by J E McDonald
“Yes,” she said quickly, then hesitated. “I don’t know. Usually he’s always nearby, but after today, I’m not sure.”
“We’ll leave and see if he follows. Kids sometimes just need to be seen. If we remove his audience, hopefully he’ll stay close.”
Aubrey nodded, then turned to Roman. “It’s okay if you don’t—”
“I’m coming,” he said, interrupting before she could push him away. He needed to be there. He needed to find out what was going on and if it had anything to do with the prophecy.
She stared at him a moment, her brow furrowed. Then she looked at Stella, her expression concerned.
“It’s fine,” Stella said, her face free of discomfort. She kept her eyes on Aubrey when she said it.
21
For the past twenty minutes, no one had said a word.
They’d all piled into Zack’s car, bringing their unspoken tension with them. The roomy interior of the restored Impala shouldn’t have felt small, but with Roman’s bulky form in the front passenger seat, it did. She and Stella sat in the back, two feet of space between them.
Even though everyone was silent, the interior of the car was anything but. The engine roared as they ate up the highway, and each of them had their windows cracked open to let in air. There wasn’t any AC in a late-sixties Impala.
It unnerved her to be in the back seat, to not be in control of where the car headed, to not see the oncoming traffic clearly or be in charge of her own death. But she breathed through her fears and tried to concentrate on anything besides the nauseous feeling in her stomach.
Not for the first time, Aubrey wondered why Roman had insisted on coming along. When Finn had started his tantrum and Roman had knocked on the door, she couldn’t have been more surprised. If he hadn’t intended on coming into work, then why had he been there?
Even as Finn had destroyed every piece in her store, she’d been glad for Roman’s presence. She’d never met anyone so unwavering during a crisis, and having him near had helped. Then, when Stella arrived, she’d thought there’d be problems between them. Instead, Stella had said she was okay.
But even now, Stella whispered spells under her breath, protecting herself. With three other people in the car, the confined energy would be a lot for her to manage—even without Roman’s added negativity.
But was it negativity after all? Stella had said she’d been wrong about him, and now Aubrey wished she’d talked more with her yesterday.
“Is Finn here?” Aubrey asked, worried they’d abandoned her ghost at the store and this whole awkward drive was for nothing. He hadn’t fogged up a window or tried to communicate with her since she’d climbed into the back seat.
At the same time Stella gave her a nod, Zack said, “He’s here.”
His confident tone made her raise her eyebrows. Besides the story Stella had told her about Roman the other day, she never talked about the stuff she did with the Lillers. Could he see her ghost?
More questions floated in her mind, but she didn’t want to voice them. Not with all this tension swirling about the vehicle. She thought there might be some tension between Zack and Roman too, but didn’t know why.
After a while, Zack cleared his throat. “So how long have you been in town?” he asked above the noise inside the car, shooting Roman a glance, then refocusing on the road.
“Not long,” Roman replied, his low voice making Aubrey shiver. After everything, how was it that the sound of his voice made her more aware of him?
She kept asking herself if her interest in Roman was what made Finn freak out. He hadn’t started to act strangely until the day Roman had walked into her life. Would this happen whenever she showed interest in a guy? Would he never let her live her life? Would he always feel like her happiness didn’t include him?
It just strengthened the argument to help Finn pass to the other side.
She pressed a hand to her chest, exhaling through her nose to ease the tightening of her ribs. He’d been with her for so long, she almost didn’t remember ever being alone.
Except she did remember but chose not to think about it. Finn had come to her at a time when she’d been at her lowest. When she was ten years old, his presence had given her the strength to escape the foster family who’d thought nothing of giving a kid the back of their hand. Running away led her to Charles and Lina’s doorstep. Before them, she’d needed Finn’s presence, his heart and happy-face drawings to make it through the day. Now she wondered if her relationship with him had become unhealthy.
