My eyes popped open wide. Mom! Maybe she knew where Nana was. I raced up the stairs and into my bedroom. I grabbed my cell phone when I saw a waiting text message from my father. It had just come in.
“We just heard and we’re on our way. We’ll be in Kingston as soon as we can. Stay put. We’ll take a cab from the airport.”
Heard what? My heart did a nosedive into my belly. Whatever they’d heard, the fact that both my parents were coming to Kingston was not good. I tried calling them, only to be told on both their cells phones that the call could not be completed. My fingers flew replying to Dad’s text. I watched the small screen for a few minutes but no reply came through.
The feeling of dread I’d awoken with was now alarm. There was something wrong. Nana was gone and I had no idea where.
I started crying. That letter was a goodbye.
THIRTY
I MOVED LIKE A ZOMBIE going through the motions of showering and getting dressed. I glanced outside before trudging down the stairs. It was a steady rain, from a dull gray sky. The house was so quiet, the storm was a white noise against the roof and windows.
As I was about to pass through the foyer to get a cup of coffee, there was a pounding at the front door. My heart skipped a beat as I raced over to answer it. They were back!
When I opened the door and saw Gwen, my shoulders fell. “Oh. Hi. Come in.”
She didn’t smile as she stepped inside, already unzipping the yellow slicker and throwing the hood back. It only just then occurred to me. Why wasn’t she at work? The mail must go through and all that. She reached in her pocket and withdrew an envelope.
“I’m sorry. I would have come sooner but I had to get someone to cover my route.” She withdrew a letter and handed it to me. “This was in my truck this morning. It’s from Lawrence.”
I read it.
Dear Gwen,
I was wrong about my first impressions that you were not suitable to take up the mantle of Guardian. That’s what I have been to Pamela for these many years and now, after what happened last night, I see that you are true and able to continue in that role with Keira.
If I had any words of wisdom to depart to you, it is this, trust your intuition. That silent inner voice has proved itself many times, saving Pamela and I on many occasions. Even if Keira, who can be headstrong and impulsive, wants to rush headfirst into a situation, if your gut is telling you otherwise, trust it.
Good luck to you! I know you will do well with Keira. Even though Pamela and I are gone, our hearts and best wishes are with you. Please, when you read this letter, go to Keira. She will be receiving instructions later this day. It’s important that you are there for her.
With warmest regards,
Lawrence
I stared at Gwen. “This is like the letter Nana left for me! And my parents are on their way here! What do you make of all this?”
She shook her head. “I got a bad feeling when I read his letter. Let me see what your grandmother wrote.”
We hurried into the bedroom and I handed her the letter, watching her as she read it. The bad feeling I’d had before just got worse.
She looked up and her eyes were wide staring at me when she finished reading. “They are definitely gone.” She stared at me until her gaze faltered. “I hate to even say this, but do you think something bad happened to them? That maybe they’re...”
Oh God. My knees turned to rubber and I gripped the table to keep from falling over. It was the thing I didn’t want to even think about... but I already had. Hearing her almost say the word was still a punch in the gut. “I don’t know. But the fact that my parents....” I couldn’t finish. My chin quivered and hot tears sprang to my eyes.
Gwen stepped forward and took me in her arms. We stood holding each other while I cried. “It can’t be, Gwen. There’s got to be an explanation. She’s gone away on a trip somewhere.” I pulled back and my heart took a leap of faith. “Maybe the airport. We could contact them to see if they took a flight somewhere?”
She sighed. “Yeah. We could do that. But first let’s go to the kitchen. We’ll have a coffee and figure this out.” As we walked from the bedroom, her arm still around my shoulders, she continued. “It doesn’t sound like your grandmother, though. To just up and leave in the middle of the night? She hardly left this house... ever.”
I sniffed and then looked up at her. “And her clothes. It doesn’t look like she packed anything. You don’t suppose my grandfather has something to do with this do you?”
She steered me to the table. “Sit down. I’ll get the coffee.” As she poured it, she glanced over at me. “I don’t know why, but it doesn’t feel like that to me. And your grandmother said that whatever that thing was, it needed time to regroup... get its strength back.”
I had to agree with her. My instincts were that this had nothing to do with him. The letters were too nice; I didn’t pick up any hint of coercion from them. And the fact Lawrence’s letter asked Gwen to come over to be with me...
I felt the blood drain from my face. “Gwen, they planned this!”
“What? How?”
“I don’t know! But my dad ‘heard!’” I held up my cell phone for her to read the message. I tried calling him again, with no luck, and he hadn’t replied to my text from earlier.
We had no choice but to sit tight and wait.
