by Apryl Baker
“She seems like it. You two close?”
Here we go. Just when I thought this was about me, the questions about my sister start. Before I know it, he’ll be asking me if I think he stands a chance with her.
“We are. Best friends more than sisters.”
“That’s cool. My little brother is like that. He’s only seven, but he tags around with me most everywhere. Never misses a game if he can help it. Sometimes our neighbor, Mrs. Ronson, brings him. Sometimes Mom manages to make it and brings him. He loves football more than I do, I think.”
“That’s nice.”
He frowns. “What’s wrong?”
I snort.
“Ella?”
“Just ask me about Cecily and be done with it.”
“Cecily?”
“Yes, Cecily. Isn’t that why you asked me out? So you could get info on her?”
“No. I asked you out because I thought you were cool, not your sister. She’s…” His lips purse as he tries to phrase what he wants to say. “She’s too high maintenance for me. It seems like she tries too hard, and it makes her come off as not sincere or real.”
I blink.
Several times.
“Sugar, I asked you out because of you and no one else. I thought we could have a meal and get to know each other. I’m close with my brother, so I figured it would be a good way to break the ice to ask you about your sister. That’s all. I’m here because I want to be here. With. You. And no one else.”
“Really?”
“Yeah.” He grins and leans over to tweak my nose. “You’re hot even in your baggy clothes and your hair up in that rat’s nest you had going on last week at Eli’s. That’s why I like you so much, Ella. You’re not afraid to be you.”
“It’s just that the last few times guys asked me out it was because they wanted to get closer to Cecily. When you asked about her…”
“You assumed I was after the same thing.”
I nod.
Matt takes my hand. “If I wanted to ask Cecily out, I would have just asked her. She doesn’t intrigue me the way you do. Something about you calls to me in a way I can’t quite explain. I feel it in my bones, Ella. Trust me when I say you’re the only girl who has my interest right now.”
“Really?”
“Really.” That same super genuine smile appears. “I like you, Ella. That’s why we’re here getting to know each other. I want you to like me too.”
“I wouldn’t be here if I didn’t.”
His dimple appears. Why did I not notice he had a dimple before?
“So, what’s your favorite flower?”
I blink, not expecting the question. “Carnations. You?”
He laughs. “I have no clue. No one’s ever asked me that.”
“Off the top of your head.”
“Roses.”
“Roses?”
“What? I expected you to say that. It’s the first flower that comes to mind.”
“Well, think about it and then tell me later.”
“Fine. I know your favorite books is Pride and Prejudice. What’s your second favorite book?”
“The Shining.”
“Stephen King?”
“Who doesn’t like Stephen King? Besides, the original movie with Jack Nicholson is awesome. Scared the crap out of me when I was little.”
“My favorite horror movie is The Conjuring. It actually scared me.”
“Oh, I love that one, too! But I also like Dune, the one made in the eighties. I’m excited for the remake.”
“It’s cool we get to watch it on HBO Max for free when it hits theaters.”
“Me and Eli are already planning to watch it. Would you like to join us?”
“I’d love that.”
Okay, so maybe this date is going better than I thought it would, and I’m not so nervous anymore.
“You really don’t mind that I don’t take an hour to do my hair and makeup and make sure that what I have on matches some days?”
“Not a bit. You’re beautiful, Ella. Doesn’t matter what you wear. It doesn’t change that simple fact.”
He’s super sweet too.
Maybe giving him a chance isn’t a bad thing. Yes, I have a huge crush on Eli, but that will never go anywhere. Maybe letting Matt in will be good for me.
“So, um, tell me more about your mom.”
And that’s how the rest of our meal goes, just answering random questions. The restaurant kicks us out at eleven, and the drive home is more of the same. I learned Matt’s favorite color is green, and his favorite movie is Back to The Future. He loves his brother more than anyone besides his mom. He’s a total mama’s boy and has no issue admitting that. He’s a really nice guy, and I agreed to go out with him again tomorrow night as we drive around.
“Is your truck in the shop or something?” I ask as we turn down the road to my neighborhood.
“No. Eli told me about the hidden cameras in your house, and I asked Ken to borrow his car after the game just to be safe. Eli drove me to the game.”
“You think they’d bug your truck?”
He nods. “If it meant getting more information about you or one of us, I do. That’s part of why I didn’t talk to you about anything supernatural while we were in the restaurant. They had no way of knowing I’d borrow Ken’s car because I asked him right before we left the locker room. He’s a good guy and handed the keys off without a word. Our buddy took him home.”
“Did you want to ask me about what I do?”
“I only want to know what you’re comfortable telling me.”
I guess it’s not going to hurt if he knows what I can do.
“When the car hit me, I died. Eli gave me CPR and brought me back. Only I didn’t come back the same. I woke up able to see and talk to ghosts. I’m what’s called a living reaper. People like me, our gifts only activate if we die and are brought back. According to Eli, there’s only one other person alive who’s a living reaper.”
“So, you go looking for the ghosts or something?”
