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  Billie jerked Dolly out of reach. ‘‘She’s not for sale. This is a priceless, one-of-a-kind bobble-head, and I could still find the stand. I probably lost it in the move.’’ She surveyed the café. ‘‘What a nightmare that was.’’

  ‘‘It was a trying time for all of us,’’ Jeremy said. Selling the building to Jeremy and moving had been Billie’s idea, but getting 527 bobble-heads out of here and into her new digs had been more than she’d bargained for. She’d insisted on bubble-wrapping each one. Twice.

  In the end, because Jeremy was so desperate to get his business up and running, he’d helped wrap. The process had dragged on for days, and the pop of a bubble-wrap chamber still made him quiver.

  ‘‘Too bad about Dolly’s stand,’’ Annie said. ‘‘But we can make do without it for the picture.’’ She dug in her tote and pulled out her camera. ‘‘Stand right there and I’ll get a shot of you holding both of them.’’

  ‘‘Egads, I look like a fright. Bad hair day. And the ketchup exploded when I was doctoring my scrambled eggs this morning.’’ Billie shoved the bobble-heads into Jeremy’s arms. ‘‘You hold ’em.’’

  ‘‘I’ll be glad to hold Dolly,’’ Tony said, his gaze hopeful.

  ‘‘That would be cute,’’ Annie said. ‘‘Two guys, each with a sex-symbol bobble-head.’’ She glanced at Billie. ‘‘Okay with you?’’

  ‘‘If he’s careful.’’

  ‘‘Yes!’’ Tony punched a fist in the air. ‘‘I’ll be in the Trib holding a Dolly Parton bobble-boob doll!’’

  ‘‘And holding it very carefully,’’ Jeremy said as he turned over the doll.

  ‘‘No problemo, dude.’’ Tony took the doll and only made it jiggle once before squaring up next to Jeremy for the picture.

  Annie clicked the shutter. ‘‘That’s good. Now all we need is a little magic to make this complete.’’

  Jeremy prayed the trick would work the way it had this morning with Ambrose. He made a fist with his free hand. ‘‘Abracadabra!’’ When he opened his hand, a red rose lay across his palm, its petals glistening with dew. He had no clue how he’d manifested that rose.

  Ambrose had said it was an instinctive thing, but Jeremy was beginning to think there was something very peculiar about Ambrose. For now, though, Jeremy had decided to muzzle his curiosity and reap the rewards. Like, for instance, Annie’s admiration.

  ‘‘Bravo!’’ She put down her camera and clapped enthusiastically. ‘‘That was terrific, Jeremy. I don’t know how you did it.’’

  ‘‘Professional secret,’’ he said.

  ‘‘I’m sure.’’ Annie picked up her camera again. ‘‘That stunt is going in the story.’’ She snapped another picture of Tony clutching Dolly and Jeremy holding Cleopatra and a perfect red rose.

  Billie peered at Jeremy. ‘‘You were always such a quiet boy, Jeremy Dunstan. Since when did you get so jazzy?’’

  Jeremy looked over at Annie and winked. He’d never winked at a girl in his life, but this time it came easily. Then he turned to Billie. ‘‘People change,’’ he said.

  Chapter 5

  The clearing was empty when Dorcas and Ambrose climbed off the scooter.

  "He’s not here," Ambrose said. "Typical."

  "We’ll wait a while.’’ Dorcas paced the clearing and studied the surrounding forest of pine and oak with a few sycamores sprinkled in. Was that a pair of disembodied eyes floating in the shadows? George loved to use his gift of invisibility, where the only thing anyone could see were his red eyes . . .

  Ambrose crossed his arms over his chest. ‘‘I’ll bet he’s still snoring away in his cave.’’

  ‘‘We’ll give him a few minutes.’’ Dorcas sat down on a stump in the middle of the clearing.

  ‘‘Do you think we should tell him about Dee-Dee?’’

  ‘‘I’m not sure. I—wait a minute.’’ Dorcas held up her hand. ‘‘I smell smoke.’’

  ‘‘And where there’s smoke, there’s me!’’ George materialized in a dramatic flash of light. He towered twelve feet in the air and might have looked fearsome except for his loopy grin and the white iPod dangling around his neck.

