Smoking Hot

by Karen Kelley

leads we’re checking. If Raine can expose the real criminals, she’ll not only clear her name and anyone else wrongly accused, but she’ll gain the recognition she deserves.”

  “You know what will happen if you stay with her too long?”

  “Yes.” He didn’t want to think about it, though. The danger was always at the back of his mind that he wouldn’t be able to completely erase her memory of him. If he stayed too long, the veil separating their worlds could become thin enough that Raine would be able to see what only a few mortals knew existed. Flashes of light and dark, shadowy figures, evil and good.

  There was a strong possibility that having second sight would drive her to the brink of madness. A rare few completed the transition and were gifted with the ability to speak to mortals who crossed over and were entering an immortal world. These men and women became psychics and healers, but their gift carried a high price. They also saw the demons who walked amongst them.

  The things that went bump in the night.

  “I’ll leave before that happens,” Dillon told him.

  “See that you do.”

  “Was that all you wanted? To remind me about the amount of time I have?”

  “Don’t push your luck, boy.”

  Dillon wanted to remind Tobiah he wasn’t a boy, but decided to do as Tobiah warned.

  “And stop fooling around with the girl.”

  That was the kettle calling the pot black. “When we do find the real bank robbers and Raine is exonerated, she’ll still have deep-rooted problems she needs to face. I’m trying to help her work through them before I leave. Where’s the good of fixing the outside if she still has issues she refuses to face?”

  Tobiah only glared at Dillon as though he didn’t believe everything he said. He was right not to buy every word. Yeah, what he said was the truth, but even Dillon knew there was more to it than his wanting to help Raine deal with the past. He wanted to stay as long as possible and didn’t like the thought of leaving.

  Tobiah waved his arm. “Then go, and be quick about it. I haven’t got all day.”

  “I thought time didn’t mean the same to you. At least that’s what you said.” He couldn’t help throwing Tobiah’s words back at him.

  “And I don’t like insolence, either!” Tobiah raised both arms, then dropped them back down with a fury that caused the cloud beneath Dillon’s feet to open. He fell, going faster and faster, spinning out of control.

  He was headed toward the ground at an extremely high speed.

  This wasn’t good. He was traveling so fast that when he crashed there’d be nothing left of him except a spot on the ground. He gritted his teeth, waiting for the impact as the ground came closer and closer, the whistle of air the only thing he heard.

  But at the last second, his rapid descent came to a jarring halt. He exhaled a deep breath until there wasn’t any air left in his lungs. The grass directly below his face waved back and forth, as if to mock him.

  “Yeah, that was real angelic of you,” he muttered.

  He was jerked back up as if he was attached to an invisible bungee cord. He just had to open his mouth again. If Tobiah didn’t stop, Dillon would lose his breakfast. There was only one way he could see to make him stop. “Okay, you win. I’m sorry!”

  His body flew toward the ground again, but this time he stopped about two feet from it. As soon as he caught his breath, the invisible bungee cord broke. He landed with a loud thump.

  Stars exploded all around him.

  “Thanks for— ”

  Thunder boomed across the sky, causing the ground to shake beneath him. He snapped his mouth closed and glared upwards but he didn’t say another word. For an angel, Tobiah had a real temper.

  ******

  “Do you think you were a little hard on him?” Michael asked.

  Tobiah glanced down. “He has a hard head. Besides, our sons heal fast. They’re scrappers.” Yeah, he was proud of Dillon and he didn’t care who knew it. He glanced toward Michael. “You’re just as proud of Chance.”

  Michael’s eyes glowed with warmth. “You’re right, I am. He never once backed down from the demon. There for a while he worried me. He crossed more lines than I wanted to count.”

  “No, Ryder is the one who refused to back down,” Abram’s voice boomed from the next cloud over. “My son dodged everything I threw his way.”

  “What’d you expect? You were throwing lightning bolts,”

  Tobiah said with undisguised sarcasm. “I’d dodge them too.”

