Shadow Keeper (20 page)

“Certainly.” Monica took a step back and waved her arm for me to enter. “Then we can all have a nice little chat.”

That little chat would probably equal the Spanish Inquisition, but I would endure it as long as I could spend more time with Lisa. I followed them through the entryway and into the living room.

“Lisa,” her mom said. “You need to change into something more appropriate for company.”

“There’s nothing wrong with this.” She skimmed her hand down the white tee shirt and purple flannels. “People wear them in public all the time.”

“Lisa dear, do you want Brendon to stay?”

She took a step closer to her mother and lowered her voice. “Please, don’t say anything that will embarrass me.”

Without answering, her mom raised her arm and pointed to the hallway. Lisa scrunched her lips together and stomped out of the room.

Monica waved her hand at the cream colored couch. “Sit down, Brendon.”

From her tone, that wasn’t a cordial invitation, but I remembered my manners. “After you, Mrs. Stratton.”

She hesitated a moment before taking a seat in a brown leather recliner. After I took a seat in the far corner of the couch, she started the lecture. “Lisa is only sixteen years old.”

“I know—”

Her raised hand silenced me. “She is too young to date, or have a boyfriend. I know Lisa is…fond of you, but that is as far as this little relationship of yours is going to go. Do I make myself clear?”

“Absolutely, ma’am.”

“Don’t you have anything further to say?”

“She’s your daughter, and you make the rules. As long as I can continue to see Lisa, I’ll do whatever you say.”

She tapped her fingers on the arm of the chair. “If I forbid you to see Lisa, will you still obey my wishes?”

I tried to hide my amusement. Monica and my mom seemed to think alike when it came to forbidding us to see each other. “I don’t know what you think I’m going to do to Lisa—wait. I do know what you think, but you don’t have to worry. Lisa and I have already agreed to move slowly.”

“But that’s the problem.” Her eyelids narrowed as she glared at me. “You expect the relationship to
move
. It will only be a matter of time before you start pressuring her to do more.”

She acted like I was some kind of perv who liked to force myself on innocent young women. Faith in her daughter’s character didn’t seem to be much better. “You need to give Lisa more credit. She is not a little girl. She’s smart and mature, and she isn’t going to let me—or any guy—make her do something she doesn’t want to do.”

When she stared mutely at me, I continued with my plea. “I want to keep seeing Lisa. I’ll follow all your orders and won’t break any curfews. We can even double date with Carson and Sherry. You trust Sherry, don’t you?”

Her lips twisted into a grimace. “The first time I met you, I knew you were a smooth talker.”

“And I thought we agreed my smooth talking meant I spoke honestly.”

“I don’t know about that, but you are blunt and to the point.”

The drawn out silence was broken when Lisa walked into the room. “May I come back in?”

Monica nodded. “You might as well. We’re through talking. Grab the remote before you sit down. We’ll finish watching the movie. Then Brendon may leave.”

Lisa hit the play button after taking a seat next to me on the couch. “You’ve probably seen this movie, but if you haven’t, I’ll tell you what’s going on.”

I didn’t care about the movie. My thoughts—and my eyes—were on Lisa. The lavender tee she’d changed into fit her better and showed off nice curves. Instead of her hair pinned up in that plastic claw looking thing, her blonde hair was brushed smooth and hung over one shoulder. Even her lips, although a natural shade, glistened from the glow of the TV set.

Lisa must not have been interested in the movie either, for her attention stayed on me. “Are you cold?” Before I could answer, she spread a fleece blanket over our laps. Beneath the covers, she slipped her hand into mine.

I pulled our joined hands out from under the blanket and placed them on top of my knee. Lisa resisted, but since I was stronger, I won. Monica’s eyelids narrowed when she glanced at our clasped hands.

“I don’t want to hide anything.” I looked directly at Monica. “Unless you prefer not knowing what we do.”

“On the contrary. I want to see for myself exactly how personal the two of you become. And the day you cross the line is the day I promise you will regret.”

Chapter Twenty–Five

Leaving without giving Lisa a kiss goodbye was hard, but Monica followed us to the door. I didn’t attempt even a quick peck on the cheek because I didn’t want to chance irritating her mom.

I hoofed it about six blocks to Paul’s house. Mr. Juarez was still up even though it was after midnight. I spent the next hour in the kitchen eating homemade tamales and tortilla soup until Paul got home. The breakup with Sherry had hit him hard, and he looked ripped when he staggered through the door. His dad wasn’t happy with the drinking, so Vanetti and I got out of there before we got caught in the crossfire and headed back to broken bridge.

“You good to drive?” Carson asked.

“I’m good.” I revved the engine and headed for home. “The only reason I was worried earlier is because I didn’t want a cop smelling beer on my breath. But after eating all those jalapeños with Paul’s dad, I’d probably melt a breathalyzer.”

“Damn straight. I think your breath singed my eyebrows.”

Carson made a joke, but didn’t laugh. That seemed strange. I shot him a sideways glance. “How much did you drink?”

“Only a couple. I was texting Sherry half the night and didn’t want my thumbs turning crazy on me. She told me you and Lisa are back together.”

I nodded. “What about you and Sherry? Now that she dumped Paul, are you going to ask her out?”

“I don’t think so, at least not right now. If she said no, it could change things. The way I figure it, staying friends would be the same as dating her. Paul claimed they never did more than hold hands. Me and Sherry have already done that much as friends, so why push it?”

“I guess you’ve got a point.” I wasn’t going to advise him on his love life. Lisa and I were only at the hand holding stage, but knowing she cared for me was a great feeling.

We rode the rest of the way up the valley without talking. I steered the pickup onto the narrow lane that meandered through his ranch. When I parked in front of the house, I discovered he was sound asleep. I turned down the country western station and nudged him on the shoulder. “Carson, you’re home.”

