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“In the meantime,” she said, turning her smile on Briar, “I’m eager to know what you can do.”

“I can hear when people are lying,” Briar said bluntly.

Meg’s smile faltered as color drained from her face. But she recovered quickly. “How does that work?”

“I actually hear the words differently. When someone lies, their voice warbles and stretches. Sort of like how it sounds when you talk through a fan. The bigger the lie, the stranger it sounds.”

“Fascinating. Can you give us a little demonstration?”

“Sure,” said Briar. “Lie to me.”

“All right.” Meg tapped a lacquered fingernail to her lips. “What if I said that Will kissed me for the first time on the swing set at the elementary school?”

Briar tilted her head curiously. “That’s not a lie … more like a half-truth.”

Meg smiled. “Indeed. We were on the swing set, but I kissed him first.” 

Hoots and catcalls filled the room.

“All right, simmer down,” Will said, a faint blush staining his cheeks. 

“Anyone else?” Meg invited. “Something no one knows but you.”

“I’ll continue the theme,” June Powell said, looking at her sweetheart. “The first time Ivan kissed me was on a bridge.”

“Lie,” Briar said immediately.

“I almost kissed you on that bridge,” Ivan said, and kissed her now as a reminder.

“What about you?” Meg said to Ruth. “Where was your first kiss with Henry?”

“It wouldn’t be fair,” Briar said. “I’m pretty sure I was there. At the interfaith social?”

 Ruth smiled and touched her shoulder-length hair. “That’s right.”

“I want to try,” said Frank Greg. “My middle name is ‘Danger.’”

The whole room laughed. “Frank, we all know you’re middle name is Clancy,” called Clayton.

“Oh, yeah,” said Frank, disgruntled. 

The room continued to toss out phrases, and Briar told each person whether they had told a truth or a lie. She was enjoying herself, Charlie thought, and smiled.

“And what about you?” Will had slid up next to him without Charlie noticing.

“Me?”

“That’s good, play dumb.” Will said. “It comes naturally to you.”

Charlie ignored the razzing. “I’m not going to be able to keep my power a secret forever.”

“Your power? Who says you have a power?”

“Now who’s playing dumb?” Charlie countered.

Will sighed. “You know the worst part about all of this? It affects every single person that I care about.”

“Me too,” he said, watching Briar laugh in the lamplight. “And I’m sick of pretending it doesn’t.”

It seemed like it took him forever to cross the room to Briar. She was turning in circles, answering questions, but she stopped when she saw him in front of her. He took a deep breath and prepared to expose his secret.

“Briar. Do I have a power?”

CHAPTER TWENTY-TWO

Briar

Briar stared at him, shocked. Did he expect her to lie for him in front of all these people?

“It’s okay,” he said, beginning to unbutton his shirt. “I should have been honest all along.” 

Someone—probably Frank—wolf-whistled when Charlie slipped his shirt off his shoulders. “Will you take these?” he asked, handing over his shirt and his cane. When she got close enough, he laid a hand on her shoulder to steady both of them. 

“I thought you weren’t going to do this,” she whispered.

“What, and be outshone by my girl?” He gave her a quick kiss, causing other whistles to join Frank’s. “You better step back.” 

She did. Though she had seen Charlie transform a couple of times, it never ceased to fascinate her. 

It seemed to be happening faster now, or perhaps he was rushing. Either way, it was only a few seconds before a few girls screamed in alarm at the sight of Charlie’s muscles tearing and twisting under his skin. 

When he dropped to all fours and started sprouting a thick pelt of fur, people gasped and scurried to their feet. Briar didn’t blame them. 

There was a mountain lion in their midst.

“How … this is … how did you …?” It wasn’t often that Will Briggs was speechless, but Charlie’s transformation had pulled it off. 

With a cheerful growl, Charlie bounded across the room at him. 

Will spun quickly and disappeared, reappearing a split-second later at Meg’s side, raising a protective hand.

Briar’s jaw dropped. She knew from the paper that Will could teleport, but she was still surprised to see it in action. 

Charlie effortlessly changed direction, his big paws spread to give him more traction, as he chased Will to the other side of the room. 

