Unholy Ground

by Christine Pope

  “Have you heard anything from Colin about his big reveal?”

  “Not really. That is, he sent a cryptic message around two in the morning that said he was ‘working on it,’ but that was the last thing he sent.” Michael had intended to get back to him today, but the crisis with Audrey’s house had made him completely forget about reaching out to his producer. “He probably worked all night and then crashed this morning. If I still don’t hear from him by mid-afternoon, I’ll trying texting him.”

  Audrey fidgeted with the cuff of her long-sleeved black T-shirt, fingers idly playing with a loose thread. When she looked up to meet his gaze, he could see the concern in her eyes. “He wouldn’t — he wouldn’t release the tapes without warning you first, would he?”

  Good question. “I’d like to think he wouldn’t,” Michael said frankly. “But sometimes Colin gets so focused on what he wants to do that he doesn’t waste much time on wondering whether he should do it or not. Like I said, I’ll reach out in a few hours if we still haven’t heard anything.” He paused there and glanced out the window; it was another beautiful, mild day, and he thought both of them could use a little fresh air. “Why don’t we go outside for a bit? I’m not really hungry yet, but maybe we could have some iced tea and sit in the sun for a while.”

  She offered him a grateful smile. “That sounds wonderful. I think I need to step away from all this, clear my head a little.” Abruptly, her expression sobered, and once again her gaze met his. “Do you think things will ever get back to normal?”

  Normal. Michael hadn’t experienced such a thing in a very long while. It was in his mind to tell Audrey that once you’d crossed over into dealing with these sorts of phenomena, then your life was never truly normal again. However, she’d been through enough today. The last thing he wanted to do was take away the little bit of hope she had.

  “Of course,” he said. “Nature always finds a balance. Now let’s go outside and find ours.”

  To his relief, she didn’t ask any other questions. He wasn’t sure he would have any answers she would like.

  Chapter 10

  This did feel good — to sit in the sun and feel its warmth replace the chill that seemed to have overtaken her body ever since she’d gotten the call from Captain Benitez this morning, to sip iced tea and watch the sparrows flutter from branch to branch in the trees around them, to see the early roses in the flowerbeds that bordered Michael’s backyard. In fact, it was so warm that Audrey had pushed the sleeves of her T-shirt up past her elbows, and Michael had discarded his ubiquitous jacket, hanging it over the back of one of the empty chairs at the patio table.

  They hadn’t spoken much, and that was fine by her. She was still trying to sort out her feelings, trying to come to grips with what had happened today. Even though she’d stood right there on the sidewalk and seen the wreckage of her house with her own two eyes, it didn’t seem quite real. Some part of her mind remained convinced that if she got in her rented car and drove over to Glendora right now, the house would still be standing there just as it always had, pale blue wood siding and white trim gleaming in the sun.

  Unfortunately, that part of her mind was dead wrong. She knew that intellectually, and also knew that she needed to allow herself to grieve for the things she’d lost, even if they were as foolish as the collection of CDs from her high school years she couldn’t quite seem to part with…or as valuable as the antique table that had once stood in her hall. Even if the insurance company was generous with its settlement and she could afford to buy a new house and furnish it exactly as she liked, it still would never be the home she’d once had.

  For some reason, that thought didn’t hurt quite as much as she’d expected it to. Was that because of the man who sat next to her now, who lifted a glass of iced tea to his lips as his fair hair glinted in the sun and who seemed perfectly content to merely spend time with her, expecting nothing more?

  Maybe. Audrey had surprised herself with the intensity of her desire to simply be here, to be with Michael at his house. The few times she’d stayed overnight at the houses of the men she’d dated, she’d felt uncomfortable and had only wished to be home. Here, though…here she felt as though she was already home. And that had to be crazy, didn’t it? This wasn’t her house, and Michael hadn’t made any overtures about her moving in with him. Sure, he’d told her she could stay as long as she needed to, but that wasn’t exactly the same thing. An offer of refuge was not the same as an offer to share his life.

  But she was getting way ahead of herself. There were so many unanswered questions hanging over them that it seemed foolish to be wrapped up in what their future might hold. It was enough to realize that she wasn’t as alone as she’d thought, that she had Aunt Deb and Rosemary and Bettina and, yes, Michael.

  Almost as though he knew she was thinking about him, he glanced over at her, the corners of his mouth turning up just the slightest bit. “Feeling better?” he asked.

  “Much,” she replied. “It’s amazing what a little sunshine can do.”

  “I do like to come out here and sit if the weather is nice. Sometimes I bring my laptop and work.”

  She thought she would like that. True, the glare from the sun was strong from some angles, but a patio umbrella would help with that. She wondered why he hadn’t put one up; the table had a hole in the middle to accommodate one.

  His fingers played with the condensation on the side of his glass. Now he glanced away, as if it would be easier for him to say his next words when he wasn’t looking at her.

  “When I said you could stay here for as long as you liked, I meant it.” A pause, and then he continued. “I guess what I’m trying to say is that I’d love for you to move in with me.”

  About all Audrey could do was blink. She shifted in her chair, turning so he would be forced to face her. Which he did, gray eyes meeting hers, earnest, frank.

