“Child,” I corrected. Hey, if we were sticking with the lie we had to make it look good.
“Anything before eighteen was my childhood,” Aunt Tillie shot back.
“You had a friend who died when you were a child?” Mom asked. “That’s terrible. Why haven’t you ever told us about her?”
“Because … I didn’t want to burden you with my strife,” Aunt Tillie said. I had to hand it to her. She could lie with the best of them. Sure, her lies were often out there, but she committed to them.
“Uh-huh.” Mom shifted her eyes to me. “Did you know about this supposed … imaginary friend?”
I didn’t get a chance to answer because Noah did it for me.
“Your daughter was out at Patty Grimes’ house with your aunt this afternoon,” he supplied. “Didn’t they tell you? They were taken into custody for breaking and entering. However, because of your aunt’s potential heatstroke and this invisible Sally person, Chief Terry refused to press charges.”
“Oh.” Realization dawned on Mom and her eyes narrowed into a disgusted glare. “I see. I hadn’t heard about that.”
“You act as if you don’t believe Sally exists, though,” Noah said. “I’m sure Chief Terry would love to hear your take on the situation.”
Mom was angry with me, but she despised Noah. She made up her mind on the spot. “I know all about Sally,” she said. “For some reason I thought her name was Sarah, though. When you get to be my age, your memory comes and goes at the worst times.”
“You’re preaching to the choir, sister,” Aunt Tillie said, her wine glass already half empty.
“Are you saying your aunt has an imaginary friend?” Noah asked. “If so, perhaps you should have her checked out by a doctor.”
“She’s fine,” Mom said, sitting primly in her chair and resting her hands on the table in front of her. “Frankly, we’re happy she has a friend. She’s not popular with the human set, so an imaginary friend is right up her alley. It makes our life … easier.”
“What makes our life easier?” Marnie asked, walking in with another tray of food.
“Aunt Tillie’s imaginary friend Sally,” Mom said.
“Oh, her.” Marnie clearly didn’t know what Mom was talking about, but she was smart enough to play along. This family is used to covering our tracks. “I love Aunt Tillie’s imaginary friend.”
Twila, who was entering from the kitchen with the rest of dinner, wrinkled her nose. “What?”
“You know about Aunt Tillie’s imaginary friend,” Mom prodded. “She talks to her all the time.”
“Oh, right,” Twila said. “Sally.”
How in the heck did she know that? I slid a furtive look in Aunt Tillie’s direction and found her expression had shifted from imperiled confidence to smug triumph.
“Apparently Aunt Tillie’s imaginary friend convinced her to go to Patty Grimes’ house today,” Mom said, her eyes locked onto mine. It’s creepy how she doesn’t blink when she’s angry. “Noah arrested her and Bay, but Chief Terry understood about the Sally problem and let them go.”
“Well, that’s good,” Twila said, smiling at an older couple sitting across the table as she settled. “I’ve always been a huge fan of Sally, and arresting Bay and Aunt Tillie for something so innocent would be criminal.”
“How did she pull this off?” Landon asked, his voice low.
I had no idea. I wasn’t thrilled with his attitude, though, so I merely shrugged. “Everyone knows about Sally.”
“Bay … .” Landon pressed his lips together, whatever nasty retort he was about to spew silenced. “I’m not fighting with you in front of guests.”
“That’s good,” Aunt Tillie said. “You should learn some manners.”
“And you should learn to behave yourself,” Landon shot back.
“That doesn’t seem like manners to me,” Aunt Tillie chided. “Perhaps you should take a class.”
“That’s right,” Mom said. “Bay, I told you to tell Landon and his little … buddy … not to talk about work at the dinner table. Why are they doing it?”
“I didn’t get a chance to relay the message,” I said, lowering my eyes to stare at my plate.
“Landon is ticked off and being mean to her,” Aunt Tillie interjected. “The poor girl didn’t have a chance. She’s been upset about this situation all day. I mean … look at her. She’s practically made herself sick over this.”