  They could brag all they wanted, but it was Dillon who would show them all what the nephilim were made of. The kid had been through a lot. Not a kid anymore, he supposed.

  And Dillon resented him. All their sons resented their fathers for not being there; some still did. They’d had orders from management. No interfering with the lives of their children. It was the only way they would learn how to fight demons. That’s why the nephilim were created in the first place: to protect people.

  From their fathers they were gifted with compassion, and from their mothers’ side they were given the frailties of man so that they would know suffering. They were thrown out into the world at an early age, too early some would say. Only a few remained. The threat of demons invading the world was less likely because of the nephilim. Some demons still came topside. They created havoc wherever they went, but as soon as they were detected by the nephilim, they quickly went back to Hell.

  Tobiah sighed. It was past time the nephilim found happiness of their own, and that their fathers were finally allowed to make a connection with their sons.

  “Hunter will show them all up,” a booming voice declared.

  The other three angels turned at the same time. “It’s good to see you, Zachery,” Abram said. “When are you going to meet Hunter?”

  “Soon. Don’t push me. I could ask the same of you,” Zachery said.

  “I met Ryder.”

  “No, you threw lightning bolts at him,” the other three said in unison.

  Abram shook his head. “Why do you have to keep reminding me? It all worked out for the best.”

  “You were stubborn,” Tobiah told him. “Still are.”

  “Someday soon.”

  “You always say that,” Michael pointed out.

  “I have time. All the time in the world.” He glanced down.

  “Will Dillon be able to fix Raine’s life?”

  “That’s the problem,” Tobiah said. “We can gently guide them, but nothing more.”

  The others cleared their throats.

  Tobiah frowned. “Okay, maybe shove is a better word. But upper management will only let us do so much. With one wave of my hand I could fix— ”

  “No!” they spoke again.

  “I have faith in my son,” he said. “And I don’t plan on getting kicked out of Heaven, so don’t worry that I would break one of the commandments.” He looked with longing down to the Earth below. His son lived the life he longed for. Tobiah was born an angel and, although he loved who he was, he thought it might be nice to stay on Earth for longer periods than they were allowed.

  There were so many delights to be tasted, so many adventures he could have.

  “You’re doing it again,” Zachery said.

  A moment passed before his words sank in and when they did, Tobiah felt heat rise up his face. But he couldn’t help thinking what it would be like to live on earth. “Wouldn’t it be fun to— ”

  “No!”

  “I was only saying it would be fun, not that I was going to follow through.”

  “Good,” Michael said.

  They were right, of course. If you lived with mortals, you had to take the bad with the good. Life wasn’t always a silverlined cloud. Dillon was a walking testament to that. Speaking of which, his son better be careful or he was going to get into trouble again, not to mention what he would do to Raine’s life. He hoped everything would work itself out, but right now he wasn’t sure.

  Chapter 20

 
; As soon as the door of the beauty shop closed behind Raine, everyone looked up with a smile of greeting, but their smiles slipped.

  She recognized some of the patrons. Mrs. Weatherspoon was under one of the hair dryers. She had retired after thirty-five years of teaching sixth grade. The elderly woman cocked an eyebrow as she obviously mulled over the accusations thrown at Raine.

  Amy, the young waitress at the café, was getting her nails done. She jumped as though she thought Raine would pull her gun out and rob them at any second. Only problem was the manicurist was painting one of the girl’s fingernails and ended up leaving a streak of fluorescent orange nail polish down her own hand when Amy moved. The manicurist pursed her lips and grabbed the remover while Amy stuttered an apology.

  Two more ladies were under dryers, and two beauticians were cutting hair. Raine could feel the stares of everyone as she walked up to the appointment desk.

  “I made an appointment earlier this morning,” she said. “For a trim.”

  Raine knew the woman behind the desk. Cynthia was a stuck— up snob in high school and Raine doubted she’d changed much.

