by Pandora Pine
Shelly rummaged around inside her purse, finally pulling out a linen square. She dabbed at the corners of her eyes with it. “You’re right. You never would have found your Ronan if you hadn’t gotten on the bus. I never would have had the strength to turn my back on everything I’d known and loved like you did. You’re so brave, Tennyson.”
“My spirit guides told me it would all work out, so I had a bit of an advantage.” Tennyson laughed. “Sometimes the only choice we have in life is to take a leap of faith. Sometimes we fall flat on our faces; other times we soar.”
As far as Tennyson had been concerned, soaring had been his only option.
14
Ronan
Ronan knew he was wearing a goofy smile on his face when Tennyson walked off with Shelly. He didn’t care one whit. It was the first time in the few days they’d been here that Tennyson had been genuinely happy to see someone. Another bonus was the sour look on Kaye’s face when the two of them walked off arm in arm.
“I like her,” Fitzgibbon said. He was carrying two bowls of the gazpacho and was wearing a shit-eating grin.
“Let me guess, you got the recipe?”
“For the soup and the piccata. We’ll have to make this meal for Truman and Carson when we get back home. They’re doing us a real solid by watching Dixie and Lola.”
“Oh shit! I didn’t even ask how Greeley responded when you gave him the puppy.”
“He burst into tears. I had Truman videotaping the whole thing. When Greeley showed me the test results, I had him shut his eyes because I had a surprise for him. When he opened them and saw the puppy, he completely lost his mind. I’ll show you the video tonight when we’re back at the B&B.”
“The B&B?” Ronan felt like a complete asshole. He’d been so upset at the way Kaye had been acting all day that he hadn’t given a thought to where Fitzgibbon and Greeley would be staying tonight.
Fitzgibbon grinned. “Greeley loved the place that you and Ten are staying at, so I called them and they had a room for us. The kid at the desk even gave us the same discounts you’re getting.”
“You must have spoken to Aaron. He was a fan of the reality show.” Ronan waggled his eyebrows. “I’m looking forward to getting back there tonight and unwinding. Tennyson really enjoyed the hot stone massage the spa offers. I might get one myself.”
“You might not be able to relax just yet. The sheriff keeps staring at you and I don’t think it’s because of your dreamy blue eyes.”
“You think I have dreamy blue eyes?” Ronan laughed while turning his back to Sheriff Reed. “He came up to me after the church service and said he wanted to talk to me.”
“About what?” Fitzgibbon’s demeanor grew serious.
“He didn’t say. I figure he either wants me to consult on a case or he wants to tell me and Ten that we need to get the hell out of Dodge. There’s a lot of hate in this town, Kevin.”
The captain looked around the room. Most of the people who were still there were chatting amiably over dessert. “I’ve never understood how religion and hate went hand in hand.”
“Ditto, brother.” Ronan clapped a hand on Fitzgibbon’s shoulder. “I’m gonna go talk to the sheriff before he bores a hole though me with his eyes.”
“I’ll keep an eye on you and I’ll stick my nose in if I sense trouble.”
Ronan nodded and headed toward the table where Sheriff Barlow Reed was sitting with other members of the Union Chapel Sheriff’s Office. The four men and one women were dressed in funeral attire, but Ronan could spot a cop a mile away. Their posture was ramrod straight and their eyes roamed the room unceasingly. “Sheriff Reed,” Ronan greeted. He was ready for anything.
“Detective O’Mara. It’s good to see you. Let me introduce you to some of my best people. Janowitz, Lazaro, Boone, and Walsh.”
Ronan shook hands with Janowitz, an all-American blue-eyed blond. “Good to meet you.” He moved on to Lazaro, a pleasant looking Hispanic officer with dark eyes and close-cropped hair. His grip was hard enough to turn the bones of Ronan’s hand to dust. Boone, the lone female of the group was a tall woman with her brunette hair done in a neat bun. She gave him a cool, assessing look before shaking his hand. Walsh, openly scowled at him and refused his hand.