I didn’t look that bad. Okay, I didn’t look great. I certainly didn’t look as if I was at death’s door, though. “Dinner looks great,” I said, dishing the pepper steak onto my plate. “You guys outdid yourselves.”
“We always do,” Mom said.
“I hope you people realize I don’t believe any of this Sally nonsense,” Noah said. “I know you’re all lying. Lying to a federal agent is grounds for incarceration.”
“Did he just call me a liar?” Aunt Tillie was incensed.
“I’m pretty sure he did,” I said. “That’s what ‘I know you’re all lying’ seems to denote.”
“Bay, eat your dinner and don’t add to the madness,” Mom ordered. “Landon, forgive Bay so she doesn’t get sick. We all know you’re going to do it.”
“Yeah, I’m not going to do that right now,” Landon said, reaching for the egg rolls. “We have to talk first.”
“About lying to law enforcement?” Noah asked.
“Seriously, no one is talking to you,” I snapped, instantly regretting my harsh words when everyone at the far end of the table jerked their heads in my direction.
“Oh, this must be the dinner theater everyone is always talking about,” one of the female guests said. “I didn’t think they would start it on the first night. I’m so excited.”
“We’re always performing dinner theater,” Twila said. “Sometimes we sing.”
“We don’t sing,” Mom said.
“We definitely don’t sing,” Marnie agreed.
“I sing sometimes,” Twila said, benevolence practically wafting off of her. “I sound like an angel when I do it, too.”
Are angels tone deaf? I was going to have to look that up. “Where is Thistle?” I asked, changing the subject. I needed backup, and she was my best shot.
“She called and said she’s having dinner with Marcus in town tonight,” Twila replied.
Son of a … . “She’s coming back, though, right?”
Twila shrugged. “I have no idea. I’m her mother, not her keeper.”
“But she promised to help with our new roommate,” I said. “Aunt Tillie doesn’t even have a bed. I’m going to need Thistle’s help.”
“I’ll sleep in Thistle’s bed,” Aunt Tillie offered. “Don’t worry about that.”
That was the least of my worries – well, kind of. “This is just great,” I said, reaching for the wine as my stomach flipped. “I think I need a drink.”
Mom slapped my hand to still me. “You’re sick. You don’t get to drink.”
“But … .”
Mom shook her head, firm. “I think you’ve earned this sickness, Bay,” she said. “Perhaps there’s a lesson in it for you.”
There was a lesson in it all right: My family sucks.
Fourteen
“Don’t walk away from me,” Landon said, stomping down the pathway as we made our way to the guesthouse after dinner. “I want to talk to you.”
“Well, I don’t want to talk to you.” As far as immaturity goes, I could win a gold medal this evening. I’m not oblivious to my faults, but that doesn’t mean I can correct them when my emotions are out of control. “I can’t even look at you.”
“How can you possibly be angry with me?” Landon asked, grabbing my arm and spinning me around. “I’m angry with you.”
“Then be angry,” I said, hating the burning sensation as tears flooded my eyes. “I can’t stop you. I know what I did was stupid and wrong, but I can’t go back in time and fix it. So … be angry.”
Landon’s expression softened. “
Bay, don’t cry.” He reached up to brush away a tear, but I tilted my head away from him. Somehow his being gentle was worse than his earlier aloofness.
“I’m not crying,” I said, jerking my arm from his grasp and impatiently brushing my own tears away. Why did this have to happen now?
“Those look like tears to me,” Landon said, his voice much softer than before. “I’m sorry you’re upset, but I’m upset, too. That’s why I want to talk about it and put it behind us.”
“Fine. Let’s talk.”
Now that he had his opening, Landon looked lost.
“Do you want me to start?” I prodded.
“I’m pretty sure I don’t want to hear what you have to say because it’s going to upset me,” Landon said. “This is a relationship, though, so let me have it.”
“You knew I would go to Patty Grimes’ house,” I said. “You knew I would have to see whether she was out there. I don’t see why you’re so shocked I did it.”
