In Love by Christmas: A Paranormal Romance

by Nathan, Sandy

  She powered it up and began her research. The Internet hadn’t been around very long, but it was huge. In school, they told them that there were thousands websites. She didn’t need that many for what she was thinking about.

  What she searched for was, “How old do people have to be to get married, by state?” She kept thinking about Leroy and how he holding her had felt, with the trees whirling and sparkles and all. She wanted him to be very, very close to her.

  And she didn’t. Those girls in her class were awful, having sex and not being married. If they were married, all that would happen is they would start having affairs, like her parents. But if they were spirit warriors? They wouldn’t act like her parents.

  She wished she hadn’t made her stupid search, anyway. She wasn’t going to marry Leroy and she certainly wasn’t going to have sex with him. Though she wanted to be so close to him. Embarrassed, Ashley moved from site to site.

  He wouldn’t have sex if he wasn’t married. That was truly awesome. He was really old. Twenty five. That was … almost as old as Doug and the people who worked for her father. Too old for a little girl like her. But she wasn’t a little girl, not at all.

  She pushed forward and did more searches and tabulated the results. Then she wrote an essay.

  Why I am a woman and not a little girl:

  I got my period when I was eleven. That means I’m not a little girl, I’m an adult. In some countries, no one would think anything of me getting married.

  Many states allow people who are my age to get married. The people getting married have to have their parents’ permission, but some states legally allow the marriages. See the attached report by state.

  I’m smart and know more about the world and feelings than many grownups.

  Leroy and I are soul mates. If we get married this young, it doesn’t matter, because soul mates don’t have affairs or get divorced. We’ll be happier than you and Mommy are.

  That isn’t what she started out to research. She wanted to know if girls her age could get married and where. How did her essay change to the reasons she was a woman and could marry Leroy? She had addressed her arguments to her father. Ashley knew he would be the hard one to convince. Of what?

  Her brow creased. She needed to think about some other things. Ashley had noticed facts that didn’t add up.

  If Mommy was supposed to come back from Spain at the end of August, why isn’t she home for Christmas? If Mommy was going to be late, she would tell me. She would phone. She knows I worry about her. Ashley’s brow creased as she thought.

  Why would Daddy go on a retreat and not tell me? Why would he go on a retreat at all? He doesn’t care about God.

  The Numenon Ranger laptop she was working was XII. Her Ranger at home was IV. That was eight models from her laptop. It took Daddy’s people years put out a new model. It would take him almost until the year 2,000 to get to XII. That was years and years from now.

  Also, she visited Grammie’s house all the time. She’d been there a week earlier. The family room, the big room with the kitchen, wasn’t as large as it was now. It didn’t have the whole wall of windows and glass doors, either. The walls had been lacquered a deep red with white trim. The upholstered furniture was the same red, and all the wood trim was lacquered shiny black.

  Today, the room was light and bright with pale yellow floral prints. The furniture was pale wood. The room was bigger, and there was more stuff in it. The kitchen was new.

  Even Grammie couldn’t redecorate that fast.

  Something else. She went to her computer and clicked where the date appeared on the top. It didn’t. Nothing on the computer said the date.

  This was so strange.

  She couldn’t think about anything more. Her head ached and she felt dizzy. Mrs. Naughton came with a milk drink and she gulped it down. She knew what those did.

  Even sound asleep in her bed, Ashley thought of Leroy. She ached for him. She’d marry him, as long as they didn’t have to have sex.

  51

  Christmas Eve

  “Hi, Pop!” Leroy and his dad had played phone tag so much Leroy forgot that the man existed outside of a voice on a machine. “I’m in California. I forgot to call and tell you I didn’t need that plane ticket. I hope you can get your money back.”

  His father was completely silent. Finally, he said, “Glad you’re back, Leroy. I reckon I can cash it in.”

  His dad didn’t get any ticket for him. He was lying. He’d forgotten about him entirely. He’d been playing polo against monsters and robots, in a game televised all over the world, and his dad didn’t know or care.

