In Love by Christmas: A Paranormal Romance

by Nathan, Sandy

  He was like his Grandfather. A shudder ran through him.

  Grandfather was 100% Native from an ancient lineage of holy men. A great holy man had picked him as a toddler to be the next Great One to save his People. And then he was stolen by the whites and locked in Indian schools, a lot of them. He was so smart; they wanted to show him off. And they did.

  They made him into a preacher. He taught the Christian Gospel to his mangled People who stared at him through depression and alcohol, unable to understand how the benevolent Savior he preached about was supposed to appear and fix their ruined world. Grandfather was a perfectly trained white-man’s Indian, until he found out what had happened to his family and band and left the white man’s world.

  He walked into the desert, intending to die, but was found by the greatest shaman of all, Great-grandfather. Great-grandfather nurtured him, taught him, healed his soul, and gave him his secrets. When the old shaman died, he turned the power of his lineage over to the master shaman Grandfather, the Christian Joseph Bishop, the hybrid who loved God in all forms.

  Very nice for a sermon on ecumenical Sunday, but that wasn’t reality. Leroy had heard his Grandfather reviled—screamed at, hated—by traditional People because he loved Jesus.

  Where was he to go in this world? It didn’t matter. He needed to do his work.

  Leroy turned on the sound-masking device Hannah’s people had left and spread out the pages with the names of the monasteries and spread them on the bed. He took one of the tapes out of the box and inserted it in the player. Leroy leaned back in a chair and closed his eyes. A smile came over his face, then rapture. He began to chant with the tape, a phrase or two. And with the next tape, and the next, until they were gone and he started with the CDs.

  When he was finished, he incinerated everything, leaving not a trace of evidence that would lead to Kathryn Duane’s location. No trace of the desire to find her in his heart either.

  She was protected. Legions of angels protected her. And all of God’s warriors stood between her and evil. The life she lived in her stone lair was sufficient to keep her safe. Kathryn Duane didn’t need him or anyone to guard her. The chanting of ages permeated her bones. That’s why Donatore couldn’t find her, and never would.

  Leroy saw her as he chanted with the nuns in all those recordings. She sat in a stone garden wearing a simple black dress. Her hair was trimmed very short, an inch or so. Kathryn looked at him directly, blue eyes of amazing depth. Her beauty, even as an old woman, was astonishing. She spoke to him wordlessly. He was to give up the search and leave her alone. She needed nothing.

  What about Cass, he’d cried back wordlessly.

  Cass is in God’s hands, she always has been. When the time comes you will save her. The vision disappeared.

  He was so elevated that he couldn’t muster questions. How can I handle your husband? He won’t let me near Cass.

  Leroy knew that question would be handled, too. In time.

  When Leroy came out, he felt as though he could see to the end of the universe. He knew that his eyes had the bottomless look of his Grandfather’s to others.

  “Are you all right, Mr. Watches?”

  “Sure, Tom, do you have any more of that beef roast?”

  “Oh, good, sir. I was so worried about you. I have food in the kitchen.”

  While Leroy ate, Tom filled him in on what had happened while he was indisposed.

  “Mr. Duane called six times.”

  “Did he say anything about Cass?” Tom shook his head.

  Leroy snorted. “I knew he wouldn’t.” He called for the cleaners and they came and debugged the place again. No new bugs; no one had been in there. They took away the portable incinerator. That was that.

  “What do we do now, sir?”

  “I don’t know.”

  18

  What’s Going on Here?

  “Honey, do you want me to come back there and stay with you?” Will had Cass on the line. She was both stronger and weaker each time he called. Her doctor said she was gaining weight and doing well. That meant not attacking anyone or having screaming fits—they’d had her there before.

  “No, Daddy. I’m just blue. I keep having bad dreams and remembering things.” She sniffled. Weeping. She sounded broken. He was glad he couldn’t see it. “I’m so sorry, daddy. I …”

  “Honey, you have to put all that behind you. No one holds what happened against you, certainly not me. That was another lifetime. What you’ve got now is new. You’ll get through this. We’ll get you through this.”

