by K. J. Emrick
In one quick motion, Jon stood up from the couch, catching her around her waist, carrying her toward the stairs. She squealed with delight and tightened her grip around his shoulders, scissoring her legs together behind his nice, firm rump. He carried her easily in his strong arms as they started up the stairs.
“Mrs. Sweet, that is the best idea you’ve had all day.”
Surprisingly, she didn’t dream at all for the rest of the night. Possibly, because Jon had done such a good job of tiring her out before they both said their good nights. Darcy had been out before she closed her eyes.
She woke up to the sound of her cellphone ringing. It was on vibrate, and the repetitive buzzing was shaking it to the edge of her nightstand. For the longest time she’d had her phone blocked from receiving calls to stop unwanted nuisance calls from any ghosts that might want to annoy her. She’d finally realized that instead of making her life easier it was, in fact, making it more difficult when she couldn’t make a call when she needed to. So, now her phone was able to make and receive calls and, surprisingly, she hadn’t had one nuisance ghost call yet.
She rolled over and noticed that Jon’s side of the bed was empty. He must have already gone to work. Tiptoe was curled up at the end of the bed, watching her with one open eye, waiting to see if Darcy was going to move around and disturb a perfect cat nap.
“It’s fine, little girl,” she told the cat. “Stay where you are. It’s just my phone.”
She stretched and yawned, and then reached out to grab her phone before it could fall to the floor. It took her a minute to focus on the name and number on the screen. When she did, she slid the answer button up and brought the phone to her ear as she rolled onto her side again. She wasn’t ready to get up. Not yet.
“Morning, Izzy. How’d your date go?”
“Hey there, Darcy. I was calling to talk to you about the bookstore but since you brought it up…” There was a pause on the line, and Darcy could almost hear her friend smiling. “It was fantastic! Kyle was incredible. The view up here from our cabin is absolutely spectacular and there’s this ski trail that he wants to try out and I swear, there was a deer outside our bedroom window this morning! Can you believe that?”
Darcy blinked sleep away from her eyes and sat up. Deer outside her window? This morning? “Izzy, are you still at the cabin? In Upstate New York?”
“Um. Yeah…see, that’s kind of what I wanted to talk to you about. Um. I don’t suppose you could watch the store by yourself today? Kyle and I are having just the most amazing time up here and I wouldn’t mind making another day of it. You know?”
“Oh, I think I get the idea.” Darcy couldn’t help smiling for her friend’s happiness. Izzy had been a long time finding love with someone. She wasn’t necessarily convinced that what those two had together was love, but it was sure sounding like it from here. “Izzy, it’s still the midwinter break. I was hoping to spend some time with the kids. Plus, there’s something going on that Jon’s looking into.”
With a heavy sigh, Izzy asked, “Who died this time?”
“See, that’s the first thing I said, too. Turns out it’s not a murder this time. Someone stole the SpringFest trophy for the celebration next month. That’s all.”
“That thing? I saw the one last year it was like, really ugly. Who would want to steal that?”
“And, that’s the second thing I said to him. Tell you what. Since it is midwinter break, the tourists aren’t exactly flocking to Misty Hollow. They’ve all got warmer destinations in mind. It’s not like we’re going to lose a lot of business if we stay closed for another day. You spend time with Kyle, and I’ll spend time the Misty Hollow way.”
“With family,” Izzy said without hesitation.
“Exactly. I think the only one who’s going to be upset is Mark Franks. He’s looking for a couple of books that he ordered through us. Um. He’s also looking for you. Just so you know.”
“Yeah, well. I think I’m happy where I am, Darcy.”
“Do you?”
“Yeah.” She paused before saying it again, just as convincingly. “Yeah, I do. I’ll be back tomorrow, promise. We can do some work at the bookstore and you can tell me all about this trophy theft. Is it at least bigger than the one last year? That thing is at the back of someone’s closet now just collecting dust.”
“Jon said it was almost half as tall as he is. More so, even.”