  Dorcas had given him the iPod months ago. She had called it a peace offering and Ambrose had called it a bribe. Whatever it was called, George was never without it. Dorcas kept him supplied with downloads and believed the iPod helped keep the relationship cordial.

  ‘‘Great Zeus!’’ Ambrose leaped aside to avoid being smacked with the dragon’s swishing tail. ‘‘Did you have to startle us like that?’’

  ‘‘Absolutely, dude. That’s how I get my groove on. So what’s the four-one-one on this Dee-Dee chick?’’

  Dorcas decided he might as well know. He’d find out eventually, and better that he hear it from them than from one of the forest creatures. George regularly played Texas hold ’em with the raccoons, and raccoons were known for spreading gossip.

  ‘‘Dee-Dee’s a lake monster,’’ Dorcas said.

  ‘‘Okay. I’m cool with that. But what does a lake monster have to do with yours truly?’’

  ‘‘Well, nothing, really. But I thought you might hear stories that she’s living in Deep Lake and wonder about her.’’

  George blinked. ‘‘She’s living right behind your house?’’

  ‘‘Yes.’’

  ‘‘You’re gonna send her packing, right? Big Knob is a one-monster town, and I’m it.’’

  Just like that, Dorcas came face-to-face with sibling rivalry. No wonder she’d never had children. ‘‘For one thing, she’s been here longer than you have.’’

  ‘‘So what? Once I showed up, she was overkill, excess baggage. She might as well suck it up and leave.’’

  Dorcas sighed. ‘‘It’s not quite that simple. She’s huge, and we can’t just spirit her away.’’

  ‘‘That’s your story.’’

  ‘‘And it’s not only her size.’’ Dorcas wished she’d never started this conversation. She glanced over at Ambrose, hoping for some backup, but he merely shrugged, the turncoat. ‘‘Dee-Dee’s lonely.’’

  ‘‘And you know this how?’’

  ‘‘I’ve talked with her.’’

  ‘‘Isn’t that special.’’ George’s lower lip stuck out in what could only be called a pout. His wicked teeth and the horn on his snout made the expression look a little strange, but there was no denying his reaction. ‘‘Can’t she make her own friends? I made my own friends. I’m sure there’s a fish or two she could hang out with.’’

  ‘‘I doubt she’d have much in common with them.’’

  ‘‘So you’re all about Dee-Dee now. That’s cool.’’ George attached his earbuds and began undulating to the music only he could hear. ‘‘Uh-huh, oh yeah, uh-huh, uh-huh, uh-huh.’’

  ‘‘George,’’ Dorcas said, loud enough that she figured he could hear through the earbuds. ‘‘You are our primary responsibility. We’ll never shirk our duty to you because of Dee-Dee.’’

  ‘‘Shirk away.’’ George kept dancing. ‘‘See if I care. I suppose you forgot my present. Or maybe you gave it to Miss Lonely-in-the-Lake.’’

  Dorcas clenched her jaw as she despaired of George ever maturing into his Guardian position.

  Ambrose finally stepped into the fray. ‘‘You aren’t acting like a dragon who deserves a present,’’ he said. ‘‘In fact, I was planning to read something to you, but now I’ve changed my mind.’’

  George stopped dancing and took out his earbuds. ‘‘You were going to read to me?’’

  ‘‘Yes, but I—’’

  ‘‘Nobody’s ever read to me before.’’

  Dorcas sensed a disaster coming. If George expected to be entertained and got a lecture instead, the meeting would deteriorate even more. ‘‘Ambrose isn’t going to read you a story, George. He just copied out a bunch of quotes that he thought you should hear.’’

  George looked at Ambrose. ‘‘At least somebody still cares about me.’’ He glared at Dorcas before sitting
down with a thud that shook the ground. ‘‘I’m ready, dude. Lay it on me.’’

  Ambrose settled himself beside George and pulled his journal out from inside his jacket. Dorcas watched in amazement as he read about the joys of early rising and George hung on every word. There the two of them sat, the wannabe biker and the rebellious dragon whose scales were mostly still greenish brown. But as the reading session continued, Dorcas swore the tips of George’s scales began to change color.

  Annie treated the kayaking date with Jeremy the same as she would an outing with a girlfriend. That made her preparations supereasy. She wore an old pair of walking shorts, a T-shirt, and a Northwestern University sweatshirt to keep her warm.

