The Reaping (The Reapers Book 1) (11 page)

“Kelsey?” asked a male voice, definitely no one from the store, unless Al was back in town.

“This is she.”

“Hey, this is Bruce…from the club the other night…Landon’s friend.”

I smiled until he reminded me of his connection to Landon. “Sure, I remember you. What’s up?”

“I hope this isn’t too weird, but I just really need to talk to someone about Landon and, since you knew him, I thought maybe you wouldn’t mind.”

Seriously? This was why he asked for my number? “I really don’t think I’d be the best—”

“You seem like a nice person, and I know you had every right to hate him, but it bothers me that you did. It’s probably silly, but I think it would help me to tell you more about him. I hate to think of all the people out there who don’t care that he’s dead…”

I couldn’t help admiring Bruce’s sincerity and sweetness. What a good friend he must have been to Landon. I wondered if Landon appreciated it. “I’d like to help, but you really don’t need to convince me. I’m sorry that he’s dead.”
And even sorrier that he is tormenting me from the other side.

“I’m glad to hear that, but I’d still like to buy you dinner and tell you more about him if that’s okay.”

“Not gonna turn down dinner. When were you thinking? I’m free Wednesday night.”

“Me, too. Wednesday’s perfect. Why don’t we meet at The Bluebird’s Nest about seven?”

“Sounds good. I’ll see you then.”

I walked to work. It was unseasonably chilly for the end of October, and I wished I’d worn a hat and gloves along with my winter coat. As I made my way, I tried to prepare myself for re-entering the store, expecting to have flashbacks of Reid punching me. I tried to visualize myself getting into the store and going up to the office, and I tried to imagine myself sitting at the desk and getting to work without any fear or hesitation. Instead, all I could think about was Landon. Reid could encounter me in any public place, but Landon could literally enter my dreams. With Reid, at least I was safe behind the locked door of my apartment, cuddled up in bed under my cozy comforter. Flashbacks to being beaten up seemed small compared to a fear of sleeping in my own bed, not to mention worries about what other new tricks Landon might have in store for me.

The store was busy when I walked in. Well, as busy as a bookstore in a ski town in November could be. There were about six people inside, five of them living, and Cherie and Isabella were each busy chatting with a customer. I assumed they were discussing books and didn’t bother listening too closely. The sixth person was a ghost I’d seen there before. She was dressed in ski pants, a ski jacket, and goggles. The goggles weren’t around her neck, but on her face. I wondered why she would wear goggles in the store, but I didn’t want to know badly enough to introduce myself. I ignored her and pointed upstairs when I caught Cherie’s eye. She nodded and returned to her conversation. It seemed as though they had everything under control, so I headed up to get started.

As I got to the top of the stairs, I could see that the light was already on in the office, the door open. I stopped myself from rushing back down to ask Cherie who had been in the office. It wasn’t unusual for one or both of them to pop in to get something, like an extra roll of quarters or a paper clip, and leave the light on and the door open. Even so, I approached the door slowly and pushed it open gently as I peeped into the room.

Jed was seated at the desk in Landon’s usual spot. He looked up at me and smiled, then quickly frowned. “Uh, I’m guessing Angelica didn’t tell you I’d be here?”

“Uh-uh.” I shook my head and walked into the room, relieved that I didn’t have to be there alone quite yet. “What’s up?”

“I thought it might be hard for you to come back here, so I called Angelica to find out when you were working.”

“That’s really nice. You know, I’m starting to feel a bit uncomfortable with how much I owe you.”

“Don’t worry,” he said. “I’ve been keeping track. You can start by explaining to me why anyone reads these romances by Arthur West. I’ve been trying to read his last one and I can’t figure out how anyone was ever able to get far enough through it to think making it into a movie was a good idea.”

I laughed and peeked down at the book on the desk. It looked as though he’d made it through the first chapter, at least. “Don’t tell me you actually paid for that?”

“I did.” He groaned. “I was thinking of starting a career as a romance writer, I mean how hard can it be, right? Especially if this guy is the top of the heap.”

“Just ’cause they make a movie out of a book doesn’t mean the books are actually any good. There are tons of fantastic books that haven’t been made into movies.”

