being from the beach at Azores spilled onto the kitchen table along with a folded Post-it.
I didn’t appreciate Caden’s not-so-subtle reminder that I had chosen to go to London with him nor that I had willingly kissed him.
I couldn’t put my finger on the exact moment my life had gotten so complicated. Was it when I’d first asked Isaac not to send Caden back to Hades or the moment Caden had bent the rules and made a deal without claiming my soul? Maybe it went back further than that, to the day I had invited a faerie into my home—or the day my hand had brushed Isaac’s and the powers I hadn’t even known I had collided with his. I supposed the when didn’t really matter. I couldn’t go back in time and change my future.
“What’s the note say?” Isaac asked.
“Um…” I plucked it out of the sand and closed the ball. “It’s from Caden. He’s picking me up at eight to retrieve the last piece of the puzzle.” I turned the note so that Isaac could see it. “His words, not mine.”
“He must have gotten a section of the chain without you.”
“Yeah. Isaac, I—”
Chase ran into the kitchen, a fast-food bag clutched in his hands and his shoes and backpack still on. “We picked up fried chicken!”
I had been about to come clean and tell Isaac everything, but maybe Chase bursting into the room was Fate’s way of saying not to, and who was I to argue with a deity?
“Great!” I said with forced enthusiasm. I grabbed the take-out bag from him. “Go take off your shoes and wash up.”
“’Kay!” Chase turned on his heels and jogged out of the kitchen.
“Hi, princess,” Dad said.
I groaned at the mention of his nickname for me; he knew I hated when he called me that in front of my friends. “Dad, you promised.”
He held his hands up. “Sorry.”
Isaac smirked and diverted his eyes. He’d already told me he thought my nickname was cute.
Dad looked at Isaac. “There’s plenty. You’re welcome to stay.”
“We could finish”—that is, do—“our homework afterward,” I said.
Isaac smiled. “I’d love to. Thanks, Mr. Riley.”
Isaac and I cleared our schoolwork off the table. Chase returned, rubbing his hands on the front of his shirt.
“There’s a towel in the bathroom for a reason, Chase.” I handed him a stack of paper plates and pointed to the table.
When he saw there were four, he looked at Isaac. “You’re staying!”
“Is that okay?” Isaac asked and winked at me. I giggled. Isaac always let Chase believe he had the final decision.
“Yeah!” Chase spun on his heels and faced me. “I call dibs on sitting next to Isaac.”
My fists went to my hips as I pretended to be surprised. Besides, it was fun to give Chase a hard time. “He’s my boyfriend.”
“Dibs are dibs.” Chase put his cup next to the place Isaac always sat when he stayed for dinner. “You can sit next to Dad.”
Dad raised his eyebrows and gave me his don’t-tease-your-brother look. It was very similar to his I-don’t-want-to-hear-it look, which wasn’t far from his I-said-that’s-enough look. The only difference in the three was how far he cocked his head to the side.
“You’re no fun,” I whispered as I squeezed by him and took my seat. Isaac sat across from me.
Dad gave Chase a drumstick and then took a piece of chicken for himself. “I was at Mr. O’Conner’s today.”
Mr. O’Conner was a widower who lived on the other side of town.
“Any luck convincing him it’d be cheaper to have you put in a new garbage disposal than to pay for all the service calls?” I asked. Mr. O’Conner’s disposal had stopped working five times in the last month.
“As a matter of fact, yes. If it breaks again.” Dad chuckled. “He’s a stubborn one. Kept insisting he had a conversation with Shane Lentz.”
I choked on the food in my mouth.
Dad patted my back. “You okay?”
I gulped half my lemonade in an effort to push the half-chewed chicken to my stomach. “Yeah. Thanks. When did he see Shane?”
“Um, last year. But he claims it was just the other day.” Dad looked at Isaac and added. “Shane lost his battle with leukemia. Nice kid.”
Isaac nodded and calmly ate a potato wedge. I was ready to call Kaylee and ask her if Shane had wandered off. I didn’t, though. Instead, I took a bite of chicken.
“I told him it couldn’t have been Shane.” Dad took a swig of his soda. “Mr. O’Conner was adamant that