Keeper of Spirits

by Jennifer Malone Wright

  James nodded. “You are correct. I would just argue with you as well. Now what do you want me to do?”

  Dan beckoned his brother over near the restroom. “I need to talk to you for a minute in private before I go.”

  Reese worked behind the bar while the boys chatted in whispers. She really didn’t even want to know what they were talking about. Why did she keep lying to herself? Of course she wanted to know what they were talking about, especially if it was about her or the big secret they were keeping.

  When they were done, Dan strode over to talk with Reese. “I don’t know when I’ll be done, but it will be sometime in the middle of the night, so I’m not sure when I’ll be back. James will stay with you if I’m not back.”

  “This is so not necessary, Dan.”

  He rolled his eyes. “Yes it is, stop trying to tell me it’s not.” He lifted his phone and glanced at the icon displaying the time. “I have to go.”

  “Have fun,” she called after him in a too sweet tone.

  He turned and offered her a grin as he pulled the door open and left the bar. James limped over and leaned his hands on the counter. “Okay, let me know what you need me to do. I’m here to help.”

  “Why are you limping?” Reese asked, curiosity getting the better of her.

  James winked. “I was shot.”

  “Shot? With a gun?” As soon as the words were out of her mouth she regretted them. Of course with a gun, what else would he have been shot with?

  “Yup. And no, I can’t tell you who or why.”

  Reese sighed and poured herself a shot. “You guys don’t honestly expect me to just go along with all of this and not ask questions.”

  He shook his head. “No. We know you want to know, we just can’t tell you. So you can keep asking, and we’ll keep telling you we can’t talk about it.”

  “God, you’re just like your brother.”

  The red headed younger man grinned wide. “Yes, yes I am. Except for the whole alcoholic thing.”

  Reese downed her shot. It was going to be a long night.

  CHAPTER THIRTEEN

  DAN

  He left James at the bar with Reese, trusting that his brother would take care of her. He hoped that he would be back before the bar closed, but it was hard to tell how things would go at these parties. Sometimes the women got all crazy and wanted him stay and party with them. Usually he found an excuse to bail, but more often than not it was hard to get away.

  First he went home to shower and change. The house was quiet and undisturbed, as it always was. His place was nothing like the farmhouse, which was almost always bustling with activity. It was actually one of the reasons he was glad he had his own place. Sometimes you just needed the silence.

  After his shower, he dressed in regular clothes, jeans and a tee shirt, and packed his duffle with the supplies he needed for the party. After that was squared away, he made a round of the house to make sure everything was turned off, even though he hadn’t been there much. His last stop was the kitchen, where he selected one of the bottles from the cabinet and refilled his flask. Once the flask was full, he took a long pull straight from the bottle.

  Reese was right, about everything, and it made him feel like an even bigger loser. Maybe, just maybe, he should at least try to cut down on the booze. He knew his family didn’t like it and that should be enough reason, but so far it hadn’t been enough to make him quit.

  It hurt when he thought about Anna and how their life was before she died. It hurt to think about what life would have been like in the future, had she not been murdered. He just wanted those thoughts to go away and the alcohol made it fade into the background, even if it didn’t completely go away.

  He returned the bottle to the cabinet, tucked the flask into the usual pocket of his coat, and with that, all thoughts about quitting were gone … at least for the moment.

  Before he headed out to work, he backtracked into town. He had made sure that he left early enough that he would have enough time to stop at the farmhouse and fill the family in on what was going on with Reese.

  Several cars were in the driveway when he arrived. He crunched over the gravel drive and parked behind Greg’s beat up old Escort. He didn’t have a whole lot of time, so he jogged up the stairs and let himself into the house.

  Greg, Liv, Lucy, Jack, Aiden, Steph and Ethan were all sitting in front of the television watching a movie that looked like it was about pirates, from what he could see. They even had a giant bowl of popcorn on the coffee table in front of them.

  “Seriously?” He shook his head as he observed them. “How can you guys just be sitting around watching a movie with all that has been going on?”

  Liv glanced up at him. “We are allowed to relax occasionally. You should try it sometime.”

  “I don’t want to relax, I have shit to do. Like working and watching Reese.”

  Jack tossed some popcorn in his mouth and then washed it down with beer. “It sounds stalkery when you say it like that.”

  “You all know better than that. One of those fucking Reapers tried to kill her, so until that threat is neutralized, one of us is on duty with protecting her at all times.”

  “We know, and we agree,” Greg assured him. “You seem to have control of that, though, so we’re taking a break.”

  Dan inhaled deeply, shoving his anger deep down. There was no reason to be mad and yes, they all deserved a break every now and then. All of them had been stressed out for the last several months, so yeah, they needed this sometimes.

  He was still pissed about the family not wanting him to go to Florida, but he had shoved that tidbit away as well. He had to let it go, because the family had to be united at all times if they were going to win against the Reapers.

  “Reese is still hassling me about telling her what we are hiding. She isn’t going to stop,” he announced.

  Greg clicked a button on the remote to pause the movie. “We still can’t tell her. I know it feels horrible, but if she doesn’t believe us and goes to the authorities, we’re all screwed.”