When she thought of the last glance she’d taken in her store window, despair shot through her. He’d destroyed everything. She’d worked so hard, and he’d smashed it like it hadn’t mattered. All the work ahead of her…
She’d need to take down her website, since most of the items on it were destroyed. It would take her days to clean up. Could she even reopen again? What if he kept destroying everything?
Perhaps this was all about Roman, but it didn’t explain the strange words he’d written on the display case. The ghost’s temper tantrum today seemed to go beyond jealousy.
Just thinking about it made her breaths come out short and fast.
Stella reached across the space between them and grabbed her hand. Aubrey squeezed her fingers back, knowing her friend dosed her with calm energy and was grateful for it. Closing her eyes, she took a deep breath. It would take all her willpower to remain steady for this, to not have a panic attack that would make a conversation with Finn impossible. She had to get to the bottom of everything so she could start picking up the pieces—literally.
“Why Finn? Why?” she whispered under her breath. Her chest still ached, but her breaths slowed down. Opening her eyes, she looked out the window. No answers appeared.
Zack slowed the car, taking a left off the highway. A little farther, he made a right onto a gravel driveway. A simple white farmhouse squatted at the end of the lane, with red shutters and terracotta pots bursting with plants on the front porch. A healthy lawn was cut short around a row of old cars, and dogs ran everywhere, barking at their arrival. A woman with shoulder-length white hair came out on the front porch as they neared.
“This is my mom,” Zack reminded them as he pulled to a stop. “Don’t scare her or anything.” He glanced at Roman, then the back seat, and added. “All four of you.”
Dogs swarmed them as they piled out of the car. The canines sniffed Aubrey’s crotch about a dozen times before she’d taken five steps. So many dogs. After appeasing their curiosity with the strangers, they seemed intent on attacking Zack with their love. He’d always seemed like such a stoic guy to her, but as those dogs basically knocked him down and dry humped him, his laughter pealed from the furry mass.
His mom whistled, and the dogs broke apart, scattering across the yard or running through the open door into the house. That cleared the path to the front porch.
Aubrey’s eyes went to Roman, noticing how he scanned the area, his gaze alert and assessing. Looking away from him, nerves thrummed through her body. She hoped something good would come from this trip. Maybe this was all a waste of time. Maybe Finn would continue his tantrums, making it impossible for her to even own a store.
While Zack picked himself up off the ground, Stella rested a hand on her shoulder for a brief moment. Aubrey let out a slow, calming breath. After straightening himself, Zack jogged up the front steps to give his mom a hug and a kiss on her weathered cheek. Aubrey’s heart constricted at the sight. There was obviously a lot of love there. What would it have been like to have a parent who cared? She had a brief taste of that with Lina and Charles. How would her life have been different if they’d lived?
“You look like you’ve grown again,” his mom said, straightening the collar of Zack’s jacket. The smile on her face made Aubrey think she said it to tease him. “How is Bree?”
“Good. She’s off doing one of her stories right now as a ranch hand.”
His mom grimaced. “She’s going to come ba
ck all black and blue if they let her near any of the animals.”
“I hope not. I’m driving out to see her tonight, so I’ll make sure they’re treating her right. But so far she keeps saying it’s been fun.”
“That’s good, sweetie.” She patted his arm and turned to the rest of them.
Zack stepped to the side. “This is my mom, Celeste,” he said, and she kept one arm wrapped around his ribs. “This is Stella and Roman, who I work with, and Aubrey, who owns an antique store downtown.”
“A pleasure,” Celeste said, giving them each a nod. “And who are you, young man?” she called, her gaze going past them to the car.
Aubrey stiffened, her eyes jumping to Zack. How much had he told his mom before coming? Could she really see ghosts? He stared back at her with a bland expression.
“Finn,” Celeste said with a nod and a smile. “Lovely to meet you.” She turned away like she hadn’t just done something amazing, and opened the screen door. “Why don’t you all come in,” she went on, her words getting quiet as she moved farther into the house. “I made some lemonade and cookies when I heard you were coming.”
