Keeper of Spirits Read online

  There were many times since Anna had passed away that he had packed his bags, intending to leave town, not knowing where he would go or what he would do when he got there, as long as he was away from Summer Hollow.

  But then, he had remembered that he would always see the souls, that he would always be a Keeper. Nothing would ever be normal for him. At least if he stayed, he would be here with his family, the people he cared about most in the world.

  “You okay?” Lucy asked

  He nodded, still staring out the window. “Yeah. Just a lot going on lately.”

  “Anything I can help with?”

  “No.” He finally tore his gaze away from the graveyard and turned to his sister. “Nothing anyone can do. I’m worried about the situation with the Reapers coming into the bar. It was clearly an intimidation play, since they hadn’t intended to kill us in the middle of a crowd or anything.”

  Lucy nodded. “I agree.”

  “I don’t think we’ve seen the last of the Reapers showing up like that. And Reese overheard a lot of what was said between us the other day. I’m afraid it may have put her in a bad place.”

  “Do you think they will go after her?”

  He shrugged. “I’m not sure, and I sure as hell don’t want to chance it. But, she doesn’t want us in the bar, so we can’t even pretend to hang around.”

  “Hopefully they stay away.” The uncertainty was clear in Lucy’s voice even though he was positive she had tried to sound reassuring.

  He nodded. “Yeah. Hopefully.”

  They were both silent for a moment and then he asked. “So, I’m assuming that you are going to do everything in your power to keep Jack from going to Florida.”

  She nodded. “You bet your ass I am. I feel like that would be a suicide mission. He doesn’t think it would go that way, but I don’t care. It’s too dangerous and I won’t risk losing him.”

  Dan nodded. “I’m with you, but you know he pretty much has his mind set on going.”

  “I know. Stubborn ass.”

  “You want me to go with him if he does go?”

  Lucy lowered her eyes to the table. “I’m selfish, Dan. I don’t want any of you to go. I don’t want to lose anyone.”

  “That isn’t selfish, not even a little bit.”

  “Yes it is. If Jack goes to Florida, it is possible that he could take over the Reaper Empire and stop them from trying to kill us, and other Keepers. So if I don’t want him, or anyone else to go, then yes, it is selfish.”

  “Luce.” He felt bad for her. If he was in her situation, there was absolutely no way he’d want the parent of his child to put themselves in danger. He would do everything in his power to make sure that they stayed safe.

  “I know.” She shook her head and then shut the book. “I know that I need to let him go there eventually.”

  “I wasn’t going to say that,” he told her. “I was going to tell you that you are absolutely in the right to feel the way you do. This is the father of your child we are talking about, and your family.”

  She smiled. “Thank you for being here. I’m sure others would let Jack throw himself to the wolves as long as it saves us.”

  “Nah.” Dan shook his head. “I think he’s grown on everyone.”

  “Even you,” she teased.

  “Even me. Just don’t tell him I told you that.”

  She smiled, her eyes lighting up with mischief. “I won’t.”

  “I know that look, you are totally going to tell him.”

  “Okay, okay. I probably will. What are you going to do about it?”

  “Nothing. I can’t use my normal methods of keeping a sister silent because of your delicate condition.”

  She laughed. “That’s right buddy. Can’t mess with me now.”

  He pushed his chair out and rose. “I’m going out to see if Dad’s around.”

  “All right. I’m going to go get a shower. Don’t forget, it’s family dinner tonight.” She stood as well, gathering the large book into her arms.

  “Okay. You guys need me to do something?”

  “No, we’re doing lasagna and Liv already brought over all the stuff.”

  Dan set his coffee cup in the sink and headed for the door. “I’ll be here. I’ll probably just hang out all day anyway.”

  “Later,” his sister called as she exited the kitchen. He stepped out into the backyard and crossed the expanse of grass leading to the graveyard. He could see a few souls swirling about, weaving in and out of headstones and tree branches. He wondered, not for the first time, what it would be like if everyone could see the souls, not just Keepers and Reapers.

