“Same here,” Lanie said. “Two weeks ago.”
“Last night?” I asked Thatcher.
He finally looked at me. It was just for a second, but it was actual eye contact, and I felt that second in the soles of my feet.
“I was driving home from Denning,” he said, turning his gaze back to Bailey’s face. “And exited at Charmed.”
“Why?” Micah asked. “Were you coming over?”
Damn it.
“I stopped at the park,” he said, not answering her question. “No idea why, I guess to think, and I ended up talking to that old man right there. About all kinds of things. Life. The crap it deals us, and what we do with it.” Thatcher shrugged. “Afterward, I said to hell with it, and got back on the highway.”
He said to hell with it. What on earth had Bailey told him?
And what the hell was I thinking? Bailey couldn’t have told him anything last night. For that matter, he evidently couldn’t have told me anything last week, either. Or Allie. Or Lanie.
We were all seeing things.
The same thing. In the same place.
Each of us looked at each other, the same question in all of our eyes. The only ones who truly didn’t look surprised were Lanie, Carmen, and Allie, but as I thought that, I realized where they were coming from. Lanie grew up in a house with her eccentric Aunt Ruby—Bailey’s childhood friend—who was more than rumored to have psychic ability, and we’d all seen that same house not go up in gasoline-soaked flames like it should have when Micah’s ex tried to burn it to the ground like The Blue Banana. She hadn’t been surprised then, either. Carmen had experienced something first hand with Mr. Bailey a year or so ago, that I wasn’t privy to, and Allie had not only witnessed a Bailey handshake in her diner that turned an asshole to a bumbling idiot, but her father—the third member of Bailey’s childhood trio—had some kind of visions as well.
Bailey appearing to us postmortem? Evidently that was just another Charmed anomaly.
“Mr. Bailey was a complicated man,” Captain Ron said, his hands clasped behind his back. “Whether you knew him or just knew of him, I’m sure you can all agree that he was—unique.”
He held out the remote and pushed a button, and the image before us came to life. There was a second or two of Bailey fiddling with what he was holding, and then he went back to his stern stare down his nose.
“Welcome to The Diamond,” Mr. Bailey said. “If you’re watching this, I trust that my plan has gone as I wished, that this confounded video function on this phone actually worked, and will be mailed to my favorite captain when I’m done to figure out the rest.” He stopped and saluted, and Captain Ron tipped his hat. “Thank for the company, my friend.”
Bailey took a long, slow breath. “As for the rest of you, welcome aboard. You’re currently sitting in my biggest pride and joy. My biggest guilty pleasure.” He stopped and appeared to look around him. “In retrospect I should have chosen The Diamond for my last abode, but alas it is what it is. I’m here, I’m alone as I expected I would be, and it’s time to get to business.”
“First of all, yes. I’m dying, I know it, clearly you know it now too, so that’s done.” He paused for a couple of beats and blinked rapidly. “Sully, I’m sorry. I imagine that you’ll be the one to—well, I apologize, dear boy; you don’t deserve that. Please don’t be cross with me about not telling you. You wouldn’t have left. It’s my choice, and my time.”
Carmen hugged Sully’s arm, and kissed his cheek, as he watched the screen unblinking.
“You may each be wondering why you are here,” Bailey said. “Well, for me that’s simple. You’re family.” He shrugged and gave a small smile. “Perhaps not the standard definition of the word, but I’m not very standard, you might have noticed. If you’re here, then you have either connected with me or connected with one who has in some meaningful way. That matters to me. In a life lived alone, small things matter, and watching you take care of each other the way you all have done—it matters.”
“I had two best friends growing up,” he continued. “One is gone and one is lost.”
I glanced at Allie, whose eyes welled up with tears at the mention of her father’s dementia.
“Allie Greene and Lanie Barrett McKane,” he said. “You are the best parts of what remains of my dear friends. Sully Hart and Captain Ron—you’re the closest I have to a son and a brother, and I’ve been blessed to call you both my friends. Sully, your father would be proud of the man you’ve become.” He cleared his throat. “Captain, you’ve steered The Diamond loyally for me all these years and many before that. She is yours, sir, free and clear. In your name.”
