Page 15 of The Spirit Key
“Rachel?” If jealousy colored my words, it wasn’t my fault.
He grinned at me. “She’s a coworker. My car is in the shop, and she’s been my ride for the past several days.”
“So she’s not—”
His eyes went wide. “Rachel? Oh no. Her husband, Gavin, is a former football player. He weighs about 260. She’s his everything, and if he even thought I had less than honorable intentions….” Tim shuddered dramatically. “They were at a bar one night, and he went to get drinks. When he came back, he found her sitting at the table, telling this dude who was trying to hit on her that she wasn’t interested. But he was drunk and wouldn’t take no for an answer.”
“What did he do?”
Tim chuckled. “He stood there and watched as the guy grabbed her boob, which ended up with her giving the guy two black eyes for not leaving her the hell alone and thinking he could touch her. Believe me, of the two of them, she’s way scarier. She’s tall, slender, and has a model’s looks, and if you disrespect her, shewill nothesitate to take you down a peg. She’s a brown belt in judo, so even her husband has the fear of God in him when she’s angry.”
Was it wrong that I was elated she wasn’t his girlfriend and disappointed because I no longer had a nemesis?
A horn sounded, and Tim rushed to the door. He stopped just before he walked out and turned to me. “So you know, you’re welcome to stay here as long as you need. Wewillget through this, but we’ll do it together. Capisce?”
It took a lot of effort not to blurt out that I loved him, especially given the affection I could see in his eyes. “Yeah, I get it. And thank you.”
He grinned. “Don’t worry about it. But I’m gonna want to hear all about what happens when I get home from work tonight. Should be quite a tale.”
“You’re enjoying this.”
“Payback is a bitch.” He winked, then turned and rushed out the door, pulling it shut behind him.
After he left, I went to look up a few things on his computer and—fine, I was procrastinating, don’t judge me—found my brother’s Facebook page. There were pictures of his kids, and of Ryan and his wife—Karen—where they were mugging for the camera. I read a few of his posts, found out about his life, and with every word, I regretted my decisions more and more.
Finally I figured nothing would change if I didn’t suck it up and get busy. I showered and changed into a pair of shorts and a T-shirt. I thought about dressing up for the occasion but then realized this wasn’t something I wanted to go do looking like an undertaker.
My phone pinged, and I glanced down at the screen. I didn’t recognize the number, but the message was clear.
Stop stressing and go.
Who is this?
Like you didn’t know. Get moving, mister.
How did you get my number?
You’re not a light sleeper, so it wasn’t difficult. Now, are you gonna go, or will you continue letting fear control you?
I thought about the question for a few moments before I replied.Is the second one an option?
When he didn’t answer right away, I worried I might have said the wrong thing. Then my phone told me I had a new message. I glanced at the screen.
Haven’t you been afraid long enough?
Yes, I had. I’d been letting fear control me for most of my life.Leaving now. And thank you.
He sent a smiley face emoji, and it made me grin.
THE UBERdropped me off outside my—my mom’s—house. It looked the same as it always had. Well, there were new flowers in the bed out front, bursting with a nauseating pattern of colors.
Mom never did have much of an eye for mixing and matching plants, but they made her happy, so Ryan and I told her they were great. They weren’t. Shades of yellow and blue and purple and…. Actually, they didn’t look as bad as I remembered. I could see she tended them with a lot of care, because they were big and bright and made me smile.
Okay, maybe being an adult wasn’tsobad.
The weird thing? I saw a few spirits during the ride, and I know for a fact they saw me, but they didn’t come to me. In fact, they seemed like they were waiting for something. Whatever. As long as they were leaving me alone, I was okay with that.
The door opened as I strode up the walk, and she stepped outside. It took a moment before she noticed me, but then her eyes went wide.