“Ooh. That must’ve cost a pretty penny. Good to see my tax dollars are going to pay for something important—Kyle, stop it…hey!”
She broke off into giggles and Darcy could hear a rustling, like sheets on a bed getting all tangled up. A male’s voice—Kyle’s—was in the background, muffled and husky…
Oh. Now she understood what was going on in that little cabin in Upstate New York.
Darcy felt her cheeks turning red. Apparently, Izzy had really, really enjoyed her date with Kyle. And, it was still going on.
“Um, Izzy? Hey…Izzy?”
There was nothing but laughter and murmured conversation on the other end of the line. Darcy decided it would be better if she just hung up and let them get back to, well, whatever they were doing. She sent a quick text saying that she’d call Izzy later.
For now, it was still early, and there was plenty of time to make breakfast for the kids. Pancakes, she thought to herself. With blueberries and cinnamon.
“You probably don’t want pancakes, do you Tiptoe?”
The gray cat had been watching her with one eye and now that eye closed shut, and she curled her tail around her nose. She wasn’t moving from where she was. Certainly not for blueberry pancakes.
“Okay, little kitty-cat. Next time, I’ll make fish sticks instead. Promise.”
She got up and got dressed for the day in jeans and a long-sleeved t-shirt, scratching Tiptoe’s ears on her way out of the bedroom. She didn’t hear the kids moving around. They must still be in bed, resting up from all the activity yesterday. Perfect. She could wake them up with the smell of pancakes and eggs. They didn’t have any bacon, but there might be a box of sausage links in the freezer.
While she was putting the menu together in her head, Cha Cha came wandering out of Zane’s room. He always kept his door open at night when his little dog friend slept with him. He’d learned that the hard way after a night when Cha Cha couldn’t get out and left him a little present in his slipper.
The Bassador’s big brown eyes looked up at Darcy with a question.
“Oh, I know,” she whispered. “Those big ears of yours heard me talking to Tiptoe about breakfast, didn’t they? I’ll bet you’d like some eggs. You like eggs, don’t you?”
Cha Cha whuffed quietly, taking another hopeful step out into the hall.
“Yeah, that’s what I thought. Come on, then. Let’s go make breakfast.”
With a big doggie smile, he followed her down the stairs, taking them one at a time with his stubby legs.
“So,” she said, talking out loud to herself just as much as to him. “We’ve got another mystery on our hands. Jon’s off investigating it now, actually. Stealing a trophy like that. Why would someone do that?”
Cha Cha huffed a remark, but she wasn’t sure if he was discussing the mystery or complaining about why stairs had to be so tall. It was hard to tell. Without Zane’s talent for talking to animals, she just had to guess.
“Do you have any ideas about why someone would steal the trophy?”
“Buh-whuff.”
“Yeah, me either. Jon said it was just a cheap thing despite how tall it is. Then again, Izzy thought maybe it had cost a pretty penny. I’ve never had to buy a trophy before, so I don’t really know. I guess the only way we could find out for sure would be to ask the guy who made it, right?”
“Rawrf.”
She was in the kitchen now, taking the eggs out of the refrigerator, but that idea she’d just had made her stop. The man who made the trophy might actually have some information about why someone would want to take
it. Did he gild it with real gold or something? Maybe it was made by someone famous with their signature on it. What, exactly, could make a trophy worth stealing?
She wasn’t going to find out until she asked the right person. She needed to find the person who made the trophy for the town. Which meant…her plans for the day just changed.
Her cellphone buzzing broke her train of thoughts. She took it out of her back pocket to find Jon had sent her a text message. He must have waited until he knew she might be awake.
Got a call early. Went to work. Love you more than I can say. See you tonight.
That was him, making sure she didn’t worry. She loved him too. So, so much.
The smell of sausage and pancakes and eggs woke the kids up, just like she figured it would, and they came wandering downstairs, bleary-eyed in their pajamas. After she got them all sat down around the table with glasses of milk and plates of food, she smiled and clapped her hands together. “So. Who wants to go for a ride this morning?”
