Dead Living (Spirit Caller Book 5) (18 page)
Javier sipped his mug of instant coffee. “You influence her, so influence her to give up this notion of claiming the area as her territory.”
Dema gave him a look that I instantly recognized as the “
are you really that stupid? Yes, yes, you really are
” glare. She crossed her arms. “If I possessed any control over the Spirit Caller, she would have been copulating with the Tall Man years ago before having left him to pursue independent study. Instead, she plans to shackle herself to him.”
“Don’t be like that, Dema. I’m marrying him, not joining a convent,” I said as I smeared an unhealthy layer of Miracle Whip all over both sides of Manny’s white sandwich bread. I slapped on the cheapest sliced ham we could find and processed cheese slices. Just the way he liked it. “I plan to continue studying, Dema.”
“You have no discipline and continue to fail at the simplest of tasks,” Dema complained. She looked back at Javier, with what I swore was an
I told you so
expression. “I have no control over the Spirit Caller.”
Javier grunted. “Fair enough, Spirit.”
Dema frowned at that and, after a moment, said, “You may address me as Dema.”
I glanced over at Javier, who struggled to keep the pleased grin off his face. “Thank you, Dema. You may call me Javier.”
“I shall call you whatever I please.”
I snorted. Javier should have known Dema wasn’t going to fall for that one. She didn’t even call me by my name, and I think she liked me. She was a long way away from liking Javier. I cut Manny’s sandwich into four tiny triangles, just the way he liked it. I started on another ham sandwich for him. Teenaged boys sure ate a lot.
I glanced over at Jeremy’s massive sandwich that had two bites taken out of it. Grown men sure ate a lot, too.
Dema’s outfit changed, and the purple yoga pants poked out from under her dress. I could still see the hem of her original legs poking out around her ankles. “I shall do all within my power to keep the Spirit Caller safe.”
“I believe you, Dema,” Javier said gravely. Then he smiled and looked over at me. “Hey, Rachel? I think Dema sees you as her house cat.”
“I advised the Spirit Caller to get herself a cat, but she does not heed my wisdom.”
“I miss having a cat,” Jeremy said fondly.
I arranged Manny’s triangles on a large plate. “We can get a cat if you want.”
“Two,” Jeremy said firmly. “You can’t just have one cat.”
“The Tall Man is wise,” Dema said.
I sighed. “The ancient ghost is giving my fiancé pet advice.”
“I know many things,” Dema said very seriously.
“Indeed you do, Dema.” Javier caught my eye and winked at me.
“So, what’s the plan now?” I dumped mini carrots on the triangle sandwich plate. “Manny! Sandwich’s ready.”
“Cool, thanks!”
Manny fetched the plate and I began on the next sandwich for Connie.
Javier snagged a carrot as Manny walked by. “We’ll be on leave for two months, pending investigation.”
“That sounds bad,” Jeremy said. He was stacking healthy things on the sandwich he was building, complete with expensive avocados, real cheddar, homemade sliced roast beef, out-of-season tomatoes, three types of expensive greens, real mayonnaise, grainy mustard, and enough pickles to give anyone stomach cancer. He cut it into two triangles, dumped mini carrots in the middle, and handed the plate over to Isabella. She thanked him.
“Nah,” Javier said. “Standard procedure. We spend so much time on the road that they force us to take time off between assignments.”
“So what will you do?” I asked. I grabbed the whole wheat bread from off the microwave and smeared mustard over two slices of bread. Then made several circles with ketchup.
Javier glanced at Isabella out of the corner of his eye. “Izzy prefers me to be elsewhere during our lay lows.”
“That’s crap,” Isabella said around a mouthful of sandwich. “You should stay in town.”
“Manny! Eat your carrots,” I said as I passed Javier a Pineapple Crush. I motioned for him to give it to the kid.
“Yes, Mom,” Manny said and a hint of the surly teenager I once knew came back to life. But he smiled to show he was joking and popped a carrot into his mouth.
