by Tasha Black
Right now, it was probably in the Housekeeping cart under the day’s towels.
In another ten minutes that cart would be back in the main lodge where its contents would be dumped into the industrial washing machine.
Indiana gestured to Kitt, who dashed to his side.
“What should we do?” Kitt asked.
“Go find Ethan from Housekeeping, he’s on laundry duty today,” Indiana said. “He should be in the men’s staff cabin. I’m betting the book is in the laundry cart.”
“How could you possibly know that?” Kitt stared at him.
“No time,” Indy said. “Just go get it. Don’t let Ethan or anyone else see you. Bring it back, put it under the table.”
Kitt nodded and headed for the back door. Indiana knew his brother could use his gift to get there and back before more than a few seconds had passed for everyone else. But he couldn’t risk seeming to disappear in view of the crowded dining hall.
“I’ll have your job, and I’ll ruin you forever,” Travers was shouting at Remington. “You will have no future, you’ll be lucky to get a job digging ditches. When I’m through with you, you’ll wish you were dead!”
Indiana’s brother looked at his feet. The big man was more than capable of smashing Travers straight out the window if he desired to do so.
Somehow Remington’s humility made Indiana even angrier with Travers. Surely he could see that Remington hadn’t stolen anything from him. He was drunk on his own power, delighting in this abusive behavior.
The man really was a monster.
Just then, a slight breeze alerted him to Kitt’s return.
He waited until he saw Kitt reappear in the doorway at the back of the dining room before approaching the table.
“Excuse me, sir,” Indiana said softly. “I believe I see something under your chair.”
Travers suddenly got silent.
He pulled back his chair and the whole room went silent.
“What-what the hell?” he spluttered. “That wasn’t there before.”
“How could you be so careless?” Indiana shouted at his poor brother. “You must have knocked over Mr. Travers’s book when you were clearing the table.”
“I’m so sorry, sir,” Remington sounded as if he were about to cry.
Malik had bent to retrieve the book and handed it smoothly to Travers.
“Our apologies, sir,” Malik said. “I’m terribly embarrassed at the clumsiness of our staff. Please accept our apologies.”
Travers cleared his throat, obviously placated.
“I’ll let it go this time,” he said loudly. “See that you’re more careful in future.”
Travers slipped the little book into his inside jacket pocket, closed the jacket, and patted the spot where it rested, as if to be sure of it. Then he marched out of the room, followed by his two companions.
“Good eye, kid,” one of them muttered to Indiana, patting him on the shoulder as they left.
Indiana watched after them until they disappeared into the lobby.
Then he turned to his brother.
Malik was patting Remington on the back.
“Why don’t you take a break, my boy?” Malik suggested.
“I’m so sorry,” Indiana said to his brother. “I only yelled at you so that Mr. Travers wouldn’t become more angry. It wasn’t your fault.”
When Remington looked up at him, Indiana gave him a cheerful pirate-style wink.
Remington still looked downcast, but he smiled back.
“Come,” Malik said, leading Remington back toward the kitchen. “I need someone’s opinion on the honey ginger cakes for the tea party on the lawn this afternoon.”
Indiana knew there was no tea party this afternoon. He had seen the kitchen schedule too.
But he was grateful to their employer for cheering his brother up.
On the other hand, he was still seething about Travers.
“Someone needs to take that guy down at notch or two,” Kitt whispered to Indy his way back to his tables.
Indiana couldn’t agree more.
And for the first time, his secret gave him joy.
Nikki wanted to take Travers down all the notches.
And seeing this side of the man made it hard not to see Nikki’s mission in a more honorable light.
Indiana
Indiana went to bed early. A plan was forming in his head, but he would make no decisions without a full night’s sleep.
The next morning he awoke early and feeling more like himself. He showered and headed out to the lawn to find Nikki.
It was his day off and he knew it was hers too, though she had one private lesson booked today.
The day was already shaping up to be nearly perfect - breezy, and a bit overcast to tame the summer heat. The morning sun reflected in the surface of the lake, clouds and all as Indiana gazed across that watery mirror to the island.
Honey had once told them a story about the island being haunted. Naturally, he had memorized each detail without meaning to.
Back in Stargazer, Dr. Bhimani had explained to the men from Aerie that ghosts were not real. Which was a shame - the formless, floating spirits seemed much closer to the life he was used to on Aerie. It had turned out that many of the wonderful things they had seen in the movies were not real.
Humans loved to tell stories, even ones that weren’t true.
Staring into the darkness between the trees, he could almost understand the creepy appeal. It was fascinating to think of the ghost of the woman, whose new husband and younger sister had plotted her death, pacing the planks of the abandoned cottage. Indiana could practically hear the scream of the sister when the woman came out of the cottage with her gun. The sharp sound of the gunshot as the woman killed the husband. And the terrible splash of her throwing herself off the cliffside to drown in the cold water at the other end of the island.
Indiana noticed a flash of movement from between the trees on the island.
“Hey,” Nikki’s voice came from right behind him. It was all he could do not to jump out of his shoes.
