick arrived. It sat next to John’s pickup truck, and
the two men stood by the steps of the trailer next to the bright yellow sawhorses
that surrounded the flooded sink hole. Nick parked and picked his way over the
debris, wishing he hadn’t let Callie talk him into buying a suit and dress
shoes for the wedding. This was just another way her influence permeated his
life now, and he wasn’t sure whether to be amused or resentful. `Thanks for
coming by,´ John said when Nick finally reached them. `I know you’re busy
today, and I appreciate you taking the time.´ `Sure. It sounded important.´ Nick
eyed Marty who looked content for the first time in weeks. He shook hands with
John’s foreman.