After sharing a glance with Stella, Aubrey swallowed and followed Zack up the front steps. They entered a house full of warmth and memories, the scent of fresh-baked cookies surrounding them. Aubrey inhaled deep. A pitcher of lemonade and a stack of glasses were already set out on the coffee table at the center of the living room.
“You didn’t need to go to any trouble,” Aubrey said, stepping toward the couch with a crocheted afghan thrown over the back.
“It was no trouble at all.” Celeste leaned toward Aubrey with a conspiratorial squint. “I always make a triple batch when I make cookies and freeze the dough in balls so it looks like I whipped them up fresh.” Walking to the coffee table, she poured four tall glasses of lemonade. “Now, you I didn’t account for,” she said, straightening, her eyes fixed to an empty space near the foyer and her hand on her hip. “Come. Follow me to the kitchen and tell me your favorite hot beverage.”
Blinking, Aubrey stared after her long moments before following. She cast a quick glance at Stella on the way by, who shrugged. There was optimism in her eyes too.
“Hot chocolate. Of course,” Celeste said like she was having a perfectly normal conversation. “That would have been my first guess, but I would never presume.” She filled an electric kettle and rummaged through one of her cupboards.
While Celeste tinkered, Aubrey took in the room. Frilly white curtains framed the window above the deep, farm-style enamel sink. A round table and four chairs took up one corner. Photos and kid-type drawings were stuck to the front of the fridge. The macaroni art seemed especially old, dry pasta missing in places. It made Aubrey smile.
Celeste finished making the hot chocolate, all the while humming to herself, then carried the mug through to the living room before setting it on the coffee table across from the middle of the couch. Stella already sat on one end of it, so Aubrey took the other, leaving a good space between them. The recliner opposite was taken up by Roman, who had a lemonade in his hand, and Zack lounged in a wingback chair at the far end of the coffee table.
Needing something to do with her hands, Aubrey took a glass off the tray.
Settling herself in the love seat opposite Zack, Celeste let out a breath. “Now that we all have refreshments, maybe you can tell me why you’re here.”
Everyone looked at Aubrey, but she couldn’t stop staring at the mug on the table.
“He can sense the steam,” Celeste said, her voice kind. “The flavor of it.”
“I never knew,” she said quietly. All this time she could have been giving Finn something to enjoy, and she’d never known.
“I didn’t either until Albert told me he liked to inhale my coffee. Now I always make a second cup.”
“Albert?” she asked, her eyes moving away from the mug.
“My late husband.” Celeste gestured to the empty space behind the love seat. “He says it’s lovely to meet all of you.”
Aubrey glanced from the empty space to Zack. His face remained as stoic as it usually did when she’d interacted with him, his gaze on his mother.
This must be a huge deal for him, allowing them all a glimpse into his private life probably few people ever experienced. The urge to say thank you to him right then made her bite her lip. Now wasn’t the time, but she’d make up for the intrusion into his personal life somehow.
And was it her, or was the steam of the hot chocolate moving back and forth in a repetitive rhythm?
Celeste took a sip of her lemonade. “Not that I don’t like company, but Zack said the visit was important. Who can tell me why you’ve made the trip out?”
Aubrey set her glass on the edge of coffee table. “I um.” She cleared her throat, not feeling comfortable talking about Finn with strangers, which was ridiculous, since Celeste could see her ghost. “Finn’s been with me a long time, but now he’s acting strange. He…destroyed my store.” Saying the words out loud made a vision of the destruction resurface in her mind and her chest tighten. She pressed a hand to her sternum.
“Oh dear,” Celeste murmured. Her eyes went to where the mug steamed away. “That’s not good at all.” After a moment, she blinked. “Oh, he’s starting to feel really bad about it. Oh dear.” She got up and plucked a box of tissues off the top of the piano in the corner and plopped them on the table beside the mug. “Well, of course I know they won’t work on you,” she said, sitting back down in her chair. “I thought they might give you comfort. Just use your sleeve.”
Finn was crying? She didn’t know ghosts could. How many times had he cried beside her and she’d never known?
