Shadow Keeper

by M. K. Yarbrough

  “Cool.” Vanetti waited until I stepped out of the car before shoving the gearshift into reverse. “You want me to drop Carson off at Paul’s too?”

  “Yeah.” I stuck my head back into the opened doorway. “But you might want to transport them separately. They can turn belligerent if they’re stuck in a little car together. You don’t want two guys slugging it out while you’re trying to drive.”

  “Got you.” Before I could close the door, he stopped me. “Alexander, you didn’t drink that much tonight. How come you’re not driving?”

  “I only had one sip of beer,” I confirmed. “But I didn’t want to chance it. Friday night after the football game, the cops are out in force. If they pulled me over, even a trace of alcohol would get me busted.”

  “Right, see you later.”

  I waited until he backed out of the driveway before walking to the front door. In my mind, I went over the reasons I’d come here to see Lisa. I was going to tell her I didn’t like her distrustful nature, her childish behavior, and her lack of faith. If she didn’t believe in me, that was her problem. She needed to move on with her life and let me get on with mine. I pushed the doorbell and waited.

  As the door opened, I sucked in a deep breath, determined to put an end to whatever invisible thread still bound us together. But instead of Lisa, her mother stood in the doorway. I forced the stiffness from my stance. “Mrs. Stratton. Is Lisa here?”

  “You certainly have your nerve coming here after what you did to my daughter.”

  I didn’t do anything, but I ignored her remark. I figured she’d take her daughter’s side of the story. “Could I talk to Lisa?”

  “No, you may not.” She braced her hand on the door jamb, as if to block any attempt I may make to dash past her and run into the house. “I’m not going to let you smooth talk your way back into her life after the way you hurt her.”

  If Lisa’s pain was anywhere near mine, then I knew how bad she hurt, but none of it was my fault. “I only need a minute.”

  “And I’ll give you exactly one minute to leave before I call the police.”

  “It’s all right, Mom.” Lisa pushed past her mother. “He won’t be staying long.” She stepped outside and pulled the door closed behind her. “What do you want?”

  In the soft glow of the porch light, the baggy white tee shirt she wore reflected light onto her face and gave her skin a translucent glimmer. She looked so fragile, so delicate, and I could see her pain. I didn’t want to hurt her more, but I had to end this. All the things I planned to say whirled around inside my skull. I opened my mouth to speak, but my brain shut down and my heart took over. “I miss you, Lisa.”

  Her lower lip quivered, and her body trembled. She wrapped her arms over her chest. “I miss you, too.”

  I slipped my hands around her waist and urged her to me. “All I ask is that you trust me.”

  She threw her arms around my neck. “I do.”

  I pulled her against my body. My hands smoothed down her back. “If we don’t have trust, then we don’t have anything.”

  “I agree.” Her lips pressed against my neck for a brief kiss. “I’m sorry I acted like such a jealous idiot.”

  “That’s over with. We don’t need to talk about it anymore.”

  “Good.” She sniffed back a sob. “Otherwise, I’d be apologizing all night.”

  “I wouldn’t mind as long as I get to hold you like this.”

  “This is nice.” She snuggled deeper into my embrace. “I guess we survived our first fight.”

  “Does that mean we get to kiss and make up?”

  “Sounds good to me.” She glanced up at me.

  Even with the dim lighting, I caught her gaze brush across my mouth. My palm slid up her back. She had her hair pinned up. My hand cupped the back of her head. I leaned closer while tilting her head to the side. Just as I was about to touch my lips to hers, her fingertips pressed against my mouth.

  “Not now. My mother is probably watching us through the peephole.”

  I glanced at the little glass eye in the door. Nothing was visible, but her icy stare penetrate through the tiny hole. I moved my hand from Lisa and stuck my finger over the peephole. “How about now?”

  “No,” she said between giggles. “But come in for a while.”

  She reached around me and turned the doorknob. There was a dull thud and a muffled yelp. The door opened wide. Her mother stood in the entryway, one hand to her forehead, her other on the door handle.

  “Sorry, Mom.”

  Monica glanced at our joined hands. “Am I to assume you forgave him for what he did to you?”

  “He didn’t do anything.”

  “You wouldn’t tell me what happened, but you were in tears the entire evening. He had to have done something,” she insisted.

  “It was all my fault,” Lisa said. “I saw him talking to another girl, and I got jealous.”

  One of Monica’s brown penciled eyebrows arched higher. “I’m certain you had good reason.”

  “No, Mom. You’re wrong—and so was I. The girl he was talking to has a bad reputation. She likes to steal other girls’ boyfriends.”

  “Boyfriend?” she said in a shrill voice. “You do not have a boyfriend.”

  “Sure, Mom. Whatever you say.” Lisa glanced down, but out of the corner of her eye, she snuck a peek at me. A little smile tugged at her lips. “May Brendon come in?”

