Date: 2018-01-30 05:00:00+00:00
Keywords: Fantasy
Description: One small town, two entirely different worlds. Daniel Estmond has endured too much loss in his lifetime. His mother, his father, his fiancé … all of them gone from this world. Every day he wonders which person he loves will come next. He drinks away the pain and numbs the anger that only seems to fester with time. What do you have to fight for when you’ve lost everything? Reese Knight inherited Knights Bar when her father was killed. She grew up in Summer Hollow and has known the Estmond family her entire life. She always knew they were strange, but who wasn’t in a small town. Now, she finds h

KEEPER OF SPIRITS

(GRAVEYARD GUARDIANS BOOK 4)

by

Jennifer Malone Wright

Copyright 2018 Jennifer Malone Wright

License Notes

This eBook is licensed for your personal enjoyment only. This eBook may not be re-sold or given away to other people. If you would like to share this book with another person, please purchase an additional copy for each recipient. If you’re reading this book and did not purchase it, or it was not purchased for your use only, then please return and purchase your own copy. Thank you for respecting the hard work of this author.

Visit the website of Jennifer Malone Wright at
www.jennifermalonewright.com

TABLE OF CONTENTS

- Chapter 1
- Chapter 2
- Chapter 3
- Chapter 4
- Chapter 5
- Chapter 6
- Chapter 7
- Chapter 8
- Chapter 9
- Chapter 10
- Chapter 11
- Chapter 12
- Chapter 13
- Chapter 14
- Chapter 15
- Chapter 16
- Chapter 17
- Chapter 18
- Chapter 19
- Chapter 20
- Chapter 21
- Chapter 22
- Chapter 23
- Chapter 24
- Chapter 25
- Chapter 26
- Excerpt from Immortal Ties
- Other books by Jennifer Malone Wright
- About the Author

CHAPTER ONE

DAN

A cool, crisp breeze floated in through the open window, lifting the sheer curtains up into the air. Sunlight streaming in caused shadows to dance over the beige carpeting that covered the floor of his bedroom.

Dan wasn’t sleeping. The glowing red numbers on his clock told him that it was almost 8:00 AM, but he didn’t have a reason to get up. That, and he didn’t want to. He wished that he was able to sleep a bit longer, but his mind simply would not allow it.

He stared at the silver framed picture of Anna on his nightstand and ignored the familiar pain that squeezed his heart whenever he thought of her, which was almost every minute of every day.

In the picture, he had just asked her to marry him when someone had snapped the photo. She had the biggest smile spread across her face, lighting up her eyes and causing her to glow with happiness. Her head was tilted upward, looking up at Dan, who wasn’t in the picture. He had just stood up from his kneeling position after asking his true love to spend the rest of her life with him.

It was the best moment of his entire existence. The moment he thought they would someday tell their children about. The moment that he thought had set the foundation they would spend the rest of their lives building on.

But now she was gone. Taken by a Reaper.

When her soul left her body, and this world, he had died inside. He was still here, but only in body. A thick blanket of anger and hatred, resentment and pity, enveloped him, squeezing tighter around his soul as each day without her passed.

Rolling over, away from the picture, he faced the wall opposite of the nightstand and shut his eyes. He knew everyone thought he should have begun to heal, that his grieving should be over by now, and that he needed to move on, but he couldn’t do that. She had been everything to him and now she was gone, taking his heart with her when she left. How was he supposed to heal a heart that wasn’t there anymore?

Ten minutes later, he realized that falling back asleep wasn’t in the cards this morning. He tossed the thin comforter aside and reluctantly sat up.

The bottle of whiskey he’d been working on the night before sat where he had left it … on the nightstand beside the photo of Anna. He knew he shouldn’t, that every time he lifted a bottle to his lips that it was ruining his life even more. The thing was, he didn’t care if it did or not.

Tipping the bottle back, he took a long pull. The amber liquid hit his tongue and throat, burning through the pain and, eventually, would make him forget that he was a total fuck up. At least for a while it would. He was beyond fixing. Beyond repair. Numbing his feelings and everything around him was the only way that he could possibly wade through the pile of shit that each day presented him.

He set the bottle back down beside Anna and headed for the shower. He might be an alcoholic and unable to cope with life, but that didn’t mean that he was going to be one of those addicts that lived in filth and never bathed or changed their clothes.

He ran the shower as hot as he could get it and let the steam fill the bathroom before he stripped out of his boxer briefs and stepped into the tub. He flinched a little at the temperature and then relaxed, allowing the scalding water to rain down over him. Maybe if it was hot enough, it would wash away the pain, the hate … all those emotions that had completely fucked him up. Yeah, purification by scalding shower, that would do it.

