He settled into the oversized arm chair with Hope in his lap. Her legs hung over one arm while her back was supported against the other. She rested her head on his shoulder and tilted her face up to his, waiting to be kissed again.
“You like this, don’t you?” he chuckled.
“Oh yes,” she answered honestly. “It makes me all quivery inside. Does that always happen when you kiss someone?”
“No,” he answered quickly, “So there’s no need to go out experimenting.” He kissed her again and she wasn’t the only one quivering inside. His jeans were tight against his crotch. She ran the tip of her tongue over his neck, pausing at the pulse points.
“Are you sure you’ve never done this before?”
“Never. Though when I was sixteen there was a boy I might have…” She suddenly looked deflated, “…if things had been different.”
“Tell me,” he said quietly.
“No.” She shook her head. “It was a long time ago and it doesn’t matter now.” She smiled up at him, but the sadness was still in her eyes. She tried to kiss him again but he held her away.
“Tell me.”
She sighed, defeated. She refused to look at him while she spoke. “One summer we needed a new dry well and my father hired two boys from church to dig it. One’s name was Henry. He was seventeen, a year older than me. We’d gone to school together though Henry left at fourteen to help out at the farm. I hadn’t seen him much since he left or maybe I had and just didn’t notice. Anyway, in that time he’d changed. A lot.” She stopped and closed her eyes.
“I’m listening,” he said, holding her closer when he felt her tense.
“All afternoon, every time I came outdoors, Henry smiled at me and I smiled back. It was hot and the boys had taken off their shirts. They were soaked in sweat. I brought them a glass of lemonade and sat in the rocker on the porch to enjoy my own glass.” She gave a little shrug. “And the view. Henry looked so strong and handsome and I wondered what it would be like to be kissed by him. I guess I daydreamed a little and it must have shown on my face because when my father came up on the porch – I hadn’t even heard him – he slapped me. He called me a Jezebel and said horrible and embarrassing things. He ran the boys off. Later, he beat me with his belt and locked me in my room. The next day, two older men came to finish the job.”
“And Henry?”
She smiled and laughed a little. “Oh, Henry eventually married Susan Pike and they had three children. He’s a good man.”
“A good man?” Nico asked through gritted teeth, “He didn’t stop the bastard, did he?”
“Ah, Nico, Henry was only a boy. He was afraid of my father. Most people are.”
At seventeen, Nico had killed a man, the first of many.
“Your father has a lot to answer for. It was his duty to protect you, love you, not beat you.”
He kissed her again and this time it was different, soft and tender, as if he wanted to heal the wounds of her past with his lips. He was so gentle, stroking her hair and running his thumb across her cheek. This was what it felt like to be loved.
After a time the kiss deepened, became more demanding and Hope reveled in it. She could feel his thoughts, his needs, his wants. Images, half formed, flowed through her mind. Suddenly she squeaked, sat upright and scrambled to her feet.
“People don’t really d-do that, do they?” She backed away slowly until her legs hit the chair opposite. She sat.
Nico hung his head and rubbed at his eyes with his hands. His shoulders were shaking. He looked up at Hope and sucked in his cheeks.
“You’re laughing at me.”
“No,” he said soberly and then the corners of his mouth curled up, “All right, yes. If you don’t want to see what’s in my mind, you need to control your snooping. You haven’t told Manon about it yet, have you? No? I thought not.”
Hope sat across from him, knees held tightly together, hands folded primly in her lap, so different from the passionate woman she’d been a few minutes before. She looked uncomfortable, clearly alarmed and he took pity.
“I want you, fully and completely, but not until you’re ready,” he told her gently.
“That’s good, because it’s going to be a long time before I’ll be ready to do that.” Almost every image had her naked.
He smiled, reached for her hand, and was relieved when she didn’t draw back.
“Just because something’s in my head, doesn’t mean we have to do it. We’ll take this a step at a time. When you’re comfortable with one step, we’ll go on to the next. Now, what did you bring me for supper?” Because I really need to get my mind off my crotch.
