Throbbing like a sore tooth, Cassaundra Reynolds pulled off highway ___ onto Meander Road

by Susan Shay

  Relieved she wasn’t physically ill, he relaxed his hold, but didn’t release her. “Want to talk about them? Sometimes, in the light of day, they aren’t nearly as scary.”

  Dropping her gaze blindly to his chest, she shook her head. “These weren’t scary, not in the normal sense of the word. They were bone-chilling. No pictures, at least from what I remember. Just perfect darkness, and a woman, who sounded...lost, frightened, and in grave danger, calling my name. Begging for help. I couldn’t quite recognize her voice, but I should have. And then yesterday morning, just before dawn, it stopped.” As she closed her eyes, the sadness on her face was heartbreaking. “I haven’t slept since.”

  He watched for a moment, unsure what to do. Fever caused hallucinations sometimes, didn’t it? Maybe he should get Miriam or call a doctor. After settling her back on the stool, he released her and went to the door to yell for Miriam.

  As he sucked a breath, a thought struck him like a sledge hammer. This had to be more of Cassie’s psychic crap. She’d suckered him again, and he’d fallen for it, hook and line. Damned if he’d go for sinker, too. Instead of yelling for his sister, he turned back to Cassie. “So, what exactly happened yesterday morning, just before dawn?”

  The shudder started at the top of her head and traveled down the length of her body before she lifted her tear-filled gaze. “An excruciating scream that, when it reached its crescendo was suddenly...extinguished.”

  Chapter Three

  “Cassie, Keegan, could you come to the office, please?” The tears choking Miriam’s voice as it boomed over the intercom nearly stopped Cassie’s heart. Something must be very wrong for her to broadcast her emotions for everyone in the store to hear.

  She rushed to the front on Keegan’s heels. Together they rounded the checkout and burst into the office to find Miriam at her desk with the newspaper spread in front of her, tears wetting her face.

  Heart aching for her friend, Cassie knelt next to Miriam. “Are you okay?”

  Miriam nodded, sobbing harder as she struggled to talk.

  “Miriam! What the hell is the matter?” Keegan’s voice grew louder. “Say something, damn it. Don’t just sit there and bawl.”

  Shocked at his angry tone, Cassie stared at Keegan a moment before seeing the fear in his eyes. Trying not to be too critical, she shook her head at him, then pulled several tissues from the box on the desk and tucked them into Miriam’s hand. “What is it? Can we do anything?”

  “Sh-Sharon Buttrum was found dead.” Miriam’s voice soared on the last word as her voice broke.

  “Who is Sharon Buttrum?” Keegan asked, his voice more gentle now.

  Cassie stared at Miriam for a moment, trying to gauge the depth of her emotion. Was she distraught only over Sharon’s death? Or was it also the fact their circumstances were so much alike, she could easily have been the one to die? Finally, Cassie glanced at him. “She’s the pianist at our church. She and Miriam both separated from their husbands about the same time, and for essentially the same reason. After that, they became friends.”

  He dropped his hand to his sister’s shoulder murmuring, “Why don’t they teach college level classes on how to console a female? Hell, whether it’s a woman’s best friend, her husband, or her pet goldfish she’s lost, she always cries. And I never know what to do.”

  Cassie glared at him for his thoughtless remark. Why didn’t men think before they spoke?

  Looking ashamed and a bit startled—that he’d put his thoughts into words?—he awkwardly patted Miriam a couple of times. She took his hand and pulled him to his knees, putting him right next to Cassie. As his shoulder settled against hers, the world brightened.

  Miriam put her arms around them both and tightly hugged them. “You two, please be careful. I couldn’t bear to lose anyone else. I really couldn’t.”

  “How did Sharon die, Miriam?” Cassie asked, careful to keep her voice level.

  Taking a long breath, Miriam glanced at the paper as if to confirm what she was about to say. “She drowned in her above-ground pool.”

  Getting to his feet, Keegan yanked the paper closer so he could read. “Who swims at this time of year?” When he looked at his sister, he halted what he’d been about to say, but the logical conclusion was obvious. Sharon had either committed suicide or been murdered.

