“You’re the oldest, right?”
“Four brothers.” He popped an almond in his mouth and crunched it. “I remember being that age.” He turned and raised an eyebrow. “It was a while ago, but I remember.”
The volume of the football game increased, and Val leaned closer. “I was thinking earlier that work was going so well right now. The kitchen is running smooth. All my servers and baristas are happy, but… my kids are sad. So all the other stuff means crap. It seems like I either have a good business or I have happy kids. I never seem to manage both.”
“You’re a good mom, Valerie. Don’t doubt that.”
She leaned on the bar and let out a long breath. “Why do you call me Valerie? Why do you do that?”
Sully leaned so close she could feel his breath on her cheek. “Because your name is sweet and soft and I like thinking of you in my bed, sweet and soft and—”
She slapped a hand over his mouth. “We don’t need to talk about that.”
He shoved her hand away. “I don’t agree.”
Val narrowed her eyes at his sullen expression. “Are you pissed at me?”
“Kinda.”
“Why?”
“Because you left.” He scowled. “And part of me gets it. I really do. I know your life is hectic as shit. But the other part of me is pissed because I’m not asking for some huge commitment, okay?” He glanced around the bar. “I mean, if you want me to take you out, I’ll take you out. If you wanted to meet my parents—”
“I could go to church on Sunday with my parents because they sit like two rows behind them?”
“Well yeah,” he muttered. “I’m just saying that if you want that stuff, then we can do that. And if you wanted to just… hang out sometimes, I’m okay with that too.”
Val blinked. Did Sully just volunteer to be her fuck-buddy? Did she want that? Did responsible adults have fuck-buddies? Was that an option? Was she even a responsible adult?
Those were all questions up for debate.
He was staring at her. “You’re not saying anything.”
“I don’t know what to say.”
“What do you want?” he asked. “That’s all I’m wondering. Do you want a relationship or do you—?”
“No. I don’t think so. Not right now.” Val could tell he was disappointed, but she wanted to be honest. “Maybe when this is all over,” she said. “Right now I can’t think about anything other than figuring out what’s best for my boys, you know? They have one responsible parent. Me. I’m it. Josh is just… He’s the fun one. I’m the not-fun one.”
“I think you’re fun.”
She lowered her voice. “Well, that’s because you’ve had sex with me and I’m never going to nag you to do your homework.”
The corner of his mouth turned up. “You could give me homework if you wanted to.”
“Stop.”
“Stop what?”
Being so damn attractive. Being nice. Being funny and making me feel special.
“Just stop bringing it up. I’m not saying no, okay? I’m just saying… not now.”
He nodded slowly. “Okay. Not now. I can deal with that.”
“And don’t be pushy.”
“I’m not some punk kid.” He looked at her from the corner of his eye. “Have I been pushy?”
“No.”
“Your friends are the pushy ones. I’m the one pretending not to hear the comments.”
She closed her eyes. “And I appreciate that.”
“Good.” He nudged her glass toward her. “Finish your beer. I’ll drive you home.”
“I can walk.”
He looked over his shoulder. “It’s snowing. I’m not letting you walk home in the snow.”
“Is it?” Damn, he was right. Tiny white flakes were falling in the glow of the parking lot lights. Val finished her beer. “I can walk. It’s not far.”
“Just let me drive you home. I got this one, by the way.” He stood and put a twenty on the bar, enough for both their beers and a healthy tip. Sully walked to the jacket hooks by the door. “I will drive you home as a friend. Because it’s cold.”
“Okay. Thank you, friend.” Val walked to the wall, carefully pulling on her gloves before she even reached for her jacket.
Clothes were one of the things that triggered her visions most strongly, and rifling through a mess of jackets would probably give her a seizure. She delicately picked through the jackets that had been piled on top of hers, careful not to let the fabric touch her skin.
“Gotta stop doing this,” she said.
“Stop doing what?”
Leaving my clothes where they could get tangled up with someone else’s. “Gotta stop going out for random drinks in the middle of the week.”
“Why? You got a drinking problem with your”—he glanced back at the bar—“one beer and cashew habit?”
“Ha ha.” They walked out to the parking lot, and Val spotted his lifted pickup parked on the far end. “Boy, you don’t like taking the close parking space, do you?”
His breath huffed out in a cloud. “It’s stupid, but it makes sense in my head.”
“What does?”
He stopped and looked between the front door and the truck. “I can run to my truck and get to the road faster than I can drive through the parking lot if there was an emergency.”
Val looked between the truck and the quickly dimming facade of Chaco’s. “Huh. I wouldn’t have thought about that.”
“Sometimes minutes count.” Sully put his hand on the small of her back and opened the door, making sure she was steady as she climbed on the running board.
Val sat in the truck and turned, waiting for him to close the door. He didn’t. He just stood in the gently falling snow, looking at her.
“Can I kiss you?” he asked.
Yessssssss.
No.
Yes?
No.
“Better not,” she said quietly.
His eyes drilled into her. “Okay.” He nudged her knee. “Better scoot in. Watch your toes.”
He walked around and Val had to hold back from banging her head on the window.
Not no, just not now.
Not no. But not now.
