Keeper Under Fire (Graveyard Guardians Book 3)

by Jennifer Malone Wright

  “I know that,” she practically shouted, even though they weren’t arguing. “But, I can’t help how I feel right now. I know it will eventually fade, but until then I have to carry the guilt.”

  “I’m not the kind of guy who is going to give you a hug and list off all your glowing positive traits, so I stand by my last comment. Suck it up and deal. This is a war and people die in combat.”

  “I didn’t want you to try to make me feel better, so there was no need to be an asshole.”

  He shrugged. “Take it or leave it, I’m going to finish getting ready. We’re leaving soon right?”

  She sighed. No one had ever been able to frustrate her as much as Aiden. “Yeah. I have to go to work today for a little while. What are you going to do?”

  “Probably go over to your family’s house. People seem to always be in and out over there.”

  “Yup, it’s home base for sure.” She was relieved he didn’t want to stay at her house. Having him there when she wasn’t made her nervous. Hell, she was nervous about having him there when she was there, so either way there wasn’t a win. “That sounds good, I’m sure they will need you for planning or whatever. Just stay out of my graveyard.”

  He raised an eyebrow. “That was the agreement, wasn’t it? I don’t go back on my word. You should at least know that by now.”

  He was right, she should know that. He had been there for Jack and Lucy, then again for Hannah and David, and now he was risking everything to help them. Even though he would benefit in the end, it was still dangerous for him. “I’m sorry. You’re right.”

  “I am going to have to build up my strength eventually though.”

  “Dammit Aiden, I don’t want to hear it. Not my souls, anything else I don’t want to hear about, okay.”

  He held up his hands. “All right, all right, calm down.”

  “I’ll meet you in the yard in five minutes. I’m going to follow you over to the house. I’m going to see if Lucy will come and help me for a while so I can get twice as much done, since I’m so late today.”

  “Deal,” Aiden told her with a smirk. Then, he turned and headed down the hall to the bedroom he’d slept in and disappeared as he closed the door behind him.

  Her van crunched over the gravel as she followed Aiden into the driveway. It was still so early that a layer of dew still covered all the vehicles that were parked in front of the house. The SUV in front of her parked behind Lucy’s car and she rolled up right beside him.

  She took a moment to call Amy before getting out of the van. She wanted to at least make sure that someone could open for her. There was enough stock from yesterday in the fridge and on the shelves that she was sure Amy would be fine even if she didn’t go in. He waited for her before proceeding up the steps of the house and then they silently ascended onto the porch together.

  When they entered, the house, which was normally brimming with noise, was silent. Usually, everyone was up pretty early, but after the night they’d had, she could understand why everyone would sleep in. Even she could have used another couple of hours.

  She glanced at Aiden and whispered, “Maybe you could make some coffee. I’m going to go up and wake Lucy.”

  He nodded in response and headed for the kitchen. She watched him go, unable to keep from staring as he strode through the doorway. Even if he was a Reaper, and a cocky bastard on top of that, he sure was nice to look at.

  Once he was out of sight, she crept up the stairs to the second floor. Before she made it to Lucy’s room, she heard a noise as she passed the closed door of the bathroom. It sounded like … gagging. Pausing to listen, she heard it again and then the sound of actual vomit being expelled.

  Liv had a pretty good idea of who was on the other side of that door. There had been some signs, but those symptoms could have been attributed to a number of different things. Deciding to wait it out, she leaned against the wall across the hall from the bathroom door and pulled out her phone.

  Five minutes later, she finally heard the water running and tucked her phone back into her pocket. The water shut off and then the handle turned. The door opened wide, revealing Lucy, whose eyes went wide when she saw Liv waiting for her on the other side.

  “I…”

  Liv shook her head. “You don’t have to explain. Have you taken a test?”

  “No.” Lucy glanced down the hall, toward her room. “I’m afraid to. I don’t want it to be real.”

  “We have to know for sure, you know that you can’t just keep acting like it isn’t happening.”

