by Jana Oliver
‘Sometimes we just need a shove to send us into a new situation,’ the woman advised. ‘I’ll come up this afternoon and give it a good cleaning. You can move in any time after that.’
‘Thanks. I can’t wait.’ Oh yeah, this is perfect.
Maybe Master Stewart was right and things were really going to get better.
Beck’s day had flown by him, though in truth he knew he was stalling big time. He’d taken a trip to the bank, spent some quality time with his friend Ike at the homeless shelter and then dropped by to check in with Stewart. He had to see Riley eventually, and the longer he put it off the angrier she’d be. She wasn’t the kind who’d cut him much slack.
It was after six in the evening when he paused at the bottom of the stairs to her apartment, gathering his courage. Stewart had warned him that Riley’s temper was shorter than usual and that it wasn’t just because she had to move.
‘Tread carefully, lad,’ Stewart had cautioned him. ‘Ya should have called her the moment ya got home. Now ya have to pay for that mistake. Tell her where yer heart lies. That’s yer only chance.’
With a long sigh, Beck headed up those stairs. They would always remind him of the night Paul had died. At least once Riley moved he’d never have to take this journey again. After the second flight of steps, he paused in front of her door as her words still echoed in his mind:
‘I love you, Denver Beck. I’ve loved you for a long time.’
He’d been shocked, though he shouldn’t have been. She’d been showing her love in so many ways, only he’d been denying it.
‘All or nothin’,’ he murmured. That was the only way it could be from now on.
Beck rapped on the door, his throat suddenly dry and his heart pounding. ‘Please God, don’t let me screw this up,’ he whispered.
The door opened only as far as the security chain. Riley studied him soberly, her eyes puffy from crying.
‘Hi there. Thought ya . . . you might need some help.’
When she didn’t let him in, his worry escalated.
‘Sorry I didn’t call. I just got a new phone today – Donovan’s still got my old one for evidence – and, well . . . I’m here now,’ he said, not willing to go much further into the grovelling department.
‘You didn’t need a phone to talk to me last night. You were at the shoot.’
Damn. She’d seen him.
‘Didn’t look like a good time. Besides, you handled the trappin’ really well. You dropped that demon like a pro.’
‘That’s no excuse.’
He couldn’t back down now. ‘I came to help you. And I’ve apologized. So where do we go from here?’
Riley mumbled something under her breath and when she pushed the door closed, he’d thought he’d lost everything. Then she unfastened the chain and let him into household chaos. Boxes sat everywhere, some full, most empty. There was an open space in the middle of the living room with belongings piled all around it where she’d been sorting her possessions.
‘Sorry yer havin’ to move,’ he said, growing more uncomfortable.
Riley turned towards him, eyes glinting. ‘It’s so . . . hard. I thought I could just weed through this stuff really quick, but everything has a memory attached to it.’ She picked up a picture frame adorned with orange kittens from off the couch. ‘Like this. My dad and I bought it at one of those dollar stores. It was so silly we thought it was perfect. Now it’s . . .’
‘Goin’ with you. Take what you want to keep. Start over. Paul and yer momma would understand.’
She peered up at him solemnly. ‘I can take the small stuff, but things like my mom’s favourite pie pan and roaster, what do I do with those?’
‘Pack them and give them to me and I’ll store them in my garage. I’ve got plenty of room now that Harper’s salvaged metal is out of there.’
When her face brightened, he knew he’d said exactly the right thing.
‘You sure?’ Riley asked.
‘Totally sure. Maybe someday you’ll make me some of yer momma’s roast beef and her awesome peach pie.’
Their eyes met and her cheeks tinted crimson. ‘If you’re going to tell me I was being all goofy at the bus stop, just say it and then . . . get out.’
She thought he was going to tear into her again, like he had in the past.
‘All I heard was a pretty girl tell me exactly what she thought. I didn’t see anyone bein’ goofy, did you?’ he replied.
‘Oh, I . . . thought . . .’ She fidgeted with the picture frame.