“Isabella’s right. You should stay.”
I stacked slices of beef, turkey, and ham on to the condiment-decorated bread. I put them on a plate and hit 30 SEC on the microwave. The old beast I’d had since university kicked to life. “Maybe you could help Connie buy a house, now that she’s staying.”
“Jason Butt is selling his,” Jeremy said. “He’s moving to Fort McMurray.”
“What’s he going up there for?” I said. “He must know he’s going to hate it.”
Jeremy shrugged. “Sheila left him for some guy from Roddickton.”
“What?” I declared. “She didn’t!”
“Yup, that’s what Amanda told me. She had to go out there because they were fighting over who got what, and the neighbours called to complain.”
“Damn,” I said. “So, I guess there’s a house available after all.”
The microwave beeped and Jeremy handed me the warm plate. I stacked lettuce, sliced tomatoes, and hot peppers on top of the bread. I slapped it together, cut it down the middle to make two rectangles, and stuck two pepperonis on the side. I dumped a handful of carrots there, too. “Connie!”
Jeremy shook his head. “How can you eat that?”
“I like it,” Connie said defensively.
“Warm though,” Jeremy complained.
“It’s the same as a grilled cheese, only faster.”
“And without the cheese,” Jeremy said.
“I’m lactose-intolerant,” Connie said smugly. To me, she said, “Thanks, Rachel. You sure know how to make everyone’s favourite sandwiches. Oh, is there any Grape Crush left?”
Jeremy dutifully opened the fridge and pulled out a purple can of grape goodness. “When I first met Rachel, she couldn’t even fry an egg.”
I tried defending myself, but it sounded lame even to my ears. “It doesn’t take a genius to make a sandwich.”
“Yeah, but you remember everyone’s favourite food!” Connie said. “You’re like a mom.”
“Only cooler,” Manny said.
“Great. I have children now. Go do your chores.”
Everyone laughed. I looked over at Mary, who was staring rather fondly at the framed photos on the wall. Some were of me as a kid, but most were of me doing goofy things with Mom and Dad. I didn’t hate her anymore. I’d had a good life. I couldn’t hate her for giving me that life.
“Mary, did you want a sandwich?”
“Brown,” she said absently.
It took me a moment before I realized what she meant. “Oh, sure. There’s some whole wheat left. What do you want on it?”
“Are they red?”
I glanced over the countertop and clued in. “Yeah, red onions.”
She nodded. “Good. Thanks.”
Isabella leaned in and said Mary liked her sandwiches with everything on them. I went to work making Mary a whole-wheat beef sandwich with all the vegetables including sliced red onions.
She took the sandwich, while the rest of us chattered and laughed. She took one bite and smiled. “My mom put butter on my sandwiches, too, before they took me away.”
There was silence in the room. I knew what she was talking about. Her story was just as common as so many in Mom’s family, and the families of so many of my childhood friends. Young aboriginal children stolen from their homes, often by Mounties or religious figures, and dragged off to residential schools. I felt a pang deep in my soul. I hadn’t realized Mary had been one of those children.
Isabella smiled and said, very quietly, “Mary, you should stay here for a while. It’ll do you good.”
“I promised,” she said, and her voice was full of sadness.
I knew what she meant. I knew the promise she was talking about. So I mustered up my own courage and humanity. “Mary, you should stay.”
She glanced up from her sandwich. “I promised.”
“Stay,” I said, and I pushed a smile on my face. “You can stay at Mrs. Saunders’s house. Or Connie’s, if you prefer.”
“I have loads of room,” Connie said.
Mary went back to staring at the photographs. “The sofa is fine.”
Jeremy slipped an arm around me. I leaned my head against his shoulder.
“Well, I guess I’m staying, too,” Javier said, giving me a wide smile.
XXXXX
I could still hear them all inside laughing and talking over one another as they swapped stories. It was all over. All of the drama, all of the worry, all of the soul-wrenching horror. It was over. We would all be left alone from now on.