Cha Cha looked up from the scoop of scrambled eggs that Darcy had put into his bowl. “Arf, arf!”
“He says he wants to take a ride,” Zane said with a strip of pancake hanging out of his mouth. “Um. If he can ride by the window.”
Darcy nodded and tried not to smile. She knew enough by now to trust her son when he translated Cha Cha’s barks and woofs into words. “If he wants a window seat, then he’ll have one. After breakfast we’ll all get ready and go, okay? I’m going to keep the bookstore closed today so it’ll just be us three.”
Cha Cha huruffed.
“Right, sorry. It will just be the four of us.”
“Mom,” Colby complained. “Do we have to go?”
“Well, since I’m driving, I’m going to say yes.” She gave Zane a wink, and he blinked back at her with both eyes. He didn’t quite get the concept of how to do a wink. Darcy did it again, with her other eye. Zane chewed his pancake and blinked with both of his again. She gave him a thumbs up anyway. “It’s okay, kiddo. We’ll work on it.”
“Mom,” Colby pestered her, “can’t I just stay home instead? I’m almost thirteen years old now.”
“You’re still twelve, though.”
“But I’m almost thirteen,” she insisted, very seriously. “That makes me old enough to take care of myself, right?”
“Hmm. Yes, it does. At least for a little while. Mind telling me why you want to stay home so badly?”
For a moment, her daughter just pushed around the cut-up pieces of pancake on her plate. Then she shrugged. “Um. Because I know you’re only going out to look into this trophy theft you and Daddy were talking about.”
“Hmm. You sure that’s the only reason you don’t want to come with me?”
Her daughter’s face pinked up as she realized she’d been caught. Twirling her fork around and around, she mumbled, “Well, I was thinking maybe I could go over to Audrey’s house today.”
“Ah, there it is.” Darcy liked knowing that Colby had a best friend in her life. Those two were practically inseparable. “You guys already did a sleepover and a movie this past weekend. You sure Audrey’s parents won’t mind you coming over again?”
“Yes, I’m sure.” Colby perked right up, now that her mother wasn’t rejecting the idea of her and Audrey hanging out. “I already messaged with her about it last night. She said her mom was fine with it if you were.”
“Hmm. Well, you know I’ll have to hear that from Audrey’s mother, right?”
“Sure, sure. How about you message her right now?”
“Uh, how about we finish breakfast first?”
Colby tsked her lips, and then started stuffing eggs and pancake into her mouth.
“Make sure you chew,” Darcy reminded her. “And I meant, when all of us are done with breakfast. Wolfing down what’s on your plate won’t make it happen any faster.”
“Aw, Mom. Come on.”
“What’s that? Sorry, I couldn’t hear you around all that food in your mouth.”
Zane laughed maniacally at that. He put a long strip of pancake into his mouth and chewed it with his mouth open. “Chew, chew, chew!”
“See?” Darcy teased Colby. “Just like that.”
Colby made a big show of chewing the rest of what was in her mouth, and then swallowed it loudly. “See?” She stuck her tongue out and flipped it up and down. “I chewed it. Anyway. Audrey said her mother could come and pick me up. She said Zane could come, too.”
“Really? Wow. That’s awfully nice of you to include your little brother like that.”
“Yay!” Zane cheered. “I gets to go play at Audie’s house!”
“It’s Audrey,” Colby corrected him, “and you’re only coming along so you can distract her brother. He always wants to get involved with what me and Audrey are doing and it is super annoying. You remember Tim, don’t you?”
Zane nodded his head while he jabbed his fork into a piece of egg. “Uh-huh. I ’member Tim. He’s got rocks in his room. How come I can’t have rocks in my room?”
“Because,” Darcy explained patiently, “Tim’s rocks are part of a collection, with different kinds and colors. You just want to pick up every rock you find and push them under your bed. We had a miniature Stonehenge under there for a while.”
“Um. What’s a Stone-hinge? Stone’s don’t have hinges.”
“No, honey. Not hinge. Henge. Stonehenge.”