He managed to turn smoothly. Or at least, he thought he had.
“Didn’t mean to startle you,” Nikki teased. “Were you listening for the gunshot?”
Indiana laughed. “I guess I was.”
“Did you hear it?” she asked.
“No,” he shook his head and winked. “I guess I’ll have to go over there for further investigation. Want to join me?”
“No thanks,” Nikki shook her head. “Hey, thank you.”
“What for?”
“For not ratting me out,” she said. “It has to be hard to keep a secret from your brothers. I know those guys are all you have.”
He nodded.
She put it so well, just the way he thought of it. Without his brothers, he had no ties to what he once had been, no one to understand his daily confusion, or to share in newfound knowledge.
“I’m sorry I put you in that position,” she said.
Her expression was so serious, so contrite. She reminded him of Remington for a moment.
“It’s fine, Nikki,” he said. “I’m glad you trust me with your secret. And I’ve been thinking that maybe I could help you.”
“Oh,” she said, looking surprised. “You are helping, just by keeping the secret.”
“Nikki,” he said, “I could play poker with him.”
“But you don’t know how to play poker,” she said.
“I’m a fast learner,” he said, in probably the understatement of the century.
“You don’t know anything about the stock market,” she said.
“I’ve got a great memory,” he told her. “I’ll remember everything he says and come back and tell it to you.”
“No one has that great a memory,” she laughed.
“I won’t forget what he says,” Indy told her.
She stopped laughing and looked up at him. Her blue eyes seared through him and he tried to remind himself th
at she wasn’t so innocent. She had been tricking him, tricking them all.
“Why do you want to help me?” she asked.
Because I care about you even though you aren’t who you said you were.
Because even if it kills me to keep secrets from my brothers, I hope that sharing this secret will cement our bond.
“Because I’m your friend,” he told her.
She nodded, a serious expression on her face.
“Thank you, Indiana,” she told him. “I hope one day I can return the favor.”
He tried hard not to picture the kind of favor he would like from her, the feel of those chestnut curls in his hands, the taste of her lips, the soft warmth of her body pressed to his again…
“Do you have anywhere else you need to be today?” she asked.
“No,” he said.
“Let’s go to town, then,” she said. “We’ll grab a deck of cards and I’ll teach you how to play poker.”
“I like this plan,” he said. “Maybe I can buy you lunch?”
“Maybe,” she smiled back.
For a moment her eyes sparkled in the morning sun, and he could have done a back flip with joy at the way her smile stretched her face.
Then she shut down again, as usual.
“I should buy you, lunch,” she said in a business-like tone. “After all, you’re going to help me.”
“You’re just a poor college student,” he teased. “I’m an alien, poised on the edge of fame and fortune.”
She laughed in spite of herself, and they headed off to the staff parking lot.
The ride into town was unremarkable, but Indiana luxuriated in the time spent alone with Nikki. He tried to memorize the way the sunlight flashed through the trees to illuminate her cheeks, the way her sunglasses rested on her nose, the unconscious way she massaged the steering wheel, rolling her thumbs in small circles as if to calm the car.
It was only when they pulled up in the small town parking lot that he realized they hadn’t spoken at all during the ride.
“Let’s go to the Hobby Shop first,” Nikki suggested.
“Sounds good,” he agreed.
He followed her onto the sidewalk and into the door under the awning of one of the stores.
Lovely music greeted his ears. Inside the store, children were either playing with a train set or sitting on the floor, reading books as big as they were while the mothers chatted.
“Oh, hello,” said an elderly woman from a seat behind the counter. “How can I help you?”
“Please don’t get up,” Nikki said, heading over to the lady. “We wanted to buy cards.”
“Greeting cards, collectible cards or playing cards?” the lady wanted to know.
“Playing cards, please,” Nikki said.
“For games or for magic tricks?”
“Games,” Nikki said.
“Plain or novelty?”
Indiana had not known there could be so many kinds of cards. The woman was clearly in a very confusing business.
“Plain, thanks,” Nikki said.
The lady reached beneath the counter and pulled out a deck of cards wrapped in plastic. “That will be six dollars and thirty-six cents.”
Indy slipped his money out of his pocket and placed it on the counter.
The woman gasped.
“Don’t worry,” he told her. “I definitely have at least six dollars and thirty-six cents.”
He plucked six one-dollar bills proudly from the stack and handed them to the lady. Then he counted out thirty-six cents and handed them over as well.
He picked up the rest of the money and shoved it back into his pocket.
“Thank you,” the lady said.
“Thank you,” he told her politely. “You have a lovely store. I will be sure to visit again if I ever need greeting cards, collectible cards, magic cards or novelty cards.”
“Er, thanks,” said the woman.
“Are the magic cards actually magical?” He asked with a sly wink. He knew the answer, but couldn’t resist. Magical cards might be useful for him to help Nikki.
“Oh,” the woman said in a surprised way. Then she laughed hard. “He’s a caution,” she told Nikki, shaking her head.