“I’m not shocked,” Landon argued. “You’re right. I did know. I just … thought there would be a way for us to do it together.”
“We can’t as long as Noah is here. I didn’t bring him here. That’s on you.”
“Is that what you’re really angry about, Bay?” Landon challenged. “You know why he’s here. I can’t be impartial where you’re concerned. I would die to protect you, and that means I would die to protect your family because they’re part of you.”
Oh, well, great. Now he was going to be sweet, and all of that righteous indignation I’d been building up over the past hour was going to go to waste. “Landon … .”
He held up his hand to quiet me. “Let me finish.”
I crossed my arms over my chest and offered him a curt nod.
“I love you, Bay,” Landon said. “I knew you’d go out there. I didn’t think you’d get caught. That’s not the real problem, though. The real problem is that I’m off my game because of Noah. I know he’s watching my every move and it makes me feel exposed.
“There are worse things than me being exposed, though,” he continued. “One of them is you being exposed. Noah knows something is going on. He’s not an idiot. Chief Terry and I going overboard to protect you makes him even more suspicious. I wouldn’t change that, though.
“You have got to be more careful. I know you couldn’t predict Aunt Tillie going out there, but in hindsight we should’ve realized that’s exactly what she would do,” he said. “We need to be better about hiding what you are from Noah, because he won’t understand.
“I wouldn’t change who you are for anything,” Landon said, reaching over to cup my chin. “You really are my favorite person on the planet. You still did a dumb thing. We have to come up with a better plan of action so you’re not exposed and I don’t have to be angry with you, because believe it or not, I hate being angry with you.”
I waited for him to continue, but apparently he was done. “Can I talk now?”
Landon nodded.
“I’m afraid. I’m afraid Aunt Tillie is going to be arrested and I’m afraid you’re somehow going to lose your job over me,” I said. “If that happens, I know you’ll make a big show of saying it’s fine, but eventually you’ll grow to resent me for it and I’ll lose you. Don’t bother denying it because we both know it’s true.
“I don’t think for a second Aunt Tillie killed Patty Grimes, but something is going on between the two of them and I have no idea what it is,” I continued. “She’s hiding something. They were … horrible … to one another. Aunt Tillie is going to get worse before she gets better on this one. I can feel it. That’s going to put you in professional danger because you’re going to risk everything to keep me safe. It would almost be better if complete strangers were investigating this because we’re used to lying to people we don’t know and love. I can’t lie to you.
“I am so worried about you getting in trouble at work that I feel sick to my stomach,” I said. “How are you ever going to look at me again if I cost you everything?”
Landon was silent for a few beats. “Are you done?”
“Yes.”
He stepped closer and rested his hands on my shoulders. “I always wanted to be a cop – and then an FBI agent – when I was a kid,” he said. “I always fancied myself fighting bad guys and winning the girl. I was all about getting to the top of the professional ladder for a long time. I don’t worry about that now, though.”
“Because of me?”
“Being an FBI agent is what I do,” Landon replied. “It’s not who I am. It’s a part of who I am, don’t get me wrong, but it’s not the most important thing in the world to me. That’s you. I won the girl, and she turned out to be more important.”
“But … .”
“No.” Landon firmly shook his head. “I’m talking now. Being an FBI agent is what I do. Who I am is a work in progress. You’re what I love more than anything, though. I don’t want you to be afraid. That kills me.
“Aunt Tillie is going to do what she always does,” he continued. “She’s going to make a huge mountain of trouble for us and then somehow swoop in and fix things in the end. You’ll probably have a hand in fixing them, too. I have faith in you.
“I would be more bitter and resentful about losing you than anything else,” Landon said. “I would take that out on Noah if it happened. Do you want me to become a murderer?”
I didn’t want to laugh, but I couldn’t help myself. “No.”
“Life isn’t ever going to be easy and smooth for us because that’s not the type of people we are,” Landon said. “We can only take the stuff thrown in our direction one thing at a time and move forward. That’s the best we can do.”
