Page 90 of Looking for Love in All the Haunted Places
Lucky did as requested, and spotted Maverick entertaining Rebel and the other kids. He was carrying a little girl with bright pink pom-poms around her pigtails on his back—he’d called herhis Beanie Baby earlier. She suddenly understoodandfelt sorry for those suburban moms.
“Super Dad strikes again. He always makes it look so easy.” Georgia appeared out of nowhere, holding what smelled like a very strong drink in a red cup. “Being around him upsets my ovaries.”
“How much have you had to drink?”
“A decent amount. This is my last one.” She bumped Lucky’s shoulder. “How are you doing? How’s your face? Any accidents?”
“Nope. Everyone’s been really nice.” She told her what Silvia said.
“Of course, he did that.” Georgia grinned. “Super Dad always has a plan.”
When Mr. Phillips announced it was time to eat, they all lined up to make their plates. The spread had been set up buffet-style and Lucky made two plates because that was all she could reasonably carry in one trip. She sat picnic-style with Maverick and the kids in a big cluster on the grass.
After demolishing her first serving, she went back for seconds and again for dessert. One of the uncles tried to be sly, saying to Maverick, “She’s sure got an appetite.”
Lucky answered, “Sure do!” loud and clear. She had every intention of eating until she couldn’t breathe, and no one was gonna shame her about it. By the time she finished, everyone else was watching all the grandkids open summer presents—another Phillips tradition.
Suddenly deserted, Lucky leaned her head against Maverick’s shoulder and sighed.
He wrapped an arm around her, pulling her close. “Happy?”
“Very,” she said. “Thank you for inviting me.”
Choosing to give up her family had also meant cutting herself off from large swaths of her culture. Traditions. Recipes. Family functions. The internet—reading posts and watching videos and laughing at inside jokes—helped fill some of the void but not all. Being with Maverick had the potential to give those things back to her.
“I’m glad you’re here.” He kissed the top of her forehead as a slight phantom summer wind blew through the backyard.
An unpleasant smell tickled the inside of Lucky’s nose. “Ugh.” She straightened up, scanning the party guests for the cause of the stench. Someone had a rotting core.
“What’s wrong?” Maverick asked.
Unlike Xander, who’d been able to embrace the grief that altered him, rot was the result of change attempting to destroy everything in its wake.
Lucky whipped off her glasses.
“What are you doing?” Maverick asked, alarmed.
“Wait wait wait give me a second.” She wouldn’t need to look at their eyes to find them. They were too far gone. She’d sense it—there. The stench intensified as she observed a short man wearing a black hat speaking with three other gentlemen off to the side. She scrunched her nose. “Who is that?”
“Uhh, one of my dad’s coworkers, I think? I’m not sure.”
“Remember how I told you people don’t really change? I was generalizing. That’s not entirely accurate. Significant events can change a person’s core.” She sniffed again—definitely him—made a face, and put her sunglasses back on. “He’srotting. I cansmellit.”
Maverick wordlessly stood up and held out his hand to help her. He guided her toward a secluded bench on the other side ofthe backyard. “Better?” He waved at the air in front of her face as if that would clear the smell.
She had no choice but to kiss him. “Yes, thank you,” she lied. As long as the man was near her, she’d smell it.
“Okay,” he said, nodding and rubbing the tops of her arms. “What did you mean by rotting?”
“Let me start at the beginning: changes to a core resemble tree rings or vinyl records. Each groove is pressed with recorded information.” She paused to make sure he was following. “Like I said, change comes from significant events. Unmanageable grief is a big one, same as childbirth or becoming a parent. And then, there are some things that can cause what I namedrot. Because they’re rotting from the inside.”
Maverick’s expression was curiously neutral so…she kept explaining.
“I smell it while it’s happening. The rot spreads until their core decays, turns to dust, and then there’s nothing left to read. I’ll feel that a core used to be there, but that’s it,” she said. “Not all people like that are dangerous but all dangerous people are like that. I won’t know which one he is unless I read him while I still can.”
“I don’t think that’s a good idea. We’ll just keep you away from him. It’ll be fine.” That same strained smile from earlier reappeared again, making Lucky’s stomach drop. “I didn’t know you could do that.”
“Surprise,” she said with a weak smile. Maverick must not have wanted her to read that man because then he might have to tell his parents, and that’d require telling them the truth about his weird-ass girlfriend with ESP and ruining everything.
