In Love by Christmas: A Paranormal Romance (22 page)

Leroy
would
have married Arabella if Cass died. He’d have come right back to England and married her. Not now. Oh. If he did, he’d have to go to war with her family and kin. And he might do that, anyway.

Enraged, he stormed past the bandstand. He looked up and gasped.

The band’s trap drum set was a miracle, especially compared to the crappy drums Leroy had played at high school dances. It contained not just the standard four piece kit of music schools: a snare drum, bass drum, hi-hat stand and cymbals, a tom tom drum and more cymbals. The drum kit on the podium had
double
bass drums, and enough cymbals, cowbells, tambourines to arm a major rock ‘n’ roll band.

Leroy had been a drummer since he first struck a wooden spoon to a pot as a baby. His rhythm was the beating heart of his high school. He was the pride of his Nation, causing them to nail the marching band competitions year after year. Leroy graduated from high school because of his ability to drum. He was not a scholar, tending to trance out during most of his classes. And bliss out when he wasn’t tranced out. That was part of becoming a shaman; the Rez understood that.

Almost single-handedly, he kept the inter-tribal political situation peaceful for many years. His Nation had an on-going (several centuries) beef with the Northern Salmon Nation, whose reservation was at the Northern end of New Mexico.

The advent of freeways, airplanes, buses, and cars would have made it easy for Leroy’s People to go up north and wipe out the Salmon, ending their vendetta. Essentially peaceful People, the two Nations worked out their differences without violence, through their high school marching bands. Every year, rotating the host Nation, the marching bands would carry out a competition that proved the cultural and metaphysical superiority of the winner.

It was always Leroy’s Nation, until he graduated from high school. The elders kept him in school a couple of extra years, until the Salmon figured out what they were doing. He was ejected from high school, though they called it “graduation.”

Leroy’s reaction to the trap drums at the Debutante Ball was understandable. It was a beautiful set of drums; drums anyone would love. And Leroy did, especially when enraged after realizing the truth of the oh-so-polite-Ballentynes.

After using his voice and four £100 notes to get the limp-wristed, pasty-faced white boy out of the throne, he took over. He used his voice to limber up the rest of the band. He felt that they might be able to kick it pretty good, if they didn’t act like they were dead.

Leroy commenced to beat out rhythms never heard outside of his reservation. His band followed him.

Soon, no one was dead. The drummer that beat the Northern Salmon Nation got the debs, their escorts, parents, and the serving staff rockin’.

They rocked and kept on rocking. The usual debutante party might end in the wee hours with everyone snookered and lying in the corners, often on top of each other. At this Ball, no one stopped dancing until his or her carbuncles gave out (the older generation) or Leroy got sick of playing. That’s what finally happened.

“OK. That’s it, everyone. Time to get home so you can groom your polo ponies tomorrow.”

He jumped off the dais onto the dance floor. “You need a ride home, Clarissa?” She followed him to the exit. Leroy paid no more mind to the tribal customs of these people. Maybe they were supposed to bow to the cake again, who knows. He left, Clarissa in tow. She wasn’t Lady Clarissa anymore either. He pretended not to notice Arabella’s stricken face. And failed.

“Clarissa, wait one second. I’ll be right back.” Turning on his heel, he returned to Arabella. “I can’t leave without sayin’ something. I’d like to see you again, even just for tea. I don’t know where I’m goin’ next. Will might want me to tour Fiji or something.” He pulled his card out of his jacket. It was a traditional visiting card, containing only his name. Useless.

“Here,” Leroy turned it over, wondering what to put on the back. He didn’t know what his number would be; he was given a new phone in each place. He scribbled on the back.

“If you want to contact me, you can reach me through this number. That’s Will Duane’s direct number. He’ll know where I am.” Leroy smiled. “Tell him I told you to call him.” He chuckled, remembering what Will said all the time. “If you need a lawyer, ask him. Will’s got the best in the world.”

“Better than our family barrister?”

“Better than anyone’s. Will likes to help people.” Pretty girls especially. “Good-bye, Arabella. I hope to see you again.”

No one waited for Clarissa in front of the hotel. Her family’s driver had chauffeured her parents to their country estate and stayed there. Clarissa made the tiniest squeak of agony, realizing she was abandoned.

“Do you have someone to stay with?” he asked. He finally had realized what a big deal it was for parents to miss their daughter’s debutante party and leave her standing at the front of the ballroom at the end. An almost-fatal car crash would be an acceptable excuse not to show, but not what the Lord and Lady did.

