Page 96 of Enchanted to Meet You

“We are,” Esther informed her, soberly. “Mommy and Daddy are fighting.”

Gabby sucked in her breath, looking anxious. “No!Why?Is it demons?”

“No, it’s not demons.” I paused in the vestibule to open my bag for my key fob. “Derrick and I are not fighting. We had a little disagreement, that’s all.”

“How do you know it’s not demons?” Gabby asked. “It’s nearly Halloween. Maybe demons have possessed Derrick’s body and are making him fight with you.”

“Yeah.” Esther nodded. “As a Sagittarian, he’d be especially susceptible. Sagittarians are always up for adventure.”

I glared at both girls. “It’s not demons. Esther, say good night to Gabby. We have to go.”

“Hold on,” Gabby said. “I’ll come with you. My parents never get a night out alone. It will be fun for them to hang out at the Yacht Club. You can drop me off at Esther’s, if you don’t mind, Jess.”

Which is what I ended up doing, chauffeuring the two girls in the back seat of my new car like I was a rideshare driver. The moon was only a day away from being full, so bright in thecloudless night sky that I could easily see the road before me despite my headlights, shining like a river. . . .

As well as the sleek body of the gray wolf running alongside my car.

Yes. That’s right.

Though I was certain I had to be imagining it, there it was, the mythical wolf everyone else had been reporting.

Or at least an extremely large, light gray dog, loping fast as lightning, leaping over hedges and under guardrails in order to keep up with me.

Since I was fairly certain that no canine could keep up with a car going forty miles per hour, I wondered if this was some sort of hex Rosalie had put on the rearview mirror, so that every time I glanced into it on a moonlit night, I’d think I was being followed by a wolf. And not only one. As my speed increased, so did the number of wolves. First one, then two, then four, until finally we were being followed—or escorted—by an entire pack of wolves, their silver coats and eyes gleaming in the moonlight, their paws silent on the frozen grass.

The girls in the back seat didn’t notice. They were giggling away with one another, flipping through images from the night on their phones. I wasn’t about to ask them,Hey, do you see those wolves out there?and freak them out. Well, freak Gabby out, anyway.

I was relieved when I pulled up in front of Esther’s house and saw not only every light in her house blazing (as usual), but also that the wolves had vanished.

They’d probably never been there in the first place, I told myself. I’d probably imagined the whole thing. Maybe the entire village of West Harbor was suffering from mass hallucinations. Something in the drinking water?

“Good night,” I said to the girls as they got out of the car. “Try to get some sleep. Big day tomorrow.”

Esther paused before closing the door. “Thanks. And hey, Jessica? I don’t know what Derrick did, but I personally don’t think you should be too hard on him.”

I blinked. “Oh?”

“No. He’s not really that bad—for a guy.” She shut the door, then ran up the steps to her front porch, where she waved good night.

I waved back, then drove away. I didn’t see a single wolf during my ride home.

Jessica

Insert a needle into the wick of a candle, then light it. Concentrate on thy love. His thoughts will be pierced, and thou wilst hear from him within four and twenty hours.

Goody Fletcher,Book of Useful Household Tips

“Technically Derrick didn’t lie to you,” Dina said.

“Dina.” I was in my bed, alone—unless you counted Pye, curled at my feet on top of my comforter. “You aren’t saying you actually believe this craziness that he’s the son of Gaia?”

“Why shouldn’t I believe it?” I could tell by the way she was huffing that Dina was on her phone outside, being dragged by the three beagles she co-owned with Mark. “There’s no way to disprove it, especially since you didn’t stick around long enough to ask Old Bart if it was true.”

“Dina.” I had the television on in my bedroom—a luxury I hadn’t had much of a chance to enjoy since Derrick had moved in, as I’d been preoccupied by . . . other things. Now I flipped through the channels with the sound on mute, vainly looking for something to distract me from the feeling that I’d been wrong toask Derrick to find alternative lodgings for the night. Not only because I knew hotel rooms were so limited in the area, but also because my best friend wasn’t on my side. Even worse: I missed him. “Are you out walking the dogs? In the dead of night? With a pack of wolves on the loose?”

“It’s ten thirty,” Dina said. “And there are no wolves. Certainly none that can run as fast as a car.”

“I know what I saw. Text me when you get home so I know you’re safe.”