Not every scene makes the final cut of the book, but with this book I had far fewer deleted scenes. In the revision process, it was more a matter of improving and fine-tuning scenes instead of just cutting them out entirely. But here is one that hit the cutting room floor, a nice little moment between Rod and Katie that happens after the car chase. The book was getting long, and Ihad to admit that it wasn't crucial to the plot, but here it is, for all you Rod fans:

I returned my attention to the window just in time to see a car pull up in the driveway. It was a rental sedan, not the smaller, sportier or older, junkier cars our pursuers had been driving. From what I could tell, there was only one person in the car. The car came to a stop, and the driver got out. It was Rod.

"“I just remembered I left something in the truck," I said to Mom. "I'd better go get it before it melts in this heat." Then I hurried out the back door to catch Rod before he got too close to the house. Mom had met him briefly on her trip to New York, and I didn't want to try to explain what he was doing here now. I moved him to a spot where I was sure he couldn't be seen through the kitchen window.

"Is everything okay?" he asked.

"Yeah, fine. I just don't want to raise too many suspicions with Mom. All the recent weirdness around here is really freaking her out."

"I heard you had a bit of an adventure earlier. Sam said it was quite entertaining."

"I'm sure from his perspective it was."

"Where's Owen?"

"Sleeping. He was shielding the truck so they couldn't do anything to magically damage it, and as you might have noticed, the power sources are significantly weaker here. He's trying to recharge before tonight."

"Yeah, I've had to pretty much drop my illusion. If I'd known how weak it would be here, I'd have dropped it before I got here. Now I have to keep up with whoever saw me that way."

Now that he mentioned it, I realized I didn't feel the low-level hum in my necklace that I usually felt around Rod. "I happen to like your real face," I told him. "And I'm sure Marcia would, too." He looked uncomfortable, so I changed the subject. "Where’s Merlin?"

"He's at the city cafe on the square. Merlin's finding the small town utterly fascinating and has got himself in with a group of old men who sit in there and talk over coffee all day. He says he's learning a lot, and it also gives him an excellent vantage point for watching our visitors."

"If only they knew that the real Merlin, himself, was watching them."

"I guess we're still on for this evening, then."

"Looks like it. I'm looking forward to getting everything settled down and back to normal -- though I guess normal is never going to happen in my family." And then because I was dying of curiosity, I had to ask, "Is Owen in big trouble?"

He shook his head, the confused expression on his face turning the gesture into "I don’t know" instead of "no." "I really can't tell," he said. "The boss never seemed all that mad. More worried than anything. This is so unlike Owen."

"Yeah, that's what I thought. I was really surprised to find out that he wasn't here officially. You know, I left because I thought it would make things easier for him. Idris wouldn't be able to threaten him with me or use me as a hostage, and I wouldn't be such a distraction. But fat lot of good it did, with everything ending up down here anyway, and Owen doesn't seem to be doing any better."

"He's not." Rod's face and voice were grave. "If anything, you being gone has been a distraction for him. I think you ground him."

"What did he do before he knew me?"

"You can't miss something until you've had it. I think you should come back. It would be good for you, and for Owen. It would certainly keep him from running off if you were in town. And I think it would make a lot of people around the office much happier. Your replacement isn't too popular."

"But what if we get into another tight spot, where it's me or saving the day, and Owen chooses me again? I couldn't live with myself. He seems to lose perspective when I'm involved, which is nice on one level, but it's also a little scary."

He put an arm around my shoulders. "You're good for him, you know. He's happier with you than I've ever seen him, and he's a lot more confident. He always could rule in a meeting, but now he actually can talk to people away from work."

"Wow, who knew I had that kind of power."

"So, are you coming back?"

"I don't know. It would have to be okay with Merlin, and I want to make absolutely certain it's what Owen wants." I paused, then added with a sigh, "I also want to be sure it's what I want."

"Was that ever in doubt?"

"I love it in New York, but I have to admit that I like being around my family, as crazy as they are. I had a baby niece I'd never met until I came back. I hate the idea of her growing up and me missing it."

"You know, they have these things called airplanes that can carry you long distances in a reasonably short amount of time."

"Do they? I'll have to look into that."

"Come on, Katie, admit it, you like being in the middle of the action, and recent events aside, that's not here."

I was about to respond when I heard Mom yell, "Katie! Telephone for you!"

"I'd better go," I said. "I'll see you tonight." I hurried back to the house so I could get inside with Mom before she noticed Rod driving away.