Keeper of Spirits

by Jennifer Malone Wright

  He appeared to get her message loud and clear, but not care one little bit. He grinned and winked, then gently placed his hand on the back of her head as he lowered himself down into her lap and thrust his hips again.

  The girls went wild, whooping and cheering. But, the sound was all background noise now. All Reese knew was that Daniel Estmond was nearly naked and on top of her. She should definitely not be aroused by this and when it started, she didn’t think that would have been possible at all. But, it was.

  By the time Dan’s performance was over, she had a feeling that she would be red from embarrassment forever. He left her to go pay the other girls some much awaited attention, so she took the opportunity to escape to the kitchen.

  In the usually pristine kitchen, which was now cluttered with dishes and snacks, Reese hurried to where the wine sat uncorked on the counter. She had forgotten her glass on the coffee table, so she heedlessly lifted the bottle to her lips and began chugging down the red liquid.

  This was insane. Maybe she’d passed out and it was some kind of wine induced dream. Whatever it was, it couldn’t be real.

  The music volume lowered and she heard the sound of voices from the living room. Oh shit, he was finished. She looked around the room, realizing that there was only one doorway in and out and that escaping to the bathroom or outside was now out of the question.

  She took another swig, finishing off the last bit of what was left in the bottle and then set it on the counter. Nervously, she smoothed her dress down with her fingertips and hoped that he would leave without them having to speak.

  How would she ever speak to him again?

  The girls appeared, piling into the kitchen with Dan right behind them, a giant piece of birthday cake on a plate in his hand. He looked up from the cake when they entered and found her basically cowering against the counter.

  “Hey birthday girl, you okay?”

  “Yeah.” She glared at him. “Fine. Just getting some wine, but we’re out.”

  A mischievous twinkle glimmered in his dark eyes. “Sorry, I don’t have any wine but, I have some whiskey in the car.”

  Her glare hardened. “I bet you do.”

  Smiling, he lifted a forkful of cake to his lips. “I’ll go get it for you.”

  “No, no need.”

  “Are you sure?”

  Heather had been glancing back and forth between them. “We have more booze. What kind of host do you think I am?” She crossed the kitchen to the pantry and disappeared inside shaking her head and mumbling what sounded like, ‘sheesh.”

  “Maybe you could just put your clothes back on.” Reese suggested, trying desperately not to look at his crotch.

  “Why? I’m comfortable and they don’t seem to mind.” He gestured to Emma and Shannon. Shannon pushed her glasses up onto her nose further and nodded her head. “Definitely don’t mind.”

  He licked the frosting off the fork. “See.”

  Heather appeared before she could further insist that he dress. She glanced at Reese and Dan and set a bottle of wine down on the counter before cautiously asking, “Do you guys know each other?”

  “No.” Dan answered before Reese could get a word in. “I’m sure I’d remember if we’d met.”

  Reese kept silent, letting his lie be enough to sate Heather’s curiosity.

  Heather shrugged. “You guys just seemed like you were familiar.”

  Reese turned away from Dan’s gaze, which still twinkled with mischief. “I need more wine.”

  CHAPTER FIVE

  REESE

  Bang, bang, bang. The obnoxious pounding on her door seemed to match the pounding in her head.

  She was hungover. It had been a really long time since she had enough alcohol to get even the slightest touch of a headache in the morning, but this time she had a full blown hangover, complete with nausea, headache and a weak body.

  Dammit. “I’m coming,” she groaned, even though she knew well enough that whoever was out there couldn’t hear her. She had passed out fully clothed on her couch, so she hoped whoever it was wasn’t someone she needed to impress.

  The night before, Dan had flashed her a huge smile and wished her a happy birthday before leaving Heather’s house. After that, Reese drank even more wine and then had switched to a bottle of vodka that she’d found in her friend’s pantry. It was pretty much downhill after that, an hour later after throwing up they had tried to get her to go to bed, but Reese had insisted she needed to go home, even if she had to walk, which she had tried to do at one point.

