“You’d make me sleep in a hotel.”
“Yes. I would. Now, is my grandbaby coming inside or do I need to call the police?”
Rachel huffed. “Well, I never. This is what I get for trying to do something nice.”
“Nice? Rachel Diane, you’re like a child. Your grandbaby didn’t have a gift you felt was acceptable, and now you want to dump her like you did your own children. But you still want the world to see you as a hero. You’re no hero, child. You’re a tyrant and a bully, and easily one of the ugliest people I’ve had the misfortune of loving.”
Rachel’s mouth fell open as she stared at her mother. “Well, I was going to let Leah stay the night anyway, but I guess I’ll just take her to the hotel with me in any case.”
“Do that.”
“But,” Leslie said with a slight smile, “when animated corpses start banging on your door in the middle of the morning, since it’s already the middle of the night, don’t say we didn’t try to help, because we did.”
“You ungrateful—” Rachel stopped herself and stomped her foot.
Stomped her foot? Adults really did that?
“Fine. You force my hand.”
“If that’s the way you want to see it,” Alma said.
Rachel sneered and turned, looking behind her. She gestured with her hand and turned back to her mother. “You really don’t want to anger me, Momma.”
“Why? Because you’re on the side of the angels?” Alma straightened. “I’m a damned witch, woman, and have been a might longer’n you have. So, you might wanna recollect just who doesn’t want to piss off who.”
Rachel didn’t say anything for a long moment, then she released a frustrated breath.
A girl stepped up beside her, blonde hair, taller than Paige had thought.
Rachel raised her hand to touch Leah’s hair, but then paused and withdrew her hand again. “I can trust you won’t kill her on her first night?”
“I haven’t killed any of the children you asked me to raise for you, have I?”
Rachel ground her teeth. “I don’t want Paige called. If I see her arrive, I will take Leah out of here.”
Alma tipped her head and raised her hand to Leah.
The girl stood still, but didn’t look up at her grandmother.
Rachel sighed, then gestured for Leah to enter the house. “Here are her bags. I would offer to bring them inside…”
“You wouldn’t make it past the threshold,” Alma said. “Trust me, child. We aren’t taking any chances with you this time.”
Rachel clicked her tongue. “As if I’m the danger.”
Leslie curled her lips through her smile. “Is there anything else?”
“I suppose not. Well, if there are animated corpses, I’m sure your wards will protect you.”
“I’m sure they will,” Alma said, shortly. “Good night.”
“I’ll check on her tomorrow.”
“Call next time.”
“I might.”
“You’d better. The wards might not let you on the driveway next time.”
“I might not come alone next time.”
Leslie smiled. “Do that. I’d like to see what happens when you bring an angel to this door.”
Paige couldn’t take her eyes off her daughter. It took everything in her to remain on the stair.
“Good night, Rachel.” Alma reached through the doorway and pulled a large suitcase through the door, then she shut it firmly in her daughter’s face.
Paige rushed down the remaining steps and stood, staring at Leah, wondering what to do, what to say.
Leah didn’t respond. She just stood there, staring forward, down the hall into the kitchen.
Shaking herself, Paige mentally pulled her head out of her butt. How had she felt when Rachel had left her and Leslie, taking only their brother with her? She’d been devastated. Only she’d been home, in the only place she’d known. Leah had been seven the last time she’d been in the Whiskey home.
“Hey,” Paige said quietly.
Leah looked up at her, startled.
Paige might not know the right words to say, might not know what her daughter needed, but she loved that little girl with every breath in her body. She’d find the right words. “Let’s go grab a cookie and warm up some milk.”
“I want to go to bed,” Leah whispered.
“Me, too.” Paige scooted around Leah, careful not to touch, though she wanted to fiercely. “Cookies first.”
“Get into the kitchen,” Alma said. “So Leslie can get the rest of Leah’s bags.”
Paige frowned over her shoulder. “Rest? Geez, Rachel wasn’t playing around. Is she even planning on staying a night?”
