Keeper of Spirits Read online

  “I know.” He nodded. “I’m sorry.” And then he added, “I’ll take care of that, too.”

  “Yeah right.” Reese turned away from the bar, strode over to the hard alcohol behind her and reached for a bottle of Patron. Uncapping it, she brought it back to the bar and set it down, then snagged a double shot glass from underneath the bar somewhere and set it beside the tequila.

  He watched as she closed her eyes, inhaled deeply and then opened them again as she exhaled long and low. Then, she picked up the Patron and filled the shot glass to the brim. Without giving herself time to think about it, she lifted it to her lips and tilted her head back, swallowing it quickly. When she was done, she slammed the little glass onto the bar and held her lips tightly closed for a moment.

  “Reese,” he began.

  She closed her eyes as if she were trying to shut him out. “Don’t talk to me, Dan. I’m pissed off right now.”

  “I know … I’m sorry.” He apologized again, not knowing what else to do.

  She shook her head at him and held up a hand, silently telling him to shut up.

  “Reese …”

  “Just go help clean up. I’m shutting the place down and you all …” she gestured to the crowd in the bar, “are going to tell me what the hell this was all about.”

  “We …”

  “No excuses. Not this time. Now clean up,” she snapped, and proceeded to pour another shot.

  Not knowing what else he could say to her, he turned to help clean up the mess they had made. There probably wasn’t anything he could say that would make it better. He had started yet another fight in her place. This wasn’t the first time he’d had to spring for a round of drinks and new furniture.

  This time was different, though. They couldn’t possibly tell her who those guys really were and why they were after the family. They were going to have to lie and they were all going to have to be on the same page about it.

  He picked his way through the broken chairs and tables that were shoved out of place until he found Greg. His brother was pissed, too.

  “Dammit. We had this under control.” Greg started in on him as soon as he was close enough. “It would have been fine.”

  “It wouldn’t have been fine,” Dan argued, lifting a chair and setting it upright. “We can’t let them just waltz all over our town, threatening us and showing up in places like this. What if they had tried to hurt someone here?”

  Greg shook his head. “They weren’t. They were just having drinks and asking questions. We can’t choose who comes in and out of town. We guard the souls, we protect the graveyard. That’s it. No one here was in danger, so we had no valid reason to be physical with them.”

  Dan slammed his fist into one of the tables. “Fuck that. We have valid reason. They are literally trying to kill everyone in our family, Greg. We need to get rid of every single one of those mother fuckers until there are none left.”

  “Dan …”

  “No, man. They aren’t going to stop, so we have to stop them.”

  “There are other ways.” Greg strode over to the bar and Dan followed him. Jack, Aiden, David and the girls joined them there. Reese had a bar rag and was wiping the bar rather aggressively. “I’m going to close up,” she told them. “But you all stay, all right.”

  Dan nodded, as did everyone else. They all knew that it wasn’t a question. She was ordering them to stay put. Jack and Greg shared a glance, and Dan could tell they were thinking the same thing that he had been about what they were going to tell her.

  “All right,” Reese called out. “Thanks for the help everyone, but I’m closing up early tonight so I can scrub the blood off the floors.”

  Another cheer erupted from the patrons.

  “Stop cheering about blood on the floors!” She threw her hands up and shook her head. “Get your asses out of here.”

  Jane, who had her laptop tucked underneath her arm, hurried up to the bar and set a tall, empty glass in front of Reese. “Oh my god, that was so intense. I’m totally putting that into a scene now. I know the perfect place.” She smiled at Reese and then at Dan. “Thank you for the inspiration,” she told them as she turned and headed for the door.

  Dan shook his head. Only Jane would find a bar fight inspirational.

  It took a little while for them to clear everyone out, but as soon as the last person was out the door, Reese pushed her long, dark waves over her shoulder and pointed at one of the larger tables. “Sit,” she ordered in a stern voice.

