“Do ye wish me to?” His voice remained quiet and solemn.

“Yes.”

“Aye. Then I will.”

I gave a curt nod and tried to push the topic from my mind.

One foot was done. I dunked the brush back into the little jar and McKale stilled me, placing his hand on mine.

“Might I try?” he asked.

I let him take the bottle of nail polish from me. He dunked the brush several times. When he brought it to his nose he jerked his head back and coughed.

“Yeah, the fumes are really strong. I should have warned you not to sniff it.”

He blinked his hazel eyes rapidly. Once his head cleared and he’d finished examining the bottle, he moved himself into position in front of me. I forced back a smile and pushed my foot closer to him. Just as he was about to touch the brush to my big toe, he pulled away.

“What if I bung it up?”

“I have this magic stuff here called nail polish remover here to fix any mistakes.” I held up the plastic bottle.

McKale looked apprehensive, but decided to take my word for it. He got to work, his tongue peeking out from the corner of his mouth as he concentrated. It was one of the most adorable things I’d ever seen. He was accurate, with an eye for small detail. We both peered down and admired my foot when he was finished. He lifted the brush to put it back in the jar, and his eyes got big.

“Oi! Bollocks. It’s on me!” We both looked down at his ankle, where he’d accidentally touched the brush. He tried to wipe it, but it smeared and he rubbed it frantically. I laughed and grabbed the polish remover, soaking a cotton ball.

“This is really strong, too,” I warned him. “Try not to breathe it in.”

I ran the cool cotton ball over the inside of his ankle, swirling it around until the red polish was gone. He ran a finger over the spot, marveling as if it really were magic.

“McKale?” I said.

“Hm?”

I didn’t want to ruin this nice moment, but I craved complete honesty between us.

“What’s going to happen?” I asked him. “She told you to stay away from me, and I’m pretty sure she wasn’t joking.”

He watched as I positioned my feet in the grass with care.

“I was no’ expecting a reaction such as that from her,” he said quietly. “I meant to be firm when I told her t’would not work, and then she laid hands on me… and my mind…”

I didn’t like the way his voice trailed off when he remembered her touch.

“Yeah, I know. I saw,” I reminded him. “You were… dazzled.”

His forehead knit together in misunderstood frustration.

“Aye, but it cannot be helped e’en when I fight it. A simple touch of Fae buggers the mind. Only the body can react.”

Lovely.

“Have you kissed her?” I asked. My heart kicked with jealousy at the thought.

He hesitated. “Nay… not properly.”

“What does that mean—not properly?” I asked.

He got shy again. “Just a touch of the lips, not like I’ve seen others snog.”

They’d pecked. How sweet. I wanted to kill her.

Someone called my name from a distance. McKale and I looked up. Mom was walking toward us, so we got up to meet her. She was worried, crossing her arms.

“Hi, McKale,” she said before focusing on me. “Did you have a fight with Cass?”

“Wha—no. I mean, we talked, but it wasn’t a fight.” Not exactly.

“I just went to get her for supper and it looks like she’s been crying. I don’t know what to do. She won’t talk to me. You won’t talk to me. What is going on with you girls?”

Oh, shoot, she was about to cry. Her eyes watered and she uncrossed her arms, running hands through her hair and then smacking them down at her sides with a shaky, loud sigh. I looked at McKale, who peered back at me with discomfort. I nodded and touched his arm, signaling that he could leave us.

Mom sniffled and shook her head. “I’m sorry,” she said. “I didn’t mean to chase him off.”

“It’s okay, Mom. Come on, walk with me.”

We grabbed hands and strolled to the edge of the clearing, away from where the supper crowd was filtering in.

“Is it that boy, Rock?” she asked me.

“Partly. And part me. You know Cass. It’s hard for her to be cooped up here, knowing when it’s time to leave I won’t be coming home.”

“She’s going to have a hard time without you.”I looked down at the damp dirt under the tree canopy where we walked. “I know. She’s probably going to drive you and Dad nuts.”

“No more than usual. Okay, maybe slightly more than usual, but we can handle it.” She smiled and dabbed remnants of moisture away from her eyes with her fingers. “Are you sure that’s the only thing going on? She’s been so edgy.”

I carefully responded. “She’s just growing up.”

The simple answer seemed to pacify her. We walked in silence a few moments until she stopped and pulled my arm to turn us face-to-face. “Tell me what’s going on with you. Why have you been so sad? It looks like you and McKale are getting along. Am I wrong?”

I opened my mouth, prepared to feed her more generic falsehoods. When I looked into those loving eyes, what tumbled out instead was the truth.

“The Fae girl came back once after our first night here. She won’t keep her hands off McKale and I think she’s jealous that he seems to like me.” Terror flashed in Mom’s eyes and she stopped walking. “I don’t know, Mom. Please don’t say anything to Brogan. Please. We’re trying to work through it. McKale is trying to break ties with her, but you know. It’s a delicate situation.”