  Without looking at the appointment book, she smiled sweetly. “I don’t think I have you down. I’m terribly sorry. Maybe you could come back another time.”

  One of the beauticians was just coming from the back with bottled water. She twisted off the cap and handed the bottle to Mrs. Weatherspoon, who smiled her thanks. The beautician had apparently heard Cynthia because she didn’t stop until she was at the desk.

  “You called for an appointment?” she asked.

  “This morning,” Raine said. “My name is Raine McCandless.”

  There was a moment of surprise in the woman’s eyes, but she quickly covered it and glanced down at the book.

  “I told her we don’t have her down and we’re all full.”

  Cynthia’s bitchy smile was fixed in place.

  “Nonsense. If she said she called, then she called. This isn’t the first time you’ve forgotten to write down a client’s appointment. Don’t let it happen again.”

  Cynthia’s face turned deep red. “But… But…”

  “Did you want to say something else?” The beautician’s steady stare never wavered.

  Cynthia pursed her lips. “No.”

  “Good.” The beautician met Raine’s gaze and smiled. “I’m Jill, what can I do for you today?” She waved Raine toward one of the chairs.

  “Just a trim. A wash and blow dry.” She didn’t add “and to hear all the latest gossip.” This was the busiest place in town. In the mornings the coffee shop at the café took center stage, but by nine, the beauty shop began to buzz. Raine had made an afternoon appointment. She hoped by then word would have spread of Ethan’s purchase. But it might take longer than she’d expected for everyone to get over their nervousness around her. They’d all clammed up. “Maybe a new style? I’m getting tired of this one.”

  Jill cut the rubber band around Raine’s ponytail. It was like opening the door of an over-filled closet. Everything sprang out.

  “You do have a lot of hair,” Jill exclaimed with a laugh.

  “Maybe we need to tame it a little.”

  “I have a problem with the frizzies.”

  “I can see that, but it’s an easy fix. I’m sure it won’t take me long at all.”

  But Raine didn’t want to leave too soon. “I don’t suppose I could get a manicure and pedicure too?”

  Jill glanced toward the manicurist, who looked up and shrugged. “I don’t have anything after Amy. My whole afternoon is free.”

  “Great.” That should give her time to gather any information.

  By the time Jill finished with Raine’s hair, the patrons had started talking amongst themselves again. Apparently, there were other things going on in town almost as important to them. Like the revival coming to town next week, and the bake sale to raise money for Luther Gaines had been a success. He was in the hospital in Dallas after Gilbert Rutherford tripped and accidentally shot his friend in the leg when they were hunting. It looked as though he’d have a speedy recovery.

  The Smith boys were caught riding their bikes across old Mrs. Swan’s yard and she had every right to complain when they took the shortcut. They’d already managed to cut a path through her beautifully landscaped yard. It might do them good to spend the next few weeks picking up trash.

  RJ, who worked on the ambulance, and his wife were expecting another little one. Their second, and they were hoping for a boy this time. And Cory Bradley wrecked his red Mustang.

  He was okay, but his father said the boy would have to save up the money to get it fixed. Raine was glad to hear that his parents finally got a little sense. The other women breathed a collective sigh of relief, too.

  “I’m so glad I won’t have to listen to his loud muffler at two in the morning,” one of the women remarked what they all were thinking. “I told his mother something like this would happen, but she wouldn’t listen. About time his father stepped up to the plate. He might have a bat, but Jarod Bradley doesn’t have any balls. Nice to know he finally found some.”

  The other women snickered at her play on words. Raine smiled, glancing in the mirror when Jill swung her chair around.

  “Better?”

  Raine’s usually thick hair was trimmed a few inches shorter and had been thinned. Jill had washed it, applied styling gel, and blew it dry. She followed up with her flat iron. Raine’s hair was tamed and shiny. “It looks wonderful.” She met Jill’s eyes in the mirror and they smiled at each other.