“Tell me about it,” Nikki said with a roll of her eyes.
Indiana would have asked what was happening if Nikki hadn’t dragged him by the arm to the door.
Nikki
Nikki tried her best to suppress her giggles until they were out on the sidewalk.
When the door to the shop swung closed behind them she let go and broke into a full fit of laughter at the absurdity of it all.
“What’s so funny?” Indiana demanded. But it only made her laugh harder.
At last she pulled it together.
“You know, I’m not sure,” she said. “I would say it’s you, but I think it’s not. I guess I just never realized what a funny place Earth is.”
He shook his head and smirked at her.
She wanted to slap him and kiss him at the same time.
“Let’s get lunch,” he said. “I think you’re lightheaded from lack of nourishment.”
“No,” she said. “First we’re getting you a wallet.”
“To put my money in?” he asked.
“Yes,” she said. “It’s unusual to see an adult man put all his money on the counter like that to count it.”
“Why?” he asked.
“I guess because it could get stolen,” she said. “Besides, it’s disorganized.”
“Did you really think that woman was going to steal my money?” Indiana looked horrified.
“No,” she laughed. “No, but you should still behave as much like the rest of us as possible. Here’s a good spot.”
They dashed into a men’s clothing shop.
“My man,” the proprietor said in delight, clearly already sizing Indiana in his head and calculating the cost of a bespoke suit.
“We’re here for a wallet,” Nikki said quickly.
“Oh dang,” the shopkeeper said. “Somebody jumped you?”
“I have never had a wallet before,” Indiana explained.
Nikki forced a loud laugh. “He’s such a kidder,” she said. “He wants a leather wallet. Do you have anything in brown?”
The shopkeeper unenthusiastically pointed them to a display rack. “There you go.”
Indiana observed the rack with naked admiration. He turned it one way. He turned it the other. He spun it like a centrifuge in a NASA experiment.
Nikki grabbed a random wallet off it and placed a hand on his arm.
To his credit, Indiana stopped playing with the rack immediately and followed her to the counter, where she placed the wallet down.
The owner picked it up, looked at it, looked at it again, and then rang it up.
Indiana surreptitiously pulled the enormous wad of money from his pocket and began to count it in a strange, hunched over manner, almost as if…
As if he expected the man to try to steal it.
Well, at least he had listened to her.
“Twenty six fifty-seven,” the man said. “You want a bag for this?”
“No thank you,” Indiana said firmly. “I need to put my money in there.”
He handed over exact change.
The man handed him the wallet. In so doing, he flipped it over.
Nikki could see that the wallet had pink writing stitched onto it. The writing said:
For the small amount of money my grandson hasn’t spent…
“Thank you,” Indiana said politely.
“Don’t mention it,” the man replied in an insincere way, turning on his heel and walking toward the back of the store.
Indiana tried to put the rest of the money into his wallet, but it wouldn’t shut, because he was shoving it in there haphazardly, coins and all.
“Come on,” Nikki said. “We’ll figure that out at the café.”
“Okay,” Indy agreed.
He followed her out the door like
an overgrown puppy.
Without really thinking about it, Nikki found herself heading into the café she frequented every Sunday. It was probably a mistake, but they were already halfway inside.
“Welcome,” the hostess said, arching her brows in a coy way at Indiana.
“Hey, there,” he said lightly.
Damn he was smooth. And it didn’t seem like he was even trying. She wondered if he had any idea of the effect he had on women.
The hostess’s cheeks went predictably pink.
But of course, she hadn’t seen his new wallet.
Though Nikki doubted if the woman would care, judging from the way she stared at Indy like she was starving and he was a juicy steak. He could probably get away with a lot before she stopped drooling.
“Is this good?” she asked, gesturing to a very nice seat by the big window.
“Thanks,” he said. “Nice view.”
“I’ll say,” the woman muttered under her breath.
Indiana either didn’t hear her or pretended not to.
“Your server will be right over,” the woman said a little mournfully before returning to her post.
Indiana immediately got out his money and spread it across the little table. He pulled out his wallet and set it on top of the pile.
But before they could organize everything, their waitress came over.
“Oh, wow, is all that for me?” she teased.
Indiana looked up at her worriedly, but when he saw her smile he grinned back.
“I’m just kidding, honey,” the woman smiled. “Dang, I hope you don’t mind me saying so, but you look like a movie star or something.”
“I’m not a movie star,” Indiana said raising an eyebrow flirtatiously, and Nikki burst out laughing.
“He’s cocky, isn’t he?” the waitress asked Nikki. “All the good looking ones are,” she answered her own question in a mock-sad way, nodding her head up and down.
Though the hostess who seated them had been conventionally pretty - blonde, curvy and covered in make-up, their waitress was decidedly plump and more than a bit matronly.
But Indiana was basking in her good-humored banter and engaging with her - showing as much enthusiasm for her as he’d shown indifference for the hostess.
Nikki felt a pang of admiration for this man who had his priorities straight and valued humor over cool.