After dressing in a pair of dark jeans and a plain black tee shirt, he went to the dresser and opened the top drawer. Inside, several knives lay unsheathed, glimmering in the artificial light from above. Beside the blades were four guns of different sizes. He chose the smallest and set it on top of the dresser while he fitted the holster onto his belt. The holster also held sheathes for the knives. He filled the belt with weapons and then attached a strap-on sheath to his shin, where he placed yet another blade.

There was a time, not that long ago, that they didn’t have to worry so much about wearing weapons. Their dad always wanted them to be prepared, but he also wanted them to lead as normal of a life as they possibly could.

Which was hard to do when you could see souls.

When he was satisfied with what he was wearing and with his weapons selection, he ventured into the kitchen. He had bought this house before he asked Anna to marry him. It was a small two bedroom, with two bathrooms and a little yard. His place was a few miles south of Summer Hollow, but not far enough that he couldn’t be in town in a matter of minutes. The little house was painted an ungodly shade of green that he had sworn he was going to change right away, but then he lost Anna and didn’t give a fuck what his house looked like.

The house was nestled in a wooded area off one of the side roads that paralleled the highway from the base of Mount St. Helena all the way into Summer Hollow. He didn’t have any close neighbors and he preferred it that way. It was stupid to care about that, though. He wasn’t home that much anyway and the times he was there, he was usually passed out.

He made coffee and after searching through the fridge for something suitable for breakfast, he whisked up some eggs to scramble. It wasn’t a lot, but he wasn’t much of a breakfast guy.

He didn’t have anything planned for the day, so he thought that he would finally spend some time out in the yard trying to tame the overgrowth that had occurred from lack of maintenance. It had been a while since there had been a day when he wasn’t at the farmhouse, at the gym, doing something with the family, or working.

Sitting at the kitchen table, he ate slowly, watching the news on the little television that he had on the counter in the corner of the room. When he was done, he rinsed off his dishes and placed them in the dishwasher.

Before going outside, he went into the living room and collected the empty bottles that had collected over the past week. There were three of them. He found one on the coffee table, one on the table beside the couch and another sitting on the little stand by the door where he tossed his keys when he entered the house.

Each time he found multiple empties scattered around, it drove home the reality that he was a drunk and had really fucked up his life. But then, he would clean them up and it was out of sight out of mind.

No problem, right?

Other than the bottles, the living room was tidy. He had a nice beige couch and loveseat that were placed in the center of the room, both facing the forty-inch flat screen on the wall above glass entertainment center.

The walls were covered in photographs of his father and his siblings. A few were of both his mother and his father and, of course, there were photos of him with Anna. He had two paintings his sister Steph had given him as gift. Steph was an artist. Painting was her first medium, but she also liked to create weird sculptures from junk. Oddly enough, her work sold for far more than he ever would have thought. He had always teased her that her art was crap. Apparently some people loved that crap. He loved it too, even if he never told her.

He tossed the bottles in the trash and then headed outside. The day was a perfect fall day for northern California. Summer was hot as hell, but in the fall, it was basically perfect. Sometimes it rained a lot, but most of the time it was cool enough for a sweater and that was about it. He had never owned a heavy winter coat in his entire life.

The first thing he did was grab the weed whacker and eliminate the tall grass that had basically taken over the yard. He didn’t have a lawn, but the wild grass was about a foot tall everywhere but the driveway. When he was finished with that, he raked it and hauled it into two giant piles on either side of the house. Later, when it was allowed, he would spend a day burning it by slowly feeding it into a burn barrel.

Maybe he should sell the house and rent an apartment. It would certainly be a lot less maintenance. But he rather liked being away from people, away from life and having something that he owned. He could probably hire a kid to come out and do the upkeep once he got a handle on it. That might be a better solution.

He filed away that idea for later and finished up the last of the raking. By the time he was done, it was late afternoon and he was starving because he hadn’t stopped to eat lunch. He put his tools away and after going into the kitchen, he remembered that he basically had no food. So, after another quick shower, he changed into a clean pair of jeans and a different tee shirt. He was lacing up his boots when his cell buzzed.

Looking at the display, he saw that it was Eric, his boss.

“Hello,” he answered.

“Dan, you’re up tomorrow night.”

Holding the phone between his shoulder and ear he finished up tying his laces. “Yeah, what have we got?”

“Birthday party. They lady I spoke with specifically asked for a police officer.”

Dan shook his head. What was it with these women and officers? Seriously, ninety percent of the parties he did, that was what they asked for. The other ten were usually for a firefighter. He did get some weird requests for things like teddy bears, but that was rare. Occasionally they wanted a guy ‘like the ones in that movie,’ which was also totally doable. He preferred acting a part, though. It was easier to be someone else.

“All right, text me the address and I’ll be there.”

“It’s in Napa. I’ll send the details.”

“Got it. Thanks Eric.”

“And no drinking on the job. Save it for after, okay?”

“Of course,” Dan lied. He hung up and slipped on the long gray trench coat that he favored, and then headed out the door, not bothering to lock up behind him.

