by Lisa White
Mrs. Reich looked up at him, her red eyes on the verge of exploding. “There better not be.”
• • •
The woods were denser, the mountains steeper. Even the road seemed narrower.
“How much longer?” Grace asked looking out her side window. She had spent the last few hours avoiding her thoughts by counting the wildflowers on the side of the road. Driving deeper into the forest, she was now running out of flowers.
“Not much further.” Ben glanced at the Jeep’s gas gauge. “But we probably need to make one more quick stop for gas before we get there, so start looking for signs of civilization.”
Grace squinted and looked deeper into the steep forest lining the road. “Civilization? Yeah, right,” she chuckled to herself. “We’ll be lucky if we find a place with running water in these mountains.”
Ben smiled over at her. The sun, filtered by the trees, made its way through the Jeep’s dirty passenger-side windows to form a dotted halo around Grace’s entire body. Her ponytail glistened in the mottled sunlight and, without thinking, Ben reached over and gently removed the band holding Grace’s hair back. Her long, brown hair fell softly around her shoulders just as she turned to meet Ben’s gaze.
“So now you’re my Guardian and my hair stylist?” She softly smiled.
Ben’s eyes were tender and didn’t shy away from Grace’s gaze. “Sorry. I don’t know why I just did that,” he spoke with naked honesty and had to restrain himself from touching her again.
“That’s okay.” Grace looked back out her dirty side window. “It kind of feels better to have my hair down and loose anyway.”
Ben placed his hand back on the steering wheel, resuming the ten o’clock and two o’clock positions required by a careful driver, and silently chastised himself. Spending all this time with Grace was making it harder and harder to control his feelings. He needed to concentrate on his job. He needed to focus his energy on being Grace’s Guardian.
He needed to get out of that Jeep before he did something really stupid.
“There,” Grace pointed out the front window a few minutes later. “Let’s pull in there.”
A few yards off the side of the winding, narrow road sat an old, dilapidated, one-pump gas station. It looked deserted but an old man sat right by the front door, rocking back and forth in a ladder-back rocker and looking in their direction. He was bald and had lost most of his teeth, but Ben could see his blue eyes were truly blue. Contacts were definitely out of the question in these backwoods.
“We can stop here,” said Ben.
The sign above the gas pump said “Cooper’s Gas and Groceries” and a neon “Open” sign flickered in the store window.
“At least they have electricity,” Grace said, unbuckling her seatbelt. She was ready to escape the Jeep’s dirt for a little while.
“Yeah. But do they have gas?” Ben pulled the Jeep off the road and parked it beside the lone gas pump. Before he could turn to ask Grace if she wanted anything from the store, the old man was standing at her window, knocking on the dirty glass with a toothless grin.
The old man’s sudden appearance startled Grace. She screamed and jumped over the Jeep’s console, contorting herself into Ben’s arms.
“Gracie.” Ben held her close. “It’s okay. He’s not one of them.” He wrapped his arms tighter around her and gave her a little squeeze. “I promise. No green eyes.” He smiled and released his hold on her. Being this close, her sweet smell filled his senses and his heart briefly stopped.
“Sorry. I guess I’m a little jumpy,” was all Grace said as she climbed back into her seat.
Ben patted her hand and took a deep breath. His heart started beating again. “Understandable. Why don’t we go stretch our legs a little and work off your jitters?” He released her hand and got out of the car.
By now the old man had moved to Ben’s side of the Jeep. “Mista, I didn’t mean to scare yer lady friend like ‘at. I was just goin’ to ask ye’ if I could pump yer gas.” The old man’s grin was infectious.
“Oh, she’s okay. No problem. Go ahead and fill it up,” Ben replied, knowing this was probably going to be the highlight of the old man’s day. “Do you have a pay phone I could use?”
“Sure thing,” grinned the old man. Being helpful appeared to be his life’s work. “Right ‘nside th’ door thar.” The old man pointed to the store and then turned back around to pump Ben’s gas.