***
“Hello?” It was my mother’s voice at the front door. I got up from the chair in the greenhouse, leaving Gwen still poring over the photo album. I raced to the foyer, where Dad was setting their bags on the floor. Mom looked at me with red-rimmed eyes and her nose was pink, set against a pale blotchy complexion. She’d been crying. At the sight, tears sprang to my eyes too and I let myself be pulled into her embrace.
When Dad’s arms encircled both of us, I knew that whatever happened with Nana, I’d never see her again.
The thought just made me cry harder. I felt so empty without her. It was unfair that I’d just gotten to know my grandmother and she was gone. Feeling my mother’s sobs, I could only imagine how devastated she had to be feeling. We stood like that for a while, each of us trying to comfort each other.
My dad’s voice broke through. “Who are you?”
I pulled back from Mom and looked to where he was staring. Gwen stood there in her postie uniform with her hands clasped together above her tummy. Her eyes were wide and also full of tears. She wiped her cheek with her hand and strode forward, squaring her shoulders. “Hi, Mr. Swanson, Mrs. Swanson. I’m Gwen, a friend of Keira’s.”
My father broke away and took her hand, shaking it and then covering both their hands with his other one. “Please, it’s Richard. Nice to meet you, Gwen.”
Mom stretched out her hand. “I’m Susan. Pleased to meet you. I’m glad you’ve kept Keira company while she waited here for us.” She folded Gwen into a hug and patted her back. Stepping back, she held Gwen by her shoulders. “Are you Keira’s guardian?”
Gwen didn’t hesitate a second. “Yes,” she said, nodding.
Mom and Dad glanced at one another. “What’s going on, Dad? What did you hear about Nana’s disappearance? Where is she?” I could barely get the words out. My lips quivered and my throat was taut fighting back the tears.
He sighed. “Oh Keira. My poor baby girl.” He put his arm around me and hugged me.
Mom’s hand lifted to rub my back. “She’s gone, Keira. She has been for a couple of weeks. Both she and Lawrence—”
“No! She was here!” I spun around to face her.”What are you talking about? She was here last night! I’ve spent the week with her!”
“Honey, no.” Dad spoke up. “She died two weeks ago. As did Lawrence.”
What the hell were they talking about? My head swiveled to Gwen. “Tell them Gwen! You were here. Nana and Lawrence are alive. They were here!”
“She’s right, Richard. The four of us were together last night!” Her eyes were so big they threatened to pop right out onto her cheeks.
“Keira. It’s time you found out the truth. It’s a long story. Mr. Thompson will be here shortly and I’ve no wish for him to witness our family secrets. Let’s go in the kitchen and have a coffee while I explain.” My mother’s eyes were still welling but her chin lifted and she started across the foyer.
My knees were like spaghetti noodles and it was hard to breathe. What the hell was my mother talking about? A family secret? She was wrong! Nana and Lawrence had just gone away. They’d been there... had dinner with us... even fought the demon thing last night. What was happening with my parents? Had they lost their minds?
Dad forced a small smile at Gwen. “You too, Gwen.”
She stepped over to me and took my hand, giving it a squeeze. “It’s okay, Keira. I’m with you. We know what we saw, right?” Her eyes looked straight into mine and I felt a little better. This was probably the reason Lawrence had asked her to be with me. To stand up to the insanity which was happening right now with my parents.
THIRTY ONE
I WALKED INTO THE KITCHEN, as Mom was setting up a fresh pot of coffee. How could she be so... casual at a time like this? She’d just laid a bombshell—a crazy one—and now she was just going about putting on fresh coffee? She hadn’t even taken her raincoat off.
“So who’s this Mr. Thompson? What does he want?”
Her face was impassive when she turned to me. “He’s your grandmother’s lawyer. She left instructions with him, to be hand-delivered.”
I looked over to Dad. “What the hell do we need a lawyer for?”
“Because you grandmother left instructions.”
I huffed. “Oh. Thanks for clearing that up, Dad.” So he knew all about this as well. I wandered over to the kitchen table and had a seat. Gwen was right on my heels, her hand resting on my arm. As odd as it sounds, something about a lawyer showing up added a sense of normalcy to all this.
But the whole visit had been crazy. Only finding out about her, my secret power and then her... I gulped hard. Her death. Still, I couldn’t accept it. “But she was here! So was Lawrence!”
Dad’s fingers clasped Mom’s arm and he nudged her toward the table. “I’ll get the coffee honey. You take a seat.”
Mom sat across from Gwen and I. Her eyes were sad when she spoke. “I was with your grandmother when she died. You didn’t even know I was gone. Lawrence called me.” She sniffed and took a deep breath. “It was a massive heart attack, Keira; we knew her time had come.” The tears began to roll down her own cheeks. “She’d told me of her wishes.”
