by Paula Lester
Tessa turned around slowly, seeing tears skid down her mother’s cheeks.
“Actually, I do know what I should have done. I shouldn’t have let him take your place. I should have done it. And I regret every day that I didn’t.” She wiped her cheek, chin quivering.
Feeling a wave of empathy, Tessa rushed forward. She knelt in front of Cheryl and squeezed her hand. “No, don’t say that, Mom. I’m so glad you’re here.”
Cheryl met Tessa’s gaze and smiled. Something released inside Tessa. She realized she’d been angry with her mother. Mad that she hadn’t somehow found a way to save Michael Randolph. But as she held her mom’s hand, she felt a wave of forgiveness. It wasn’t Cheryl’s fault.
With one last squeeze, Tessa stood. “I’d better go. I don’t want to be late for my assignment."
“Definitely not.” Cheryl hiccupped.
“Yeah. My boss is a real dragon lady.” She winked and left the office, her mother’s laugh following her out.
When Tessa got outside, she lowered the sunglasses from the top of her head to her face and turned toward the sun, feeling happy. It was almost the best season in Mist River, Michigan. Summer. She had a date with a cutie landlord. Her junker car was running great. And she had a new job she was good at. And not just a job that anyone could do, but a real career.
She smiled widely and looked to the sky, sending her dad a silent thank you. She was sure he had something to do with helping her life get straightened out.
She laughed at the irony as she headed toward Linda.
Who knew being a grim reaper would be her calling?
Book 2: The Scythe’s Secrets: Chapter 1
“BUT I’M SCARED OF HEIGHTS.” Tessa scowled to hide the horrified expression trying to jump onto her face. “You’re my mother. You should know that. I can’t even ride the Ferris wheel without getting dizzy.”
“I thought you grew out of that,” Cheryl said.
“No. I grew out of going to amusement parks. Can’t you give this assignment to someone else?”
“Don’t be ridiculous. It’s part of your job. I can’t keep track of what the agents like and don’t like. We can’t cherry-pick our jobs.” Cheryl glanced up from the computer and the corners of her mouth twitched upward. She had gained immunity to her daughter’s unhappy expressions decades earlier. In fact, the grumpier Tessa got and the deeper she scowled, the more amused Cheryl became. “Mr. Hanson is scheduled to die of natural causes today, and you’re his reaper. He dies. You escort his soul to the afterlife. That’s that.”
Tessa flopped into the chair across from Cheryl with a huff and wondered about her career choice. It was bad enough to have a mother who erred quite forcefully on the critical side of the fence. But having her also be your boss was a flavor of crazy most people would know to avoid. “Why can’t I just reap him when he gets to the ground?”
Cheryl rolled her eyes. “He isn’t going to die on the ground. He’s going to die about halfway down.” She considered. “Or up, depending on how you look at it.”
“I’d rather be looking up.”
Cheryl tapped at her keyboard and read something on the screen. “Yes. His heart will give out. Which isn’t terribly surprising—it is his ninetieth birthday.”
“Today?” Tessa squeaked. “He’s going to die on his birthday?”
“It’s not as uncommon as you’d think. And what a way to go—his file says he started skydiving every year on his birthday when he turned sixty.” She waved a hand. “But he goes a lot more than that, of course. He’s a certified instructor. So, just show up for the time slot I booked for you to dive with him.” Cheryl got to her feet. “There’s really no choice here. You have to be there when it happens, which is going to be while he’s in the air.”
“But—”
“No buts! What if the poor man’s soul gets trapped in his body as it floats to the ground? That would be awful.”
“But—”
“Theresa. What if he gets stuck midair? His spirit could leave the body and take off in the wind while you’re standing there twiddling your thumbs. You don’t want to lose another soul, do you?”
Tessa bit back a curse and shook her head grudgingly. “No. Once is enough.”
Cheryl touched her perfect inverted bob in several spots as though to be sure no strands had suddenly wrestled free from their bonds of mega-super-strength hair spray. “Don’t worry. There’s no order in the system for a reaper for you. Apparently, your parachute will bring you safely to the ground.”