“No, they randomly pop up. Scares me most days, but there are ways to protect against them just showing up when I least expect it.”
“Salt lines.”
“Yeah, but there are other ways too.” I’m not going to go into those right now, though, as we’ve pulled into the driveway of my house.
The front porch light gets flipped on and the curtains are pulled back, so I see my dad’s grim face staring at us.
“You know, I’d kiss you, but I don’t want to get murdered on the spot.”
“Yeah, probably not a good idea.”
“I should have kissed you earlier. I won’t make the same mistake tomorrow.” He leans over and gives me a kiss on the cheek.
The feel of his warm lips against my skin is an odd sensation, one that’s nice. I can’t explain it, but it feels right.
He grins at my perplexed look. “I’ll explain tomorrow.”
“I don’t understand what that means.”
Laughing, he gets out and walks around to open my door. “I know you don’t, Ella, but that’s okay.” He holds his hand out, and I have the oddest sensation that it’s important what I do right now. His entire body relaxes when I put my hand in his.
He walks me to the front door then leans in for another kiss on the cheek. “I’ll kiss you properly tomorrow, but until then, goodnight, Ella Grace.”
He leaves me standing there, and I watch him get in the car and drive away. Why does it feel like he’s promising me something more than a kiss?
The door is yanked open before I can think too much about it. Dad’s standing there looking fit to be tied.
“About time you got here. Your sister has been home for hours.”
“Dad, it’s five minutes to twelve, which is the curfew Mom set. I’m not going to argue with you.”
I sweep past him and head to my room, firmly closing the door behind me and locking it.
Matt is not what I expected. My hand goes to
my cheek. He might just be more than I expected.
Smiling, I change into my PJs and climb into bed.
Tonight was a good night.
Chapter Nineteen
Eli
I’m not going to lie. The last three days of practice have been brutal. Coach seems to have decided we’re all losers who can’t play the game, and he’s being vindictive because of it. He wants a win this year, but so do I. I need to be able to have options when it comes to schools. Ella hasn’t said anything about her preferences yet, but I know she’ll look for academically heavy schools. Hopefully, they’ll also have a good football program.
At least I don’t need a scholarship. Gramps told me to get that idea out of my head and to leave that money for people who need it more than I do. I want to pay my own way, but Gramps informed me I needed to get over myself. He’s right, but the old man usually is.
“Boy, get your butt in here!” Gramps shouts from down the hall. Great, what did I do now?
“Yeah?” I throw myself down on the couch in his office and let the soft cushions soothe my sore muscles.
“We’ve got confirmation that the Army took the dragon.”
I sit up, all my tiredness washed away in the stark truth he’s telling me.
“How?”
“Harrison was up by her house doing some illegal hunting, and he saw the whole thing. Filmed it on his phone. You can clearly see the Army uniform as they hauled her out of the house.”
“Was she fighting?”
“No. She looked unconscious.” He rubs his head tiredly. “A crew went in right after they took her and cleaned up. I’m guessing it was a brutal fight, and it required a lot of bleach to wash away the blood.”
“And Patches? How did she get hurt? Vet said it was a knife that got her.”
“It wouldn’t be easy to take down a dragon. Some of those men had to have gotten hurt, and the cat may have accidentally gotten their blood on her. Easiest way to get rid of the evidence was to kill the cat and dispose of it. Our kitty here is a sneaky little girl and escaped.” Gramps scratches the cat’s chin. For all his complaining, he’s taken to the cat like a duck to water. I see her curled up in his lap more often than not.
“What does this mean?”
“I don’t know. Ethan is afraid to let them know we have video evidence and who provided it. If we show our hand, it puts Harrison in danger, and we both agree they have contingency plans in place in case the truth comes out.”
“Do you think she’s still at the base?”
“No. That place isn’t big enough to house a lab. Chances are it’s a point of origin. They capture the Supernaturals, and then they’re transported to a lab somewhere. That’s what we need to find. If we can, we might be able to rescue the dragon.”
“But you’re not holding your breath, are you?”
“If it were that simple, I wouldn’t be putting my own contingency plans in place. They’re not going to take you or me.”
“What kind of contingency plans?”
“Best you not worry about that, boy. Just thought you should know what we found out.”
“Do you want me to tell Ella?”
He sighs. “I been thinking on that. If she knows, she’ll confront her father, and he’ll wonder just how she knows.”
“And Harrison might disappear.”
“Exactly.”
“We can’t tell her, then.”
“No, son, we can’t.”
“I hate secrets.”
“Secrets make the world go ’round, boy, not money.”
That’s the God’s truth.
“It would only strain her relationship with her dad more, too.”
“Aye.”
“So, we act like we don’t know what happened to Elaina?”
“We have to. Until Ethan’s ready to make a play, we can’t tip his hand.”
“I don’t like keeping this from her.”
“I know.” Gramps lays a hand on my shoulder. “It’s what’s best for everyone, though.”
“Coach Bear talked to me after practice today. Said we had scouts from WVU coming to our first game.”