  He slid one hip onto the desk and pushed the paper farther from her. “Hey, Sis, why don’t we close up early today? We can go to Revelry and have a private wake for your friend.”

  Miriam frowned through her tears, then shook her head. “You want to celebrate Sharon’s death?”

  Cassie quickly agreed with Keegan. “Not her death, Miriam. Her life. The friendship you shared. And the fun times. You can tell Keegan all the stories you’ve told me in the last few weeks, and...we’ll laugh together, and have a happy time.” She tried her best to be cheerful, but even to her own ears, the words sounded forced. She wasn’t certain she could laugh, but she was willing to do her best in order to help Miriam.

  Keegan focused on Cassie. “Do you know what has to be done to close up?”

  Unable to find her voice, she nodded.

  “Then tell me what to do.”

  When she started to rise, he stuck out a hand like a traffic cop. “No, I want you to stay with Miriam. Let me take care of everything else.”

  ****

  Cassie drew a breath of smoky air as she took another sip of her quickly melting drink. The room was dark, as she’d expected, but the music wasn’t too loud, and few people moved on the dance floor. The tiny round table in the back of the bar was too small for her to sit very far from either Keegan or Miriam, so she caught the scent of his cologne each time he got off his stool.

  Knowing the last thing she needed was to drink too much and start telling things that should be kept secret, she carefully took small sips of her margarita. Guilt was bad enough when shouldered alone, but she’d found sharing only doubled the pain.

  Once more her thoughts slid to Sharon. A little overweight with drab brown hair, she hadn’t been startlingly pretty, but she had been very nice with a ready smile for everyone around her.

  So why hadn’t Cassie been able to recognize her voice when she’d entered her dreams, begging for help? Why hadn’t she had even a tiny inkling of who it was? Why hadn’t she tried harder to help?

  Because she hadn’t wanted to know. Hadn’t wanted to exercise the gift that had cursed her life. Hadn’t wanted to put herself in danger of being recognized. And talked about. And used.

  And now Sharon was dead—because of her. Each time she closed her eyes, she saw the body floating face-down in the small pool, drab hair moving in the miniature waves caused by the breeze, hands stretched toward the bottom as if grasping for help that wouldn’t come, mouth open in a silent scream for deliverance. Rescue. Salvation.

  And the only person who could have given her that aid had covered her head with a pillow and begged for silence. Remorse thickened the air around Cassie, making it difficult to draw into her lungs, so she took a long drink, swallowed hard, and hoped for release.

  In the guise of getting off his stool, Keegan leaned close, touching his cheek to hers and setting off a sparkling shower of lights. “We’re here to cheer Miriam, not depress her. And sugar, as down as you are, it makes me wonder if you and Sharon weren’t closer friends than you let on.”

  Shaken, she straightened in her chair and glanced at the tears on Miriam’s cheeks. He was right—she was depressing her friend, and probably everyone else in the place. Hoping she could do better, she forced a smile, then gave the table a flat-handed slap. “So, Miriam, tell Keegan about the first girls night out that you, Sharon, and I had.”

  Miriam’s watery smile wasn’t her best, but at least it was an improvement. “It was fun, wasn’t it? Remember that joke Sharon told over and over? ‘Did you hear about the two drunks who walked into the bar?’ ”

  Keegan leaned on the table, looking from one to the other. “What’s the pu
nch line?”

  In unison Miriam and Cassie answered, “The third one ducked.”

  Grimacing, Keegan shook his head. “That is bad.”

  “That’s why it was so funny. It was the only joke she could remember, so anytime there was a lull in the conversation, she’d spring it on us.” Miriam glanced from him to Cassie. “And when the night got late and drunks started hitting on us, she’d say, ‘Watch out for that bar’ when they walked away.”

  Cassie forced a chuckle. “That next day in church, her music sounded like she was playing a dirge. When we asked her about it, she said she was afraid if she’d played anything faster, her head would fall off.”

  Keegan laughed with her. “I’ve had a few of those hangovers. Not fun.”