  “Certainly.” Monica took a step back and waved her arm for me to enter. “Then we can all have a nice little chat.”

  That little chat would probably equal the Spanish Inquisition, but I would endure it as long as I could spend more time with Lisa. I followed them through the entryway and into the living room.

  “Lisa,” her mom said. “You need to change into something more appropriate for company.”

  “There’s nothing wrong with this.” She skimmed her hand down the white tee shirt and purple flannels. “People wear them in public all the time.”

  “Lisa dear, do you want Brendon to stay?”

  She took a step closer to her mother and lowered her voice. “Please, don’t say anything that will embarrass me.”

  Without answering, her mom raised her arm and pointed to the hallway. Lisa scrunched her lips together and stomped out of the room.

  Monica waved her hand at the cream colored couch. “Sit down, Brendon.”

  From her tone, that wasn’t a cordial invitation, but I remembered my manners. “After you, Mrs. Stratton.”

  She hesitated a moment before taking a seat in a brown leather recliner. After I took a seat in the far corner of the couch, she started the lecture. “Lisa is only sixteen years old.”

  “I know—”

  Her raised hand silenced me. “She is too young to date, or have a boyfriend. I know Lisa is…fond of you, but that is as far as this little relationship of yours is going to go. Do I make myself clear?”

  “Absolutely, ma’am.”

  “Don’t you have anything further to say?”

  “She’s your daughter, and you make the rules. As long as I can continue to see Lisa, I’ll do whatever you say.”

  She tapped her fingers on the arm of the chair. “If I forbid you to see Lisa, will you still obey my wishes?”

  I tried to hide my amusement. Monica and my mom seemed to think alike when it came to forbidding us to see each other. “I don’t know what you think I’m going to do to Lisa—wait. I do know what you think, but you don’t have to worry. Lisa and I have already agreed to move slowly.”

  “But that’s the problem.” Her eyelids narrowed as she glared at me. “You expect the relationship to move. It will only be a matter of time before you start pressuring her to do more.”

  She acted like I was some kind of perv who liked to force myself on innocent young women. Faith in her daughter’s character didn’t seem to be much better. “You need to give Lisa more credit. She is not a little girl. She’s smart and mature, and she isn’t going to let me�
��or any guy—make her do something she doesn’t want to do.”

  When she stared mutely at me, I continued with my plea. “I want to keep seeing Lisa. I’ll follow all your orders and won’t break any curfews. We can even double date with Carson and Sherry. You trust Sherry, don’t you?”

  Her lips twisted into a grimace. “The first time I met you, I knew you were a smooth talker.”

  “And I thought we agreed my smooth talking meant I spoke honestly.”

  “I don’t know about that, but you are blunt and to the point.”

  The drawn out silence was broken when Lisa walked into the room. “May I come back in?”

  Monica nodded. “You might as well. We’re through talking. Grab the remote before you sit down. We’ll finish watching the movie. Then Brendon may leave.”

  Lisa hit the play button after taking a seat next to me on the couch. “You’ve probably seen this movie, but if you haven’t, I’ll tell you what’s going on.”

  I didn’t care about the movie. My thoughts—and my eyes—were on Lisa. The lavender tee she’d changed into fit her better and showed off nice curves. Instead of her hair pinned up in that plastic claw looking thing, her blonde hair was brushed smooth and hung over one shoulder. Even her lips, although a natural shade, glistened from the glow of the TV set.

  Lisa must not have been interested in the movie either, for her attention stayed on me. “Are you cold?” Before I could answer, she spread a fleece blanket over our laps. Beneath the covers, she slipped her hand into mine.

  I pulled our joined hands out from under the blanket and placed them on top of my knee. Lisa resisted, but since I was stronger, I won. Monica’s eyelids narrowed when she glanced at our clasped hands.

  “I don’t want to hide anything.” I looked directly at Monica. “Unless you prefer not knowing what we do.”

  “On the contrary. I want to see for myself exactly how personal the two of you become. And the day you cross the line is the day I promise you will regret.”

  Chapter Twenty–Five

  Leaving without giving Lisa a kiss goodbye was hard, but Monica followed us to the door. I didn’t attempt even a quick peck on the cheek because I didn’t want to chance irritating her mom.

  I hoofed it about six blocks to Paul’s house. Mr. Juarez was still up even though it was after midnight. I spent the next hour in the kitchen eating homemade tamales and tortilla soup until Paul got home. The breakup with Sherry had hit him hard, and he looked ripped when he staggered through the door. His dad wasn’t happy with the drinking, so Vanetti and I got out of there before we got caught in the crossfire and headed back to broken bridge.

  “You good to drive?” Carson asked.

  “I’m good.” I revved the engine and headed for home. “The only reason I was worried earlier is because I didn’t want a cop smelling beer on my breath. But after eating all those jalapeños with Paul’s dad, I’d probably melt a breathalyzer.”

