Soothsayer: Magic Is All Around Us (Soothsayer Series Book 1) (25 page)

“And other times?”

I grimaced. “Well, when I go back to the night I was stabbed, there is some comfort because I know how it all turns out, but I can also feel everything I was feeling that night. It's suffocating.” I set my coffee down and wrapped my arms around my shoulders.

“Do you see that night often?”

“Not so much anymore. I used to dream about it. Well, I thought they were dreams. And then that day when we were on the pier, your touch took me back to that night, but nothing since then.”

“I'm sorry you were hurt.”

“Robert, don’t. It all turned out fine,” I said, waving off his concern.

He looked up at me and our eyes caught for just a second. Warmth spread through me like wildfire and I let my hair fall across my face to hide my uncontrollable emotions. It frustrated me that just one look from him made me feel like a schoolgirl with a crush. I wished I could get my feelings in check but somehow he always managed to get my guard down.

“I should probably get ready,” I said, taking one last sip of my coffee before placing the cup in the sink.

“Do you mind if I tag along with you again today?” Robert asked.

“Do I have a choice?” I gave him a playful grin.

“Not really.” Robert smiled with all his charm and pushed himself off the counter. “But it’s polite to ask,” he whispered into my ear as he leaned around me to put his cup in the sink.

My hand started reaching up to cradle his cheek but I made myself take a step around him and head out of the kitchen.

“Be ready to go in an hour,” I said without looking back. I took a deep breath as I closed my bedroom door behind me and proceeded to get ready for the day.

>>>><<<<

An hour later we were out the door and I had pushed any lingering attraction between us to the back of my mind. On the way to the studio, I stopped by the framing shop I frequented to pick up what I needed for the Caltome project.

“Your phone went off while you were inside,” Robert said as I got back in the car.

I dug through my purse and pulled out my cell. Becky had sent me a text.
6pm call time. See you tonight!
 

“Everything okay?” Robert asked as I threw my phone back in my purse.

“Yeah, it was just Becky letting me know they’re going to pick me up around six tonight.”

“Do you think you can get everything done in time?” Something sounded off about Robert’s voice just then. I looked over at him and he seemed to be perfectly fine so I shrugged off the odd feeling.

“Of course. Plus I have someone to help me just in case it comes down to the wire,” I said nudging him with my elbow.

“I'm better at supervising.” He grinned and shrugged his shoulders.

I rolled my eyes at him. “Of course you are.”

Pulling up to the studio, I parked right in front. Robert grabbed the box of frames from the backseat while I unlocked the front door, flipping on the lights and holding the door open for him.

“Where would you like me to put this?” he asked.

“Umm… there’s a table in the back you can set it on,” I pointed toward the backdoor as I walked over to my desk.

Turning on my computer I followed Robert into the back room to warm up the printing equipment. I still needed to print all of the larger portraits and each one took a good amount of time. As I flipped each machine on, they groaned to life and cycled through their components to prepare for printing. It always reminded me of someone getting out of bed, yawning, stretching and cracking in various places. I pulled the smaller-sized pictures I’d printed yesterday from the filing cabinet and put them on the table next to the box of frames. Turning to walk back into the main office I saw Robert leaning against the wall, watching me.

“You don’t have to watch over me like I’m a prisoner,” I said and walked back to my desk.

“Maybe if my prisoner wasn’t so easy on the eyes, I wouldn’t,” he replied. I could hear the smile in his voice and refused to look at him, not wanting to be distracted for even a moment.

I sat down in front of my computer and double-clicked on the printing software. Robert had followed me back to my desk and I looked up at him while I waited for the program to open.

“What’s going on with you?” I asked. “You seem tense this morning.”

“I’m fine, just didn’t get a lot of sleep last night.”

“Is everything alright?”

“Of course.” Robert said, leaning against the side of my desk so I could no longer see his face.

I pushed my chair back so I could at least see his profile. “Would you tell me if everything wasn’t okay?” I asked, unable to hide a suspicious frown.

The set of his shoulders tightened ever so slightly. He was definitely keeping something from me, but what?

“Violet, just trust me,” he said and turned his head to look at me. A sad smile touched his lips.

“Alright,” I said, pushing my chair closer to my desk.

“I need to make a few phone calls. I'll be outside if you need me,” Robert abruptly announced and pushed himself off my desk.

I didn’t say anything as I watched him walk out the front door. Turning back to my computer I pushed Robert out of my mind. I didn’t have time to sit here and wonder what could possibly be bothering him.

I spent the next couple of hours printing the larger photos and fitting the portraits into the frames while Robert went in and out of the store taking and making calls. His mood hadn't improved much since leaving the house that morning and it started putting me on edge. If he wasn’t on the phone outside talking to someone, he was inside frantically typing away on a text message. Something was definitely going on and he was trying to keep it from me.

Toward the middle of the day, food arrived in the form of a pizza I’d ordered. I took a slice and ate without really tasting it. I was in deadline mode and nothing else really mattered until I had everything done. Jessie showed up at three-thirty like always and I put her straight to work. With Jessie putting together the rest of the frames and Robert outside again, pacing back and forth in front of the store, I decided to call Matthew and let him know I’d have everything ready in about an hour.

“Hello?” Matthew’s voice came through after just one ring.

“Hey, it’s Violet,” I said, startled. I hadn’t expected him to answer so fast.

“Is everything okay?” His voice sounded off, tense. I shot a glance at Robert. He was still outside on the phone.

“Yeah, why wouldn’t it be?”

“Just checking. What’s up?” Matthew asked, his voice suddenly light and carefree.