  How was she supposed to respond to such an offer? The old Audrey, the Audrey she’d been before demons invaded her life and brought utter chaos with them, probably would have come up with a tactful but firm way of saying that, while she was flattered, it seemed very precipitous to cohabit with someone she’d barely known for three weeks.

  But that Audrey was just as vanished as her house…and somehow she realized she didn’t miss her all that much. She found herself saying, “I’d love to move in with you.”

  He smiled. “Well, then, I guess that’s settled.”

  Was it really that easy? She supposed it was; all her worldly goods were here. It wasn’t as though she had to move anything in, or decide what to do about the place where she’d been living. She found her voice. “Just like that.”

  “Yes, just like that.” Michael got up from his chair and came over to her, then took her by the hands so she could stand up as well. His lips were on hers then, warm, passionate…but also welcoming, as if he knew he needed to make sure she felt as though she belonged here, that she was no longer merely a visitor in his home. She clung to him, feeling the need flare in her, knowing there was no reason why they couldn’t go upstairs and make leisurely love for an hour or so. It was barely past noon, and Michael had said he was going to wait until around three to call and check on Colin.

  However, her phone, which she’d brought with her and set down on the table in case Lauren or someone else from State Farm called, chose that exact moment to start ringing. Audrey startled, and Michael let her go at once, murmuring, “It’s okay to answer. I know you have important people who could be calling.”

  She shot him a glance full of both gratitude and regret, then reached down for her phone. The glare from the sun was too bright for her to really make out the number on her home screen, and so she just picked it up and said, “Audrey Barrett.”

  “Audrey! You’re all right! Rumors have been flying — ”

  Rosemary. Audrey mouthed the name to Michael, and he nodded. “Yes, I’m fine. I wasn’t home when it — when the fire started. I was at Michael’s.”

&
nbsp; “What happened?”

  Audrey hesitated for a second, then realized there was no point in telling Rosemary anything less than the truth. It wasn’t as though she didn’t already know about the demons and everything else. “Well, I’m sure the official report from the fire department will say it was faulty wiring or something like that, but I think we all know who really did it.”

  A shocked silence. Then, “They’d really go that far?”

  “Oh, yes,” Audrey said grimly. “But at least they were subtle and didn’t pour gasoline over everything, so I’m hoping there won’t be too much of a fight with the insurance company.”

  Another pause. “You sound pretty cheerful, considering.”

  “Well….” She let the words trail off and looked over at Michael, wondering whether he’d think it was okay to share their news, since they’d both just agreed to their new living arrangements. But he nodded at her, a warm light in his beautiful eyes, and she realized he wouldn’t mind if she shouted their announcement to the entire world. “I’m moving in with Michael, so the situation isn’t quite as dire as you might think it was.”

  “Really?”

  Audrey couldn’t detect anything except surprise in that single word, but she wondered if shock might be a better description. From the outside, this all had to look pretty crazy. At least Rosemary had admitted that her former antipathy toward Michael was pretty much gone, but still….

  “Really. We have a few logistics to work out, but I think it’s all going to be fine.”

  “Well….” The word trailed off into nothing. From what Audrey could tell, Rosemary was genuinely flummoxed. But then she seemed to gather herself and said, “I’m really happy that it’s all seemed to work out for you two. If there’s anything you need help with regarding your house, though — ”

  “I don’t think there is,” Audrey said. “There’s really nothing to salvage. The car’s still in the garage, but since it’s undriveable, I don’t think I have to worry about anyone breaking in and stealing it.” Actually, any hypothetical car thieves would be doing her a favor if they did such a thing, but she doubted she’d have that kind of luck. At some point, she’d have to deal with the car, but for now it seemed safe enough, locked as it was in the garage.

  “Okay. Well…I just heard the news from someone who came into the shop, so I knew I had to call to check and make sure you were all right.”

  “I’m fine. Really.” Was that protesting too much? Audrey didn’t think so, although she knew that as soon as the euphoria began to wear off, reality would sink in, and she’d realize that, although she’d landed on her feet here with Michael, she still had suffered a very great loss.

  “Then take care, and I’ll be in touch.”

  “You take care, too. Thanks for the call, Rosemary.”

  Audrey set her phone back down on the table. Michael had seated himself again and was sipping at his iced tea, as if waiting for her to speak.

  “She heard the news and needed to call.”

  “Which is entirely understandable. I think she feels protective of you.”

  Maybe Rosemary did. In a way, Audrey found herself amused by the situation, since she thought she was probably a year or two older than the other woman, but she was still fairly unschooled when it came to supernatural phenomena.

  “She’s been a good friend,” she said simply as she sat down again and reached for her iced tea.

  “I’m glad,” Michael replied. For a moment, he was silent, the faint smile he wore fading as apparently an unwelcome thought entered his mind. “It’s a good thing to be blessed with friends.”

  On impulse, she reached over and took his hand, squeezed it. Somehow, she knew Michael didn’t have many true friends in his life…if any. He spent time with Colin because they were colleagues, but otherwise, she guessed he held everyone at arm’s length, didn’t want to get too close to anyone in case they started asking too many questions about his past, his family.