“What if you lose your job because you’re protecting us?”
“What if I lose you because I don’t protect you?”
“You’ll never lose me,” I said. “I … love you.”
“I know you do,” Landon said. “I love you, too. You need to stop making yourself sick each time we fight, though. It hurts … and I should be more cognizant of your feelings. I told you not to worry about this earlier. Chief Terry smoothed everything over.”
“That’s not the way Noah makes it sound.”
“Noah is a blowhard,” Landon said. “He’s desperate to be powerful but the way he talks saps all of his power, if that makes sense. He’ll learn eventually. He’s young and dumb. Believe it or not, I was a lot like him when I first started with the bureau.”
“I’m not sure I believe that,” I said. “You seem like a genius in comparison.”
“Oh, and there’s my ego boost,” Landon said, tugging me in for a hug. “Bay, it’s going to be okay. I wasn’t angry with you because you did something wrong. I was angry because you could’ve done it in a smarter manner and not risked yourself. Please, think before you do these things. Do it for me.”
“I would’ve been fine if it wasn’t for Aunt Tillie.”
“Yes, I think you would’ve been fine,” Landon agreed, kissing my forehead. “We can’t control her. We have to deal with her on the terms she sets. She’s not going to make things easy. She never does.”
“You don’t think she did it, do you?”
“No.”
“Do you have any other leads?”
“No.”
Well, that was disheartening. “Do you want to go to bed and pretend this fight didn’t happen? I’m exhausted and my stomach still feels weak.”
“That sounds good,” Landon said, exhaling heavily. “I officially declare this fight over. Everything will be better now.”
“You know Aunt Tillie is going to be there when we get to the guesthouse, right?”
“I said things would be better, Bay, not perfect.”
I giggled. “I’m going to kill Thistle for abandoning me like this.”
“I’m going to help,” Landon said, tilting my chin up and offering me a soft kiss. “I love you. We can get through all of this, but we have to be smarter about our methods. W
e’ll have a strategy meeting with Aunt Tillie in the morning.”
“Do you really think that will work?”
Landon shrugged. “I really think I need some rest and time alone with you. We’ll deal with Aunt Tillie in the morning.”
That was something to look forward to … or not.
I WOKE with my face pressed against Landon’s chest and his arm wrapped around my waist. We were both emotionally exhausted upon returning to the guesthouse after dinner, so we left Aunt Tillie to watch HBO and immediately went to bed.
When I lifted my chin, Landon opened his eyes and smiled. “Did you sleep okay?”
“I slept hard.”
“You usually do,” Landon said. “I worry when I’m not here because you would sleep right through someone trying to break into the house. Clove is a light sleeper and would wake you before. She’s gone now.”
Clove was gone now. I didn’t like the way he phrased it, but it was true. Part of me already missed her. The other part was too worried about Aunt Tillie to give it the thought Clove deserved.
“I’m sure I’ll survive.”
“I’m sure you will, too, if I have anything to say about it,” Landon said, shifting to his back and staring at the ceiling. “I feel better after so much sleep. Apparently we needed it, because neither one of us moved for nine hours.”
I ran my fingers over his chiseled stomach. “I’m hungry.”
“You didn’t eat dinner last night. You just pushed it around your plate. I’m guessing you didn’t get lunch either,” Landon said. “You need food or you’ll really get sick.”
“Instead of just looking sick?”
“You didn’t look bad,” Landon clarified. “You just … didn’t look yourself.”
“And now?”
“I’m a big fan of your hair when it stands on end like this,” Landon teased, pressing my bedhead down. “How about we hop in the shower and then get breakfast? I was thinking we could go into town to avoid an uncomfortable meal with your mother and Noah, and then I’ll drop you off at work and come back alone. I think the last thing you need is another confrontation with my new partner.”
Charms & Witchdemeanors (Wicked Witches of the Midwest Book 8) Page 13