  “I think Marsha is ready for you,” Jill said.

  Raine moved to the chair across from the manicurist. Marsha took her hand and grimaced.

  “Ohmigosh, when was your last manicure?”

  “I’ve never had one,” Raine admitted.

  “Then darlin’, you’re in for a treat. When you leave here I guarantee you’ll be a steady customer.”

  Raine smiled. She didn’t plan on telling Marsha she could barely buy food each week, let alone fritter money away on nonsense like going to the beauty shop. Although Raine had to admit, there was something to be said for feeling pampered.

  The door to the shop opened behind her. Raine glanced in the mirror that ran the entire upper half of one wall and recognized the owner of the small boutique on the corner, Ruth Albright.

  She’d seen the other woman who was with her around town but couldn’t remember her name. Mrs. Albright catered to a clientele that was obsessed with anything shabby chic. Raine once heard the woman made most of her money by tripling the price and sending her merchandise up North.

  “He bought the dealership,” Ms. Albright said as they stopped at the front desk.

  Raine’s heart jumped to her throat. She dared not breathe in case she might miss what Mrs. Albright might say next.

  “Anyone home?” Marsha waved her hand in front of Raine’s face.

  Raine jumped. She was so intent on listening to the other women she wasn’t paying attention to what Marsha was saying.

  She focused on the manicurist since the two women were checking their appointment times. They’d stopped talking about the dealership being sold. It might not even be the one in town, but that still didn’t stop her heart from thudding against her ribs.

  “Did you say something?” she asked Marsha.

  “You zoned out again. I asked what color.”

  “What color of what?”

  “Polish. Did you forget that you’re getting a manicure?”

  She quickly glanced at the colors. “Clear.”

  Marsha casually picked up the clear and shifted slightly in her chair, then dropped the nail polish in the trash. “This is your day to shine, and I don’t do clear.”

  Drama Queen. She glanced toward row after row of nail shades. There were at least fifty to choose from.

  Ms. Albright began to talk again as the two women moved to the waiting area where there were a cluster of chairs. As soon as they were seated, M
s. Albright turned to her friend. “He paid a pretty penny for the building.”

  What did Ms. Albright know and how much would be accurate? It didn’t matter. Raine could find out the particulars. Ms. Albright was confirming what Tilly had told her. This was it, the break she was looking for.

  “Color?” Marsha asked again.

  “You choose,” she absently told her.

  “Deep purple it is,” Marsha said then smiled.

  Raine didn’t pay attention to the color. She wanted to hear what Ms. Albright said next.

  A woman suddenly leaned out from under a dryer. Raine recognized her as Barb Ware. Recently married for the fifth time.

  Everything about her was fake. Her husbands liked having a trophy wife, even though she wasn’t exactly first place.

  “Hey Ruth, did you get that shipment in you were talking about the other day? I’ve been dying to see the new stuff.”

  Raine stifled her groan of frustration.

  Ms. Albright began a lively discussion about the new merchandise she was about to put on display. Barb promised to drop by the next day and asked if she really was going to open a tea room as well.

  Raine counted to fifty before Jill went to the hairdryers and uncurled one of the woman’s rollers.

  “You’re done, Barb. Let’s get you combed out or you’re going to be late for your own party.”

  Raine breathed again. Finally, the stupid conversation was over. Except the two women didn’t stop their discussion as she hoped. Raine had to think of something to get their attention back on track. Nothing came to mind to redirect their attention back to Ethan purchasing the dealership.

  “Are you ready for the chair?” Marsha asked.

  “The chair?”

  “Yeah, for your pedicure.”

  Raine knew she was losing it fast. She needed to think about something else before Marsha thought so, too.

  Dillon suddenly appeared, leaning casually against the corner of Marsha’s desk. Raine jumped, heart once more pounding against her chest. “I hate when you do that!”

  Marsha hesitated. “What’d I do?”

  Raine looked between Marsha and Dillon.