Impractical Magic Part 22

"Oh, sorry. Daydreaming. Do you mind repeating, Kate?"

"I just asked if your parents knew you were here. If I'd known, I would have invited them to accompany us."

Rose shrugged. "That's okay. I'll see them soon."

"Why are you here, Rose?" Robin spoke matter-of-factly, but his gaze held her captive.

She hesitated but couldn't answer with anything other than the truth. "I'm writing a story on Brand."

"One of your exposes?" Kate drew back, her eyes wide. "On Brand? Rose, how could you?"

"It's what I do." She placed her fork beside her plate, her appet.i.te fleeing. "Brand is the next a.s.signment."

"And you allow her access to you and your equipment?" Robin asked Brand.

Brand's hold tightened on his silverware. "We made a deal."

"A deal?" A muscle jumped in Robin's jaw. "I imagine you did," he said dryly.

Rose tensed, her heart dropping into her stomach. Robin's implication was obvious. He believed she was sleeping with Brand in order to obtain his secrets. Was that what everyone thought? Lifting her chin, she met Robin's gaze. "You know me better than that."

She pushed away from the table. "If you'll excuse me, I've lost my appet.i.te."

Brand reached out to stop her, anger churning in his gut, but she eluded him. Before he could follow, she stepped outside the restaurant and vanished. d.a.m.n!

He whirled on his father. "You're wrong about her."

"I'm only concerned that-"

"I'm plenty old enough to handle my own life and protect my professional secrets. If I want to be with Rose or any other woman, that's my decision." Did his father want to ensure that Brand never knew any happiness?

"Rose isn't like other women." Robin sent a quick glance at Sequoia's parents, who didn't know about Rose being Fae.

"You're right. She's not." Brand stood, giving his mother a tight smile. "Tell them to put this on my bill."

"Brand-"

His mother called after him, but he ignored her. He was the one with the most to lose here. If he could trust Rose, why couldn't they? She would probably write her expose He didn't doubt that. He just had to make sure she never discovered the details to his moon illusion. That was one secret he intended to keep.

He found her room and rapped on the door. "Rose? Answer the door." She was there. He could feel her presence.

But she didn't speak.

He knocked harder. "Dammit, Rose. Come on."

Only silence.

He sighed. "Please, Rose."

Still nothing.

"Come to me, Rose. I'll be waiting." He had to talk to her, hold her, kiss her. With a final pound on the door, he turned away and headed for his room. Now what?

Rose sat on the balcony railing, swinging her legs into the night, as she stared at the myriad lights dotting the landscape below. Some flashed, others remained constant. Across the street she could hear the screams from people ' riding the roller coaster on top of New York, New York. Las Vegas always blazed with life. In the past she'd found it an exciting place to visit.

But not tonight.

She shouldn't have taken this a.s.signment. She'd initially refused when her editor had directed her to get the lowdown on Brand, until he'd dangled the carrot he knew she wanted-the promise that this would be the end of the exposes, that she could tackle more exciting stories, get a promotion that reflected her hard work.

But she should have known better. Brand had been an important part of her life for as long as she could remember. He never-okay, rarely-had annoyed her like her brothers had. To be honest, she'd been half in love with him since she'd turned ten. And now she was totally, completely, foolishly in love with him.

Her parents had warned her. Even Robin had warned her against this. Though she resented Robin's insinuation, she understood why he'd said it. He wanted to protect his son from the folly of involvement with someone who wouldn't age, someone who would never be normal.

Too late for that.

The problem now was how to handle it. She should leave. Now. Before it became any more difficult to do so. Especially since her editor was nagging her almost daily to turn in her article.

She didn't have all the information she needed, but she had enough to write something. Maybe that would be good enough.

"Is it always like that?" Ewan appeared beside her, startling Rose enough that she almost lost her balance.

Grabbing the railing to right herself, she glared at him. "Is what like what?"