  “Hey, Pop,” he started conversation again, “would you like to come up to Northern California for Christmas tomorrow? Dr. Schierman, whose place I’m staying at, asked me to invite you. She’ll send a jet for you. I’d love to see you.”

  His pop’s hesitation let him know he was right. Something was up. “Well, son. I’d love to come, but … things have changed. Remember the Meyers place next door where they both died and some rich folks from Silicon Valley bought it? And then they remodeled it and gave me all their old stuff for your cabin?”

  “Yeah, I remember.”

  “They got a divorce. They put the place on the market and it got snapped up right away. I went over there to meet the new owners. Turned out it was one owner, a widow lady from back East—Connecticut. She used to fox hunt back there. Real good rider. She wanted to ‘live her dream’ while she could, and that was on a nice, big ranch in California. She thought that place next to us was heaven. Thing is, she didn’t know a thing about ranchin’ or cattle. I helped her some. Quite a bit. She appreciated it a lot. She liked me too.” Leroy could feel his pop shifting from foot to foot over the phone, or shifting from something to something.

  “I fell in love, son. Susan’s the prettiest, nicest, smartest lady. I never knew one could be so fine—or love me back.

  “When I went over to visit the first time, she said she’d heard of me. She said she was thrilled to be living near the great bullfighter! She’d been my fan for years. Leroy, Susie and I got married a couple of months ago. Flew to Las Vegas and tied the knot. It was kind of love at first sight.”

  Leroy froze. He blinked. “What?”

  “We live most of the time at her place. That’s why I missed your calls. Damned if chipmunks didn’t eat the wires at our place. You know how they do that. We come over here when we want some quiet.” Now, his dad was smiling so hard; Leroy could feel it over the phone. “She’s got her ranch manager and her horse trainers at her place. And the ranch hands. She wants to start a hunt club soon. They’re workin’ on that. It’s kind of a zoo over there. It’s private at our place. She thinks it’s romantic. Historical and all.”

  “Why didn’t you tell me, Dad? Do you have any idea how worried I’ve been?” Do you know what I’ve been doing? That I could have gotten killed about a million times? Do you care about me?

  “Sorry, son. Love is blind, they say. Sometimes it’s stupid too.”

  Leroy wanted this conversation over. “OK. Can you come tomorrow, Dad? Dr. Schierman wanted everyone to arrive about three. She’ll send a jet. Or a plane if the town runway isn’t long enough.”

  “That’s OK. Susie can use her plane. And her runway. Just finished. See you at three.” His father went on, sounding contrite. “I’m sorry, Leroy. One thing has led to another. I’m surprised as hell myself. I didn’t tell you because I was embarrassed to fall in love again, as old as I am.” He cleared his throat. “And I was afraid you’d be mad at me.”

  “Why?”

  “I thought you might think that I don’t love your mom anymore. That’s not true.” His dad’s voice went husky. “I will always love your mother. Emily is my one true love. Don’t think I’ve forgotten her.”

  “I know how much you loved Mama, Pop.”

  “Well, good. We’ll talk tomorrow. I love you, boy.”

  “What’s her name?”

  “Susie
Watches, now. Before that, she was Susan Anderson.”

  He staggered into the living room as they were serving drinks.Dr. Schierman was not pleased when she heard that his father had added a guest. “He got married, Dr. Schierman. Didn’t even tell me.”

  “Who is she, Leroy?”

  “Her name was Susan Anderson. She used to live in Connecticut.”

  Having completed that delightful bit of information sharing and bonding with his father, Leroy went in for the Christmas Eve dinner. Ashley sat across from him. She wore the most beautiful long dress, a red and green and white plaid in some material that rustled. Her hair was swept up on top of her head with ringlets falling down. She had a little makeup on. He could barely breathe; she didn’t look like a little girl at all. He couldn’t talk to her much. The dining table was so wide, it made conversation difficult. He looked at her instead.