  “Damn straight. I think your breath singed my eyebrows.”

  Carson made a joke, but didn’t laugh. That seemed strange. I shot him a sideways glance. “How much did you drink?”

  “Only a couple. I was texting Sherry half the night and didn’t want my thumbs turning crazy on me. She told me you and Lisa are back together.”

  I nodded. “What about you and Sherry? Now that she dumped Paul, are you going to ask her out?”

  “I don’t think so, at least not right now. If she said no, it could change things. The way I figure it, staying friends would be the same as dating her. Paul claimed they never did more than hold hands. Me and Sherry have already done that much as friends, so why push it?”

  “I guess you’ve got a point.” I wasn’t going to advise him on his love life. Lisa and I were only at the hand holding stage, but knowing she cared for me was a great feeling.

  We rode the rest of the way up the valley without talking. I steered the pickup onto the narrow lane that meandered through his ranch. When I parked in front of the house, I discovered he was sound asleep. I turned down the country western station and nudged him on the shoulder. “Carson, you’re home.”

  He sat up straighter and glanced around. “So I am. How are you doing? You’re not going to fall asleep on the way home, are you?”

  “I’m fine. It’s not that far anyway. I’ll get your pickup back to you tomorrow.”

  “Don’t worry about it. I’ll give you a call when I’m up.” Carson crawled from the cab, but before shutting the door, he stuck his head back in. “I forgot to ask. Do you like corn mazes?”

  “What?” I figured he drank more than a couple beers, so I ignored the question. “You better get to bed.”

  He stepped back and shut the door. I waited until he reached the porch before leaving. A short time later, I pulled the pickup into the driveway behind my mom’s car. I went into the house and turned on the kitchen light before walking down the dark hallway to my mom’s bedroom. Krystal slept in the room with her, so I tapped lightly on the door before peeking in my head. “Mom.”

  “Just a minute,” came her sleepy voice.

  I went into the kitchen and waited. I needed to talk to her about the vision of my grandfather jumping out of the campfire. Everyone at the party thought I’d had too much to drink, but I knew better. His appearance had been real. He’d spoken to me, given me council, and told me where to find answers. I stood on the threshold of a new beginning. That’s why I had gone to see Lisa. I wanted to put an end to the past and start the future. But Lisa was my future.

  Mom walked barefooted across the floor to the table where I sat. “What’s wrong?”

  “I don’t know. Something really weird happened tonight. I was hoping you could clear it up.”

  She put her hand on my shoulder. “I’m sorry about you and Lisa breaking up. When you told me about it before the game, I could see how much you were hurting. You probably won’t believe me, but even though I thought she wasn’t right for you, I still liked her.”

  I glanced at her through narrowed eyelids. She liked Lisa? Would the weirdness of this night ever end? “I’m glad you like her because Lisa and I are back together.”

  “Oh.” She walked to the sink for a glass of water. “Is that what you wanted to tell me?”

  “No, I wanted to ask you about my grandfather.”

  “You want to know about my father?” She strolled back to the table.

  I shook my head. “Not Grandpa Nelson. I want to know about Grandfather Alexander.” I scooted out the chair next to me. “Sit down, Mom.”

  She pulled the robe around her and sat. “What do you want to know?”

  “I saw Grandfather tonight.”

  Her forehead wrinkled. “He’s been dead for ten years.”

  “Yeah, well, that didn’t stop him from jumping out of the campfire.”

  “What are you talking about?”

  “He grew out of the smoke and fire, and stood in front of me. We spoke just like you and I are speaking now.” I touched my hand to my chest. “He told me how I got this mark and what it means. He also said my father left me many gifts. Do you know what he was talking about?”

  “I was afraid this day would come.” She propped one elbow on the table and braced her forehead against her fingers.

  “That’s funny because I’m not afraid. Some people might’ve freaked out if their dead grandfather leapt out of a campfire, but I didn’t. I feel as if I’ve been waiting for this for a long time. I know it’s all connected to my father. You have to tell me what he did for a living.”

  “For a living? That’s easy.” Her head remained down. “He installed heaters and air conditioners. But you’re probably more interested in his hobby.”

  “What was his hobby? And don’t tell me he was a hit man because I won’t believe it.”

  “Would you believe Spirit Guide? That’s what he called himself. He guided damaged or displaced souls back to where they belonged.”

  “People who were—”

&n
bsp; “No, not people. Their spirit.” Her hand never moved from her head, but she glanced at me. “This may be hard for you to grasp at first. Your father healed damaged souls and guided lost spirits back to their bodies.”

  “He was a faith healer?” I shrugged. “That’s not so hard to grasp.”

  “Faith healer. Spirit guide. I guess they’re not so different. But first, your father had to drive the demon from the body.”

  “Demons?” My body twitched. “Isn’t that just the Old Testament way of explaining mental illness?”