Knowing it was best not to push any further, he slipped off his jacket. ‘Tell me what to do, ma’am. I am yer slave.’
Her wicked grin told him she really liked that idea.
As Riley sorted through her father’s books she could hear Beck packing up the kitchen. She’d pulled out a few things she wanted to keep, then turned him loose and he was moving right along, having emptied the upper cupboard. Now he was digging around under the sink while complaining about just how many half-full boxes of laundry detergent he’d found.
His grumbling made her smile. If things had played out differently in the swamp she might never have heard that ever again.
Exactly where they stood was unknown. He hadn’t shown up at her door, swept her off her feet and made passionate love to her amongst the packing boxes. Neither had he told her to back off. They resided somewhere between those two extremes.
A few minutes later the microwave dinged and then he joined her, two cups of hot chocolate in hand.
‘Figured you needed a break.’
She took the cup and they retired to the couch. ‘How’s the leg?’
‘Sore,’ he replied. ‘The demon wound is all healed. The top of the foot is the problem. My boot rubs on it.’
‘You could wear tennis shoes until it healed.’
‘Nope. Not my style.’
‘Your pain.’ She tapped a stack of papers on the arm of the couch. ‘These are the newspaper articles about you and the Keneally brothers. I kept them in case you wanted me to read them to you.’
‘Thanks, I would,’ he replied. ‘Donovan called this afternoon – the crime-scene people found two partial skeletons. He figures critters made away with the rest. They’ll do DNA tests, but given the size of the bones and the bits of clothing they found, it’s Nate and Brad.’
‘It could have been you out there,’ she said, softer now.
‘Yeah, I keep thinkin’ about that. But it turned out OK. McGovern took a plea bargain and Cole’s goin’ down too. He’ll never get to buy you that ice cream he kept promisin’.’
‘I’m crushed,’ she said.
It took a bit of unearthing, but she handed a bank envelope to her guest. Now comes the hard part.
He peered inside at the stack of bills. ‘What’s this for?’
‘It’s all the money you loaned me. I’m paying you back. Thanks for helping me out when it counted.’
‘Riley, I . . .’ he began.
‘You didn’t trap for a week and you have your mom’s funeral to pay for. I want to do this, OK? It’s important to me.’
‘You gonna give me loads of grief if I don’t accept this?’ he asked.
‘Count on it.’
Beck gave a nod and tucked the envelope away. ‘Thank you. Glad I could help out.’
He went for it? She’d expected a major hassle.
Beck took a wary sip of his beverage.
‘What’s up with you?’ she said, pointing at his drink. ‘You don’t like chocolate.’
‘No, but I like the company, so I’m willin’ to suffer a little,’ he replied, a twinkle in his eyes.
‘Huh?’ That hadn’t made much sense.
‘I’m hangin’ with my favourite girl. My granddaddy would have called this . . . courtin’.’
Courtin’?
Before she had time to process that, he continued. ‘You doin’ anythin’ Saturday night?’
‘Ah . . . no.’ She certainly wouldn’t be going to t
he prom, that was for sure.
‘I thought we could do somethin’ together.’
‘Let me guess – trap demons,’ she said.
‘No, that wasn’t what I had in mind. I figured we’d act like normal folks for a change.’
‘And do what?’ she asked suspiciously.
He tugged his jacket off the end of the couch and retrieved a flyer from a pocket. ‘I can’t read all of this, but I think I got most of it.’ He handed it over.
Probably some country western concert.
Riley unfolded the paper and read the top line, then her eyes stalled in surprise. There had to be some mistake.
She looked up. ‘You want us to go to the prom together?’
‘Yeah. That’s what normal folks do.’
If Riley’s brain had been a computer, it would have just gone blue screen. Overwhelmed, she hastily pushed the reset button and as it whirred back to life she stalled.
‘But this is . . . I mean . . . we’d have to dress up. No jeans, you know? We’re talking suit for you and really nice dress for me.’
‘I know,’ he said patiently. ‘We could make an evenin’ of it. Go out to dinner somewhere special and then to the dance.’
