One Millhaven Lane (10 page)

"We're holding up." If he weren't, her spiel would have made the hair on his arms stand up.

"Of course you are. Here's our Chief."

Seconds later, Carter came on the line. "Today's the day, huh?"

Nate couldn't imagine the fuss over a few stitches. Maybe there was an ulterior reason behind the response. He'd heard some moaning from his colleagues about the extra shifts they were pulling. Now that Asia didn't require around the clock care, Nate could resume his normal schedule. He’d be sure to inform his fellow police officers on the Grove PD.

"We're at the hospital now. The doctor hasn't seen her yet. Anything to report on Bobby's whereabouts?"

"Wherever that weasel is, he's hiding good. Maybe he's given up. Cut his losses and run."

"We should be so lucky." That wouldn't solve Asia's problem with selling the house, though. "The man has no soul." Nate remembered the beating Bobby put on a nun. He left her naked and bleeding on the side of the road and pawned the gold chain and cross he’d stolen from her neck. "Anything from the Portland police?"

"Nothing. He hasn't shown up at his digs. There's an entire platoon of law enforcement officers on the lookout for him."

Carter paused.

Nate didn't like the sound of the silence. The chief had something on his mind, but dickered whether to tell Nate or not. "What is it?"

"Don't do something stupid."

"What do you mean?"

"Don't give me that act. You don't want anything happening to Asia, do you?"

"Of course not."

"Then don't go poking any holes. You might not like the outcome. I know you're considering baiting him into the open. Stings almost always go wrong."

"Understood. We're going up to Boston today. She wants to check her shop." Nate could hear Carter's intake of breath.

"Is that wise?" he asked, exhaling.

"We can protect her better here, but if I don't take her, she'll go herself." Nate envisioned the summer tires on Asia's Mustang. The car was light and without the grip of a snow tread and weight in the trunk, the vehicle would be all over the road.

"When do you plan on leaving?"

"As soon as the Doc finishes with her." From the silence that followed, Nate determined that Carter didn't approve. Nate didn't like it either, but what could he do short of cuffing her to something solid? At least, he would be driving her.

"I can see your mind is made up, so I won't try to persuade you anymore. Take it easy and keep me informed."

Nate said goodbye and flipped the cover on his cell. He returned to the waiting area in time to see Asia limping from ER. He rushed to give her an arm to lean on.

"What did the Doc say?" he asked as he escorted her through the exit.

"That I heal extraordinarily fast and don't need a follow-up. Must be all that healthy eating."

"That's great. Are we set to roll?"

"I'm ready. First, though, I need a coffee."

"You got it." He knew she loved her coffee, but Asia looked too eager to leave the Grove. He worried her concessions to him had been made in a moment of vulnerability where she'd grant anyone their heart's desire. He didn't know whether she wanted to keep her independence by not giving up her place in Boston or was as she'd said — the reasonable thing to do. A sixty-minute drive was a long enough commute, but others traveled longer distances to be with their families. At least, it wouldn't be for long, only until they found a place of their own.

Don't go all Neanderthal with her, Nate. Don't screw up this second chance.

I won't.

He hadn't forgotten how miserable the last eighteen years had been.

At the truck, he opened the door for her and brushed his mouth across hers, feeling chilly cheeks and warm lips.

She looked up at him. "I can't wait for you to meet my friends." She giggled.

"Why are you laughing? You're keeping something from me, aren't you? What is it?"

She mimed zipping her lips.

"Okay, don't tell me." He laughed. "But remember the last time you surprised me."

"How could I ever forget?" She broke into laughter.

He did too, when he pictured the shocked and horrified faces of their family and friends standing in his living room bursting to shout 'surprise' when he came prancing from the bathroom, naked and primed to receive his birthday present — her.

"Those were good times."

"The best." He kissed her hand. "There'll be more good memories. You'll see."

She nodded, taking her time to sit. Her wounds gave her more trouble than she let on. He got in behind the wheel and started the truck.

"Boston here we come," he said, backing from the parking spot.

"Coffee first," she said.

On the highway, Nate asked about the Quints.

"Who should I start with?" She drummed her finger on her chin.

"How about Justin?" Nate prompted.
 
She mentioned him twice as often as her other friends. He gathered they were close. Very close, he corrected. If Justin would compete with him for Asia's affection, he wanted to know everything about the man. She looked at him with a sly grin.

"You're interested in him, huh? Let's hope he doesn't take a fancy for you."

It took five seconds for her subtle implication to make sense. "He's gay?"

"Mercilessly."

"Oh," he said, like gays were to be pitied. Realizing how he'd sounded, he did damage control. Justin was very important to Asia and anyone important to her, was important to him. God love her. She didn't have a prejudiced bone in her body.

"I didn't mean anything patronizing or derogatory." He hoped she could determine the depth of his sincerity from the sound of his voice.

"Justin's comfortable with who he is and gets his quota, believe me. Don't feel sorry for him. He has what you and I share only with a same sex partner."