  Lucy stepped out of the bathroom, leaving the door open behind her. “Dammit, I know. This is such bad, bad timing! How in the hell am I supposed to tell Jack? We haven’t even been together that long.”

  “Aw Luce, he will understand. The man idolizes the ground you walk on.” Liv threw an arm around her sister. “Come with me, we’ll go get a test and you can take it at the bakery. I need your help over there for the morning anyway, so it won’t be a lie when you tell Jack where you’re going.”

  Lucy nodded vigorously, keeping her lips clamped shut, and Liv saw that tears were welling in her eyes. “Don’t cry, sis.” She opened her arms and then wrapped them around her sister. “We will figure this out, okay.”

  “I need to get ready,” Lucy managed to whisper. “I’ll meet you downstairs.”

  “Okay, just don’t take forever. I need to get going and we have to stop at the store.”

  With a sarcastic roll of her eyes, Lucy spun around and headed off to her room. Liv went the opposite way, back down the stairs and then into the kitchen. She found Aiden pouring coffee and Greg at the kitchen table with a steaming mug already in front of him.

  “Hey brother.” Liv pulled out a chair and sat down across from him. “Lucy is going to help me at the bakery for a while. We’ll be back here afterward.”

  “Good, we can all nap together. I’m freaking beat.” Greg dragged his hands through his dark red hair and yawned as if to prove his point.

  “I wish I could deny it, but I do think we are all going to need more rest. It’s a suicide mission if we go in like this.” Liv agreed with her brother.

  Aiden sat down beside her, but didn’t speak. She glanced at him and he met her gaze over the top of his mug as he sipped the steaming liquid.

  “Bring home muffins,” Greg told her.

  “Jeez, you could at least ask. You guys are so demanding. It’s a place of business, not your personal kitchen.”

  “Oh.” Aiden sat up straight in his chair. “If you have that apple kind with the crumbles on top, bring me one of those. Those bad boys are the shit.”

  Liv glared. “How dare you associate my muffins with shit.”

  “That’s not what I meant,” he tried to explain.

  She cut him off. “I know what you meant, but I do not want my baked goods in the same sentence with anything you wouldn’t want to eat. Got it?”

  “You are …”

  She shot him another glare, daring him to keep speaking.

  “Nevermind,” he finished.

  Right then, Lucy burst through the kitchen door. “I’m ready. Oh, hey Aiden … Greg. I’ll be back later.” She turned her attention to Liv, “Are you ready to go?”

  “Like she said, we’ll be back.” She turned to follow Lucy and had just barely made it through the kitchen door when Greg called out. “Don’t forget the muffins!”

  “I cannot buy a pregnancy test in here.” Lucy hissed. “Everyone who works here knows who I am.”

  Liv rolled her eyes and picked one of the more expensive ones off the shelf. “Who cares?”

  “I care!”

  “You shouldn’t. It’s your business.”

  Lucy frantically glanced up and down the aisle. “Yeah, but in this town, everyone’s business is everyone’s business. You know that.”

  Liv took a deep breath and stared up at the ceiling as if she were begging for strength. “Fine. I’ll buy the test. They can all talk shit about me in
stead of you.”

  “Oh, my goodness, thank you!” Lucy breathed out and then reached over and side hugged her. “You’re the best sister ever.” Liv could only shake her head in response.

  Turned out though, Lucy was right. When they got to the checkout counter, they found Diane running the cash register. Diane was a year younger than Liv so they had gone to school together.

  “Maybe we should have gotten more stuff,” Lucy whispered while they were in line. “Then maybe she wouldn’t notice.”

  “I really don’t care if she notices or not. People have sex and people get pregnant. There are far worse things out there than buying a pregnancy test, Lucy.”

  The anxiety and humor seemed to suddenly fade away from her sister and was replaced with an expression of defeat. “I’m sorry. I just … I don’t know how to cope with this. We have all this other stuff going on and now this. I just don’t know.”

  “It’s going to be okay.” Liv assured her with a pat on the shoulder. “I promise.”

  “And how are we doing today?” Diane’s voice cut in as she picked up the pregnancy test sitting on the belt.