  So, Shannon drove and all the girls helped Reese up the stairs and into her apartment. Reese had passed out before they left, so she had no idea if any of them were even still in the apartment. Though, they probably would have heard whoever was banging on the door as well.

  She staggered across the living room in her bare feet, wishing she hadn’t slept in her dress.

  Bang, bang, bang.

  “What!” she cried out as she yanked the door open.

  “Jeez, you don’t have to yell.”

  She blinked and looked up at the ceiling. Great, just great. It was Dan.

  He stood there, dressed in jeans and sporting that trench coat he always wore. He had one of those paper cup holders with two coffees balanced in one hand and a shiny white box in the other.

  “What the hell are you doing here?” she asked as he strode into the house.

  “I brought you coffee and doughnuts from the bakery.”

  Reese rolled her eyes and shut the door. “Are you trying to bribe me not to tell your family about your secret stripping job?”

  He set the coffee and doughnuts down on the table in the corner of the room. “As a matter of fact, that is exactly what I’m doing. And you look like shit by the way. Have some of this coffee. I told Liv to make whatever you usually have.”

  “Thanks, asshole. You’re part of the reason I look like this.”

  Dan plucked one of the coffees from the holder and handed it to her. “Don’t blame me. You’re the one who drank a couple gallons of wine.”

  She accepted the coffee even though the mere thought of it made her stomach churn. “Ha ha.”

  “Did I tell you how hot you looked in that dress last night?” He nodded, indicating the little black number that was now basically a wrinkled piece of fabric. She didn’t even want to think about what her hair looked like. “You don’t have to butter me up, I won’t say anything to your family … or anyone, but you didn’t have to actually…” Her voice trailed off.

  “Actually what? Dan raised an eyebrow in question.

  “Dance, or whatever you call it.” She felt the heat rise into her face as she thought about his naked body and how close he had been to her. She was never going to be able to look at him the same again.

  “It is dancing and I did have to do it. You weren’t the one paying for the job to get done.”

  “Dan, seriously. That was embarrassing.”

  “I’m sorry if my body gets you hot and bothered.”

  “For fucks sake,” she cried out. “That is not what I meant. I mean that I’ve known you for way too long to watch you strip dancing, and then you … you directed it all at me.”

  Dan flipped open the box of doughnuts and selected one with chocolate glaze. He bit into it and stared at Reese while he chewed. “I think you’re lying.”

  “Lying about what?”

  “About being hot and bothered. I know you were turned on.”

  “Are you kidding me?” How were they even having this conversation right now? And the worst part was that she was lying. She couldn’t even look at him right now without seeing the muscular body that was hiding beneath the clothes he wore. “I am not lying.”

  “Yeah you are, but you aren’t very good at it.”

  “Shut up.” She pulled out a chair and sat down at the table. “Damn, my head is freaking pounding.”

  “I’ll get you some pain killers. Where are they?”

  She wasn’t goin
g to fight with him about it since she knew she could really use them. “Bathroom cabinet, top shelf.” She gestured in the direction he should go.

  “I’ll grab some water to go with that,” he called as he crossed the apartment from the bathroom to the kitchen. When he returned, he had a tall glass of tap water and handed her two tablets. “Here you go.”

  “Thanks.” She took the tablets and the water, downing them immediately. “I said I wouldn’t tell anyone. You can go now.”

  “Don’t kick me out. We have more to talk about.” He pulled out the chair across from her and sat down.

  “No, we don’t have any more to talk about. I’m angry with you guys for lying to me about that shit in the bar and now this whole secret stripping thing. I’m done, Dan.”

  For a moment, Dan didn’t say anything. He removed the lid from his coffee and then lifted it up and took a few swallows. When about an inch was gone from the top, he set it back on the table and removed his flask from his coat. He twisted the cap off and poured enough into the coffee that it filled it back up to the brim.

  “Nice, Dan.”