Beck is asking me out on a date.
‘Ah . . . ah . . . ’ Ohmifreakingod. He asked me to the prom.
‘I know it’s short notice and all, but I think it’d be fun,’ he said, still pitching. ‘I’d get to see you all dressed up. That’d be real fne.’
Why is he doing this? Does it matter? Don’t be an idiot.
‘Ah . . . OK . . . sure . . . yes.’ Yes! Yes!
His smile told her he was very pleased. ‘Good!’
‘Can you dance?’ she asked before she could stop herself.
‘I can,’ he said, affronted. ‘I’m really good with the slow songs.’
Riley’s cheeks began to burn at the thought of the two of them pressed up tight against each other. Then reality kicked in. ‘Oh, I’ll need a dress and my hair and . . .’
With a chuckle that said he was enjoying her minor freak-out, Beck rose and placed his nearly full cup on the bookshelf. ‘Then we got a date. Sorry, but I need to get going. I’m meetin’ Jackson down in Demon Central for a little trappin’. Need to build up my bank account.’ He tapped the envelope underneath his jacket. ‘This helps, though. Thank you.’
‘Thanks for all the packing,’ she said, gesturing towards the kitchen.
‘No sweat. You helped me out with Sadie’s stuff. When you need the truck to move, let me know.’
Riley followed him to the door, still trying to wrap her brain round all that had happened. Then it got awkward, at least for her. What to do now?
Beck solved the problem by leaning close and placing a quick kiss on her lips.
‘See you soon, Riley.’
She locked the door behind him and hurried to the window, trying not to trip over the packing boxes. When Beck reached his truck, he gazed up at her and waved. She returned it. Then, on impulse, she blew him a kiss.
He grinned as if he’d won the lottery. I’m going to prom with Denver Beck.
The moment his truck left the parking lot, Riley dived at her cellphone. She needed serious back-up.
Simi answered on the first ring. ‘It’s me. So talk already.’
‘Ohmigod! You are not going to believe this!’
Though overnight she’d acted as Ori’s sidekick, Riley’s day was consumed by the apartment. She and her dad had never owned that much stuff, not after the condo fire, but it seemed as if somehow all her possessions had given birth to twins or triplets. Her clothes weren’t an issue but her father’s were. What did she do with them?
Once she gave them away another part of him was gone. Still, it was silly to keep them when other folks might find them of use. After an I’m losing it here convo with Peter, she followed his advice and pulled out a few of her dad’s favourite garments and laid them aside. The remainder were lovingly packed into boxes to be donated.
It was close to four as Riley was head deep in the tub, scrubbing, when the knock came at the door. Muttering under her breath about crappy timing, she opened it as far as the security chain. Then did a double take.
‘Hi,’ Blaze said. ‘Ah, is now a good time?’
It wasn’t, but Riley’s curiosity got the better of her. Why would a TV star visit me?
Blaze was in blue jeans and a Bon Jovi T-shirt, but nothing as tight as was required for Demonland. She had little make-up on, her hair back in a ponytail, and was sporting black-rimmed glasses and bright red tennis shoes. In short, she didn’t look at all like the ‘totally hot’ demon slayer.
Riley let the actress into the apartment after warning her it was a complete mess.
‘Moving, huh?’ Blaze said, clutching a manila envelope in her hands.
‘Evicted. The management is sure I’m a threat to civilization because of my job.’
‘What? That sucks,’ the woman replied. Then she abruptly stuck out her hand. ‘The name’s Susan, by the way.’
They awkwardly shook. The manila envelope came Riley’s way.
‘Those are the autographed photos you asked for. I threw in some special stuff too. Figured your friends might like that.’
‘Wow. Thanks. They’ll be jazzed.’
‘I noticed you didn’t ask for anything. I’m guessing that’s because Blaze is not your idea of a demon hunter.’
‘Ah, no, not really,’ Riley replied diplomatically. ‘You see, I’ve met the real dudes and . . .’