Hope turned with the plate. “I heard that.”
“I hope not. Just pass the plate.”
She laughed. He ate. She laughed some more.
“What?”
“I’m happy.”
“You’re watching me eat a roast beef sandwich.”
“I know. It’s silly, isn’t it?” She curled her feet beneath her in the chair. “I was unhappy at home. You’ll think it foolish, but I didn’t know that until I left. I thought that was the way life was and I made the best of it. Then I ran away and Lenny took me in and I wasn’t unhappy anymore. Then I came here and I’ve been content. To be content is a wonderful thing when you’re used to unhappiness.”
“And then,” he said as he picked up the second sandwich.
“And then what?”
“You said you were happy. That’s not the same as content.”
“Oh that,” she laughed again, “I thought that was understood. And then you kissed me.”
He wanted to kiss her again. Her eyes widened at his thought, but he shook his head. Now that she was in the chair across from him, not touching him, he could think.
“We need to use our heads. No matter how good this feels right now; in the end it isn’t right. Someone like me with someone like you, it won’t work.”
“I know,” she said and looked down at her hands folded peacefully in her lap, “You’re handsome, sophisticated, a man of the world and I’m… me. But if you’ll let me be happy with you for a little while, I’ll be content for the rest of my life.”
She looked up and he was kneeling on the floor in front of her, lifting her chin with his fingers.
“You mistake me, Hope.” He hooked an errant curl behind her ear and she leaned into his hand. “Some say the Paenitentia have no souls, some say we can earn them back, some say our souls were never lost. For me, it doesn’t matter. My future lies in Hell. I was forsaken the day I was born and I’ve sinned beyond redemption. Why I still carry the skull and tears is a mystery I question every waking.” He laid his head down in her lap and wrapped his arms around her waist. “Better than you? I’m not worth the dirt beneath your feet. You’re everything that’s good, Hope, beautiful and precious. You can’t stay with me. If you do, I’ll drag you down with me when I finally sail into the depths of Hell.”
She stroked his hair as if he were a small boy and he felt her tears strike his cheek.
“I won’t let you fall, Nico,” she whispered, “I’ll be your anchor and hold you to the shore.”
*****
The next evening, Grace fairly bounced with anticipation.
“You got it, Hope. Move that baby across the table.”
Hope stared at the pewter mug, concentrating intensely. She moved her hand and the mug inched to the right. Another hand movement and the mug inched to the left. She lowered her hand, breathed a sigh of relief and grinned.
“I did it. I made it move and it didn’t fly off on its own. I kept control.”
“That’s great, sweetie. Yeah, just great.” But Grace didn’t sound happy. She was staring at Manon who returned the stare with a sly smile and her Gallic shrug.
“What’s going on?”
Manon raised her eyebrows at Grace. “Hope has asked a question. We told her we would answer anything that she asked. I believe this one is yours.”
&nb
sp; Grace wrinkled her nose at Manon. “Not without coffee.” She got out the mugs and filled the carafe. “And donuts, lots and lots of donuts.” A plateful followed. “Maybe you’d rather have coffee cake. I could make one. Won’t take but a minute.”
“Grace.”
“Okay,” she said slowly and then in a rush, “You can’t come fully into your powers if you’re still a virgin. You’ve been moping around like a lost lamb and Nico’s playing the bear hibernating in his den and I thought if we got the two of you alone, together I mean, you’d both see what everyone else sees and get it on or get it off, as the case may be, and you’d get your powers and Nico would stay on after his contract’s up and everyone would be happy. Manon said you weren’t ready, but I thought you just needed a little push. Apparently I was wrong. Are you really, really mad?”
Hope had her mug of coffee half way to her lips. She stared at Grace. “My mind stopped at ‘still a virgin’.” She winced at the word.
“I know. I choked on that one, too. Manon wanted me to go out and grab the first guy that offered, but I held out for Canaan.” She looked meaningfully at Manon. “Unlike some Daughters.”
