Guardian (The Guardian Trilogy) (20 page)

I crawl
into bed, still with my trusty friend Heat Pack and a smile on my face.

Two
minutes later, my cell rings.  I pick the phone up off my nightstand.  It’s
Shel.

“Hello?”

“You. 
Will.  Never.  Guess.  Who.  Just.  Called.  Me.”

I smile
brilliantly and ask innocently, “Who?”

It’s
8:00 p.m. and my nerves are shot.  I know I promised Matt I would attend his
party in honor of James’ birthday, but walking up the sidewalk, I’m having
second thoughts.  There has to be at least fifteen to twenty cars lining the
street outside his house.  I can hear music and voices coming from the
backyard; I can smell a fire burning.  I detour toward Matt’s front door and
sit on the porch steps.  What do I have to say to these people?  Will they even
want to talk to me?  I wrap my arms around myself.  It’s been four days since
I’ve seen or heard from James.  I miss him beyond words.  I’m hoping that
Garrett will allow him to visit me soon.  So far, I’ve heard nothing.  I pray I
can keep my emotions in check tonight.

I close
my eyes and imagine James is here.  I imagine his voice. 
“Suck it up, Em. 
Put your big girl pants on and do this for me.”
  I break out in a huge
smile.

“Something
funny?”

My eyes
fly open.  “Shel?!”

“Surprise!”
she grins and picks up the pace as she walks across the lawn from the street. 
“I heard there was a party.”

I
literally leap off the porch steps and run to meet her, throwing my arms around
her shoulders.  “What are you doing here?”

“I was
invited,” she responds and hugs me tight.

I let
her go and step back.  “When did you get in?  How long are you staying?”

“Just
now; I drove here from the airport.”  She loops her arm through mine and starts
to walk me in the direction of the backyard.  “I’m only able to stay until
tomorrow night,” she grimaces.  “Uncle Tom literally has days left.”

“Ugh. 
That’s terrible.  I’m so sorry.”

She
shakes her head.  “We all know what’s coming; it’s just a matter of when.”

We round
the corner of the house and I give her arm a squeeze.  “I’m so glad you’re
here.”

“I
needed the break,” she responds with a wary smile.  “Trust me.  I cannot wait
to be back here for good.”

I shoot
her a knowing smirk and ask, “Any particular reason why?”

She
actually blushes and looks away.  I have
never
seen her do that!

“Hi,” a
shy male voice interrupts us.  Matt is just steps away.

“Ah,
the reason has found you,” I say and give Matt a big smile.  “Hey.”

“Hey
Emma.  Thanks for coming.”  He gives me half a hug since my other arm is looped
through Shel’s.  He releases me and looks at my best friend.  “You made it.” 
He sounds relieved.

“Why
wouldn’t I?” Shel tries to sound sarcastic, but the effect is lost by the huge grin
plastered on her face.

“I’ll
leave you two to get reacquainted,” I laugh and step away from Shel.  I look
over toward the fire pit and see Dane waving from one of the benches.

“I’ll
come find you in a sec,” Shel says to me.

I leave
them and head over to the fire, glancing around as I walk.  People are milling
about, sitting in camping chairs, or standing by the pit with drinks in hand.  I
give small, vague smiles to the people who catch my eye.  Internally, I frown
as I realize I recognize none of them.  I make it to Dane, who pats the empty
spot on his bench.

“I
saved you a seat,” he smiles up at me.

“Thanks.” 
I sit down and look around anxiously.

“Looking
for someone?” he asks.

“No.” 
I lean over and whisper, “I don’t know anyone here.”

He
looks at me surprised.

“Where
did Matt find these people?”

Dane
shrugs.  “I just showed up when he told me to be here.”

“Why are
you here?” I ask with curiosity, realizing that he never even met James.

“Matt
asked and I obliged,” he responds.  His face softens a little.  “Besides I…” he
corrects himself, “we thought you might need an extra shoulder tonight.  You
know, just in case this was hard for you.”

“Oh,” I
blink and then give him a tiny smile.  “Thanks.”

