The Touch (Healer Series) (22 page)

  
“Matthew wasn’t the first man I loved,” she
said, tracing the edges of the picture with her finger. She stared at it for a
moment, catching her breath. “I met James at a barn dance and he was
entrancing. His eyes lit up like firecrackers when he’d tell a story. The way
he kissed me made me forget that in that moment, anything else existed.”

  
A slight smile crept up on her and her eyes
looked distant, recalling memories she’d tucked far away, a very long time ago.

  
“I came home from that dance, telling my
mother all about him. We sat on the bed for hours talking about how he made me
feel. It was like new life breathed into my soul; like I had found a new
purpose in living. It gave me knots in my stomach, made my heart race. I felt
alive.”

  
She turned the picture towards him so that he
could see it more clearly. It was clear this photograph was one of her most prized
possessions and AJ handled it with delicacy.

  
“That was our son, James Junior. Or JJ as
everyone else called him. Isn’t he handsome?”

  
JJ and AJ.
He saw
one of the first reasons Helen had taken to him.

  
“He is,” AJ replied softly.

  
“He was such a fun boy, smart as anything. I
planned on having a whole bunch of those. Having JJ almost killed me, though.
Times were different back then and surgery less intricate. The surgery to save
my life sealed my fate of not having any more children. It was devastating at
first and, while I wanted to be mad at JJ for what happened, his sweet face was
just one I couldn’t have an angry thought towards.”

  
She smiled, reflecting on the memory of the
baby she’d held in her arms once upon a time.

  
“I thought we’d be okay, we’d make it
through. JJ died of polio when he was 14. It crumbled our world. He had been
our pride and joy and I hadn’t realized how focused on him I’d become because I
knew I would never have another child. It came at a cost - losing sight of my
own husband. Marriage is hard enough as it is without losing each other
somehow. The love is still there. The romance can fade without work. Pretty
soon, you’re alone even though you’re surrounded by people.”

  
She paused, her face changing to one of
sadness. He’d never seen her look like that since he’d come to town – not once.

  
“When JJ died, our world fell apart, as did
our marriage. Polio ravaged his little body, and he just couldn’t take anymore.
He went to heaven as I was holding him in my arms, singing him a lullaby. The
worst moment of my entire life, that’s for sure. You never forget something
like that.”

  
AJ listened intently. After all she’d been
through, he couldn’t imagine how she’d come out so upbeat on the other side.

  
“James remarried I heard, a couple years
later. Had a bunch of babies, which only served to make me angrier, to feel
more
alone.
I secluded myself. I fought everyone trying
to be kind to me. I pushed away everyone who cared about me. A few years later
when I looked at my life up close and personal, I realized that the only person
hurt by me being the way I was, was me.”

  
She looked at him, hoping he comprehended all
of this. She smiled, the next part of her story something that made her feel
much better.

  
“Matthew found me and said he fell in love
right away. I didn’t understand how. I was a mess; a woman with a shattered
heart and a broken soul, without a friend in the world.
Until
him.
He waited patiently and I fell in love with him. And it was the
best fight I ever had in my life. We all get dealt hands we don’t want. It is
how we handle them that set us apart.”

  
She placed her hands on AJ’s shoulders.

  
“So I tell you this: open up your walls and
let them down. We’ve all had bad things happen. We’ve all had heartaches that
will forever be etched into our hearts. Those won’t go away. They’re not etched
there to keep us sad
,
 
but
to remind us of why we need to be strong. Our hearts are stronger than we think
and can take a beating, coming out more powerful on the other end because it
shows us what love feels like. Whether it is love for a friend or a significant
other. The new friends we make and the new love we find will serve as the
stitches that repair our souls and allow us to carry on. And more often than
not, those stitches are stronger than our original hearts to begin with.”

  
She touched his shoulder and smiled as a
mother would towards her son. AJ smiled back. She was always right. He’d never
realized how hard her world had been and yet here she was, living life and
truly enjoying it. There was something to be said of that. Helen stood up,
placing the picture in the album again carefully. He knew why it wasn’t out – it
meant far too much to her to risk being lost.

  
The door closed quietly and AJ was left to
think about his life, or what was left of it, and how he was going to change
course. Maybe he could still salvage something to make it worth living.

  
He hadn’t heard a frustrated and tired Max
come in. The water from the shower poured down on him. As he stepped through
the bathroom door with a towel around his waist, he saw Max in the chair
flipping through a magazine.

  
“I’ve got to lead him away,” AJ said, cutting
Max off from starting in on any yelling. “I’ve got to find a way to get him out
of here, away from these people. He’s back to hurt me and he’ll do it through
them.”

  
This was different than the city. The people
here had started to become friends. He had a bond with them and to see them
hurt because of something he brought on the town was not something he was
prepared to let happen.

  
“He’s not just going to follow you out of
town AJ, like you’re a pied piper or something.”

  
“I know that. So help me. Tell me what to
do.”

  
It was no longer just about Addie. The
situation concerned Helen and Matthew. Rose. Bob.
Everyone in
Lee.

  
“What you’re asking is bigger than you
realize, kid. This isn’t the end of all
Grims
coming
through Lee. There will be others, many others throughout the years.”

  
“But they’re not all pure evil like Devin,”
AJ countered. He knew that much. “I know people can’t live forever, and some
people have to suffer for the greater good. Hell, I watched it with Isabelle.
That doesn’t mean I’m going to let a rogue, vengeful Grim devastate the town to
get back at me.”