  “I know that.” Dan nodded. “It just freaking sucks. It’s not even lying. It’s just telling her, ‘I know you know that we’re lying, but you’re going to have to deal.’ I hate that.”

  “Talk about other stuff,” Lucy suggested.

  He threw up his hands. “We do, and most of that consists of her lecturing me about my drinking.”

  A knowing look passed over everyone, but it was Ethan who spoke. “Well, she isn’t wrong. Also, I doubt she would say anything about it if she didn’t care.”

  “That doesn’t make it better, man.”

  Ethan shrugged, “I don’t know what to tell you. Have someone else take over guarding her.”

  He had thought of that, but the deep down fact was that he was happy for the excuse to spend time with her and he didn’t want anyone else to take over. What he wanted was to be able to tell her the truth. “No, I’ll tolerate it,” he told them. “I’m just irritated about the whole thing.”

  Greg took a swig off the beer that was sitting on the table and turned toward Dan again. “Sorry, man. I wish we could do more.”

  “I wish we could, too,” Dan muttered under his breath.

  Lucy adjusted herself to a more comfortable position. “I might be in the minority here, but would it really be so bad if we just told her. We told David and that went fine.”

  “No.” Greg shook his head. “That was different. Hannah and David are together. He’s a part of the family and circumstances to save Hannah called for it.”

  “I agree with Lucy,” Jack added his two cents to the conversation. “She already knows that something bad and weird is going down. She’s in it, so why not go all in.”

  Finally, Dan thought, at least a couple of them were able to see it his way. “She keeps saying that she’s known us her whole life and that we are family and should trust her. I won’t lie, that shit hurts when she puts it like that.”

  Greg
nodded, appearing to finally understand. “Let’s give it a little bit more time. I want to make sure it’s the right thing. If we tell her, we need to be prepared for the repercussions.”

  That had to be enough, and with Lucy and Jack on his side, chances were good that Greg would cave. Now he needed to ready himself for if they decided to tell her. How would they tell her and what would they do if she freaked?

  “I’ve got to go. Let me know when it’s decided.”

  They all said their goodbyes and Dan left the farmhouse with more on his mind than before he’d arrived.

  CHAPTER FOURTEEN

  REESE

  James helped her with clean up after she closed the bar. It had been a busy night and the floors were absolutely disgusting, as were the bathrooms. It wasn’t anything unusual, though. She’d been cleaning those bathrooms since she was old enough to do chores.

  “All right,” She finished wiping the bar and glanced at James. “I think we’re done. Let’s go up to the apartment.”

  “Right behind you.” James smiled and followed her out the back door and up the stairs to her apartment.

  Once they were inside, James did the same thing Dan had done when they entered the night before. He reached underneath his shirt, withdrew his sidearm from a holster that she hadn’t even noticed he had been wearing, and began to clear each room.

  She didn’t ask him about the gun. By now she figured every one of the Estmonds had to be armed. Maybe she needed to be armed, too? Problem was she didn’t know how to work a gun, much less hit a target. Maybe Dan would help her get a gun and teach her how to use it.

  Then again, maybe just a taser or something would be better.

  “All clear,” James announced after going through each room. He holstered his weapon and let out a long breath. “I’m sorry you’re going through this, Reese.”

  “But, why am I going through this, is the question, now isn’t it?” She cocked her head to the side.

  “Nice try, but I’m not authorized to speak on such matters.” She could tell he was trying to make it into a joke.

  “You know I’m not going to stop asking.”

  “I know. I wouldn’t either if I were you.” He followed her into the kitchen where they worked together making sandwiches and then sat down to eat. They ate in silence. She didn’t feel like talking and James, who usually was quite chatty, didn’t appear to be in the mood to converse either.

  When they were done, he helped her clean up the dishes and she led him into the living room. “I’m going to go to bed,” she told him. “I don’t have an extra room, but the couch is there with blankets if you want to get some rest.”

  “Thanks.” He flashed her a smile, revealing the dimple on his cheek that both he and his twin had. “I don’t know if I should go to sleep, though. I’m supposed to be guarding you.”

  She rolled her eyes. “Yeah, your brother said the same thing. Well, it’s there if you want to.”

  “Thanks.” He removed his gun and set it on the coffee table. “Do you mind if I turn on the television? Will that bother you?”

  “Not at all. I’ll see you in the morning.” She left him as he plopped down onto the couch and clicked the T.V. on.

  In her room, she changed into sleeping clothes. This time, instead of shorts, she wore a pair of flannel pajama pants and a tank top, instead of shorts. She crawled underneath her comforter and relaxed into her blessedly soft mattress.

  After fifteen minutes of laying there, staring at the ceiling and sleep not coming, she picked up the romance novel off of her nightstand, turned on the lamp and let the fictional lives of the characters take her to another world.

  She woke to hushed voices coming from the living room. Her lamp was still on and the book she was reading lay next to her, having fallen when she passed out. A quick glance at the clock told her that it was four in the morning. She hadn’t been asleep for that long.