When I went
back to work after my day off, I let Dane know that I found out about Shel’s
request of Matt and Matt’s request of him.  I wanted him to know I understood his
decision to work at Bay Woods and that he shouldn’t feel obligated to continue;
he barely knows me, after all.  Dane insisted he wanted to keep working because
he didn’t want to disappoint Kris or his dad who, it turns out, was extremely
thrilled that his son was finally showing some interest in the family business. 
Things had been going really well between us now that I was able to relax
around him, now that the true motivation for his working at the course had been
revealed.  Still, the thought of him and Matt talking about my well-being
behind my back was a little unsettling.  I’m an adult.  I don’t need handlers.

I catch
Matt and Shel walking toward us hand in hand.  As they approach, I stand and subtly
wave them over to the side.

“Hey,”
I whisper to them.  “How is it that I don’t recognize any of these people?”

Matt
looks confused.  “You should.” He looks past me and nods to the left.  “Most of
that group over there is from the hockey team at Western, maybe a few from
Ferris, I’m not sure.”  He points to the right.  “Don’t you remember Zach from
high school?  Brian?  Kyle?”

I
glance behind me.  “Okay, yeah.  I didn’t see them before.”

“Taylor’s
over there.  Oh, and there’s Olivia,” he points again.  Then he frowns.  “There
are a few people here I don’t know though.  Maybe they came with the guys from
the team?”

Shel
gives Matt an elbow to the side.  “This is what happens when you post a party
invite on Facebook!”

Matt
looks innocent.  “Hey!  I made it invite only!”

Their
bickering makes me smile.  “I should have noticed the people from high school
sooner,” I tell him.  “Thanks for pointing them out.”

“Before
I forget there’s one thing I want to show you.”  He releases Shel’s hand and
turns me around by the shoulders to face the fire pit.  “See that chair over
there?”

I look
across the flames and see an empty camping chair.  People sit on either side of
it, on the stone benches surrounding the pit.  There appears to be a glass
bottle of some sort in the cup holder and a Western t-shirt is draped
haphazardly across the back.  “Yes, I see it.”

“That
chair is reserved for James,” he says proudly.  “Complete with an open bottle
of…”

“...Oberon,”
I finish.  Tears spring into my eyes.  It’s an obscure, micro-brewed beer made
only in Michigan, but the only beer James would drink.  I turn to face Matt and
give him a warm smile despite my threatening tears.  “I don’t know what to
say…” I blink rapidly as a drop escapes.  “Thank you for remembering him.”

“Don’t
cry,” Matt looks a little scared.  “This is supposed to be a birthday party.”

Shel
reaches out and rubs my arm as I brush the tear from my cheek.  “I’ll try, but I’m
not making any promises.”

“Well, so
you know, I thought I would say a couple of words.  I thought it would be an appropriate
thing to do.”  He looks at me for reassurance.  “Is that okay with you?”

“Of
course!  Stop worrying about me, this is your party.”

“James’
party,” he corrects me.

“Hey
man!”

Someone
gives Matt a hefty slap on the shoulder, and he turns to greet the newcomer. 
Shel apparently seems to know him as well, so I take this opportunity to return
to the bench.

“Has
your memory returned?” Dane asks, as he hands me a s’more sans chocolate.

“Some
of it,” I admit.  “Thanks,” I take the treat from his hand.

He
gives me a square of chocolate.  “Do you want something to drink?”

“Is
there any…”

Dane
produces a bottle of water.  “Yep.”

“How
did you know I was going to say water?”

“I’ve
only ever seen you drink water.”

Huh.  I
guess that’s true.

I see
someone appear in my periphery, and I turn my head to watch a girl take
residence on the bench beside me.  It doesn’t surprise me that I don’t
recognize her.  She’s pretty and slender, with long, curly, dark brown hair
that falls to her waist.  Dressed in an oversized Western hoodie and shorts, she
stares at the fire, holding her can of, well, I don’t know, something.

Dane’s
cell rings and he pulls it from his pocket.  “I’ll be right back,” he says.

