by Lexi Post
Holly moved toward it, while Joy floated over to him, a small smile on her face. She leaned in and whispered. “Very Spirit of Christmas Future, Mr. Scrooge.” Her gaze went from his arm to his hood.
He grinned back at her. “I try.”
She gave a soft chuckle that sent sexual fission flashing up his spine.
Schitz. He wanted this assignment done so he could take her back to his cottage and make love to her for at least a week nonstop. Maybe longer? The implications of that knocked him off balance. He needed to look into exactly why he wanted Joy in his afterlife.
Joy found Holly floating above Ethan’s desk, frowning at him.
“You look confused.” She had to remember not to be subtle. Malcolm was so much better at this, but she was learning.
“Is Ethan drunk?”
She gave Holly a sad smile. “Yes.”
Holly shook her head. “Why? Did the woman he loved reject him? Oh, poor Ethan. I need to be a better friend to him. Maybe if I do that, I can keep this from happening.” Holly floated to where Joy was. “I can influence the future, right?”
Malcolm floated behind her, his bayberry scent letting her know where he was. He was close. His deep voice came over her left shoulder. “Aye, you can, but you have to remember, most of what you see tonight are scenes that are most likely to come true.”
“But that’s only if I don’t change, right?”
Holly’s hopeful look was hard to dismiss, but Joy ignored it. “That will only increase the probability that they won’t come true.” At Holly’s crestfallen face, she forced herself to continue. “There’s still a chance they will.”
“This is so unfair to Ethan. He’s such a good man. And look.” Holly pointed at the man who sat at his desk in a t-shirt and gray sweats, his brown curly hair a mess, his green eyes blurry. The almost empty bottle of single-malt Scotch was next to his elbow, the glass in his hand, half empty. “He’s handsome, too and well built.”
Holly paused, her gaze running over Ethan’s chest and arms. “Wow, he’s really built. I never noticed that before. Probably because he’s always in a collared shirt and a pair of trousers. He’s smart. He manages his family’s money. He went to the university with Cameron and Brody. He’d be a great catch for any woman. I’m so pissed a woman did this to him.”
Joy glanced at Malcolm before addressing Holly. “Does Ethan rock climb like Cameron and Brody? He looks to be in good shape.”
Holly shook her head. “Oh, no. He’s the opposite of Cam and Brody. While they were impetuous and risk takers, Ethan always had to plan everything in advance and he was all about safety first. Sometimes it drove Cam crazy.” Holly smiled at the memory.
“But this man.” Malcolm opened his arm toward the drunk Ethan. “Tried to keep Cameron from going. He was the only one who took your side. He was the best kind of friend and now look at him.”
Holly turned back to Ethan who was in the process of throwing back the rest of the Scotch. “Oh Ethan, I’m so sorry. I’ll make this change. I swear.”
Joy floated to Holly and took her hand to bring her away from Ethan. “It won’t be that easy.”
“Why not? All I have to do is reach out to him in my time.”
“Watch.”
The front doorbell rang, but Ethan just poured himself another shot.
The bell rang again.
Holly frowned. “Where’s his mom? Or butler? Or whatever a place this big has?”
“As Malcolm said, Ethan’s parents live in town now and he won’t have any employees living with him. Everyone must go home by five so he can drink himself into oblivion.” Joy stopped talking at the loud banging on the door.
“Well, someone obviously wants in pretty badly.” Holly’s observation was shared by Ethan since he stood, swayed, then staggered out of the study.
They all followed him.
It took him four tries, but eventually he managed to open the door.
Chapter Ten
“Ethan?” Sophia stared at Ethan as if she’d expected him to be drunk.
“Sophia? Why are you here?” He held on to the door for support.
At his words, Sophia broke into tears. “Oh, Ethan, I had nowhere else to go. No one else to talk to. You’ve always been so kind to me. I just needed some kindness right now.”
He stared at her blankly. “I don’t understand.”
Sophia fell onto him, wrapping her arms around his neck, almost sending them both to the floor as she choked out her words. “My sister’s dead. My poor little sister.” Tears flowed over Sophia’s cheeks.