  A little lipstick and a quick brush through her hair, and she was ready. When he pulled up in front of the Winston house at five thirty, two kayaks tied on top of his Suzuki Samurai, she grabbed her purse and went out to meet him.

  Jeremy turned to her with a smile as she hopped in the car before he had a chance to shut off the engine. ‘‘Either you’re eager to go or you don’t want me talking to your mother and sister.’’

  ‘‘Trust me, you don’t want to go in there. They’re wrestling with the seating arrangements for the reception. As it stands, the entire town will be gathered around table one, because that way, nobody will be offended.’’

  ‘‘You’re right. I’m staying out of that.’’

  ‘‘But I do really want to go kayaking. It’s always looked fun to me, but I never knew anybody who could teach me how to do it.’’

  ‘‘Then I’m your guy.’’ He pulled away from the house. ‘‘You look great, by the way.’’

  ‘‘Thanks, but these are really old clothes.’’ Ever since seeing Jeremy at Click-or-Treat today, she’d been trying to figure out what was different about him. The easy compliment was a typical example. Yesterday he would have stuttered over it. Today he was as smooth as glass.

  ‘‘You looked great earlier today, too,’’ he said with the same calm assurance. ‘‘I just didn’t have a chance to say so.’’

  ‘‘Billie and her bobble-heads do tend to take over.’’ She glanced at him and discovered that his profile was quite nice to look at. The leash he’d attached to his glasses made him look like the athletic type, but it was more than his accessories turning her on.

  Until this moment, she’d never taken the time to notice all of his attributes—his thick, dark hair, strong nose, sensuous lips, and square jaw. She could tell he’d shaved before picking her up, which gave him points in her book.

  ‘‘We need to get something straight.’’ Then he laughed. ‘‘Absolutely straight. That’s me, Annie.’’ He flashed her a grin. ‘‘I’m not even slightly gay.’’

  The words registered, but the grin was the part that supercharged her libido. She couldn’t remember the last time she’d been that attracted to a man’s smile. Well, yes, she could—Zach when they were sophomores. He’d been able to make her panties wet with a smile before she even understood what wet panties were all about.

  Now she knew all about the wet-panty syndrome, and Jeremy, of all people, was creating the same effect. ‘‘I guess I jumped to conclusions.’’

  ‘‘Yeah, well, I didn’t explain myself well. I’d told Ambrose I’d come over to his place so we could talk magic. He was the guy I was seeing.’’

  The whole magic schtick was working on her, too. She’d never known a magician, but she’d seen The Illusionist, and the whole concept of a magician oozed mystery and sex appeal. Any man who could say a magic word and produce a perfect red rose sprinkled with dew would certainly get her phone number. If he played his magic cards right, he’d probably get a whole lot more than that.

  But she was jumping the gun. Right now they were having a friendly conversation, and she needed to hold up her end. ‘‘Ambrose seems like a fascinating person. ’’ She thought Jeremy was ten times more fascinating, but she wasn’t ready to tip her hand quite so soon. ‘‘I wonder if he’d let me interview him for my next story.’’

  ‘‘You could always ask. He and Dorcas came to town last summer, and nobody can figure out the attraction to Big Knob. You haven’t met Dorcas yet, but she’s pretty polished, too. They both seem to belong in some upscale boomer community with gourmet restaurants and art galleries lining the street.’’

  ‘‘Maybe it’s the beginning of a trend—sophisticated urban dwellers head for the classic simplicity of small-town America. How’s that for a story angle?’’

  ‘‘Very good.’’ He turned down the dirt lane that led to Deep Lake. ‘‘I can see why you’ve done so well in Chicago.’’

  ‘‘I’m hanging on by my fingernails in Chicago.’’

  Jeremy pulled into a parking space close to a small beach and turned to her. ‘‘That’s not the word in Big Knob. In this town you’re a superstar.’’

  She couldn’t pretend that she didn’t like hearing that. ‘‘Then I shouldn’t spoil the image.’’

  He reached across the console and took her hand. ‘‘Couldn’t happen. Not with me. I’ve had a crush on you since I was fourteen.’’

  She drew in a quick breath. So Gwen had said, but Annie hadn’t expected Jeremy, always the shy type, to say it out loud. ‘‘That’s very flattering.’’