I nod
and finish my s’more.  With no one to talk to, I take a drink of water and
stare at the fire with the girl next to me.  She catches my eye.

“Hi.”

I give
her a small smile.  “Hello.”

She
takes a drink and swallows.  “This is a nice party.”

“Yes,”
I agree.

“Did you
know James for long?” she asks me.

Apparently
she doesn’t know who I am.  Why would she?  I have no idea who she is either. 
“Um, you could say that.  Since elementary school.”

“Wow,”
she looks impressed.  “We had a couple of classes together at college, but we
didn’t really connect until…” she pauses, looking sadly at the fire, “until the
night he died.”

I think
I stop breathing.  “I’m sorry, what did you say?”

She
looks at me.  “Oh, we ran into each other that night at this bar by school.  I
was out with some friends, and he showed up with some friends who knew us.  One
thing led to another and before I knew it, we had spent most of the night together
talking.”  She sighs, remembering.  “I had no idea we would have so much in
common.”

Now I
know I’ve stopped breathing.  “I’m sorry, what did you say?”

Either
she doesn’t hear me or is too wrapped up in her memories of James to realize I
can only utter that one sentence.  She continues, “He was such a sweet guy.  Cute
too.”  She smiles like I know what she’s talking about.  “I guess he’d had a
fight with his girlfriend or something,” she shrugs.  “But he was the one
giving out advice that night.”

I
manage a new sentence.  “About what?”

She
stares at her can.  “You know, school stuff, classes.  I was so comfortable
with him that one topic led to another and I started spilling my guts about
some personal stuff,” she looks embarrassed.  “But he didn’t seem to care.”

My mind
reels.  “You guys managed to have a heart to heart talk in a loud bar?”

“Oh
no,” she smiles.  “We were in his car.”

My
breathing becomes erratic and my ears feel hot.  Is this really happening?

Mystery
girl looks away from me.  “James suggested we go to the car, so we could talk
some more without having to yell.  It was really nice of him to give me an outside
perspective on my problems, talking them through made them seem easier to
handle.”  She pauses, looking embarrassed again.  “I kind of broke down a
little bit while we were talking.  He hugged me.  That’s when he realized I was
freezing and gave me his hoodie to keep warm,” she looks down at the Western
hoodie she’s wearing.  “He’ll never know it, but his concern for me that night
really impacted my life.”  She looks distraught.  “I wish I could tell him how
much that night will always mean to me.”

I have
no words.  I’m having a difficult time sorting out my emotions – and breathing. 
I don’t know if I’m angry or just numb.

“What’s
your favorite memory of James?” she asks innocently.

I blink
and stutter.   “That’s kind of hard…”

She
ignores me.  “Out of that whole night, I think mine is when he kissed me
goodbye.”

My
emotions immediately work themselves out.  I know what I am.  I. Am. Pissed. 
“Excuse me?” I snap.

My tone
startles her.  “Oh,” she mumbles.  “It was just a kiss on the top of my head. 
It was just a reassuring gesture, I’m sure.  That’s all.”

“Um,
everybody?” I hear Matt’s voice carry.  I rip my eyes away from Mystery Girl to
see him standing in front of James’ chair.  People move to gather around the
fire, and I turn my body away from Mystery-Girl-Boyfriend-Lover in time to
notice Dane return to sit beside me.  I’m vaguely aware that someone is
standing behind me as well; my guess is that it’s Shel.

“Did I
miss anything?”  Dane asks.

Boy did
you ever
, I think as my blood boils.

“Everyone,”
Matt begins.  “I just wanted to take a moment to remember why we are here
tonight.  We’re here to honor the birthday of a close and dearly missed friend,
our friend, James Davis.”

Someone
whistles while someone else calls out “Hear!  Hear!” from behind me.

Matt
turns to the empty chair.  “I miss you man.  We all do.”  He turns back to the
group and holds out his drink as if making a toast.  “To James!  Happy 22
^nd
Birthday, buddy.  Wherever you may be.”

The
people gathered around raise their drinks too.  “To James!” most say and bump
their drinks against those around them.