A Paranormal Easter: 14 Paranormal & Fantasy Romance Novellas

by Tiffany Carby

  We made small talk for a minute and the waitress brought our food which prompted Finn to leave us to eat.

  “Can I count on you to stop by the blood drive tomorrow?” Julian asked as they went back to their table.

  “Of course,” Finn said and the rest of them nodded.

  “They’re good people, Vale,” Julian said, “I’m happy if you had to run into anyone from Spring City that it was Finn you met. He’s a good kid and his family is very nice.”

  “What did you mean when you told Finn that I’d be staying with you for a little while?” I couldn’t hold back my curiosity.

  “That... you’ll be staying with me?” His face looked confused and he said the words slowly.

  “It just sounded like you’d be getting rid of me sometime soon and that startled me a little bit,” I confessed before taking a massive bite of my burger getting it all over my face.

  “I didn’t mean it like that, I promise. I’ve just never had a housemate before, this is new for me too,” he said, reaching over and wiping a bit of cheese off of the corner of my mouth. Julian was so protective and caring; I just didn’t know how to take him sometimes. I also didn’t know whether I should be more leery. After the mess I just got myself out of in Florida, trusting another man was not an easy task. There was just something about him.

  “Okay,” I said, “It just made me jitter for a second: the thought of being back out there trying to find a new place. I mean I can do it, and I will do it if I have to, I have just had such a good day with you, I suppose I don’t want it to end.”

  “The night is young, Vale,” Julian winked and we finished our meal making small talk, anxious to go home. “And we have many nights ahead of us.”

  5

  We finished our tour of Spring City and headed back to Julian’s place as expected. The night was young, as he had said, and I wasn’t sure what the rest of our evening would entail. Julian barely ate anything at dinner and I assumed he was just a grazer. I went to my room to get settled and Julian went upstairs. I assumed this would be our new normal.

  I hung up my clothes on the hangers and filled up the bathroom with my toiletries that I had purchased earlier. It was the start of a new life and it felt good. The bathroom had a large garden tub that I had full intentions of breaking in and enjoying a soak.

  I hadn't closed the door, so when I turned around and found Julian standing on the threshold, I shouldn't have been startled, but I jumped.

  “Sorry if I scared you, didn’t think to knock since it was open.”

  “That’s okay! I’m just a little jumpy I suppose.” I stood there like a statue, not knowing what to do next.

  “Wanna talk? We could hang out in the living room and watch some TV and get to know each other a little better?”

  “That sounds great, actually,” I told him and looked around for something to change into and realizing I didn’t buy anything to sleep in.

  “Forget something?” He asked and handed me the shopping bags he had been carrying around earlier.

  “Thought you could use a few intimates that you would likely have not purchased in my presence, so I grabbed a few things for you.”

  “Thank you, Julian, that was very nice of you… you've been so kind to me today, I hope you know how much I appreciate your kind gestures,” I said sincerely. He winked and shut the door as he left so I could change in private. I emptied the bags onto the bed and found an array of items. He had purchased several bras in different colors and styles, all appearing to fit perfectly. There were a dozen panties in different styles and fabrics as well. A couple camisoles and shorts to sleep in, as well as a silk robe and silk nightgown also in the bag. Nothing too skimpy, thank goodness, and it all appeared to fit me.

  I decided to wait on the bath until later since he had invited me out to hang with him for a little while and took a quick shower instead. Ten minutes later, I smelled good and had new, clean clothes on. I pulled my hair up on top of my head in a messy bun and headed out to the living room. This was as basic as I got and if he could handle this me, we’d get along just fine.

  I felt like a new person.

  The living room was lamp lit and the television on. Julian was at the bar in the corner making some sort of drink for us both. He turned around and I could see the silk pajama pants he wore hugging all the right places, hanging just off his hips. But his bare chest with no shirt made my eyes practically pop out of my head like a silly cartoon character.

