Niamh laughed. “You’re sharp, kid. Yes, it does. It absolutely does. But he needs to put in a lot more service than one measly walk home.”
“How much more? Missus.”
“That I don’t know. It usually depends on how much a person’s heart is in it. If he’s protecting her to get rewards, then he will be passed up. If he is doing it because he genuinely wants to see her safe, then it will take very little for the house to recognize his service and repay him in kind.”
“But doesn’t that mean he’ll be trapped in the magic too?”
Niamh couldn’t help grinning at that. The boy was surprisingly astute when he wanted to be.
“Yes it does, Paul. It certainly does.”NineThe cool mountain breeze washed over me as I slipped out of the bar, accidentally hitting the door frame as I did so. I bounced off, stabilized, and turned the wrong way.
“Oops,” I whispered, pointing at a guy down the way who’d noticed me. He was out there smoking, but he turned toward me a little as if to say something. I gave him a thumbs up. Then about-faced. It was always good to distract people when you were doing something stupid.
Headed the right way, I pulled out my phone and tapped into the GPS app. There were, like, three turns, but just in case, I wanted a little backup. I didn’t want Jeeves to come looking for me.
“Trying to ditch me?”
“Hah!” I kicked out on reflex, missed, shoved a solid wall of muscle, went nowhere, then kicked again, clipping a shin. Somewhere in there, I’d dropped my phone.
“It’s me, it’s Austin.” He danced away, agile for a guy so big. Or maybe just sober.
Hands out, adrenaline pumping the alcohol through my bloodstream a little faster, I lumbered after my phone like Frankenstein’s monster. It slid to a stop in the dirt beside a spiky weed with a yellow flower.
“I know,” I said. I checked my phone screen. Solid as a rock.
“Then why’d you kick me?”
“You surprised me. Like Chuck Norris.”
“What?” he said, walking in the gutter, giving me plenty of space. I needed it. The sidewalk wasn’t wide enough for my “straight” line.
“Chuck Norris destroyed the periodic table,” I replied.
“Huh?”
“He only recognizes the element of surprise.”
Light from a streetlight showered down on Austin’s face, showing a confused, cockeyed grin. “Did you hit your head on a rock while you were sneaking out?”
“No. I got caught in the door, though. Does that count?”
“Yes.”
Turn right in—
I silenced my phone but didn’t turn the GPS off. I shot Austin a narrow-eyed glare he probably couldn’t see—a silent warning not to lead me astray. It was out there, now. It hung between us in the air.
“Got it,” he said.
“Dang it. I hate when I say my thoughts out loud. This was why Matt always bitched when I drank.”
“Who’s Matt? The ex?”
“Yeah. Dumped me.”
“I’m sorry,” he murmured.
“Because I got dumped, or because I ended up as a caretaker for a big old creepy house?”
He paused for a moment. “Both. You think it’s creepy?”
“Of course I think it’s creepy. Don’t you?”
“Yes. So…” He stepped up on the curb.
I bumped into him on accident. “You’re in my space,” I said, weaving in the other direction.
“Sorry.” He stepped back down. “So you have no idea about that house?”
“No idea about what?” I stopped and faced him. Swayed forward. Swayed back. “Are there ghosts?”
I could just see his bewildered expression in the moonlight. “I…don’t honestly know. I’ve never heard…”
I waved the thought away. “I don’t believe in ghosts, but I would’ve looked for them if there had been reports.”
“No, I don’t think there are ghosts. Listen…it’s a dangerous house. You probably shouldn’t…go off the beaten track in it. Just stick to cleaning and you’ll probably be—”
“I know all about the dangers.” I stopped for a moment, needing a deep breath to calm my stomach. Lots of wine. I’d probably need to eat when I got home to keep everything down.
“You okay?” Austin asked.
“Yup!” I started walking again, nearing the main drag. “When I was ten, I found a trap door that dumps people out of the third floor. Diana nearly wet herself.”
“Right, exactly. There’s a lot of those…elements.”
“Hey!” said a disembodied voice.
I glanced blearily to the right, squinting to see three guys sauntering down the sidewalk in a sort of zigzag. The streetlights, much more plentiful on this street, highlighted their jeering faces.
Younger guys, on the sauce, not ready to go home and looking for some sport.
I doubted they’d bother an older lady on her own—boring! A few words, a joke about MILFs, and that would be that. But Austin was big, he was also middle-aged, and he was with said “older” lady. To a young moron who hadn’t been raised right, that would look like good sport. Bait the old dude trying to protect his lady, make a fool of him. Half the trouble of parenting had been making sure my kid didn’t grow up to be like these jerks.