  He looked up at her as he replaced the flask. “What? It’s no secret and I honestly don’t need your approval.”

  She rolled her eyes and sipped on her own coffee. “I just think you’re better than all this.”

  “So does my entire family.”

  “Then why? Why do you keep drinking? And I know you have more potential in you for a job other than stripping.”

  “Exotic dancing, thank you. And I keep drinking because it makes everything feel less shitty. Plain and simple.”

  “Don’t you think that it is actually the opposite?” Reese countered. “I mean, it may feel like it’s making things less shitty, but it’s probably the thing making your life shitty. Dan, there are so many things you could be doing with your life. You need to try and stop drinking at least.”

  “I don’t want to.”

  “Find a reason to want to.” She leaned forward. “Look at me. I know what it’s like to lose someone. Not a partner, but when my dad died, I lost my entire life. He was my rock, my best friend and the man who raised me to be the woman I am. I felt like nothing without him, and I still do. There are ways to get over this, but the longer you keep doing this to yourself, the longer it will take to end it.”

  “I don’t want to talk about this, Reese.”

  “Yeah, you and everyone else. No one wants to talk about a damn thing and now you all want me to keep secrets when I don’t even know what some of the secrets are.” Frustrated, she smacked the table with her palm. “This is bullshit.”

  Dan sighed. “You know what I do for work now, that’s something. It’s easy money and it helps leave time for my other job.”

  “What other job?”

  Dan was silent. He sipped his coffee and set it back down.

  “Yeah, there we go. That one is a secret, too.”

  “It’s not a secret. I work online.”

  She knew he was still lying. “Have you forgotten what I told you? I’m a fucking bartender, you can’t lie to me. I know when people are lying.”

  “Look, Reese.”

  She shook her head. “No, I don’t even want to know anymore. I really wanted to think that after knowing you forever that you and the rest of your family would actually trust me.”

  “We can’t …”

  “I know, you can’t tell me because it’s dangerous or some shit like that. I don’t care, okay.” She shoved her chair out and stood. “Thanks for the coffee, but you need to go.”

  He sat there, unmoving, as if he were contemplating telling her. For a moment, Reese believed she could see the soul inside the man. He was broken and hurt, but not beyond repair. Yet, even though she knew this about him, she told herself she didn’t need someone with that kind of baggage. She needed friends who had their shit together.

  And now she had to cut ties with the whole Estmond family, because there was definitely something going on there that she didn’t want to be a part of. The only problem with that was that they lived in the tiniest town on Earth and it was pretty hard to avoid people.

  “Okay, I’ll go.” Dan rose and gestured to the doughnuts. “You can keep those. There is an apple cinnamon muffin in there for you, too.”

  “Thank you.” She crossed the room to the door and yanked it open.

  He stopped in front of her and stared her right in the eye. “I’m sorry about last night. I’m sorry that I drink and I’m sorry for what happened in the bar, but I’m not going to be sorry for being me. I know that I’m a fuck up, but I’m not hiding in the shadows either. I don’t care that everyone knows I’m an alcoholic. It helps me and that’s all I care about … numbing the pain.” He stepped through the doorway. “And yeah, I don’t work online, that was a lie.”

  With that, he strode away quickly, disappearing from vision.

  Letting out a long breath, she leaned back against the door. Nope. She couldn’t get more involved with anyone in that family. They had to keep their problems out of her bar and they could all stay away from her.

  But at the same time, friends didn’t run. Friends helped each other with their problems. Friends were loyal and understanding, they were supposed to be forgiving.

  She wasn’t being any of those things.

  CHAPTER SIX

  DAN

  Dan left Reese’s place and drove out to the farmhouse. He was angry. Not at Reese, but at himself and at the damn family business. He had lied to everyone he’d ever known for his entire life, it should be easy to blow this off and let it go. But, for some reason, this time was different. This time, he resented that he had to lie to Reese about anything.