  
Silence.
Max fumbled
with the magazine, placing it back on the table. He knew what AJ wanted to do.
However, it wasn’t as simple as him and Devin.

  
“If you challenge him, it’s a matter of Healers
against
Grims
and that is a much bigger battle than
you’re ready for. That’s a much bigger battle than any of us are ready for. Do
you understand this AJ? It would bring war between our two groups again and the
majority of the casualties would be human. Are you ready to have that on your
shoulders? I’m not a fan of Devin either and that’s why we’re here – to
counteract as much of his evil as we can. He’s broken the rules once – even if
he’s found a loophole around explaining it - and has opened himself up to a
battle.
 
However, we also have to weigh
the actions of one against the damage it would cause. Is it worth it to you?”

  
“You mean, is Addie worth it to me.”

  
“That’s part of it.”

  
“I’m not just thinking about Addie. This is
about the town.
Helen and Matthew.
All
our friends here.
If we don’t stand up, he’ll keep plugging along to try
and make us. How many people have to hurt for us to stop him?”

  
“A lot more will hurt if we do try to stop
him and fail. Or if we do stop him, even. His clan will seek revenge. You know
it as well as I
do
. Are you going to stop all of
them?”

  
“I’ll try.”

  
“You’ll try,” Max said with a groan. “Trying
isn’t good enough AJ. You need to succeed. You can’t succeed without other
Healers on board. And they won’t be on board if he’s only hurt one person in
revenge.”

  
“What if he hurts a Healer?”

  
Max knew where he was going with this.

  
“AJ, are you nuts? He’s strong. He could kill
you.”

  
“Not if you’re there. He can’t kill a Healer
if I don’t touch him first. That’s a law there’s no loophole around.
You in?”

  
Max didn’t say anything. He already knew he
was in. He was always in. He preferred
good
over evil
and he knew no matter what he said, AJ wouldn’t back down.

  
“You know I am.”

**************************************************

  
So a shift in the balance of the clans began.
AJ had to provoke Devin into harming him. He needed Devin not to kill him, only
to hurt him enough to leave a mark. When a Grim touched a Healer an indelible
mark etched onto the Healer’s skin, unseen to the mortal eye while visible to
the eyes of other Healers. It was eternal proof, a mark of having experienced a
Grim’s
anger. This was part of the punishment the
Grims
suffered after the initial uprising; a way to let
other Healers know there was a Grim with less than the best of intentions.

  
With his obvious disdain for Devin, AJ was
sure he’d be able to provoke the Grim enough to have a mark on his skin. Devin
had gotten fairly close the day before at the funeral. Just a little more
chatter might do the trick, AJ thought.

  
It seemed Devin wanted to be found, as he
wasn’t shielding himself. AJ and Max picked up on his presence and followed it
as it got stronger, right into the center of town. AJ saw Addie, eating lunch
with the Grim on the outside tables at the café. It was a quiet day, as most
folks were home cherishing a little time with their loved ones after the
sadness of the day before.

  
They pulled up to the café. AJ smiled over at
Devin, giving a little laugh and heading inside. Devin was instantly intrigued;
it wasn’t AJ’s normal response to him.

  
Addie grimaced, scorned by AJ’s ignoring her.
She would ignore him right back, she convinced herself.

  
The guys headed back out of the café, to-go
bag in hand. AJ seemed cool and collected, although his heart raced. He needed
to play it perfectly, to get the response he wanted.

  
“Nice day, huh?”
Devin asked, drawing their attention. The downfall of the
Grims
,
at least Devin’s line of ancestry, was their impatience and need to be in
control. It played into the plan, just as AJ knew it would.

  
“Beautiful,” AJ responded. “Makes me feel
like, I don’t know, visiting people.
Maybe handing out hugs
and handshakes.”

  
He knew it would irk Devin. Devin could only
touch one person a day without breaking rules. He’d broken a small one with
Bob. AJ was always willing to bet that wasn’t enough for the Healers to
retaliate. If they started healing everyone, not paying attention to him, the
fun and games would be over.

  
Addie was growing angrier with every smile AJ
shot towards them. He should be miserable, like she was. Was she really worth
so little to him? Had he really not cared about her at all?

  
Devin shot up, walking towards the men who
were now sitting on the hood of the car, eating their sandwiches.

  
“Hugs and handshakes?
Really?
I’m surprised people in this town like you all
that much with that temper of yours.”

  
“People like me enough. They won’t like you
for long, though.”

  
“Why’s that?” Devin asked with his devilish
grin, his hands in his pockets as if he hadn’t a care in the world. He was
really chomping at the bit, wanting to know what these two were thinking.

  
“People tend to not like someone new, you
know, when pain or disease start to bring trouble in a new town. They usually
associate it with the new guy. A bit like the Native Americans did when the white
brought diseases over to the new world,” Max said, ending with a giant smile.

  
Max watched as Devin’s smile began to fade.
Addie was still watching the entire interaction from the table, enough of a
distance where she couldn’t hear what was going on. Max knew from his time
spent with the Native Americans that one of the men on Columbus’ ship had been
a Grim; one of the members of the clan Devin was most likely from. A man who simply
took pleasure in the pain and suffering he inflicted on the men, women, and
children of the tribes. It was a perverse sense of humor and AJ wanted to
prevent the same fate of those Native Americans from happening to the town of
Lee.