Captain Ron gave an emotional little cough and sank onto a stool.
“Allie, Lanie, and Sully, my house, the acreage around it, and all of its contents are signed over to the three of you.”
“What?” Allie breathed.
“Holy shit,” Sully said.
“Keep it, rent it, sell it, burn it, tear it down and put a candy factory and clowns on it, I don’t care,” Bailey said. “It’s yours to do with as you please. There are some very valuable antiques here that might fetch you a pretty penny. And Carmen?”
“Oh, crap,” she muttered.
“Don’t be afraid,” he said. “Nothing in this house will hurt you. And you might want to take another road trip sometime. Possibly to Arizona. Someone’s been thinking about you.”
Carmen exhaled sharply, and gripped Sully’s hand. I didn’t know what that meant, but the tears in her eyes said it hit some kind of mark.
“Miss Greene,” Bailey said. “Let it be known that your father’s care and any expenses now and later will be taken care of. You, your daughter, and your new diner are Oliver’s legacy, and I know that deep in his mind, he knows what’s going on, and is proud of all you’ve accomplished.”
Allie let out a shaky breath, and Bash wrapped an arm around her, kissing her head.
“Y’all, this is—” I began.
“Gabi Graham,” Bailey said, choking off my words and appearing to look right into my soul.
“Shit,” I squeaked.
“You impressed me, Miss Graham, with your initiative on the wildflower field, going into business with the Romans and the joint venture with your parents’ shop,” he said. “You’ve got a sharp eye for this. Sharp enough that that field and the next ten uncleared acres behind it are now yours.”
My jaw dropped. “Oh my God.”
“Gabi!” Micah whispered, wide-eyed.
“Make it work, young lady,” he said. “I have faith in you. And in your new partners. Oh, by the way,” he added, flipping his hand and therefore knocking the picture sideways for a second. “it doesn’t have to be one or the other. Take a leap. Take a chance. I never took that chance, so take it for me.”
I couldn’t exhale. It was—how did he—
Lanie’s fingers gripping my knee jostled my attention and I swiped under my eyes.
“Sorry,” she grunted. “That was a—whew, that was a nasty one.”
“Are you sure it’s not the real thing?” Allie asked, glancing at her watch. “When was the last one?”
“Babe, talk to me,” Nick said from the other side, leaning forward on his knees.
“It’s all good,” Lanie said, massaging her giant belly.
“Nick, Leo, Micah, and Thatcher,” Bailey continued on screen.
“Jesus, that’s spooky,” Thatcher said, running a hand through his hair.
“You are that extended family of the family, and that makes you part of mine,” Bailey said. “None of you would be who you are without each other. You found that here. In Charmed. Cherish it, and hold on tight with both hands.”
“Done,” Micah said softly, kissing Leo’s hand and winking at me.
“So, to wrap things up so you can go pour my ashes at the dock,” Bailey began.
“Okay, that ended that pastime,” Carmen said, looking at Sully.
“Because yes, I know what you do down there,” Bailey continued, making everyone chuckle. “Here’s the skinny of it. Besides what I’ve just bequeathed on this video, I have multiple holdings too quantitative to list here. They all go to Sully.”
Sully leaned forward and dropped his head. It had to be a complete mind-twist. All of Bailey’s holdings? Sully was a millionaire many times over.
“This isn’t the formal forum for this, a copy goes to my lawyer to have another sit-down with all of you for the down and dirty details and the final paperwork, but the basics are this. There are eleven of you here—or should be. I have no debt, I don’t believe in it, so what I have is what there is. When my estate is liquidated into cash, and all expenses are paid, the cash value will be split among you.”
“What?” Micah whispered, glancing back at Thatcher and then me. “What?”
“Last time my accountant ran those figures for me, it was around, I don’t know—in the billions, I believe. Needless to say, I think even split eleven ways, you should all be comfortable.”
