resists. Almost like it’s fighting back. I blow harder, even add a little spit to it. Finally, the flame flickers and dies. A second later the candle crumbles to dust.
“Whoa,” I say. I brush the bits of it from my legs and then look up at Cash. “Did it work, then?”
He nods, looking more than a little smug.
And he should, because suddenly I am willing to do whatever he wants to get more of those candles. “Can I have more? I need at least . . .” I do a quick mental calculation. Turlington, Zinkowski, Cat Girl, Stace’s sister, Todd, Michaela . . . No. Not Michaela. “I need a lot.”
“As many as you need,” Cash says, in this reassuring way that has me almost melting into my chair with relief. “Unfortunately, I don’t have any more here. You see, a friend of mine makes these himself. We can find him at my beach house. You’ll love it there. The views are just—”
“Hold up,” I cut in, unable to ignore the sinking feeling telling me of course it can’t be that easy. “This friend who makes the candles. Is he really a friend? Or is he more like a prisoner?”
Something ugly crosses Cash’s face. “You’ve been talking to Benji and Jules.” He shakes his head. “I did so much for them—”
I interrupt again. “Like getting rid of Benji’s pesky extra eye? Depth perception. Who needs it, right?”
“I wanted their help in finding my daughter! Is that so terrible? Perhaps I went too far, in my desperate need. But I missed you, Lennie. It’s a terrible thing to lose a child.”
He’s so convincing. His face is suddenly haggard. And yet . . . I don’t quite believe it. “You missed me?” I ask. “Or you missed getting me to grant your wishes?”
“My little Lennie girl.” He shakes his head at me, sadly, like he can’t believe how I can be so confused. “You already gave me my one wish a long time ago, so that well’s been dry for some time now.”
I blink at him. “I . . . What? When?”
Cash frowns, looking hurt by my confusion. “It was a powerful moment between us, Lennie. That you’ve forgotten it . . .” He shakes his head. “Never mind. I won’t hold it against you.”
“Gee, thanks.” I realize he’s not gonna fill me in on whatever wish I gave him, so I cut to the chase. “If I granted your wish already, what exactly do you want from me?”
“Damn it.” He stands and crosses until he’s standing right in front of me. Then he kneels before me on one knee. “I want what any father wants. To know you. To be there for you. To help you reach your full potential.”
My throat goes tight. This is what I’ve wanted to hear for what seems like my whole life. And sure, this is probably bullshit, but he’s doing all he can to sell it and damn if I’m not ready to buy. I fight it, though. “If that’s true, then where have you been? Ten years and I haven’t ever gotten a crummy birthday card or even a stinkin’ phone call.”
He reaches for my hand, the burnt and bandaged one—still tender and aching from his orders. Or that’s what Rabbit told me, but maybe he’s the liar here because Cash takes my hand so gently, as if he could never stand to see me get hurt. “Do you think I would have let even a day go by without seeing you if the choice was mine to make? They hid you from me. The same way they’ve hidden themselves all these years. There was no way for me to have a moment like this until you sought me out of your own accord.”
“They hid me with a wish,” I say. “A wish to keep me safe from you.”
“Safety,” Cash scoffs. “If they cared about that, they’d have kept you far from the moonshine. But they needed a successor, I suppose. So they selfishly decided to use you for their own means.”
I stare at Cash, shocked by his twisted interpretation of the uncs. I am ready to defend them when Cash releases my hand and stands, brushing himself off while adding, “I can’t say for certain as to the exact wording of their wish, but I assume it was something along the lines of keeping your true identity and abilities hidden. That’s how your friend was so easily mistaken for you.”
I’d been nodding along,