Fallon looked at Zane. “Do you remember anything about that night?”
He scanned the room, confusion filtering through his features. He shuffled from the table a few steps and shut his eyes. Slowly, he angled his feet to the right and walked half a dozen paces, grazing past another table. Stopping, he twisted to stare at Fallon behind him.
“Here.” A wisp of distress dashed across his face. “I think.”
She nodded, tears brimming in her eyes.
“I remember a shitload of pain.” He twisted toward Erik. “You helped me somehow. Is that right?”
“Yes.”
The memory of how he’d worked to get Zane’s heart started again ripped through him. That had been an intense few minutes. He opened his mouth to tell him what had happened, but then something else appeared in Zane’s eyes. A feral storm. Fear and anger twisted through Erik. They needed to fix this, but they weren’t going to rush into it like they had with Haileon. Right now, they needed a distraction.
“Who’s hungry?”
“I am,” Wyatt said. “Could eat a damn cow, hooves, tail, and horns.”
“Well, you’re out of luck then, bro. It’s chicken.”
He slapped his hands together and headed toward the door. “Sounds good. What say we get to it, then?”
Twenty minutes later, Erik set the platter with the roasted chicken on the table.
“Amber, you outdid yourself.” He inhaled. “This smells awesome.”
Cheeks coloring, she dipped her head. “Thanks.”
He set to carving the bird. What was up with his sister’s embarrassment? All he’d done was compliment her. He glanced at Wyatt, who shrugged.
“It’s good to be together again.” Fallon reached for Zane’s hand. “We’re looking forward to a few days’ rest.”
He turned to her. “Have we ever been on a vacation together?”
She shook her head.
“Damn. I just wish I could remember.”
She leaned toward him, her energy seeming to ease his tension. “You will. We’ll rest and relax. Take it easy.”
“I’m all for taking this memory thing slow,” Erik said as he carved another slice of chicken. “I’ve learned my lesson after rushing into that Haileon business.”
Wyatt snorted. “Bastard kicked our asses.” He shifted his attention to Zane. “As did you.”
Zane balked. “What?”
“You cussed us out for being stupid,” Erik said.
Wyatt snorted. “Ah-yuh.”
“I don’t remember any of that.” He fiddled with the napkin next to his plate.
“You will,” Fallon said.
Amber cleared her throat. “I, um, have been researching that in the library. The memory thing.” She glanced toward Wyatt as though hoping for support. “There are, uh, several books with spells and potions and things.”
Wyatt’s eyes lit. “We could try one. Might do the job.”
“Slow,” Erik warned. “We’re talking about Zane’s mind here. We don’t want to make things worse.”
“Not sure it could be much worse,” Zane muttered.
“See? He’s game.” Wyatt snatched up his fork and jabbed at a slice of chicken on the platter. “You gonna serve that bird up or take it out on a date?” he taunted Erik.
Erik slapped his brother away. “Son, don’t you see I have a big-ass knife in my hand?”
Wyatt laughed and grabbed up his own knife, brandishing it. “So do I.”
“That’s a butter knife, you idiot. Now stop fooling around and pour the wine.”
“Aye-aye, Captain.” He rose and wandered into the kitchen.
Erik looked at Zane and Fallon. “We won’t do anything in regards to your memory until we’re sure. We’ll double-check everything. And, man, if you don’t want to do something, you just say the word.”
Lifting his hand, Zane rubbed his temple. “At this point, I’m up for most anything.”
“Headaches?” Erik sent to Fallon, wondering if she could hear him.
“More like migraines. I thought his healing me might’ve brought them on. But that was yesterday, and they’re still with him.” She glanced at Zane. “He had a rough night.”
A memory of her fear washed through him. “Damn.”
“We’ll talk later. Get a plan.”
Erik’s cell rang, and he tugged it from the holster on his hip, checking the number—Sheila, his college friend and landscaping business partner for five years. Behind him, Wyatt scooted by, wine bottle in hand. “Sorry, guys,” he told them. “But I have to take this call. Work.”
Fallon smiled. “No worries.”
“None at all, bro.” Wyatt took the knife and fork from where Erik had set them on the serving dish. “You go take care of business. We’ll take care of the bird in your absence.”
Erik glared at his brother and strode into the kitchen. “Hey, Sheila. What’s up?”