Not now was going to kill her. Her libido was not happy with her brain.
Sully hopped in the other side of the cab and started the truck. He rubbed his hands together and glanced across the bench. “Gotta give her a second to warm up.”
“Yeah.”
“She’s a diesel, so she takes her time.”
“Mm-hmm.” Say nothing. Say. Nothing.
“Nice thing about a diesel engine though, once you get her hot, she’ll go for hours and—”
“Sully!”
His low laugh filled the truck.
Val could feel her cheeks getting warm. “You’re an evil tormenter.”
“Takes one to know one.”
“I am not evil.”
“Don’t pretend like I haven’t seen your tattoos, Valerie.”
Okay, well there is that one…
“Can you please take me home now?”
“I will. As soon as the truck warms up.”
“Right.” Val stared at the dark forest in front of the dashboard.
Sully fiddled with the radio, tuning it to a classic country station before he said, “So did I ever tell you about the police psychic I worked with in LA?”
Chapter 14
Monica and Robin stared at her, openmouthed.
“Police psychic?” Robin asked.
“What does that mean?” Monica unfroze and started pacing in the kitchen of Glimmer Lake Curios, where they had met for lunch. “Does he know? How could he know?”
“I don’t know.” Val threw up her hands. “I didn’t really say anything about it. He rambled a little bit about this lady in LA who worked with the police.”
“What did you say?” Robin asked.
“Nothing! I just hmmed and said ‘that’s interesting’ a coup
le of times and prayed that he’d stop.” She unwrapped the roasted turkey on sourdough she’d brought for herself. She’d hardly gotten a wink of sleep the night before after Sully dropped her off. “I don’t know what to think.”
“How could he know?” Monica asked again. “Have you told him anything personal? Like… anything you’d have no reason to know?”
“No.” She rifled through her memories. “At least, I don’t think so. I mean, I told him I knew about Josh’s affair with Savannah, but I didn’t tell him how I knew.”
“What about when you guys…”
“I don’t read people,” Val said. “It doesn’t work that way. I didn’t pick up anything accidental from him, if that’s what you’re thinking. And even if I did, why would he bring that up now?”
Robin and Monica stared at her.
“I have no idea,” Monica said.
“I don’t know what you should do.” Robin unwrapped her roast beef. “But this isn’t good.”
“I don’t know,” Val said. “I mean, as long as I don’t confirm anything, he can think what he wants to think. It’s not like he’s going to accuse me of being a witch or something.”
“And if he did, who would care?” Monica sat down at the table and reached for her chicken salad. “Anyway, witch is the least of the names people have called you.”
“Exactly.” Val took a large bite of turkey. “Maybe I should tell people I’m a witch. I bet the boys would love that.”
“Teenagers have no sense of humor,” Robin said. “Did I tell you about the time I picked Austin up from school in my Princess Leia outfit? He was a freshman. Didn’t even laugh.”
Monica frowned. “Out of curiosity, why?”
“Why Princess Leia?” Robin reached for her drink. “It was Halloween! We were going to a party. I wasn’t wearing the bikini or anything. Just the white Princess Leia robe with the hair.” She circled her finger around her ears. “I had the wig and everything.”
“Awesome,” Monica said. “We’re just cooler than our kids want to admit.”
“I do have the bikini though.” Robin smiled. “Mark likes it.”
Val snorted. “He’s such a geek.”
“Oh, he definitely is.” Robin cocked her head. “You know, Mark likes Sully. I wonder if he’d vote for telling him.” She picked up her phone. “I’m gonna ask.”
“Why?” Monica said. “Telling Mark is one thing—he’s your husband—but Sully isn’t in the group.”
“He could be.” Robin glanced at Val. “I mean, he likes Val. He’s part of the police—”
“Sheriff,” Val said. “It’s different.”
“Not around here,” Robin said. “Maybe he could help. And it would be nice if we didn’t have to answer any weird questions in the future. He knows what happened to us last year.”
Sully was the one who’d investigated the car crash that had dumped them into Glimmer Lake and triggered their psychic powers.
Monica tapped on her chin. “He did make a point of telling you about the police psychic. Maybe that was his way of telling you he’s trustworthy?”
“Okay, yeah.” Val put down her sandwich. “But that doesn’t mean I need to tell him anything.”
“Why don’t you want to?” Robin held her phone up to her ear. “I mean, what can it hurt? He’s clearly open to the possibility.”
“Because he can suspect, but if I tell him the truth…” Val couldn’t bring herself to say it.
He’ll think I’m a freak.
That’ll be the end of that.
There’s no way he’d ever be with me if he knew.
Shit. She felt more for Sully than she’d been willing to admit. Otherwise, why did she care? She couldn’t imagine even the most secure man being fine with dating a woman who could see though any story with a single touch.
Seeing visions like Monica? That was kinda sexy and dreamy. Seeing ghosts like Robin? That was cool, if a little creepy. But being able to pick up on visions by touch? No way. No one wanted to be around someone who could do that. That was why she was never telling her children. She could barely admit the scope of her power to Robin and Monica!
Tell Sully? No fucking way.