He sat up straighter and glanced around. “So I am. How are you doing? You’re not going to fall asleep on the way home, are you?”

“I’m fine. It’s not that far anyway. I’ll get your pickup back to you tomorrow.”

“Don’t worry about it. I’ll give you a call when I’m up.” Carson crawled from the cab, but before shutting the door, he stuck his head back in. “I forgot to ask. Do you like corn mazes?”

“What?” I figured he drank more than a couple beers, so I ignored the question. “You better get to bed.”

He stepped back and shut the door. I waited until he reached the porch before leaving. A short time later, I pulled the pickup into the driveway behind my mom’s car. I went into the house and turned on the kitchen light before walking down the dark hallway to my mom’s bedroom. Krystal slept in the room with her, so I tapped lightly on the door before peeking in my head. “Mom.”

“Just a minute,” came her sleepy voice.

I went into the kitchen and waited. I needed to talk to her about the vision of my grandfather jumping out of the campfire. Everyone at the party thought I’d had too much to drink, but I knew better. His appearance had been real. He’d spoken to me, given me council, and told me where to find answers. I stood on the threshold of a new beginning. That’s why I had gone to see Lisa. I wanted to put an end to the past and start the future. But Lisa was my future.

Mom walked barefooted across the floor to the table where I sat. “What’s wrong?”

“I don’t know. Something really weird happened tonight. I was hoping you could clear it up.”

“I’m sorry about you and Lisa breaking up.” She put her hand on my shoulder. “When you told me about it before the game, I could see how much you were hurting. You probably won’t believe me, but even though I thought she wasn’t right for you, I still liked her.”

I glanced at her through narrowed eyelids. She liked Lisa? Would the weirdness of this night ever end? “I’m glad you like her because Lisa and I are back together.”

“Oh.” She walked to the sink for a glass of water. “Is that what you wanted to tell me?”

“No, I wanted to ask you about my grandfather.”

“You want to know about my father?” She strolled back to the table.

I shook my head. “Not Grandpa Nelson. I want to know about Grandfather Alexander.” I scooted out the chair next to me. “Sit down, Mom.”

She pulled the robe around her and sat. “What do you want to know?”

“I saw Grandfather tonight.”

Her forehead wrinkled. “He’s been dead for ten years.”

“Yeah, well, that didn’t stop him from jumping out of the campfire.”

“What are you talking about?”

“He grew out of the smoke and fire, and stood in front of me. We spoke just like you and I are speaking now.” I touched my hand to my chest. “He told me how I got this mark and what it means. He also said my father left me many gifts. Do you know what he was talking about?”

“I was afraid this day would come.” She propped one elbow on the table and braced her forehead against her fingers.

“That’s funny because I’m not afraid. Some people might’ve freaked out if their dead grandfather leaped out of a campfire, but I didn’t. I feel as if I’ve been waiting for this for a long time. I know it’s all connected to my father. You have to tell me what he did for a living.”

“For a living? That’s easy.” Her head remained down. “He installed heaters and air conditioners. But you’re probably more interested in his hobby.”

“What was his hobby? And don’t tell me he was a hit man because I won’t believe it.”

“Would you believe
Spirit Guide
? That’s what he called himself. He guided damaged or displaced souls back to where they belonged.”

“People who were—”

“No, not people. Their spirit.” Her hand never moved from her head, but she glanced at me. “This may be hard for you to grasp at first. Your father healed damaged souls and guided lost spirits back to their bodies.”

“He was a faith healer?” I shrugged. “That’s not so hard to grasp.”

“Faith healer. Spirit guide. I guess they’re not so different. But first, your father had to drive the demon from the body.”

“Demons?” My body twitched. “Isn’t that just the Old Testament way of explaining mental illness?”

“No, sweetie. Demons are very real—and dangerous. I went with your father a few times when he performed the ceremonies. When the demon leaves the host body, it can manifest itself into some sort of creature with the characteristics of a vicious animal.”

“A vicious animal?” A clammy sweat popped out of my pores. “Like a part man, part rat–looking thing with sharp teeth and claws?”

“You’ve seen a demon materialize?” Her hand dropped to the table.

My mouth went dry. I swallowed hard. “In my nightmares.” I walked to the sink and got a drink of water from the same glass Mom had used.

“I never wanted this to happen.” Her voice quaked. “I tried so hard to protect you. That’s why I never told you anything about your father.”

“If demons are real, then why is the ugly thing only showing up in my nightmares?”

“I don’t know, but your father used to have the same sort of dreams. You’ll continue to be plagued by the nightmares until you determine why the demon is pursuing you.”

“And how do I do that?”

“I don’t know that either. Your father had the gift, not me. I always suspected you would take after him even though I dreaded the thought.”

“What gift are you talking about?” I sat down at the table.

“Visions and dreams. He had the gift of second sight. According to your father, it’s not something that’s learned, but inherited. If you’ve spoken to the spirit of your dead grandfather and had nightmares of a demonic creature, your gift is surfacing.” Mom grabbed my arm. “You can refuse it, Brendon. Force it from your mind and deny the acceptance. Then you can have a normal life. College. A future. A family. Maybe even Lisa. Isn’t that what you want?”

Lisa
. In some way, she was connected to my demonic infested nightmares, but I didn’t know how, or why. Admitting it to my mother didn’t seem like a good idea.

“You’re not going to refuse it.” Her grip eased on my arm. “I can see it in your eyes.”

“I don’t know if I can.”

“You can, but you won’t. You’re too much like your father. I couldn’t talk him out of it either.” She swiped her hand across her face. “Don’t make up your mind now. Think about it for a while.”