As expected, when Steph pulled open the heavy door, the music and voices amplified to a point that Emily had to tell herself not to cover her ears or it would draw even more attention to her.

  People were packed into the small establishment so closely that there seemed to be no way to get through to the bar. “Come on,” Lucy leaned over and hollered into Emily’s ear. “Let’s go find a table.” With that, Lucy gave Jack a small shove and her Reaper began to work his way through the crowd with the entire group behind him.

  As they wove through the mass of bodies, Emily murmured excuse me and sorry more times than she could count. Though, no one got angry or said much of anything to her in response. It seemed nobody really cared if someone bumped into them.

  As the passed the bar, she saw Reese mixing up drinks in martini glasses for a couple of girls who were leaning on the bar and giggling. Reese glanced up, as if she’d felt Emily’s stare, and raised her hand in greeting. Emily waved back and flashed what she hoped was a smile.

  Dan was also behind the bar, opening beers and collecting money as he handed them out. Emily marveled at this. She knew Dan had quit drinking, but it was beyond her how an alcoholic could be in bar at all, much less work in one. To her, it seemed dangerous, but it wasn’t unheard of for people who were recovering to be around alcohol. It likely depended on the person and their personality.

  She spotted Greg over in the corner of the dance floor, setting up his equipment. He didn’t have much, a couple of amps and cords. He had a stool that sat beside a small round table and a microphone stand with mic in it, bent over so that it was close to his lips. Two guitars, one that she had seen in his room and the other that she hadn’t seen before, leaned in stands beside his stool.

  They finally made it to the bar and their little group gathered at the edge of the bar. Reese had finished with the giggling girls and was setting drinks out for some of the Estmond clan, since she already knew what they wanted.

  “You want something?” James nudged Emily with his shoulder.

  “Just a coke. Thank you.”

  James gives her a look of surprise, as did a couple of girls near them that overheard.

  “Really, just coke? You don’t want anything stronger?”

  Aware that they had an audience, Emily leaned in closer to James so that her lips were a mere inch away from his ear. “I don’t usually drink because it messes with my visions and I don’t like being out of control, especially in public.”

  “Ah, gotcha.” James nodded with understanding and patted her on the shoulder. “Hey Reese,” He called out. “How about a Jack and coke for me, and one without the Jack for Emily.”

  A nod from Reese signaled she heard him and got to work. Once everyone had their drinks, the crew began moving through the crowd again. This time proved to be more difficult while holding her glass and trying to avoid being bumped into. By the time they made it to an opening in the crowd she definitely had a less than full glass.

  The table they arrived at had a hasty hand-written reserved sign sitting in the middle of it. No one was at the table, but it did have beer bottles and some napkins scattered across the surface.

  “People have absolutely no respect,” Lucy grumbled, plucking up some of the bottles. “There is a trash can right there.” She moved over to the wall beside their table and dumped the bottles into it.

  Jack pulled out a chair beside him for her to sit. Lucy smiled up at the dark haired Reaper, “Why thank you, sir,” she joked with him as she sat down. He returned her smile with a smirk and took a long swig of beer as he sat down.

  James pulled out a chair across from Lucy, facing Greg, and signaled for Emily to sit. She did so, noticing that the table was in a place that offered a clear view of Greg. She had to admit, she was glad she wouldn’t have to struggle to see him as he played. She set her coke down in front of her and finally had a chance to really take in her surroundings.

  It was hard for her to be here. She hadn’t been around this many people for a very, very long time. Her heart pounded heavily in her chest and it felt a bit difficult to breathe. She knew it was just anxiety, but it still didn’t feel good.

  Just have fun, she told herself. Let go of the worry and have a good time.

  Just then, the jukebox music cut off mid-song and the actual level of everyone talking could be heard. It was almost comical to hear everyone yelling at each other and then stop or lower their voices as they realized how loud they really were.

