I waited for more but, apparently, that was it.
“Are we through here?” I asked, cocking my head and deciding to shift into saccharin-sweetness.
His face dipped to mine. “Not even close,” he whispered and his black eyes went warm and started dancing like he was enjoying this (enjoying this!).
Blooming heck!
I was using all my good stuff on him! And none of it was working!
All right, fine. He was going to challenge the Ice Princess then that was just fine.
Beware Hector Chavez! The next Ice Age cometh, as Ralphie would say, a la Sadie.
I zapped him with a mental ice ray and pulled out of his arm, turned, opened the door and walked into Art.
I was confronted with Ralphie entertaining a full bevy of Rock Chicks sans Shirleen and a new person I’d never met before. He was a middle-aged man, tall, built solid (but with a teensy beer belly), dark hair with some gray in it and Indy Nightingale’s blue eyes.
Everyone was drinking coffee.
“What’s going on?” I asked, walking toward the counter.
“Tex sent over coffees to celebrate your cast being removed,” Daisy told me on a grin. “Yours is probably cold though. We been here awhile.”
“I’ll nuke it,” Ralphie said, snatching a white cup off the counter.
“I’ll do it,” Ava offered, Ralphie handed her the cup with a grateful smile, she took it and headed to the back of the gallery where our little kitchenette was.
Then I saw Ralphie’s eyes come back to me and I didn’t like the look in them.
I looked around the room. Then I felt the room.
Something was not right.
My eyes went to the man I didn’t know.
“What’s going on?” I asked, again to everyone but my eyes didn’t leave the man and, I realized belatedly, his eyes had been on me since I walked in.
An unhappy, “oh no what now?” chill slid across my skin and I braced.
Hector materialized close to my side (furthering my sense of foreboding) and I heard him say, “Tom.”
I looked to Hector then back to the man. The man got closer and lifted his chin at Hector showing me they knew each other then his gaze slid back to me.
Indy came with him. She was looking at me too. Looking at me funny. Looking at me in a way that made me a little scared.
All of a sudden I had the insane urge to reach out for Hector’s hand like I would have done yesterday or the day before (or, probably, the day before) but I wouldn’t allow myself to do it now.
Those days were over.
Whatever life had to dish out to me next, I was going to handle it on my own. No more leaning on anyone else. It was time for a new New Sadie, a Take Charge Sadie.
“I’m Sadie Townsend,” I told him.
“I know who you are,” he said gently and I watched with alarm as his gaze moved to the scar on my cheek, it grew soft and then (no kidding), it grew moist.
“This is my Dad, Tom Savage,” Indy introduced and my eyes went wide.
Oh no.