‘That’s why I’m here. The Vatican won’t deal with us, so I wanted to talk to you about what it’s really like trapping or killing Hellspawn. I’m trying to get Arnold – he’s my director – to make our show something more than a total frat-boy fantasy.’
Riley’s suspicions kicked in. ‘I’m not going to say much about the battle in the cemetery, if that’s what you’re after.’
Susan shook her head immediately. ‘I don’t want to know about that. I want your perspective on being a female demon trapper. Can you do that?’
‘Sure. Do you mind if I pack while we talk?’
‘Even better, I’ll help you.’
Over the course of the next hour they packed boxes while Riley laid out what it was like to be the lone female in a male-dominated profession. She spoke of the good parts and the bad, the amazing support she’d received and the hate she’d encountered. She was careful not to use names, but in her own way she gave Blaze . . . Susan exactly what she needed.
‘How do you face that every day?’ the actress asked, busily taping closed a box of history books.
‘I just do. It’s nothing different than what other women go through. They get out of bed every morning, they do their job. Mine happens to be trapping demons.’
Susan laid the tape dispenser aside. ‘This is exactly what I need to know. I get letters from so many girls who want to do what I do in the show. That’s why I want Blaze to be a bit more real, you know?’
‘Can Hollywood do real?’ Riley asked.
‘Sometimes. We’ll still be pretty out there with the demon-hunting techniques, but I’d like to have the show layer in more of the hassles, the reality of the job. I think the listeners would like that.’ She glanced at her cellphone. ‘Oh, I better scoot. I’m supposed to be in make-up in a half hour.’
As Susan opened the door to leave, she hesitated. ‘You guys need to be careful. I’ve . . . heard rumours that the show’s producer has a mole in your Guild. The guy is trying to get the skinny on exactly what happened in that big battle. They want to make it into a special mini-series.’
Susan had just ratted out a superior. That deserved respect.
‘Thank you. I’ll pass the word along without using your name. As far as I’m concerned, we just packed boxes and traded girl talk.’
Susan smiled. ‘Good. You rock, by the way. Just thought I should say that.’
‘So do you,’ Riley replied, and meant it.
A
short time after the actress had left, Riley called Harper and let him know they had a problem, without naming her source.
‘Figured somebody would try a stunt like that,’ he replied. ‘National’s background check isn’t worth spit.’
‘Do you think it’s Lambert?’
‘Could be. Or Fleming. Or one of the new ones Stewart will be training in a couple of weeks. Don’t worry, we’ll find the guy and kick his ass to the kerb. Thanks for the tip.’
After she’d hung up, Riley realized this was the first time Harper had thanked her for anything. She was willing to bet Lucifer and his demons were donning ice skates now.
Chapter Twenty-Five
Though a glittering array of gorgeous gowns hung on the rack in front of her, Riley shook her head mournfully.
‘You’re sure none of these would work?’ Simi asked, exasperated. Which was righteous since they were on their fourth shop, the evening was drawing to a close, and Riley still hadn’t found the perfect dress. Or if she’d found one that was close it was too expensive.
‘They’re not right for me.’
‘Explain, please,’ Simi replied, grumpy as she’d not had any coffee in the last hour and that was like a full day for most people. Not even Blaze’s signed photograph had helped her withdrawal symptoms.
Knowing her friend’s patience was about to snap, Riley treaded carefully.
‘I want something so cool it’ll make Beck’s head spin, but I can’t afford two hundred dollars. It has to be under a hundred.’ She had her dad’s life insurance settlement, but that was supposed to last a long time, to help pay for some of her college expenses. There was no reason to spend so much of it for one dance, no matter how important it was.
Simi’s brow wrinkled in thought. ‘OK. Let’s blow out of here. We’ll get some caffeine and then we’ll go to this used clothing place I know.’
‘This was supposed to be easy,’ Riley complained as they exited the store.
‘Nothing about you and the trapper dude is easy, girlfriend. So why should this be any different?’
‘What are you wearing?’
‘I found this incredible black and white dress. It’s way sexy and Peter will love it. I’m just having trouble finding the right colour tights.’