by Nicole James
“Sit, dear. I’ll bring you a plateful and some milk.” Ellen herded Holly to a chair at the table and moved to a cabinet to take down a glass and small plate. A minute later, a plate slid before her and a glass sloshed with milk. She stared down at them—milk and cookies. What an odd thing to offer a grown woman. She hadn’t had those since her father was still alive. A chill ran over her.
Feeling a presence at her side, she glanced up to find Joker standing over her.
“You okay?”
She nodded, breaking free of the weird sensation.
“I texted Maggie. She’s down at the park. I’m gonna go pick her up.”
Holly started to rise from her chair, but Ellen stepped forward, putting a hand on her shoulder, guiding her back down. “She can wait here. It’ll give us a chance to get to know each other.”
Joker’s eyes dropped. “You okay hanging around for about fifteen minutes? It’s just up the street.”
She wasn’t about to admit she was scared to death to be left alone with this woman who spoke to dead people like that was the most normal thing in the world. “Sure. I’ll be fine.”
The corner of his mouth tugged up like he saw right through that answer. Then he winked. “Be right back, babe.”
“She’ll be fine. Go.” Ellen waved her son out.
When they heard the screen door bang shut, Ellen brought a cup of tea to the table and sat across from her.
“My son, he’s a protector. Has been since he was little.”
Holly met her eyes. “That’s why he’s with me.”
“His father told me I’d like you.”
“So…you’re a medium?”
She nodded, taking a sip of tea. “Among other things. I’m also a crystal healer and I read palms.”
“You make a living doing that?”
She set her cup down in the saucer. “I do.”
Holly studied the woman’s features. “He looks just like you.”
A smile broke across Ellen’s face. “He does, doesn’t he? But he’s got his father’s temperament. Rock steady. Always just seems to innately know his next step. He has complete faith in his judgment. He’s stubborn, but once he makes a decision, he never questions it, never doubts himself. And that’s a good quality to have in a man.”
Holly nodded. “It is.”
They were both quiet for a few moments.
Finally, Holly broke the silence. “Does he miss his father?”
“He never knew his father.” When Holly’s wide eyes met hers, she continued. “Oh, they met, but he was too young to remember. He was just barely toddling then.”
“His father died when he was young?”
Ellen shook her head. “No. His father and I were never married. We had a love affair, but I could never be a part of his life.”
“Why? Was he already married or something?”
“No. He was a biker. The patch Johnny Ray wears on his back?”
“Yes.”
“His father was president of that club years ago.”
“Not…Undertaker?”
“No. His name was Skeeter.” She stared off. “God, that was a lifetime ago.”
“So, didn’t he want to be a part of his son’s life?”
“It wasn’t that. I made the decision, and he loved me enough to respect my wishes. It was a life I didn’t want my son to be a part of.”
“But yet, here he is, a full-patched member.”
“He is.”
“How did that happen?”
“Undertaker showed up one day and brought Skeeter’s bike with him. Joker had just turned sixteen. Two years later, he took off on that bike and went straight to New Orleans and his father’s club. The invitation had been extended, and I know that’s what Skeeter wanted, but it still hurt when he choose that life.”
“His sister, is she…?”
“His half sister. I wasn’t married to him either, and he didn’t stick around long. Guess it’s hard to find someone who can deal with what I do.”
Holly could believe that.
Suddenly Ellen tilted her head and reached across the table, covering Holly’s hand with hers. “Your father is sorry. He’s sorry he had to go away, and he’s sorry your life after he died wasn’t very good. But he’s proud of you—you and your sister. He wants you both to know that.”
Holly could only stare. “My father?”
“He’s here. He says he didn’t want to leave you.”
She stared blankly at the woman, as a chill came over her.
“He says you don’t believe me.” She pointed to the food before Holly. “He says you used to have milk and cookies together after school. He says he worked nights, and he was there to meet the bus when you got home from school every afternoon.” She paused, smiling.
Holly stared down at the treat. Was that why this woman had baked the cookies and poured her the milk, because of some message from her father? This was all so crazy.
“He says to ask you about the tire swing.”
Holly’s eyes snapped up and widened. She hadn’t thought about the tire swing in years. She remembered her father pushing her on it. She remembered there was a picture of her in the tire swing with her father squatting down next to her, both of them smiling at the camera. It had been in a small frame on her dresser when she was a child.
When she and Cat had left home, it had been in a hurry, and she’d forgotten the picture.
Tears formed in her eyes. How did this woman know these things? There was no way for her to know these things. Joker didn’t even know these things.
“He tells me your sister is a healer, too.”
“She’s a nurse. This is so weird.” She pulled her hand free.
“He’s glad you’re painting again.”
“Stop. Just stop. You’re freaking me out.”
“I’m sorry, sweetheart. I don’t mean to scare you.” She covered Holly’s hand again. “I have something I want to give you. Wait here.”
She stood and moved to the front of the house. When she returned and took her seat, she held her hand out. In her palm was a pendant necklace with a pale pink stone.