When she met Celeste’s eyes again, she said. “We’ll give him a moment before we get to the bottom of this.”
A grandfather clock in the corner clicked the seconds as they waited. Hands clenched in her lap, Aubrey stared at the plate of cookies and tried to make the hurt living in her chest dissolve.
After a while, Celeste smiled. “That’s better. Why don’t you have some more cocoa?”
The steam moved back and forth again.
“Why did he do that?” Aubrey asked, mesmerized by the steam. “Why did he break everything in the store?”
Celeste tipped her head to the side. “Because you’re not listening.”
Stomach lurching, Aubrey swallowed past the lump in her throat. “I’m listening now.”
After nodding for Finn to continue, Celeste’s eyebrows shot up a few seconds later. “Whoa. Whoa. You’ll need to slow down. Let’s go at this piece by piece and start with the most important thing.” She listened for a moment, then met Aubrey’s eyes. “Your life is in danger.”
“What?” Aubrey asked, her hand flying to her chest. Her eyes met Roman’s across the table. He hadn’t relaxed the entire time they were there, and now he seemed even more alert, the glass of lemonade clenched tight in his hand.
“It’s your brother.”
Now her heart stopped altogether. “I don’t have a brother.”
“According to Finn, you do. His name is Shawn, and he’s been searching for you for a very long time. And—what?” Celeste straightened like she’d been shot through with lightning. “What did you just say?”
She listened more, her hand at her throat. “Oh my word,” she said after a minute. Then her eyes filled with tears. “Oh no.” She reached for a tissue and nodded. “Go on, I’m listening.”
Aubrey sat tense, watching Celeste’s reactions with growing dread. She wanted to know what Finn was saying but didn’t want to interrupt when he obviously needed to get things off his chest. She shot a glance at Roman, who sat rigid, his eyes glued to Celeste. Zack wasn’t any more relaxed, his hands gripping the armrest of the chair. She had the feeling he’d put a stop to all of this if he thought his mother was in distress.
Beside her, Stella gave her a wobbly smile.
After about five minutes of silence, Celeste let out a shaky b
reath and ran a jittery hand over her hair. “That was…a lot. I’ll do my best to get it right. Finn, feel free to interject if I miss something.” She looked right at Aubrey. “But just my own addition to this before I start in on what Finn told me. He’s hurting. He’d been hurting for a long time, and he loves you very much. Okay?”
Aubrey nodded, her throat so tight she couldn’t speak.
“Finn grew up in a foster home like you. He knows you understand what it’s like.”
Aubrey nodded for her to continue, keeping her gaze away from Roman and his reaction to the truth about her past.
“He lived with Shawn. They were near the same age, and he said Shawn was very bad. He would try to make Finn do bad things, like hurting animals in secret. But Shawn was always a good boy when there were adults around so no one ever knew. Shawn was separated from his sister when he was little. You. And he talked about you a lot, about finding you and…” She hesitated, then said, “And making you pay.”
Aubrey shook her head. She didn’t understand any of this. She didn’t have a brother. Abigail would have told her if she had a brother. Wouldn’t she?
“And then,” Celeste went on, “one night, Shawn hatched a plan to kill their foster parents.” She paused and ran a shaky hand over her smooth hair. “It was at night, and Shawn had a knife, and Finn tried to stop him but couldn’t. He killed Finn and told his foster parents it was the other way. That Finn had been trying to kill the foster parents and Shawn stopped him. He’d shown all the evidence of what Shawn had done to animals and blamed it on Finn. And…they believed him. Shawn made himself out to be the hero. Apparently, he was very good at doing that. Very charismatic.”
Her chest tightened so much it was hard for Aubrey to take a breath. Poor Finn. All this time and he’d never told her any of it. Celeste had been right. She hadn’t been listening.
Stella reached over and grabbed her hand.
“Finn knew Shawn’s little sister would be in danger from him one day,” Celeste continued. “He searched for you using what Shawn had told him, and he finally found you.”