Destruction: The December People, Book One (42 page)

“You have nice hands.”

“Are you all right?” He gently extricated himself from her grasp.

“Do you think Verity will have a scar?”

He paused. “Do you mean Emmy?”

“Who?”

“Uh… if she does, I’m sure we can get it fixed. The scrape on her face doesn’t look very deep, if that’s what you mean.”

“That’s good.”

“How about I help you get home safely. You can ride with us.”

“You should be careful. You have two of them,” she mumbled.

“Okay… it’s going to be fine. Just come with me.”

“I don’t want to go.”

“I can’t just leave you here… like this.”

“I’m a grown woman.”

“I know you’re a very capable person. But right now… I think you need someone to help you.”

“No, thank you. We two have paddled in the stream, from morning sun till dine. But seas between us broad have roared since auld lang syne.” She took his hand back and kissed his palm.

When they got back to Marfa, David called Amanda and she demanded they get a hotel and sleep before driving back. David said he didn’t want to spend another moment away from home and away from her. She said it would be stupid for them to go through all that to die in a fiery car crash because he fell asleep at the wheel.

She won the argument, of course.

So, the next morning, David dropped Jude off at James’s house in Austin on the way back to Houston. David needed to buy some time before he figured out what to do with him. He doubted he had much time before his brother called and demanded that David take his son back. Even on Jude’s best days, David didn’t think they would get along very well.

After Amanda had finished her own inspection of Emmy and gotten her own “Mom, stop freaking out” speech, she fell into David’s arms.

“Spend the night with me tonight,” she whispered.

“Absolutely.”

“But maybe shower first.”

David chuckled.

“Seriously… why didn’t you shower at the hotel?”

“I didn’t think about it. I just wanted to come home.”

“You’re ridiculous.” She whispered it into his ear like her own brand of sweet nothing. “And stinky.”

vangeline insisted on wearing a dress and sandals to scatter her mother’s ashes, even though it was January and they were climbing to the top of Enchanted Rock. However, since Evangeline originally hadn’t wanted to come at all, it pleased David that she chose to dress up. She looked lovely. A white party dress with black ivy stitched around the hem. David liked it because, for once, she didn’t remind him of anyone. Not Crystal, not David’s mother, only Evangeline. Showing a glimpse of the grown-up self she would become. To complete her outfit, she had drawn intricate, colorful butterflies up and down her left arm. They looked so real he worried the people would think he had let his twelve-year-old get tattoos.

They had the rock mostly to themselves, as he had expected for wintertime. The bald face of pink granite had no trees to block the wind. Xavier draped his jacket over Evangeline’s goosebump-covered arms before David had a chance to. He didn’t have much planned. He had done his research but hadn’t found any wizard rites that seemed fitting. They all mentioned the wizard afterlife, known as the Summerland. Summerland was just another word for Heaven, but he didn’t like it. The word alone implied they didn’t belong there. So, it would be simple. Just the three of them, and not much would be said. David hadn’t really known the woman in the box for a long time, but he thought she would like it.

He pulled the cedar box out of his jacket. He didn’t mention he had carried it with him for months. He also handed the opal ring to Evangeline. She accepted it without comment and put it in her dress pocket.

“Is there anything you want to say to her?” David asked.

As expected, they didn’t respond right away. He waited.

“Okay,” Xavier said. “Um…”

Xavier looked at the box in David’s hands and rubbed his arms. “I’m sorry.”

Xavier’s face contorted as if he tried to hold in a sneeze. David realized he tried not to cry and put his arm around Xavier’s shoulder and hugged him. The first time David had ever touched his son. Xavier pressed his face into David’s shoulder to dab away his tears covertly.

“She’s not mad. She’s proud of you,” David said. Of course, he had no idea what she thought, but the words had a ring of truth to them. He hoped Xavier heard it, too.

“I’m sorry, too,” Evangeline said quietly. “I shouldn’t have said you deserved to die. I was just mad. I didn’t mean it. I didn’t want you to die; I wanted you to get better.”

“It’s okay. She knows that too.”

David ran his fingers across the smooth cedar. He had lots of things to say.
I’m sorry. I’m mad at you. I still love you. I love our kids. I forgot how it feels to have the tips of your hair brush across my chest when you lean down to kiss me. I wish I could feel it again.

“I hope you found what you were looking for,” he said.

He scattered her ashes in the four cardinal directions. The wind quickly swept her away into the great “more”. When the sun caught the ash, it briefly shimmered iridescent, as if she had never been made of anything more than fairy dust.

I have a wonderful life and for that, I owe many thanks to many people. First, I’d like to thank my husband, for loving me just as I am and for supporting me unconditionally on every step of my writing journey. I’d like to thank my mother being a wonderful mother and grandma, and for the magical inspiration and education. I’d like to thank my brother for being an early reader of
Destruction
and for his words of encouragement. I also wish to thank everyone in my extended family. I’m lucky to have supportive and loving relatives all around me.

I had some incredible beta readers for
Destruction
. Their input helped to make the story and characters what they are today. Thank you to Ben Chiles, Charity Bradford, Dana Edwards, Gwen Gardner, Deana Barnhart, and Leah Deane. Your feedback and support meant so much to me.

And, none of this would happen without the support of Curiosity Quills Press. Thank you Eugene Teplitsky, Lisa Gus, Katie Hamstead, Andrew Buckley, Courtney Worth Young, Nikki Tetreault, Holly Erwin, Clare Dugmore, and all the other goats and minions. Of course, I have to thank my brilliant editor Mary Harris. She really helped me make the story stronger. And, the talented cover artist Michelle Johnson. The cover is everything I hoped for and more. Last but not least, thank you to Krystal Wade, who used her own very limited free time to give
Destruction
a final edit and proofread.

There are volumes worth of people who deserve my thanks for helping to spread the word about
Destruction
—including everyone who participated in my blog tour, cover reveal, and release day blitz. I also want to thank every single person who purchases this book and writes a review. Your support means so much to me.

I also want to thank J.K. Rowling for inspiring my love for magic and wizards… despite her biased portrayal of Slytherins.

Every night I say a prayer of thanks for everything I have. And, I’ll do that again here. Thank you God for all of my many blessings. My family. My safety. My health. I truly love all that you have given me I’ll do my best to appreciate every bit of it.