"Family gatherings. One moment everyone is happy and laughing. The next angry and accusing. I fail to see how this is a good thing."

He looked confused and Rose grimaced. "Family dynamics are difficult to explain. There's love involved. Sometimes possessive love, sometimes protective love, sometimes freeing love."

He sighed. "And yet you place such high value on this love."

"It's the best feeling a person can have." And the worst.

"I don't understand."

"From what Mom has told me, the Fae don't experience intense emotions. You've lived forever. To have those highs and lows would tear apart your world. But mortals don't live forever and those highs and lows are part of experiencing life to the fullest. It's what keeps life interesting for us."

"Us? You include yourself with the mortals?"

"I think like a mortal, but I'll never be one." Rose blinked back the sudden surge of tears. "I'm Fae and yet not Fae, human yet not human." Ewan touched her arm in a gentle gesture. "Then come with me, Rose. You may discover a place where you can belong." For a moment she was tempted. "No. Not now anyway. Check with me in a hundred years or so." Perhaps when everyone she loved was gone, she'd find no reason to stay here.

"Are you unhappy because of what was said to you?"

"Some. Robin only said what he did because he's trying to protect Brand, but it still hurts that he'd think so little of me." She had always valued Robin's opinion. Surely he knew her better than that. "Did he not imply the truth? You are having s.e.x with Brand." Hard to hide that kind of thing from a faery. "Yes, but not so I can steal his secrets." "Then why?" She had to grin. "Because I enjoy it." "Do you want to be with him now?" More than anything. She ached for the feel of his hands upon her. "Yes." "And he wants you with him?" "Yes." She'd almost weakened and let him in when he'd pounded on her door hours earlier. Ewan frowned. "So you are allowing his father's words to keep you from Brand?"

Put like that, she flinched. Was she running away to avoid Robin's censure? "I guess so."

"Is not the pleasure you share more important?"

She drew back, staring at him in surprise. "You're actually making sense, Ewan. This frightens me."

He produced a broad smile. "I have been learning about mortals, about love."

"From Sequoia." Her cousin was destined to end up as hurt as Brand.

"She is ... special." Ewan gazed off into the distance. "I have learned far more from her than I thought I would."

"Don't hurt her." Easier said than done, as she well knew.

"I have no intentions of doing so. I will be with her tonight, as that is what we both want." A glimmer of a challenge appeared in his eyes. "Can you say the same?" Before Rose could respond, he vanished, and she sighed. He had a point. She wanted to be with Brand, ached to touch him. Was that so wrong?

Not giving herself a chance to think about it, she transported herself into his room. Brand had his back to her, working over some papers spread on his table. Or attempting to work. From the way he propped his chin on his hand and tapped his pencil against the papers, his mind was elsewhere.

"Brand?"

He jumped up at once and whirled to face her. "You came."

"I tried to stay away, but I couldn't." He mattered too much.

"Good." He stepped toward her. "My fattier was wrong. I know that."

One tight band around her heart vanished. A small part of her had feared that he would believe Robin's hints. "I'm here because I want to be widi you."

Brand stopped before her and ran his hands over her arms to rest on her shoulders. "And I want you. All I can think about is you."

Her Uiroat tightened. "I guess that works both ways."

He cradled the back of her head. "Make love with me, Rose. I need you."

She was lost before he even kissed her. "Oh, yes."

Hours later he slept exhausted beside her, but the peace of slumber eluded Rose. She lay on her side, her heart full, studying his handsome face-now relaxed and boyish. How could she exist without him?

Yet how could they build a realistic future together? The s.e.x was awesome, but they needed more than that. One day-not today or tomorrow, but soon-his resentment of her magic would surface again, and she couldn't change what she was.

What then?

Restless, she slid from the bed, wrapped a blanket around herself, and padded to the windows. The city still lived, the lights blazing, people continuing to plug their dollars into machines. Life went on.