“Can I go home with you?” Her eyes were huge, wet lashes clumped together. She was heartbroken, and in love with him.

“No, you may not. Do you have any relatives nearby who will take care of you?”

“Grandmama and Papa.”

“Your grandparents. Do they drink?”

“No.”

“Where do they live?”

“In St. George’s Hill, in Weybridge. About forty five minutes from here.”

“OK. Let’s go. Tell Ralph the address.”

“Ralph?”

“My driver.”

“Oh.” Wide eyes, big O of a mouth. Calling a servant by his first name was almost as revolutionary as Leroy’s playing the drums. “It’s on Wood Lane.”

He pulled a cell phone out of a compartment in the side of the car door. Her eyes opened wide when she saw the brick of a phone. Not everyone had such an advanced device in 1997 and
very
few had them connected to satellite networks so they could use them anywhere. Numenon offered a lot.

“What’s your home phone number, Clarissa?” Leroy said, dialing quickly. The butler answered instantly. Leroy had the feeling that, having seen the Lord and Lady leave for the Ball soused and knowing their drunken proclivities, the entire staff waited in frenzy, wondering how the Ball went. He explained what happened, making no attempt to sugar-coat anything. “I’m taking Lady Clarissa to her grandparents’ for the night. I didn’t want you to worry.”

Clarissa cuddled up to him as they drove, stroking his body in a tentative fashion and raising her lips to him at one point.

“Clarissa, do you think if you have sex with me, what your parents did won’t hurt so much?”

She froze, and then started really crying for the first time. She didn’t stop, finally leaning on him in a different way.

Leroy stroked her head. “It’s all right. I understand. Nothing went right tonight. If you had me, you’d have gotten something at least.

“Are you a virgin, Clarissa?” She nodded miserably. “Good. Stay that way. You’re holy. You’re the most valuable thing in the universe. You don’t want to give yourself to anybody, someone you don’t know. Someone who isn’t right for you and doesn’t want you for the right reasons. Do you understand?

“When you meet the right man, when you both love each other, all of that will be perfect. In the meantime, stay as you are.”

She clutched him all the way to her grandparents, messing up his fancy suit with her tears. He figured that was the best thing that could happen to it.

Dawn was nowhere in evidence, but he could see the tall trees and mansions of Clarissa’s grandparents’ neighborhood. This was as fancy as his place in London, it just had trees and space. Clarissa would never lack for anything, even if she left her parents cold. But that wasn’t enough for a life.

“You need to start thinking about the future, Clarissa. You need to go to school so you can get a job.”

“A job?!” She pulled away from him, horrified. “For
money?”

“Nothin’ wrong with working for wages, girl. But if you don’t want to work for money, you need a job on Earth. You need to take care of poor people, or get sick people medical care. Take care of the environment. Work for world peace. You’re smart; you could be in Parliament or an Ambassador. You could do anything.” He said it all in his voice. Every word was a command she couldn’t ignore.

He took her to her grandmother’s house, calling ahead to alert the butler so everyone could be presentable when they arrived at four a.m. The mansion had big columns in front and miles of grass. Her grandparents were standing on the front porch.

“You need to take care of her,” he said. “You know what goes on in her house. She shouldn’t be living with her parents.” More commands.

“Well, Lady Clarissa, it was a delight accompanying you to the Ball.” He kissed her hand and let her go. He could see the stars twinkling in her eyes as she went to her grandparents.

27

Making It through the Night

S
itting in his
grand living room the evening after the Ball, Leroy stared out the window at the lights and beauty of London at night. After what Arabella had revealed, everything seemed pointless. Learning stuff that didn’t matter and he’d never use again. Impressing people who had nothing to them and would
never
truly accept him. He didn’t want to give any more parties or visit cathedrals or museums.

He wanted his ranch. He wanted Grandfather and he wanted his father. Seeing his dad’s warm, wrinkled brown face and curly grey hair would have put some reality in the crazy life he was living.

It was nine p.m. London time, one in the afternoon in California. He wouldn’t make the mistake he had when he called home and it was three a.m. in California. He picked up the phone, “Daddy, it’s me. Leroy. Give me a call when you get in. I’d really like to talk to you.”

That was the third call where he talked to the answering machine. His dad hadn’t called back once. Something was going on. His father never left the ranch. But he
did
call back this time.