"Funny, with everything you said about him, I never picked up on his sexuality." A thought dawned on him. "Or did you engineer that?"

"Maybe." She smiled, dimpling her cheeks.

He brought her hand to his lips and kissed her fingertips. She rested her head against the back of the seat and looked at him. "No second thoughts?"

"Not one."

She turned to stare out the windshield. "I wish Bobby would make his move."

Nate did too. He was anxious to move forward with his life, with their lives. The first on his list after Bobby was out of their lives was to propose to Asia. He was as laissez-faire as the next, but there were some things that should be left to the man to do. Proposing marriage, was one. Second on his to-do list was to marry before year-end. There was no point in waiting. What would they wait for exactly? To determine they weren't making a mistake? To see whether their love for each other would last a lifetime? Whether they fit well together? Wait for someone better? Timing? No better time than the present. They'd lost too much time together as it was. He doubted she'd argue.

***

A chill wind blasted Nate and Asia as they walked the short distance to
Aphrodite
. He wrapped his arm around her shoulders to hold her steady. Anxious to get inside and out of the weather, he hurried as much as he dared. Not that she'd complained, but her wounds had given her some discomfort on the trip.

A bell above the door jingled when they entered.

"Crystal, I'm back," Asia said.

No one came to greet them.

Nate looked around. There were no customers and no sign of Crystal. The hair on the back of his neck bristled.

"Where is she?" Asia asked. "She shouldn't be leaving the shop unattended. Anyone could have entered and wandered out with merchandise." She took a step forward.

Nate grabbed her coattail and held on until he captured her attention.

She looked at him. "What?" She tucked her hair behind an ear.

"Something isn't right," he said, scrutinizing the store, measuring the silence, gauging the atmosphere.

It took Asia only a second to understand his concern.

"You think Bobby's here? Oh my God." She moved to Nate's side.

He felt naked without his sidearm, but Asia had argued against it. He wished he hadn't obliged her.

"Is there a back entrance?"

"Through that doorway," she said in a hushed voice, pointing.

"What else is back there?"

"Store room and washroom off a hallway."

Nate mentally blocked traffic noise, blaring horns and sirens from his mind to concentrate on what might face him beyond the far wall. It didn't make sense for Bobby to move on Asia in the city.

The air filled with a fragrance Nate was vaguely familiar with. Incense, but he couldn't identify the scent. What in Sam hill was Bobby doing back there?

Nate's first priority was to get Asia somewhere safe, somewhere beyond her brother's reach. He half-turned to her and asked, "Do you have someone nearby you can go to?"

"Uh-huh, but I'm not leaving."

Her tone told him she wasn't budging and it would be futile for him to disagree.

"Okay," he said. "But stay close at my back."

"You got it."

With Asia following on his heels, he walked toward the back of the store.

When they came within a few feet of the doorway, he could hear chanting. One voice and it sounded female. He couldn't understand any of the words and if he could, it wouldn't make a difference. He didn't speak Latin.

He stopped outside the storeroom. Asia pressed against him. He peeked around the doorway. Shelves, packed with store merchandize lined three of the four walls, but the massive inventory wasn't what captured Nate's interest first. In the middle of the floor knelt a petite woman wearing a red velvet cloak. Incense burned in a circle around her. Her back was to them and her arms were spread wide at her sides, her head poising upward.

Before he could stop her, Asia dashed from behind him.

"It's Crystal," she said over her shoulder as she walked to the woman. "My God, you scared us half to death. I thought you were an intruder."

Nate exhaled a breath of relief. He recognized her now from Asia's description. Toothpick slim, black curly hair, incorrigible thirty-something widow who insisted her new neighbor was her dead husband reincarnated.

Crystal jumped to her feet, turned and gaped at Asia, like she'd been caught with her hand in the till. "I didn't expect you this soon." She grinned. "It arrived," she said, bouncing in place.

"Really?" Asia darted into the circle and knelt beside the book.

Its size reminded him of the Bibles of the forties and fifties. The paper seemed translucent, like onionskin, and the writing seemed old English script. He didn't see what the hoopla was about. With Asia occupied with Crystal and their latest shipment, Nate looked around the storeroom to ensure there wasn't anyone hidden among the unpacked crates and boxes. From there, he checked the washroom and the lock on the rear door. Everything appeared undisturbed.

He re-entered the storeroom to find Asia running her hand over the pages of the book as tenderly and lovingly as a mother would stroke a newborn's face, her face beaming with energy.

Caught up in her excitement, Nate found himself grinning like a Cheshire cat. When she turned the cover over, he read the title.
The Book of Good Spells
. Unless Crystal had accidentally conjured up a demon or evil spirit, which he didn't see any evidence of, there was no cause for alarm.

"How long were you standing there?" Crystal asked. "I didn't hear the door." Her face reddened. Whatever spell she attempted to cast, would obviously embarrass her. She didn't look like someone who became easily self-conscious. She peered at Nate as though becoming aware of him only then.

Asia made the introductions.