  “Funny thing,” Miriam said, her voice low, her gaze fixed on the table. “We didn’t drink all that much. I didn’t have any aftereffects at all, and I didn’t notice her drinking anymore than we did.”

  With a quizzical glance at Cassie, he shrugged. “Sometimes it affects people in different ways. And sometimes, people yelp even though they aren’t stung.”

  That got Miriam’s attention. Eyes blazing, she rounded on her brother. “Well, Sharon wasn’t like that. She put up with a lot from her husband without a word. She wasn’t a whiner!”

  “Whoa, whoa, whoa, Sis. I wasn’t saying anything bad about your friend. I was just making an observation about people in general. Give me a break, huh?” He slid his arm around her shoulders and hugged her close. “I’d never put one of your friends down, because I would have to live in fear for my life.”

  The anger quickly left Miriam’s face. Surprised, she blinked slowly, then gave them a sheepish grin. “I don’t know where that outburst came from. Sorry.”

  “For being a loyal friend? Don’t be silly. I’m glad we’re close enough that you’ll always care about me, like you do Sharon.” Cassie forced a smile, even as she wished no one had been close enough to hear her words—especially Keegan.

  But Keegan’s expression didn’t change. He looked as if he still wanted to pull his sister behind him and keep everyone in the world at bay. Even Cassie. Especially Cassie.

  And maybe he should.

  If everyone stayed far, far away from her, she couldn’t feel their emotions. Their disappointments. Their pain. And while she would be lonely for a time, she’d learn to live with a minimum of human contact. At least it would be better than having to suffer pain belonging to the people around her.

  A young man, hardly old enough to be in the bar, approached their table and touched Miriam’s shoulder. “Hey, wanna dance?”

  Looking uncertain, she started to shake her head, but Keegan was quicker. “Sure you do, Sis. Go ahead.”

  With a scathing glance for Keegan, she allowed the young man to take her hand and drag her onto the dance floor, where he proceeded to tow her along as he loped around the perimeter. By the time the song ended, Miriam was laughing as if she’d never had more fun in her life. Before she could leave the floor, another young man claimed her.

  Keegan finally relaxed his gut as he watched Miriam laugh while the young man twirled her so hard her head tipped back. Why shouldn’t she have some fun? For years she’d worked like a dog because Steve was too flighty to stay with one job. Then the bastard left her when she’d wanted nothing more than for him to stay—no matter what he’d done. And now her close friend was dead. Damn. How much was one woman supposed to endure?

  After four dances, all with different men, Miriam finally made it back to collapse onto her stool for a long drink from her glass. But before she could catch her breath, the first boy was back at their table. “You promised me another dance before the night was over,” he reminded her with a grin.

  Eyes wide, she looked from him to Cassie. “Hey, I’m tired of being your floor show. You two get up and dance, too, or I’m not budging.”

  Why hadn’t he thought of that? Holding out his hand, he shot Cassie a glance. “What do you say? Care to take a chance?”

  Warily, she returned his gaze, then looked at his hand as if checking for an electric buzzer. “No, Keegan, I don’t—”

  “Well, if you aren’t going to dance, then I’m not either. We’ll just sit here and mope together,” Miriam threatened.

  Keegan jumped to his feet and caught Cassie’s hand. “Come on, Cass. I promise not to hurt you too badly.”

  Giving him a glassy-eyed stare, she nodded and slipped off the stool. Keegan folded her arm in his and walked with her onto the dance floor, but when he turned to her, she tried to back away so she would touch only his hand and part of his arm. His first opportunity to hold her in his arms, and she wanted to leave a world between them? No way. “Hey, you aren’t dancing with a cowboy, sugar. I like to hang onto my women.”

  When he stepped close, perfectly fitting her body to his, everything dimmed. The music, the crowd, the smoke. All that remained, all that mattered, all that existed...was Cassie.

  He’d just walked into heaven.

  Then he remembered to breathe, and as if suddenly highlighted by sheet lightning, the world returned to reality, and he remembered to dance. Sort of. Holding her, he couldn’t help but smell her hair and feel her breasts softly pressing against him.