  He strode over the leaf covered pathways, hoping to see his father somewhere and thinking about what they could possibly do besides sending Jack to Florida. There had to be another way. He had already decided, no matter what Lucy said, if Jack and Aiden went to Florida, he would go with them.

  He couldn’t believe that Jack would even consider killing his own mother. Aiden had said Jack wouldn’t be the one to do it, and Dan hoped to God that he would make sure that was the case. No one, even your worst enemy should have to end up killing their own mother. He wouldn’t let Jack do it either, so if Aiden didn’t come through, then he would have to take it. Jack had to keep his sanity for Lucy and the baby, and murdering his mother was not the way to do that.

  “Well hello, son.” His father’s voice carried over the breeze from somewhere behind him. “Out for an early patrol.”

  Dan turned in the direction he heard the voice coming from. “Dad. I was looking for you.”

  His father was solidified, but still transparent and radiating the shimmering blue mist of the souls. He stood on the path behind Dan as if he had been there the whole time.

  “You look more pensive than usual,” his father remarked.

  Rolling his eyes a little, Dan nodded. “I am. There is a lot going on.”

  “You mean other than Reapers trying to kill my kids, your sister being pregnant, another sister unable to work because she performed an autopsy on a man she killed and you still being a raging alcoholic?”

  “Yeah, more than that.”

  “What more could there possibly be?” His father’s voice was weary.

  Dan shoved his hands into the pockets of his coat, he could feel the cool metal of the flask against his fingertips, but he left it where it was instead of pulling it out. “I don’t know, really.”

  “Is this still about Anna?”

  He shrugged. “Maybe, I know I’m not over losing her, but I don’t think that’s all of it.”

  “Son.” Greg Sr. stepped, or floated rather, a couple of paces toward him. “I know you’ve heard this before, but the very last thing she would have wanted for you is this.” He waved his hand, indicating Dan’s body. “I could lecture you all day, but it’s nothing you haven’t heard before. And you aren’t going to change until you want to.”

  “I know I need to.”

  His father nodded. “But, wanting to and needing to are very different frames of mind. You can need something, but you have to want it to obtain it.”

  “I understand.” He removed his hands from his pockets and ran them though his hair.

  His father narrowed his ghostly eyes. “What else? I know there is more on your mind.”

  “It’s juvenile really.” Dan let out a long sigh. “Stuff we dealt with as kids. I’m struggling with others who don’t know what we are … who we are. It’s difficult sometimes not to be able to explain certain situations.”

  “Is this about the bar fight?”

  Dan raised his eyebrows. “How did you know about that?”

  “Lucy told me. We visit nearly every day so she keeps me updated.”

  “Did she tell you that Reese is totally pissed and has eighty-sixed us from the bar because we won’t tell her what is really going on.”

  His father nodded. “Yes, that’s what she told me. Basically, all that says to me is that I raised a bunch of terrible li
ars. I guess as a parent that’s a good thing, but not such a good thing for being a Keeper.”

  “I’ve lied to people my entire life and it’s never been this hard.”

  Silence settled over them for a moment as his dad appeared to consider the situation. Then, using cautious wording, his father asked, “Is it possible that it’s harder because you care more about Reese than anyone else you’ve had to lie to?”

  With a shrug, Dan shook his head. “I don’t know. I know that I’ve known her my whole life, so obviously I care, but I’ve known most people in Summer Hollow that long.”

  “Well, maybe … just maybe, there is something else there and you are denying that it exists.”

  “I don’t know, Dad.”

  “I already told you you’re a terrible liar, Son. Do we really need to continue this?”

  “Okay. Fine. Maybe there is, but I sure as hell don’t know exactly what and I’m definitely not in a place to find out.”

  “Good god, Daniel. Get yourself together. Don’t deny yourself things you want because of guilt.”

