Mackenzie Legacy, The (14 page)

~

Chapter Sixteen

THE HAPPIEST PLACE

~

They pulled up to a gas station the next morning and Layla watched Calvin climb out of the truck, thinking he looked as good from behind as he did from the front.

“Come on Cali!” she grabbed her cousin’s arm, “Let’s go check out the store!”

After a summer on the road, Caledonia had been inside dozens of convenience stores, but it was an entirely new experience for Layla.

“Why is everything so cheap?” she asked, confused. “Oh look! They have an ATM!”

She dug into her purse, pulling out a credit card and rushing over to the cash machine, pressing the buttons with a flurry of flying fingers.

She smiled up at Cali with satisfaction, waving the plastic in the air, “Just sending Max a little parting gift.”

Caledonia watched with fascination as the machine started spewing out money. Layla snapped up the cash, shoving it into her wallet and discarding the card in the wastebasket.

“Why did you throw it away?” Cali asked.

Layla rolled her eyes dramatically, mimicking one of Michael’s girlfriends, “Sweetheart, you have a lot to learn about things, don’t you?”

She grabbed a basket with a carefree laugh, skipping through the aisles as she loaded it with a huge assortment of toiletries and trinkets. Caledonia looked at the jumble of items with curiosity. “What are you getting all that stuff for?”

“I’m high maintenance,” Layla sniffed with a toss of her bright red mane. She had adopted the mannerisms of the girls that lounged by Max’s pool, because aside from Cali, they were the only ones she’d ever met. Coy and flirtatious, she was feeling her oats, giddy with the sheer pleasure of her new-found freedom. She got into line at the register, plucking a pair of glittery sunglasses from a revolving display, slipping them on and turning to ask Cali, “Are they me?”

When they went back out to the gas pumps, Layla leaned against the truck, eyeing a young man filling the tank of an even bigger truck than theirs. He looked up to see her staring, tipping his black cowboy hat at her.

“Nice hat,” she smiled brightly, twirling a lock of hair around her finger.

Caledonia squelched a smile. “I’m going to see if Calvin needs anything,” she said, leaving Layla to her flirtation.

When Cali came back out of the store Layla was sitting in the truck, her vivid curls tumbling out of the bottom of the black cowboy hat. Caledonia raised her eyebrows at her, but Layla just shrugged, smiling like the cat that ate the canary, “He wanted me to have it.”

They pulled out onto the highway, heading north. After a while they started seeing billboards advertising all sorts of local tourist attractions.

“Ooh look! Disneyland,” Layla said with a rush of excitement. “I’ve always wanted to go, but Michael said it was only for little kids… Have you ever been?”

“No,” said Caledonia, “But we passed by it before on the way to a racetrack.”

“How about you, Cal?” Layla asked.

“Nope,” he said.

After a few minutes, and another billboard, Layla piped up, “We should go! Let’s do it! Let’s go to Disneyland… Pleeease?”

Her high spirits must have been contagious, because Calvin surprised Caledonia by shrugging, “Sure. I don’t see why not.”

He found himself escorting the two giggling girls through the theme park, having a better time than he thought he would. It was like the county fair on a much larger scale, and people were so unbelievably accommodating he was surprised. Layla took hold of Cali’s arm, urging them to the front of the long lines. She boldly strolled into VIP sections where they were never denied access, smiling her Cheshire cat grin at anyone who posed an obstacle.

Calvin guessed what she was doing, but Caledonia could see exactly what was going on, surprised by how ruthlessly Layla wielded her power. She was efficient, focusing just the right amount of energy with targeted precision. Her years of practice had obviously fine-tuned her abilities, and now that she was not being reined in by any real or imagined limits, she was running amok.

The third time they were placed onto a ride ahead of all of the people waiting in line she looked up at Caledonia, tipping her new cowboy hat with a wink. The professor had truly created a monster. A charming, girlish monster, but a monster nevertheless.

The way Layla had made off with the hat was troublesome. Caledonia would never take anything from someone on a mere whim, without any real need. She’d been raised with scarcity, working hard for everything she could accumulate, and she had a healthy respect for other people’s possessions. She could imagine at least a dozen scenarios where the confiscated hat might have been a cherished gift, a hard-earned purchase, or even a necessity.

In contrast, Layla didn’t seem to put any thought at all into how her manipulations ultimately affected people, making Caledonia wonder if it looked the same way when she did it. When they stopped to eat at a restaurant, Layla worked over the wait-staff mercilessly, making them so eager to please it was almost comical.

Everyone Layla encountered got the same treatment, making Cali tired just watching it.

“Don’t you get headaches?” Caledonia asked.

Layla was surprised. “How did you know?”

She told
Layla
what Roxy had said about the headaches getting worse with age, and the older woman’s warnings about a curse replayed in Caledonia’s mind. She fell silent for a while, finishing her meal in quiet introspection while Layla quizzed Calvin about playing poker in Las Vegas. Given her ruthless streak, Caledonia imagined that Layla would do very well if she ever tried her hand at cards.

When Layla got up from the table, Calvin took Cali’s hand, slipping his fingers through hers. “Are you alright?” he asked.

“I’m fine,” she put her concerns aside to smile for him.

After lunch she excused herself while Calvin and Layla got up to go look over a map of the park. When she rounded a corner to return to them, what she saw stopped her dead in her tracks.

Layla was talking to Calvin, casting an intense shade of lavender over him as he looked down at her. It was the same kind of mind-numbing agreeability that she’d tried to use on Cali the first day they’d met.

Caledonia started shaking, filled with such white hot rage that when she flew between them Layla jumped back in fear. “What do you think you’re doing?” Cali growled in a low voice.