  “I wish I had someone to hold me. To make me feel safe. Someone who loved me.”

  “I love you. I’m there for you. Don’t you know that, sweetie? I’m your dad.”

  “I know, Daddy. Not like that …”

  Leroy didn’t trust Will. Something was off. He had spoken to his pop, who told him to “milk that cow for everything he could get.” Pop was mad at Will too, but he was up to something himself. He wasn’t telling Leroy everything, but his secret wasn’t about Cass.

  Wasn’t there anyone in the world he could talk to and trust? Who would tell him the truth?

  “Carl. It’s Leroy.”

  “I know it’s you, Leroy. You’re the only person in the world who’s got a voice lower than Barry White.”

  “Who’s that?”

  “You wouldn’t know him, Leroy. He’s a sexy singer. Outside your universe.”

  At least Carl still had a sense of humor. “What does that mean?”

  “I’m jus’ bein’ as crabby as everyone else around here. Why are we speaking our own language? Are we code talkers?” The Diné—Navajo—code talkers played a major part in WWII. The Germans were never able to break their code: the Diné language.

  “We are code talkers,” Leroy said. “None of Hannah’s bugs can figure out what we’re saying. You know she’s got someone listening. What is going on there? Will says Cass is fine, gaining weight, and doesn’t remember me. I don’t believe it. I feel like every second with her got branded into my hide. Into eyes, my skin …”

  “Hold that, buddy. I’m married to my soul mate, I know all about that. You must be burnin’ up, it’s been so long since you held her.”

  “Yes, Carl, I am. I feel …”

  “You’re a spirit warrior and you’re going to stay one. You’re not going to go out an’ rub on some little,” he said a word meaning ‘loose woman,’ “just to scratch an itch. If it gets too bad, brother, take matters into your own hands.”

  “What?”

  “You got hands, use ‘em.”

  Leroy blushed. He didn’t have a big brother; Carl was as close as it came. Carl kept talking, “I’ll tell you what’s going on and turning Will Duane into a lying asshole, which I think he’s been for a long time. First off, Numenon is at war. They want to get rid of Will, who has tried to put some of the ideas from the Meeting into place. It’s just that the Meeting turning into a massacre shot his mojo. He can’t say where he got the new ideas. They’re a little radical for corporate America. He’s fighting hard, but he’s in trouble.” Leroy knew all this. “Didn’t help that I stopped going to work with him.”

  “Why?”

  “‘Cuz of what he was doing to you, little brother. Lying. I can’t stand a liar. I told him to level with you or I’d quit helping him. Me an’ everyone here are about to pack up and get out.”

  “Then he’d be alone.”

  “Like he wants. Don’t you want to know what he’s not telling you?”

  “Yeah.”

  “He’s jealous of you.”

  “What!?”

  “I told you he’s crazy. He wants Cass to love him most. He wants a big father/daughter reunion like in the movies—the ones that would never happen. All pink clouds and ‘I love Daddy best.’ He thinks if she forgets about you, she’ll love him. Then, he’ll tell her about you. By that time, you will be transformed into the Stanford MBA that he thinks is the man of her dreams. He always tried to push g
uys like that on her.”

  “How do you know all this?”

  “Hannah. We’re good buds. She saw me working out and tried to recruit me to work for her. The woman likes warriors. She bugs everything, Leroy. Even Will’s phones and email. Good thing we’re code talkers!” Carl laughed. “She listens in on Will’s talks with Cass. She was around when he was trying to push all these suits on her. Cass got her MBA to make Will happy.”

  “She has an MBA?” Leroy barely made it out of high school.

  “Yeah. She’s really smart. Maybe she has some brain cells left to think with. Did you put the brain damage on her so Donatore couldn’t find her?”

  “What? She’s brain-damaged?”

  “Oh, shit. I thought you knew. Yeah, but she can talk to Will, so it can’t be too bad.”

  Leroy was in free-fall.

  “Leroy!”

  “Yeah.”

  “Remember this: Cass has touched you too. There’ll come a time when she’ll break out of the hospital and find you if she has to walk across the ocean. Until then, they’ll feed her and get her healthy. You need to get what you can for yourself.