  Knowing they were about to get scolded and pumped for information, Dan, along with everyone else, reluctantly took a seat. He watched Reese as she locked the entrance and turned off the glowing red open sign. He was still kicking himself that she had to close up because of him. At the same time, he was glad they had dealt with those Reapers.

  “Okay.” She sat down at the end of the rectangular table. “What the hell was that all about? Why are these people after you?”

  Dan opted for silence. Let his brother or one of the others sort it out with her. A quick exchange of glances between those in the group had Reese glaring. “Oh no you don’t. Just fucking tell me.”

  Greg cleared his throat. “I owe someone a lot of money. That’s why those guys were here.”

  Reese leaned back in her chair and assessed Greg with a disbelieving expression. “So, they were like loan shark collectors, the mob, what?”

  “I can’t tell you.”

  “What do you mean you can’t tell me?” Her eyebrows shot up. “They were already here, in my bar. I think I deserve an answer.”

  “It’s for your own safety.”

  Dan almost laughed when Reese’s jaw dropped open in shock. “For my own safety? Seriously? Those guys know I heard everything. They know that I know you. I think my safety is pretty much already up in the air if they are as dangerous as you are making them out to be.”

  Leaning back, he reached inside his coat and felt for his flask. Once his fingertips grazed the cool metal he withdrew it and twisted the cap off. The whiskey rolled over his tongue and then hit his throat, burning all the way down. He replaced the cap and put the flask back in his pocket just as Greg was leaning forward, trying to convince Reese to let it go.

  “Reese, believe me, it’s better if you just leave this alone. The less you know the better.”

  “Bullshit.” She crossed her arms across her chest. “Also, if you think that I’m stupid, you have another think coming. I work around people. It’s my job. I know when someone is lying to me.”

  “We aren’t lying,” Greg tried. The claim only got him a hard glare from her.

  “And don’t think I didn’t notice this whole ‘you know who I am’ and ‘you know what I’m capable of’ bullshit that Jack and Aiden were throwing around. Something isn’t right here.” Her gaze shot to the two Reapers. “Come to think of it, I have zero idea what you guys do for a living, where you came from or why you were here in Summer Hollow in the first place. That’s some pretty shady behavior if you ask me.”

  Jack held up his hands. “We’re from Florida.”

  “Why did you come here? Florida mob business?”

  “And you!” She pointed at David. “You’re a cop. If this is real, why can’t you do something about it, huh?”

  David shook his head. “This isn’t on the level of SHPD and even if I do know something about any investigations, I wouldn’t be able to tell you.”

  “Lies,” Reese hissed. “I can tell that you’re lying.”

  Greg let out a long sigh. “Reese, come on.”

  “No, you come on. If you really think I’m in danger, then you should tell me what the hell is going on.”

  “We can’t,” his brother stated firmly. “No matter how much you press, we cannot tell you what you want to know. I’m sorry.”

  Reese’s chair shot out as she bolted into a standing position. “Fine. Then get the hell out of my bar.”

  Hannah also stood. “Reese, please. You know that we would
tell you if we could. Don’t be mad at us.”

  “Seriously, like I’m supposed to just be like okay with you all keeping secrets from me and lying to me. I don’t think so. Get out.” She pointed at the door, fury flashing in her dark eyes.

  Suddenly, Dan was hit with a wave of desire. He hadn’t felt anything remotely close to that since before he lost Anna. He watched Reese, her chocolate curls spilling all around her shoulders, her face pink with the flush of anger and those eyes boring into all of them as if she could read right into their very souls, and he couldn’t believe what he was feeling.

  He shoved his chair back and then stood, adjusting his coat. “We’ll go.”

  “Fine,” she snapped.

  “You know that we would never intentionally put you in harm’s way, which is why we can’t tell you what is really going on.” He kept his voice low, trying to make her understand that they meant the best for her.