Ben walked over to Grace’s car door and opened it for her. “Come on out now, Gracie. He’s harmless.” Ben offered his hand for her to use in climbing down from the tall vehicle.
“Thanks,” Grace smiled sheepishly, taking his hand for assistance but not letting go of it even after she exited the Jeep.
Ben glanced down at their entwined fingers and subtly, but unintentionally, smiled.
Hand in hand, they silently walked across the small gravel parking lot and into the store. Large windows spanned the entire storefront so, once inside, Ben could still see the old man, the Jeep and the road in both directions. The pay phone was inside, right beside the front door as the old man had said, and Ben picked up the receiver, grateful to hear a dial tone.
“I’m going to call Tom,” he said without hesitation. “I think we’ve worried him enough.” Ben didn’t want to involve Tom but hearing his brother’s voice would help him get his mind back on track and his feelings for Grace in check. He needed Tom to remind him of his place in the world. He needed Tom’s voice to remind him he was Grace’s Guardian, not the Chosen One.
“Okay,” said Grace. “I’m going to go back here to the restroom.” She pointed to a door at the back of the store. The sign on the door indicated there was only one bathroom for both men and women.
Ben watched her open the door and he could see there were no windows in the bathroom. With Grace securely locked in the small room, he dialed the operator.
“Hello,” Tom’s voice finally came through from the other end of the line.
“Collect call from Ben. Do you accept the charges?” the operator’s bored voice grated.
“Yes, yes,” Tom said excitedly. “Ben? Ben, are you there?”
“Yeah, it’s me. Calm down. We’re okay. We’re okay.” At the sound of Tom’s voice, Ben took in a deep breath, closed his eyes and then slowly let it out, releasing some of the stress that had built up over the past few days.
“Where are you? What are you doing? Have you lost your mind?” Tom’s questions came at Ben fast and furious.
“Tom, listen. We’re fine. I know what I’m doing.”
“Ben, you need to bring her back. The Council has called me in twice over this and — ”
“Called you in? You met with the Council? Face-to-face?” Ben was shocked. He was in more trouble than he had imagined.
“Yeah, thanks to you, I am now on a first–name basis with them all. They’re absolutely furious but I think if you brought her back on your own, they may show you a little leniency.”
“I’m not bringing her back, Tom.” Ben’s voice was stern.
“What do you mean you’re not bringing her back? You have to bring her back. If you don’t bring her back, the Council will — ”
“Tom,” Ben interrupted. “I’m not bringing her back. I’m her Guardian. I’m keeping her safe. That’s my job isn’t it? To keep her safe? The Council and their wonderful plan didn’t keep her safe in Southern Pines so I’m making my own plans now and taking her somewhere I know she’ll be safe.”
“Where?”
“The less you know, the better it’ll be for you with the Council. I just called to let you know that everything is going to be fine. I’ll call you again in a couple of days.” Ben paused, thoughtful, then added, “Tom, you know if I bring her back, they’ll take her away. I … I can’t let that happen yet. I’m … I’m not ready for that yet. But I promise I have everything under control.”
Ben hung up before his brother could respond. Tom should understand Ben was just doing his job. T
hat’s all this was. A job. Nothing more. He was Grace’s Guardian and would keep her safe until he and Dave could figure out what to do next. Until then, he was just doing his job. His call to Tom worked. Ben’s mind was back on track now.
But in the middle of Ben’s self-convincing, the bathroom door opened. In that moment, everything Ben had tried to accomplish with the impromptu call to Tom was officially lost. The sight of Grace, with her long, brown hair flowing behind her, her endearing blue eyes and a smile that literally made Ben’s heart stop, destroyed any hope Ben had of pushing aside his feelings for her. His mind wasn’t back on track and the fact he was Grace’s Guardian was now irrelevant.
Because at that moment, Ben realized he wasn’t keeping her alive because he was her Guardian.
He was keeping her alive because he was head–over–heels, heart–stopping, can’t–think–straight in love with her.
Ben swallowed hard, took a deep breath and put his mask back on. Hiding his feelings from Tom was hard, but hiding his feelings from Grace was more challenging than single-handedly fighting off ten Anti-Powers.