“Comfortable?” Leo said, sitting back on the couch and running his hands over his face. “Oh my God. Is this real?”
“Money is just money to me,” Bailey said. “You’ll say that only rich people say that, but in my case, it’s true. I worked hard to grow it, but as one of you knows, the original roots were not earned. I’m just paying it forward.”
He took off the glasses, and cast his gaze downward before meeting the camera again. Suddenly he looked even older than his years, whatever they might be. He looked tired.
“Now it’s time for me to go,” he said, and his wrinkled old eyes filled with moisture. “That’s an odd feeling, and an even odder thing to say out loud.” He looked off to the right, and smiled. “I’ve had a good run. A long life. But a lonely one. It’s time to go on the next journey, and see an old friend.” He blinked quickly and looked back into the camera. “Ruby and I will be looking out for Oliver, and waiting to see that little one, Lanie. Tell him all about her. Goodbye, all.”
The screen went blank, and the room was silent except for the sound of sniffling.
And then a cry out.
“Lanie?” Nick said, standing.
She gasped and then leaned into a contraction as something wet splashed me.
“My water just broke.”
CHAPTER TWENTY
Nick did everything short of vaulting over that table.
“Are you okay?” he asked.
“Well, I’m pretty sure I’m in labor, so—shiitttttt,” she said, sucking in a long breath through her nose. “Sonofabitch.”
“No pretty sure about it, girl, you’ve jumped five steps ahead,” Allie said, turning her attention to Captain Ron. “We need to get this thing turned around and back to the launch.”
“Yes, ma’am, I’m on it,” he said, nearly jumping to the door.
“Does this table move?” Leo said, trying to manhandle it out of the way.
“I don’t think so,” Thatcher said. “I think it’s bolted.”
“I don’t want to lie down, anyway,” Lanie said, blowing out little breaths. “I’ll never get back up. I want to walk.”
The guys spread backwards for her like she was the queen and about to blow an alien out of her hoohah. Only Nick appeared to have his head in the game.
“Who do I need to call, babe?” he asked. “Where’s the list?”
“In the go-bag,” Lanie said, pushing to her feet as we held her arms. “In the car.” She pointed to the entryway door. “I need to walk.”
“You can’t walk out there,” I said. “You’ll fall overboard!”
“I’m pregnant, not broken,” Lanie huffed.
“You’re lopsided and off-center,” Carmen said. “Don’t risk it. Come on, we’ll just walk around the room.”
“Call the—” Lanie began.
“Hospital,” Nick finished for her, tapping on his phone. “I’m looking it up now. Where’s your phone? I’m calling Dr. Grace, too.”
Lanie pointed at him. “That’s why I married you,” she said, starting her first lap, one arm around Carmen. “Both times. Did y’all hear him say him?”
“What?” I asked.
“Bailey,” she said breathily. “He said tell him all about her.”
“You think that’s a sign?” I asked.
“Good as any,” Lanie said, pausing in her steps to grimace and hold her belly.
“Just a few minutes,” Carmen said, “and we’ll be back at the park. So let’s walk that baby loose and get you to the hospital.”
“Walk it loose,” Lanie echoed, waddling next to her friend.
Captain Ron appeared back in the doorway. “We have a problem,” he said.
“That’s not what I want to hear,” Nick said, whirling around.
“I know,” Captain Ron said, looking panicked. “But something’s wrong with the switch or the electrical system or—I don’t know. The engine isn’t turning over. I’ve never had this happen. Ever.”
“We have a person trying to make its way out of my wife,” Nick said. “We can’t have this kind of problem right now.”
“I’m doing all I can,” Captain Ron said. “I tried calling emergency services but there’s no signal, and they aren’t answering the radio—”
A gut-wrenching wail like an animal in pain filled the room, stopping all of us mid-thought. Lanie gripped Carmen’s arm with one hand and the wall railing with the other, sliding down the wall with glazed eyes.
“No walking,” she breathed, gasping for another breath. “It’s—it’s coming.”