  The table rivaled any of the English Lords’; vast and covered with candelabras, arrangements of holly and berries and bows, palatial silver, crystal and linens. He used everything he learned in his travels in eating dinner. He was delighted to concentrate on silverware rather than the sensations in his body and thoughts and feelings tumbling through his head.

  Ashley caught him in the hallway when he was heading to his room.

  “Leroy,” she said. “I’ve been considering our situation as soul mates. I’ve done a study of legal marital age by state. In many states, girls who are almost fourteen can get married. They’ll even allow it in California, if your parents agree. I think you have to go to a counselor, though.

  “And I’m … physically mature. In India and China, no one would care at all. I’m five foot seven. That’s as tall as many grown up women. Actually, the average size of a woman in the United States is 63.7 inches, only five foot three, almost four. I’m way taller than average. I’m still growing too. I think we should get married.”

  She pressed herself against him and grabbed the back of his head with her hands. He had to bend over to kiss her, but not as much as he did with Arabella. She was tall. Sweat broke out all over him and his hands went all over her. As hers did too.

  “Ashley, stop. I can’t do this.” She pulled away from him. He swayed, sweating, blowing like a stud horse ready to mount a mare. “Oh, God, Ashley. I have to marry you. I’m so in love with you. We have to get married. I’m going to die …”

  “We will, Leroy. We can go to Las Vegas. Grammie is my guardian. She will sign for me. We’ll do it tomorrow after dinner, OK?”

  He’d wanted to be married in a green, leafy wedding bower with vines reaching up and flowers trumpeting. He wanted Grandfather to marry them and all the elders to be present. He wanted smoke and feathers and all his friends chanting.

  Breathing hard, he said, “Las Vegas will be fine.”

  He remembered Will saying long ago that they had to be in love by Christmas. He didn’t mean married too, Leroy knew. But damn, you couldn’t be more in love than Ashley and he.

  52

  Merry Christmas

  Leroy awakened, relaxing in bed lazily, until he remembered that he and Ashley were getting married in Las Vegas later that day. His father was coming with his new wife. It was Christmas.

  He swung his legs to the floor and sat up. Ashley was sleeping in the other bed in his room. His eyes widened. He grabbed his clothes and ran to the bathroom to put them on.

  When he was dressed, he stood over her as she slept. He was swept away by her beauty and innocence. But she shouldn’t be where she was.

  “Ash. Ash. Wake up.” He jiggled her shoulder a bit. “Wake up! You have to leave.”

  She raised her head sleepily and looked at him. “What are you doing in my bedroom?”

  “It’s my bedroom, can’t you see?”

  “Oh … I sleep walked. I do that.”

  A knock on the door. “Ashley and Leroy, you must come out. Dr. Schierman needs you.”

  Leroy slipped out, blushing.

  “Don’t worry about me,” Mrs. Naughton said. “I’ve seen everything in this house.”

  “We didn’t do anything. I swear.” Leroy raised his hands, protesting innocence.

  “I know. Now, you’re going to do something.”

  Mrs. Naughton suggested that he dress for dinner later that day. The village women had made him a surprise. Leroy found out there was a village behind the house, way out in the forest. Short, powerful men in muted green tunics inhabited it. They worked all over the estate, George Yeoman being their leader. They were Vanessa’s ancestral people. He hadn’t seen any women, but assumed they were there.

  He knew the women existed when he saw the shirt. It was black cotton. Hundreds of ribbons in all colors streamed from its yokes and shoulders. It was the wedding shirt worn by his People! The women in the village had made a ribbon shirt for him.

  He blinked hard, holding back his feelings. Maybe they’d be able to get married without incident. Will Duane wouldn’t show up with a machete and gang of thugs. They’d eat dinner, and then fly to Las Vegas.

  He walked into the entrance hall to find Dr. Schierman with her eyes closed and arms raised over her head. She was saying something in a language he didn’t know, but he could understand it. That was one of his powers.

