by Pandora Pine
Thankfully, today was Monday and he was heading to the one place where he knew help was available, Tennyson and Ronan’s house. He’d be able to cuddle his little nugget and get the happily married couple’s take on what went so horribly wrong. As a last resort, Ten could give him the inside scoop from the other side.
Back in August when they’d first met, all the psychic had been able to see about his future had been ballet slippers, surely that prediction hadn’t been about two weeks of pure joy in getting to know Riordan and his girls only to have it crash and burn after one night together. That just didn’t seem right. Maybe Bertha Craig would be there today to help sort through this mess.
Ringing Ronan’s doorbell, Faulk took a deep breath.
“Hey, Uncle Fuck!” Ronan was grinning widely.
Faulk raised a silent eyebrow and stalked into the house. Shit, it turned out he was in a worse mood than he thought.
“Uh, oh, don’t tell me there’s trouble in paradise already.” Ronan followed him into the kitchen where Tennyson was pouring hot water into mugs for tea.
“Where’s my little nugget?” Faulk looked around the kitchen. He didn’t see Everly Erin.
“She’s asleep in her pack and play in the living room.” Ten seemed to be studying him. “It was odd. She demanded to be fed early and fell asleep halfway through her bottle. She’s never done that before.”
His lips curled into a sneer. “Well, that’s what you get for having a psychic baby.”
Ronan snorted. “What crawled up your ass and died?”
“Yeah, I’m an asshole. That psychic baby crack was way out of line.” Faulk crumpled into his usual seat at the kitchen table. Ten set a mug of peppermint tea in front of him. Faulk shot him a, what-the-hell-is-this look.
“Just drink it. You’ll feel better. Now tell us what happened with Riordan on Thursday.” Ten grabbed mugs for himself and Ronan and joined them at the table.
“You already know.” Faulk narrowed his eyes as he wrapped his cold hands around the warm cup.
Ten tilted his head to the side. “I know some, but Ronan doesn’t know any of it.”
“Yeah, well whatever it is, even me with just my five senses can see it isn’t good.” Ronan blew on his tea before taking a tentative sip.
Faulk tried to draw on what little reserve of strength he had left. “Riordan asked if he and the girls could take me to the aquarium last Saturday. We had a ball.” He looked up at Ten to see the wide smile on the psychic’s face. “Riordan kissed me. He really kissed me. I mean we’d been exchanging pecks on the cheek and that kind of thing, but that kiss was the real deal. I was hooked.”
“We saw the pics. Cole sent them to us. With you and the girls at the shark tank.” Ten shook his head. “The day I let my little girl put her hand in the water with man-eaters is the day I roll over and die.”
Faulk had to keep from snorting when Ronan waggled his fingers out of Ten’s line of sight. He mouthed the words, “I will!”
“I saw that Ronan O’Mara. If you think that for one minute that-” Ten’s protest was cut off by Ronan kissing him.
“Keep your pants on, Nostradamus. They were little sharks and the aquarium people wouldn’t be encouraging kids to stick their mitts in the tank if there was the slightest chance they could get maimed.” Rolling his eyes, Ronan turned back to Faulk. “Please continue.”
Faulk found his first smile since Riordan broke things off with him. “Anyway, after that kiss, I wanted more. I planned a date with Riordan at Lobster Charlie’s last Wednesday. His mother agreed to come over and watch the kids. It was an amazing night.”
“I get the feeling there’s a but coming.” Ten sat forward leveling his gaze on Faulk.
“Yeah, Maggie called to say the girls were sick. We rushed back to the house, and boy, were they ever. Both girls were throwing up. Macy was in the giant tub projectile vomiting by herself. Maggie was holding Isla’s hair while she puked in the toilet. It was stomach bug Armageddon. I ended up in an ice-cold shower, first with Macy and then with Isla to help bring their fevers down. Then after they were tucked into bed, it was Riordan with the fever. For me…”
Ronan’s eyes widened. “Was he all over you?”