“And what were those?”
“To train you, silly. She knew you were at sea—you had no plan for your life. She knew the time was drawing near when you had to learn of your heritage.” She gazed around the kitchen, her voice soft. “It’s hard to believe but she and Lawrence were able to continue... to materialize long enough for you to learn. She knew you were gifted the first time she held you in the hospital.” She covered her face with her hands, and sobbed. “She didn’t want to move on until you were ready. And now, my mama’s gone!”
I leaned over the table and my hand covered hers. She may have been trying to be strong earlier, but the grief was like a stone she wore, pulling her down. And as hard as it was for me, it was waaay harder for her. She dropped her hands from her face.
“There was a letter this morning. When I read it, I knew her time with you was over.” Her chin trembled as she looked over to Gwen. “It said Keira would be with her guardian.”
The air drifted from my lungs and I sank lower on the table, my head falling. If only I had known. I would have... A sob rose in my throat and the tears once more flooded my eyes. Nana. It wasn’t long enough, the time with you. I never told you I loved you.
“But what about Lawrence?” You said he called you to let you know in time for you to see her? What happened to him?” Gwen’s voice was soft at my side.
“The night my mother died I got a phone call from the police. They’d found his body on a park bench near the hospital. There was a note listing me as next of kin. He just gave up living when she died.” Mom sniffed. “In many ways he was the father I never knew.”
I sat back in my chair like a rag doll, seeing Nana and Lawrence curled up together on her bed the night before. If I’d only known. I would have shook them awake and begged them to stay... if only just a bit longer.
Gwen got up and plucked the box of tissues from the counter. She extended the box to my mother and then to me. As I wiped my tears, she let out a loud honk, blowing her own nose. I smiled over at her, glad that she was there.
I looked across at my mother, who had balled up the tissue in her fist, trying hard to hide the quiver in her chin as she stared out the window. “You knew about all this and still, you sent me here.”
She turned to look at me. “It was her last wish, Keira. I didn’t know what was going to happen, but I trusted her. I’ve always known she had a mystical gift. I knew if she wanted you here, there was a good reason. I knew you’d be safe with her.”
It was pretty touch and go just yesterday, but I kept that to myself. I rested my chin on my hand. “I’m not the same girl who left New York City last week,” I said quietly.
Mom reached out and brushed back my bangs. “No... you’re not, are you?”
I nodded. That world was light years away now. “She used to love being in her sunroom. She had a pretty good sense of humor. Even when I called her GM, she liked it.”
My mother’s gaze flashed to me and a smile lit her face. “You called her that? It’s a wonder Lawrence didn’t throttle you!”
I snorted. “I didn’t care for Lawrence at first. That changed when I realized he was the way he was to be protective of her.” I looked around the kitchen—his domain. “If you can hear me Lawrence, thank you for everything.” I sniffed again. “You old coot.”
Dad’s gaze rested on Gwen. “And how do you fit into this crazy scheme? I have a feeling you’re into it up to your elbows.”
She chuckled. “I liked Keira right off the bat. And the fact she lived in the old haunted house, just sealed it.” She looked over at me. “We’re partners in crime now.”
“Do you understand what being her guardian entails?” Mom asked.
“No, not really,” she replied. When she saw the look on Mom’s face, she added in an even voice, “But I know I can handle it.”
The doorbell rang and we all jumped in our chairs.
Mom got to her feet. “That’ll be Mr. Thompson.”
THIRTY TWO
WE LEFT OUR HALF-EMPTY MUGS OF COFFEE ON THE TABLE, trailing after Mom like ducklings. When she opened the door, a portly man in a suit stared back at her.
“Mr. Thompson, please come in,” she said, opening the door wider.
“Mrs. Swanson.” He stepped inside. He was carrying a black briefcase the size of a small suitcase.
“I’m so glad you could make it on such short notice.”
He glanced around at the rest of us and cleared his throat. “Mrs. York was one of my oldest clients. Of course, I’d reschedule my calendar to make way for this. You have my sincere condolences.” His glance took in all of us, once more.
“Will you join us in the dining room? You’ll be able to set out your papers there.” Mom smiled and extended her hand, signaling the way, before she stepped across the entrance.
I cleared my mind as best I could. I leaned forward to shake his hand. “I’m Mrs. York’s granddaughter, Keira.” When I took his hand an impression of my grandmother was in his mind. He had genuinely liked Nana. He hoped I would be as competent as her; but doubted it because I was so young. He was worried I would squander her estate. This was a sharp man who worked eighteen-hour days if needed.
Haunted Hideout: Paranormal Suspense (The Haunted Ones Book 1) Page 38