“Crystals have healing powers. This is Rose Quartz. It has a very gentle energy, and it’s the stone of unconditional love and infinite peace. It’s a very soothing and calming stone, symbolizing love and harmony. It helps open your heart to give and receive love. It also encourages you to forgive others and especially yourself, helping you to move on. Holly, may I be direct?”
Her brows shot up. “You mean you haven’t been already?”
“I sense about you some traumas from your past, both recent and from your childhood. Rose Quartz is one of the best stones to use for relationship troubles, emotional traumas, and healing inner childhood issues. You can wear it or hold it when you are emotionally troubled. Its soothing and calming effects will bring forth peace and tranquility.” She placed it in her palm and closed her hand around it. “I want you to have this.”
Knowing it would be easier to just accept the gift with grace than to try to refuse it, she murmured, “Thank you.”
She fastened it around her neck. It fell to the center of the V-neck shirt she wore. She fingered the smooth cool stone.
“How long have you known my son?”
Her eyes lifted. “About three months.”
“How did you meet?”
It was a long story, so she shortened it as best she could. “A mutual friend thought I needed some looking after, and he felt Joker would be a good man for the job.”
“Job?”
She shrugged and didn’t meet her eyes, not sure how to explain the strange circumstances they currently existed in.
Ellen nodded. “I suppose he is a good man for a job like that. It comes naturally to him.”
Holly didn’t know what to make of that statement and could only nod her agreement. It was true, and the more time she spent with him, getting to see the real Joker, the more she believed it.
“
If you give him a chance, I think you two could be good together.”
“Together? Oh, you misunderstand. We’re not…I mean… he’s not my boyfriend or anything.”
Ellen eyed her. “I see. You know sometimes our head denies what our heart already knows.”
The front screen door creaked open and slapped shut, and they heard the voices of Joker and his sister.
When they entered the kitchen, Joker’s gaze immediately snapped to her. “You okay?”
Ellen stood. “She’s fine for heaven’s sake.”
Joker ignored his mother’s reassurance and questioned, “She read your palm?”
“No.”
“Chart your stars?” he teased with a grin.
“No.”
Then his eyes fell to the stone, and the smile faded. He moved to the side of her chair and lifted it from her breastbone with a gentle touch. His eyes met hers before he twisted his head to his mother. “Rose Quartz… Really, Mother?”
“It’s just what she needs.”
He twisted back, gave Holly a smirk, and dropped the stone.
Her hand closed over it, and she stared up at him. “What?”
“It’s known as the romance stone, babe.”
“Romance?”
Ellen corrected, “It’s the love stone—not just romantic love, and it has other healing powers, too. Don’t mind him, he doesn’t know half of what he thinks he does.”
His sister sat at the table and smiled at her. “That’s for sure.”
Joker lifted his chin to the girl, his eyes on Holly. “Holly, my sister, Maggie. The Magster, if you want to drive her crazy.”
“Shut up, Johnny Ray. No one calls me that anymore. You’d know if you were ever around.”
“I’m standin’ right here, Mag. And any more mouth from you, and I’ll start callin’ you Maggot.”
The girl rolled her eyes.
Holly studied her. Joker and his sister looked nothing alike. This girl was dark haired with golden-brown eyes and a gorgeous tan. The only thing they shared was their mother’s smile.
“Well? Do you see?” Maggie put her hands on her hips. “I told you. Do you believe me now?”
Holly’s eyes moved to the girl, then shifted to Joker, wondering what the girl was talking about.
His eyes dropped to an ice chest on the floor and he sighed.
Ellen spun, took in her daughter, and then pinned her son with a look. “Told you what?”
“Nothing Ma.”
“Told you what, Johnny Ray?” she repeated, more bite to her words. Then her brows shot up and her mouth opened. “She called you, didn’t she? You didn’t just come to visit!”
“Ma—”
“Do not Ma, me, mister! I will not be handled.”
“The power’s turned off again, isn’t it?” he asked her and gestured to the cooler. “You’re eating out of an ice chest again, aren’t you?”
Ellen put her chin out, picked up a dishrag, and began scrubbing the sink. “We get by. The oven is gas. I can still cook. Everything will be fine. You’re father told me.”
“Ma, what happened to the money I sent you last month?”
She flung the cloth down and spun to him. “Must we discuss this now, in front of company?”
“You behind on the mortgage again? I told you if you can’t make the bills to call me.”
“And what could you do? You already send me everything extra you can. I won’t have you doing without because you want to fix everything for us. I’ve raised two kids by myself. Your sister graduates this summer. I think I can manage to finish the job. Besides, I’ve got a raffle ticket from the Shriners for a brand new Mustang. And I’m feelin’ pretty lucky. So, don’t you worry about us. Your sister and I will be just fine.”
Joker huffed out a breath and drew his wallet from his back pocket.
Ellen grabbed the back of one of the chairs and banged its legs on the floor. “Don’t you dare take a single bill from that wallet; I’m warning you.”
Joker paused, his eyes clashing with his mother’s, and Holly’s gaze darted back and forth between them like she was at a tennis match. Holy crap, she wasn’t sure who was going to win this match.