  Her eyes felt like sandpaper and her body ached, but she dragged herself out of bed and listened at the door.

  “I really don’t think any of the Reapers will come back here after that incident.”

  “James, they will come back. You and I both know that,” Dan whispered loudly. “It’s only a matter of time, especially now that he attacked someone other than a Keeper, they are going to want to eliminate this threat.”

  What the hell? Reapers? Keepers? Were those some kind of code names for the people they were involved with? The Reapers did sound like it could be a gang or something.

  Dan continued, “I’ve been telling Reese, and myself, that I don’t think they will come back. But after thinking about it for a while, I’m certain they will.”

  She pressed her ear to the door so she could hear better.

  “I can stay here with her for the rest of the night. Why don’t you go get some sleep.”

  “No, it’s okay. I can take over.”

  “Dude, you’re practically asleep on your feet. Go rest. Also, you stink and need a shower, why are you so stinky.”

  Reese held back a giggle. If only he knew what his brother was doing. Dan would never live it down if the family knew his secret.

  “Don’t worry about it. And I’d rather be the one to stay here.”

  “I bet,” James teased. “I think someone might have a tiny crush on Reese.”

  “Shut up. It’s not like that.”

  “I think it is. And let me tell you, if you want to impress her, you need to go take a shower.”

  She could practically see Dan rolling his eyes. “Fine. I’ll stop and do a patrol in the graveyard before going home. I’ll check back with you guys in the morning.”

  Patrol the graveyard. What did that mean? She knew they lived on the property of the cemetery, but she didn’t think they needed to do patrols there. What would they be looking for … kids out vandalizing, or grave robbers maybe? Whatever it was, it was weird.

  “Good, I’m worried about those assholes stalking the farmhouse, too.” James paused. “Greg will probably still be out there if you head right over. We’re trying to always have someone watching the souls.”

  What in the actual fuck were they talking about? Reese was more confused than ever and briefly wondered if she was dreaming, because she couldn’t possibly be hearing this for real.

  “All right man, I’m out of here then. Thanks for staying.”

  She heard a clap and then silence, which probably meant the two men were hugging and then James said, “No problem man. See you in the morning.”

  She heard the front door click shut and then James bolting the lock on the inside.

  There was absolutely no way that she was going to be able to get back to sleep now. Being as quiet as she could, she crept over to the closet and pulled a pair of jeans off a hanger. She grabbed a sweatshirt and then went for her shoes, which were by the door.

  She was going to find out what the hell a graveyard patrol consisted of. If they weren’t going to give her answers, then she would have to find out what they were up to all on her own. She dressed quickly and listened at the door before gripping the knob. Hearing nothing, she twisted, easing it open as slowly and quietly as she could. A quick peek through the crack told her the hallway was clear, so she opened it the rest of the way and slipped out. She shut the door with the same care as she had opened it, and then crept down the hall.

  James was in the living room and the front door opened way into that area, so he would definitely see her if she passed through. Her keys were also by the door. Her phone had been on her nightstand, so she had that with her. She was likely going to have to wait for James to fall asleep before she could slip out.

  At the corner of the hall, where it ended and opened up into the living area, she halted and pressed herself up against the wall. It was really going to suck if she had to wait hours for him to fall asleep. He already told her that he didn’t want to sleep because he was supposed to be guarding her.

  The couch squeaked with the sound of someone shifti
ng position and then she could distinctly hear James get up and cross the living room into the kitchen.

  This was it. This was her chance. She crept across the hardwood, keeping her steps soft and silent, angling herself toward the front door. Right before she got to it, James flipped on the faucet and the precious sound of running water could be heard.

  She took advantage of the situation and turned the deadbolt and opened the door. She grabbed her keys off the little table by the entrance and held them close in her palm so they wouldn’t jingle and stepped out into the brisk early morning air.

  Reese shut the door behind her and hoped to god that he hadn’t walked in while she was closing the door. Hearing nothing, not even the running water, she carefully made her way down the stairs and then ran across the parking lot. The door handle practically came off of her Jeep as she gripped it and yanked hard, flinging the door open.

  It was a very short drive to the farmhouse. Even shorter because she parked around the corner in a pullout off the highway so that no one would see her pull in. She wanted to see what they were doing without her knowing she was there.

  Thank goodness there was a clear sky with a bright moon above. Otherwise she would have been totally blind. Zipping her hoodie closed, she left her jeep and carefully picked her way along the small fence that lined the Estmond property and the cemetery. She bypassed their driveway and went on to the entrance of the cemetery. The whole way, she prayed that no one would see her creeping around out there.

  She thought it would be darker once she stepped onto the grounds of the graveyard. The trees overhead provided cover, yet also blocked out the moon. But, as luck would have it, there were lamp posts scattered here and there that emanated a soft, pale light.

  Though there were more chances of being seen, she still stuck to the path. Her steps were slow and soft as she moved deeper into the cemetery.

  In the distance, there were lights on in the farmhouse, she didn’t know if anyone inside was awake, or if they just left lights on, as some people tended to do.