“Sort of. He was making all the moves, I’ll say that. At the end, he fell asleep on my chest.” Faulk shook his head. He’d never forget that moment. His heart had gone thump for the widowed father. He’d known in that moment that he was in love with Riordan Quinn. He knew it would be a bit of time before those words would come spilling off his lips, they’d both need time to get used to their situation, but Faulk had known in that precious moment, his heart was no longer his own.
“I don’t know either, Bertha.” Ten turned to look over his shoulder.
“I’m so glad you’re here, Bertha. I was hoping you would be.” Faulk let out a breath he didn’t even know he was holding.
“Bertha says she was riding shotgun when you were talking to yourself in the truck on the way over here. She isn’t sure what’s going on here. She was certain you and Riordan were destined to be together.”
Ronan stuck his hand in the air. “Excuse me for asking, but for those of us in the room who aren’t psychic and already know how the story ends, can you please tell me how the damn story ends?”
Faulk started to laugh. Leave it to his grumpy boss to help him feel better. “When we woke up the next morning, Riordan had startled or something and was sitting up next to me. I kissed his cheek and then I hopped out of bed to see how the girls were. Macy was just lying awake in her crib. I got her changed and put her in new pajamas and checked on Isla who was awake too, but looking lethargic. We all met Riordan in his room and the girls hugged him. We went downstairs and tucked them in on the couch with a movie. Then we went into the kitchen and he told me that he couldn’t do this, that we couldn’t be together, and that he was sorry.” Faulk wrapped his hands around his mug and focused on not losing his shit in front of his boss.
“Yeah, I was thinking that too.” Ten turned back to Faulk. “Bertha and I wonder what startled Riordan. It’s too bad you slept through whatever it was.”
“Now hold on a minute.” Ronan narrowed his eyes. “You’re thinking he was startled by an actual thing or an event and not just a thought in his head?”
Ten nodded. “Isla said at the recital that Stephen’s been visiting her. What if he was there that morning?”
“Shit, are you saying he might not want me to be with Riordan and the girls?” Faulk was stunned.
“Maybe. I won’t know for certain until I speak to him, but some spirits don’t like it when the people they love start to move on.”
That did it for Faulk. He felt tears start to cascade down his cheeks. He was up and out of his chair in a heartbeat. He ended up in front of the sliding glass door, staring out at the snow-covered backyard. He could deal with Riordan not wanting to be with him or not being ready for a new relationship yet, but the ghost of his dead husband not wanting Riordan to be happy, that was just beyond the pale.
Faulk felt Ronan’s heavy hand on his shoulder. “You’re a good man, Faulk. Never doubt that. It takes one hell of a man to just dive in like you did with a man who was widowed with two small girls. I know it was only a few weeks, but there was a definite change in you. My phone’s been blowing up with people at work asking what the hell’s up with you. Why you’re laughing and humming to yourself and always smiling. If you love Riordan as much as I think you do, fight for him. Don’t let this be the end. You have resources.”
Faulk snorted. “You think I love him?”
“No. I don’t think you love him. I know you do. That goofy smile says it all. And the way you treat those girls, please. Only a man in love does that. Trust me, I’m a father. I know that kind of love.”
Faulk turned around. The look on Ronan’s face was full of sincerity.
“Do you want to know what I think you should do?” Ten asked, the tone in his voice gentle.
“I�
��m all ears.” Faulk turned his attention to Tennyson.
“Call him. Tell him you know this has something to do with Stephen. Offer him my services.”
Faulk thought over what Tennyson was saying. “I just don’t understand any of this. If Riordan doesn’t believe in spirits, how could Stephen tell him that he doesn’t approve of this relationship?”
“It might not be that,” Ten ran a hand through his riot of jumbled curls. “This could have nothing to do with what he believes in. If Stephen did something that Riordan saw or heard with his own senses, that’s a game changer.”
Opening his mouth, about to ask how that was possible, Faulk shut it again quickly. He knew from what he’d seen from working with Ten and Ronan that all manner of things was possible. “I get that Stephen could have somehow spoken so that Riordan could have heard him, but what did you mean when you said Riordan could have seen something?”
Ten exchanged an uneasy look with Ronan. “Bertha?”
Faulk couldn’t breathe a second later when his tea moved six inches to the left. He felt something warm on his left shoulder. “Wow. Bertha moved the mug and she’s got her hand on my shoulder?”