“If we’re lucky?” Leslie asked, glancing up the stairs.
Very true statement. Having Rachel there only complicated things a hundred fold. “Kitchen,” Paige said quietly. She hadn’t heard Rachel leave the doorstep. What was the woman planning? Was this really a drop off like she said? Had the angels hinted to her about Bobby?
Why would the angels think Bobby would be in the Whiskey house? Wouldn’t a witch’s house be the last place angels would think to look for God’s prophet?
She could only hope. She turned on the light to the kitchen and walked toward the dining room table, tucked away from the view of the hallway and the front door.
Alma followed Leah. “Let me take your coat.”
Leah didn’t move to take off her pink jacket. She sank in a chair and glared at Paige. “Why are you here?”
A part of Paige was hurt by Leah’s tone. Their phone conversations had been pleasant. Leah had been understanding of Paige’s lost memories. She’d been talkative and approachable.
This Leah, however, had just been abandoned. Sure. Rachel said she was going to remain in town. That didn’t matter. Abandoned was abandoned.
“I was fired,” Paige said simply. Leah was twelve. Old enough to not be treated like a child. “Also, Kamden was born and I promised Leslie I’d be home for his birth.”
“If you hadn’t been fired, would you have come?”
For as snide as that question was, it was still a good one. Paige had to admit to herself, she used work as an excuse to get out of family stuff. “Yes. I would have. Now, then. I hear you’re a necromancer. What does that mean?”
“I make the dead walk.”
“Ah!” Paige grinned. “You make zombies. We can blame the zombie apocalypse on you. Excellent.” She drew out the last word for effect.
Leah frowned through her glare.
Alma shoved a cookie at Paige. “Sometimes, your humor is ill-timed.”
“Grandma, I don’t think you quite understand how excited and prepared I am for the zombie apocalypse. In Denver, I’m prepared. I’ve got guns, ammo, food. Trust me. I’ve got this.”
Leah looked at Paige as if she’d lost her mind, but relaxed.
Which was exactly what Paige was going for.
“I don’t raise zombies.” Leah reached for a cookie and nibbled on it. “I reanimate the dead.”
Paige grinned through cookie crumbs. “Sounds like zombies to me.”
“You raise demons.”
“You mean, those teddy bears? Why yes, yes I do.” She clasped her hands and looked at her grandmother. “Which leaves me wondering what in the frell is going on.”
“What do you mean?” Leah asked.
“Well, we’re given our gifts for a reason, if you follow what some say. So, why do we need a medium, a demon summoner, an angel whisperer, a bard, a fire starter, a telepath, and a necromancer?”
“Not everything has to have a plan, Pea,” Alma said with a tired sigh.
Maybe not, but Oriel had told her to go home and she had a funny feeling there’d been a reason for it.
None of them had what it would take to stay up all night, so they opted to go to bed. Paige couldn’t sleep too long, however. Before the sun was even up, she was out of bed and had Bobby fed, washed, and burped.
&
nbsp; Just like old habit.
She felt complete as she putzed around the kitchen. What was Leah going to want for breakfast? Should she start some bacon? Eggs? Pancakes? It was Thursday. What did the Whiskeys have for breakfast on Thursdays? Did Mandy and Tyler have school? Of course they had school. Shouldn’t they be awake already?
Before Paige could worry about it too long, Leslie stumbled down the hallway, rubbing her yawning face. “What are you doing?”
“I couldn’t sleep.”
“I want that energy. I miss that energy.”
Paige poured her sister a cup of coffee, sprinkled some sugar into it, then doused it with milk. “I might be a bit excited about today.”
Leslie took the offered cup with a smile. “I can understand that. I think I’d be a little excited, too. Just…be careful, okay? She’s been through a lot.”
“Yeah.” Paige stared at the stove, unsure what to make. “I remember what it felt like when Rachel left us.”
“Yeah. That.”
“What do you guys normally have for breakfast?”