Holly turned to them. “But you said if I befriended Sophia, her sister wouldn’t die.”
Joy shook her head. “No, we told you that you could befriend her and try to change the future. These scenes are simply the most probable given what has occurred up to your Christmas Eve this year.”
“Then I’ll just be sure this never happens. I knew Sophia had a heart under there somewhere. She doesn’t deserve this. She may be a little self-involved, but—”
“She’s very self-involved. Don’t sugarcoat the truth just because her sister has died.” Malcolm was obviously not going to be moved by Sophia.
“Fine.” Holly gave him an irritated look. “Very self-involved, but she loves her sister. I’m going to do everything in my power to keep this from happening. I already told you that. What’s next?”
Malcolm’s jaw clenched and Joy cringed.
That didn’t bode well. “There’s more you still have to see. Come back into the study.” She grabbed Holly’s hand and Malcolm’s and sped through time a few minutes.
Ethan now lay passed out on the couch in his study, his head resting on the arm, one leg on and one leg off. Sophia sat next to him. “Ethan? Are you awake?” When she didn’t get a response, she smiled.
Holly looked at Joy, but she simply pointed at Sophia.
The woman rose from the couch and proceeded to undress, throwing her clothes about. Her blouse went on the desk, her bra on the end table near Ethan’s head, her skirt was left on the floor along with a pair of thong panties. Lastly, she pulled off her high heels and placed one on the rug near the desk and the other on the end table nearest her.
Joy looked at Malcolm to see if he enjoyed the view, but he was looking at her. She flushed and quickly looked away.
Sophia bent over and carefully untied Ethan’s sweatpants. She kept checking to make sure Ethan didn’t wake up. Then slowly, she pulled Ethan’s cock out.
Joy watched Holly’s face. She stared, her mouth open, her eyes riveted. Her whole body shivered before she licked her lips.
“Holy crap!” Holly found her voice before looking at Joy then back to Ethan. “He’s hung.” Holly’s gaze found Ethan’s face again and softened. “He really is the whole package.” Her voice held a sense of awe.
Joy hoped that meant Holly might be waking up, but she didn’t want to count on it. She glanced down at the man’s cock. It was thick and long and it wasn’t even hard. In fact, it was a lot like Malcolm’s. She swallowed.
“He’s not going to be of any use to her passed out like that.” Holly couldn’t seem to stop staring at Ethan. That was definitely good.
Having set everything up, Sophia lay down on the couch next to the man, her head on his shoulder, her hand across his waist and one leg over his. She smiled as she closed her eyes.
Holly frowned. “I don’t get it. She wants Ethan to think he slept with her? Is she that desperate for a boyfriend?” She turned to face them and her eyes grew round. “Oh, no. She’s not going to accuse him of rape or anything is she?”
“No!” Joy couldn’t let her think that. Sophia wasn’t that bad.
Holly frowned. “Is she the one he’s in love with. No, that can’t be because he wouldn’t love someone like her.”
Joy pounced on that. “What kind of woman would Ethan love?”
“Someone kind, intelligent, helpful and who has bigger boobs than Sophia.”
Jo
y laughed. Both she and Holly were well endowed compared to poor Sophia, whose figure was almost that of a teenage boy.
“I agree.” Malcolm’s comment had her growing self-conscious again.
Holly grinned. “It’s nice to know you have such good taste in women.” She looked between him and Joy.
Joy flushed. She prided herself on being professional. Could Holly tell they’d had sex?
“What’s the deal with this?” Holly waved toward Sophia and Ethan on the couch. “Why would she do this? She’s self-involved and Ethan is giving, so she’s obviously going to take advantage of him. I have to stop this somehow.”
Malcolm floated in front of them both and took their hands. At his touch, Joy felt like she was on fire. Watching Sophia and Ethan had her body remembering Malcolm’s as they made love outside. This wasn’t good. She needed to concentrate on this final visit.