Joker pulled out a handful of bills and tossed them on the table.
Ellen snatched them up and shoved them in his hip pocket, then shook her finger in his face. “Don’t you dare! Don’t you dare! Leave me some respect.”
Then she dashed from the room, wiping tears.
“Well, that went well.” Maggie arched a brow, sarcasm dripping from her voice.
“Who does she owe?” he asked, taking the money back out and shoving it in the sugar canister.
Maggie shrugged. “She’s overdrawn at the bank.”
“Lonny Sanders’ daughter still work there? The pretty one?”
“Riley’s sister, Katie?”
“She the older one?”
“Yeah.”
Joker nodded.
“Did you date her?”
“Years ago, but she might cut Ma some slack on the overdrafts, if I ask her nice.”
Maggie scoffed. “My brother, the babe magnet.”
“Who else she owe?”
“I think she still owes the garage on Hardy for fixing her tire last week.”
“The one across from the bank?”
She nodded.
“The Chandler boys still own it?”
“Yeah, I guess.”
“What else?”
“Electric, Water, Mortgage… what else I don’t know? The only reason I’ve still got a cell phone is Arnie pays my bill for me.”
Joker dropped his head, pinning her from under his brows. “Arnie? The old dude from the bowling alley?”
She lifted her chin. “He likes me. I was his favorite employee last summer.”
“And what’s he gettin’ in return, Mag?” Joker’s voice had gone steely.
“Nothing! I swear.”
“He’s gonna want something for his money eventually. You don’t let some old dude pay for your shit, you hear me?”
“Okay. Okay. Geez. I just wanted my phone on.”
“How many times he pay the bill?”
“This month and last month.”
Joker’s eyes cut to Holly. “Come on.”
His face tightened and a tick appeared in his jaw, so she didn’t say a word, just followed him out to the truck.
He held the door, and she climbed inside, scooting over to the middle where he’d insisted she sit the other night.
He drove with one hand, the other running down his jaw as he seethed. Holly waited, hoping he’d say something, but he stayed quiet.
He drove toward downtown and spun the wheel into the parking lot of the garage first. It had three bays and looked busy, even for a Monday.
“Wait here. I’ll only be a minute,” Joker ordered, climbing out of the truck. He walked into the shade of the open bay door. A man leaning over an engine, straightened and smiled, shaking his hand.
They spoke for a couple of minutes, and Joker took a roll of bills from his pocket and peeled some off the top, handing them over. They shook hands again, and he headed back to the truck.
He slid in, put in in gear, and pulled out, spinning the wheel to make the turn onto the street. His eyes connected with hers as he did. “What?”
“Nothing. You’re a good son is all.”
He made a face. “She gets in over her head, but she’s too stubborn to ask for help. I do what I can. Seems it’s never enough. Wish I was in a place financially where I could take care of all of it—take all that weight and worry off her shoulders.”
They turned into the parking lot of the bank. Holly looked up at the sign.
Great Southern Bank. Founded 1923.
He climbed out and ducked his head to look at her. “This may take a while; you want to come in?”
“Sure.” She reached for her door handle, but he held his hand out, so she scooted across the seat under the steering wh
eel and climbed out his side.
He shut the door and held onto her hand as they walked up the sidewalk. She liked that. It was nice to just walk down the sidewalk, holding a man’s hand. The corner of her mouth pulled up.
He held the door for her and followed her in.
She paused just inside, looking around—high ceilings, polished travertine floors, turn of the century carved woodwork.
He pointed to some seating. “Wait there.”
She took a seat, and he ambled over to one of the three tellers. The girl was pretty and fairly young—Joker’s age or a few years younger.
She broke into a big smile when she saw him.
He leaned his folded arms on the counter and smiled back, saying something to her, but Holly was too far away to hear it.
They chatted for a while, the girl openly flirting right back with him.
After a few minutes, the girl turned to her computer and tapped away at the keyboard. She frowned and bit her lip, telling Joker something, then glanced around and typed some more.
They chatted some more, and finally the girl took a piece of paper—probably a deposit slip, but Holly was too far to see—and scribbled something before sliding it across the counter to him.
He grinned, shoved it in his breast pocket, and pushed off the counter, winking at her.
He strode back toward Holly and jerked his head. When they got outside, she looked over at him, wanting to ask about the note in his pocket, but was too proud. “So, did she help you out?”
“Yep. Deleted about four overdraft fees for me.”
“Is she allowed to do that?”
He shrugged. “Guess so. She did it.”
“I’m sure she wasn’t.”
“Don’t know, don’t care. She helped me; I thanked her. Done deal.”
“And is she expecting anything in return? Was that her phone number she gave you?”
Joker chuckled and opened his door, holding it for her. “Get in the truck, Hol.”
He drove to the electric and water companies and paid those bills. When he got back in the truck, he said, “One more stop.”
She kept quiet as they drove. They passed a high school, and she couldn’t help but ask, “Was that where you went?”
He glanced past her out her window. “Yep.”
“Did you graduate?”
“Yeah. Why? Think I’m too stupid to finish high school?”