Laughing now, Will bounced away just before Charlie would have pounced on him. Instead of chasing him, Charlie dove into the crowd. They scattered, laughing, as he slipped between their legs and tickled people with his tail. If a cat could smile, Briar thought, Charlie was beaming. 

He was still beaming later, when they walked back to his truck. It was late, probably close to two in the morning, but Briar wasn’t tired. She was too exhilarated by the evening. She had been hesitant to go, worried that no one would accept her, but it had been easier than she had ever imagined. 

And now she was walking hand in hand with Charlie Huston, who had kissed her in front of his friends and called her “my girl.” It was such a simple, small thing. She doubted he knew that it meant the world to her. 

“Hey, Charlie, wait up,” a voice called.

When she and Charlie turned, Briar felt a pang of anxiety. It was Kent Michaels. The paper had said he had indestructible skin. Briar was surprised to see him here; she was fairly certain he had fought with Butch and the rest of his friends on the Fourth of July. 

Although, she thought darkly, Kent always had been good at convincing people he was nicer than he was.

Kent jogged up, carrying one of the lamps that had lit the mine. “Good to see you out and about, Charlie. I would think you’d be taking it easy, but I guess not,” he said. His smile widened as he looked between Charlie and Briar. “This one is a firecracker.”

Briar felt Charlie tense just before he dropped her hand to shake hands with Kent. “How’re you doing, Kent?”

“Ah, can’t complain,” Kent said, flexing his muscles, his skin gleaming silver for a moment. “It’s pretty great, huh? Having a power. It would have been nice to have these abilities back when we were playing baseball, right?”

“Yeah, I guess.”

“Hey, Briar,” Kent said, with an unmistakable warmth in his voice. “You’re looking just as pretty as you were in high school. You haven’t changed a bit.”

She wanted to smack that leering grin right off his face. “Actually, I’ve changed a lot.”

“Well, don’t change too much. You always were a fun girl. And it looks like the two of you are having lots of fun together.”

“You got something to say, Kent?” Charlie asked in a dangerous growl.

“Whoa, Charlie, simmer down,” Kent said, raising his hands. “Just wanted to say hi. Maybe next time, you and I can go head to head. Although, that probably wouldn’t be a fair match-up. All you’ve got is claws and teeth, and that probably won’t do much damage against this,” he said, and in the light of the lamp Briar could see his forearms taking on a definite sheen again. 

“I like my chances,” Charlie said. His voice was cool, but he was digging his cane into the ground fiercely.

“Great. See you next time, then. Bye, Briar,” he called as he sauntered away.

“I really hate that guy,” said Briar said, shaking her head.

“That’s not what I heard,” Charlie said. He walked away without taking her hand again. 

Briar didn’t like swear words, but she thought a few of them in her head as she followed Charlie to the truck. 

She could feel him fuming as they drove back toward town. Briar couldn’t take the stilted silence for long. “All right. So I guess you heard about me and Kent in high school.”

“I don’t want to talk about it. It’s not important.”

“Well, that’s a lie,” she said, crossing her arms over her chest. 

“Kent’s a jerk. He was just trying to mess with me.”

“Charlie, I know what he said about me junior year.”

In the lights of the dashboard, she could see his scowl. “I should have punched him.”

“Then or now?”

“Both,” he said, then huffed out a breath. “Do you want to tell me if it’s true?”

If he had demanded she tell him, she might have balked. But because he let her make the choice, she didn’t hesitate. “Yes, I went all the way with him.”

Charlie suddenly jerked the truck off the road into a rutted driveway that led to a fenced pasture. “I shouldn’t be driving right now,” he said as he yanked the keys out of the ignition. “I’m too angry. It’s dangerous.”

Briar hugged herself tighter. “It was a long time ago.”

“Kent Michaels? Of all the guys in the world, you picked Kent Michaels?”

“He was nice to me,” Briar said, knowing she sounded pathetic. “He … he told me he wanted to go steady.”

“And that was enough?”

“You don’t understand. He just kept asking and asking until I thought, oh, why not?”

“Why not?” he said incredulously. “You had sex with him because ‘why not?’”

“He was nice to me,” Briar repeated. “That probably doesn’t seem like a big deal to you, Mr. Baseball Star, but most of the time people either teased me or ignored me. Kent listened to me, spent time with me … at least for a little while.”