“You’re enjoying this too much.”
“You may like skydiving.” Cheryl’s lips twitched with barely contained mirth. “Ooh, maybe you’ll start going once a year on your birthday too. You could completely lose your fear of heights today, Theresa. Wouldn’t that be nice?”
“It would be nice if you remembered I like to be called Tessa. And you’re right. Maybe I’ll love skydiving. I hope I do. They’ll be looking for a new instructor at this skydiving place after today, right? I’m going to think of this as a job interview. There’s no way the boss could be worse than the one I already have.”
Cheryl didn’t appear worried. She waved a hand and herded Tessa out of the office. “Have fun, dear. Don’t be late to the death.”
“I wouldn’t dream of it.” Tessa rolled her eyes as she headed out of the office and into the bright sunlight of the parking lot.
Briefly, she glanced over her shoulder at the run-down building—her current workplace. It was disguised as a dilapidated life insurance office in an attempt to keep most humans away from what was really a grim reaper agency.
In the few months since Tessa had started her new job, she’d gotten used to the routine. Get up, check for assignments on the reaper app on her phone, reap souls. The app gave Tessa a good chuckle every time she saw the icon. It, too, had a disguise, designed to look like a cycle tracker to keep any random person who picked up the phone from clicking on it.
If there were no assignments on the app, Tessa headed into the office and did paperwork or sat in Gloria’s office and chatted with her fellow reaper until Cheryl gave them both a death glare. It was an expression her mother had perfected having worked so many years as a grim reaper herself.
But it had turned out to be a pretty decent job overall. The pay was good. Tessa hadn’t had to worry about making rent since her first assignment. And she’d even been able to pay for her landlord, Silas, to make some much needed upgrades to Linda.
Tessa ran her hand over the car’s red hood. “How you doing, girl? Any aches or pains?”
Linda didn’t answer but she started right up when Tessa turned the key. Progress. Since Silas had started taking care of her, the car did that much more often than before.
The drive out to Mist River Skydiving School was about twenty minutes, which was more than enough time to get worked up about the idea of jumping out of a plane.
Worked up into a panic. It wasn’t like she was completely risk averse. She’d recently taken up mountain biking after coming across an almost new bike for a good price at a yard sale. And Tessa often dreamed about a SCUBA certificate. After all, she planned to retire to some tropical island far away from Michigan’s cold winters. Maybe she could get a head start on those plans later this week while attending the reaper convention in Florida.
But skydiving? That was never on her list. It, along with wearing thong bikinis and eating anything made with ghost peppers, was something Tessa thought she’d never do. But it was just like this job to prove her wrong. She could only hope that reaping and thongs would stay far apart.
As Tessa pulled into the flight school’s dusty parking lot, she regretted the greasy bacon and eggs she’d had for breakfast, which rolled around like her stomach was an old-style butter churn.
She pulled a cross-body purse over her head, closed the car door, and forced reluctant feet to move toward the school. It was a huge, bright red, steel-sided building divided in half, one part an open hanger bay conta
ining a small plane and the other an office space. When she entered the office side, a box above the door played a cheerful, tinny little tune.
Tessa scanned the lobby, which sported hard plastic chairs and framed pictures of smiling people wearing flight suits and looking relieved to be alive.
She thought of Mr. Hanson and how this would be his last jump. A tiny lump formed in her throat, but she swallowed it away. He was ninety and would go doing something he loved.
Plus, he’d have his own personal reaper right there, ready to show him the way to the other side, where, presumably, the next phase of his soul’s journey awaited.
“Morning, you! You’re right on time.”
Tessa spun at the sound of the male voice and found a nice-looking thirty-something guy with dark hair smiling at her. She drew her hand up and waved with her fingers shyly. “Hi.”
The man stuck out his hand. “Bryce Hanson.”
“I’m, um, Tessa Randolph.”
He squeezed it gently and smiled bigger. “Welcome, Um Tessa Randolph.”
“Just Tessa.”
