desperate.”
“My great-great-great-grandmother would never sink that low. She was a devoted, respectable mother.”
“And accused of poisoning her neighbor.”
“She never poisoned anyone—her herbal medicines cured people. She was treated crappy by neighbors and forced to leave her little girls. By the time her girls received the charms, it was too late and they were split up into different homes.” I’d had visions of Agnes and her daughters, and ached with an overwhelming sadness for them. Losing people you loved was so hard. And I thought of Nona.
Dominic seemed to guess what I was feeling. “Don’t worry,” he said gently. “We’ll figure out the charms.”
“Over a hundred and fifty years later?”
“You never know.”
That was the problem, I thought with frustration. There were too many things I didn’t know. Everything hinged on possibilities and hopes, elusive non-tangibles. We were following a tiny clue of silver to another state on the slim chance of finding an old book that may not still exist.
Impossible.
Yet impossible things were normal when you saw ghosts, chatted with spirits, and had prophetic visions. Ironically, this was not the kind of “normal” life I’d hoped for when I’d started a new school this year. I’d strived to create a new and improved Sabine—and on the surface, I’d succeeded. But sometimes I felt confused about my own identity. Despite my cool boyfriend and popular girlfriends, I was still a freak … and maybe that was okay. I’d rather be unique than a clone of everyone else. Sure, my inner freak got me into trouble sometimes, but my abilities helped people—which made me feel good. And I realized that I liked myself.
I wondered if Dominic liked … more than liked me.
Of course, I’d never ask. Why did my thoughts keep coming back to Dominic? I should be thinking about Josh. A loyal girlfriend wouldn’t go on a road trip with a guy she lusted after. Although it wasn’t like we planned to stay the night together. We’d only be gone for five or six hours that did not involve anything romantic. And I’d been upfront with Josh, explaining that I would be gone today because of Nona’s illness. Okay, maybe I left out a few details … like who I was traveling with.
Did that make me terrible?
Don’t answer that, I told myself.
As we climbed higher into the hills, the temperature dropped. Dominic cranked up the heater. Outside, pine trees shivered from chilly winds, but inside, close to Dominic, I was warm. At the 8,000-foot elevation mark, snow piled along the steep, rocky hillsides and the traffic slowed, flashing red brake lights as we neared ski resorts. Lots of cars had ski racks and I imagined how much more fun this trip would be if we were going skiing. My family used to go skiing.
But that was before Jade threatened our family. I sighed, thinking of laughter and snow fights and warming our hands around a fireplace. Dad didn’t act like he wanted a divorce, yet he was hardly ever home and now I knew where he spent all that time away from us: with his other family, Jade and Crystal.
Was Dad willing to work to save his marriage? Or would he rather be with Crystal, who was as relaxed as my own mother was uptight? When he was home, he and Mom argued a lot. Not a good sign. How much longer would my parents stay together? A secret daughter wasn’t something Dad could hide forever, and when Mom found out … it was too horrible to imagine. There would be shouting and ultimatums. War would erupt and everyone would lose—except Jade.
My parents’ problems weren’t Jade’s fault, but she was undeniable proof that Dad wasn’t perfect. If Mom found out about her, my parents’ marriage was over. I had to make sure she stayed away from my family.
Dominic frowned at me. “Did I do something to piss you off?”
I shook my head. Traffic was moving again, although slowly as we curved around a spectacularly sharp drop. Far below, a beautiful
“My great-great-great-grandmother would never sink that low. She was a devoted, respectable mother.”
“And accused of poisoning her neighbor.”
“She never poisoned anyone—her herbal medicines cured people. She was treated crappy by neighbors and forced to leave her little girls. By the time her girls received the charms, it was too late and they were split up into different homes.” I’d had visions of Agnes and her daughters, and ached with an overwhelming sadness for them. Losing people you loved was so hard. And I thought of Nona.
Dominic seemed to guess what I was feeling. “Don’t worry,” he said gently. “We’ll figure out the charms.”
“Over a hundred and fifty years later?”
“You never know.”
That was the problem, I thought with frustration. There were too many things I didn’t know. Everything hinged on possibilities and hopes, elusive non-tangibles. We were following a tiny clue of silver to another state on the slim chance of finding an old book that may not still exist.
Impossible.
Yet impossible things were normal when you saw ghosts, chatted with spirits, and had prophetic visions. Ironically, this was not the kind of “normal” life I’d hoped for when I’d started a new school this year. I’d strived to create a new and improved Sabine—and on the surface, I’d succeeded. But sometimes I felt confused about my own identity. Despite my cool boyfriend and popular girlfriends, I was still a freak … and maybe that was okay. I’d rather be unique than a clone of everyone else. Sure, my inner freak got me into trouble sometimes, but my abilities helped people—which made me feel good. And I realized that I liked myself.
I wondered if Dominic liked … more than liked me.
Of course, I’d never ask. Why did my thoughts keep coming back to Dominic? I should be thinking about Josh. A loyal girlfriend wouldn’t go on a road trip with a guy she lusted after. Although it wasn’t like we planned to stay the night together. We’d only be gone for five or six hours that did not involve anything romantic. And I’d been upfront with Josh, explaining that I would be gone today because of Nona’s illness. Okay, maybe I left out a few details … like who I was traveling with.
Did that make me terrible?
Don’t answer that, I told myself.
As we climbed higher into the hills, the temperature dropped. Dominic cranked up the heater. Outside, pine trees shivered from chilly winds, but inside, close to Dominic, I was warm. At the 8,000-foot elevation mark, snow piled along the steep, rocky hillsides and the traffic slowed, flashing red brake lights as we neared ski resorts. Lots of cars had ski racks and I imagined how much more fun this trip would be if we were going skiing. My family used to go skiing.
But that was before Jade threatened our family. I sighed, thinking of laughter and snow fights and warming our hands around a fireplace. Dad didn’t act like he wanted a divorce, yet he was hardly ever home and now I knew where he spent all that time away from us: with his other family, Jade and Crystal.
Was Dad willing to work to save his marriage? Or would he rather be with Crystal, who was as relaxed as my own mother was uptight? When he was home, he and Mom argued a lot. Not a good sign. How much longer would my parents stay together? A secret daughter wasn’t something Dad could hide forever, and when Mom found out … it was too horrible to imagine. There would be shouting and ultimatums. War would erupt and everyone would lose—except Jade.
My parents’ problems weren’t Jade’s fault, but she was undeniable proof that Dad wasn’t perfect. If Mom found out about her, my parents’ marriage was over. I had to make sure she stayed away from my family.
Dominic frowned at me. “Did I do something to piss you off?”
I shook my head. Traffic was moving again, although slowly as we curved around a spectacularly sharp drop. Far below, a beautiful
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