“Yeah, they’re supposed to be, like, a Biblical plague or something.”
“They sure are. I remember the last time they popped out,” Vivian responded. “Back when you weren’t even a nasty thought yet.”
“Um, yuck!” Anna replied, with her face screwed up. Vivian knew that Anna had been around long enough to know about the proverbial “birds and bees.” Vivian also knew that Anna was guaranteed to have a mini-conniption fit whenever she was reminded that her parents enjoyed nature’s way.
She found it highly entertaining.
“Anyway,” Anna said when she’d recovered. “You are going to find a date for the wedding, right?”
“It’s a week away. That’s cutting it a little close, honey,” Vivian replied as anxiety returned in full force.
“Don’t you know any cute guys?” Anna asked.
“Not really,” Vivian muttered. At least none that are walking in the world of the living. Then again, she did know of at least one attractive spirit, but that was simply out of the question. Wasn’t it?
Her face must have betrayed her thoughts, since Anna’s next words were, “Ooooooooh! You do know someone. You should ask him to be your date. It will make Jace crazy-jealous!”
“Why would I care about making Jace jealous?” Vivian asked. “It’s not like I want him back, and I don’t really care what he thinks.”
“To get even,” Anna said with a shrug, as if it were obvious. “Besides, you might actually have fun if you bring a cute guy.”
With that, she got up from the bench and ran to join her siblings and their growing pile of squiggly worms, leaving Vivian with plenty of food for thought.
“Connor, do not eat that,” Vivian yelled just as the boy was dangling a worm above his open mouth.
“It’s not the worst thing he’s ever eaten,” Annabelle said with a sigh.
Vivian had the sneaking suspicion that Anna was right about that, too.
***
Vivian sat at her desk, fidgeting. She didn’t like coming to the office when she wasn’t working. But she needed privacy, and she would have privacy for her meeting, privacy that would not be possible at her home. Ezra had been staying closer than he usually did, as had Jeanne.
While waiting, she looked over the accounts and checked a few emails. The Ridleys had sent her a thank-you message and let her know they’d paid off the title loan sharks. They promised to bring in their first payment, along with their little one, in a few weeks.
Here’s hoping.
Some of her other clients were delinquent and she was afraid she’d have to send the repo men after them. She made a few notes to call them or pay a home visit first, since she didn’t want to have to resort to taking the stuff back. It wasn’t easy or fun for anyone, and they never recouped their losses on resale.
Exhaustion threatened to overtake her as she sat, so she got up and paced around a bit. She couldn’t afford to let her guard down, even though what she was planning definitely constituted a major breach of caution. Maybe she should just call it off. But she’d already summoned him, so she couldn’t, right?
Oh, hell.
She rubbed her tired eyes and wondered for the thousandth time if she should just run out right now.
No, he’d just find you and grill you, then scare you, and then laugh his ass off at you.
Maybe that was what truly scared her. Rejection was almost as scary a prospect as any reaper, guardian, or ghost she’d ever encountered. Of course, when last they met, he’d still seemed…interested. His level of interest was intense and frightening, but she just needed him to be a convincing escort. Nothing more.
“I do so love to watch you when you are at war with yourself,” came a whisper from behind her.
She should have expected it, but the sudden appearance of Lazarus Darkmore never failed to catch her by surprise and scare her. This time, not only did she shriek and curse, she also fell to the ground and twisted her ankle in the process. She wasn’t sure what hurt more, her injury or her pride.
Before she knew what hit her, she was lifted from the floor and placed on a nearby chair. The next sensation she registered was that of intense cold coursing through her injured limb as the reaper massaged it with his cool hands. She tried to jerk away, but his grip was firm and insistent.
“Shh,” he soothed. “Relax. This will help.”
“How do you know all about the proper treatment for sprains?” Vivian asked, wincing as his hand found the center of the pain.
“I know much about injuries, Vivian, and not just those of the soul. Better?”
