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Longhorns were victorious. This same tower had been the scene of one of the first major school shootings in 1966. An engineering student had taken a deer rifle to the top of the tower and opened fire on the innocent and unsuspecting who walked across campus at just the wrong moment. Sixteen people were killed and thirty-two injured—and Texas had never forgotten. Nearer to the freeway stood the Daryl K. Royal Memorial Stadium where the Longhorns played their awesome game of football. If Nanette were not so tense about what she had seen while scrying, Evangeline would have brought up her desire to transfer to UT again. Maybe after all of this was worked out, she could make her case again. The miles were passing quickly; soon they would be at the exit that would take them to Wildflower Way.

    * * * *

    The call Arabella received from her grandmother had not come as a complete surprise. She was thrilled to welcome her family to Wildflower Way for an extended stay; this big house could be lonely at times. One thing bothered her, however. Between her grandmother’s concern for her family, and the turmoil over poor Kathy and Lea’s disappearance, there would be very little time left to concentrate on him . Memories of last evening’s midnight interlude were still fresh enough and hot enough to cause her to break out into a proverbial sweat.
    Arabella was sorely tempted to drop everything and head out to E-Rock to see if she could pick up on anything from just being at the scene of their encounter. Right now, that would be impossible, she just had too many irons in the fire—but she would not forget him. Finding out more information about him was high on her list of priorities. One thing she desperately wanted to know was his name; thinking of her dream lover as ‘him’ didn’t feel right anymore. Maybe she could get Evangeline to travel out to Enchanted Rock with her later today or tomorrow.
    Arabella freshened and prepped all four guestrooms after she had talked to Nanette. She would put Angelique in the pale yellow bedroom she preferred and Nanette in the room that overlooked the creek. Her grandmother preferred a room with a window that faced the west; she had always hated the morning rays of the sun to intrude upon her morning slumber. The idea had often crossed Arabella’s mind that her grandmother might be part vampire since she kept so much more of a night owl schedule than the rest of the family, and absolutely abhorred the bright rays of the sun. Nanette always said it was due to her eyes being weak, but Arabella liked to kid her about the possibility, anyway.
    One of Nanette’s great, great grandmothers had come to New Orleans from France as one of the infamous ’casket girls’, young women brought across the sea as prospective brides for well-to-do Creole gentlemen. This had been in the early 1700’s. The term ’casket girls’ had come from the oblong cases filled with their trousseaus that had been furnished the girls by either the French government or their families, if they had been able. For the most part the young women had been from orphanages, as had Nanette’s ancestor, Genevieve. The greatest gift Genevieve brought with her had been ancient, magical knowledge, which had been passed down to her from those who had walked the path of the moon and had lit bright bonfires in the name of the Great Mother, the queen of heaven. After Genevieve’s assimilation into the unique melting pot of South Louisiana, she allowed her European pagan ways to meld with what she learned from her house slaves who had been both Haitian black and American Cherokee. Genevieve had been one of the first to practice the magical mix that resulted from uniting three diverse cultures into one mystical gumbo now called hoodoo.
    Arabella waited until she knew her mother was probably up before giving her a ring. She wanted to call and tell her Nanette, and the others were on their way and she would be welcome to head on north if she