  “She’s here and Will is not going to let you near her, even if you could find her,” Carl added. “The name of the hospital’s secret, even in this house. Hannah isn’t divulging that.

  “Stay there and do everything Will wants like it’s what you’ve wanted your whole life. Happy face, bro! Get what you can for yourself, Leroy. Nobody’s gonna give you what he’s givin’ you, ever. Take it. Know that whatever you’re turning into, the Great One wants.

  “Know something else. Leroy, you weren’t at the Meeting to see Will in action. He’s a warrior’s warrior. He ran out to face Donatore and all of his monsters by himself, trying to get them to take him instead of killin’ us. I saw him stand out in the desert all alone, with the sky full of black demons and fire, screaming at Donatore.

  “It was stupid, of course. Donatore would have killed him without Grandfather and the Great One, but he’s got balls, Leroy. More than that, he’s got a heart. He’s a good man, Leroy, just got lost somehow since the Meeting. If you can bring who he really is out, the whole world will benefit.

  “We’ll stay here at his house, all of us, and try to keep Will from wrecking everything. I won’t leave, buddy, until he orders me out. That’s a promise.

  “Hannah’s on the job, Leroy. She knows where the hospital is and Will’s plans for Cass. She won’t tell anyone, ‘cuz she’s loyal to Will. In love with him, if you ask me. But she’s really in love with Cass. Cass is the baby she’ll never have. Hannah’s got people workin’ in the hospital kitchen, and laundry. With the nurses. She’s got that hospital covered. Cass is safe there. As long as she’s there, you can do whatever you want.

  “Go fox huntin’. Go to parties. Do what you want. For you. An’ remember, no matter what happens, I’m behind you. Your People are behind you. Also remember that you got hands.”

  19

  The Home Run Trail

  “No, I will not go after her, Mr. Duane,” Leroy said. “The guy you been talkin’ to all these years is dead. There’s nothing to track her by. If I started pokin’ around, Donatore would be on me in a minute. Maybe he’ll find her. You don’t want that, I know.” Will didn’t reply.

  “How’s Cass? You must be talkin’ to her. I never heard of a hospital tellin’ someone’s father he can’t talk to his daughter. How is she? Did you tell her about me?” Leroy couldn’t keep the edge out of his voice as he talked to Will on the phone.

  “No, I didn’t, Leroy, and no, she didn’t ask. She’s fine, regaining what she lost in physical condition and in weight. They’re letting her work out a little, with a physical therapist.”

  “What’s your plans for her, Mr. Duane?”

  “Same plan as always …” Mr. Duane’s voice quit in the middle of a sentence. Line must have died. Leroy’s chest heaved up and down a few times. He couldn’t remember being so angry. If Cass was alive, she’d remember him. Sleeping was all he could do every night, her eyes never left his, once he got in bed and tried to sleep.

  Now what was he supposed to do? He felt like going home. To the ranch, not Will’s fancy summer camp for Indian warriors.

  “You ready to jump ship?” Doug phoned him unexpectedly.

  “Yeah.” Hearing Doug’s voice unleashed him enough that he talked about his conversation with Will. “How’s Cass?”

  “Mum’s the word, Leroy. I’m sure she hasn’t died. We would have heard about that. Will ain’t talkin’ and no one’s asking. I’m assuming he’s doing his ‘Daddy of the year’ deal. He wants Cass to love him and see him as her savior, not just the one who put her in harm’s way. So he won’t let anyone near her.

  “If you still want to play ‘Leroy Watches as My Fair Lady …?’”

  “What?”

  “It’s an old movie that Audrey Hepburn starred in, My Fair Lady. A snotty professor claimed a person’s accent and manners determine their social position. He trained up a pretty flower seller to take over London society. Which she did. That’s what we’ve been doing, but you’re not a pretty flower seller.

  “Will loved your website, by the way. Ordered all your dad’s books.”

  “Really?”

  “Yeah. He said, ‘Why didn’t you know about this, Doug? This is significant.’ I told him I was a racist pig fooled by your skin color and the way you talk, so I didn’t look online, thinking you weren’t up to it.”