  “We’re good. Thank you, Diane.” Liv pulled her wallet from her purse and found her debit card.

  Diane glanced down at the box in her hand and then her eyes flitted back up, moving back and forth between Liv and Lucy. “I see,” she said, scanning the box. “Would you like a bag?”

  Liv felt more than saw Lucy’s body tense. “Of course she wants a bag! Seriously, do you think she wants to go walking around town just holding that in her hand. Come on.” Lucy drug out the last word for emphasis.

  Diane recoiled as if Lucy had slapped her. “I’m sorry. I’m supposed to ask if there is only one item.”

  “Well use common sense,” Lucy snapped.

  “You don’t have to be so rude, Lucy.”

  Liv sighed and swiped her card. “Yes, I’d like a bag.”

  Diane glared at Lucy and dropped the test into a sack, then ripped the bag off the carousel and handed it to Liv. “Have a nice day.”

  “You too,” Liv mumbled as she accepted the bag and nudged Lucy to follow her. Once they were at the car Liv handed Lucy the bag and shook her head. “You don’t always have to be so abrasive.”

  “Says the girl who used to punch first and think later.”

  “That was a long time ago.”

  “Doesn’t matter. Your little miss manners act doesn’t fly with me. I know better.”

  “Lucy, just because I think it, doesn’t mean that I say it or act on it. Not anymore.”

  “Whatever. Let’s go.”

  Sometimes Liv wondered how her father managed them all when they were younger. The Estmond kids were all adults now and they were hard to handle Parenting this brood had to have been harder than she ever imagined.

  The bakery had a few people sitting at the inside tables and Amy stood behind the counter. “Hey,” she called when Liv and Lucy strode through the door. “I’m glad you’re here. I need more blueberry muffins and there is a cake order on the counter in the kitchen.”

  “I have to use the bathroom,” Lucy mumbled, clutching her plastic bag tightly and hurrying off in that direction.

  Liv watched her go and then turned to Amy. “Thanks for covering. I’ll get to work on the muffins and cake and then prep some stuff for tomorrow. Speaking of which, can you open again tomorrow morning?”

  “Sure.” Amy nodded and her blonde ponytail swished back and forth. “I’m happy to take on extra hours.”

  “Good, because I have a feeling that you will be getting a lot of extra hours, if you want them, that is.”

  “Like I said, I’m happy to. I’m saving for a deposit to rent a house. Living with my mom is getting hard. Kylie is so mobile and my mom doesn’t know the meaning of childproofing.”

  Liv paused before she headed into the kitchen. “Does your mom watch her for you while you’re working?”

  Amy shook her head. “No, I take her to a sitter.”

  With a nod, Liv considered and then sighed. “I wish you could bring her with you, there is just too many dangerous things here for a one year old. I’d feel horrible if she burned herself or cut herself or something.”

  “Oh, no worries. I get a good deal with the sitter, but it is so nice that you would even think of that.”

  Liv offered her a small smile. “I grew up with a single dad and six brothers and sisters, I know what it means to pinch pennies.” She felt so helpless sometimes when it came to Amy, the girl had been working for her since she got pregnant. Soon afterward, the douche bag who knocked her up disappeared and now Amy was an eighteen-year-old single mother, living with her mom and trying to make it in the world.

  Amy laughed, “I’m sure you do. Oh, I’ve been working on my piping at home, I can’t wait to show you.”

  “That’s great! You’re going to be able to run this place on your own soon, or start your own business and give me some competition.”

  “No way.” Amy shook her head. “I’m so out of this town. I want to move to Washington … Seattle probably.”

  Understanding, Liv nodded. “Well that is a great place to start a bakery, if that’s what you want to do. They also have some great places to work if that is what you want to start with.”

  “That’s not for a long time,” Amy assured her. “I still have a ton to learn from you.”

  Liv knew she was far from being a renowned pastry chef, but she was teaching Amy what she could in hopes that it would help further her career. Amy loved baking and had a lot of talent, so the fact that she loved it and was good at it was enough for Liv to want to help her hone her passion.