  More than ever, she was glad that she’d managed to get past the wall of isolation he’d built around himself, that he’d allowed her to get close to him. He didn’t deserve to be alone.

  His fingers twined themselves around hers, not tightly, but with an intensity that belied the simplicity of the gesture. Shimmering gray eyes held her gaze as he said quietly, “Thank God for you, Audrey.”

  Michael still hadn’t heard anything from Fred, and Audrey’s paperwork had been scanned and emailed to Lauren at the insurance company. About ten minutes earlier, he’d sent a text to Colin, but so far there was no reply.

  “Do you really think he’s still sleeping?” Audrey asked.

  Hungry at last after their time in the sun, they’d come into the kitchen to make themselves a snack of quesadillas and some grapes he’d forgotten were in the refrigerator. Possibly an odd combination, but it tasted good and took the edge off the faint emptiness in his belly. And really, he just enjoyed being in here with Audrey, showing her where things were kept, the two of them getting familiar with one another in this space that they would now share.

  She’d agreed to move in with him. This amazing woman who’d turned out to be his ideal, right down to the lopsided dimple in her right cheek, was going to wake up beside him every morning and lie down next to him every night. While he mourned the loss of her house for her sake, he couldn’t deny that he was very, very glad she would be sharing his.

  He pulled a long string of drippy cheddar cheese from the interior of his quesadilla and ate it as he considered Audrey’s question. “I suppose he could be asleep, although even Colin doesn’t usually stay dead to the world quite this long. My guess is that he went right back to working on the videos and didn’t hear his phone. Or maybe he just turned it off so it wouldn’t interrupt him while he was trying to concentrate. I’ll try again in a while.”

  This explanation seemed to satisfy her, because she nodded and then took a bite from her own quesadilla. A quick glance at the clock on the microwave, and she said, “This is going to ruin our dinner.”

  “Not if we eat late.”

  She sent him a sideways glance from under her lashes. “Are we still doing takeout?”

  “No, let me take you somewhere.” Michael figured that would be safe enough. So far, it seemed as though the Whitcomb-demon was more interested in causing property damage than personal mayhem. Considering his penchant for hiding in shadows, it didn’t seem likely he’d attack them himself. Possibly he would send his minions to do so, but even they would probably hesitate when it came to a full-on attack in public. Besides, he and Audrey had gone out to breakfast multiple times, and he’d even felt confident in letting her go see her clients on her own without his protection.

  Then again, their demon could simply be trying to lull them into a false sense of security.

  “I don’t know Pasadena very well,” she said. “What are some of your favorite restaurants?”

  “I really don’t go out that much,” he confessed. “That is, I order a lot of takeout — ”

  “Obviously,” Audrey interjected with a grin.

  “ — but for actual sit-down restaurants, I don’t really know. You can choose.”

  She appeared to consider for a moment. “Nothing fancy, because I don’t have any clothes for that.”

  “I thought you liked the wardrobe Kathleen picked out for you.”

  “Says the man with seven identical outfits.” Still smiling, Audrey went on, “No, the clothes from the show are great. But they’re not really going-out clothes, if you know what I mean. I just want someplace with good food that’s unpretentious and casual.”

  An idea popped into his head. “You like fish and chips?”

  “Love them,” she replied immediately. “Although I haven’t had them for a while.”

  “Then we’re going to the pub.”

  It really was a pub. A sort of hole in the wall…literally, because if Michael hadn’t guided her inside, Audrey was pretty sure she would have walked right past t
he door and never even realized it was there. The building was old, old brick, probably one of the original structures from the time when this part of Pasadena had been built back in the teens.

  As they sat down at a corner table in a little tucked-away room toward the back, she found herself wondering if Jeffrey Whitcomb had ever been here. Not that the building was probably a pub back then, but still, it was around the same vintage as his lavish mansion in Glendora.

  The list of beers, ales, and ciders was extensive. Not much wine, but she supposed that was par for the course in a place like this. She decided to have pear cider, since she’d never tried that before, while Michael asked for a Boddington’s ale when the waitress came by to take their drink order.

  “You’re right — this is fun,” Audrey said, taking in all the various neon beer signs on the aged brick walls, the multiple wall-mounted televisions all tuned to soccer games, although thankfully with the sound muted. At the bar, a couple of men in their fifties were drinking Guinness and grousing about one of the games, albeit in a good-natured sort of way. “I guess I haven’t spent enough time in Old Town Pasadena. I didn’t even realize this place was here.”

  “Well, there are a lot of restaurants to choose from in this part of town. The only reason I found out about it was because I came here with a couple of other speakers to get lunch during a symposium at the convention center.”

  She reflected how, even though he seemed to live a fairly solitary existence, Michael at least appeared to have some kind of social life, thanks to the circles he moved in. He’d been out and about, speaking on the lecture circuit, going to psychic fairs, attending book signings. Whereas she…Audrey honestly couldn’t even remember the last time she’d come to this part of Pasadena. The shops and restaurants here threatened to take far too large a chunk out of her admittedly small entertainment budget, and so it had seemed smarter to stay away.