RAVEN'S HOLLOW by Jenna Ryan Page A

would be an easy get. Not sure how happy he’ll be to see us. Howard Hughes was a party animal compared to Cal after Laura died.” Mistrust crept back in. “At the risk of sounding contrary, why do you want me to go with you? Or is this part of that clever plot I mentioned before?”
    In spite of the finger still pushing into his chest, Eli caught and raised her chin. “What this is, Sadie, is me being impressed.”
    “By what?”
    “You. Back on the Hollow Road, you told the rain to stop falling.” A smile appeared as he kissed the tip of her nose. “A few seconds later, it did.”

Chapter Ten
    “I hope you realize, even my formidable strength of will won’t hold the rain back indefinitely.”
    “Just do your best for as long as you can, and I’m good.”
    No, he wasn’t, Sadie thought with a flicker of amusement. But then she wouldn’t be, either, if it was her vehicle taking a beating instead of his.
    There’d been details to deal with before they headed north. First and foremost, she’d wanted to check on her cleaning man, Bobby. He’d lost his cell phone but was otherwise unharmed. Next, she’d contacted Molly and asked her to feed Cocoa in the event that she and Eli didn’t make it home as planned. She’d attempted to call her great-grandfather on his SAT phone, but the thickening cloud cover made satellite communication impossible. Last, because she’d ventured into the north woods enough times to know, she’d loaded a canvas pack with personal items and emergency supplies, and stowed it in Eli’s truck.
    From the passenger seat, she watched a line of evergreens, as tall as the towers of Bellam Manor, sway like happy drunks.
    “If memory serves,” she mused, “Cal gave me the willies when I was a kid. His eyes moved independently of each other, causing many of the Hollow residents to avoid him like the plague. It goes without saying that everyone who knew Laura seriously questioned her taste in males.”
    Eli braked at an odd-shaped fork. “Go for it.”
    She ticked a considering finger. “Left.”
    “Are you sure?”
    “Eli, of the two of us in this truck, who’s holding back the rain?”
    Lips twitching, he took the left fork. “Tell me, how strongly does Molly believe in your witchy heritage?”
    “Hard to say. She’s superstitious on one hand and completely practical on the other.”
    “She told me Bellam Manor wouldn’t turn on one of its own.”
    “That’s a relief. Now if we could get it to tell us who broke in last night, we’d be set.” She let a few seconds pass before sliding her gaze sideways. “Eli, what’s the deal with you and Ty?”
    “No deal, other than if I’m smart, I won’t walk in front of him after sunset.”
    “There’s a cheerful prospect.”
    “Guy’s in love with you, Sadie.”
    She smiled a little. “He’s really not, you know. He might still love me, but not the way you’re interpreting it.”
    “He wanted to trade punches on the Hollow Road.”
    “What he wanted was to show you that he’s as good a cop as you are.”
    “Ty knows he’s a good cop. As much as it pains me to say this, he’d have been a decent husband, too.”
    Now her smile blossomed. “Every part of you just clenched up. But you can relax. Bellam females, from Nola to now, have had a notorious lack of success where relationships are concerned. Ask either of my parents which one of them screwed their marriage up worse, and they’ll both tell you it was my mother.” Leaning forward, she regarded the bruised sky. “Aw, see what you’ve done? It’s starting to rain again. You rattled my concentration with that ‘decent husband’ remark. Now my mind’s stuck in the bedroom.”
    “Pretty sure we were talking about you and Ty, Sadie.”
    “Yes, but I’m in your truck, post-Boston, and I have all these sexual vibes jittering around inside me.”
    His lips curved, but the gleam in his eyes smacked of danger. “Is that how you see us? As opposing masses of barely