“I have to call Officer Levy back anyway,” he said, looking at the clock on the stove.

Officer Levy? Oh, crap.

I rocked to a stop. Nakita and I exchanged looks, mine worried, hers peeved, probably at Barnabas for stopping her from scything the woman. My dad, though, didn’t look concerned as he pulled himself up to his full height.

“Dad, I can explain,” I started. How am I going to explain? I thought, mentally cursing Barnabas. This was the second time he had changed people’s memories, only to have them return enough to complicate my life. It probably came from his previous habit of save-the-human-then-split. He never had to deal with people remembering the lies he told them to believe.

But my dad didn’t appear to be upset as he rinsed out his glass. “She called me at work. Something about making sure you had a permit to park in the school lot,” he said, sounding amused as he worked the taps. “I told her you didn’t have a car, and she got confused. But in any case, she wanted to talk to me about a fund-raiser.”

“Oh,” I said, relaxing. Behind him, Nakita’s eyes were a steady blue. If they had gone silver, she would have been doing damage control. Whatever Barnabas had done was apparently holding. “Well, I guess we don’t have to worry about a car, huh?” I said sourly, and he sighed. I’d been moaning about my car being down in Florida since I got here, and his answer was always the same: “Not yet.”

But this time, instead of giving his pat answer, he turned to me with worried eyes and asked, “Madison, is everything okay?”

I could hear Josh thumping down the stairs, and I nodded, shoving the drying towel over the rack when I realized I was winding it about my fingers. “Trust me, Dad,” I said, with what I hoped was the right amount of annoyance and sincerity as I walked backward to the hallway, snagging Nakita on the way. “I like it here. I’m not going to screw it up. I have friends now and everything. Even if I don’t have a car.”

His attention flicked to Nakita, and, smiling, he said, “Just promise you’ll tell me if you need to talk. I can’t help if I don’t know what’s broken.”

It was too close to what I really wanted—to come clean and ask his advice. But what I did was yank the class supply list from the fridge and mutter, “It’s just normal teen stuff.”

“‘Normal’ and ‘teen’ don’t go together,” he said, and I edged to the archway to the hall. “Call your mom tonight, okay?” he added when Nakita slipped out before me. “She called this afternoon, wanting to talk to you. Right during school hours. I told her you can’t have a phone on in school and to calm down, but you know your mom.”

His voice held an old frustration, and I halted in the archway, watching him relive the past. I, though, was a little more concerned with the present. My mother was a thousand miles away, and her trouble radar was still working. “I’ll call her. And thanks for letting Nakita spend the night.”

“I don’t know how I let you talk me into stuff like this,” he grumped as he turned to the sink and rolled up his sleeves. “I was never allowed to have anyone sleep over, much less on a school night.”

Smiling, I came back in, going up on tiptoe to give him a kiss on the cheek. It was stubbly, and he smelled like…Dad. “Because I’m your favorite,” I said, bringing back a family joke that hadn’t been said in ten years.

My dad smiled, wiping away all my uneasy feelings. “My one and only,” he said, giving me an awkward hug as he tried not to get soap suds on me. “Lights out at ten. I mean it!”

We were cool, and, walking with a lighter step, I went into the hallway to find Josh standing with Nakita, his book bag over his shoulder. Seeing me, he let it slide to the floor. From the kitchen, the rush of water filling the sink drifted out.

Josh glanced at the kitchen as I came forward. “See you tomorrow?” he said, and I nodded. It would probably be over one way or another by sunup.

“Thanks for everything,” I said, looking at his book bag, then winced. “Josh, I’m sorry. I know you wanted to come with us.”

His eyes were on the ceiling. “Next time, maybe,” he said, making me feel worse.

Nakita crossed her arms over her chest, shifting her weight to one foot. Josh’s gaze came back to her, and he frowned. “Do you mind if I talk to Madison alone?” he asked.

She exhaled, eyes rolling. In a huff, she spun on a heel and stomped upstairs. I swear, some of this fitting-in stuff she picked up fast.

I was still smiling when I brought my attention back to Josh. But seeing his eyes light up when I looked at him, I felt a spark of nervousness fill me. He wants to be alone with me?

“Got all your assignments?” he asked, looking at the note in my grip.

“Yes, thanks to you,” I said, shoving the note in a pocket. “I really wanted you to come. Nakita can’t carry more than one person.”

His eyes went to the open archway to the kitchen. “It’s okay,” he said, dropping a step back to the door. “Just don’t make me into the librarian guy who looks things up for you and always misses out.” He smiled. “Dinner was good.”

“I’ll take your word on that.”

Josh took his truck keys from his pocket and reached for the door behind him. “Well, I’ll see you tomorrow,” he said, slinging his book bag over his shoulder.

Disappointment seeped into me, but what had I expected? It wasn’t like we’d been on a date—except for last year’s prom, and that was a disaster. Reaching out, I touched his hand. Josh halted, the door cracked open.

“Thank you,” I whispered. “Josh, I mean it.”

He looked down at our hands, then at the kitchen where my dad was noisily putting dishes in the dishwasher. “Will your dad freak if I kiss you good-bye?” he asked.

I blinked, my heart giving a thump before I stopped it. “Probably,” I said, feeling breathless. I’d kissed boys before—my mom didn’t ground me because I was a saint—but I’d been flaking out lately about being dead and had been holding myself apart. That he might want to kiss me thrilled me down to my toes.

Josh took my hand more firmly. From the kitchen came a clatter of pans in the sink. I held my breath, feeling the memory of my heart pound all the harder. “Don’t forget about me?” he whispered, his head beside mine, not kissing me, but really close.

The scent of spaghetti, bread, and shampoo filled me with a feeling of security. “Never,” I said, meaning it. Tilting my head, I closed my eyes. Our lips touched, like I hoped they would. Warm against mine, his were hardly there before he dropped back. A quiver rose and fell through me, and my eyes opened, finding his. He was smiling softly. It had happened too fast, and he ducked his head when the silverware clinked. I felt flushed, warm. Excited and calm all at the same time.

“I should go,” he said, hoisting his bag to his shoulder again.

“Yeah,” I said, wondering how something so simple made the world look so different.

“See you tomorrow, Madison,” he added, glancing at the kitchen.

“Bye.” I really didn’t want him to go.

Josh reached out, taking my hand and then letting it slip from his as he walked through the door and shut it behind him.

I let go of a breath I’d taken who knew how long ago, my attention flicking to the kitchen when my dad shouted through the open window, “Bye, Josh. Take it easy going home.”

“You got it, Mr. A,” came back faintly, and I turned to the stairway, jerking when I saw Nakita waiting for me at the top. Josh hadn’t given any indication that she’d been there, but I knew from her bothered expression that she’d seen the entire thing.

“He kissed you,” she said before I was even halfway up.

“You want to say that a little louder?” I said sourly. “My dad might not have heard you.”

She stepped aside as I came even with her, her posture uneasy. “It made your pulse start,” she said, falling into step behind me.