“Okay, Just Tessa.”
Tessa chuckled, then her forehead scrunched. “Mr. Hanson? Are you . . . my instructor?” If this guy was celebrating his ninetieth birthday, Tessa wanted to know his secret for maintaining youth before she let him go into the great beyond.
Bryce chuckled. “My grandpa and I are, yeah.”
Ah. “So, this is a family business?”
“It is now.” Bryce nodded. “Grandpa came here for the first time when he turned sixty. It was love at first jump, and he eventually became an instructor and helped me learn. I bought the place five years ago, with Grandpa co-signing.” He crossed his arms and leaned back on his heels, chest puffing. “It’s been a great run.”
“Wow. Well, congratulations. It’s great to do something you love.”
He nodded and then gestured toward a second room. “Let’s get started. You’re our only jumper today. There’s a couple videos to watch and a few other bits of training to do, and then you can get your AFF on.”
“My what?”
“Accelerated Free Fall. It’s the type of skydiving we do here.”
Tessa swallowed hard. “Accelerated? Does that mean it’s faster than regular skydiving?” She forced herself to follow Bryce out of the lobby and into a small conference room.
“Not faster. You ever heard of terminal velocity?”
“I’ve heard of it,” she said. “But I’ve never felt it.”
“Nervous?” Bryce fiddled with a computer, and a projection screen on the wall lit up.
“A little,” she admitted.
“Well, don’t be. Grandpa and I know what we’re doing. And AFF is the best way to experience the exhilaration of a real free fall.” He winked. “It’s gonna be fun.”
“Sure, it is.” She wasn’t convinced. She may not die during the flight, but she could absolutely squeal like a ninny and embarrass herself. Not that the elder Mr. Hanson would be able to tell anyone.
But the video was interesting, and by the time it was over, Tessa felt a little more at ease.
Bryce led her into the hanger where a man who looked like an older version of him, only with white hair, stood eating a sandwich. “This is my grandfather, Bryce Hanson.”
“But—”
“I know.” Bryce nodded. “I’m a third. I used to go by Trey. But these days, I’m Bryce and this is Instructor Hanson.”
The elderly man wiped a hand on his pants and shook Tessa’s. “It’s a great day for a first-time jumper,” he said. His voice was gravely, like you’d expect of a nonagenarian but otherwise, he looked hale and healthy. Hard to believe his ticker was on its last few beats.
He gestured to a platter with more food. “Hungry for lunch?”
“I’ll pass.” Tessa didn’t relish the thought of having a full stomach when she did her jump. “Happy birthday, by the way.”
His bushy eyebrows rose. “How’d you know it’s my birthday?”
Oops. “Your grandson told me.”
The younger Bryce had crossed the room to talk to a woman wearing a neat uniform with black epaulettes on her shoulders, who Tessa figured was their pilot, so he didn’t hear the lie.
“Ah. Well, thank you. But, at my age, every day’s a happy day to be alive. Has to be. You never know when you’ll be done with this world.” He popped the last bite of sandwich into his mouth and gestured for Tessa to follow him to a wall lined with hanging flight suits and other equipment. “Let’s get you fitted.”
The next hour passed quickly as Bryce and the elder Instructor Hanson helped Tessa get fitted and showed her how to use the parachute, even taking her outside onto a big grassy lawn to practice.
The two men had an easy relationship. It was obvious they were fond of each other. When Bryce ran inside to get something, she said as much to his grandfather. “I wish my mom and I got along like the two of you do,” she added.
The older man studied her for a moment, pursing his lips. Then he smiled, revealing a cracked tooth in front. “Ya know, that’s the thing about life. It’s easy to spend a lot of time thinking about how imperfect things are. How you’d like it to be different. A person can literally while away years doin’ that. If you want something to change, Miss Randolph, you have to force it to. Be the daughter you want to be and let the rest fall into place.”
The moment felt profound—like Instructor Hanson was imparting his last words of wisdom onto Tessa. Like he was instructing her in more than skydiving. She felt a little guilty—it should’ve been the man’s grandson who got to hear that, not her.
