Page 46 of Bang

With a little frown, she said, "You never know. Thosemightbe real."

If only.

I said, "Okay, give me another hint. Like…how many legs does it have?"

She glanced down toward my feet. "Two."

I froze.She couldn’t mean me?But then, realizing how ridiculous the mere thought was, I silently classified it in the same category as the unicorn and teased, "Was it…meeeeeee?"

She nodded. "Yup!"

I blinked. "Seriously?"

She flashed me another grin. "Oh yeah. And you were the only thing I asked for. Ask Mason.He'lltell you."

Now, I hardly knew what to say. I was so touched, my eyes grew misty even as I marveled at the new information.So that's why Mason had recruited me?

No wonder he wouldn’t take no for an answer.

Next to me, Willow said, "I got other presents, too. But you were still my favorite, even if you got here late."

Her birthday was September 17th. I considered the timing of Mason's trip to Petoskey. Now that I thought about it, hehadshown up only a few days after Willow's birthday.

Absently, I murmured, "So, I was a week late, huh?"

"Oh yeah," she said. "But I didn't mind. Honest."

"Awwww…" With a smile, I reached out and gave Willow's hand a gentle squeeze. "I'm really honored. I've never been anyone's birthday present before."

Even though I was truly touched, this new information made me feel just a little bit funny. Why, I wasn't even sure.

Was it because I'd be leaving someday, and I was worried how Willow would take it?

Or maybe it was because this meant that Mason had hired menotbecause he thought I'd do a good job, but rather because Willow had requested me personally.

I mean, seriously, how could he say no?

I was still mulling all of this over when the sounds of yelling erupted from the other side of the river.

I couldn’t tellwhowas yelling, but it sounded like a family argument. And it was coming from the big, glorious mansion directly across from us. The home was ultra-stylish, with lots of balconies, elaborate landscaping, and a huge back patio.

Next to me, Willow said, "You just wait. They'll come outside in a minute."

"Who?" I asked.

"The people across the street."

I shook my head. "The street?"

She pointed toward the river. "The river street. Where the boats go."

"Oh."

"On theregularstreet," she continued, "we don't have anyone living across from us." She grimaced. "But on the river street, we've gotthem."

She said "them" like it was a pack of child-eating monsters.

True to her prediction, less than thirty seconds passed before a couple of teenagers – a girl and a boy – erupted from the patio door. As they did, the girl – a spiky-haired brunette who appeared to be about seventeen – turned and hollered back toward the house, "You're not the boss of me!"