Sidekicks (13 page)

I couldn't help but be amazed. "You can spell already?"

"That's probably the only word she knows," Cooper told me with a wry smile. He shook a finger at Jenn. "We're leaving now. Do not get out of that bed again." Taking Joey's hand, he walked to the door and put his finger on the light switch. "Love you, Jenn-ren."

"Love you, Cooper-pooper."

Ah. Bathroom humor. I remembered those days.

My parents probably did, too.

Cooper doused that room in darkness, scooped Joey under his arm, and marched us to another bedroom. He didn't turn on that light, but the moon revealed a Power Rangers décor and lots of super heroes posters.

My very patient, surprisingly responsible boyfriend tucked Joey into the bed, tousled his hair, and slipped back into the hall. "Let's get out of here while we can."

Before we left the house, I waved goodbye to the Bookmans, still snuggling as they watched a late movie. I realized I felt completely carefree. No wonder Cooper had run to them. What a contrast to his own regimented existence.

Though my parents were in bed by the time I got home, they weren't asleep. I made my way through their dark room and jumped onto the foot of the mattress, bouncing them both. "We need to talk."

Dad, wearing his usual plain white tee and flannel sleep pants, flicked on the side lamp and sat up, one bare foot already on the floor. "What's up, kiddo?"

Mom folded her pillow and stuffed it under her head.

"I've been seeing some really scary spirits." I gave them the details of each encounter, including that night's. I also told them about the haze around Detective Simms and shared my theory that he was so good at what he did because he was driven by regrets that he hadn't saved the world.

"Want Mom to set up a meeting for Sunday?" asked Dad.

"Sometime next week, okay? Cooper and I are going to see his grandmother in Nacogdoches tomorrow."

"I thought he didn't have any family around."

I explained the situation. Mom, who loved happy endings, clearly expected our visit to result in one. I hoped it would, too.

* * * *

Cooper picked me up pretty early Sunday morning. One look at him showed me a nervous guy who'd dressed with care in a brown Henley that made those dark eyes of his pop. I saw that he'd brought along a rainproof jacket, as had I. The overcast sky seemed to promise that we'd need them.

The drive into Texas took a couple of hours since we stopped for breakfast at an IHOP on the way. Over the meal, I suggested once again he might want to call Ruby to tell her we were coming and make sure she'd be there. But he wanted to stick to his first plan, which was to get a feel for the place before we approached her. Trusting our sidekicks as I did, I could only agree that would be smart.

When we got up to pay, I sensed the presence of an elderly male spirit, leading me to a server in a maternity uniform. As she walked by us, a coffeepot in hand, I stopped her. "Excuse me, but have you recently lost someone you love? An older man?"

Her shocked expression was my answer.

But I needed to confirm it. "I'm a medium. I think someone who has died wants to tell you something. It is you, isn't it?"

"Yes."

"Was he your granddad?"

"Uncle."

I focused on the spirit. "Your uncle...Joe, right?"

She nodded.

"Your Uncle Joe wants you to know that he's very proud of you for deciding to keep the baby."

She gasped and almost dropped the coffeepot. Another server, who'd clearly been listening in, swooped in and took it from her.

"He says you'll be as amazing a mother as his precious younger sister was. He's also telling me he's very proud of you for not dropping out of college even though you've got so much on your plate."

She began to choke up, and she wasn't the only one. By now we had several people tuned in. "Is he at peace?"

"Yes."

"Is he with Mom?"

"Yes, and your grandparents are there, too." I got a spiritual nudge. "And he says that you should go with Joseph for the baby's first name, but pick out something besides William for the middle one. Calling the baby Joe Willie would not be cool." I turned to Cooper, who was possibly getting the same messages that I was, though he didn't give himself away. "Any clue why?"

"Well, Joe Willie is the nickname for Joe Namath, who played football for the Jets for years." He caught the waitress's eye. "Was your uncle as big a Patriots fan as he's saying? The Jets-Patriots rivalry goes way back."

She laughed through her tears. "He was, yeah. Had a whole room devoted to them. Tell him I'll find another middle name for Joey."

Cooper and I left shortly after, but not before half the servers and some of the diners gave me spontaneous hugs.