He stared at her with the fork stuck in his mouth. “I don’t get it.”
Colby rolled her eyes. “You are such a little brother.”
Zane shrugged, and went back to eating. The whole question of the rocks seemed to take a backseat to pieces of sausage that had been hiding underneath the half a pancake he hadn’t torn apart yet.
Well. The kids going over to spend the day with friends would definitely make things easier for her, Darcy said to herself. She really had been looking forward to spending the day with them, but if Colby had already made plans then that was fine. They could always do something together tonight, or tomorrow. They had the whole rest of the vacation together, after all.
Instead, she could spend the day investigating this new mystery. She should check in with Jon, too. She wondered what made him take off so early this morning. She hadn’t even noticed him getting out of bed.
Her motherly instincts couldn’t help taking over though. No matter what else she had on her mind, her kids came first. “Are you sure you guys will be okay spending the whole day over at Audrey’s?”
“Yup,” Colby said quickly. She was sitting in front of an empty plate now, practically bouncing in her chair, just waiting for Darcy and Zane to finish eating. “We’ll have a great time, just like always, and we won’t have to pick up the pieces.”
She stopped in mid-bounce, and bit down on her lower lip. Those words had slipped out of her mouth, but that didn’t necessarily mean that they came from Colby. It was happening to her more and more often, and every time it did, she was left feeling embarrassed. Darcy had tried to show her it was all right, tried to keep her daughter from feeling like a weirdo, but when you were a pre-teen girl any little difference could make you feel out of place.
Darcy reached across the table and stroked down an unruly lock of Colby’s auburn hair. “Not sure what that one means?”
She shook her head.
“It’s okay. Remember, this is part of your gift.”
“I know, Mom, it’s just…” Colby sighed and picked at a little piece of fuzz on her cotton pajamas. “I mean, what happens if I’m over at Audrey’s and I say something goofy like that?”
Darcy could certainly understand that fear. For all of her childhood she had done her best to hide her talent for seeing ghosts and for knowing bits and pieces of random things. She had tried to keep it a secret and live a normal life, but she had only sort of succeeded. The other kids thought she was weird and made fun of her, and she’d felt isolated and alone. That was part of the reason why she’d moved to Misty Hollow in the first
place, so that she could start over and have a chance at a normal life.
Her daughter’s abilities were ten times stronger than her own had been at that same age. So strong, in fact, that her premonitions were getting more frequent and prophetic. She would often have warnings about things to come. It was hard to say what this one would be about. Colby couldn’t help it. These random messages from the Universe just kept springing themselves on her. Colby didn’t want to look like a freak in front of Audrey and lose her best friend.
“I tell you what,” Darcy said. “When you get a little older, you can choose whether or not to tell Audrey about your amazing talents. I’ll help you do it, if you want. In the meantime, if something comes popping out of you like it just did here, you can just say you were singing a song. You like to sing, don’t you?”
“Well, yeah…” Colby considered that idea, and then finally looked up to meet her mother’s eyes hopefully. “You think that would work?”
“Sure. Audrey’s your good friend. Because of that, she’s not going to care if you say something like that. But, if you need to, that would be a good way to keep your secret, don’t you think?”
Colby nodded, her face very serious. “And you’ll really help me tell her? I mean, when we’re both older and I know it’s time?”
“Of course I will, honey.” Darcy reached out and finger-combed Colby’s hair again. “You guys know that I’ll always be here to help you through stuff like this. The gifts we have are amazing, and special, but they can be hard on us. Especially you guys, being so young. You can count on me to help you figure it out.”
“I can talk to animals,” Zane said proudly.
Darcy turned her proud smile on him. “Yes, you can, but we’re not going to tell anybody about that either, remember? We’re going to wait until you’re older.”
“Uh-huh,” he said, eating another bite of his eggs smeared with ketchup. “’Cause peoples just won’t get it.”
“Right. And it’s people, not peoples.”
Zane scrunched his face up, trying to understand. “But there’s more than one people, so we add an ‘s’ to make it peoples…don’t we?”