Dead To Me (Cold Case Psychic Book 5)

by Pandora Pine

  “You’re here because of unconditional love?” Ten sounded dubious.

  His father nodded. “I am. Your mother is the love of my life. We have a lot of friends back in Union Chapel, but you’re the only member of her family left…”

  “No!” Tennyson half-shouted. Dixie started barking again and pawing at the bedroom door. “Don’t you dare ask that of me. “You kicked me out of your home, my home, at eighteen and I hear nothing from either one of you for the last twelve years, until now.”

  “Please, son,” David begged. “Your mother needs you.”

  “What’s he saying, Ten?” Ronan asked.

  “He wants me to go home and comfort my mother. Isn’t that right, Dad?”

  David nodded. “She’s going to need you, Tennyson. She’s not going to be able to handle the stress of planning my funeral and planning for the rest of her life without me. You have to help her.”

  Ten turned back to Ronan. “He says my mother won’t be able to plan the funeral or the rest of her life without me.” He could feel the anger churning in his gut. Tennyson didn’t want this. He sure as hell didn’t ask for this. “Why doesn’t she just put you out with the trash on Tuesday? That’s what she did with me.”

  “Tennyson, be reasonable…”

  “Reasonable?” Tennyson thundered. “I was a scared child who couldn’t control who he was attracted to or the fact that I could talk to dead people and you kicked me out of your house like you’d never loved me at all. You told me I was dead to you. Well guess what, Dad? You’re dead to me! Now get the hell out of our house and don’t ever come back!”

  The second his father’s spirit was gone, Ten wrapped his arms around Ronan and started to cry.

  2

  Ronan

  Ronan was about to fall asleep in his second cup of coffee. Neither he nor Tennyson had been able to fall back to sleep after his future father-in-law’s visit last night.

  Now, he was sitting inside a cozy booth at West Side Sweets, the bake shop that was adjacent to West Side Magick, the psychic shop that Tennyson and the Craig brothers operated their business out of in downtown Salem.

  The bakery was co-owned by Cassie Craig and Truman Wesley. Cassie and Truman had been best friends and colleagues for years. They’d worked together in the Human Resources department of a company called Gemtronics in Lawrence, Massachusetts, until an incident at a Christmas party two years ago made them both reconsider their career options.

  Tennyson was busy with a client, which gave Ronan some time to explain to everyone what had happened last night.

  “This had better be good, asshole!” Fitzgibbon grumped as he slid into the booth across from Ronan. “Tennyson’s shouting woke me out of a dead sleep and I’ve been awake ever since.”

  “At least we didn’t wake you up making wild monkey love!” Ronan waggled his eyebrows before he took a sip from his cup.

  Fitzgibbon rolled his eyes in return. “Why the hell do you think I didn’t charge into the room with my gun drawn?”

  “Ohh, a threesome?” Carson Craig asked, as he sat down next to Ronan. Carson was Truman Wesley’s husband and Tennyson’s best friend. “I hope someone was running the video camera.”

  “I meant my actual gun, Carson!” Fitzgibbon pushed out a heavy sigh. “Dumb and Dumber were shouting the walls down last night.” Ronan’s boss shook his head.

  “What’s going on?” Cole Craig, Carson’s younger brother and Cassie’s husband asked.

  “Tennyson had a visitor last night,” Ronan started.

  “That’s what the shouting was over? A ghost?” Fitzgibbon looked confused.

  “Wait! There was shouting?” Carson looked concerned. “Tennyson never yells at spirits.”

  “Guys, let me tell the story.” Ronan took a deep breath. “The nighttime visitor was Tennyson’s father.” Ronan paused to let the news sink in.

  “Well, that certainly explains the yelling.” Carson shook his head.

  “You didn’t know about this?” Ronan turned to Cole. “Either of you? Your mother was the one who was there waiting for David when he passed. Actually, she was the one who brought his spirit to Tennyson.”

  “I…” Carson shook his head. “Wow. No, I didn’t know David was dead.”

  “Ding, fucking dong, the witch is dead,” Cole sneered. “What happened?”

  “Heart attack.” Ronan shrugged. “The visit from Ten’s father isn’t the worst part of the story.”