  ‘‘I’m not here to flatter you. And I’m not here to be your pal.’’ He looked into her eyes. ‘‘You might as well know this up front, Annie. I want you.’’

  To Annie’s complete surprise, the feeling was mutual.

  Dorcas watched from her kitchen window as Jeremy loaded a picnic supper and a couple of rolled blankets into the cargo area of his red kayak. He also tucked in the bottle of wine she and Ambrose had given him.

  Dorcas stroked Sabrina, who sat on the windowsill and was also observing the activity down by the lake. ‘‘Everything’s progressing nicely, Sabrina.’’ The cat purred in loud approval.

  As Jeremy instructed Annie in the proper use of her paddle, things became quite cozy down on the beach. Dorcas could feel the sexual vibrations from where she stood in the kitchen.

  By the time Jeremy had helped Annie put on that silly skirt thing that kayakers had to wear and settled her in his kayak, the heat between those two was so obvious it made Dorcas smile. Jeremy was making all the right moves, even to the point of giving Annie his kayak, a beauty that Sean had built for him, and taking the substandard blue one for himself.

  Judging from Annie’s body language, she was responding with enthusiasm to all that gallantry. They were off to a great start, but Dorcas had studied the file Maggie had supplied the day before. She’d also made a few discreet inquiries this afternoon about Annie Winston.

  This was a woman who wouldn’t easily give up the excitement of big-city life without a good reason. Dorcas decided it might be wise to provide one.

  ‘‘Come on, Sabrina.’’ Dorcas grabbed her leather jacket from a peg near the back door. ‘‘Since Ambrose is still at Click-or-Treat playing with his MySpace page, this is the perfect time for us to meander down to the lake.’’

  Normally Jeremy hated the part where he had to wade into the cold water of Deep Lake. Fed by an underground stream rumored to originate in northern Canada, the lake never seemed to warm up, even in summer. This time of year it felt glacial.

  At the moment, glacial was exactly what he needed to cool his heated body parts. Helping Annie learn the basic paddling stroke had created some self-control problems. He prided himself on his ability to keep his urges at bay, but he’d never been this close to Annie before. To complicate matters even more, she’d begun sending I’m available signals.

  During the brief lesson, she’d relaxed against him as if daring him to take her in his arms. He damn near had, probably would have for sure if he hadn’t remembered that Dorcas and Ambrose’s kitchen window looked out on this tiny beach area. He wasn’t in the mood to put on a show.

  But he was definitely in the mood. Annie’s voice had dropped into the ultrasexy range, and when her g
aze met his, it was warm and welcoming. As a result, he was hard and hyperventilating.

  The torture continued. He had to make sure her life jacket was cinched up, and then show her how to put on the protective skirt. By the time he’d helped her into the kayak, he was shaking from the effort to restrain himself. He tightened the noose holding the skirt around the cockpit opening, making it waterproof.

  During a normal kayaking lesson, Annie would have to roll the kayak and demonstrate she could loosen the skirt and get out safely. But neither of them were in wet suits, and the lake was so calm that Jeremy couldn’t see putting her through that exercise.

  He’d save that part for another time, if there ever was another time. This was only supposed to be a brief introduction to the sport. He stepped deeper into the icy water and shoved the red kayak out onto the lake.

  He’d given her his boat because he wanted her first kayaking experience to be a good one. Sean, whose carpentry skills were amazing, had built this one for him and had insisted on painting it red, supposedly to give Jeremy some pizzazz in his new sport. The kayak sure was visible.

  The blue one he now pushed into the water belonged to Bruce, who was responsible for Jeremy getting into kayaking in the first place. It wasn’t a particularly good one—the rudders didn’t react well— and Bruce was leaving it in Big Knob when he and Melody moved to Hawaii.

  He’d offered it to Jeremy, who was glad to have it for this date but didn’t really want it permanently. He had high standards in most things, which probably explained why nobody but Annie had ever interested him.

  Annie floated in her kayak, her paddle held in both hands, and waited for him to pull alongside. The lake was as still as Jeremy had ever seen it, which was good for Annie’s first try at this. Wind and choppy water made the learning curve steeper, and he’d have felt more obliged to explain the rollover technique. Most beginners weren’t crazy about that maneuver, and it might have put Annie off.

  ‘‘It’s incredibly beautiful out here,’’ she said. ‘‘We’re just catching the beginning of the sunset.’’