At least Ronan knew where he stood with Walsh.
“Step over here with me, if you would, detective,” Reed said, leading him away from the other sheriff’s deputies.
“Please call me Ronan.” He figured if he put the conversation on a first name basis, it might make things a bit more friendly.
“I don’t know how much longer you and Tennyson Grimm plan on being in town for,” the sheriff began.
Well, shit… Ronan thought that since the sheriff had introduced his people, that they weren’t going to have this conversation about getting the hell out of town by sunrise, but maybe he was wrong. “We plan to be here for a few more days at the very least.”
Reed nodded. “Look, I know you’re both here to mourn the loss of David Grimm, but if you both could spare some time to look at a case file for me, I’d appreciate it.”
Ronan blinked hard, shaking his head. “You want Ten and I to consult on a case?”
“What, did you think I was going to kick the two of you out of my town?” Reed frowned. “I might not swing on the same vine as you and Tennyson, but that doesn’t mean I think the tree should be cut down either. If you catch my drift?”
Ronan snorted. “Loud and clear. Is this a fresh case?”
Barlow shook his head. “Nope. This is a case that’s ten years cold. I’m not going to say any more than that. Since you and Tennyson weren’t here when the crime was committed. I don’t want to prejudice either one of you or give you enough information to look the case up online. I want you both to be impartial third parties.”
“How is that possible since Tennyson spent the first seventeen years of his life here? Won’t he know the victim’s family?”
“No. That’s the beauty of this situation. The family involved moved to Union Chapel in the years after Tennyson moved to Massachusetts.”
“I am more than willing to take a look at the case, Barlow, but I can’t speak for Ten. I’ll talk to him about it tonight and get back to you in the morning. I know you met Kevin Fitzgibbon earlier. He’s my captain from the Cold Case Unit back in Boston. If you like, I can ask if he’s interested in having a peek as well.”
The sheriff looked past Ronan to where Fitzgibbon and Greeley were sitting together. “You’re obviously close if he flew out here this morning to be here for you and Tennyson.”
“He’s a good friend, but an even better cop.”
“I’d be glad for any help you can provide. We’ve had this case on our books for a long time and I’d like to be able to give the family some closure.”
Ronan could certainly understand where the sheriff was coming from. After meeting and spending time with Michael Frye’s parents, he knew how hard it could be to wait for closure which seemed like it would never come. “There’s one last thing. You do know that Ten isn’t a cop, right? He’s a consultant with the Boston Police Department because of his psychic gifts. If he agrees to work on this case, he would be using those talents to gather evidence.”
“I’d heard about that through the Union Chapel grapevine. Some people say what Tennyson does is all bullshit. Others say he’s a genuine talent. All I care about right now is getting this case solved.”
“I’ll talk to him and let you know. How can I reach you?” Ronan was impressed by the fact that Reed was willing to allow Tennyson to use his gifts, just like Fitzgibbon had done.
Barlow dug into his suit jacket and pulled out his wallet. He pulled out a business card and handed it to Ronan. “I’ll be waiting to hear from you. I’m usually in the office by 5am. McDonald’s is the only place in town open for breakfast that early in the morning.”
“Got it.” Ronan shook his head as he walked away from the sheriff. He couldn’t help noticing the dirty
looks the entire table of deputy sheriffs were shooting him as he walked past. Whether Tennyson got on board with this case or not, this was going to be fun.
15
Tennyson
Tennyson was deep inside his head while Ronan drove to Kaye’s house. Ronan and Kaye were silent too. It had been an exhausting day overall. He had a lot he wanted to tell Ronan about his chat with Shelly Brinkman and he could tell there was a lot Ronan wanted to tell him in return about his talk with Union Chapel’s sheriff.
“Here we are, Kaye.” Ronan parked the rented Ford in her driveway and opened his door.
“You don’t need to see me to the door like you’re my date, Ronan. I can do it myself.” There was no heat in Kaye’s words.