“Cereal? And if I’m feelin’ really generous, I’ll let them have milk.”
Paige chuckled. “You’re awesome.”
“I try.” Leslie perched on a stool on the other side of the island. “What are you doing today?”
“Don’t really know. I can’t work on Heather’s case and I’m not officially working anyway. I’m staying here.”
“To do?”
“Talk to Leah. Get Bobby settled. I’m sure there’s some sort of paperwork or something that has to get filled out.”
“Oh, gads. Insurance. You’ve got to get insurance for him.”
Paige groaned. “I need a job.”
“Yeah. Have you looked into jobs in Portland?”
“Les, we just talked about that, like, a few hours ago. That’s no joke.”
“Oh. Right. Well, a lot’s happened in those few hours.”
“Fair point.”
“So, you’re really going to stay at home all day?”
“Sure.”
“Do you even know what that means?”
Paige hadn’t really had a day off in years. “You’re trying to tell me there isn’t a lot to do here?”
“Oh,” Leslie said with a tired sigh. “There’s lots to do, but you’re used to a lot more action than we have here. We find lost socks and drag resisting kids to the bus. We plan meals. We do laundry. We do a lot of cleaning. And now, we feed babies. So, yes. There’s lots of stuff to do, but you’re going to be bored.”
“You really don’t think I’ll be able to take it.”
“You don’t have a murder to solve.”
“Technically, I do.” Paige urged a well of guilt to rise inside her for being so happy so soon after Heather had been murdered. Then, she felt guilt for having to force the guilt. What the hell?
“Heather’s.”
“Yeah.” Geez. What kind of a horrible person was she? An overwhelmed horrible person. That’s what kind.
Leslie shook her head. “What are you going to do? If you help on the case, you’ll endanger Bobby’s life.”
“But I could search for information behind the comforts of Grandma’s wards.” Paige smiled impishly. “I wouldn’t endanger him then, would I? And I’d still be able to spend time with Leah.”
Leslie laughed. “Okay. I’m going to lay bets with Grandma on how long you’ll be able to stay at home.”
“Can I get in on that bet?” Dexx asked, walking into the kitchen. “When did Rachel actually leave last night?”
Leslie leaned against the island. “About one. I don’t know what she hoped to learn. There’s something going on.”
“But what?” Paige asked. “And you’re sure you guys don’t want anything more than cereal?”
“You really want to make breakfast? Save it for Saturday. We like to sleep in and do everything leisurely, but a nice breakfast would be amazing.”
Paige nodded.
“Bacon.” Dexx smiled. “Everyone loves bacon.”
Leslie nodded. “But there’s not bacon on Thursday.”
“Why did Rachel want to stay here?” Paige asked.
“I don’t know.” Leslie shrugged. “To see what kind of trouble she could cause?”
“Nah. There was something. Just in the way she was working the angles, trying to stay here.”
“What are you thinking?”
“She’s looking for something.”
“Like?”
“Information. And I bet she wanted to look at Grandma’s old books.”
“Why do you say that?”
“Because I want to see her old books. There’s a ton of information we never paid attention to that I’m fairly certain is pretty important right now. Stuff that’s going to kick our asses.”
“Like?”
“Like the Eastwood witches. What was she saying about Mark? What is the deal with the Eastwoods?”
Leslie shrugged again. “That’s a good question.”
“This whole treaty thing brought it up for me. Something is going on there, and I want to know what it is.”
“Okay. But you’re hungry for other knowledge than that.”
It felt really, really wonderful to be around people she didn’t have to hide from. “I am. I want to know more about these demons. Names. Signatures. Who they are. And I want to know more about Oriel. Who is he and why is he interested in me?” And why did it seem that he’d maneuvered her back to Texas for Bobby?
“Another good question, but what are you hoping you’ll find?”
“I don’t know.” She really didn’t. “One of Great Grandma’s old journals in English?”
“Yeah. Good luck there.”
Footsteps thundered down the stairs.