“I…I…” Already pale, Layla blanched even whiter.

Caledonia turned to look up at Calvin, still bathed in a powerful cloud of acquiescence, completely oblivious to the tension between the two girls.

“We’ll be right back.” she told him, gripping Layla by the upper arm and steering her a few feet away.

“Back off!” she hissed ferociously. “Calvin is off limits.”

“But… but…”

“If I ever catch you messing with him again you’re on your own. Do you understand?”

“Yes,” she nodded, surprised by Caledonia’s ferocity. She looked like she was about to burst into tears. “I was only going to get him to take us on the rollercoaster next,” she whimpered.

Caledonia softened, recognizing the intense fear in Layla’s eyes. Seeing her tamper with Calvin had brought out something territorial in Cali, something primal and protective that she hadn’t felt for some time. I guess you can’t take the wild out of the girl, she thought.

She took a deep breath, calming herself. “Yeah, well… Calvin and I have an understanding… I don’t use it on him.”

“Why not?” Layla asked, honestly curious.

“If I did, how could he ever trust me?”

“But he wouldn’t know,” she countered.

“
I
would know.” She started to walk away, turning back, “Don’t ever mess with him again, alright?”

Layla nodded solemnly, “I promise.”

She trailed behind Caledonia to join Calvin, who was still scrutinizing the map. He wasn’t aware that anything had transpired between the girls, and he smiled at the two of them, “After the jungle ride we should check out the haunted house.”

They boarded a boat headed for an artificial Africa, and Layla slid into the bench behind them. Calvin and Cali snuggled together, laughing and pointing out the animatronic animals to each other, as Layla watched their sweet colors mingle. She’d seen her brother and Max with plenty of women over the summer, but Cal and Cali’s affection for each other was different in every possible way.

She’d noticed how they interacted all day, and the way she saw Calvin look at Caledonia– really look at her– was amazing. He treasured her, watching over her with such sweetness and respect that it took Layla’s breath away. She wished that someone would look at her that way someday.

When they climbed off the boat she followed behind them as they strolled hand in hand down a path, rounding a corner to reveal the facade of an old fashioned mansion. Caledonia stopped in her tracks, overcome by a surge of familiarity.

Four tall white columns supported a structure sheltering a large porch. It looked eerily like the porch from Caledonia’s dreams, and the only thing missing was the old woman. She looked over at Layla to see her own shock mirrored on her cousin’s face. Their eyes met, blue and green, green and brown, and the discord between them was completely forgotten.

They both knew it without even having to say it.

“You saw her too…” Layla said, goose bumps rising on her arm.

“I think she was our grandmother,” Caledonia shared her awe. “In front of the house that burned…” she nodded towards the facsimile mansion, standing on the neatly manicured grounds of the amusement park. “The ruins are on our land… I can take you there.”

“I want to see it,”
Layla
whispered.

Caledonia looked down at her feet, “You’re
gonna
need some better shoes.”

Calvin turned back to see both the girls staring at the building in shock and grinned. “Are you two scared?”

~

They drove a long ways that night, putting plenty of miles between themselves and Los Angeles. It was late when the three of them checked into a motel a morning’s drive to their destination, getting Layla a separate room. The two Cals snuggled together in bed, happy to be alone again. Caledonia rested her head on Calvin’s chest, and he stroked her back while they discussed the events of the day.

She told him what she’d seen Layla doing, surprising him. “I think that’s how she got you to go in the first place.”

“But I didn’t even feel it,” he said in disbelief.

“That’s why it works so well,” she explained.

He was quiet for a few minutes, finally asking, “How do I know that you never use it on me?”

“You don’t… You’re just going to have to trust me,” she said, her fingers trailing across his muscled stomach. He chuckled a little, kissing the top of her head. She traced every ridge and valley, smiling when he shuddered at her touch.

“I don’t think–” his breath caught in his throat.

“That’s good,” she said, letting her hand wander lower, “Because there’s probably not enough blood left in your brain to think.”

He laughed, rolling over to pin her body beneath his, “You wanna take that back?”

“Why?” she asked, “What are you gonna do about–”

He silenced her with a kiss.

~

Layla lie awake in her hotel room, unable to sleep after her first full day of freedom. She thought about Michael, wondering if he’d ever change his mind about Max. She picked up her phone and dialed. His phone rang and rang, and when he finally answered, he sounded groggy, his tongue thick in his mouth.

“Layla?”

“Are you alright?”

He hesitated, “You were right about leaving… I want to come with you… I want to meet up with you guys.” There was real fear in his voice. “Where are you?”

“Did he do something to you?” she asked, suspicious. “I should call the police.”

“NO! No police! If anything happens to Max we’ll both go down with him… Our names are all over everything. You have to promise me not to involve the law.”

“He threatened you, didn’t he?”

“Just tell me where you are.”

“I don’t even know,” she said. “I’m at some motel. We’re on our way to go see the land.”

“Listen… I need you to leave your cell phone on. I’ve been trying to call you all day.”

“I can’t. I didn’t bring my charger, and my battery is getting low… Listen, I’ll call you when we get there, okay? Maybe you can take a bus up or something, and we can come get you.”

“Okay,” he sounded grim.

She hung up, finally settling down to sleep.

~

Max got up from his chair, reaching his hand out for the phone. Michael passed it over, shying away when the big man patted him on the cheek, “Good boy.” He turned to another man clicking away on a computer, “Did you get a position?”

“I can narrow it down to the 101 corridor, somewhere outside of Ukiah,” the man replied, “But the phone has to be turned on for the GPS to operate… And the tracker
does
shorten the battery life. Once it goes dead we’re out of luck.”