  “Go to hell, Dan. I’ve known you all … well, except you two,” she pointed at Jack and Aiden, “my entire life and don’t think I haven’t noticed that you guys are weird, but who isn’t in a small town. It’s just that I thought that we were closer than that. The people in this town are my family, and that means you are a part of that. Asshole.” She added the last part under her breath.

  “We would tell you if we could,” Steph whispered, looking like she was close to tears. She was still seated, as if she was refusing to leave. “We don’t want to hurt you.”

  “Well, you did.”

  “I’m sorry.” His little sister finally rose to stand with the rest of them.

  Dan knew Reese well enough to know that fighting with her was useless. Once her mind was set, there was no going back. “We’re going Reese, but call us if anything strange happens.”

  “Like fuck I will. I can take care of myself. Besides, if you guys are associated with dangerous people, I don’t want you around me or in my bar.”

  “Fine.” He turned to go. “Let’s go guys.”

  “And don’t think I won’t try to find out who the hell you really are Jack Walker, you and your sidekick,” she called after them.

  “Hey.” Aiden swung around. “I’m not a sidekick.”

  Jack laughed out loud and shoved Aiden’s shoulder. “Yeah, you are.”

  “Fuck off.”

  “You first.”

  “All of you fuck off!” Reese picked up a cork coaster and threw it at them. He leaned to the side, barely dodging the thick circle of cork. It flew past him and nailed Greg in the back of the head.

  “Ouch!” Greg swung around and glared. “Reese, what the hell?”

  “That’s nothing compared to what I really want to do right now,” she fumed back at him.

  “Good lord, freaking crazy woman,” Greg muttered as he pushed open the door. Everyone followed, making their way out of the dim light of Knight’s Bar and into the warm fall sunshine.

  Dan was the last to leave. He cast a glance over his shoulder as the door slowly swung shut behind him. Reese had fallen into one of the chairs and was holding her head in her hands, hair falling in front of her so that he could no longer see her face. The door closed the gap, shutting out his view and he couldn’t help but feel horrible for having to hide so much from someone they had known for so long.

  But that was how it was for Keepers. They had held onto this secret their entire lives. This was something that no one in town knew about. Even Sheriff Davis, who had been their father’s friend since childhood, didn’t know what they really were.

  He rejoined the group. They had gathered outside on the sidewalk in front of the little store that sold gas station-type food, but also had a deli in the back.

  “This is so shitty,” Hannah was saying. “I can’t believe we have to leave her like that.”

  “I know.” Greg frowned. “But we can’t tell her what is really happening.”

  Dan reached for his flask again, took small sip and returned it to his jacket. “She knows we’re lying. That’s the bad part. So, we can’t tell her the truth, but we have to lie and keep insisting that is what the truth is.”

  “Fuck.” Greg reached up and ran his hands through his hair. “I hate this.”

  “Do you think she’s going to google me or something?” Jack asked. “She sounded pretty determined to find out more about me.”

  Dan raised an eyebrow. “What will she find if she does?”

  “Nothing,” Aiden jumped in. “We’re all off the radar. All she would find is a fake profile.”

  “It’s true,” David agreed. “I’ve tried.”

  Dan turned to go. “I’m going to the farmhouse. Let’s meet there and let the others know what happened.”

  “Yeah.” Jack nodded. “Lucy is already pissed that she was left behind. She left a bunch of angry text messages.”

  “Okay, let’s meet there then,” Greg agreed with a sigh.

  Dan was already ahead of the group. He rounded the corner to the back parking lot and made sure the strange vehicles were gone before slipping behind the wheel of his own. Once he was in the car, he leaned forward and rested his head on the steering wheel.

  His emotions were all over the place. Not only because of how everything went down in the bar and having to make up shitty stories to tell one of his oldest friends, but also because he hadn’t felt anything for a woman in a long time and that worried him.