  Why hadn’t he waited for a faster song? One that naturally would have required some distance between them? When she was this close, the blood flow diverted from his brain to a part of him not intended for thinking. Damn.

  Well, he was stuck, at least for the next few minutes, with the world’s most fascinating creature in his arms. He’d just have to tough it out.

  Deciding not to fight the smile tugging at his mouth, he pulled her even closer, allowed his brain to revert to Jell-O, and danced.

  After several moments of mindless pleasure, he realized he was alone, cold, and miserable. The music had stopped and Cassie no longer stood in his arms. “Where’re you going?”

  Lifting her chin, she gave him an icy stare. “The song’s over, and I’ve got to go t-to the ladies’ room.”

  As she stalked off the floor, he tried to make sense of what just happened. What the hell did she have to be mad about? Had he stomped her toes? Held her too close? Called her by the wrong name? He’d probably made all those mistakes with a dozen different girls, but no one had ever been irate enough to stomp off the floor as she had. Hell, she could have smacked him and he’d have liked it more than being deserted like that.

  With another song starting on the jukebox, he left the floor, but seeing his table was as empty as his glass, he detoured to the bar. Damned if he was going to sit there all alone, without something to drink. Bracing his forearms on the polished surface, he waited for the man working there to notice him.

  Finally, the bartender looked up. “What’ll it be?”

  “Lone Star.”

  After paying for the long-necked bottle of beer, he returned to their table. Climbing onto the stool, he glanced toward a booth in the darkest part of the room just in time to see a familiar face disappear. Steve? What was he doing hiding in a secluded booth?

  Just as he was climbing off the stool, Cassie joined him. “Are you going somewhere?”

  Unable to help himself, he focused his attention on her. “I thought I saw Steve over there watching Miriam. If it was him, maybe I should find out why he’s skulking around.”

  “Steve?” Craning her neck, she peered through the darkness. “Why would he be here?”

  Frustrated because he didn’t have the answers to very much that was going on, he shrugged. “Because he likes to pick up chicks and party? Because he’s afraid Miriam will have some fun and he doesn’t like that? Because he’s a selfish bastard and wants to cause all the trouble he can? Who knows?”

  Cassie leaned closer and dropped her voice so low, he could barely hear. He moved nearer as he listened. “The thing is, he never comes here, because the type of girl he usually likes doesn’t frequent this place. It’s too tame, too mature, for that kind.”


  Happy to stay close, he lowered his voice to match hers. “But I know I saw him. He was right over there.” He jerked his thumb over his shoulder, then glanced back in time to see an older couple slide into the booth he’d indicated.

  With a sigh, Cassie watched as the pair settled in. “He must not be there now. I’ll help you look around if you want, but I don’t think he’s—”

  When she suddenly stopped speaking, Keegan followed her gaze. There in the semi-darkness, Steve stepped from a doorway, gave the bar and dance floor a lot of distance as he skirted them, then hurried across the room, and out the front door.

  Bowing her head, Cassie looked at her hands for several seconds as if trying to convince herself of what she’d seen. “I guess I was wrong.”

  “Thank God, you saw him, too. For a minute there, I was afraid I was seeing things.” Glancing at Miriam, who was still on the dance floor oblivious to what had happened, he shook his head. “I wonder why he was being so sneaky. He was certainly out there that night at Ron’s.”

  Cassie gazed at him for a moment, as if trying to read his mind. “Maybe he saw you first tonight, remembered the night at Ron’s and didn’t want to get his face punched in.”

  Some of Keegan’s tension dissipated as he thought of Steve’s speed the night at the restaurant. He might not have been running, but the blonde with him had trouble keeping up. “I didn’t say a word about punching him.”

  Her chuckle was light, barely touching him before passing on. “You didn’t have to say anything. You were telegraphing your feelings loud and clear.

  He held up one hand. “What do you mean, ‘telegraphing my feelings’? The look on my face when I was about to slug him?”

  “I meant before you left the booth.” She held him with a wicked smile. “But, yeah, when you shoved your face next to his, planted your body like a wall between him and Miriam, and balled your fists, he didn’t have to use his imagination. He knew what you meant.”