Timepiece (Hourglass 2)

“We’ve established that you’re sorry.” I caught a hint of amusement under the harshness of her words. “I’m only saying, there’s no harm in asking Dune if he’s thought of that angle, and if he has, to ask if he has a plan for how you guys are going to approach it.”

“Lily,” Sophie whispered urgently over the counter. “She’s back.”

“So,” Lily said brightly, pen poised over the order pad with efficiency. “That’s two cheese and tomato paninis, a side order of sweet potato fries, another side order of pasta salad, and two vanilla cream cupcakes? What can I get you to drink with that?”

I stared at her. “A water tower?”

“Coming right up.” She smiled, ripped the paper off the pad, slammed it down on my table, and walked toward the kitchen. She called out something in Spanish as she walked through the swinging door.

I looked down to see what the order ticket said. She’d written down the entire list she’d rattled off to me, with the addition of water tower.

And below that, Twenty-five percent tip included. XOXO, Lily.

Chapter 15

I stared across the quad at the science building, waiting. A pile of red and brown leaves whipped into a tiny little tornado and bounced against the brick foundation.

“Well?” I asked Dune.

“Nothing online,” Dune said. He’d left his laptop at home. Bad sign. “No evidence of his existence.”

In addition to his excellence at research, Dune had the supernatural ability to control the tide and the phases of the moon. I was glad the power to cause multiple natural disasters was contained in one of the most kind and logical people alive.

“I couldn’t find anything in Dad’s office.” I stuck my thumbs in my back pockets. “Paychecks from the Hourglass don’t exactly run through any of the normal government processes.”

Nate kicked at a rock on the ground. “And there’s no one to ask around here, because Jack pulled his Jedi mind tricks on anyone who’d have any decent information.”

Dune turned his entire huge frame to the side and stared at Nate. “Please do not disparage the Force by including it in the same sentence as Jack Landers’s name.”

“You just did,” Nate pointed out, making an “oof” sound when Dune elbowed him.

I knew it had to hurt. Dune had told us he was the smallest of his Samoan brothers, coming in at only 220 pounds and 5 feet 11. Just one of the reasons I tried to stay on Dune’s good side.

I cleared my throat. “So Lily was right. A paper trail is the best chance we have to find out what Jack wants. And since he used to work here …” Dad had just started a three-hour staff enrichment, along with the rest of the physics department, so we were free and clear to get in and dig around. We’d stood behind a couple of trees and watched them trek from the science building to the administration office.

o;I’m here because of him. Here in this situation and here in this town. Because of Jack.” When I didn’t answer, her hands dropped limply to her sides. “Why would any of you keep that a secret?”

“Because we don’t know anything for certain.” I couldn’t answer her truthfully. I didn’t want to give her any information that wasn’t absolute.

“If he isn’t found, and time goes into rewind, it could affect me.”

“If you’re here because of him, yes, you’d be impacted by a rewind.”

“Which means my grandmother would be, too.” I heard the realization dawn in her voice. “Possibly my extended family.”

“Possibly.”

“This throws a whole different perspective on things.” She took a deep breath, and I could feel her mind shifting to accept the truth. “I really am the only option for finding Jack.”

“No. If my dad can re-create the formula needed to time travel, it would provide a really easy fix. Intercepting Jack at a known place in his past would be the fastest way to find him.”

“How’s that working out?” she asked, her eyes steady on mine.

I frowned. “It’s not, exactly.”

“His past,” she mused. “What about his past?”

“If they make the formula work, I’m not sure where they’ll go to find him—”