  “Holy hell, you weren’t kidding!” I said and then wanted to kick myself for not being able to control my mouth.

  “Not kidding about what?”

  “That you worked at the gas station!” I had already committed, might as well go with it.

  “Ha, like the view?” He handed a glass of amber liquid to me. “Kentucky bourbon, over ice. It’s the good stuff, so just sip it.”

  “You’re not like a know-it-all or anything are you?” I was, of course, being facetious, but I enjoyed a good tease with this man.

  “I know a lot of things, Vale, including the fact that you’ll like that bourbon better if you don’t guzzle it,” he said with a smile. He was right too. It was very smooth and the fact that it was so cold as it ran down my throat made me want more of the smoky beverage.

  “You like it, don’t you?” He asked.

  “Yes, and I like these round ice cubes, how the heck did you do that?” I was genuinely curious. He was such an interesting person.

  “Well. It’s quite simple really… I have round ice cube trays. They don’t melt as fast as regular ice cubes, so they’re good for bourbon.”

  I sat down on the couch in my silky PJ’s with my fancy bourbon and curled my feet underneath me. He tossed a soft blanket over to me to cover up with and we sat together as he flipped channels on the television. My phone wasn’t high tech enough that I could really surf the web and I was beginning to wonder if anything had hit the Florida news outlets about a missing person.

  “You look like you’re thinking about something pretty serious,” he said and I told him I wondered if Vinny had reported me missing or how it had played out after I skipped town.

  “I’m concerned that my parents will worry about me,” I said.

  “I can see why you’d be concerned, you have a big heart and you really hashed out your plan before you left. I know you were protecting them.”

  “Yes, I knew Vinny would go straight to them, so I didn’t want them to have to lie on my behalf.”

  “I have an idea,” he said and went over to the roll top desk in the corner of the room. He came back over to me with a blank postcard from New York City and handed it to me. “Write your parents a note that only they would understand. Sign it with a nickname only they’d know and Vinny wouldn’t know just in case he’s watching their mail. Then I’ll mail this up to a buddy of mine in New York and have them post it from there. If Vinny is keeping tabs on your parents, this will make them think you are in New York, not in a small town in Kentucky that is barely on the map.”

  “You really are a smarty pants,” I said and took the card from him trying to think what I could write.

  “I’ll think about this and maybe we can get it in the mail when the post office opens back up on Monday morning?”

  “Sure can,” he said and sat back down on the large sectional, this time finding himself closer to me than he was the first time we sat down.

  He had grabbed his tablet and we surfed the internet together looking for Florida news articles. We finally stumbled on a missing person’s report that Vinny had filed 24 hours after I went missing. It matched my description to a T. And it sounded like my plan had worked. It stated I was last seen at the grocery store, where my car was left unattended.

  So far, my plan had worked.

  Julian and I talked for a couple of hours, playing some silly games on his tablet and asking getting-to-know-you questions of one another. I felt safe in his home and happy to have made a new friend.

&n
bsp; This new friend of mine, however, made me want to be a little too friendly.

  6

  Julian and I drank and enjoyed each other’s company that night before retiring off to our separate bedrooms. The guest bed, which was now my bed, was firm but very comfortable. I slept the best I had slept in years, waking only to the sun streaming in from the window treatments.

  I got up and went into the bathroom, promising that tub that I’d break it in later on, but that a quick shower would have to do. Julian was the coordinator of an Easter blood drive at the hospital and I wanted to help all I could. I cleaned up nicely, put on a little makeup and attempted to fix my hair, realizing I had no tools to do so, not even a brush or a hair dryer. So my hair went up in a messy bun on top of my head again. I hoped I didn’t look like too much of a hot mess.

  I found Julian in the living room surfing on his phone, fully dressed and ready for me.

  “Good morning,” he said, “I didn’t realize you’d be up this early.”

  “I used to love to sleep late, but these last few years I have been an early riser,” I confessed.