“See, I knew you’d make me feel better about it. You probably don’t read this sort of stuff.”

I looked around like I was worried about being overheard. “I do, actually, though I’m not a fan of Arthur West. I also love thrillers and mysteries, and science fiction and fantasy. I read just enough literature and nonfiction to keep my job here.” He laughed. “Somehow, I doubt that wondering about Arthur West has actually been taking up that much of your time.”

He shook his head. “You’d be surprised. This girl I dated dragged me to one of his movies, and I’ve been baffled by the allure ever since.”

“I hope you dumped her immediately following that incident.”

“Unfortunately, I’m not that bright. I dated her for three more months after that. I missed all the warning signs.”

“I’m sorry about that.”

“Not as sorry as I was,” he said, but he smiled. “How are you doing?”

“I was doing great until you changed the subject. That story was just starting to get interesting.” I sat down in a chair on the other side of the desk. He just looked at me, all humor fading to a look of concern. “I’m fine, I think. They wouldn’t take out a restraining order, but they said Reid knows he has to stay away from me. I’ve been told that he can’t bother me again without serious consequences.”

“Yeah, I can think of a few consequences I’d like to inflict on that asshole.”

“I don’t think that’ll be necessary. I don’t believe he’ll be bothering me again.”

He leaned across the desk. “You sound pretty certain. What do you mean?”

“Nothing,” I said a little too quickly. I didn’t want Jed to worry, but I couldn’t ease his worry without sharing more than I intended to. “I just think he wouldn’t want to lose his job over me.”

“He really cared about his job when you two were dating?”

Oh yeah, Jed thought Reid and I had dated. “He sure did. Not enough to get a handle on his drinking, though…” I was losing control of this conversation. I should have put more thought into this cover story. “Anyway, I never thanked you for saving me and for being here tonight. So thank you. That horrible Arthur West book is on me.”

He laughed. “In that case, I think I’d rather you didn’t thank me at all. I would donate the book to Goodwill, but I’m pretty sure even they wouldn’t take it.”

“Seriously, thank you,” I said, and he nodded. “Where’d you learn to fight like that, anyway?”

“Fight? I put the guy in a choke hold. It’s hardly what I would call fighting.”

“I guess, but you did choke the guy unconscious.”

He shrugged. “I guess I don’t know my own strength. That choke hold was pure luck. A little tighter and we’d have had a lot more explaining to do.”

I nodded. “Well, you guys did a lot better than I did. Cowering in the corner like a helpless chick.”

An angry look crossed his face, but he took a deep breath and it was gone so fast I wasn’t sure I had really seen it.

“You did the best you could. You never should have been in that situation in the first place.” He looked down at the desk and took a deep breath, before looking back up at me and smiling. “By the way, what happened with that girl who wanted to rent your third bedroom? We saw her working at McDonald’s, and Caleb told me who she was.”

I tried not to squirm under his gaze. Did they talk to each other about anything other than me? It was my apartment and my decision, but I had a bad feeling now about Cat, too, and I felt a little bit guilty not standing up for that feeling, especially after what Caleb had said. “Angelica gave her the A-OK, and she’s already moved in.”

“Really?” He leaned back in the chair and ran a hand through his hair, revealing a nicely shaped bicep I hadn’t noticed before. “Caleb told me that he shared his bad vibes about her with you. I wouldn’t take him too seriously, though. She seemed nice enough to me, and if you like her, that’s all that matters. Just don’t let her stiff you on the rent.”

“We won’t,” I said, not wanting to get into it any further. But then, suddenly, I did. With all the other creepy stuff going on, I just didn’t want to worry about my roommate. Jed might be little more than a stranger, but I trusted him and his judgment. “The rent is actually the problem. Cat claims she can’t pay and I don’t think we should let her move in until she can, but Angelica trusts her. I’m worried that Angelica’s need to help people who are, well, needy, may have overruled her judgment of character in this case.”

He snorted. “That girl didn’t look so needy to me.”

“She is. She’s broke and homeless and had a terrible boyfriend.”

His frown deepened. “So she says. She was wearing Sevens the day I saw her.”

I tried for a moment to understand his point, but it didn’t make sense to me. “What has that got to do with anything? Are you judging girls by the size of their clothes now?”