  “Shit, the homophobic prick wasn’t harassing you both from the other side, was he?” Fitzgibbon looked sorry for his earlier angry outburst.

  Ronan shook his head. “He was a bit behind the times in the way he spoke to us, but nothing Ten and I couldn’t handle. The reason he came to see Ten wasn’t to apologize for kicking him out at eighteen or never reaching out once he knew where to find him.”

  Carson shook his head. “Okay, well then, why did he show up last night?”

  “He seems to think Ten’s Mom will need help planning the funeral. Actually, he also said she’s going to need help planning out the rest of her life too.”

  “Oh my God. That bastard wants Ten to go back to Kansas, doesn’t he?” Cole’s mouth was hanging open.

  Ronan nodded. He still couldn’t believe the nerve of the man, thinking Tennyson would drop everything to go back to Kansas.

  “What did Ten say?” Fitzgibbon asked. “I hope that’s what part of the yelling was over?”

  “Yeah, it was. When Ten came out, David told Ten he was dead to him, so Tennyson hit him with the same line in return.”

  Carson burst out laughing. “Jesus Christ, it’s funny because it’s true.”

  Ronan snorted and started laughing too. It was the first time he’d smiled since he’d woken up to hear Tennyson talking to his father’s spirit last night.

  “What’s he going to do? Is he going?” Cole asked.

  “He told his father to go screw, but I wonder…” Ronan didn’t need to be psychic to know a trip to the Midwest was most likely in their future.

  “I was thinking the same thing,” Fitzgibbon chimed in.

  Ronan narrowed his eyes at his boss. “If he goes, I go, Cap. I can’t let him go to that Midwestern backwater alone. I’m just about ready to come back to work after being shot in the chest three times. Do you really want to be without your best detective again, so soon after the last time?”

  Fitzgibbon barked out a quick laugh. “My best detective? Please! What the hell mirror do you look in, Ronan? I’ve got socks that are better at solving crimes than you. I would miss the hell out of Tennyson, though.” Kevin elbowed Cole, who was howling with laughter.

  “Funny, Cap.” Ronan fake-laughed.

  “If you and Ten need to go to Kansas, then go. I’ll manage at work with my other subpar detectives. Greeley and I will be happy to look after Dixie and the house while you’re gone.”

  “Gone where, babe? Our honeymoon?” Tennyson asked as he strode up to the table.

  “Damn, I thought your session lasted an hour.” Guilt was written all over Ronan’s face.

  “Shit, were you telling them all what happened last night?” Ten raised an eyebrow at his fiancé.

  Ronan nodded sheepishly.

  “Good, it saves me getting angry all over again by retelling the story.” Ten grabbed a chair from another table and pulled it up to the booth. “You don’t actually think we should go to Kansas, do you?” His full attention was on Ronan.

  Ronan took a deep breath. It wasn’t like him to waffle like this. He and Tennyson always told each other the truth. “You know what, Ten? I do. I think we should go.” He held up a hand to keep his fiancé from interrupting. “I know the timing isn’t good here. We’re getting married in a month and there’s a lot to plan and get ready for. I also know that there are a lot of bad memories waiting for you there. But, what better way to start our married life out on the right foot than to exorcise those old demons and free your soul.”

  Tennyson raise
d an eyebrow at Ronan, but stayed silent.

  “Okay, it’s a little soon to use that particular metaphor, but it is accurate,” Fitzgibbon said. “I will hold down the fort at your house and at work.

  “Truman, Cole, and I can work on wedding plans while you’re gone,” Carson chimed in with a smile.

  “We’re all just a phone call or a plane flight away if you need any of us,” Cole added.

  “This is just like that old fantasy of going back for your high school reunion with a date ten times hotter than the person you took to the prom.” Fitzgibbon laughed.

  “Well, Ronan is a lot hotter than my original prom date.” Ten shrugged.

  “Who was your original prom date?” Carson asked curiously.

  “Our next-door neighbor’s black lab named Duke!” Tennyson burst out laughing.

  “At least I’m better behaved. I go to the bathroom indoors and I don’t hump your leg, anymore.” Ronan burst out laughing.

