Page 17 of The Magic We Made

I’m so stunned I can only stare down at him as I’m forced to reassess some—but not all—of my assumptions about him.

“Don’t bother,” I say to Ash. “It won’t come out. I’ve been trying for weeks.”

“Oh, she’ll come out for me.” He’s leaped nimbly back to his feet. “Lost things always find me.”

“I’m sorry, what?”

“Lost things.” He’s taking off his flannel shirt and laying it over the step railing. The sleeves of the vintage tee beneath it are a little tight on him and emphasize the swell of his biceps.

I try to avert my gaze but am not entirely successful. Those biceps are not small.

“They always seem to find me,” he goes on. “It’s a gift. Not one anyone would ever ask for, but I don’t mind so much anymore. I don’t even mind telling people about it, though they hardly ever believe me. Like you.” He’s grinning a little. “I can tell you don’t believe me. But you will when this cat comes out. If she’s lost, she won’t be able to resist me.”

His confident tone reminds me a little of my sister Angie, who lopped all the hair off my Barbie dolls when she was seven and never expressed an ounce of remorse. In fact, she insisted in the same confident tone that they lookedbetter. Ash Merit seems to be in the grip of a similar grandiose delusion.

“Okay,” I say, keeping my tone mild. “That definitely sounds believable.”

“Does it?” He looks shocked but pleased as he kneels down once again in the dirt. “I’m surprised you’d say that, being a woman of science.”

“Oh, no.” I don’t see the harm in playing along with his delusion. “I’m intrigued. Please tell me more about how lost things always come to you.”

“Well, they don’t always come right away.” Ash isn’t looking at me. He’s stretching his right index finger into the dark gap at the side of my porch steps. “Sometimes they need a little coaxing, like now. Here, kitty, kitty. Come on. It’s okay. You can come out now. We won’t hurt you.”

Unsurprisingly, the cat does not budge from beneath the porch.

“So.” I figure the best thing to do is keep him talking, but maybe not about hisspecial gift.“Are you here because of Mrs. Baumgarten?”

“Yep.” He keeps one knee on the ground, undaunted by the cat’s refusal to be found by him, but glances up at me. “I’m glad you’re around. I wanted to thank you. I’m sorry you had to deal with that.”

Wait. Is heapologizing?

Where are the heated denials I’d fantasized he’d give me when I confronted him over his neglect of his tenants and property? Where are the infantile excuses? The outrage? The petty man tantrums?

And yes, I do know how pathetic it is that these are the kinds of things I fantasize about.

“Uh,” I say, frowning. Not that he notices, since his gaze has returned to the cat cave. “Well, I understand from Rochelle that you have some doubts about what really happened to your tenant.”

“That’s right.”

Here we go.He doesn’t believe there was a break-in at all, Frankie,Rochelle had told me in a tone of incredulity.And he says he can prove it.

A pleasurable tingle of excitement races up my spine, because the fantasies I’ve been having are about to come true: Ash is going to try to deny and deflect. And I’m going to crush him with my superior knowledge and logic.

“So what do you think happened?” I ask.

“I’m not sure. But I know whatdidn’thappen: those groceries definitely weren’t stolen.”

I’d expected denial. But this is another level. “What makes you think that?”

I gape as he pushes himself up with his hands—quite nimbly, I have to admit. I never noticed before what an athletic frame he has.

“I don’t think this cat is lost,” he says. “If she were, she’d come to me.”

“He isn’t lost. He’s feral. He’s never been inside a house or spent any time with humans, so he’s terrified of us. That’s why he won’t come out.”

He looks thoughtful. “That could be true. But I think it’s more likely that she won’t come out because she considers this home. Why should she come out when she feels safe here? I think she’s exactly where she wants to be.”

“Uh-huh,” I say, sweeping aside this completely illogical theory. “Tell me more about why you think your tenants’ groceries weren’t stolen.”