“Did you talk to Tom? What did he say?” Grace sidled up to Ben, unaware that her mere presence by his side obliterated his normally logical mind.
“Uh … yeah. I talked to him. He knows we’re safe but I … got cut off before he said much,” Ben lied. He glanced at the bathroom door and found his escape. A cold-water splash would clear his head. “My turn.” He smiled hesitantly and pointed toward the bathroom. He scanned the parking lot one more time. “Stay in the store and let me know if anyone else pulls up for gas. I’ll be right back.” He gave her hand a squeeze before heading into the bathroom.
Grace stood there, looking around the store. She knew she shouldn’t but she couldn’t help herself. Ben had called Tom. And no Anti-Powers had suddenly appeared as a result of his phone call. And she just needed to hear her voice.
“Collect call from Grace.” Telephone operators must be trained to sound bored.
“Yes,” Annie squealed. “Yes. Gracie? Is that you?”
“Annie,” Grace sighed. “It’s so good to hear your voice. You would not believe everything that’s going on.”
“Where are you?”
“Cooper’s Gas and Groceries. Somewhere in the Appalachian Mountains. Virginia, I think. Maybe West Virginia? Oh, I don’t know and it doesn’t matter. Look, I just wanted you to know I am all right. Ben isn’t losing his mind. He was right. About everything.”
“What do you mean he was right about everything? When are you coming home? You know, Julian keeps asking if you’re ever coming back to work. I don’t know what to tell him.”
“Tell him I don’t know. Annie, you need to listen to me. Ben was telling the truth. About the Powers, the Council, the Anti-Powers. Everything.”
At that moment, the old man reentered the store.
“Whar’s yer friend?” he grunted, leaning into Grace by the door.
The hair on the back of her neck bristled and she swallowed hard. “He’s in the restroom.” Grace placed the receiver back in the phone’s cradle, hanging up on Annie in mid-sentence.
“Left ya all alone, did he?” the old man leered.
“No. He’s here. Just in the restroom,” Grace repeated, wondering where this conversation was going. The old man stood so close to her, she could smell his coffee-tinged breath. Grace decided she no longer liked the smell of coffee.
The old man smiled at her. It wasn’t a friendly smile. “Where ya’ll going?”
“Uh … the mountains?”
“Don’t sound too sure of yerself, Miss Gracie. Ain’t ya’ll already in the mountains?” The old man moved closer to Grace, if that was at all possible.
“How … How do you know my name?” Grace stammered.
“Ever’body knows yer name, little lady,” the old man sneered.
“Ben!” Grace yelled and instinctively backed away from the old man. She felt behind her back, making her way to the bathroom door, her eyes never leaving the old man’s toothless grin. Just as she reached the door, it opened and she backed right into Ben’s arms.
“Grace? Being clumsy again?” Ben chuckled.
Grace turned around, fear filled her eyes. “Can we get out of here?”
“Sure.” Ben looked over at the old man.
“Skeer’d little thing ye got thar,” the old man said to Ben as he shuffled behind the store counter.
Grace walked behind Ben as they headed for the door. Her heart pounded and she held onto the back of Ben’s tee shirt with both fists.
“How much do we owe you for the gas?” Ben asked the old man as they walked past him.
“Forty should cover it,” the old man flashed that toothless grin.
Ben threw two twenties on the counter. “Thanks,” he said as Grace moved him quickly to the door.
“Have fun in the mountains,” the old man called out the door to them.
Grace let go of Ben’s shirt only when they got back to the Jeep. Her hand shook as she grabbed the door handle and pulled herself into the passenger seat.
“What was that all about?” Ben asked once they were both safely in the Jeep and driving away.
“He knew my name. I don’t know how, but he knew my name,” Grace said, her fear still evident in her shaking voice. “That guy gave me the creeps. How did he know my name?”
“Gracie,” Ben said. “Maybe he just heard me call you by name. Who knows? But I told you, I would never leave you alone if I didn’t know you were safe.”
Grace sighed, “I know. I’m sorry. I guess I’m still a little skittish.”