“That quick?” Thatcher said, backing out of the way as Nick juggled his phone, hers, and dropped to his knees next to her.
“She was probably in labor for hours and dismissed it,” Allie said, rushing to guide Lanie down. Thatcher reached for her wrist and checked her pulse. “What?” Allie asked.
He shook his head. “Probably nothing,” he said. “Her eyes got really bloodshot and her heart rate is crazy, but this went from zero to a hundred so fast, so—”
“I’m right here,” Lanie grunted, wild-eyed. “Let’s not talk about me like—oh fuck a duck!” Spreading her legs like the baby could come through her leggings, and leaning forward, she let out a scream. “It’s now! It’s now!”
“Why isn’t there service?” Nick yelled at the phone. “We’re five damn minutes from the park.” He grabbed her hand and dropped the phone. “I’m right here, love. Just breathe—”
“Are you fucking kidding me?” Lanie screamed. She let go of his hand and yanked him down by the collar of his shirt. “Don’t tell me to breathe. What’s wrong with people? Why does anyone ever think this is a good idea? Who came up with this plan?”
Her words fell away as her mouth contorted in pain and another god-awful gritty cry ripped from her throat. I dropped to my knees and rubbed her calves, felt useless. And torn. Part of me was horrified at the pain she was going through, and yet a quieter part inside cried with envy.
“Is this normal to go so fast?” I asked Allie.
“I don’t know,” she said. “Angel was fairly fast, too, but it’s hard to remember it clearly when you’re in agony like that.”
“Thirty minutes,” Bash said, hitting his knees. “And barely that.”
“How do you remember that from eighteen years ago?” she asked.
“Kind of made an impression,” he said. “Lanie? We might have to do this here, my friend.”
“I can’t have—a baby on a—dead man’s boat,” she huffed. “There’s no—anything. No monitors, no nurses.”
“Listen to me,” Bash said, leaning over and brushing sweaty hair from her face. “I don’t think this kid cares.” Lanie closed her e
yes and whimpered and Bash cupped her chin. “I’ve done this before, though, so you’ve got me. You’ve got all of us.”
“I trained to be a paramedic once upon a time, too,” Thatcher said squatting on the other side of her. “I never delivered a baby, but you’ve got Bash. Between all of us, you’ve got a great team here.” He gave her his hand to squeeze, and monitored her pulse with his other hand. “We’ll do this together.”
“Lanie, we have to take your pants off, sweetheart, I’m sorry,” Bash said, shrugging off a windbreaker. “Nick, come do that so she doesn’t kick me. We’ll put this over her.”
“I won’t kick you,” Lanie said between breaths. “I’ll get to say the mayor—oh God, the mayor’s gonna—”
The scream hurt my insides just to watch. Her skin was red and slick with sweat and tears, her eyes glassy and crazed with pain. And yet, I couldn’t imagine any process more amazing. More beautiful.
“What can we do?” I asked. We all stared at each other stupidly for a few seconds, and then being a grown-up actually kicked in. “Towels!” I yelled. “Captain Ron, we need clean sheets and towels. Washrags if you have them. Some pillows?”
He bolted through the door, looking grateful to be useful.
“Water?” I continued, running to a bucket of water bottles and scooping them up. “Micah, go find a bathroom and see if they have alcohol. And anything else?”
“On it!” she said, running.
“The cord,” Bash said, looking at Allie with narrowed eyes like all the answers were in her face. “Somebody see if you can find some scissors or a really sharp knife. And a binder clip or a chip clip or something.”
“A chip clip?” Allie said.
“I clamped your cord with a chip clip from the kitchen.”
Her eyebrows raised. “I never knew that. Ironically, Angel refuses to use them and lets all the chips go stale.”
“Do you want to put her on the bed?” Captain Ron asked as he jogged back in with an armload of expensive-looking linens that would likely never be used again.
“She won’t make it to the bed,” Thatcher said, looking between her legs. “Jesus, this kid’s on its way.” He gave Nick a nod. “If you didn’t see this with your daughter, you need to see it now.”
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