“That’s good. The Mountaineers have a good program. Ella said anything about where she wants to go to school?”
I shake my head. “No, but wherever it is, I hope I can get on the team there.”
“You’ve got raw talent, Eli. Any coach worth a grain of salt will see it, and if I have to, I don’t care to call in some favors.”
I wouldn’t put it past Gramps, and in this one instance I’d shut my mouth and not say a word because of Ella. She needs me more than my pride needs to be stroked.
“I’m gonna talk to her about it this weekend. She’s going out with Matt on Saturday night, but we’re hanging out in the morning.”
“How’s that going?”
“They were supposed to go out last Saturday, but Coach pulled that bullsh—” I cut myself off at Gramps’ look of censure. He hates cussing more than Mattie Hathaway did. Probably because he’s an Angel, but maybe not. Either way, he’s done everything he can for me, and the least I can do for him is not cuss in his house. I’m usually better than this, but I’m tired.
“Continue.” Gramps goes and sits down behind his desk.
“He called us at five p.m. and kept us until almost ten since some of us went out drinking. Not me, but a lot of the guys did. Said every time he found about it, we’d be in for more of the same. So, Ella hasn’t been able to go out with Matt since. Their first date went okay. She said he was saying some weird stuff, but I think that’s the panther in him.”
“She’s his mate?” Gramps’ eyebrows shoot up.
“I don’t think so. He told me he asked his mom about what it feels like, and it’s not the same thing, but his cat likes her a lot. He’s drawn to her, so I’m thinking it’s fine. He’ll protect her.”
“But what if his mate does show up and he drops her like a hot potato?”
“I’m going to talk to her about that Saturday. I don’t want her to go into this and then be blindsided if she falls for him and his mate comes into the picture. No matter how he might feel about her, if that happens, he won’t have a choice.”
“Good. I don’t want that little girl to get hurt. She’s been through too much.”
She has, at that. “Did I tell you her reaper tutor showed up at Elaina’s?”
“No. She help out?”
I snort. “Hardly. She lectured Ella about using her gifts outside of their purpose, which is to help the ghosts that come to her, not play detective. This is what pissed them off about Mattie.”
“What did Ella say?”
“Told her to help her or mind her own business.”
“Good for her.”
“Yeah, she needs to start standing up for herself more. This is a good first step. Reapers are not to be trusted.”
“I never liked them. They always seem to be so cold, everything in black and white. Until they’re not, and then they’re more ruthless than some of the Angels.”
“Why is it so hard to try to protect her from the things that are supposed to help her?”
“I don’t know, boy, but we’re going to do our best.”
“Aye.” I picked up his habit of using that word, even though it sounds so old fashioned. “So do you think changing my hair color is going to be enough?” My hair’s not actually dyed. It’s a spell that changes the color so I don’t need to worry about remembering to dye the roots.
He lets out a sigh. “Does anyone in your family play football?”
“Benny, but he’s only eleven now.”
“Then I think this is going to be fine. We’ve got an entire life fabricated for you, including family photos and yearbook pictures. If anyone goes looking, they’ll find Elijah McGreggor and his family.”
“I really want this, Gramps.”
“It’ll work out, boy. All things do in the end.”
“And if works out in a way I don’t want it
to?”
“Then it does, but you have to learn to accept that too.”
“You’re no help, old man.”
He barks out a laugh. “Never said I was full of the best advice, only that I had advice to give. Told you that on your first day with me.”
“Thanks, Gramps. For everything. You’ve been better to me than I deserved, especially in the beginning. I appreciate everything you’ve done, and I…I love you, old man.”
Gramps clears his throat noisily and looks away. “Love you too, boy. Now, go get showered. You stink.”
Shaking my head, I get up to head to the bathroom. I really do stink.
“Boy?”
“Yeah, Gramps?”
“Things work out the way they’re supposed to. Remember that if you don’t remember anything else I ever tell you.”
“Okay.”
“I’m referring to the Crane girl.”
Ah, that makes sense. He thinks me being hung up on Mattie is something I need to let go of. But how do you stop loving someone?
“It’ll get easier when you realize things worked out the way they were supposed to.”
Maybe one day I’ll believe that and can move on from it. Maybe not. Either way, I just nod and leave the room.
That’s a problem for another day.
Chapter Twenty
Ella
Today is going to be a good day. Eli’s coming over to hang out after practice, and then Matt and I are finally getting that second date. We’ve talked and texted all week, and I’m really excited for tonight. He’s not just cute. He’s kind, and he can hold a conversation about most anything, and he’s not afraid to tell me he has no clue when he doesn’t understand what I’m talking about. It’s nice.
Not once this entire time have I felt like he’s more interested in Cecily after we talked about it at the pizza place. And that means the world to me. For the first time in years, I feel worthwhile and not like I’m the ugly duckling standing next to Cecily. I love her and will defend her to the death, but I’ve always felt second best next to her. Even from Mom and Dad. I never told anyone that, not even Eli.