Ten rolled his eyes and got out of the truck too. Even worn to the bone she couldn’t shut her ungrateful mouth and just accept their kind gesture.
Both men walked behind her as she made her way to the front door, rummaging through her purse as she went, presumably for her house key.
She yanked it out and was quick to unlock the door. “See, I unlocked it all by myself.” Kaye shot them each a dirty look.
“We’re coming in, Mom.” Tennyson’s voice sounded tired, but he meant business. He hadn’t been in the house in a few days and he wasn’t leaving until he was sure she had enough food to get through the day tomorrow. They had lot of family business to deal with and he didn’t want his mother starving to death before they could get David’s will and her driving status sorted out.
Kaye rolled her eyes, but waved them both in.
“Do you have stuff for breakfast?” Ten asked mildly.
“Someone dropped off a breakfast casserole and I think I have some coffee left.”
Ten left Kaye in the living room and went to the fridge. He saw a tinfoil wrapped casserole dish. When he pulled up the wrap, he could see an egg and sausage bake. It actually looked pretty good. He thought he could smell thyme mixed in with fragrant sausage. There was also half and half for coffee and half a gallon of milk. He did a quick check of the cabinets and saw there was a box of Cheerios in case his mother wanted cereal.
When he walked back into the living room, Kaye was holding a framed picture of David. Ten thought there were tears shimmering in her eyes. “Are you okay?” Ten could feel that she wasn’t.
“I buried my husband of thirty-four years today, Tennyson. How do you think I am?” Kaye’s voice was barely above a whisper.
Rather than answering that question out loud, Tennyson read her emotions instead. His mother was heartsick. She was worried about her future, not only from a financial standpoint, but also from the standpoint of who she’d grow old with now that David was gone. Last, but certainly not least, Kaye was upset that Tennyson and Ronan were in Union Chapel.
He looked over her shoulder at the picture. It was one he’d never seen before. David was standing next to Kaye in front of a large tree. They were both dressed to the nines. “Wow, I look so much like him.” He turned around to see Ronan hanging back near the sliding glass door in the dining room. “Ronan, come see this picture of my father.”
Ronan walked over and stood on the other side of Kaye. “If I didn’t know better, I would have thought the young man was you, Ten. Why are you both posing in front of that giant tree?”
Kaye shrugged. “This was the night of the Homecoming dance our senior year of high school. It was tradition for couples to have their pictures taken in front of the giant elm tree before going off to the big dance. That was the night David kissed me for the first time. I knew then and there that I was going to marry him.” Kaye sniffled.
“I don’t ever remember seeing a tree like this in Union Chapel. Where is it?” Tennyson asked, ignoring his mother’s emotional journey down memory lane.
“It got struck by lightning during a storm the year before you were born. Your dad and a bunch of the men from the church had to go out and cut it down the next day. Broke their hearts to have to do it.” Kaye shrugged. “Someone brought a sapling to plant in its place, but it was never the same.”
Tennyson reached out to pat his mother’s hand. Kaye allowed it for a minute before she pulled away and set the photograph back on the table.
“You about ready to head back to the hotel, babe? I’m exhausted.” Ronan reached for Tennyson’s hand and brushed a kiss across the back of it.
“Do the two of you have to do that in my house?” Kaye’s voice was suddenly white-hot with anger.
“Do what, Mom? Express affection for each other? Touch each other? What exactly is it that we’re doing that you find so upsetting? Ronan and I aren’t doing anything that I didn’t see you and Dad do a thousand times over in this very room.” Tennyson could feel his own anger starting to boil over at Kaye’s attitude.
“David and I showing affection for each other is part of the natural order. You and Ronan doing it is just…” Kaye trailed off. “Just… Unnatural,” she finished with a funny look on her face as if the word tasted bad in her mouth.
What Kaye was saying was certainly not anything he hadn’t heard before. “Unnatural is a mother turning her back on her child because of a function of biology, Mom! You’re so upset over the way I act with Ronan, are you even upset that Dad is dead?” Tennyson’s voice boomed. He hadn’t intended to yell, but he had reached his breaking point.