“Yes,” she groaned, relieved his coolness soothed the sting and swelling. “But I don’t know if I’ll be able to walk out of here.”
“Didn’t you mention that you were a healer?” Darkmore asked politely.
“Yeah,” Vivian replied. It hadn’t occurred to her that she could heal herself. Might as well try. She tried to remember how she’d managed to heal the padre, but it was all still a blur. She’d been desperate then, and she hadn’t tried since. She took a deep breath, closed her eyes, and focused on the ankle, but nothing happened.
“Shit,” she cried in frustration. “I don’t know how to do this yet.”
“Shh,” Darkmore said again, his voice low and hypnotic. “Calm down. Take a deep breath.”
She managed to calm herself with the help, she suspected, of some cool and calming energy emanating from the reaper. She smelled cool spring rain and almost felt a soothing breeze. Then, she heard his voice.
“Try this,” he said. “Close your eyes and pretend someone you know and love is injured.”
“That’s just silly,” she said, discomfort and humiliation in the presence of the reaper making her more irascible than usual.
“Just try it, please. Think of your friend the priest, or maybe one of the children you were with this afternoon, the little boy, perhaps? Pretend he’s here now and he’s distraught and in pain. You can hear him crying. He’s asking you for help. Can you hear him, Vivian?”
She could. She saw Connor with his face screwed up in agony, crocodile tears falling, and asking for Aunt Vee Vee to make it all better. She focused on that image of Scooter and willed him to get better. The burst of light from within the room brought her back to the present.
“Did it work?” she asked, opening her eyes. She was mortified to find they were filled with tears, and she quickly set about wiping them away.
“See for yourself,” he replied, his voice no longer so close. She looked up and realized then that he’d moved to the other side of the room.
She stood and gingerly placed her right leg on the floor, testing it against her weight. It felt a little stiff, but it was definitely on the mend.
“Wowzers,” she exclaimed. “It actually worked!”
She heard him chuckle from across the room and it made her smile in spite of her lingering embarrassment and fear.
“What’s so funny?” she asked, trying her best to sound mad.
“Oh, I was just amused by your reaction, particularly by the fact that it was devoid of profanity.”
“Well,” she grumbled as she walked toward him. “I have been working on it, and I was around kids today. How’d you know about that, by the way? Been keeping tabs on me again?”
“Always.”
“So,” she mumbled, having recovered from her injury and the distraction it caused. God, was she really going to ask him? “Thanks for, um, you know, helping me work out this healing thing.”
“My pleasure,” he said. “Now then, down to business.”
“Business? Oh, right, yes, let’s get to it, since I’m sure you’re busy and all…” Vivian was getting nervous, not to mention tired. It must have showed, since he took her hand and led her to her desk chair, bidding her to sit.
“You look tired, my dear. Busy day?”
“Yeah, and the night before was busy, too. I took in some serious burden baggage last night, from a friend. It’s always harder
to push it aside when I know the person. And I got another warning from my guardian stalker.”
“I can help with the first part at least,” he said, leaning in and pressing his cool lips to hers. Determined not to let that make her even more edgy, she forced herself to calm and savor the contact. She didn’t have to force the relaxation and peace that followed releasing the spiritual burdens she carried.
But for the first time, she let go of all thoughts and worries and just focused on Darkmore’s kiss. That was a first.
It must have been good for him, too, or else he was just happy to be savoring the delicious pain he’d reaped from Vivian. She was a bit taken aback by the look of bliss painted across his chiseled features. Strange that the horrors of human life could be such sweet sustenance for creatures like Darkmore.
That should make him seem all the more evil in her eyes. She still feared him, but she couldn’t think of him as purely malevolent. What did that make her?
“You must stop warring with yourself,” scolded the reaper. “Or, at the very least, institute a temporary cease-fire. Savor this moment. You are lighter, as is your friend Kay, and I am fuller and closer to fulfillment. No need for such angst, my dear. Everyone wins in our little game.”