  Greg strummed the strings of his guitar and tapped the mic. Silence engulfed the entire bar, moving through the place like a wave extinguishing every voice.

  “Thanks for coming out everyone.” Greg leaned over and addressed the crowd. “Some of you have seen me play before and I do see some new faces in the crowd.” He strummed again and then began to play while he was still speaking. “So, let’s start this off with something we all know.” With that, he launched into a popular classic rock song.

  Emily couldn’t believe it when she heard his voice, he was good … really good. It wasn’t that she thought he didn’t have the ability to sing like that, it was just surprising to hear how amazing his voice was when he sang.

  The entire crowd sang along, clapping and swaying to the beat. He played a bunch more cover songs that she knew, and a couple of songs that he announced he had written himself.

  When he was finished, he reached over and picked up his beer off the table beside him. After a long swig, he said, “Now, I’m going to play something that I wrote and it’s very special to me. I hope you like it.”

  He strummed and then began. His song was about love and loss, about a man who taught him everything about life and gave him more than anyone ever could. He sang about his father.

  Emily felt the tears falling and realized that she was crying. It was so beautiful. She actually felt the love and the pain of loss as his voice wedged its way into her very heart. Good grief, she didn’t want to cry in public. She swiped at her cheeks with the back of her hand, smearing the wetness all the way across her cheeks instead of wiping it away.

  When Greg finished up the song. She looked around and realized that she was definitely not the only one who had been crying. There was barely a dry eye in the place, every single one of the Estmond siblings appeared to be a heartbeat away from straight up sobbing.

  The music faded out and there was a brief, heavy silence. After a moment, the crowd erupted into an applause that resounded through the whole bar. People hooted and shouted things like, ‘Way to go, man.’ It was truly one of the most beautiful moments she had ever experienced.

  Greg set his guitar aside and headed toward their table. People stopped him on the way, hugging him and clapping him on the back as he passed by. At the table, Emily watched as he spoke with Aiden and Ethan. He caught her eye and began moving around the table to her.

  She hadn’t even realized that she had been staring at him, but she was. Probably just like everyone else in the place was, but that didn’t stop her cheeks from flaming when she realized he’d caught her staring.

  And then he was behind her, bending over so close that his lips actually brushed across her ear when he whispered, “Do you want to get out of here?”

  She nodded, because she did. More than anything she wanted to get out of there. The close proximity to everyone had only dissipated when Greg played the last song. During that time, she’d felt as if she were the only one in the room.

  She scooted her chair back and stood. She glanced down at James, who had his head tilted up toward her. When their eyes met, he gave her an understanding nod and a weak smile. Then, he slapped his brother right on the butt. “Be careful. Call if you need us.”

  “Will do.” Greg rubbed his large hand over James’ dark red hair, messing the locks even more than they already were. Then, he leaned over to Emily’s other side and whispered something to Liv, probably letting her know that they were leaving. Liv glanced over at Emily and their eyes met for a moment. Emily nodded and then Liv returned her attention to her brother, giving him a nod of her own.

  Then, he reached over and gripped her hand. She almost pulled away on reflex. She didn’t usually let people touch her. But, she caught herself in time and allowed him to tug her through the still crowded bar.

  They emerged from the bar and the fresh air hit her hard. It felt like freedom. She pulled her hand away from his and bent over for a moment, breathing in deeply. The crisp fall weather had a chill, but it felt wonderful on her bare shoulders. Absolutely glorious. “Thank you,” she told him, still bent over with her hands planted on her knees.

  “Are you okay?” His voice was full of concern.

  “I am now.”

  She glanced up and saw his eyebrow raised in question.

  “I … I just don’t.” She paused and then thought about it for a moment before continuing. “Being in places like this has never been good for my gift. It can cause me to have unexpected visions and sometimes they are convoluted, like a vision could be a combination coming from two people, rather than one, and it becomes confusing. Having a vision in public is horrifying. Plus, I’m just not used to being in close proximity to lots of people.”