“Of course I am! He was fine a few days ago and now he’s gone. I woke up the next morning and he was cold. My husband is dead and now I have to deal with the two of you.”
“You have to deal with the two of us?” Ten’s stomach ached with the pain her words were causing him. It was bad enough that her words were flaying him alive, the last thing he wanted was for Ronan to feel the sting of her words too. “So far as I see things, Ronan and I are all you’ve got. Yeah, some old blue stockings have dropped by some casseroles, but that’s it. You spent fifty-five years in this town and when your husband dies all you’ve got for support are a couple of lousy meals? Where are all of your friends? Where are all of Dad’s friends? Seems to me like the only people who are here for you are your family.”
“Family? My gay son and his lover. That’s your definition of family?” Kaye wrinkled her nose.
“Families come in all shapes and sizes, Kaye.” Ronan took a deep breath. “Some are born in blood, others are forged by deeper ties, friendship, love and devotion. I know you know about those things. I hear them in your voice when you talk about David. All those emotions you felt for your husband are exactly how I feel about your son. All you can see right now is the fact that we’re two men in love with each other and building a life together. You find that distasteful because some book tells you to! Jesus Christ, open your eyes! You let some words on a page cost you the last thirteen years with your son. Are you going to let them cost you the next thirteen?” Ronan’s hands were balled into fists at his side.
“Do not come into my home and take the name of the Lord in vain, Ronan,” Kaye said sourly.
“That’s all you have to say to me after I poured my heart out to you? Don’t take the name of the Lord in vain? Not that you’re happy your son has found someone who loves him? Or, that you’ll think about your stance on our relationship?” Ronan shut his eyes and took a deep breath, his hands slowly un-fisted. “I’m out, Ten. I’ll be waiting for you in the truck.”
“I’d like an answer to Ronan’s question, Mom. Is that all you have to say?” Ronan had certainly said all of the words that had been floating around in his head, only with more eloquence and grace than he’d been intending to use.
“Leave me alone, Tennyson. Can’t you see I’m in shock over losing your father?” Kaye sounded like she had no more fight left in her.
“Yeah, we’ll leave you alone, Kaye.” Tennyson looked up at Ronan and headed for the front door. David wasn’t the only Grimm she was going to lose permanently if this attitude kept up.
16
Ronan
The only possible thing that could make Ronan smile to
night were the home movies Greeley had shot of Dixie and Lola’s joyful reunion. The sisters had yipped and spent time chasing each other around their living room before settling down to take a well-deserved nap together in Dixie’s pink princess dog bed.
Ronan missed their little dog so much. He really could use a good cuddle and a face licking right now. He hated Kansas. Hated the fact that he’d been the one who’d pushed Tennyson so hard to come out here and do the right thing by helping to lay his father to rest. Right now, he felt like he’d given Tennyson the worst advice ever.
“No, you didn’t,” Ten said, joining Ronan at the table in the garden.
“No, I didn’t what?” Ronan asked. “Are you reading my mind, Nostradamus?”
“Of course I am.” Ten picked up his hand and pressed a kiss to the back of it. “Remorse is pouring off you like smoke off dry ice, babe.”
Ronan laughed at the visual. Is that really how Tennyson saw things with his gift? “What would have happened if I had shut my mouth about coming out here?”
Ten shrugged. “My own guilt probably would have eaten away at me until I bought plane tickets. Bertha was nudging me along; so were Carson and Truman. I knew coming out here was the right thing to do, Ronan. Being an adult is doing the things we don’t want to do because they’re the right things to do.”
“It would have been easy to stay back in Salem in our comfortable home living our comfortable lives,” Ronan added. He had selfishly wanted to come out here and show Kaye and all of Union Chapel what they’d missed out on by shunning Tennyson and his gifts. All they’d managed to do so far was just hurt Ten more. Regardless of what he’d said to Barlow Reed, he just wanted to go home.