  Dan let that sink in for a few minutes. It was true, he knew that he lived the way he did out of guilt. He should have been the one to die, not Anna. But that didn’t mean he was going to go out and act on every random feeling he got for a woman. He may be a stripper, but the hell if he was going to be a man whore too. He hadn’t been with anyone since Anna. No matter how strong his grief was, he wouldn’t give that part of himself to anyone else … not yet.

  “I don’t know what kind of advice you’re here for. You can’t tell Reese, not yet. That might change, but as of right now, there isn’t enough reason to tell her. She would think the whole family is crazy, not just liars.”

  “I know that, Dad. That’s why this is so hard.” Exasperated, Dan threw his hands up in the air. “I guess I just wanted to talk with you.”

  Sadness crept into his father’s semi-transparent face. “I miss you, too. I miss you all and I wish there was more I could do to help with everything you all are going through. I should be here for you.”

  “You are,” Dan assured him. “You shouldn’t be. You should have crossed over. But since you didn’t, it helps us all more than you know that you are around for us to talk to.”

  His father let out a long sigh. “I love you, Son.”

  “I love you, too, Dad.”

  “Now, as for your issues, all I can say is try to do better. You have to quit drinking. You have Reapers out to murder you and you’re going to kill yourself with alcohol before they get a chance.”

  Dan nodded, unwilling to commit or promise anything, because he knew for a fact that he wouldn’t stop drinking right now.

  “And keep an eye on Reese, but keep your mouth shut for now.”

  “Okay, I will.”

  “I have to get, I feel my energy fading. Tell your brothers and sisters that I love them, too.”

  “I will,” Dan assured him.

  With that, his father seemed to burst apart, his molecules separating and spreading into a shimmering blue mist that fanned out into the air and then collected back together into a cloud that floated away, disappearing between the gravestones.

  CHAPTER SEVEN

  DAN

  After assembling a green salad big enough to feed an army, Dan lifted the glass bowl and carried it into the dining room. The lasagna and bread were already on the table, so he placed it in between the two other dishes.

  Most of the family was already seated except Liv and Hannah, who were both still in the kitchen. He was starving and ready to eat, so he backtracked to the kitchen to see if they needed any help. “Anything I can do to hurry this along?” he asked.

  Hannah swallowed a sip of wine and nodded. “Yeah, actually you can take that silverware into the dining room.” She pointed at the stack sitting on the counter.

  “All right, I got this. Now get in here so we can eat. I’m hungry.”

  “Fine,” Liv picked up her glass. “We’re coming.”

  The girls followed him into the dining room and took their seats. He dumped the silverware on the table and watched as everyone leaned over to grab some for themselves or passed some along for those who couldn’t reach.

  After the food was served and everyone was busy eating, Greg cleared his throat. “All right, we need to make a plan for what to do about these Reapers. We know they are going to come back, or more will be sent.”

  Lucy tapped her fork lightly on her plate. “I just don’t understand why they were here to begin with. Why are they being sent just to hang around Summer Hollow, but not attack us?”

  “Scare tactic.” Aiden forked a tomato and held it up. “They want us to know that they are here and they are watching.”

  “What’s the point in that, though? It solves nothing for them,” Lucy countered.

  Aiden nodded. “They haven’t been able to win against the family yet, so the more they send into town, the more Reapers you see every day when you’re just out getting groceries or gas. It’s supposed to show you what kind of numbers they have, to imprint in your brain that they are everywhere. That they are watching and waiting.”

  “That makes sense,” James agreed. “If I was seeing Reapers everywhere I went, it would be unnerving. That’s for sure.”

  “Exactly.” Aiden pointed his fork at Dan’s brother. “That is the intention. So, we need to prepare ourselves to see more in the coming days and weeks. No one goes out alone, and no one unarmed.”

  “This is total bullshit,” Steph mumbled, pushing her food around on the plate. “I can’t wait for the days when we won’t have to worry about this anymore.”