  Inside his head, he started making a mental list of all the things that could possibly go wrong during Tennyson’s homecoming trip. Ronan wanted to be prepared with possible solutions so he could be the one wielding a Whack-A-Mole mallet when the time came.

  3

  Tennyson

  Tennyson had never been on an airplane before. Ronan had been more than happy to let him have the window seat for the nearly four-hour flight from Boston’s Logan International Airport to the Kansas City International Airport.

  The one thing that shocked Tennyson the most was how at ease Ronan was on the plane. He would have expected the big burly cop to be as fidgety as a virgin bride on her wedding night, but Ronan had settled into his seat and had been nearly asleep before the plane had taxied away from the gate.

  He was the one having trouble being trapped inside the flying tin can at twenty-seven thousand feet, even though his spirit guides had told him there wasn’t going to be any issues with the flight or the landing.

  “Are you okay?” Ronan asked without opening his eyes.

  “I still can’t believe we’re doing this.” Ten sighed. He was waffling back and forth between feeling anxious about going home and wanting to turn around and go back to Boston.

  Ronan opened his eyes and turned toward his future husband. “Doing what? Flying? Going on vacation to Kansas? Not joining the Mile-High Club? Can you be a bit more specific?”

  Tennyson snorted. With everything going on, he hadn’t given the Mile-High Club a second thought. “How the hell is that possible anyway? I was in that bathroom. There’s barely enough room for me to turn around, never mind enough room in there for you and your giant dick too.”

  “You always manage to make it fit somehow, babe.” Ronan waggled his eyebrows.

  “You’re ridiculous. You know that?” Ten started to laugh.

  “Yup, but you love me anyway.” Ronan pressed a kiss to Ten’s lips.

  It was true. Ten couldn’t deny it. Who the hell else would make this crazy trip with him except someone who loved him to the moon and back? “Ronan, what’s our plan here? My mother doesn’t know that I know my father is dead. She doesn’t know we’re coming. Hell, she doesn’t even know we’re a we.”

  Ronan snorted. “Are you suffering from altitude sickness? None of what you said made any sense.”

  “Yes, it did!” Tennyson grumped. He leaned closer to his lover. “Ronan, I’m scared. I haven’t seen my mother in thirteen years. The last time I saw her, she reminded me to never call her or come home again.”

  Ronan’s nostrils flared out like an enraged bull about to charge. “At the end of the day, we’re doing the right thing here, Ten. Come hell or high water you’re going to your father’s funeral. You’ll pay your last respects and you’ll hold your head high. No matter what else happens while we’re there, no one can ever take that away from you. I just don’t want you to wake up five years from now and regret not going.”

  “You have no idea how backward these people can be.” Ten shook his head.

  “Uh, hello?” Ronan stuck his hand up in the air as if he wanted to answer a question in class. “Gay since birth! I think I have a bit of an idea. As liberal as Massachusetts is, don’t forget I spent twelve years in Catholic school. We had priests molesting little boys all over the place, but admit you were gay, and Jesus Christ, it was right up there on the sin list next to murder. They would have kicked me out of school if anyone even so much as suspected the truth about me.”

  “Another witch trial, huh?” Tennyson hadn’t really considered what it was like for Ronan growing up in the church for all of those years. He’d always figured Ronan was safer because he lived in a place where gay kids weren’t tied to a fence post and beaten to death because they liked to kiss boys instead of girls. There were unique challenges to spending twelve years at a parochial all-boys school where you could look but never touch. “I’m sorry. I never thought about it like that. I’m just completely out of sorts here.”

  “You’ve got me, Ten. We’re together in this all the way. It doesn’t matter how your mother treats us or even how the whole damn town reacts to seeing you again after all these years. You’ve got me and nothing on Earth could ever change that.”

  “No one’s ever said anything like that to me before.” Ronan was his hero in more ways than one.

  Ronan laughed. “Well, you’ve never known anyone like me before.”

  “That’s for damn sure. I can’t imagine what my life would have been like if we’d known each other back in high school.” Ten wondered if they would have even been friends back then. Would Ronan have been the all-star jock who never would have given him a second glance or the boy who protected him and stood by his side no matter what?