  Greg nodded, his eyes locking with hers as she straightened to standing. His dark brown eyes glittered with intensity, as if he wanted to dig down and know every single secret she carried. “Do you want to walk?”

  CHAPTER NINE

  GREG

  “I would love to walk,” Emily told him. “That would be really nice, actually.”

  He thought about taking her hand again, but he didn’t want to be too forward. He also didn’t want to scare her off. He had felt it earlier when she involuntarily pulled away from him. He couldn’t imagine being afraid of human contact, it was such an essential part of living.

  He began to walk and she fell into step beside him. They walked past the post office, the café, the hair salon and the bakery as they strode down the brightly lit sidewalks. “That’s the police station, right there.” Greg pointed across the street. “And this here is the newspaper office. The Summer Hollow Times has been here for over fifty years and surprisingly it’s still in business.”

  Emily stopped and stared longingly at the brick building before them. “I would have loved to live in a small town like this when I was growing up.”

  “You didn’t live in a small town?” He didn’t mean to sound so shocked, but she seriously didn’t strike him as someone who lived in the big city.

  “No.” with a shake of her head, she turned and continued to walk. He followed. “I lived in the city with my mom until I was fifteen. We had a tiny apartment in a horrible part of town. It was all we could afford and close to work for my mother. Eventually, we moved to a little, rundown shack out in the swamp.”

  “In the swamp?” Greg asked. Images of stomping through muddy waters to get to and from civilization swirled in his mind. Why would a mother subject her child to that?

  She shrugged. “There are lots of homes in the swamp lands. And its not like you might be imagining. It’s beautiful. Our house was built far from the waters. I enjoyed the silence that I couldn’t find in our apartment. Back there, you couldn’t get away from the noise. There were always voices and car engines, sirens and horns. In the swamp, in our little cabin, there was beauty and the only thing to be heard for miles was the sound of nature. I loved it.”

  So she’d gone from one extreme to another as far as where she lived. Greg knew a bit about differences between small town and big city, but he couldn’t imagine living in that much solitude. “I can see why you would enjoy the swamps much more than the city.”

  “I felt as if I finally found somewhere I could let myself free,” she agreed.

  “Does your mother still live there?”

  Emily nodded. “Yes. She used to be a nurse at one of the hospitals, but now she has gone back to practicing herbal healing. She has many clients and is well known, so most people come to her now that she is elderly.”

  “Does she know you’re here?”

  “Yes, she knows that sometimes when I have a vision of what may come, that I can’t help but intervene. Though, I will say she has been less approving of my travels since I was abducted by the Empress. For a while I thought she might find someone who could bind me to the property.” She let out a nervous little laugh. “I finally convinced her that this was my duty and she accepted that.”

  “I’m sure she’s worried about you.”

  “Yes, she is,” Emily admitted. “I gave her one of those prepaid flip phones and I call to check in with her every day. It helps to keep her informed and let her know I’m okay.”

  Greg nodded, but didn’t say anything. He was actually a little concerned for Emily’s mother. It never occurred to him what having a child in this kind of danger would feel like. His father worried about them all the time, and they had grown up facing a fair amount of Reaper fighting. The level of danger they faced now was off the charts compared to that, though. His dad and Emily’s mother must be losing their minds. If he had a child with their gifts and in this kind of danger, he would move Heaven and Earth to make sure that child was safe. He owed his dad a thank you, for sure.

  He changed direction of the topic, going back to small towns. “You would have loved growing up here. Small towns aren’t always the best, with everyone knowing everyone and somebody always up in your business, but I love it here.”

  “What about when you lived in San Francisco?”

  “Believe it or not, I love it there too. But, not as much as I love it here.” He laughed. “You wouldn’t believe how many times I cursed this town and wished I lived somewhere where I didn’t know anyone. Then, when I finally got the graveyard in San Francisco, I lived there and I could literally go days without seeing anyone I knew.”

