Chapter 8

Eli'snew recording box hadn't arrived yet, but he had to map out the vein's location and measure the power running through it. With that in mind, he was back in the town center with his handheld magical flow meter.

The placement of the vein in this part of Moonlight Falls was inconvenient. Other than the patch of grass the town circle was centered around, the vein ran through the street. It wasn't wide enough to make it to the sidewalks on either side, but Eli wasn't letting that get in his way. He'd borrowed a bright-orange safety vest from James and was carefully wandering the road.

Moonlight Falls didn't have a lot of traffic, and he'd been standing in the middle of the street on the south end of the circle for a good five minutes before anything disrupted him.

"Eli," a familiar voice called.

He smiled, looking up from the flow meter. "Hi, Parker."

"What are you doing?" Parker's lips twitched in a bemused grin.

Eli pulled a map out of his pocket. "Mapping the vein. It goes right through the center of Main Street." He pointed down the road toward the south end of town.

"You can't just walk around in the middle of the street with your eyes glued to that screen."

Eli huffed. "I'm being careful. Besides, how else am I supposed to follow the vein?"

"Why don't I drive you?" Parker crossed his arms. "That way, you can look at your screen and map, and no one will run you over."

"That's actually a good idea," he admitted.

"I'm free all afternoon. I'll go get my car." Parker grabbed Eli's hand and pulled, guiding him out of the street and onto the sidewalk. "Wait here."

Eli's heart fluttered as he watched Parker head over to the diner parking lot. Maybe he should feel silly because Parker acted like he needed looking after, but the offer to help only warmed him.

A minute later, Parker pulled up next to Eli and he climbed in the car. "So where to?"

Eli laid his map on his lap and took a pen from his vest pocket. "Straight down Main Street, but go slow. I've got to give the meter time to get a reading and don't want to miss the vein veering off in another direction."

"You got it." Parker pulled away from the curb.

Eli watched the meter screen with keen attention, glancing up every once in a while to check where they were. They made it all the way down the block, past the BB and the elementary school. The vein stayed as straight as the road.

After another block, Eli called out, "Stop."

Parker pulled over. "What's up?"

"It disappeared." Eli put a dot on his map. "I should get out and check what's going on."

Parker climbed out with him. They were at the start of the southern neighborhood. After checking the coast was clear, Eli walked into the middle of the road, heading back the way they'd come until he found the vein again. Parker seemed happy to supervise from the sidelines, and Eli tried not to let Parker's attention become a distraction.

He walked around until he found the point where the vein and the road stopped aligning. Main Street curved off to the west. The vein, however, left the street and headed straight over the sidewalk and through someone's private property. Eli spread his map on the hood of Parker's car and drew the line.

Parker peered over his shoulder. "Does the shape mean anything?"

"Hm, not necessarily." Eli glanced up at Parker and was struck by the focus in his gaze. Focus on Eli, not the map. "Straight formations are rare, but it may or may not have anything to do with the power moving through the vein."

Parker nodded, thoughtfully absorbing the information. "So where to next?"

"I can't exactly follow it onto people's property without permission. Let's go check out the north side of town and see if we can track it going that way, through public land. I'll come back here later and knock on doors."

"Righty-o." Parker climbed back in the car. He was such a good sport for putting up with this.

The side of the vein cutting through the north half of the town circle was just as straight as the southern end. Parker drove them slowly up Main Street, following the vein past Gray Electrical, the thrift shop, and the few houses out this way. They continued along North Road, which didn't start winding until you left town.

The road turned, heading into the trees toward Storm House and the logging lands beyond. At Eli's request, Parker pulled over, and the two of them got out. Eli used his meter and followed the vein off the road and onto the shoulder. It seemed to keep going straight, but a creek stopped him from following it farther.

"Wonder where it goes." He looked off into the trees.

"I can tell you're itching to wander," Parker said from beside him.

"It's tempting, but we've made good progress today."

Parker bumped his shoulder against Eli's. "Sounds like we deserve a treat then."

"Oh?" Eli smiled, buzzing from the small contact between them.

"Yeah, I think I might need an ice cream." Parker acted like it was serious business, making Eli laugh.

They drove back to the town center and stopped in the ice cream shop next to the BB. Eli got a chocolate waffle cone and Parker ordered a scoop of the "spooky" ice cream.

"I cannot believe you got that." Eli shook his head at what was essentially cookies and cream with ghost marshmallows and bat-shaped sprinkles on top.

"But the ghosts are so cute." Parker picked one up with his spoon. "Let me have my fun."

Impulsively, Eli flung his arm around Parker. "I'd never deny you."

Parker laughed, a low, full-bodied rumble. Eli felt himself flush. He pulled his arm away. Was Eli flirting? It certainly seemed like his crush had evolved beyond the awkward stage and settled somewhere more confident. And Parker was… Was he flirting back? He was grinning at Eli with this soft look in his eyes.

No, Parker wasn't flirting. He was just being nice. Just keeping Eli company and making sure he didn't get run over. Looking out for him the way James did. Parker cared, but that didn't mean he'd ever be attracted to Eli.

They ate their ice creams. Eli tried not to watch Parker lick his spoon. The man had full lips that would no doubt taste sugary sweet right now.

"That was good." Parker threw his cup in a nearby trash can. He turned to face Eli. "Want to hang out again sometime?"

Eli was confused. They hung out all the time, didn't they? "Yeah, sure." He bit off a piece of his waffle cone.

"We can do some more mapping together. Maybe head out into the forest along one of the trails." Parker ran a hand through his hair. "Or maybe we could just watch a movie. That one you told Luna and me about the other day sounded funny."

"Yeah." Eli stuffed the last of his cone in his mouth, trying to ignore the butterflies in his chest. There was no need to get carried away. Parker was just being nice.