Lost Bird (12 page)

He’d also wondered if it would be a source of contention between them. In every other way, throughout their lives, they’d gotten along quite well with very few issues.

John wouldn’t sacrifice his friendship with Oscar over a relationship with a woman. Oscar had been there for him when love had left him high and dry and shriveled on the rocks in the sun. And he’d been there for Oscar.

“Sachi’s single?” Horror enveloped him as he realized he’d spoken that out loud.

Brad glanced around and leaned in, lowering his voice. “Don’t tell Mandaline or Sachi I told you this, but Sachi sees auras. She said when you came to fix her water heater, and then when she ran into your friend in the grocery store, that she saw auras around you two that she’d only seen once before in her life. And she saw them again the other night at your aunt’s house.” He smiled and nodded as if that should make things crystal clear to John.

No, not so much.
“What? What are you saying?”

“She’s into you guys, okay? If you haven’t been living under a rock without a TV lately, you’ll know she hasn’t always had an easy life.” Brad leaned in closer, prompting John to do the same, Brad’s voice dropping even lower. “And she’s very scared of being hurt right now.”

The man’s friendly expression transformed into a harsh, stern warning. “So don’t be afraid to take a chance. But if you two guys play her and hurt her, keep in mind you’ll have a whole freaking store full of people after you who consider witchcraft and magick as far more than just a harmless hobby, and who will be out for your blood. Literally.”

As Brad leaned back, his serene smile reappeared, as if it’d never left his face. His voice returned to normal levels. “Just sayin’, man. But seriously, take the first step. Ask her out. Both of you.”

The bell on the door jingled as an older couple entered and headed for the counter. John stepped to the side, letting Brad greet them while he processed what just happened.

It almost hadn’t felt real, like maybe he’d imagined the whole thing.

Maybe I did.
Maybe he was the one, not his aunt, who needed a mental health evaluation.

Taking the opportunity while Brad was occupied, John hurriedly left the store and returned to his work van. He sat there for a moment, the AC blasting and radio up, while he tried to process the conversation he’d just had.

The very weird conversation, very…well,
weird
was the only word he kept pulling out of his vocabulary.

Spooky weird.

He stared at the storefront. It felt like he’d been dropped into an alternate dimension for a few minutes and had emerged from the other side.

Kind of like when he and Oscar had dinner at his aunt’s house and she dropped the double bomb on them about dream conversations with her deceased husband, and that Sachi was someone they should look at as a romantic interest.

It
couldn’t
be that easy. Nothing is
that
easy. Ever.

After a few minutes, he finally pulled out of the parking space and drove back to work.

* * * *

It was a bittersweet two days in Idaho for Sachi. By the time Ellis and Sachi were ready to leave with the moving truck, Sachi was eager to get back to Florida.

To having her dad there for good.

Even better, the real estate agent was going to be showing the house tomorrow to three people, and had received several other inquiries about it already.

Life was looking up, and Sachi couldn’t be happier.

They had crossed into Montana, Sachi at the wheel as they headed east on I-90.

“You all right?” Ellis asked.

One at a time, she unclenched her fingers from around the steering wheel and flexed her right hand before putting it back on the wheel. “Fine.”

She’d gone through this the last time she’d been this way, too, terrified that she might not make it out of Montana alive.

Paranoid that every state trooper she saw might be a friend of Jackson Clary’s and on the lookout for her. Fortunately, the county she’d lived in before was two south of the Interstate, giving her a modicum of comfort.

This time the stress wasn’t nearly as severe, but the old memories remained.

In fact, this time she needed to chase a ghost of her own. As they approached the turnoff to head toward where they’d lived, she signaled.

“We need gas?” he asked.

“Yes, but I need to do something.”

“Want me to take a turn at the wheel?”

“Not yet.”

They fueled up. She didn’t need a map to find her way south. The drive was seared in her mind.

“Um, wrong way, Sachi.”

“Side trip, chief.”

Apparently he was quick on the uptake, because he didn’t ask any other questions.

It took them nearly an hour, and she stopped at a grocery store on the outskirts of town and bought some flowers from the sparse display in their produce department. When they reached the cemetery, she sat there for a moment behind the wheel.

“Do you want to be alone?”

She shook her head.

He got out and walked around the cab, opening the door for her. She shut off the engine and let him help her down. With him following, she walked a path she knew from memory, even though she hadn’t been there in over a decade.

“I always felt ashamed I didn’t stop when I left home,” she said.

“Why?”

“Because I should have come by.”

“No, I meant why didn’t you stop?”

“Fear.” She glanced back at him. “I didn’t know what to expect. I was terrified enough driving alone through Montana.”

“I don’t claim to understand what you went through, but I know the woman you are now. I want you to know I consider you a friend, even adopted family.”

She stopped and turned, looking up at him. “You’re just saying that for the free skeet lessons.” She smiled.

He smiled back. “Don’t forget the reloading.”

The tears surprised her. She didn’t fight him when he gathered her close for a comforting, brotherly hug.

After a moment, with his arm still draped around her shoulders, they continued through the cemetery until they reached her grave.

She unwrapped the flowers and knelt down, tucking them into a small vase built into the gravestone. As she sat back on her heels she rested her hands on her knees and took a deep breath. She knew her mother’s spirit wasn’t buried in the ground beneath her. The marker simply indicated the final resting place of her bones.

Countless nights, she’d lain awake and thought about what she’d say if she ever got a chance to come back here. Now, she had it, and every idea had flown from her mind.