“I just wanted to let you know you can come by in about an hour and pick everything up.” I debated whether or not I should ask him what was going on but kept my mouth shut.

“Sounds good, see you in a bit.” The line went dead before I could utter a response.

I removed the phone from my ear and stared at it for a second, surprised that Matthew had been so abrupt. I got up from my chair and went outside to confront Robert, who still chatted away on his phone.

“What the hell is going on?” I demanded, bursting through the front door.

“I’m going to have to call you back,” Robert said into his cell, eyeballing me. He ended the call and put the phone in his pocket. “Now, what’s the problem?” He glanced at me as if I hadn’t just burst through the door yelling at the top of my lungs.

“I want to know what’s going on and don’t you dare tell me everything’s fine,” I demanded. I could feel my frustration crackle just under the surface. One wrong word from him and I’d lose it.

Robert frowned. “Why do you think there’s something wrong?”

“Well for starters, you’ve been distant all day and your phone hasn’t left your hand the whole time. Also, I called Matthew.” Robert’s shoulders tightened at the mention of Matthew’s name. “And the first thing he wanted to know was if I was okay. Why wouldn’t I be okay, Robert?”

He sighed. “Fine, but inside.” He wrapped his hand around the crook of my arm and led me back into the studio.

“There’s been a lead on the man who attacked you.” Robert said, releasing my arm once the door closed behind us.

“What kind of lead?” I asked as my heart plunged into my stomach.

“We think we may have tracked him down, here in Pismo.”

“So what does this mean?” I asked under my breath. My frustration teetered on becoming full-blown panic.

“Violet?” Jessie called, poking her head around the door to the back room.

Robert and I backed away from each other at the intrusion and I took a deep breath. “Yeah, Jessie?” I replied.

“Sorry,” she said, blushing after interrupting what was clearly a charged conversation.

“It’s alright, what’s up?” I smiled, trying my best to keep my voice light.

“One of the larger photos jammed.”

I let out a heavy sigh. “Okay, just give me a minute and I’ll be right there.”

Jessie nodded and disappeared behind the door.

“Robert,” I began, “what are-“

“We’re gonna get this guy, Violet,” he insisted, cutting me off.

“And what about the next guy and the next guy? This isn’t just going to stop with him.”

“I know, but you have to trust me,” he said, reaching up and placing his hand against my cheek.

“I do trust you.” I covered his hand with mine and removed it from my face. “But you can’t keep me out of the loop. I’m not a child, Robert,” I said, trying to stay in control of the wide range of emotions battling inside of me. I knew he thought he was protecting me by not telling me what was happening, but keeping me in the dark wouldn’t help either of us.

“I know you’re not, but it’s more important that I find out what’s going on than it is to fill you in on every little detail.” He frowned, irritation seeping into his voice.

Like a spark to gasoline, the anger ignited inside me. Some part of me knew the fear I’d been keeping at bay since the night I was attacked was driving my anger toward Robert. It was much easier to be mad at him than have to think about the fact that my life was in danger.

“You don’t get to decide what’s more important when it’s my life on the line,” I said through gritted teeth.

“Violet, you have to-“

“No,” I cut him off, “you need to stop pretending you know what’s best for me. I let you follow me around and keep me out of harm’s way, but don’t think I won’t kick you out of my studio if you can’t be honest with me.” I turned and walked away before he could add anything else to the conversation. I opened the door to the backroom and slipped inside without so much as a glance back in Robert’s direction.

Taking a deep breath to steady myself I stepped over to the machine that needed un-jamming. Once I pulled out the ruined portrait and hit the reprint button, I set to work with Jessie on the rest of the frames. Working helped abate my anger and just as we were finishing the last few frames, Matthew came into the backroom.

He was normally all smiles and I could tell he was trying to keep up appearances. But he couldn’t seem to look me in the eye. I found it impossible to be mad at him, though. It wasn't his place to update me on the latest Magical news. Not wanting to keep him waiting any longer than necessary, I quickly showed him all the portrait’s and put them back in the box the frames had come in. He thanked me on behalf of the Deardons and gave me a check as payment.

“Take care of yourself, Violet,” Matthew said as he kicked the front door open. His eyes met mine for just a second. There was a sadness to them I hadn’t seen before.

“You too,” I said as the door swung closed.

I found Robert sitting in the front of the studio in the small waiting area. I glanced over at him before heading back to my desk. He didn’t move to follow me, which was all the best since I really didn’t know what to say to him. I sat down in front of my computer and stared at the screen. We finally had more information on the guy who attacked me, but the news offered no comfort. I felt more afraid now than ever. Knowing I might have to face him again made me sick to my stomach. If he got to me before we got to him, would I survive a second time? I tried to focus on the hum inside me, to force myself to see the future. Nothing happened.

The thought of William suddenly came to mind and how he wished he could get a glimpse of the future. I had the ability but not the know-how to make my visions work. I closed my eyes, feeling completely helpless. Maybe Robert was right, maybe it would take too much time to explain everything to me. I didn’t know anything about the Magical world. I couldn’t even use my own Magic when I wanted to.

My cell phone vibrated across the desk, jolting me back to reality. I took a deep breath and answered. “Hey, Becky. What’s up?” I said after seeing the caller ID.

“I just wanted to check in and make sure you’d be ready to go in about an hour,” Becky replied.

I looked at the time on my computer. It was already five o’clock. How long had I been lost in my thoughts?

“Yeah, I’ll be ready and waiting,” I said, trying to sound excited.

“Perfect. Can you grab a few extra blankets? It’s always freezing at night and Aaron is using all my spare stuff right now.”