  “No one would have fucked with you. I can guarantee that.” Ronan’s tone brooked no argument.

  “Yeah, well we wouldn’t have been kissing at our lockers or have been holding hands in the hallway on the way to class either.” Ten sighed. He would have given anything to have been able to have done that with Ronan at Union Chapel High School.

  “Times have changed. Maybe Union Chapel changed with them.” Ronan sounded hopeful as he squeezed their joined hands.

  “Do you think so?” Tennyson might not have been able to walk the halls of his high school with Ronan hand in hand, but maybe now they could walk down Main Street that way. It was something he’d sure be interested in finding out about.

  Ronan shrugged. “For you, that town is stuck in a 2005 time warp. Nothing’s changed for you since the day you left. I bet when we get there, you’ll notice a hundred cosmetic things that have changed, right off the bat. If the landscape can change, so can the people.”

  “I hope you’re right, Ronan.” Tennyson had no idea what was waiting for him back in Union Chapel, but one thing was certain, he would face whatever it was with Ronan at his side. He was no longer the scared teenager who had to face life alone. He had Detective Ronan O’Mara on his team and by his side.

  4

  Ronan

  The flight into Kansas City was smooth as silk, not that Ronan had any inkling that it wouldn’t be. Tennyson wouldn’t have let them board the plane if there was going to be a hint of trouble.

  Ditto for getting their bags and renting a car. Everything had gone perfectly so far, and now they were driving on 273 North toward Tennyson’s hometown. Any impressions Ronan had of what he thought Kansas would look like were dead on. He’d never seen land so flat before. When he’d spent time in his Florida rehab, he’d thought the Palm Beach area was pretty featureless, but Florida had nothing on the breadbasket of America.

  “What do you think?” Ten asked. He had the window of their rented Ford truck rolled down and the breeze was sending his curls rioting all over the place.

  “It’s wide open and peaceful.” Ronan grinned at Tennyson over the rims of his Ray-Bans. “The wheat fields look like they go on forever.”

  Tennyson laughed. “Oh, they do. Trust me.”

  “This land is amazing
, Ten.” Ronan held out his hand, threading his fingers with Ten’s when his fiancé linked their hands. “Back home, you have to drive for an hour outside of Boston to get to this kind of peace. This really is God’s country.”

  “Could you live here?” Ten asked curiously.

  “I could live anywhere as long as you were with me, babe.” Ronan meant every word, but he wouldn’t live in Kansas if the rent were free.

  “That’s such a crock of bullshit!” Ten laughed before pressing a kiss to the hot skin of Ronan’s neck. “Tell me how you really feel, Columbo.”

  “You’re the psychic.” Ronan waggled his eyebrows.

  “It’s more fun when you just tell me the truth.”

  “I don’t like places where religion overrules common sense and common decency. So, no, I couldn’t live here. I’m sure there are people who have no problem with two men loving each other and sharing a life together, but this is a red state, Ten. I’d like to get the hell out of Dodge as soon as possible.” Ronan kissed the back of Tennyson’s hand. “Plus, there’s no ocean here. No fresh lobster, no eighteen-inch ice cream cones, no Fitzgibbon and Greeley. Dixie would hate it here.” It made Ronan’s heart ache thinking about their four-month-old Papillon puppy being home without him.

  “Why, because her Daddy Ronan does?” Ten rolled his eyes dramatically.

  “All this humidity would wreak havoc on her fur!” Ronan declared. “She’d look like a tumbleweed in no time.”

  “Now that’s just ridiculous.” Ten folded his arms over his chest.

  “Are you questioning my parenting skills?” Ronan had a hard time holding back his giggle. Thankfully he was saved by the GPS instructing him to turn left onto 20 West.

  “Of course not,” Tennyson said and shivered.

  “Hey, you okay?” It was eight-five degrees out and they had the windows rolled down. Why the hell was Tennyson shivering. “Is your father here?”

  Ten shook his head. “This is Route 20. In a mile or two, it’s gonna turn left again and dump you onto the main street of Union Chapel. We’re close, Ronan.” There was a tremor of obvious nervousness in his voice.