“Will it be ready by tomorrow morning?” Jack asked, bending down to peer into the massive mess of metal.

“If I work on it all evening,” Tom said without bothering to look up. He did nod toward Paul. “And if Mr. Dempsey quits telling me what to do next.”

Paul harrumphed and walked to the door leading into his showroom.

Jack gave Tom a pat on the back. “There’s a fifty dollar tip for you if you get it done tonight. I need my sled tomorrow morning for a run up the lake.”

“It’ll be ready for you,” Tom said, just as he pulled a large piece of metal off the top, exposing the guts of the engine. “You just burned up a piston, is all,” Tom said, shining a light down one of the four large holes. “But you didn’t score the cylinder, so it’ll be an easy fix.”

“Thanks, Tom.”

“Mr. Stone? Thank you for…for everything.”

“You want to thank me, give half your paycheck to your mother and encourage your brothers to behave, okay? And call me Jack. You’re a workingman now; you’ve earned the right.”

“I already told Mom she could have most of my paycheck,” Tom said. “And I promise the pranks will stop.”

Jack gave him a nod and walked into the showroom just as Paul was flipping the Open sign in the door to Closed.

“You’re a good man, Dempsey,” Jack told him, climbing on one of the large red ATVs. “And smart, too, for hiring Tom. He’s going to make you lots of money.”

Paul puffed up a bit. “I gotta admit, I was judging the book by the cover. Everyone in town has watched those Cleary boys grow up rough-and-tumble, and I guess we’re all guilty of visiting the sins of their father on them.”

Jack nodded. “Giving him this chance to prove himself…well, you’re a good man.”

Paul’s face reddened, and he fiddled with the price tag on the ATV Jack was sitting on, then suddenly got a sparkle in his eyes. “Say, did you know a lot of the snowmobile trails around here double as ATV trails in the summer? What are you planning to do for fun when the snow melts?”

“I’m planning to buy myself a boat and a large cooler for food and beer, and I’m going to fish this lake dry.”

“Oh, man,” Paul said, rushing over to a rack of brochures, pulling one out, then rushing back. “Have I got the perfect boat for you!”

Chapter Twenty-one

“Y ou know you’re certifiably crazy, don’t you?” Camry said as she drove their “borrowed” trail groomer up the ski lift path of TarStone Mountain in the pitch dark. “Which means I must be crazy, too,” she muttered, giving Megan a sidelong glance before turning left into a narrow cutting in the woods. “I mean, it’s one thing for a panther to actually be a man, or for Robbie’s dead mother to turn into a snowy owl, because that makes convoluted sense for the magic we grew up with. But a dragon, Meg? Hold on!” she yelped when the right track of the snowcat rolled up onto a fallen log.

Megan braced herself so she wouldn’t slide into Camry. “Why not a dragon?” she asked as soon as they leveled out. “If they don’t exist, where did the idea for them come from? Somebody had to have seen something that looked like a giant lizard with wings. Who could make up a creature like that?”

“The same person who made up all the mythological beasts,” Camry countered. “Someone with a really warped imagination. Either that, or they smoked a lot of pot back then.” She looked over at Megan. “Dragons don’t exist, sis. You must have seen something else.”

“Jack saw it, too. And I just know Kenzie is hiding it in one of the caves on Bear Mountain.”

“You figured that out just because Kenzie smells funny?”

“That, and because when I alluded to seeing the creature, he got all guarded and suddenly had to leave.”

“Exactly what are you two doing downstairs in the lab for several hours each day?” Camry asked, bobbing her eyebrows. “And how come you lock the door?”

“We’re…doing a project together.” Megan was reluctant to lie to her sister, but she was even more loath to break her promise to Kenzie. “He’s working on a belated wedding gift for Matt and Winter, and I’m helping him,” she explained, which wasn’t all that far from the truth. “And he wants it to be a surprise.”

Camry snorted. “I think he’s just using that as an excuse to spend time with you.”

“He says I’m like a sister to him,” she countered. “And besides, he knows Jack is back in my life.”

“Is Jack back in your life?” Camry asked softly. “What went on between you two the night you fell in the lake?”

“Jack saved my life.”

“And you were so beholden that you slept with him, didn’t you?”

In an attempt to cover up what she knew was a blistering blush, Megan grabbed the handle on the dash. “Look out!” she yelped, bracing herself for a bump that didn’t come. “Sorry,” she muttered, sitting back and smoothing down her hair. “I thought I saw another log in the headlights. Turn here.”

“That road won’t take us to Bear Mountain. The one we want is farther up.”

“No, this is it. Turn left.”

“But this one goes to Robbie’s house.”

“Then stop,” Megan said, having to grab the dash handle again when Camry brought the snowcat to a sudden halt. Megan looked over at her sister, just able to make out her expression in the soft glow of the dash lights. “When was the last time you were up here?” she asked.

“Three or four years ago,” Camry admitted.

“I swear this is the trail we took with the horses when Winter and I took Matt to see Bear Mountain this past fall. But the snow makes everything look different. Still, I say we turn here.”

“And if it does come out at Robbie’s, and he catches us?”

“He’s staying at my house tonight, remember?”

Camry gave the snowcat the gas and turned left. She suddenly laughed. “This is fun, Meg, even if it is a wild goose chase. I told you sneaking out from under Mom’s and Dad’s noses would be just like old times.”

“We shouldn’t have lied to them.”

Camry snorted. “Like they’d have let you go traipsing off in the woods at night after what happened up the lake. Don’t worry, Chelsea will cover for us. And it makes perfect sense that we’d spend the night with her in Bangor. You do need a new laptop.”

“I still feel guilty for sneaking out and then stealing the snowcat.”

Camry stopped the snowcat again and looked at Megan. “So do you want me to turn back or not?”

“No! I am finding that dragon. I just wish everyone would quit trying to keep the damn thing a secret. Dad, Robbie, and Kenzie know that I understand the magic, so what are they protecting me from?”

“Maybe from Jack?” Cam speculated. “They still consider him an outsider, Meg. Maybe Dad and Robbie are afraid you’ll slip up and inadvertently tell him. They haven’t explained our family secret to Jack yet. Surely you remember what it was like for Heather, Elizabeth, and the other girls when they wanted to get married. Hell, Walter left Elizabeth standing at the altar. It took Robbie three days to find him, and another two days to convince him we aren’t all insane.”

Megan looked down at her lap. “How am I going to explain the magic to Jack?”

“You’re not. Daddy and Robbie are. That’s the rule.”

She looked up at her sister. “But what if he thinks we’re all crazy and he runs like Walter did? Jack can hide where even Robbie won’t be able to find him. He’s hidden practically his whole life and is obviously very good at it.”

“Robbie has Matt and Winter to help him now. Jack can’t hide from them.” Camry leaned forward to look Megan in the eyes. “You’ve fallen back in love with him, haven’t you?”

Megan simply nodded.

Camry pulled her into a hug. “I’m so happy for both of you.” She chuckled and patted Megan’s belly. “I mean for the three of you.” She straightened with a groan and gave the snowcat the gas again. “So this definitely means I can’t date. Your marrying Jack makes the curse six for six.”