  “I’m glad it’s not for a while,” Liv told her, smiling. Then, she pushed open the door and stepped into her kitchen. She hung her purse and hoodie on the hook by the door and got to work finding the ingredients that she would need. She wanted to get the cake started first because that was an order and more important than the muffins.

  Just as she finished gathering all the thing she needed, Lucy swung open the door and tossed the pregnancy test on the counter in front of her.

  “Oh my god, Luce! Gross.” Liv plucked the test off the counter and held it in her hand. “I make food here!”

  She glanced down at the stick in her hand and flipped it over. There, in the spot where there could be possibly one or two lines, there were two bright pink lines that clearly said her sister was having a baby. “Well, we knew this already.” She turned to Lucy and found her standing there with tears in her eyes. “Come here,” she ordered, opening her arms for her sister.

  Lucy buried her face in Liv’s shoulder and sobbed for several minutes. Finally, the tears subsided and Lucy pulled out of her sisters embrace. Liv reached over and snagged a towel off the counter and then offered it to Lucy. She accepted it and roughly wiped the tears away.

  Liv crossed her arms over her chest and stepped back. “You know that you can’t go with us tomorrow, right.”

  “What?” Lucy’s eyes widened with shock, obviously not expecting that to be something Liv would bring up during this emotional moment.

  “You can’t go,” Liv repeated. “It’s too dangerous.”

  Lucy threw the towel counter. “That’s bullshit. I have to go.”

  “Not this time.” Liv shook her head.

  “But I’m the Chosen One.” She jabbed her finger into her chest. “All of this is happening because of me. It would be wrong for me not to be part of the attacks.”

  “It would be wrong of you not to consider the life of your child.”

  “Lucy lowered her head and stared down at the floor. “My child.” She mumbled the words as if they were foreign. After a moment, she straightened and met Liv’s gaze once again. “I’ll be fine. I can’t stay behind.”

  Exasperated, Liv shook her head once more. “You can’t and you won’t. If you even try, I will tell Jack about the baby, because you know damn well that when he finds out about this, he will
agree that you shouldn’t. Hell …” Liv threw her hands in the air, “You’ll be lucky if he doesn’t keep you locked up in your room to keep you safe.”

  Lucy’s eyes widened and her hand unconsciously fluttered to her mouth, covering her lips as realization found its way into her system. “Oh crap … I have to tell Jack. I totally forgot.”

  “Yeah. You have to tell him.”

  “He’s going to totally freak out.”

  Liv nodded once again. “Yeah, he’s going to do that. But, he will get over it and eventually he will be happy about it. Guys just process different than women. It’s going to be fine.” She was suddenly wondering if she was trying to reassure herself, or her sister.

  Lucy nodded, but didn’t respond.

  “Let’s finish this work and then you can call Jack to come and pick you up. That way you can tell him privately, without the whole family around.”

  “I can’t … how am I supposed to take care of a baby, Liv? I can barely keep myself safe with all the Reapers always coming after us now.”

  Turning back to the cake, Liv shrugged, “You’ll figure it out, just like every other young mother.”

  “I don’t even have any money! I can’t afford a kid.”

  Rolling her eyes, Liv sighed, “Again, you will figure it out. At least one of you are going to have to get a job.”

  “This sucks.”

  “Well, thinking of all the reasons not to have a kid doesn’t change the fact that it’s already happening.”

  “I know that. I just … I don’t know.”

  “Well, go gather the stuff for icing and think about it while you work. I need to get this stuff done so I can get out of here.” She didn’t look at Lucy as she gave the order. She knew that her sister would stand there for another hour, thinking of reasons that wouldn’t change her situation.

  They worked in silence for about twenty minutes and Liv finally set her tools aside and turned to face Lucy, who was working on the muffin mix. “Luce.”

  Glancing up from the batter, Lucy met her sister’s eyes with a questioning gaze. “Yeah?”

  “I’m happy for you though. You are starting the next generation in our family and having a baby is a big deal. I just didn’t want you to think that I’m not happy for you.”