"That was awesome," he said as we walked to his truck. "Being around you is like having a sunbeam in my pocket--very bright and warm."

"Thanks," I said, thinking how he gave me that same loving feeling.

With the help of his GPS, we found Ruby Comstock's house easily. Cooper drove by three times before finally parking his truck at the curb. We both sent out mental feelers, even though I knew he'd pick up more than me, the dead-people magnet.

"Well?" I asked when we'd sat there for several minutes.

He gave me one short nod. "We're good."

As we approached the ranch-style brick house via the front walk, I couldn't begin to imagine what Cooper must be going through. First, was this even the right person? And, second, if it was, how would she receive us?

Walking across the wide porch with its plants, rattan chairs, and glider, I mentally crossed my fingers that we were doing the right thing. Cooper rang the bell. A backlit silhouette visible through lace side curtains approached, and a woman opened the door.

Before I could get an impression of her, she gasped and staggered back a step.

"Whoa now!" Cooper lunged forward, reaching out as she swayed on her feet and catching her by the wrists.

"Brett?" Her voice sounded shaky and much older than she looked.

"Not Brett. Cooper, his son."

"Cooper! Oh my God." Bursting into tears, she enfolded him in her arms.

I fanned my face with my hand to cool the sudden heat there, blinking all the while.

Ruby Comstock looked much younger than any of my grandparents, but then she probably was since Cooper's parents had a baby so young. Mid-to-late fifties, I decided, noting her dark hair combed in a decidedly spiky style. I didn't see a bit of gray, and though she might've hidden it with color, I thought not. She had Cooper's eyes, or, I realized, he had hers.

"Has anyone told you you're the spit and image of your dad?"

"No."

I suddenly wished I had. I'd known, after all.

"Well, you are." She patted his shoulder and stepped back, shifting her gaze to me. "And who is this?"

"Mia Tagliaro, my girlfriend."

"Hello, honey." Ruby hugged me, too. "Come on in. I guess your mother gave you my address."

Since Cooper couldn't seem to find his tongue, I answered. "Actually it was Google and a TomTom."

She laughed heartily and ushered us into her living room. "My husband Jim is hunting, so I've got the house to myself for a couple of days. Have a seat. Can I get you something to eat or drink?"

We shook our heads and sat next to each other on the corduroy couch. She settled into a matching recliner. "I'm so glad you're here. Not a day has gone by that I haven't thought about you. Hope I didn't write too many letters."

My stomach sort of swooped.

"You wrote me letters?" asked Cooper.

She got very still. "Dozens."

He glanced at me uncertainly. "I didn't get them."

"What about the birthday cards?"

"No."

"Oh dear. Christmas presents?"

"Not one."

She sighed heavily. "This is all your Grandpa Mel's fault. He was so hateful to your mother that she probably threw everything away, thinking it was all from him. Nothing was, of course. That old man had an iron will and stubbornness to match. Once he made up his mind, he would not back down, and if I tried to buck him, I caught hell for it.

"Not that he was violent. He was more passive aggressive, which meant he could cold-shoulder you better than any human on the planet. I let him call the shots for years without realizing it. I was that caught up in being a supportive wife and keeping the peace."

She shook her head, clearly lost in memories. "What I should've been was a loving mother. I came around a little late, I'm sorry to say, but I finally figured out I could make my own decisions. You were already living in Louisiana by then, and your mom had remarried. When Mel passed two years ago, I wrote her hoping for a reconciliation. Never heard back, though. Guess I shouldn't have expected it. I hadn't talked to Natalie since before she and Brett married."

Cooper and I exchanged a look. "Surely she called to tell you when Dad died."

"No. I learned about it from Martinsburg friends a few months later." Her eyes filled; tears splashed onto her pink cheeks. "It broke my heart to learn he'd been dead without me knowing it. In the corner of my mind where I'd tucked him, he was still alive." She sniffed and reached for a tissue from the box on the end table. "Mel took it hard. Guess he never quit believing Brett would come around and do things his way. I can only hope the two of them are together now and have finally made up."

I got up and walked over to kneel in front of her chair. "I can tell you for sure that they are and they have."

Ruby clearly thought I was simply trying to comfort her.