  It worried him because he didn’t want to feel anything for anyone else. It had only been a flash of admiration and desire, but ever since Anna had passed, he had been numb to that part of himself. Even with what he did for work, he still didn’t want to be with a woman. He didn’t appreciate how they looked anymore. He didn’t flirt. He simply had no urges regarding the opposite sex at all.

  But then, all of a sudden, there it was. That appreciation of women that he hadn’t experienced since before he lost the love of his life. In a way, knowing that he had felt something, even just appreciation or lust, made him feel as if his love was even more lost to him than she already was.

  CHAPTER FOUR

  REESE

  Reese woke mid-morning the next day and realized that she was still angry. It was rare for her to carry a grudge. She was more the kind of person to let go of things, since being negative wasn’t good for the mind or body.

  But this … this was different.

  The lot of them were outright lying to her and she knew it. They knew that she knew it and they didn’t care. Claiming it was too dangerous for her to know. Everything she thought she had known and loved about the Estmonds had changed because of their unwillingness to tell her the truth.

  Whatever it was couldn’t be that bad … right?

  She laid buried underneath her fluffy white comforter for a long time, staring at the ceiling and wondering how she was going to face them again. Had she kicked them out of the bar forever, or just until she was done being mad?

  She hadn’t wanted to kick them out at all, but she couldn’t stand that they were lying straight to her face. And even though they were well aware that she knew they were full of shit, they stuck with the story. A story that had no answers at all. In fact, their claims only made her more curious.

  Her phone buzzed and she rolled onto her side to see who was calling her. It was Heather, one of her only friends who wasn’t from Summer Hollow. Heather lived in Napa. The two had met during grief counseling after her father had passed away. Both women had shown up at the group sessions, which were more of support groups than anything, and connected immediately.

  Heather had lost her twin sister in a car accident several years back. When they met, Heather had already been attending the groups for over a year. Reese couldn’t imagine losing a twin. It was one thing to lose someone who you were close to and you loved more than anything, but losing someone who was literally a part of you had to be the worst thing ever.

  One night, after the session, Heather asked if Reese wanted to go have a couple of drinks. Reese agreed and ever since then, t
hey had been close. She didn’t see Heather as much as she would have liked because they lived so far apart and Reese worked bar hours.

  Heather was a hairdresser, but she could do everything. Hair, nails, waxing, you name it and she could do it. Reese was jealous of how Heather always looked different. Her hair could be straight and blonde one day and the next time she saw her it might be red and curly. She didn’t know many people who could pull that off so easily.

  “Hello.”

  “Wake up, birthday girl,” Heathers cheery voice came through the line.

  Reese groaned, “No. I want to sleep.”

  “Too bad. I have plans for us today and tonight. You need to get up and get dressed.”

  “What?” Reese asked, honestly shocked. “You made plans without consulting me?”

  “That’s right.”

  “I have to work, Heather.”

  Heather made a noise that sounded like a raspberry. “No, you don’t. You own your own business. Close the bar for one night and head over the mountain. Bring something fun to wear tonight, too, not just your flannel shirt and jeans that I know you are going to show up here in.”

  “I like my clothes.” Reese pushed the covers aside and got out of bed. She needed coffee for this.

  “I know you do, but you can’t wear them to your party.”

  She stopped in the middle of the kitchen. “You didn’t?”

  “Oh, I did.” She could just see her friend grinning. “You know I love an excuse to get dressed up and plan a party.”

  “I know. But, I hate it when you use me as that excuse. I just want to curl up and binge watch movies with ice cream and wine, but I’d planned on working.”

  “Both of those options sound terrible.”

  “I don’t want to go.”

  “You’ll be fine once you get here. It’s going to be fun. I promise.”

  Reese detected the desperate tone in her friend’s voice and realized that Heather needed this outlet, which was why she did these things for people. Not because she loved to party, but because she loved doing things for people and this was what she was good at. “Okay, okay, I’ll come over. It’s going to be a little while, though. I have a few things to do first.”