“Hi, son! I’ve been out of town. Sorry I missed your calls.” His father sounded happier than he’d heard him.

“Where have you been?”

“We just got back from San Diego. Figure on heading up to San Francisco in a few days.”

“Who’s ‘we’, dad?”

“The new neighbor. Real friendly.”

Those stuck up rich people who turned a nice ranch house into a fake Western monument? “
They’re
friendly?”

“Yes, very friendly and fun to be around. What are you up to?”

I’m about to die of homesickness. “I just wanted to hear your voice and see that you were OK.”

“I’m more than OK. Ever since you healed my arthritis, I’ve had a new life. I can’t tell you how grateful I am, son.

“When are you coming home?”

Leroy sighed. “By Christmas, Will says.”

“Ah, you’re homesick. Well, traveling like you been would do that. Come on home, son. I can get you a plane ticket if you need it. Come home tomorrow.”

Where the hell did his father get the money to buy a plane ticket for the next
day
, not using bonus miles and buying a year ahead to get the cheapest rate?

“Son, I have a big surprise for you. I was going to save it until you got home, but you sound so down that I’ll tell you. Your cabin is done!” Leroy could see his father’s smile through the phone.

“It’s all done? What do you mean?”

“Remember all the stuff those rich people gave me when they were remodeling?”

“Yeah. All the cabinets and everything.”

“Way more than what you saw last Christmas. Toilets and tubs. Doors, wood ones with panels. A whole pile of tile and granite. You wouldn’t believe what they gave me. They were goin’ to throw it away. So I had ‘em bring it over. Those people were so rich that they had carpenters and electricians and plumbers standing around doing nothing.”

“What?!” Nobody did that.

“It’s true. If that rich lady didn’t like what came in, she’d refuse it, even with the crew waiting to install it. Craziest thing you ever saw.

“They fixed your whole cabin in their spare time, son. Installed everything from the front door to the back porch. Will Duane could live there, the way it came out.”

Rage erupted in Leroy. “That was
my
cabin. I built it and I was going to finish it. That was for
me
and my
wife
. I wanted to do that for
us. By myself.”

His father made a little snort and backpedaled fast. “Son, you’ve been gone almost a year. I didn’t know when you were coming back. I thought, ‘Better grab what I can.’ I thought you’d
love
that it was done.”

“I don’t, Dad, that was my own place, that I built by myself. It was private. For me and my wife.”

“Leroy, that’s crazy. Everyone in this valley came over to raise those logs. Other people have been in on it from the start. I just was trying to help. Don’t be mad at me.”

Leroy sat, breathing hard and wiping his eyes. Why did the cabin matter so much? Why was he crying? Why did Cass and him getting married seem so far away? Why should Arabella saying her father would never accept him matter? She wasn’t even his real soul mate. She was a spare or a number two. But why did it feel like his happiness with Cass or anyone was being snatched away?

Would he ever get what he really wanted? What did he deserve—a gigantic half-breed black/red/white person who only got out of high school because the Salmon caught on?

Nothing he’d done since he left home meant anything. Learning silverware. Bespoke clothing. Was he really just a grown up “cute picka-ninny” like some lady visiting the ranch had said so many years before? He had to ask his daddy what that meant.

Who was he?
He wasn’t the rancher who left to see his Grandfather at the last Meeting. Nowhere near. He’d been to all those places; he was different. But going where he’d been and doing what he’d done meant he didn’t belong
anywhere
.

He didn’t belong at home. The ranch and their valley and everyone he’d called friends all his life seemed different from him.

How could he go home after this year? He couldn’t be a multi-lingual ranch hand who knew formal dress code. And he couldn’t forget that he knew it, and the parties and dancing with the debutantes. What was he, who was he? What was he going to do when it was over?

All along, he’d figured that he’d do something with Will after this year. Help him somehow. He didn’t know how he’d make a living without Will. His new lifestyle was far above anything he could have imagined before.

Will was pissing him off. He was screwing around, not telling what he knew about Cass. Just, “I’m getting good reports.” She must have been moved to that other hospital, but why didn’t Will tell him right out? Will was hiding something. Why?

What was his dad doing hanging around with the rich people? They were awful. Were they giving him money so he could buy a plane ticket? Why would they give him money? Had he done something with the ranch? Sold it to them? Crazy things were happening everywhere. His life was out of control.