“Sorry,” she muttered, yawning.
“You’d best be off to bed now. Shall I deliver you to your home and spare you the drive?”
“What about my car? Oh, and there’s Ezra and Jeanne. They’re guarding my place like Fort Knox, and—”
“Shh,” he said, lifting her in his arms and pulling her into the vortex. She really should be annoyed at this new habit of his, shushing her and coddling her like she was a child. She was a little annoyed.
But, she was also a little grateful, albeit grudgingly so.
When she opened her eyes, they’d landed in her backyard. He’d had the foresight to bring along her purse and house keys.
“What about my car?” Vivian asked.
“It will be here in the morning. And now, I should bid you good night.”
“Wait,” she blurted out. “I…I still need to ask you something.”
“I’m afraid I don’t have any more news on your attacker as yet.”
“No, it’s not about that—it’s, well, it’s another favor actually.”
“Another favor?” Darkmore asked. She had no idea if he was intrigued, amused, or angry. She could be pushing her luck instead of entertaining him, for all she knew.
“Yes. See, my friend Sue is getting married in a week. You remember Sue, right?”
“Yes, the young woman whose body I possessed while we negotiated the terms of our first exchange of favors.”
Well, Hell’s bells, you had to go and bring that up, did you?
It was true. Back when she’d first met Darkmore and worried that he was out to drag her off to Hell, he’d taken control of Sue’s body to get Vivian’s attention. It worked, and it had scared her. The memory didn’t inspire courage or trust in her now.
But what other choice did she have, other than the humiliation of showing up alone?
“Well, like I said, Sue’s getting married next week, and I’m invited. I’m a bridesmaid, actually.”
“I see. Would you like to relieve her of her burdens in honor of the day? I would be happy to take them.”
“That’s sweet,” Vivian replied. She thought she meant it. “I have a problem, though. Jace, my ex, is the best man and he’s bringing the woman he dumped me for to the wedding. I don’t want to have to go alone, and I don’t really have any prospects, so…”
Darkmore stared at her. Either he wasn’t getting it, he wasn’t believing it, or he just flat-out wasn’t interested. Her pride had already taken more than a few nosedives on account of the reaper. What was one more?
“So,” Vivian said after a deep breath for courage. “I wanted to know if you would be willing to escort me to the wedding.”
There. The invitation was out, and she couldn’t take it back. Now it was up to him.
“You want me to be your escort,” he said. It wasn’t a question. He appeared to be thinking it over. “I am to be your wedding date?”
“Well, yes,” she said. “I mean, if you aren’t doing anything else that day.”
He kept staring, which made her blush. Blushing made her mad. She was just about to storm off after telling him to forget the whole thing, when he answered.
“I’ll pick you up on Saturday.”
With that, he disappeared.
CHAPTER 16
“Rise and shine! Wakey wakey, eggs and bakey!”
“Jeanne, I’d kill you right now if you weren’t already dead. You know that, right?” Vivian grumbled from beneath the covers.
“Well, it’s not my fault that you were out so late last night. Where were you, anyhow?”
“I had to see to go see about a boy,” she muttered with a small smile, remembering her encounter with the reaper. If nothing else, he’d make a great conversation piece. With his fine features, courtly manners, and attractive figure—not that she’d been looking…much—he’d turn heads while on her arm, giving the guests something to talk about other than how Jace had dumped her for another woman.
She might actually have a good time after all.
“Ohhhhh, that’s wonderful,” Jeanne cried, plopping herself down on Vivian’s bed and bouncing up and down in excitement. “So you’ve met someone new? Tell me, tell me, tell me! I want details.”
“Jeanne, were you like this in life?” Vivian asked, trying and failing to stop her aching head from spinning.
“Like what?” she asked, looking confused.
Vivian thought for a moment and decided that she really didn’t want to hurt her feelings. After all, the young guardian had been working extra-hard to protect her. She really shouldn’t be so mean.