  “Well you look great and I’m super excited that you wanted to help me with the blood drive today. I’ll introduce you around and we’ll see if we can’t work on finding you find a job.”

  “Sounds great! But first, coffee?” I asked.

  “It’s like you know me, sweetheart,” he said and led me out to the Audi.

  When we went inside The Wishing Well, I was certain to be in front of him so I could tell the barista to let me pay. I ordered a fancy coffee and Julian ordered something that sounded even more complicated than what I got, but they knew him and weren’t surprised.

  She rang up the order and took my money, but couldn’t help but smirk at Julian standing behind me.

  “Now that she has gotten her way,” he said and looked at me cross, “Mia, this is Vale, Vale this is Mia.”

  “Hi Vale, I love your name and I’m happy that Julian has brought you back in to see us again. He’s a regular, so if you keep hanging out with him, I’d say we’ll see even more of you!”

  “Nice to meet you, I'm happy to be here too and I'm sure I'll see more of you!” I told her and went to the counter to the pickup side where our drinks would be ready.

  “Owen?” Julian said to the barista making our drinks.

  “Julian! What’s up, man?” He had a little bit of a scruffy beard and his blonde hair made him look older than I assumed he was.

  “Not a lot going on, just wanted to introduce you to my new friend, Vale.”

  “Well, hello, ma’am,” he said, stopping what he was doing to come over and get a better look at me.

  “Nice to meet you too, Owen,” I said and smiled.

  He finished up our drinks and brought us two orange-cranberry muffins on the house.

  “Wish you well,” he said and winked.

  “I like this place,” I told Julian as we went to sit down in his usual spot. I sat first, taking the seat next to his this time and he swatted my knee.

  “Silly girl, it’s not really my seat, you can sit there too, ya know,” he did sit his tight ass down in the seat though, despite his protests. “And yes, I like this place too.”

  “So how might I pitch in and help today?” I asked while tearing up my muffin.

  “Well how this usually works is pretty simple, I have some volunteer nurses who come and together we man the van where the actual donating takes place,” he said. “But today, since it’s Easter weekend, there will be an egg hunt, the Easter bunny will stop by and the ladies from the Rotary Club have a bake sale planned.”

  “Sounds fun!”

  “I’ll have to stick close to the van, but if you want to help with Easter bunny pictures or the egg hunt, that would be very helpful,” he said, taking a long sip of his coffee.

  It was nice to see the children of Spring City hunting Easter eggs in the field next to the hospital. Trixie had brought out a grill and was making burgers to order and the members of the Rotary Club had quite the spread of desserts at their bake sale. I hadn’t figured out who it was, but someone was even dressed up as the Easter bunny and was posing in pictures with all the children.

  “Hey stranger,” I heard Finn coming up beside me.

  “Hey again!”

  “How’s our little town treating you?”

  “Actually, so much better than I had ever hoped! I really do love it here,” I told him.

  “Hi again! Vale, right?” Rory said as she came up and locked arms with Finn.

  “Yep, it's Vale, and you're Rory?” She nodded and I appreciated hanging out with my new friends. Rory's brother Mal, who I learned had recently started working at a horse ranch in town, was also around, but appeared to be chasing children around the field.

  “He’s a big ole kid,” Rory said.

  Mal came over and put his arm on Rory’s shoulder, catching his breath.

  “It’s a real shame adults can’t hunt too,” he said to the group and everyone laughed.

  “What’s so funny?” Julian interrupted.

  “Mal wants the adults to get to Easter egg hunt too,” I chimed in.

  “That’s a great idea,” Julian said and made the group laugh. “But for real though, come on over to the blood drive. I’m making a $10 donation to the Hospital’s Foundation for every donor today!” Julian really was a standup guy. And I assumed living in his parent’s home, he was able to save his money and could afford to give back to the community the way he did.

  “You’re a good man, Julian,” Mal said and patted him on the shoulder. “I’ll be the next one in line; it’s been well over a year since I got my last tattoo.”