“Until you gave him what he wanted,” Charlie said darkly. “I swear, I’ll kill that guy.”

“Oh, snap out of it,” she said, smacking him on the arm. “I wanted it too. Haven’t you figured out yet that I like having sex?”

He gaped at her. 

“Look, I know I’m supposed to stay pure and chaste and all that. Only necking, maybe some light petting if we’re already engaged. The girl is supposed to stop the guy before he goes too far, right? Well, I never wanted to stop.”

“Jesus Christ.”

“Don’t swear.”

“That’s rich. Tell me not to swear when you’re a …,” he stopped himself and breathed heavily through his nose.

“Say it, Charlie. Say it,” she said, furious. “After everything I told you tonight—my deepest secrets, my biggest flaws—this is what you care about? That I slept with Kent Michaels and Danny Egan?”

“Danny too?”

She covered her face with her hands. She was so tired of the truth. “Yes, Danny too. After Kent and I … well, you know how much he talked. Some of the other guys started saying I had been with them too. After a year of that, I figured, well, if I’m going to have the reputation, I might as well have some of the fun.”

“So is that what this is about for you?” he asked, gesturing between them. “You’re just looking for some fun?”

“Of course not.” She wanted to touch him, but he was still so angry. “Charlie, please. Try to understand. I mean, you’re not a virgin. Why do I have to be?”

He exhaled heavily. “That’s where you’re wrong.”

It was her turn to be shocked. “But … you and Angela ….”

“She wanted to wait,” he said. The sneer in his tone hurt her heart. “It drove me crazy, but Coach always said there were better places for an athlete to put his energy.”

“So you’ve never …,” she trailed off.

“No. With my leg, I’m not even sure I’m capable.”

“Oh, you’re capable,” Briar said, before thinking better of it. 

“You would know,” he retorted. “It’s not like they teach sexual positions in physical therapy.”

She took a chance on a joke. “If you’ll be my lab partner, I’ll be your physical therapist.”

He didn’t laugh, and that scared her more than anything. “Those guys are in the past. They don’t matter.”

“It matters to me,” he said in a low voice. 

The words hit her like a blow. He was telling the truth. Hot tears blurred her vision and she pressed her lips together to keep from crying out. She should have known better than to let herself be happy. She should have known that her past would never stop coming back to haunt her.

After a long silence, Charlie put the keys back in the ignition. “I’ll take you home.”

Her foolish heart couldn’t quite give up. “Charlie, please. It’s different with you. I feel something with you that I’ve never felt before. Please, can’t we forget about it?”

“I don’t know,” he said. He used the pole that worked his clutch to put the truck into reverse and backed out onto the road. “I just don’t know.”

He was silent the rest of the way home. Briar stared out the window, fighting back tears. She wanted to say more, to fight him, to convince him. But she was afraid that if she spoke, something else would come out of her mouth. Her heart was thumping in an irregular rhythm, desperate to say the words she refused to let pass her lips.
I love you, Charlie. I’ve never loved anyone until you.

CHAPTER TWENTY-THREE

Charlie

“This is a big day, Charles. A day I’ve been looking forward to for many years. Today, I’m passing on a family secret that half the women in this town would die to know.”

“Great,” Charlie said dully. He had been cutting up late-summer strawberries for so long that his hands were stained red. 

“My strawberry-rhubarb pie has been winning baking contests for the last fifteen years,” his mother said, affronted by his lack of interest. 

“And it’ll win them for the next fifteen years. I just don’t see why I have to learn how to make it,” he grumbled.

His mother put her hands on her hips. “That’s enough of your attitude, Charles Wallace Huston. You’ll learn how because I say so, is that clear?”

Charlie ducked his head and kept cutting strawberries. “Yes, ma’am.”

His mother got out some mixing bowls and slammed them on the counter. “I know you’re worried about what’s going to happen tomorrow, but that’s no reason to be so surly.”

Privately, Charlie thought his mother’s attitude was just as bad as his. She had been on edge all day, ever since the mayor announced that Col. Deacon was planning a speech that Saturday afternoon. The mayor had been cheerful, but refused to answer any questions about the content of the speech. “You’ll have to wait and see,” she’d said with a wink, “but I can tell you this much—we’ll be doing some celebrating when all this is said and done.”