He just stared at me for a moment then burst out laughing. “No, it’s a brand of jeans. Seven for all Mankind is a really expensive kind of jean.”

“Oh.” I knew nothing about fashion. If it fit and it looked nice and I could afford it, I was happy. “Why do you even know that?”

“Sisters,” he said. “Both of whom are obsessed with brand names and expensive clothes.”

“Still…”

“Are you seriously questioning my masculinity and complimenting my ability to fight in the same conversation?”

I did my best to maintain a straight face and nodded.

He threw his hands up. “Whatever. So I know clothes. It’s come in handy a few times, so I’ve kept up with it. The point is that your girl was wearing expensive jeans.”

“Okay, but maybe she had them from her past. Maybe she was a rich girl a few years ago, who left home to make it on her own.”

He shrugged. “Get the rent money from her or kick her out. If she’s really broke, she should dress like it. I’m beginning to take Caleb’s side on this one.”

“That’s extremely judgmental of you,” I said, even though I agreed with him. “You haven’t even talked to her.”

“I liked you before I talked to you and that has worked out.”

I swallowed my smile, but not before he had seen it. “We’ll see. Now that I know how judgmental you are, I’m not sure I want to associate with you any longer.”

He laughed, completely unworried that I was about to ditch him as a friend. “I’d love to stay and debate my faults with you, but I’ve actually got to leave town for a little while.”

“Oh, really? Is everything okay?”

“Oh, yeah. I just got a job offer I couldn’t turn down,” he said.

“A job?” I tried not to sound as upset as I felt. I realized then just how much I’d been enjoying spending time with him. “So you’ll be gone a while?”

“Um, yeah. It could be a couple of weeks or it could be years. It just depends on how well I do and if I like it.”

“Years?”

He smiled, but it looked a bit forced. “I’ll be back to visit Caleb and I’ll check in with you.”

“Okay, good,” I said, but I couldn’t keep the disappointment out of my voice. “Good luck with your new job.”

“Yeah, thanks. You take care of yourself, and don’t ever hesitate to call Caleb if you need anything.”

“Sure.” But I didn’t think I would call Caleb. As nice as Caleb had been, I just didn’t trust him the way I trusted Jed.

There wasn’t much to say after that. I walked downstairs with him and saw him out of the store. I barely knew him, but I missed him already.

I turned and faced the office, feeling immensely braver about being alone in there. Even so, I left with Cherie after we closed. I hadn’t made as much progress on the administrative chaos as I would have liked, but I wasn’t ready to be in the store alone, yet.

I said goodbye to Cherie and shivered as I stepped out into the damp, chilly night. She headed home, and I locked up and went the opposite way. Snowflakes seemed to stand, transfixed in the air, and I felt like I was swimming back to my apartment. I couldn’t see more than a few feet ahead of me, and the spaces between street lights were dark. I almost called Angelica to drive and pick me up, but that would be ridiculous. If I couldn’t walk the two blocks from work to my apartment after dark, I might as well give up and move back in with my mother. I jumped at every sound—a laugh that broke suddenly into the quiet night, the whoosh of a car, the distant ring of a cell phone. I quickened my pace, but refused to run. If I allowed myself to be afraid now, I would never stop being afraid.

I heard the laughter before I stepped inside. Cat and Angelica were sitting on the couch, beers on their laps, watching
The Hangover III
. When I walked into the living room, Angelica paused the movie. “Hey, sweetie, you wanna join us?”

“I would love to.” I sighed as I headed to the couch.

“Grab a beer, first,” Angelica said.

“No, thanks.”

She groaned. “Are you seriously sticking to that plan?” She turned to look at Cat. “Kelsey here is turning 21 in February and she has decided not to drink until her birthday.”

Cat looked at me, eyes wide in horror. “Why would you do that? That’s like four months away.”

It was actually three months to the day, but I didn’t correct her. “I just want my birthday to be amazing and special and if I’m just doing the same thing I’ve been doing every weekend, what’s the point?”

“I don’t…” Cat started, her blue eyes bright with concern. “I could never do that. Good for you.”

“Cat bought the beer, Kels, and it’s your favorite, Holy Spider.”