“That’s my queue,” Leslie said, getting up. “My job just called.”
They spent the rest of the morning shoveling cereal down the throats of children who weren’t even awake yet. Paige watched, waiting for Leah to come down.
Her phone rang about eight. “Whiskey.”
“Henry. Are you and Dexx coming in today?”
“Oh, hey.” Paige ducked into the living room. “A lot’s happened since yesterday.”
“Besides your best friend being murdered by something that bends time?”
“Yeah. Besides that.”
“Um.” He paused. “Care to enlighten me?”
“Yeah.” She stopped. The house was warded, but what about phone lines? Could angels tap into those? Did they have the ability to listen in? “Can you come by for breakfast?”
“Paige, you’re forty-five minutes away.”
“Did I mention Alma made pie?”
“Apple pie?”
“Ethel brought them over last night.”
“Ethel?” Henry sighed. “Fine. I’ll be right over.”
Paige hung up the phone. “Dexx, you’ve got Bobby.”
“Sleeping baby,” he called. “On it.”
Paige headed up the stairs to Leah’s old room. She opened the door, peering inside.
Leah sat on the edge of the bed, her suitcases open on the floor all around her. She looked lost.
“Hey, Lee.” Paige stepped gingerly into the room. “Did you want something to eat?”
“No,” Leah said, her voice distant. “I’m not hungry.”
“How about you eat something anyway?”
Leah shook her head.
Short of picking the girl up and dragging her down to the kitchen, Paige didn’t know what else to do. She hadn’t been a mother for the last five years, and this wasn’t like riding a bike. “Okay. Well, cereal’s downstairs if you want it.” She turned to leave.
“You’re just going to leave again?”
“Yeah. To the kitchen.”
“I could tell you really wanted to talk to me. You tried really hard.”
“Look, Lee.” Paige put one hand on the door. “I don’t know what to say. I’ve been gone for five years.
I’ve forgotten about you for five years. I’m wracked with guilt. I don’t know what to say or what to do. Half of me wants to give you your space. The other half of me wants to wrap you in my arms and never let you go.”
Leah flinched.
“Part of me wants to treat you like you’re seven so I can get my missing five years back. The other part of me wants to pull my head from my butt and come to terms with the fact that I will never get those years back.”
Leah bowed her head.
Paige didn’t know what else to say. What words mirrored her emotions? Her thoughts?
“Grammie said she was glad you weren’t there.”
Paige nodded, but refrained from saying anything. She didn’t want to be the parent that put her kid in the middle of her war with another adult. She’d seen too many of those kids filter through the precinct.
Also, she had a daughter who hated her because Rachel couldn’t keep her opinions to herself. Of course, if Paige hadn’t summoned a demon to kill her mother, she’d still have her memories of her daughter and might have been able to fight back. That was neither here nor there. Paige wasn’t going to do to Leah what Rachel had.
“I know you couldn’t have done anything else.”
“And I know,” Paige said bluntly yet quietly, “that you’re saying what you think I want to hear.”
Leah looked up, a disagreeing frown on her face.
“I was a kid once, too, Lee. I said all kinds of things to make Grandma Alma happy and get her off my back.”
Blinking, Leah looked back down to the blue and brown throw rug on the floor.
“I’m just saying, you can say whatever to me. You’re safe with me. I may not like what you have to say, but you don’t have to tell me what you think I want to hear.”
“Are you just saying that to get me to like you?” Leah shrank in on herself.
Paige took a half-step closer to the girl, then stopped. If the girl in front of her wasn’t her daughter, her heart wouldn’t be melting. The girl was playing her. She’d seen it before in kids, especially girls for some reason, that went through the foster system. Leah was playing all the right strings to get Paige to feel sorry for her. Oh, she was good. “No, Lee.”
Leah flicked her gaze toward Paige, then back to the floor.
A Barrel of Whiskey - (An Urban Fantasy Whiskey Witches Novel) Page 11