Page 93 of All Autumn
“What land?”
“Humphrey’s land. Apparently Blanton withdrew his offer.”
“Seriously?”
I nodded, then realized that he couldn’t see me. “Yeah, weird, right?” Blanton had the money to outbid us, so I knew that wasn’t an issue. It made no sense. “Maybe his plans fell through. Who cares? All that matters is the property is ours.”
After hanging up with Adam, I stared at my phone, wanting to call Autumn and tell her. No matter what was wrong between us, I was sure she’d be happy to hear our news. Or maybe not. She was now out of a job.
The June Bug Dance was tomorrow night, and she would be there. Come hell or high water, we were going to settle this thing between us, even if I had to kidnap her and take her somewhere private so we could talk.
My dateto the dance was Adam. “Am I really the best you could scrounge up for tonight?” I asked him as we walked up to City Hall.
“Pathetic, isn’t it?”
I put my hand on my brother’s shoulder and squeezed it. “We both are.” But if nothing else, we had each other, and that was the one thing, the only thing we could always count on.
We were fashionably late, both of us not wanting to be here. At least I had the excuse of my ankle to not dance. The party was in full swing, the dance floor crowded with couples. This year’s theme was, unsurprisingly, heroes and heroines. Everyone was supposed to dress as their favorite hero or heroine, and I saw several Supermen, Batmen, Wonder Women, and so on. Some, like Adam and me, wore their regular clothing.
“You’ve got to be kidding me,” Adam said.
I followed his line of sight, groaning when my gaze landed on twelve huge posters on one of the walls. I scanned each poster, stopping when I came to the one of Adam and me hanging from the side of the firehouse. They weren’t the finished product that would go in the calendars but ones probably taken by someone’s cell phone and then enlarged. Our calendar months were scrawled across the tops of each one in black magic marker.
“Mary did this.”
Adam nodded. “No doubt. And speak of the little devil.”
Even though I wasn’t happy with Mary at the moment, it was impossible to maintain my scowl at seeing the tiniest Ms. Marvel in the universe aiming for us. Beauregard trotted alongside her as if he wore a cape and eye mask every day.
“Where in the world did she find a dog cape and mask?” Adam said.
I didn’t care about the answer to that. If Beau was here, then so was Autumn, and I did care about that. Not that it would matter, but there was this yearning inside to find her and get her to admit she loved me. I really was pathetic.
“Why aren’t you boys in costume?” Mary said when she reached us. She swiped at the bangs of the long-haired red wig she wore.
“Ah . . .” Adam looked at me.
“We are. We’re the Superhero Twins.” I smirked at Adam. “He’s the girl twin.” My gaze settled on one of the posters. “Why did Dylan get to keep his shirt on?” Granted it was unbuttoned and open, but still.
“Because I threatened to arrest Mary and throw away the key if she made me take it off,” Dylan said next to me.
“Hey. Didn’t see you there. Doesn’t seem fair you got to keep your shirt on.” I looked pointedly at Mary. It was hard not to laugh, though. She was seriously funny in her little costume. The wig was too big for her small head and kept falling forward, covering her eyes.
“Well, he does have a jail cell and you two don’t,” Mary said, lifting her bangs and holding them up.
“I’ll deputize myself the next time you tell me I have to take off my shirt for pictures.” I leaned down, putting my face closer to hers. “Then I’ll have a cell to threaten you with.”
She tittered.
“Where’s Jenn?” I asked Dylan. Usually wherever she was, he was, too. But maybe she was with Autumn.
He sighed and pointed. “Over there admiring my poster.”
I glanced across the room and laughed. Jenn was standing in front of Dylan’s picture, studying it as if she were admiring a painting in an art gallery. “She’ll probably take it home with her tonight and hang it in your bedroom.”
“God forbid,” he muttered.
But where was Autumn? She definitely wasn’t over there admiring my poster, which was surprisingly disappointing. I stepped away, scanning the room.