  “I know how that feels.” Emily nodded.

  “It was the strangest thing. I have never been in a place where I felt so alone, while surrounded by people. It was good and bad, I can’t really describe it.”

  “I know what you mean.” She laughed. “Walking down the street and people actually staring down at the ground or straight ahead, avoiding eye contact.”

  “Exactly!” he agreed with a chuckle of his own. “Anyway, yeah, I prefer it here, for sure.”

  Emily let out a sigh and they were silent for a moment as they strolled. He glanced over and saw, with a little bit of horror, that she wore only a flowing tank top made of thin fabric that had no sleeves. He wasn’t horrified that she wore it. She actually looked amazing and sexy in it, but he hadn’t asked her if she was cold. Here he was walking around with a flannel shirt over his tee shirt while the girl he was with may as well have been naked. What a shitty excuse for a man he was.

  Immediately he began to unbutton the shirt.

  Emily stopped walking and gave him a curious stare. “What are you doing? Are you hot?”

  He shrugged out of the shirt and gave it to her. “No, but I bet your freezing.” He handed it over to her.

  “Oh no, I’m fine.”

  He sensed the lie in her voice. “Just take it. I won’t walk around with this on if the girl I’m with is basically wearing nothing.”

  She looked down, assessing her clothing and from what he could see, probably trying to figure out if he was criticizing her outfit.

  “Are you cold?” he asked her, his voice tight. He tried to remember to be a bit more gentle. He was mad at himself for the oversight, not at her.

  She nodded slightly. “Yes. I was fine when we came out of the bar, it actually felt really good after being inside, but now … yes, I’m cold.”

  He shoved the shirt at her, forcing it into her arms. “Put this on, it will make us both feel better.”

  “I don’t want you to be cold, though.”

  He waved her off. “Don’t worry about that. I’m fine.”

  He watched as she slid the shirt on over her top. “Also, I wanted to tell you that you look great tonight. That shirt is…” He trailed off, unable to finish.

  Emily’s lips tugged up into a small grin and she averted her eyes, apparently embarrassed. “Thank you,” she whispered.

  Not wanting to make the moment anymore uncomfortable for her, he began to walk again. They had made it to the end of town where the school was located. He turned toward the 24-hour gas station that they fondly called Store Twenty-Four and asked, “Do you want to get some ice cream?”

  “They have ice cream there?” she asked, surprised.

  “Yeah, they don’t have anything fancy, but they do have a couple of flavors of soft serve.”

  She nodded enthusiastically. “Yes, I’d love that.”

  “Great, let’s do it.”

  They entered the gas station and walked past the counter. “Hey, Greg.” Loise waved from behind hot case. Loise was around sixty years old and had worked there since he was a kid. Once, he’d stolen a couple of sodas from the cooler, intending to take them to the pool with him. She busted him and called his Dad. He was lucky that Loise hadn’t called Sheriff Davis. Not that he was thinking that when his dad was laying out the punishment at home. There were a few moments he thought he might be better off doing jail time. Of course he was only twelve, so he probably wouldn’t have done jail time for that, but still.

  “Hi Loise,” he called out. “We’re just here for some ice cream.”

  “Help yourself, you know where it is.” She stacked some mini tacos in little trays in the case and then closed it. “I’m going to be sitting here in the corner finishing my book.”

  Greg laughed, Loise was the only employee of any business that he knew who could read more than she worked and not be fired. “What is it this time?” he asked her.

  “Oh, it’s a doozy. Super sexy, though, I don’t know if you’d like it?” She narrowed her eyes.

  “Hey!” he accused, “I like some sexy in my reading material.”

  “I don’t mean that kind of reading material.”

  Greg shook his head and looked over at Emily, who stared at him with wide eyes. “Oh, calm down. She knows I like to read, and we swap books all the time. She’s joking.”

 

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