Awakening (Lily Dale #1)(46)

Walter appears lost in the vision, shaking his head slowly. After a minute, Elaine asks, “Is he . . . is he saying anything else? Is he showing you anything else?”

“No. His energy is fading. I’m sorry . . . I’m being pulled over here now.” The medium is off to the opposite side of the auditorium, to someone else, leaving Elaine crumpled, disappointed, in her seat.

Calla watches her uneasily. She can’t help but wish there were something she herself could do. Or, yes, she almost feels as if there’s something she’s supposed to do. To help Elaine. Which is odd, because she’s not even sure why Elaine is here.

When the service is over, Evangeline taps her on the shoulder. “What did you think?”

“I thought it was interesting.”

“Yeah, there were some good readings tonight. So listen, I thought you might pop over to check your e-mail. You still can, you know.”

“I know . . . and thank you. I’ll get there at some point.”

“Anytime. And you can stay to hang out with me for a while if you want, too.”

“Thanks. Hey, where’s your friend going?” Calla asks, noticing Willow York by the door.

Evangeline rolls her eyes. “She said she was meeting Blue.”

“Blue?”

“Yeah. I hate to say it, but—well, he and Willow are supposedly broken up, but they keep finding reasons to see a lot of each other anyway.”

“She’s his ex-girlfriend?” Calla asks in dismay, and Evangeline nods.

“Supposedly ex.”

“So . . . you mean they might still be together?”

“I think Willow wishes they were.”

“You think? Aren’t you friends with her?”

“Not good friends. I mean, there aren’t that many people our age around here, like I said, so we all sort of gravitate together. But I wouldn’t say Willow and I are friends. She can be kind of standoffish.”

Yeah, no kidding. “So she’s still into Blue?”

“Seems like it. How about you?” Evangeline asks with a gleam in her eye.

“No!”

“Well, just so you know? I don’t think he’s into Willow anymore. He broke up with her.”

Evangeline looks pleased to tell her that, probably hoping to get Calla interested in Blue and distracted from Jacy. Calla is secretly pleased to hear it, too. Why, she has no idea. She’s not about to “hook up” with Blue Slayton, as he put it, if he’s seeing someone else. If she were interested, though, she’d think twice after seeing the exotically beautiful—and standoffish— Willow. If she’s Blue’s type, Calla’s not.

Still . . . he did seem interested. But that doesn’t matter. She’s still on the rebound from Kevin, trying to get over him—and anyway, it’s not as if she’s staying here in Lily Dale. Nothing could come of hooking up with Blue even if it did happen.

Jacy Bly, either.

“Oops, there’s my aunt over there waving at me,” Evangeline says. “I’ve got to go.”

Calla follows her gaze to Ramona. Beside her is an adolescent boy who has to be Evangeline’s brother. He has the same plain, round face and ruddy coloring, and he’s wearing a pair of Harry Potter–style glasses that do nothing for him.

“What are you doing tomorrow?” Evangeline asks over her shoulder. “Maybe I’ll come over and we can, I don’t know, play a game or watch a movie or something.”

“Sure,” Calla finds herself saying politely, “that would be fun.”

It actually might be, she realizes in surprise. She’s getting tired of being alone.

“Great. See you then.”

She watches Evangeline walk away—and realizes Jacy is promptly approaching her from the opposite direction, as if he were waiting to catch her alone. Her heart beats a little faster as they lock eyes.

“Hi,” she says nervously when he reaches her side. There’s something about him that unnerves her. Something other than the fact that he’s so good-looking. There’s a quiet but intense energy about him, and she feels almost helplessly drawn to it. She can’t help but remember the energy that zapped her arm the day he shook her hand, and wonders what to make of it.

“This is the first time I’ve seen you here.”

“Probably because it’s the first time I’ve been here.” Her flippant comment feels wrong.

“What did you think?”

“I think this auditorium could use some new seats, with cushions,” she says wryly, but he doesn’t crack a smile.

Great. This is just how things began the first time she spoke to him, by the lake. They hit their conversational stride only when they were fishing and she stopped trying to flirt.

“Seriously?” she adds. “I thought it was fascinating. Is this how it goes every time?”

“Pretty much. Were you hoping for a message?”

That question—and his straightforward gaze—catches her off guard. “What do you mean?”

He shrugs. “Maybe I’m wrong. I thought you hoped your mother would come through.”

He isn’t wrong. She did hope that. But how did he know?

“Calla?” She looks up to see Odelia beckoning to her from where she’s standing with a couple of friends. “Come here. I want you to meet some people.”