“Right.” Tennyson nodded. “I’m not saying Stephen did anything quite so dramatic, but it’s possible he did something to make Riordan think being with you wasn’t what he wanted for his husband and his daughters.”
Jesus, there was no way Faulk could compete with that. He was never trying to compete with Stephen Walker-Quinn in the first place, but a no vote from Isla and Macy’s other father certainly spoke volumes.
“Oh, that’s a good point, Bertha. I never thought of that.” Tennyson sounded surprised.
“Thought of what?” Ronan reached for his own cup, before seeming to think better of it. The cup suddenly moved forward bumping against his hand. “Okay, Bertha.” Ronan picked it up and took a sip.
“What if Stephen’s message isn’t one warning Riordan away from Faulk, but pushing him toward Faulk?” Tennyson grinned at both detectives.
“I don’t get it.” Faulk felt like he was in The Twilight Zone. Nothing made sense.
“Bertha?” Ten folded his arms over his chest.
Faulk’s cell phone started to ring. When he looked down at it, there was no one calling him, but the tone was still jingling. “What the hell?” Faulk picked his phone up and gave it a little shake. It stopped ringing, but then Tennyson’s phone started to ring, followed by Ronan’s.
“Tell me, Faulk, what do you think Bertha is trying to communicate to you?” Tennyson waggled his eyebrows.
“I-” Faulk started to laugh. “Shit, how the hell should I know?”
“Exactly!” Ten sounded triumphant. “You have no way of knowing what her message is to you. Let’s say though that you’d just spent the night with a handsome man and maybe your own conscience was feeling a bit guilty about that. Then you get some kind of unreadable message from the other side…”
“Your mind would jump to the conclusion that your dead husband didn’t want you to be with the hunky detective you’d just spent the night with,” Faulk concluded.
“Hunky?” Ronan snorted. “What the hell mirror do you use, Faulkner?”
Faulk was about to tell Ronan to get bent when his text jingle sounded. Looking down at the phone he saw the message hadn’t come from any number. [Call Riordan. XOXO, Bertha] He looked up from the phone to see Tennyson holding both hands up in the air as if to say he hadn’t sent the message. “Holy shit. That was what Bertha was trying to say by making all the phones ring.”
Ten nodded.
Faulk was about to do just that when there was an angry squawk from the living room. “Gentlemen, I believe I hear my true love calling.”
“She’s had some real nasty surprises when she’d gotten up from her morning naps lately!” Ten grimaced.
“Don’t spoil it for him.” Ronan looked disappointed.
Faulk could have cared less what surprise Everly had waiting for him. Things were on the upswing. He had a plan for wooing back Riordan. Everly was awake and was singing the song of their love. “Oh, my, God, little nugget! What did you eat?” Faulk gagged as he scooped her up.
Ten and Ronan burst out laughing from the kitchen. Faulk couldn’t be sure because the stench was so nauseating it was impeding his ability to hear properly, but he thought he heard the love birds high-five.
17
Riordan
His hands were shaking and sweating at the same time. How was that even possible?
Tennyson Grimm was due here any minute now and Riordan was all over the place. He’d spent all Saturday morning cleaning the house and freaking out over the idea of having a psychic over to reconnect him and the girls with Stephen.
He wasn’t sure which thing was giving him the most anxiety, speaking to Stephen again or seeing Faulkner.
The text message from Faulk had come a few days ago. It was short and sweet asking him to please let Tennyson read Stephen for him and the girls. There was no mention of their shattered relationship or of getting together to talk things over, just the plea for Riordan to allow Ten to reunite him with his dead husband.
He’d thought about the request for hours. Riordan was positive that Stephen was trying to send a message. Every time there was something important going on with Faulkner, the lights would blink. The first few times it happened, the lights would blink twice, but on the day he told Faulk they couldn’t see each other anymore, they’d blinked for ten minutes. Isla had started to cry, not understanding what was going on.
It was that image of Isla crying, followed by Macy joining in that convinced Riordan to say yes to this crazy idea. Before he’d started his cleaning frenzy, he’d spent some time getting prepared for Tennyson. He knew Ten had a reputation of being the real deal, but that didn’t mean Riordan wasn’t going to be ready for him with questions the internet and Stephen’s friends and former coworkers had no way of answering.