Bryce jogged over to them. “All set?”
“Yes, sir! Let’s get in the air.” Tessa took the older man’s elbow as he led toward the hangar. “Fifteen minutes from now, you’ll be on the ground again. I always have a beer to celebrate a good landing. Maybe you and my grandson will join me.” He winked.
“Maybe.” She gave him a bright smile and let him lead her to the plane.
The Hansons helped keep Tessa upright and oriented during the free fall part of the jump. She was shocked to find it exhilarating, fun, and only slightly terrifying.
Bryce peeled away first, signaling it was time to release her chute. Tessa held onto Instructor Hanson a moment longer. She held his gaze, waiting for the moment his heart would stop. And when it did, Tessa reached out with her other hand, signaling for the portal to the other side.
His face relaxed and his mouth turned upward as a bright white light spread out below their feet.
It felt like time stopped for a moment as she watched him move forward into the light, pausing to give her a jaunty wave. Then, the light was gone, and she was falling fast. Quickly, she reached to pull her chute. She held her breath, and it opened.
Mr. Hanson’s automatic reserve chute opened a few seconds later, and his body floated gently down a distance beside her.
Tessa drew in a breath and braced for dual impact of the hard ground and Bryce’s inevitable heartbreak.
Chapter 2
TESSA STAYED WITH BRYCE until the ambulance had come and gone with his grandfather’s body and some other Hanson family members showed up. That wasn’t part of her job description, but it was the right thing to do.
Once she was satisfied the young man was supported by his parents and cousins, Tessa slipped away. She drove Linda to the Mist River Manor apartments with a heavy heart, reminding herself that the elder Bryce Hanson was ninety years old and seemed happy to go over to the unknown.
That was what got Tessa through the grim business of reaping. When it came time, most of her clients were ready. Then there was Chet Sanborn, the soul who’d given her so much trouble, eluding her for days until Tessa caught his killer—almost meeting her own end in the process.
She shuddered at the thought. Hopefully, nothing like that ever happened again.
The apartment lobby was deserted. Tessa checked her mailbox and immediately rolled her eyes, tossing th
e flyer for a local cable company into a nearby recycling bin. She split WiFi with a friend in the building and used a streaming service. Didn’t everybody? Cable is dead. Only, it didn’t seem to realize yet that yet.
When she turned to head for her apartment, the lobby wasn’t empty anymore. Silas St. Onge, the building’s superintendent and maintenance guy extraordinaire—also the mechanical magician who kept Linda purring—stood gaping like a caught fish. As usual, a chunk of sandy blond hair flopped over one of his eyes.
Usually, Silas was pretty cool and collected. But now, he appeared to be struggling. Shocked about something, maybe? Tessa couldn’t help herself. Curiousness overcame her, and she walked up to him, tipping her head. “Everything okay?”
He blinked a few times as though having trouble focusing on her and then, suddenly, a wide smile broke across his face. To Tessa’s delight, it was big enough to reveal the adorable dimple in his right cheek.
“I can’t believe it.” He held out his arm. “Can you pinch me? Make sure I’m not dreaming.”
Her gaze dropped to his muscular arm and the bicep that strained the short sleeve. She pursed her lips and gave it a light pinch then shrugged. “You seem real enough to me. I think you’re awake. I’m awake. And I have been since way too early this morning.”
“You think eight am is way too early,” he said.
“Because it is,” Tessa countered. “So, what’s up? Why do you think you’re dreaming?”
He shook his head and dropped the arm again. “Mrs. Cross just gave me five thousand dollars.” His tone was hushed, matching the awed expression on his face perfectly. “She just gave it to me. No strings attached.”
“Wow! That’s nice of her.” Tessa couldn’t help but gasp. She totally understood Silas’s conundrum. That was a shock.
Mrs. Cross lived a few doors down from Tessa. She was an elderly woman who always had her nose just a bit too far into the other residents’ business, but she was sweet and mostly harmless. But sweet enough to give someone five thousand dollars?
