Impractical Magic Part 17

Her smile turned sad. "We don't always get what we want."

He recalled her pa.s.sionate speech from the other night. She would never be normal, would never fit in completely in this world or the magical realm. "I know, but we-"

The ringing of his cell phone interrupted him and he grimaced. "I probably need to get this. Charlie is supposed to call."

"Go ahead."

He'd been expecting a call from his advance crew at the Las Vegas site, their next stop, but the voice that answered his greeting definitely didn't belong to Charlie. "About time I got to talk to you."

"Mom? Is anything wrong?"

"What? A mother can't call her son without something being wrong?" He heard the teasing note in her voice. "You haven't called in ages, and I wanted to check if your tour was still on schedule."

"Yep, going smoothly. Dallas tonight, then on the road again to Vegas."

"No last-minute changes? You're still doing your big illusion in Las Vegas?"

"You know I am." Brand smiled at Rose, who wore a broad grin. She'd always fit in with his family until... well, until. What was his mother up to? "All right, Mom. Spill it. What's going on?"

She hesitated, then finally released a big sigh. "Your dad and I are coming to Vegas for your show."

"Oh." His smile faded. While he loved his mother, he dreaded every meeting with his father. They hadn't seen eye-to-eye in years. "Oh. Great."

"You're staying at the MGM, right?"

"Yes. We're performing there, too."

"Good. That's where I made the reservations. We'll arrive there about the same time you do."

He winced. That didn't leave him much time to adjust to this. "Okay."

Rose lost her smile and reached across the table to touch his arm. He gave her a wry twitch of his lips in response.

"And tell Sequoia that Lizzie and Michael are coming, too."

"I will."

His mother laughed. "I hear that note of impatience, so I'll say bye for now. Love you, hon."

"Love you, Mom." Brand disconnected his phone and sighed.

"Is everyone all right?" Rose asked.

"They're fine." Brand slid his phone into his pocket, still uneasy with his upcoming family reunion. "Mom and Dad are planning to come to Vegas for my big illusion."

"What's wrong with that? Your folks are great." She studied his face, then sat back in her chair, her expression mirroring her disbelief. "Are you still angry with your father? After all these years? That's ridiculous." Brand frowned. "Aren't you still harboring angry feelings from years ago as well?" "I..." She shook her head. "It's not your father's fault that you don't have magic." "I see it two ways." He ticked off one finger. "First, he could have told me from the beginning about the Fae, about magic, about you. Maybe if I had always known, I wouldn't have been so blindsided by your power."

"My parents hardly told me anything. Why should yours be different?"

She didn't understand what it had been like for him to suddenly have his world turned upside-down. He raised another finger. "Second, he didn't have to give up his magic and immortality, but he did." "He did that long before you were born, too. For crying out loud, Brand, he gave up everything he was to be with your mother. How could you want anything more than that?"

"I want to be magical. Dad was. I have his blood. If he hadn't given up his magic, he could have pa.s.sed it on to me."

Rose rolled her eyes. "Now you're being deliberately dense. You know as well as I do that he had no choice if he wanted to be with your mom at all."

'That what he said, but he had magic. He could've done anything he wanted." Brand knew the power of magic, had seen it through Rose for years. Things could have been different.

"Then you know nothing about t.i.tania."

"Neither do you. All you know are the stories we've been told." Stories so incredible he still found them difficult to believe.

"I believe my parents and yours," Rose said with an icy glance. "But this only emphasizes what I was telling you before. Magic is much too big of an issue with you, Brand. Until you learn to deal with it and accept what is, there's no future for us. Not together, at least."

He hesitated. This wasn't where he wanted the conversation to go. "It's different when it comes to you. I can adjust."

Her smile was sad. "Probably because I'm female."

There was some truth to that. Lord knew he desired her more than any woman he'd ever known. "Rose, we can-"

"Hey, can we join you?" Sequoia waved at them from the restaurant doorway, then came toward them, Ewan in tow.

Brand grimaced, then glanced at his a.s.sistant again. She glowed with vitality and her smile was almost too big for her face. "What's with her?" he murmured.

"Sated. Definitely sated." Rose frowned. "d.a.m.n."

"She's making it with the faery?"

"I'd be willing to bet on it."

"d.a.m.n." Nothing was going according to plan anymore. Not since Rose had shown up.

"I just said that." Rose grinned slightly, then stood to give Sequoia a hug. "You look great. How did it go at the hospital?"

"Wonderful." Sequoia slid into a chair while Ewan took the one opposite her. "The kids were great. They laughed in all the right places."

"They didn't want her to leave," Ewan added.

The look he gave Sequoia held so much pa.s.sion that Brand wanted to punch him just on general principle.

"You, either," she added. "The children loved him."

"They did not love me."

"Yes, they did." Sequoia beamed at him. "I pulled him into the act, and he did a bit with a live rabbit that had the kids rolling. He was wonderful with them."