“Well, I’m not sure exactly.”
“I’m kinda in the middle of something here.” He glanced toward the dining room. “So….”
“I’m out here at the Frinetta place.”
He rolled his eyes and sighed. “What now? Did we plant a bush in the wrong spot?”
“It’s a little bigger than that.” She snorted. “Remember how you did that design for her at the very start?”
“The one she ripped to shreds?” He shook his head. Ms. Kelly Frinetta had to be the most difficult customer they’d worked for to date. The woman is uncompromising. Her way or no pay. “Yeah. Hard to forget.”
“Well, she called me this morning and demanded I come out right away. And, Erik, I’ve never seen anything like this.”
“What are you talking about?”
“I’ve got your original design in my hand. Those boulders she said weren’t Zen—”
Erik grunted. “That woman doesn’t know Zen from her ass—”
“I know.” She laughed. “Did you put them where she wanted?”
“Yeah, I did. Every damn one of them.” He shook his head, his gut tightening as he remembered how wrong, how off-balance the garden had looked when he’d finished. “Sheila, you were there. I drove the backhoe, and you guided me to place every one of them. You gave her the paperwork to sign when we were finished.”
“Right.” She sighed. “Erik, you need to come home. Now.”
“What’s this all about?” Anger flared through him. “What? Is she planning to sue us over something?”
“Yes. No. I don’t know. Just get here.”
“Look, we did the work. She signed off on it. She has no grounds to sue us.”
“The rocks moved,” Sheila blurted.
He jolted. “W-what?”
“I don’t understand it,” she said, her voice raising an octave. “I was just out here yesterday, dropping off our maintenance package information, and everything was fine. Then today, they’re all in different places. Overnight. Needless to say, Ms. F is pitching a snippy fit. And you remember how the yard looked after we’d placed those rocks?”
“Yeah, it was a rutted mess.”
“Well, not only are the rocks where you originally put them in your design, but the rest of the garden is untouched. Not a broken branch or bent blade of grass.”
“Seriously?”
“Yeah.” She sighed, and he imagined her running her hand through her blonde hair. “Just tell me you did this, okay? Cause I’m really starting to freak out.”
Erik strode out of the kitchen and took the stairs by twos. “Look, I’ll be there later tonight. We’ll go out there together tomorrow and get to the bottom of this.”
“Good. I’m gonna go unplug the phones, crawl under my desk, and hope the bitch doesn’t track me down.”
“Just go home.” He entered his room and opened the closet. “You deserve the day off after this.”
“You’re the boss.”
Erik ended the call and grabbed his duffel, tossing it on the bed. Taking his shirts from the hangers, he
folded them and tucked them into the main compartment. How the hell had all those boulders been moved? They weighed hundreds of pounds. And to move them all without destroying the garden? Impossible.
He tossed his socks and underwear into the bag. He wanted to be here with his brother and sisters, to help Zane recover his memories, but he also needed to tend to his business. He wouldn’t leave unless it was an emergency. And Ms. Frinetta qualified. The demanding garden shrew could lock his company up in court for years. The people who worked for him depended on him for their livelihood.
Zipping the bag closed, he glanced around the room for anything he’d missed. He shook his head. How had those damn rocks been moved? And better yet, how was he going to put them back where Ms. Frinetta wanted them? When he’d landscaped her backyard, his crew had used Bobcats to set them in place. No way they could do that again without destroying her new garden.
Pulling out his cell, he punched the number for the on-call pilot of the Forrester jet. By the time he said his goodbyes and got to the airport, they would be prepared for take-off. Damn nice having a plane when you need it. Yeah, our aunt sure did things up right.
Tomorrow, he would meet Sheila, and, together, they would figure out how to resolve the Frinetta issue. And how to get those boulders back where they belonged.
* * *
[SENP1]+ and you’re in your own homes
[SENP2]Rhyme. Flight?
[SENP3]Um, what time is this? They got up, she spent an hour on the phone with her brother, they got dressed then left the house, still in the morning, to go and see Johnny’s mother. They were there for three hours, so this is possibly now early afternoon, right? Just wondering why they need to go to bed?
[SENP4]This indicates it’s nighttime now? Confused as to where the rest of the day went?? And no mention of when their flight is to Maine…
Waltz into Fire Page 28