Was that dirty pool? Probably. To be honest, Riordan didn’t care. So much more was riding on this than Tennyson Grimm being able to dispel his skepticism.
The ringing doorbell startled Riordan out of his own head. He hurried toward the front of the house to get it. He was surprised to see that Ronan O’Mara had come with his husband. He was holding a baby carrier with his sleeping infant. Faulk was standing behind them. He looked like the last time he’d slept was the night he’d spent here. “Hi, everyone, please come in.”
“Uncle Faulk!” Isla shouted. “I knew you’d be back! I missed you.” The four-year-old launched herself at him.
Faulk caught the running preschooler, swooping her through the air before giving her a big hug. Macy was toddling behind her, holding her arms out to Faulk.
Riordan watched while Faulk blinked back tears as Macy crashed into him. She looked up at him, calling his name and yanking on his jeans until he bent down to lift up the littlest Quinn too. Both of his girls were laughing and hugging him. It was the first time they’d been this happy since their group outing to the aquarium.
“How are you doing?” Tennyson set an arm on Riordan’s and pulled him into the kitchen.
“I’m getting by. This week hasn’t been easy for any of us.” Riordan shook his head. That was an understatement. “It took a while for the girls to bounce back from being sick and of course they wanted to know where Uncle Faulk was and when they were going to see him again. They didn’t like my answers to those questions.”
Ten nodded. “I can understand that. I see how bonded Laurel is to him. Same goes for us and Truman and Carson’s little ones. It would be hard on those kids if one day Ronan just disappeared from their lives.”
“How is this going to work?” As much as Riordan enjoyed chatting with Tennyson, he’d had enough of the small talk already and just wanted to get to it.
“Why don’t we all have a seat around the table?” Ten inclined his head.
“Okay. Do you need anything that belonged to Stephen? His wedding ring
or his watch?” Riordan’s hands were shaking so hard now he could barely keep it under control.
“No, Stephen is already here.” Ten smiled gently as he took a seat at the head of the dining room table.
Already here? Riordan sat in his usual seat at the table. Faulk sat next to him, both of the girls were with him, jockeying for position on his lap.
“Are you okay?” Faulk whispered.
Riordan looked up at him with shock in his eyes. He managed to nod.
Ronan walked into the dining room last, taking the seat at the other end of the table.
“Now that we’re all here,” Tennyson began.
“Hi, Papa!” Isla started to wave at the seat at the table where she usually sat for dinner. “Who’s that lady with you?”
Turning to look at her, Riordan’s mouth hung open. Stephen was here and he’d brought a lady with him? If this wasn’t The Twilight Zone, he didn’t know what was.
“It isn’t The Twilight Zone, Riordan. I asked my mentor, Bertha Craig, if she’d bring Stephen to the reading today. It turns out she didn’t have far to go to find him. Stephen was already here.” Ten offered Riordan a smile.
Isla laughed. “I told you Papa came to visit me.”
“Papa!” Macy held her hands out toward the empty chair.
“Jesus Christ,” Riordan felt the tears starting up again. He knew he cried an ocean’s worth of tears in the days and months after Stephen’s death, but this was too much, both of his girls being able to see his spirit and all he could see was an empty chair.
Suddenly, he felt warmth on his left shoulder. “Please don’t, Faulk.”
“Uh, Riordan?” Faulk was holding both of his hands up. Neither one of them was touching him.
“Stephen?” Riordan gasped, turning around. No one was standing behind him, but he could still feel the warmth on his shoulder.
“He’s got his hand on your shoulder and a smile on his face.” Ten was smiling too. “There’s so much he wants to tell you.”
All of the test questions he’d spent the morning meticulous preparing flew out of his head. There was no doubt this was the real deal. Stephen was here. Ten said his husband had a lot to tell him. Was he ready to hear it? That was the big question. “Okay.” Riordan glanced over his shoulder. There was still nothing there other than a clear view into the family room, but he could feel Stephen’s warmth on his shoulder.