I leaned my shoulder against my wood pile and looked at Mrs. Saunders’s house. SOLD was across the sign in big, black letters. I thought I’d be worried or have at least momentary buyer’s remorse. I had none of that. Just the satisfaction of having made a decision and a plan. Getting this place ready to rent wasn’t going to be easy, but we’d get it done.
I already had the place booked for all of next summer and the autumn. I hadn’t even advertised yet! Just friends of friends who wanted an excuse to see The Rock (the province, not the actor) and my little enterprise was a great place to start. The real work had only just begun, with renovating the place and getting everything up to code over the winter.
Javier and Isabella decided to stay together in Mrs. Saunders’ house; they were both looking forward to some quiet, uneventful manual labour. I was happy to put them to work soon enough.
That house had seen so much happiness. I wanted it to bring many more years. Mrs. Saunders tried giving me the house, but I went to the local realtor and we got that straightened out. There was no way I wasn’t going to buy the house. If it bothered her that badly, she could put the money in her will for me when she died. And then I would promptly hand it over to Amy’s kids for their future education.
The storm door slammed shut in the wind behind me. I looked over my shoulder and smiled at Jeremy. He zipped up his grey hoodie and shoved his hands into the pockets. He tramped across the damp grass and stood next to me.
He let out a contented sigh. “We’ll get the old girl fixed up.”
He’d really warmed to the idea of the house once I’d made up my mind. The paperwork wasn’t officially official yet, but the money had already transferred out of my bank account. It was nearly official.
“It’ll be nice having Javier around again,” I said. “I rather missed him.”
“Let’s hope he’s handy with a saw.”
“Apparently, he’s had enough time to figure it out.”
Jeremy put his arm around me. Another contented sigh. “I think I’d take up a burden like that, if it meant spending eternity by your side.”
I snorted. “I’d kill you if you ever did something that like.”
“Well, best I keep the badge and leave the swords to someone else.” He tugged me close. “I would look good with a sword, though.”
That made me smile. Yes, Jeremy would look great with a sword. But that was Javier and Isabella’s world, not Jeremy’s. He knew that. I knew that. Our world was much more mundane, filled with chores and grocery lists. I liked our calm, sedate lives. I didn’t enjoy these adrenaline-filled moments, nor did the danger and intrigue appeal to me. I was not cut out to be Misty Monroe. I loved reading about her, but I could never be her.
“I think…” Jeremy paused. I’d assumed he’d lost his breath in the wind, but then realized he was struggling for words. “I think…I
think
I’d like to get married while Javier is still in town.” I looked up at him. His smile was tentative. “If you are okay with that.”
“I hadn’t planned a large wedding,” I said quietly. Or, as quietly as possible over the howling wind. “Yeah, that would be nice, actually. We could get married in the house, before it’s all torn to bits. Assuming you still want to marry me, of course.”
He let out an exaggerated sound. “I might as well. All of my stuff is at the house. Want a Christmas wedding?”
“The roads are unpredictable. October is gorgeous, though.”
“Not Thanksgiving weekend,” Jeremy said firmly. “People hate long weekend weddings.”
“The weekend after. The weather will still be decent.”
“If the weather holds, the drive will be gorgeous, with all of the leaves turned.”
“Let’s do it.”
Just like that, we decided to get married with three weeks’ notice. Because if there is one thing I’ve learned from all of this is that there’s no guarantee you will ever get a chance to do the things you want.
“I love you, Rachel.”
I looked up him and grinned. “Let’s get married.”
Thank you for reading Rachel’s crazy adventures.
BLOOD FAMILY, the conclusion of the Spirit Caller series, will be out later in 2016.
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Table of Contents
Chapter 1
Chapter 2
Chapter 3
Chapter 4
Chapter 5
Chapter 6
Chapter 7
Chapter 8
Chapter 9
Chapter 10
Chapter 11
Chapter 12
Chapter 13
Chapter 14