  Lucy glanced down at her belly and brought her hand to cover the growing baby inside. “I think we might have to prepare ourselves for that day never to come. This might be something we have to deal with for the rest of our lives.”

  Groans of discouragement echoed throughout the room, but Jack turned to her and lifted both hands, holding them to her cheeks and turning her to face him. “Not if I have anything to do with it. I am going to end this. We are going to end this. It’s in the prophecy that you are going to end the warring between the Reapers and the Keepers, so I don’t want to hear anymore negativity, got it?”

  Her eyes glossed over as they filled up with tears and she nodded. “Yes. I got it.” She reached up to wipe away the wetness from her cheeks. “Fucking hormones! Why the hell am I crying?”

  “It’s okay to cry,” Jack assured her. “I’ll kill anyone who makes you cry, though.”

  “You’re so sweet,” she joked as she sniffed and lifted her napkin to her nose. “What would I do without you?”

  “Don’t know and you’re never going to find out.”

  “Unless you go to Florida.”

  Jack narrowed his eyes. “We don’t have to discuss this now. We agreed to talk about it later.”

  “I don’t want any of you going to Florida.” His sister announced in a flat voice. “Our place is here.”

  Dan shifted his eyes around, following those who were speaking. He knew that this was going to be an ongoing debate for a while. Greg set his fork down on his empty plate. “Luce, the idea of Florida is a plan that can help end this for us. We think that we should do it after the new year.”

  Her eyes widened. “You guys have been planning this without me?”

  “No.” Jack shook his head. “No, we haven’t. We only agreed to put it off until the new year. To pull it off we are going to need an excellent plan and that takes time. I would never make that kind of plan without you.”

  “Plus,” Greg added, “We are going to need money and resources, which we don’t have at the moment, so we need to save.”

  Liv rolled her eyes. “Save like we’re banking for a fucking vacation. Nice. I’d love a vacation, but no, all my money is being put into the kill a Reaper fund.”

  Dan pushed his plate away from him. “I can help with money, I have some put away.”

  Hannah narrowed he
r eyes. “Where the hell are you getting all this money? First you can afford my bail money and now this. As far as we know you don’t even have a job.”

  “I work online,” he told her.

  She snorted. “God, you’re a terrible liar.”

  “That’s the second time today someone has told me that,” he mused.

  “Well it’s true. You do not work on the internet. What are you involved in?”

  He shook his head. “Leave me alone. I have the money. It’s none of your business where I got it.”

  Greg shook his head. “We can’t use your money, because you aren’t going to Florida with us.”

  Dan’s head snapped toward his brother. “Why the hell not?”

  “Because, brother, I love you but the way you’ve been boozing it up makes you a loose cannon, and we can’t afford to have that kind of liability on this mission.”

  Dan felt his jaw go slack and let the words sink in before he said anything. “I … loose cannon … what?”

  A sad expression on his face, Greg explained. “Look what happened in the bar. The only reason it got like that was because you came in and unleashed on those Reapers. We cannot have that happening on the Florida trip. Everything has to go exactly as we plan it.”

  Anger coursed through him. He clenched his fists, trying to contain the fury that wanted to escape. “I’m so fucking offended right now.” Dan pushed his chair out. “I sacrifice everything for this family. Everything.”

  Standing, he tore his gaze away from Greg and glanced at the rest of the people sitting at the table. No one seemed shocked, except Lucy, who obviously hadn’t known about this particular detail, judging from their conversation earlier that day.

  He didn’t wait for anyone to reply, he simply turned and left the room. He didn’t storm out, he just calmly walked to his car and slipped into the driver seat. He didn’t want to fight with them today. He’d had enough rejection for a lifetime just from talking with Reese and his father. Now, he just wanted to go home and go to sleep. Normally he’d go to the bar, but Reese didn’t want him there, so that left nowhere but home.