  “Thank you, sir,” Julian said and the others followed Mal to the donation van. I stayed to help with the kids doing the egg hunt and got a wink from my housemate as he also headed toward the van.

  Later, I headed over to apologize to Julian for not being able to donate myself.

  “I’m afraid to donate, using my real name of course; leery that Vinny might somehow track me or something…” I told him.

  “I just appreciate your offer,” Julian said. He squeezed my hand. “I understand the security risks.”

  “I have a rare type, so I try to donate as much as I can,” I said.

  “Oh really? What’s your type?”

  “B negative,” I said, “I can only donate to anybody, but only give blood to O negative or B negative recipients, I believe.”

  “You’re right, good researching!” Julian said. “I bet you taste delicious!”

  I laughed at him, assuming I didn’t get the joke.

  “I mean if I was a vampire or something,” Julian laughed so hard he slapped his knee. “You’d be a fine wine!”

  Julian had officially proved himself right: he wasn’t normal and his jokes were corny. I laughed at the thought. No wonder I liked him.

  “In all seriousness, if you want to donate, and we could use some more B negative, it’s one we’re always short on at the hospital. You could fill in your new name and mark new donor. I’d be happy to overlook the blood donor card, knowing we wouldn’t turn it down,” Julian explained.

  “Is that like bending the rules or something?”

  “Bending yes, but you could be saving somebody’s life too,” he said. “That’s a rule I wouldn’t mind to bend a little if it could have that outcome. Plus I trust you.”

  “That means a lot, Julian,” I grabbed his hand again and we walked to the van. “Thank you for being my friend.”

  “Thanks for being my friend, love. You’ve been a breath of fresh air the last couple days,” he said.

  The blood draw was simple; it was the squeezing of the rubber ball and waiting that made me jittery. Julian stayed with me the whole time and talked to me while I waited.

  “Is it hot in here? You seem kinda sweaty,” I said to him, noticing perspiration on his temple.

  “Yep, this doctor’s coat can be rather warm sometimes,” h
e said sticking his hands in his pockets and fanning himself.

  “Can I call you McSweaty?” I laughed at my own joke that he obviously didn’t get.

  “You can call me Dr. Knight, or Julian or Jules, but I’m not so sure about McSweaty…” He pulled out the IV and gave me a brightly colored bandage to cover my arm. The end of the drive was drawing near and he said they’d be closing up shop soon, having well exceeded their goal of 100 donations.

  “I'll have to go into the hospital to log these in and then we can go if that's okay with you? Or you can see if Finn or Mal could take you on back to my place if you don't want to wait?” He asked.

  “I’m fine to wait, and actually, I might walk over to the dollar store while you do that, if you don’t mind?” I told him pointing to the store across the street from the hospital.

  “Sounds like a plan, I shouldn’t be more than 20 minutes or so,” he said, “But first, I’d like to introduce you to Suzan Breckenridge, the president of the Spring City Rotary Club.” Julian guided me over to a lovely lady who was packing up some snacks from the bake sale.

  “Hey Suzan, how did the bake sale go today?” Julian asked her, holding on to my hand as if we were a couple or something.

  “Dr. Knight! Good to see you, it went well!” She reached over and gave Julian a half hug. I wasn't entirely sure how I felt about that but could tell their relationship was platonic and only work-related.

  “I’d like to introduce you to my friend, Vale,” Julian said, letting go of my hand so I could shake Suzan’s. “Vale is new to Spring City, and oddly enough needs a job, any chance you still need someone to run the hospital gift shop?”

  “Boy, do I ever!” She exclaimed. “I’m having trouble enjoying my retirement because I’m at the gift shop every day!”

  “I’ve seen you in there a lot, so I thought that might be the case,” Julian said, looking over to me for approval.

  “Honey, if you’re interested, why don’t you stop by on Monday morning around 9 a.m. and I can show you the place and tell you what all it entails and see if you’re interested after you know more about the job?” She asked.