Malcolm spun them around and they were looking at Ethan again, sitting at his desk. A full Scotch bottle was set on one side with an empty glass next to it, but it remained unopened.
Ethan wore a collared shirt, no tie and typed on his computer. His hair was as neat as it could be, considering its curly texture, and the light streaming in from the windows made it clear it was still during the day. A young man came in to announce Ethan had a visitor.
Holly floated toward Ethan. “This is the man I know. Have we gone back in time?”
Malcolm shook his head. “No, just a couple months forward.”
Holly didn’t seem to like that very much. Joy had a feeling the woman was anxious to find out more about Ethan’s future. Little did she know there was plenty that would happen right now.
Ethan pushed his computer aside and rose as Sophia walked in, dressed in a pair of casual slacks and a sweater, but no coat, which made it clear it was probably fall.
“Sophia. This is a pleasant surprise.” Despite his words, Ethan didn’t return the hug she gave him. “What’s the occasion? No, let me guess. You’re checking on the foundation we set up in Thea’s name.”
Sophia shook her head and took a seat on the very couch she’d lain on with Ethan, and patted the spot next to her. “I need to talk to you.”
Ethan didn’t move to the couch. Instead, he leaned up against his desk opposite her, much like Cameron often did. Joy smiled at the thought. They may have been opposites, but there were some similarities.
Holly snorted. “If she’s going to ask him for a favor, good luck. I’ve seen that look on him before. He’s not happy to see her. Whatever happened when he woke up to find her sprawled all over him certainly didn’t make him sympathetic toward her.”
Joy studied Ethan. “What look?”
Holly pointed to his right eyebrow. On the very edge toward his hairline there was a small tic.
“You must know him well. I would have never noticed that.”
Holly grinned smugly. “Well, he was at our place more than his own when Cam was alive, especially after Brody met Sarah. I know almost as much about him as I do Cam. We were all inseparable.”
“Then you avoiding him must be very difficult for him. Sounds like he was most comfortable around you all.”
Holly looked back toward Ethan and frowned. “You’re right. I did think about asking him to help me set up the Christmas tree this year, but that was always something Cam and I did together. I just couldn’t.”
Joy placed her hand on Holly’s shoulder. “I know it’s hard, but you need to be open to change. That is the only way you will be able to move on and embrace your future.”
“I know, but it’s hard. I really don’t want to move on, yet you’ve shown me I have to for Cameron’s sake.”
Malcolm interceded. “For your sake, not Cameron’s. It’s the only way you’ll be reunited in the afterlife.”
“What? Cam didn’t say that.” At Holly’s exclamation, Joy scowled at him. What was he trying to do?
Malcolm pointed at Holly. “That’s because he’s not allowed to, but I’ll tell you, from everything I’ve observed so far, if you can’t learn to live for you instead of your dead husband, there won’t be a Cameron waiting for you.”
Joy grabbed Malcolm’s hand and pulled him out into the hall. “What are you doing?” Her words, meant to be a whisper came out in a hiss.
“I’m doing what needs to be done.”
“You can’t lie to her like that.”
His face grew hard. “What makes you think I’m lying? Did you ever wonder why Cameron is sending spirit guides to Holly every year? If he was confident they would be together in the afterlife, why push her out of her grief? Could it really be just his own guilt, or is he being driven by a need to have forever with her?”
She didn’t have an answer and her intuition told her he was on to something. “If that’s the case, I’m not sure shocking her with that particular knowledge is the right strategy.”
His lip quirked up on the right side. “Were you not the one who said we shouldn’t be subtle?”
She pulled a stray strand of hair back behind her ear. “I understand that, but we’ve given her so many shocks already. I’m worried about how much more she can take.”
“Shocking a living person into a new direction has worked every time for me.”
Her stomach clenched at his words. “But that’s why you are on this assignment in the first place. Remember, if you don’t change your ways, you could disappear. I’ve become less subtle. Maybe you could be less shocking?”
