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Silas looked out the window, hoping Gabi didn’t notice his sour expression. If he’d doubted for a moment that he’d chosen the wrong side when he’d agreed to help Jenna, those doubts were now gone.

He needed to talk to Clint. If he hadn’t finished his book by now, that was just too bad. After that he’d talk to Luke, too, if he could pull the man’s mind away from wedding plans and keeping the entire Benedict clan happy. Luke had definitely been distracted for the past couple of months. Who else? Susan, maybe.

He didn’t want Gabi to leave Mystic Springs. Not yet. When the time came for her to move on, if that time ever came, it should be her choice.

Parked in The Egg parking lot, they wrangled everything out of the truck. Kid, dog, baby, and all the things necessary for their comfort made the trip to the building interesting. Gabi carried Mia, who’d been thrilled to be released from her car seat, even though the trip had been a short one. He’d noticed that the car seat was getting too small for the kid. She’d need a new one, even if Gabi’s only trips were to the clinic in Eufaula.

Judge seemed to be torn between Silas and his new family. He danced around them, weaving in and out. Silas had the strap of a pink diaper bag slung over one shoulder, and carried Judge’s moose in one hand and a red ball in the other.

Herding two dozen hyper squirrels would’ve been easier.

In the small salon area on the ground floor of the building, Gabi’s regular customers waited. Helen Benedict, her friends Ramona and Ginger. And Frannie Smith, who kept her sparse hair dyed jet black. They were chatting as Silas and his crew walked into the room. He was almost positive he’d heard the word “wedding” on Helen’s lips. Of course he had. She wasn’t going to keep her opinions about her grandson’s wedding to herself.

Silas had agreed to keep an eye on Mia and Judge while Gabi did her thing. Just as well. This many women crammed into such a small space, all of them talking at once and yet somehow understanding one another, made him antsy.

All the women had to say hello to Mia. They kissed the baby and gave Judge some attention, too, while Gabi set up her area and prepared to do whatever she was going to do. And then, Gabi lifted Mia and handed the kid to Silas.

“Good luck,” she said with a sly smile.

Silas left the diaper bag behind, an excuse to check up on Gabi when he felt the need, and carried Mia into the main gathering room. He half expected her to protest leaving her mother, but she didn’t. She was perfectly happy to let him carry her.

Babysitting was not one of his strengths. He didn’t even like kids all that much. He didn’t dislike them, but until they reached their late teens they were unruly. Unpredictable. Messy.

Mia seemed to sense his unease and rewarded him with a slobbery kiss on his cheek.

It wasn’t entirely unpleasant.

Half a dozen gentlemen had gathered for the afternoon, and as the women had been, they were thrilled to have a child and a dog visit them. All of them were very careful to contain their powers whenever Gabi was around, but Mia was a different story. She wouldn’t be able to tell anyone if she saw an old man levitate out of his chair, or juggle four tennis balls without using hands, or make a rainbow appear out of thin air.

The old men’s wrinkled faces lit up as they entertained the child. They tried to get Mia to sit in their laps but the kid was far too wound up this afternoon to sit anywhere, so their requests were roundly rejected, with a squeal and an adorable baby giggle as she ran away. Even that made them laugh. It was a game, to her and to them.

Judge was not as anti-social. He allowed each of the men to give him a gentle scratch behind the ears, as if he were saying hello to them one after another. Through it all he wouldn’t let Mia out of his sight for more than a minute.

Silas was willing to babysit, to keep an eye on these two females who were suddenly a part of his life, but he drew the line at changing a diaper. When it became clear that was necessary he carried Mia to Gabi, interrupting Frannie Smith’s complaints about her oven still being broken.

Thank God. If Mystic Springs had seen its last Funeral Cake, it wasn’t exactly a bad thing.

While Gabi was taking care of the diaper, Helen left her chair and walked over to stand beside Silas. She scratched the top of Judge’s head, then looked up at Silas and said, “You don’t need what you think you need.”

“What?” Silas asked.

“I wish I could explain in more detail, but I can’t. Something is wrong,” Helen whispered. “The universe is wonky in some way I can’t identify.”

Gabi, who finished the diaper chore in record time and was walking Silas’s way, heard that last sentence. She placed a comforting hand on Helen’s arm and asked. “Are you okay? Should I call someone?”

Helen patted Gabi’s arm, then stroked Mia’s fine hair. “Nothing’s wrong with me, dear. It’s bigger than that. It’s more important. The entire town is under…”

Tag Keen, who seemed to be at the front desk more often than not, walked into the room with purpose. The man could move quickly. “Now Helen, let Gabi finish up and get out of here. It’s almost time for supper.”

Helen lifted her chin in defiance. “I don’t like to eat before six.”

“Well, we’re having supper at five-thirty tonight.” He took her arm. “You look lovely, by the way.”

Helen smiled and blushed, and leaned into the man who was at least thirty years younger than she was. “Why, thank you, Tag. Aren’t you sweet?” She seemed to forget her warning, her insistence that something was wrong.

Something was definitely wrong. Silas was one of the few who knew what it was.

How many others in town were experiencing the same feelings of unease? Jenna would’ve done her best to block knowledge of her plans from the psychics in town, to mute the energy required to pull it off. How successful had she been? Not entirely, if Helen sensed something off.