  Seriously though, what was he supposed to tell her when she asked about his job? That he goes out and walks around a graveyard protecting souls as his other job, and it pays absolutely zero, so stripping pays the bills.

  No thank you. She would think he was more bat shit crazy than she already did.

  The other question nagging at him was why he cared so much what she thought. It wasn’t an issue to let everyone else they had known all their lives believe their lies, but with Reese, it felt wrong.

  He had gone over there this morning not only to make sure she wouldn’t tell his family, but also to get a read on how she felt about what had happened. He’d had fun taunting her, but he wanted to make absolutely sure that he hadn’t misread what he’d seen in her eyes. If that was the case, he had a lot of apologizing to do.

  Thank goodness, when she had opened the door, he didn’t see resentment or hatred. Sure, she was hungover and still pissed about the other stuff that happened, but underneath the shell of anger, he saw understanding and compassion.

  The farmhouse was fairly quiet when he got there. He found Lucy in the kitchen, the huge book that bore their family legacy open on the table. She had her legs pulled up onto the chair with her and a glass of what appeared to be orange juice also on the table in front of her.

  “Hey Luce, what’re you up to?”

  She straightened and looked up at him. “Looking for clues.”

  “Clues?” He opened a cabinet, selected a coffee mug and filled it with the steaming black liquid that waited in the pot.

  His sister sighed and leaned back, stretching her arms as she did. “I need to know what the Chosen One is supposed to do to fulfill this prophecy. I hate sitting around waiting for something to happen.”

  Dan pulled a chair out and sat down across from her. “Find anything?”

  “No.” She shook her head. “There is literally nothing here. Not a damn thing. All this is, is recounts of the lives of the past Keepers in our family. Nothing more about any prophecies.”

  “Sorry, I know this sucks. It sucks for all of us.”

  She closed the book and brushed a lock of dark red hair away from her eyes. “I am having a baby. I can’t afford to sacrifice anything now. I have to make something happen so that we can end this.”

 
; “I know, Luce.”

  “Every day feels like we sit stagnant, never getting anywhere.”

  Dan thought for a moment before answering her. “I think this is one of those things that time has to play out. Think about it, you would still be the Chosen One, even if you didn’t know that you were.”

  She nodded. “That’s true. I just wouldn’t know that the prophecy was already on its way to being fulfilled.”

  Dan opened his jacket and withdrew his flask. Thoughtfully, he twisted the cap off and lifted it to his lips. Lucy stared at him, criticism clear in her eyes, but she didn’t say anything about it. “Exactly. So, there is probably nothing that you can do at this point. Except keep yourself and the baby safe.”

  “But if I knew why they wanted me, why they wanted us out of the picture. That would help me understand.”

  He tucked the flask back into his jacket. “Good luck with that.”

  “I just feel like I’m missing something huge.” She sipped her juice and set it back down. “I miss coffee. Jack won’t let me have more than one cup a day because it’s not good for the baby. He’s reading books on pregnancy.”

  Dan didn’t much care for Jack at first, but the man had more than once proved his loyalty to their family. And one thing was certain, if Jack was over the top about protecting his sister, he could only imagine how much more that would intensify when it came to his kid. “I think he’s going to be a good dad.”

  Lucy grinned. “What? Did I just hear you actually compliment Jack?”

  “Don’t get used to it.” Dan rolled his eyes and blew it off. “I’m just saying that it’s obvious to everyone that you and the baby are his whole world, I can’t find any fault in that.”

  “That much is for sure,” she agreed.

  They sat there for a moment. The comfortable silence of home and family enveloped him with warmth as he sipped his coffee and stared out the window. The day was brisk and sunny. In the distance, rays of sunlight filtered through the oaks and pines in the graveyard, leaving bright streams of light shimmering over the markers.

  That graveyard symbolized so many aspects of his life. It was his history, his family, his duty, his destiny. He had gained love through the guarding of souls, but the very same thing had brought him his greatest loss. Everything, good and bad, in his life revolved around the fact that he was a Keeper.