Manon’s laughter echoed in the kitchen. “You, young woman, are trying to change the subject from you to me.” She smiled at Hope. “I did not give up my virginity to some passing stranger. Jean Marc Baptiste was a delightful young man and I loved him deeply. I thought we would spend our lives together in the little village we were born in. It was spring and everything was in bloom. Heaven was only a step away from the front door of my mother’s cottage and Hell was only a story told by the priests on Sunday morning. The banns had been read and the wedding planned.”
“What happened?”
“Hell came to the village. The Plague. It was the end of Jean Marc and almost everyone I knew.” Again with the Gallic shrug. “It was a long time ago. I can now remember him fondly and without pain.”
Hope nodded her sympathy and reached out to take the older woman’s hand. “I’m sure Jean Marc was wonderful and his loss must have been awful, but if you’d married him and never left the village, you never would have found Uncle Otto.”
“All things happen for a reason, heh?”
“Tell me again, Grace, slowly,” Hope ordered and after Grace repeated herself, “So, if I understand you correctly, everyone in this House conspired to get Nico and me together. Now, everyone thinks I slept with him yesterday.”
Grace picked at the sprinkles on her donut. “Yep, that’s about it.” She didn’t lift her eyes.
Manon looked from one to the other, eyebrows raised. “I think something else needs to be said.”
“Thank you.”
“Sorry.”
Grace reared back. “Hey, you said thank you before I said sorry. How come?”
Hope smiled shyly. “I’d never have gone to him, if you hadn’t set it up.” She tapped her chest over her heart. “I’d never have found him, if it weren’t for you. I’d have watched from a distance as he passed me by thinking he was doing me a favor.”
“So it worked out okay?”
“Oh yes,” Hope replied dreamily.
“But no…?” Grace did a little happy dance with her hands.
“No. Only kissing. He’s a very good kisser, you know.”
Grace gave an unladylike snort. “Like you have a lot to compare him to.”
Hope felt the flush rise to her cheeks, but she laughed as well. It was nice having friends to talk to and share secrets with. She trusted these women and that made her brave.
“From what heard, I don’t think you can throw stones,” she teased in return. “I grew up in farm country. At least I know what goes where.”
“Well, will you listen to Miss Butter-wouldn’t-melt-in-her-mouth? What did you hear and who said it? As if I have to ask.”
They were all laughing now.
“Dov and Col talk a lot and when they see me turn red, they babble even more.”
“Don’t listen to them! If they think it embarrasses you, they’ll make things up just to keep you going.” Grace took a bite of donut and washed it down with coffee. “I wasn’t completely ignorant. I read, too, you know. Oh, not the snooty stuff you and the Professor read. I read the good stuff. Hot, racy romance novels. May not be as good as the real thing, but hoo-boy, you can still learn a lot from those books.”
Hope didn’t hesitate. “Do you have any I can borrow?”
Chapter 17
The Guardians were gathered around the new conference table set up at one end of the new tech center. There was no sign the room had once been their den or Back Room as it had been called. The pictures and posters had been replaced with charts and bulletin boards, the walls painted a soft green, the fireplace boarded over. With all the new equipment and temperature control, Nardo didn’t want additional heat, not to mention smoke. It looked like what it was; a totally modern computer lab despite the high ceiling, ornate woodwork and the tall old fashioned windows with their panes blacked out against the sun.
Canaan rapped his knuckles against the wood to bring the table to order. All eyes turned to Nardo who stood at one end. He wore a navy t-shirt that proclaimed “WHO GIVES A SHIT?” in bold yellow letters.
“Because of our previous conversation,” he began, “I started comparing weather conditions to demon activity and I got a little sidetracked when I found some of the satellite imagery available to the public on some weather sites. I mean, why hack if you don’t have to. It’s pretty neat stuff and, well, one thing led to another.”
“He means he was screwing around.”
