was okay.” Her gaze went to the upper balcony, searching until she found Quen coming down the stairs with Jenks and Trent.
“Well, trolls are allowed to do that sort of thing.” I stood her up so she could go to her dad or abba . . . or whatever. A woman in a business dress was with them, and I got up off the floor at her startled blink. She was probably the station manager, seeing as Trent had his wallet out and Quen had knocked down the studio door.
Jenks was on Trent’s shoulder, looking as right as rain in the desert. There was a disk in Trent’s hand, and a sour look on his face that vanished when the girls joined them. There had to be at least a dozen colored bubbles drifting about, and Al picked Lucy up to distract her from making more. It also got him in on the conversation, and feeling left out, I folded Ray’s blanket.
“Sorry for ruining your afternoon,” I said to Ellasbeth. “It wasn’t my intention.” This time, I mentally added, recalling busting in on her marriage to Trent, effectively ending it.
Much to my surprise, Ellasbeth touched my shoulder, her warmth sincere where there’d only been a prickly distaste before. “No need to apologize,” she said, her faint Seattle accent making her sound even more polished. “I have them all weekend, thanks to you.” She smiled, eyes dropping when they began to glisten. “Thank you for that,” she almost whispered.
“It was Trent’s decision, not mine,” I said uncomfortably. It was a lot easier to hate her than understand her. Understanding her might lead to liking her, and that would be intolerable.
She made a sound of disbelief. “Nice of you to give him that illusion. No, this is coming from you. I know he doesn’t trust me.”
Tal Sa’han, echoed in my thoughts, scaring me. I held the ear of the potentially most powerful man east of the Mississippi. “Ellasbeth—,” I began, and she cut me off.
“I’m trying devilishly hard to convince Trent of my sincerity,” she said, her eyes on the girls. “He’s as stubborn as my father. I made one mistake that led to several, but when I realized what Landon was doing, I did try to stop him.” Her lips pressed. “Only to end up tied to a chair. I’m not much good to him. Prissy lab tech ignorant of even the most basic spell.”
Shocked, I turned to her. “That’s not true.”
She looked at me, clearly not believing me. Silent, she shifted to make room for Trent and Al, each one holding a little girl. Behind them, Quen went to the lobby desk with the manager. Pulling herself straighter, Ellasbeth said loudly, “Thank you for shaking some sense into him regarding Landon and his lies.”
“Right,” I said, wondering if that hand gesture Ray was studiously trying to force her fingers into looked familiar.
“I’m glad you spoke up,” Ellasbeth continued as I caught Al coaching the little girl, and he shifted to hide it from Trent. “Landon has been publicly calling for Trenton to be brought up on charges. If he can find something in the law that lets him, he will succeed.”
“He won’t.” Trent jiggled Lucy as the little girl twisted in his grip to keep Jenks in view.
“Trent.” Ellasbeth’s voice became more formal. “I don’t think you want to see the ramifications of letting these lies stand. Rachel does.” I winced as everyone looked at me and she added, “Landon still has half the enclave looking to him, and the entire dewar.”
“Not the entire dewar. Jenks, land somewhere, will you?” Trent asked as he struggled with Lucy, and Jenks alighted on my shoulder.
“Enough to cause problems.” Ellasbeth picked up her purse, clearly wanting to leave. “I respect that you have your own way of handling things, but if you don’t give the people something to choose between, you can’t blame them for following Landon.”
“I’ve got this, Ellasbeth,” Trent said tightly.
“Yeah, he’s got this, Ellasbutt,” Jenks echoed, and I frowned, no longer sure what side of the let’s-hate-Ellasbeth fence I was on. Crap on toast . . . I don’t have time for another life lesson.
But Trent was clearly at his limits. Seeing it as well, Ellasbeth tucked her purse under her arm and held out her hand for Ray’s blanket. “Well, I have said my piece and you have heard me,” she said as she stuffed it into the diaper bag. “Thank you for the girls this weekend. I’ll bring