A Kind Of Magic Read Free Page A

phone?” Val chuckled and shrugged. “I’m from the old ways.”

    “Hang on a moment,” the woman said before she shut the door. It was just a moment later that she opened the door and handed Val something black.

    Roderick clenched his hands impatiently. Obviously Val was taking to this modern world much easier than he was. For a moment he had forgotten what a phone was.

    “Thank you. I’ll just be a moment.”

    Roderick couldn’t wait to see what Val did next. Neither of them knew how to use a phone, much less had anyone that they would need to call.

    He watched as Val pretended to punch some numbers and speak softly into the phone asking for some gas. Roderick was still shaking his head when Val turned back to the woman and returned her phone.

    “Thank you, Miss….”

    “Elle.”

    “What a beautiful name. I’m Val.”

    “As is Kilmer?”

    Roderick chuckled when he found Val at a loss for words.

    “Val Kilmer,” Elle said. “The actor.”

    “Right,” Val said.

    “It isn’t a name I hear very often.”

    Val gave her his most charming smile. “I didn’t expect to find someone as beautiful as you to come to my rescue. I don’t suppose I could return the favor.”

    “Thanks, but no thanks,” she said, her voice now cold. “If you don’t mind, could you wait below? I would hate to have to call the police.” Roderick had never doubted Val’s capabilities with women, but this was a first.
    “What happened?” he whispered when Val came downstairs.

    “Damned if I know.”

    With the desolate landscape not offering much in the way of hiding, they knew they had to get some place where they could keep an eye on the woman.

    Elle. It was a pretty name, Roderick thought.

----

    Elle couldn’t wait to tell Jennifer of Val. She still couldn’t believe someone like him had come onto her, but for all her surprise and his good looks, there was something missing. She knew Jennifer was going to have a cow when she realized Elle had let him go.

    The clock turned from three to four, and Elle found it hard to wait to eat. She was starving and decided to go ahead and eat without Jennifer. As she ate her boneless buffalo wings, chips, and
chilie con queso
, Elle popped in her favorite movie,
Lord of the
Rings
. It had been their idea to watch all three extended versions tonight, and Elle decided to get started on them.

    As she ejected the second DVD , she heard someone walking up the stairs.
    Jennifer breezed through the door, a bright smile on her face.

    “Do you like my new outfit?” she asked as she twirled around.

    Elle eyed the slinky red dress that graced her build perfectly. “It suits you.”

    “Alex demanded we go to dinner, and I had nothing to wear.”

    “Um,hm,” Elle murmured as she picked up the remnants of her dinner and carried them into the kitchen.

    “I’m glad you ate without me.”

    “Um, hm.” Elle turned on the water to begin washing.

    Jennifer folded her arms on top of the bar and laid her chin on her hands. “Are you that mad at me?”

    Elle put down the dish she was washing. “A phone call would have been nice.”

    “Well, I hope this makes up for it,” Jennifer said as she put a small box on the counter.

    Elle rinsed and wiped her hands before she reached for the box. She untied the pink ribbon and opened the box to reveal a necklace with a smooth blue stone about the size a small egg nestled in intricately worked silver and gold to form a Celtic design. The chain itself was made of silver and gold cords that intertwined.

    “Oh … my … gosh….”

    Jennifer smiled. “Does that mean you like it?”

    “I love it. I don’t own anything near this beautiful. Thank you,” Elle said and came around the bar to hug her friend.

    “Don’t thank me,” Jennifer said as she pulled out of the hug. “Thank Alex. He found it the other weekend and thought it would be perfect for you. That’s why he came today.”

    “Oh.” Elle felt lower than dirt