With a sigh, she roamed the room, the outside flas.h.i.+ng signs providing enough illumination to see clearly. As she pa.s.sed the table, her blanket caught the edge of one of the papers and sent it flying.

She retrieved the paper, glancing at it as she set it back on the table. Her heart skipped a beat. Was it? She hesitated for only a moment, curiosity driving her to examine the other sheets, absorbing the information. The final piece. Here it was-everything she needed to know about how Brand would make the moon disappear.

Everything she needed to complete her expose.

d.a.m.n.

Now what was she going to do?

Eighteen.

Sequoia straightened her shoulders, drawing in a deep breath as the charge nurse presented her to the gathered children. She wasn't nervous, just disappointed that Ewan had refused to accompany her to the hospital today.

Especially after the way he'd made her feel last night- not only s.e.xy, but precious and special. She'd awakened in the circle of his arms, marveling at the depth of her feelings. She barely knew him, but she knew enough to love him, to want to be with him.

And she also knew he would leave her.

"And now, the Sensational Sequoia."

Sequoia burst into the room and launched into her act. Though she constantly experimented and added new twists, she could perform her few illusions effortlessly, which allowed her to concentrate on the children. She loved to see them laugh, to see their faces light up, to draw them into her routine, which was more fun than magic.

This group was particularly lively and their enthusiasm fed hers until she forgot about Ewan. This was as close as she could get to her initial ambition-the job goal that had horrified her parents.

What was so wrong with wanting to be a clown? With making people laugh? It was a time-honored profession that required training and apt.i.tude. Why couldn't Mom and Dad understand that?

"I'm now going to pull a rabbit out of my sleeve." As Sequoia first pulled one wrong item after another out of her sleeve, the kids howled with laughter. Last time Ewan had worked with her and produced the rabbit from his sleeve, which helped since she didn't use live animals as a rule.

"Well, I know it's here somewhere." She did have a toy stuffed rabbit that she produced last, but before she could slip it out, a small white bunny hopped across the room. Sequoia quickly worked the animal into her patter, then glanced over her shoulder with a smile, expecting to see Ewan. Her smile faded as her heart rose to her throat. Ewan stood by the door as she'd thought, but her parents accompanied him, their expressions revealing nothing. What were they doing here?

She sucked in a deep breath, drawing on all her concentration to continue her performance to the end. The children helped, shouting out answers to her teasing questions, their eyes growing round as she made a piece of paper float between her hands.

When she finally finished, the kids swarmed around her, demanding more tricks, wanting answers to how she'd, made the rabbit appear, and best of all, they offered hugs and smiles-the reward that made this all worthwhile. Fifteen minutes later the charge nurse had managed to steer them away, and Sequoia swallowed as she turned to face her unexpected audience. Her mother rushed forward to wrap her in a tight hug. "Honey, that was marvelous. Why didn't you tell us you did this kind of thing?"

Sequoia blinked. "Any time I mentioned wanting to be a clown, you refused to listen."

"But this wasn't being a clown."

"You brought these children some hope," her father added as he joined them.

"That's part of what a clown does." Sequoia studied their faces. For the first time they were actually listening. "It's more than putting on a silly costume and doing fake spills. It's making people happy. It's using skills to keep folks entertained."

"I'd never looked at it that way before," Mom said. "I thought being a clown was silly."

"What kind of future is there in this?" Dad asked.

Sequoia didn't mind the questions. At least they were talking about this instead of ignoring her input. "You'd be surprised, Dad. Clowns are in demand everywhere- hospitals, benefits, parties, circuses. There are even special schools that teach how to be a clown, which have cla.s.ses on psychology and things like that."

"There are colleges for clowns?" Her father's voice rose in surprise.

"Good ones. I have literature on some of them if you'd like to see it." Sequoia held her breath, waiting for her parents' response.

Her mom and dad exchanged glances, then Dad nodded. "Yes, I'd like to see it."