  “You did?”

  “Yeah. And I still work for him, but more as an advisor. You ready for your next job?”

  “What is it?”

  “Take over Italian society. I’ve got a tour of Italy planned. Good work at the Vatican: Leroy Watches walks in and the missing priest croaks.”

  Leroy laughed. “OK. I’ll do it, what was that? My Fair Lady goes to Italy. What should I do …?”

  “You’re going to spend a little more time in Rome, but the game plan is changing. You’re going to host dinner parties wherever you are from now on. That means people will be coming to your house and you’ll feed them.” Leroy felt his gut clench at the prospect of entertaining big wigs. “Don’t sweat it,” Doug said. “Use your staff.”

  Doug provided him the guest lists and he let his staff do their thing. “I’m going to let you handle the table settings, Gianni. You know all that,” he said to the butler in his Roman mega-condo. “What do people like to eat here? In English.”

  Gianni gave him a formal dinner menu with all eight courses.

  “You know, that sounds good, but I’m American. How about if we give them a barbecue? Ribs and potato salad? Baked beans? I’ve got my dad’s recipes. He’s the king of barbecue. An’ we can have some strawberry short cake for dessert. Let me get in the kitchen with you all and we’ll cook up somethin’ people won’t forget. Be sure and have those little water bowls for your washin’ your fingers on the table. And extra napkins.”

  His guests were shocked at first, putting plastic aprons over their designer clothes.

  “Consider yourself guests at my ranch. My dad’s in the yard, cookin’ on the barbecue. It’s been under that oak for over a hundred years. You can look out the window and see the giant sequoias right over there.” Leroy pointed. “It’s the prettiest place in the world. Makes you feel like takin’ a ride. We’ve got some fine horses. Yep, we’re in California, the California of the buffalo soldiers.”

  Leroy wasn’t aware of the change in his voice and how he used it to move people. The dinner could have been a disaster if the VIPs and nobility didn’t buy into his California theme and took offense at the plastic bibs and messy sauce. But they didn’t. They loved it.

  “I’m so glad you could come,” Leroy looked into their eyes and shook their hands as they came and went. As his butler introduced his guests, Leroy remembered everyone’s name and who they were effortlessly. He’d always been able to do that. Word got around. After that first dinner, his guests requested
barbecue in advance. He served like an impresario and his father’s recipes typed up so the guests could take them home.

  Something disturbing came up. He was escorting a very high style and attractive young woman to the door. She was pretty well lit. Leroy didn’t drink, but he knew his guests would want alcohol. He went skimpy on that, providing wine and beer, but nothing harder.

  The girl took his hand and caressed it, running her lips along the palm. To his dismay, his body responded to her. She leaned into him, drunkenly, but maybe not so drunkenly. After rubbing against him, she looked into his eyes and said, “I don’t have to leave.”

  Leroy jumped away. He was going to be faithful to Cass, no matter if he had to lock himself in his room. “That’s so nice, Signorina. I’m leaving for Venice tomorrow at five a.m.” He bent over and kissed to top of her head, prying her torso off his person and pointing her out the door. Shoving, maybe.

  That sort of thing had started happening all the time. Something had changed. He put on his beautiful new clothes and walked down the street as though he wasn’t an impostor. The clothes fit and he fit. His step was firm and sure. He looked people in the eye and met the companions Will had arranged without being nervous or feeling like a hick. He was a different person than the rancher who had arrived in Europe. Or he appeared to be, anyway.

  Everywhere he went, Will set him up in beyond luxurious accommodations. Numenon condos in Naples and Florence. His condos and houses were fully staffed. He had felt bad sending Tom back to England, but he was so busy he didn’t need the young man’s company or a valet.

  Will hired guides and teachers for him, so he learned about the painters and history of art. He saw more cathedrals than he knew existed and more museums. Leroy loved them. The paintings took his breath away. Originally, Leroy had forced himself to stay in Italy and not go home, but it turned out he liked everything, especially the food. And the sights. The people on the street. The art. Buildings. Museums. The women.