"No," said Cooper. "She really can. Mia's a medium."

For several seconds, she just looked at me. "I don't suppose they're here now..."

Noting her hopeful smile, I wanted more than anything to say that they were. But spirits didn't always pop up on command. "I'm not getting either one of them."

Ruby patted my hand as if to say she was okay with that. I joined Cooper on the couch.

"How are Natalie and your stepdad?"

"They're fine, I guess."

"You guess?"

"We're kind of not talking right now."

Ruby clearly didn't like the sound of that. "What's going on?"

Cooper explained that he didn't always get along with his stepdad and that his mom usually stuck by her man instead of her son.

Ruby bristled. Clearly he'd touched a raw nerve, not unexpected all things considered. "Don't let that man be the reason you're not talking to your mom. Before you know it, years will go by, and you'll realize you've lost half your life to
his
bad decisions."

I could tell that hit home with Cooper, the reason he quickly changed the subject to school and his job. Ruby told us she worked at her present husband's real estate office for now, but hoped to retire soon. Apparently he had four married children and nine grandchildren that she doted on. That news made me feel awful for Cooper, who'd missed so much grandmotherly attention. But he seemed to take it in stride.

At her suggestion, we drove to Kentucky Fried Chicken for lunch and ate off the buffet even though poultry in any form was probably the last thing Cooper wanted. Once we sat at a table, she began talking about Mel again.

"You're probably thinking the worst of your grandpa, though he was a good man. He played football at LSU and acted as an assistant coach after graduation. Then he got into high school football. His big dream was for Brett to go to LSU, too. Your dad had a lot of talent, you know."

"So does Cooper," I said.

She smiled. "I'm not surprised. Brett's choosing love over college broke Mel's heart. Your grandpa seldom shifted out of coach mode. He barked orders left and right, never one realizing that we could think for ourselves. And though I believe he really wanted to reconcile with our son, pride wouldn't let him do it."

Thinking of all the wasted years, I wanted to cry. We'd definitely done the right thing in contacting Ruby Comstock. Just as I bit into a crispy chicken leg, I felt a spiritual presence. No, two of them. I wanted to whoop with joy as I caught Ruby's eyes. "We have visitors."

Her face lit up. "You mean...?"

I nodded. "They can hear you if you have something to say."

Ruby thought for a moment. "Mel, I miss you. You were a grumpy old fart, but you were mine. Brett, I'm sorry I was so blind."

"Your husband is showing me a white rose, which means he's saying he isn't worthy of you. Your son has something...a model airplane, maybe? Not sure what that's about."

Cooper's grandmother smiled. "Brett and I spent hours making model airplanes when he was little. Mel just didn't have the patience for a project that tedious, so I took on the dad role and stepped in."

"He wants you to know he loves you for that."

She nodded. "I have another question. One that I don't want to say out loud. Can Mel tell what I'm thinking?"

"Try and see."

Ruby sat in silence for a moment as if silently doing just that.

I got the zing of her husband's reply in the form of a big yellow smiley face. "He seems to be okay with whatever you asked."

"Then I'll do it."

"They're fading," I said, sensing retreat.

"Tell them I love them."

"They heard you."

Ruby reached out and put her hand over Cooper's. "When your Grandpa Mel died, he left me his parents' old home place. It should've gone to your dad, of course, but as he's not alive, I'm going to give it to you, his only blood kin. And I'm not going to wait until I'm dead. Mel agrees that you should have it now."

Cooper looked at her in stunned silence, obviously not believing his ears.

"There are sixty acres there. A house and a barn plus a couple of out buildings. Since your grandpa's been gone, I've been in charge of keeping it up to avoid city fines. And though that only involves hiring someone to mow and bush hog in the summer, I won't be sorry to be rid of the responsibility."

"Where is it?" asked Cooper.

"In Louisiana. About halfway between Martinsburg and Ville Cachée. Mel and I lived there for twenty years early one, so it was home to your dad when he fell for your mom. I hope that will give it meaning for you. It was such a pretty place in the summer. All year round, actually. I had lots of flower beds, so something bloomed all year, and Mel had his vegetable garden." For a moment she seemed lost to her memories.