Sequoia hadn't been this effusive since Bobby McGregor gave her a handmade Valentine in fifth grade. Brand's heart sank. She had it bad.

Which meant she'd be terribly, horribly hurt when this creep inevitably dumped her.

"I have news," Brand said. Might as well start bursting her bubble now. "My parents are joining us in Vegas."

"That's wonderful. I haven't seen them in months."

"So are yours."

Her face fell so quickly Brand felt as if he'd pulled a plug. "Oh."

"Stand up to them, Tree," Rose said. 'Tell them what you want to do."

"It's not that easy." Sequoia nibbled on her fingernail, a sure sign of her distress.

"It should be." Ewan spoke with such authority that Brand blinked in surprise. How would this faery know anything about Sequoia and her relations.h.i.+p with her parents? "They love you, correct?"

"Yes, but-"

"If they love you, they want you to be happy. Isn't that what you've told me?"

"Yes, but-"

"Then tell them what makes you happy." He crossed his arms and nodded as if he'd just achieved world peace.

'They don't understand." Sequoia pushed away from the table with a scowl. "I'm not hungry anymore."

Rose stood as well. "I'll join you."

The women left and Brand turned to look at Ewan only to discover he had disappeared as well. Great.

To top it off, the waitress finally appeared, tablet in hand. "Are you ready to order now?"

Brand sighed. It promised to be a real c.r.a.ppy day.

"Jason, I wish you'd hurry up."

At these words from his mother, a boy scurried past Rose in the theater lobby like a rabbit on pep pills.

"d.a.m.n." Rose paused for only a moment, then headed backstage. In all the day's confusion, she'd forgotten to have her magic siphoned off. With Brand's performance due to start soon, the last thing she wanted was the danger of loose wishes.

The security guard by the stage entrance recognized her and allowed her inside. Thank goodness. Now to find Sequoia.

She located her cousin in a back corner, talking to Ewan of all people. What was he doing here? As Rose drew closer, she grimaced. Arguing, apparently.

"It's my life," Sequoia said.

"You don't act like it." Ewan didn't raise his voice, but the calmness of his tone was every bit as effective. "You're willing to sacrifice yourself for them."

"You don't understand. They're my parents. I love them."

"So you are going to allow their love and your love to ruin your life?"

Ah, yes, Sequoia's parents. They were in reality quite nice people, but were convinced that their only daughter had to have a college degree in order to find a job of any consequence.

Rose hesitated by Sequoia and touched her shoulder. "Tree, do you have a moment?"

"I'm busy," Sequoia snapped, not bothering to glance at Rose, her attention focused solely on Ewan. "When did you become an expert at love?"

"I am not an expert," he said. "But I do know you."

'That's what you think."

Rose tried again. "It's important. I need a wish."

Sequoia whirled on her, her eyes blazing. "I wish you'd shut up." Without missing a beat, she faced Ewan again. "You don't know me at all." The slight tug on her magic warned Rose she was in trouble even before she tried to speak. No words came out. No sound at all. Great.

And from the way Sequoia and Ewan were going at each other, she wasn't going to find much help there.

With a soundless sigh Rose left to find Brand. He had to be here somewhere. Despite his reluctance to make wishes, he'd help with this.

She hoped.

She located him near the back of the stage area talking to some of his crew and waited for him to notice her. When he did, he frowned, finished his conversation, and then came toward her. Before he could chastise her for being backstage, she pointed to her throat. His frowned deepened. "Is something wrong?"

She attempted to talk, but no words emerged.

"Can't you speak?" he asked.

She shook her head and the corner of his lips quirked upward. "What happened?"

Rose pointed back toward where Sequoia had been, then at her throat. Brand was intelligent. Surely he'd figure it out. "What?" With a sigh she held out her hand to indicate Sequoia's height. "An elf? A midget? A faery?" She simulated the wavy curves of a woman and waited for him to get it. "A s.e.xy elf?" The sparkle of mischief in his eyes gave him away. Rose propped her hands on her hips and faced him, tapping her foot.

Brand grinned. "Okay, okay. Sequoia wished for you to be quiet."

After she nodded, he chuckled. "I'm surprised it took her this long."

The nerve. Rose swiped at him playfully, then pointed again to her throat. Would he help her?

"You need me to wish your voice back?"

She nodded with enthusiasm. Exactly.

"What if I choose not to?" Something darker, deeper, and definitely s.e.xier replaced the humor in his eyes as he stepped toward her.

Rose backed away, her body responding to the heat of his gaze while her mind screamed at her to run. Abruptly she met the stage wall. Trapped.

Brand caught her shoulders in his hold-not forceful yet firm enough to let her know she wasn't going anywhere. "What if I listen to my primal self?" he asked, his voice deepening, growing huskier. 'The part that wants you so badly I can barely function? You can't scream."

Her eyes widened. He wouldn't.

Would he?