Family Magic by Patti Larsen Read Free Book Online Page A

enough a
teenager would notice but a grownup would miss. She did not like
me. I can say the feeling was instantaneously mutual.
    “We’re the Moromonds, dear,” she said, as if
that explained everything.
    “And?” I prompted.
    Mom’s firm grip on the door saved me from the
woman’s curt reply. She pulled it from my hand and stepped up
beside me in the now fully opened entry.
    “Batsheva! Dominic! So lovely you came,” Mom
reached out for the woman and grasped her hand. Batsheva Moromond
plastered her fake smile back on and air kissed my mother on both
cheeks.
    “Miriam, dear, it’s been too long,” she
said.
    Dominic took Mom’s hand and kissed it,
lingering just a little too long, his eyes never leaving hers. Mom
actually blushed.
    “Yes, Miriam,” Dominic said. “Beautiful as
ever.”
    Mom pulled her hand free and I could tell she
struggled for a way to change the subject. It was so weird to see
my all-powerful mother floored by a man hitting on her in front of
his wife. Go figure.
    She finally settled on the teenager standing
in their shadow.
    “This can’t be Quaid,” she said to Batsheva,
holding out a hand to him. As he stepped forward to greet her, I
took my first good look.
    Wow. His parents may have been creepy, but he
was hot. In fact, Quaid was everything they weren’t. Tall, lean in
his punk band t-shirt, black hair shaggy with curls. He offered my
mother his large, slim hand, the other shoved in the back pocket of
his black jeans. I was never into bad boys. Whether I chose to
finally stop hiding who I really was or because he was just that
attractive, I found myself wondering, ‘Brad who?’
    “It’s a pleasure to meet you, Ms. Hayle,”
Quaid offered in his deep, smooth voice. I imagined he was a singer
with pipes like that. His eyes flickered to me, deep brown to
almost black with a little curiosity behind them. I tried to play
cool but think I came off as weird and goofy. So what else is
new?
    “Hi,” I said.
    “Hi,” he answered.
    “Splendid!” Dominic interrupted. Heat flushed
my cheeks. Crap.
    I quickly glanced away and caught Mom
watching me out of the corner of my eye. I ignored her and backed
out of the way as she welcomed them inside.
    “Syd, why don’t you join us?” My mom motioned
me toward the living room we never used. From the pleading in her
eyes, she expected a fight. No way, not this time. If these people
were important enough to warrant Mom’s descent into domestic
humiliation, I needed to know why. Of course, it didn’t hurt I
would also have the chance to spend a little more time imprinting
Quaid Moromond into my memory for later.
    I was the last to leave the entry. For some
reason, I felt compelled to look back outside as I pushed the door
closed. A huge black dog sat at the end of the driveway, watching
me. I caught the door and watched right back. We faced off, stare
to stare. It felt like the showdown went on forever. Mom’s voice
calling me from inside the house finally broke my eye contact. I
turned to answer her, looked back.
    The dog was gone. Stupid mutt.
    I shook myself a little and closed the
door.
    They had already taken a civilized seat
around the coffee table. I joined my mother on the sofa as Mom
proudly handed out cookies. Quaid passed and sat back. He watched
me the entire time, my plan all along, although I never intended to
be so open about it. I refused to back down. He gave me a tight,
sideways grin and glanced away.
    It took me a breathless moment to accept I
won the battle. I never won. Wicked. I grinned on the inside while
I finally decided to pay attention to the conversation. “It’s the
sweetest little high school,” Batsheva was saying. “We just know
our Quaidy will love it there, won’t you, honey.”
    I highly doubted ‘Quaidy’ would do anything
of the sort.
    “Of course, Mother,” he said. Either he was
whipped or knew how to pick his battles.
    “Thank you so much for the invitation,”
Batsheva went on. “Since