Robin was nodding on the phone. “Uh-huh.” She looked at Val and mouthed, Mark. “You think?” She doodled in the corner of the notepad she constantly had with her. “Yeah. I’ll tell her.”
“Tell me what?” Val muttered to Monica.
“Probably that you should tell Sully,” Monica said.
“Why? Because he’s tired of being the only boy in the club?”
Monica snorted. “I have no opinion on this. I can see pluses and minuses to the idea.”
“I don’t know why anyone else thinks they get a vote.” She finished off her turkey club and wiped her hands. “My life is not a democracy.”
Robin hung up the phone and said, “Mark thinks you should tell Sully.”
“I’m shocked,” Val said. “So shocked.”
“And not because he’s the only boy in the clubhouse.” Robin smiled. “Did you think I couldn’t hear you? He said Sully is a valuable resource for information, and since he brought it up to you, he clearly suspects something and he also clearly doesn’t have a problem with the idea of psychic powers being real.”
Val crossed her arms. “Did you tell him we were involved? And that we might… I don’t know. Someday want to be involved again?”
Monica’s eyebrows went up. “I thought you said it didn’t work out.”
“It didn’t. But that’s not saying that it’ll never work out. When life isn’t so complicated—”
“When is life going to not be complicated?” Robin asked. “Serious question.”
Val said, “You know, I’m not one hundred percent certain, but I’m gonna say it’ll probably be less complicated when my ex-husband isn’t wanted by the police and missing.”
Monica raised her hand. “I’m going to agree with Val on this one. Can you imagine Mark being happy with your knowing literally everything about him just from touching his keys? Privacy is important in every relationship. I never knew all Gil’s stuff; he never knew all mine. Sully knowing that Val has this kind of power could kill any chance they’d have of making romance work.”
“Fine,” Robin said. “I’m just passing a message along. You have to admit, he would be a good resource. And it would be nice to have one official-type person in our corner if we got caught… I don’t know, breaking into the morgue to look at dead bodies or something.”
“We only did that once,” Monica said. “And hopefully we will never need to do it again.”
“Also, we got away with it,” Val said. “Just saying.”
Val’s phone buzzed in her pocket. She grabbed it, looked at the number, and answered. “Hey, Ramon. Everything cool?”
“Nothing going on over here,” he said. “It’s Tuesday, so it’s all pretty chill. But Don called just a minute ago.”
Val groaned. “Is he running late again? I don’t want to have to stay late because the produce guy is kicking back and—”
“It’s legit this time. They closed down the highway between here and Bridger for an hour or so. Guess someone went off the road near Sugar Pine Road.”
Val winced. “That’s not good.”
“Search and rescue had to go down—they had the helicopter out—and they were dragging the car up the hill. So all the equipment blocked the road.”
“Can’t be mad at that,” Val said. “Hope it’s no one we know.”
“Probably a tourist.”
Val was certain Ramon was right. She was still going to check her Find My Phone app as soon as she hung up to make sure her kids were in school.
“I’m almost done here,” she said. “So I can stay late. Tell Don to drive safe, and I’ll tell the boys to just head to the shop after school.”
“You got it. You want me to lock up?”
“No. I’m heading that way in a few minutes.” She hung up and check
ed her boys, happy to see their electronic dots hovering around the Glimmer Lake middle and high school campus.
“What’s going on?” Monica asked.
“Car went over the edge by Sugar Pine,” Val said. “They had to get search and rescue out.”
Robin gasped. “Someone Ramon knows?”
“No. The produce guy just called to tell us he’s going to be late, so I told Ramon I’d stay to meet him.”
“You’re a nice boss.” Robin wrapped up the remainder of her sandwich. “I should be nicer to my employee.”
“She’ll survive,” Monica said. “Didn’t you say she still mixes up vendors?”
“Constantly. But in the plus column, I told her about the shop ghost and she actually seemed excited about her. So there’s that.”
“Can’t complain about an employee who’s cool with the resident haunt.” Val stood. “I’m out. Let me know if anyone has a helpful vision about where Josh’s butt has disappeared to.”
“Will do.”
“Thanks.”
* * *
She turned on the television for some white noise as she wiped down the tables and married the ketchup bottles in the dining room. The buzz of a local gardening show hummed in the background, and she nearly missed her phone ringing a few minutes after three thirty.
Val smiled when she picked up her phone. “Hey, kiddo.”
“I got your message”—Jackson was talking with what sounded like a crowd in the background—“but do you mind if we head home? I’ve got a paper I need to work on and all my notes are at the house.”
“Do you want to drop Andy off here?”
“Nah, he’s okay. It was library day today. He won’t get in my hair.”
“Ah.” Library day meant Andy with new books, which meant he’d be completely out of it until he read all his new finds. “Okay. Well, I guess if you don’t want to hang out with your supercool mom, then you can just go home and be boring by yourself.”
Jackson laughed. “Thanks, Mom.”
“Hey, out of curiosity, if I picked you up at school wearing a Princess Leia costume, would you be too embarrassed to speak to me?”
“Which Princess Leia costume?”
“Just the regular white-robe one. Not the bikini.”
Semi-Psychic Life: Glimmer Lake Book Two Page 12