“Dov’s right. I was screwing around,” Nardo admitted. “I checked out our House, some places in the neighborhood. Even took a peek at Manon’s place in the country. You ever been there? It’s really something. Anyway, I took a look at that demon’s bitchwitch’s place, where you and Grace sent them both back to hell. It’s vacant, you know. No for sale sign. Nothing. I don’t think there’s anyone to know she’s gone. No family and hanging out with demons, I doubt she’s got any friends.”
“And I’m sure this is leading up to something because you called us all together,” Canaan interrupted.
“Oh, yeah, sure. Just giving a little background, my lord.”
Nardo picked up a small remote and aimed it at a white box attached to the ceiling. Light projected onto a white screen that took up a large section of the back wall. Moving from the old library to the back room had quadrupled his space and he was apparently taking full advantage of his new quarters. He tapped a few keys on one of the computers and the screen came to life.
“Cool. Can we watch movies on this thing?”
“Sure…”
“No,” Canaan frowned. “You’ve got that monster flat screen in the other room for that. I want this room kept strictly for business.”
“Does that mean I can’t surf the net?”
Col rolled his eyes. “Dov, you’re quibbling again.”
“Quibbling? Well, thank you Daniel Webster. What is it with you and this new-word-of-the-day shit?” Dov gave his twin a disgusted look.
Broadbent raised his finger to be recognized. “If I may, that’s Noah Webster, not Daniel. Daniel is the one involved with the devil. It’s a story written…”
“Later.” Canaan held up his hand to Broadbent and looked at Nardo. “Can we get on with this?”
“Okay. This is our place.” An aerial view of their House of Guardian’s appeared on the screen. Using a laser, he pointed to the screen. A red dot appeared on the back patio.
“Needless to say, this was taken at night, but there’s enough light from the security light to make out some of the stuff back there. See, there’s the swing Grace bought and those dark spots on the rail are the flower thingies Hope planted. And look at this.” He tapped the screen and the picture changed. “This is Otto’s and Manon’s place. Look who’s sneaking a cigar in the alley.”
They all laughed. The tiny figure wasn’t recognizable, but eve
ryone knew it was Otto. Manon hated his smelly cigars, but Otto refused to quit. Canaan cleared his throat.
“Moving right along,” Nardo tapped the screen again, several times, and the pictures flashed by too quickly to recognize. “Anyone who’s interested can look at that stuff later. This is what I wanted you to see.”
“Hope’s house.” It was Nico.
“Yep. Now the picture’s really dark and I’ve only got the street light to work with, but I want you to look at that dark spot. There.” The red dot of the laser appeared next to a row of dark shadows.
“Those are the bushes between her house and the neighbors,” said Col.
“That’s what I thought, too. Now look at this.”
The picture changed and so did the placement of the shadows.
“Bushes don’t move.”
“Right, so now I’m curious. I start moving the picture around.” The pictures on the screen changed as he tapped and spoke. “See this car? It’s parked there almost every night. And you’re probably thinking, ‘Why not? It probably belongs to someone on the street.’ Maybe, but if it does, this guy’s in deep shit with the little woman because he’s spending his nights in the family car.” He looked around the table. “I’m thinking the moving shrubbery was this guy taking a leak. So I start checking every few hours. If somebody’s watching, he can’t do it twenty four-seven. Right? Sure enough, they’re working in six hour shifts. I stayed up all day to get these.”
It was clear from the pictures, that Nardo was right. A crew was watching Hope’s house.
“How did they find it?” Nico asked the question more of himself than the others. “She paid her rent up front in cash, utilities included. No phone, no mail unless it’s addressed to resident. How the hell did they find her?”
“Through the rental agency.”
Everyone stared at Dov.
“What?” He shrugged. “Look, she’s got no phone and no bills. No nothing with her name on it except the lease. She either rented from a person or an agency and I’m betting on an agency. If she was paying cash up front, they maybe skipped the credit check, but she sure as hell would’ve signed something and I don’t think she’d use a false name. Why would she? Her middle name is Honest Abe and she wouldn’t think anyone was gonna be looking for her.”
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