At Wits' End - Kenzie Reed Page 0,97

from her carrier. Like I’m not stressed enough.

We wait until Fernanda’s out of sight. I still hesitate, crouched low.

“Go on,” Constantine urges me.

I came because Constantine, the Love Guru, insisted that enough time had passed and I needed to make my move. Also, the Fall-fest starts Thursday, four days from now, and that’s a big deal for my family. I should be here for that. I’ve barely spoken to them since my blowup with Sienna, and both Graham and Constantine are on my ass about it.

Graham says he wishes he had a family to be pissed at. Constantine says family is everything.

“Go to her,” Constantine urges me.

“I’m going! You’re making me nervous!” I snap.

“Bok-bok. Bok-bok.” Graham makes chicken noises and flaps his arms.

“Oh my God! Is that Bigfoot?” I stare behind him and gasp. “The legend is real!”

“Where? Where?” he cries in a shrill voice. He leaps to his feet, looking around wildly. Then he whirls back around to look at me as I howl with laughter.

He kicks dirt at me. “You puke-breath shithead! I can’t believe you’re my best friend. Screw you, you’re demoted. Constantine is now in first place and you are a very distant second.” Constantine beams in delight.

“You have made a wise decision,” he informs Graham.

“Excuse me!” Sienna’s voice makes us all start.

Oops. Apparently we weren’t quite as stealthy as we thought we were.

“Sienna!” I clear my throat and flash her a nervous smile. “Hey, uh. Hi.”

She stares at the three of us, crouched in the bushes, and then at my cat carrier and the package I have tucked under my arm, and then at me. Constantine and I stand up sheepishly, brushing dirt from our knees.

“Sienna, this is Constantine Galatos and Graham Buckley.”

“Hi, Donovan’s wife,” Graham says, waving at her.

“Hi, Donovan’s friend. I have so many questions.”

Constantine speaks up. “She is every bit the vision you said she is.”

I struggle not to break into a huge idiot grin at the sight of my gorgeous Sienna. She’s wearing jogging shorts, a Ribaldi Winery T-shirt, and sandals, and the sun gives her a backlit halo.

“She’s not too hard on the eyes,” I agree.

Constantine makes a guttural noise of disgust. “Is that the best you’ve got?” he scoffs at me. “For a woman like that? No wonder she cast you aside.”

Graham is still nervously scanning the woods.

“What is he looking for?” Sienna asks, looking puzzled. “We haven’t had a coyote sighting here in ages, and they don’t come near humans.”

I sigh. Graham’s my best friend, but it can’t be denied – he’s a little...special, when it comes to certain things. “Bigfoot. He’s looking for Bigfoot.”

“Again…so many questions.” She looks at Graham. “There are no Bigfoots in these parts. Bigfeet? What’s the plural? Anyway. Nothing in these woods is huge, hairy and legendary.”

Cleocatra meows again, sounding increasingly frantic.

“Oh, by the way, this is Cleocatra.” I gesture at the cat carrier. “She could be Aceto’s girlfriend, if he likes much younger women.”

“We also need to ask her if she likes much older men.” Sienna nods at my T-shirt. It’s the “Team Rilocke” shirt she got for me in the spring. “Looks good on you,” she says, and my heart thunders with hope.

“Go on,” Constantine urges me. “Say something spectacular! Speak your heart!”

“Yeah, start wooing her, doofus.” Graham sticks his hands in his pockets, waiting expectantly.

Sienna’s laughing so hard her shoulders are shaking. She tries to hide her laughter behind her hand, and fails.

“Can I please talk to you in the house, without these two kibbitzing?” I glance at Graham and Constantine. “Thank you for coming and for putting up with me when I was a real ass. Run along, now. There’s plenty of nice restaurants and shops on Main Street. I’ll see you in town later.” I’ve booked them rooms at the town’s best hotel.

“I certainly hope we won’t see you again today,” Constantine says. “You have so much lost time to make up for.”

“Constantine!” I bark, mortified. “Too far!”

“I speak from the heart, my friend. When you find love, grab it, hold it tight, and never let it go.”

God spare me from helpful friends. “But could you go? Away? Please?”

He gestures at Graham, and the two of them head off down the driveway. We parked on the road so we could sneak through the woods on my very poorly executed spy mission.

I start walking towards the house, and Sienna falls into step beside me.

“So that was Constantine. Your friend certainly says what’s on his mind. Are you blushing?” she