Across the cemetery, a flutter of movement caught her attention. A flock of doves took flight, landing in a nearby tree, a sea of brown and tan and black.

Save one.

One red male cardinal.

She clapped a hand to her mouth to stifle the sob. “Thanks, Mom,” she whispered when she trusted her voice again. “I love you, too.”

* * * *

They were somewhere west of St. Louis when she finally found the guts to broach the subject. “You and Tarzan,” she said without preamble.

Ellis was driving, so he couldn’t take his eyes off the road. “Yeah?”

“I mean…how is that working? Are you guys jealous?”

“Not that I mind discussing this with you, but can I get a little context as to why we’re discussing it now?”

“You won’t understand.”

“Uh, I saw a lot of weird shit happen that helped keep you and Mandaline from getting killed. Needless to say, I’m far more open-minded on the topic than I was before I met you and Mandaline, so try me.”

She admitted about seeing the auras, about John and Oscar. And what Mandaline had done by putting her in charge of the investigation, forcing her into more close contact with the two men.

He slowly nodded. “Okay.”

“Not going to bust my balls about this?”

He smiled. “No more than usual. But she’s right that you should take a chance.”

“So back to my question.”

“Well, I can’t answer for anyone but myself and Brad. We’ve been friends a lot of years. Since we were kids. Like brothers. I was always more worried about finding a woman who would accept my relationship with Brad. It was a good kind of shock to find a woman who fell for both of us, and we fell for her.”

“That doesn’t answer my question.”

“I’m getting there. Give me a minute. I think if your senses are right, and it leads to something between all three of you, it will depend on how close the men are. If they’ve been friends for years, they might be okay with it. If not, maybe not so much.”

“You’re not jealous of Brad?”

“No. He’s the happiest he’s been in years, and he’s been through a shit-ton of crap. He’s lucky to be alive. I’m the happiest I’ve been in my whole life. I’m not saying life’s perfect, but we sit down and talk and we each get our private time when we need it, and it just keeps working. I wanted it to work more than I wanted it to fail. Isn’t that what you guys kept telling me, that I needed to manifest it or whatever? So I do that. I focus on it succeeding.”

“Ah, that’s the lawyer I know and adore. Using my own words against me.”

“Okay, so think about this. What’s the best-case scenario? They both like you, you like both of them, and they both say yes they’re okay with a triad. Bonus for you. What’s the worst-case scenario? That either they don’t like you, or you don’t like them, and you walk away from it. Anything in the middle of those two extremes isn’t bad, either, you know. Like maybe clicking with one and not the other.”

“Settling?”

“Maybe you’re seeing available guys, not just those two.”

“I haven’t seen any other guys, anywhere, even in the airports in Tampa and Spokane, with auras like that. Only one other time.” She stared out the window.

“Aaand?”

Should have known he’d ask. Damn lawyers are almost as bad as witches.
“I walked away from him,” she quietly admitted. “And I shouldn’t have.”

“Okay. So blue aura is really good, right?”

“Not just blue. I can’t explain it. It’s different, but in a good way.” She looked at him again.

“I have to side with Mandaline on this one. Call them. Can’t hurt to at least meet with them for dinner or something. See what shakes out.”

“That’s not helpful,” she grumbled.

“No, it’s not the pat, neatly tied answer you wanted. We’re proof that it can work, however. And it should give you hope that it might work, but you have to meet the opportunity head-on, or at least halfway.”

“There you go using logic on me again.”

He smiled. “That’s us damn lawyers for you.”

“Yeah, tell me about it.”

* * * *

With both of them sharing the driving duties, it took them right around three days, with only one overnight stop, to make it back to Florida. Her dad and Brad were waiting for them at her house when they pulled up.

As she crawled down from the passenger side of the cab, her dad took one look at her and pointed at the house. “Bed. Now. You’re exhausted.”

“We’ve got to unload.”

“I’ve got that handled,” Brad assured her. “Grover’s sons and sons-in-law will be here in less than an hour to help us.

She was too tired to argue with him, even if his logic hadn’t been sound. Fortunately, she couldn’t and wouldn’t argue. “Deal. Thanks again, Tarzan.”

As she grabbed her backpack and headed up the sidewalk, she heard her dad ask, “Why does she call you ‘Tarzan,’ anyway?”

She smiled as she closed the front door on whatever Brad’s reply might be. But a shower first, then she collapsed onto her bed.

As she closed her eyes, she tried to recall what day it was.

That was when she remembered the day after tomorrow was the scheduled do-over date for the next part of Tammy Evans’ investigation.

She groaned. Now that her dad was, for the most part, moved, she’d have to face
that
business head-on.

Face the two men head-on.

Face her fears head-on.

The next morning, Sachi knew she wouldn’t get a moment of peace from Mandaline unless she asked the guys out.

Not that Mandaline would actively bug her about it. It would be more of a case of what her friend didn’t say than what she did that would get Sachi’s goat.

Damn witch, anyway.

With her heart in her throat, she called John’s cell phone, figuring it would make more sense to call him than Oscar.

She almost hung up after the second ring when his voice came on the line. “John Evans.”

“Hey. Um, it’s Sachi.”

“Oh, hi. What’s up?”

She closed her eyes.
Nut up, kiddo.
“I was wondering if you and Oscar and I could get together for dinner, maybe tonight? Nothing fancy, maybe just meet up over at the Golden Corral or…something.” She mentally groaned.
Wow. That…sucked. Even
I
wouldn’t go out with me.