  “O walls of the entrance hall, you will be quiet and still today. We are having a party. You will not scare people. Walls of the living and dining rooms, you will be still. Quiet.” She turned to the door. “Oh, walls and carvings outside, today you will be like dead stone. You will not move or upset anyone. All of you walls will make your carvings into pretty things, sweet things that will not frighten people.” A pause. “It’s just for today. You can go back tomorrow.”

  The crone opened her eyes and turned to him. “Hello, Leroy. Things will start moving now. I need to go out and handle the dogs so they don’t kill anyone. And there’s a delivery outside for you.”

  “Me?”

  People began to arrive, but only people close to the Schierman family and him. Will had brought a whole bunch of his People home from the Meeting the week before. Carl Redman and Roxy Crow Moon. They’d married, that was a surprise. Carl was as big and tattooed as ever, beaming. Bud Creeman and Bert walked into the entrance hall. Bert was holding a baby, but he could see she was bulging again. More people, more wonderful couples. Finally, Doug and Janice.

  Leroy was practically bowled over when the big front door opened and the next guest, or guests, arrived.

  “Hi, son! Good to see you.” His father hugged him as hard as one of the Yosemite grizzlies would have. “I’d like you to meet Susie.”

  She was about five foot five, with grey hair cut chin length. Looked like a rider; athletic and strong. Like she’d be more at home in riding britches and boots than the dress she was wearing. “How do you do, Leroy? I’ve heard so much about you. We’ll have to ride together one day.”

  “Um. That would be nice.” Maybe.

  “Susie! How wonderful to see you,” Dr. Schierman appeared and saved him. “It’s been so long. The meeting of the Hunt Board in Maryland.” To Leroy, she said, “We’ve known each other for years. Since before I got this,” she indicated her terribly damaged neck. “Susie is Mrs. Fox Hunting America, informally, of course.”

  Suzie smiled, lighting the area around her. She put her arm through his dad’s, glowing with happiness. Maybe she was OK.

  “I’d still be riding with you, except it might make me a quadriplegic,” Vanessa said. Turning to Leroy she said, “Go to my study, dear. Someone wants to see you. Mrs. Naughton will show you the way.”

  “Grandfather!” Leroy’s jaw fell open. He couldn’t close it. His feet wobbled beneath him. “I thought you were dead.”

  “So did I, my son, but I wasn’t allowed to stay where I was. I had to come back here.” He sounded like being alive was a curse. “I have more work to do, helping people. Starting with you. What troubles you, my son?”

  His grandpa held him as he told the horrible stories of rescuing Ca
ss only to have her be swallowed by something worse. Of how it was to hold Cass when she was hemorrhaging. He hadn’t thought of that since he’d seen Ashley, but a glimpse of his Grandpa, and it was all back. Leroy thought he was going to be sick.

  He was sick. Grandfather healed him as they sat. The trauma didn’t just affect Cass; it affected everyone who knew about it, but it affected those who were closest to her most. Her soul mate, most of all.

  Leroy shivered, feeling everything he hadn’t acknowledged since that terrible night. “How could they do that to her? How could anyone do that?”

  “My son, women are raped to death every day. We just don’t see it. Rape is torture and terrorism and a weapon of war. It always has been. You know what happened to our women when the Europeans came. We did the same thing to their wives and daughters whenever we could.

  “You said, ‘How could they do it?’ They can because their goodness is covered by evil. In our lineage, we call the devil on Earth Enzo Donatore. In other places, the evil one has a different face. That’s what happened to Cass. None of it was her fault. Once she entered Donatore’s castle, she was doomed. She died on that plane, didn’t she?”

  Leroy nodded. His ribcage convulsed as he sobbed. “She died in my arms. Her blood was all over me. They killed her.”

  “And Dr. Schierman brought her back.”

  “How did she do it?”

  “I don’t know, my son. She has powerful magic. European magic that I don’t know. Vanessa told me that she’s back, as Ashley, the pure and innocent child.” Leroy sobbed harder. “Which is your other problem, isn’t it? She’s thirteen years old, almost fourteen, and she’s your soul mate. You’ve touched each other and you’re both burning.