He shook his head. “I don’t think I’m supposed to change. I believe Cameron was told to tell me that so it would be harder to motivate Holly. I think he’s the one on trial here, not me.” The smile he gave her concerned her.
“But what if you’re wrong? There has to be a middle ground you could take, just in case.”
He gazed into her eyes, his brown ones revealing nothing of his thoughts. “Why do you care so much?”
Sugar, she’d walked in to that one. If there was any kind of caring in his gaze, she could admit the growing feeling in her chest, but there was nothing. Only the interrogator studying her like a suspect. Breaking his gaze, she shrugged. “Because I want us to be successful.”
“Do you mean something like how you care for the families of your hospice patients.”
Relieved at his assumption, she gave him a soft smile. “Yes, something like that.”
His lip curled up into a sneer before he turned. At least she thought that’s what it was. Quickly, she floated next to him. “Did I say something you don’t like?”
He brushed it off. “No. Let’s get back inside before Holly is overwhelmed by Sophia’s scheming.”
She nodded, but her stomach tied itself into knots. The last thing she wanted to do was hurt him, but there was no way she could tell him that her feelings for him were evolving. She didn’t have time to sort them out yet. All she knew was her concern arose from far more than attraction…and far more than for the families of her patients.
Malcolm grinded his teeth as they floated back into the study. He wasn’t even entirely sure why he felt so frustrated, but he did. Why would Joy have a picture of him in her nightstand drawer before they’d even started this assignment if she only thought of him like a family member of a patient, a far more distant relationship than the photo indicated? He prided himself on reading his suspects, knowing if they would make a run for it or stay and face the consequences.
But she’s not a suspect. You’re not objective and she’s your lover. His conscience just irritated him more. Aye, he’d hoped for something different in her answer. He’d thought he’d seen something in her eyes, but he must have been wrong.
It made the end to the assignment that much easier.
Sophia’s voice interrupted his thoughts as he stopped next to Joy. “I didn’t expect to get pregnant, Ethan. I promise you. I just needed some comfort, and you needed some, too.”
Ethan rubbed the back of his neck, obviously unhappy.
Holly floated next to the man
. “Don’t do it, Ethan. It’s a trick. She must have become worse after Thea died. Don’t give in.”
“Sophia, I’m half to blame and I’ll be a part of this baby’s life. It’s the right thing to do.”
“No, Ethan, don’t.” Holly’s upset gave Malcolm something to work with.
“Thank you. I always knew you were a good man.” Sophia rose and kissed Ethan on the cheek. “I’ll come back on the weekend with my things. In such a large house, you’ll hardly know I’m here.”
Holly turned to Joy, tears in her eyes. “There has to be some way to stop this. Tell me, if I can keep Thea from dying, will this not happen?”
Before Joy could open her mouth, he spoke. “Only one thing can stop this from happening.”
Holly’s face snapped to him. “What?”
“If the woman he loved, loved him back.”
“But I don’t know who that is!” A tear slipped down her cheek, and Joy took her hand.
She could give all the comfort she wanted to Holly, but he would make the woman open her eyes. “Pay attention and you’ll figure it out.”
At his words, Holly’s face lit with a tremulous smile. “I will.”
While they spoke, Sophia had exited the room. Malcolm felt a certain sympathy with Ethan. The man had just been duped by a woman much like he’d been duped by his “wife,” Coira. At least Ethan wouldn’t pay with his life like he had.
But as Ethan reached for the Scotch bottle and poured a shot of whiskey into the empty glass, Malcolm had his doubts about the longevity of Ethan’s life.
Holly watched Ethan much like he’d seen Joy looking at himself, with sympathy. Sympathy was worthless. Action was what was needed.
Ethan walked around to the other side of his desk and picked up his phone. “Call Mum.” As he waited, Holly wiped her tears with the back of her hand.
“Hi Mum. Aye, I’ll be there Sunday. No nothing’s wrong, well, except I wanted to let you know that Sophia Dunlap is going to be staying in the east wing for a bit.”
Holly shook her head, a scowl on her face. Malcolm had no sympathy for her. A lot of this was her fault.
