Page 39 of Stronger Than Blood
“Mind if we join you?” I quickly asked and saw Madam look at me.
“Um, sure, but I’m not thinking those nails match garden work,” he said, looking at Madam’s perfectly manicured nails.
“No, but I’m guessing Rory is wanting me to check out the bully haunting your home.”
I nodded. “I think you need to get a feel of what you’re up against. This guy is one of the worst I’ve ever been around. Even worse than the time that family came in who were being haunted by their deadbeat dad."
She cringed. “That was a bad case. Yes, it’s probably best if I go with you. I want to get a feel for the place before… or if we bring your Granny home.” She quickly corrected for Mick’s sake. “But, after that, I’ve decided to go home to Memphis, and I’m going to drag your butt with me,” she said to me. “I need to clean out my store so the deal can close and be official.”
“So fast?” I asked, feeling sad and a little alarmed.
She patted my hand. “Oh, it’s all for the best. Trust me, I felt this coming long before it got here.”
I nodded, knowing she probably did. It wasn’t her I was worried about. I’d become very attached to Madam Bellamy’s mystical store, and seeing it come to an end made me more than a little sad.
“Um, well, since you helped me with the farm and the store, I can take some time to come help you both, too, if you need it,” Mick said shyly, and I could’ve reached over and kissed him until we both stopped breathing.
“Yes, you can stay with me.” I turned to Madam and nodded. “It’s a yes, right?”
She chuckled. “It’s a yes if you’re willing. Most of my merchandise is being bought by my competitors, and I’ve already packed my apartment. Which reminds me, do you think your granny would let me store my things in the apartment above the old store?”
Mick’s eyes grew large. “You’ve been up there? I didn’t think we could get to it yet.”
She shrugged. “Your uncle showed me the way, and I think he likes the idea of someone living up there again. I’m happy to hire someone to haul the rest of the trash out. The upstairs isn’t as bad as the lower level.”
Mick sighed. “I really am going to be forced to live in that house again, aren’t I?” he asked, confusing us.
“I was thinking about moving into the apartment, but,” he said before Madam could respond, “I guess I knew it wasn’t going to happen. I need to face that demon because I belong in that house, and it sure as hell does not.”
Madam smiled and patted his hand, the one that wasn’t still holding mine. “Whether you keep the house or not, after your Granny Ida transitions, you do need to come to terms with the demons of your past. If you don’t, they tend to haunt you the rest of your life, and that doesn’t have to mean literally either.”
He nodded, then smiled. “Okay, I think I’m ready. At least I will have you two there to help, and for some reason, that gives me hope like I’ve not had before.”
“Oh, that’s ’cause I’ve got a lot of experience, and this one…” she said, pointing toward me, “well, he’s likely your twin flame. Those are useful people to have around when you’re facing your demons or ghosts from your past.”
Chapter twenty-six
Mick
We gave Madam Granny’s address, and Rory rode with me over to the farm to get the morning chores done. I didn’t ask him, really. I didn’t have to any longer. He just came with me, and to be honest, that did something to my heart.
I’d never met anyone so generous with his time before. And although he and I clearly liked each other, I could tell that was just how Rory was. He liked helping, and that made him special in my book.
I ignored the house, as I usually did when I came to work the gardens, even when Granny was home, and we went straight to work. Rory said he’d take the first shift of tilling, which I was thankful for. My poor head was still not screwed on quite right after all the drinking we did yesterday. Although, the moonshine had been good… if you could call it moonshine.
Truth was, that stuff was just too good to be real moonshine. Smooth whiskey or bourbon was a better description.
I used the hoe around the plants, always chuckling at the double meaning of the word. I was anything but a ho, but evenGranny chuckled sometimes when I teased her about her hoeing ways.
I looked up and watched Rory handle the tiller with such ease. Granny’s soil was beautiful and soft to work where he was. It was the part of the garden that sloped down, meaning all the best topsoil ended up down there by the end of the year.
My grandpa had supposedly used a bobcat once to move all the topsoil back to the upper gardens, but I’d never thought to repeat that. It was just the nature of that kind of farming. At least there wasn’t a lot of runoff to worry about, and we were able to use the soil down here for our more delicate and fussy plants.
Rory was beautiful. He’d taken his shirt off, and I don’t think he’d even thought about it, but it sure had an impact on me. His body was thin, not that of a bodybuilder in any way, but it was beautifully defined, with a nice six-pack.
I looked down self-consciously at my own body. I wasn’t bad-looking. Truth was, you couldn’t live on a farm and work like I did and not have some muscle mass. However, you also couldn’t cook pies on the night shift without gaining a nice layer of fat on those muscles as well.
I mean, it’s not like I was fat or anything—far from it, but I doubted I’d ever have that six-pack. I looked up just as Rory paused and stretched. Drool settled in my mouth as I imagined using my… well, shit. That was stupid. I needed to get my mind off the things I could and would do with Rory, if he let me, and get back to the job at hand.