Ben reached over and took Grace’s hand. “I promise. Everything’s going to be okay.”
Grace glanced down at Ben’s hand holding hers and let out a deep sigh. “Look.” She turned to him. “If I have to go through all this with someone, I’m really glad it’s with you.”
Ben’s heart stopped again before he said, “Me too.”
Chapter Fifteen: The Mountains
Tom sat on the couch in his apartment and stared at Ben’s recliner. The apartment seemed smaller with Ben gone but the empty recliner loomed ten times larger than usual. After receiving Ben’s phone call, Tom’s previous worry for his younger brother had been replaced by anger. He could not believe his brother would so blatantly disobey the Council like that. And then to not tell Tom where he was taking Grace was inexcusable. Ben knew better and his reckless disregard for the Council code scared Tom. Ben was officially a fugitive in the Council’s eyes and Tom prayed their justice would be painless for Ben when they found him. And if not painless, at least quick.
“I’m taking her somewhere I know she will be safe.”
Ben’s words tugged at Tom and his inability to decipher their meaning only added to his frustration. When he was younger, Tom’s powers and top mental acumen had confirmed his role as Grace’s Chosen One for the Council, but today his astute powers did nothing to help him find Ben’s safe place. He had no idea where Ben was taking Grace and, for once, his thoughts were ineffective.
Frustrated, he got up from the couch and headed to Ben’s room. He had been through this room a thousand times in the past few days, leaving it in more of a mess than he had found it, but he had to do something and searching Ben’s room again was all he could think of at the moment.
Tom sat on the bed and looked around. His younger brother had never been a clean freak and Ben’s room reflected that aspect of his personality. Clothes were all over the floor. Video games and iPod accessories scattered near Ben’s laptop. Papers on top of papers stacked on Ben’s desk. And a framed picture of the Three Amigos staring back at Tom from behind one of the stacks of papers.
Tom levitated the cheap wooden frame and it instantly flew across the room and into his open palm. It was a picture from some high school party his brother had attended. Ben was playfully grinning at the camera with his arms casually draped over Annie and Grace who stood on each side of him. Annie was striking
her best supermodel pose with her long blonde hair softly falling over her bare shoulders. And then there was Grace. Grace had her sweet smile, crazy ponytail and those blue eyes that ensured her place in this world. Focusing on Grace’s eyes, Tom knew that he could eventually love her the way he should. He would be able to fulfill his duties as the Chosen One.
If Ben ever brought her back to him.
Tom levitated the picture back onto the desk and started looking around the room again.
“I’m taking her somewhere I know she will be safe.”
The world was large and, as Grace’s Guardian, Ben had been trained to never feel safe anywhere, to always be on guard. Ben’s safe place now eluded his older brother who was not used to this mental vexation.
Tom moved his search to Ben’s nightstand, using his mind’s powers to open drawers, pull out the contents and spread the items all over Ben’s bed for the millionth time. He shifted each object around on the bed one by one, at times suspending the objects high above the bed so that he could study them more carefully. There was so much junk crammed in the nightstand’s two drawers Tom wondered how Ben had gotten it all in there in the first place. A flashlight, a lighter, a couple of issues of Sports Illustrated, even a Playboy. But nothing that indicated Ben’s safe place for Grace.
Frustrated, he released his mental hold and let all the objects abruptly crash back down onto the bed and, as he did so, a picture fell out of one of the older Sports Illustrated magazines. The picture’s edges were worn but the faces shining back at Tom were as clear as the day it had been taken. It was an old picture of Tom, Ben, their parents and their father’s best friend Dave. Dave stood in the middle, holding up a rainbow trout that, in Dave’s large hands, looked smaller than Tom remembered. The good times shared that day were evident in his family’s smiles, and nostalgia eased Tom’s frustration slightly. Visits to Dave’s house had always been more like events than vacations. The kinds of events that only the Powers could experience. Only with Dave were the brothers allowed to openly practice their abilities while they swam in the lake, levitated rocks across the river, and climbed the mountains.