“Um, you know, a bubbly morning person. We’ve been hanging out for a while, but I don’t know anything about you,” Vivian said, hoping to change the subject before she managed to hurt Jeanne’s feelings.
Jeanne thought for a while. Vivian wondered if she was having a blonde moment, but it turned out that she was just thrown for a bit of a loop with the question.
It was apparently a new one for her.
“Sorry, I’m not trying to be impolite,” Jeanne began. “I’m just not used to talking to people anymore. I mean, we aren’t used to speaking with the living. You have to understand, most of the living can’t see us, even when we’re looking out for them or helping them. When we help someone cross over, they’re usually too shocked by dying to ask us much of anything, except for where we’re taking them.”
“Oh,” Vivian said. “I guess I didn’t think about that. Well, if you don’t want to talk about it I’ll understand.”
“Don’t be silly,” Jeanne replied with a bright smile and renewed enthusiasm. “I don’t mind at all. And I’m tickled pink that you’re working so hard to be nice.”
Vivian let that one slide, since she supposed she deserved it. She hadn’t been the most pleasant person to deal with these days. Now that she thought about it, it seemed downright impolite that she hadn’t asked Jeanne about herself before now.
“So what were you like in life? What did you do for a living?” Vivian asked.
“I was a student before I crossed over,” she said with a shrug. “And I was pretty much like I am now. You know, sorority girl, gung-ho in class, that sort of thing. Don’t you dare roll your eyes.”
“Sorry. Habit. What were you studying? Child psych, pre-nursing, dental hygiene?”
“Pre-law,” she replied with another shrug, this time looking a bit more smug.
“Really,” Vivian said. “You don’t strike me as the pit-bull type.”
“Oh, I can be,” Jeanne said, smiling.
“What happened to cut your life so short, if you don’t mind me asking?”
“Melanoma. I spent some time in tanning beds, and I liked the sun. I still do, actually, but I don’t have to worry a
bout cancer anymore.”
“Wow, I’m so sorry,” Vivian said. She was no stranger to tragedy, but such a matter-of-fact declaration of death from this perky guardian threw her off. Life was fragile and the proof of that sat right in front of her.
“Don’t be,” Jeanne said. “Things in the afterlife are pretty interesting, and challenging. I like the work.”
“Did you choose it? I mean, how much of becoming a guardian has to do with being chosen versus volunteering?” She couldn’t see Jeanne being coerced, but she’d just assumed that everyone working in afterlife management had gotten into the business on a debt repayment plan. Vivian certainly had.
“Some of us have to do it, but I wanted to. As soon as I popped up out of the hospital bed I was ready to go,” Jeanne said.
I’ll just bet you were.
Curiosity piqued, Vivian asked, “What about those who have to? Is it like a punishment, Purgatory, the draft?”
“Oh, I don’t think I’m supposed to go into detail about those who have to serve,” Jeanne said. She added in a whisper, “It’s a private matter between the conscripted and the mentor guardian.”
“Says who?” Vivian asked. She’d had just about enough of secrecy and stonewalling.
“What do you mean, ‘says who?’ Who are you to question the rules?”
“I’m someone who’s affected by them, for starters,” Vivian said. “And I question everything.”
“Oh, Vivian,” Jeanne offered, speaking as though she were dealing with a precocious child. “This isn’t like your average office gossip. It’s very personal. Some people who die in the middle of their lives, or even at the end, leave behind a mess. I’m not talking about little mistakes either. I’m talking serious issues.”
“I know. I’ve seen it before,” she said, remembering Zeke. “So it is a punishment?”
“Nope. It’s a shot at redemption.”
She must have rolled her eyes because Jeanne got mad—mad enough to turn the kitchen into a sauna as her gaze burned a hole right into Vivian. No longer the bubbly co-ed, Vivian was confronted with the guardian’s otherness and its power for the first time.
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