He rolled into Summer Hollow ten minutes later and pulled into the deli to grab a sandwich. He ate in the car where he could be alone while he inhaled the sub. When he was done, he wiped the crumbs away and drank about half the soda he’d ordered with the sandwich. He felt ten times better after getting something in his stomach.

A glance at the clock on the dashboard told him that it was 4:00 PM, early enough to hit the bar, since he didn’t have to work tonight. After that, he’d go for a workout and then pull a patrol in the graveyard and check on the family while he was there.

Not a day went by that he didn’t go over there to make sure all was okay. His baby sister, Lucy, was pregnant now. He had barely gotten used to the idea that she was with a Reaper, and now that Reaper was also the father of her child. The father of his niece or nephew.

Fucking great.

This wasn’t just any Reaper either. This guy was the son of the Reaper Empress. Yeah, he had renounced his title and given up everything about Reaper life, but that didn’t make it any easier to digest. There were still times he hated the guy simply because of what he was. Other times, he was grateful that his sister had someone who would literally kill for her. He had never met anyone who was that protective over another person in his whole life.

And then, just when he was getting used to Jack, Aiden stepped into the picture. That’s right, another Reaper that one of his sisters had fallen for. What in the hell was happening? It just didn’t seem right. They were evil. They consumed the souls that he was supposed to protect, and his sisters were in love with them.

He didn’t understand it at all.

The bar had several cars parked in the back, which was odd for afternoon. It usually wasn’t too busy until evening. He parked beside a beige sedan and stepped out of his car, slamming the door as he surveyed the parking lot. He could tell by the plates that only a few of these cars were from this county, and a couple of them were from Florida.

Fucking Florida. The home of the Reaper royalty.

His hand unconsciously went to his hip. When his palm met the bulge of his weapon, he felt a bit of relief wash over him and then he switched gears. A white, hot anger ripped through him. They just kept sending these assholes. Ever since they found out about that fucking prophecy, they’d  barely had a break from fighting for their lives.

He followed the sidewalk around to the front door. On his way, he spotted Liv’s van and Aiden’s SUV parked beside the curb.

Dammit. That was not good. Now he knew for sure that there were Reapers in there.

His suspicions were confirmed when he pushed the door open and found his family stationed in pairs throughout the establishment. Reese was behind the bar, a curious glare hardening her usually soft features.

She glanced up when the door opened and he caught her gaze. She nodded at him and then turned away, handing pints of beer to two men at the end of the bar. He entered, letting the door slam shut behind him and stood for a moment, contemplating if he should go to the bar or over to one of his siblings. He figured he better know what they were up to before he interfered, so he strode across the bar, weaving in and out of tables until he arrived by the bathroom doors where his brother Greg stood.

He stepped up next to his older brother and leaned against the wall, shoving his hands in his pockets. “So, why the hell didn’t I get a call about this?”

CHAPTER TWO

REESE

Someone had chosen a techno pop song on the jukebox and it pulsed throughout the dimly lit interior of Knight’s Bar. Reese finished pulling a beer from the tap and handed it to Mr. Alders, one of her afternoon regulars. “Here you go, Mr. Alders. Let me know if you need another.”

The older man nodded his head in thanks, but didn’t speak. He rarely did. She was used to all the different kinds of people who came into her bar. He was one who came just to be around people, but not necessarily to socialize. His wife passed the year before and ever since then, he would come in the afternoon and have a couple of beers while sitting alone and speaking only when he needed to.

Snatching up a damp white towel, she wiped the slick wooden surface of the bar where a customer had recently been. The crowd wasn’t too bad for this early. Usually it didn’t get busy until later. She could do without the techno pop assaulting her ears, though, that was for sure.

A quick check of the lemons, limes, cherries and olives told her she could use more lemons, so she gathered two lemons and a knife. She had just set the items on the cutting board when three men entered. They were dressed a little more country club than the regulars of Summer Hollow, so she knew they weren’t local. Plus, she knew pretty much everyone local.

Two of the men wore slacks and plaid button-up shirts. They almost looked like brothers, except one had blond hair and the other dark. Their friend had on jeans and a powder blue polo shirt. His hair was slicked back and looked like it might actually be hard to the touch.

Reese wanted to roll her eyes, but didn’t. She always wondered what kind of people were actually attracted to that sort of look. In any case, it didn’t bother her enough to dwell on it long. The three approached the bar and sat on stools near the far end.

“Hi guys,” she greeted them. “What are we in the mood for today?”

“I’ll take a beer.” The polo shirt guy eyed the tap as he spoke. “Give me whatever IPA you have there.”

She nodded. “And you two?”

“I’ll have what he’s having.” The dark-haired one nodded at his friend. And blondie, who had been eyeing the hard alcohol, tilted his head and thought for a moment before finally nodding. “I’ll have a Malibu rum and coke.”

Figures. He looked like a floofy drink kind of guy.

“Coming right up,” she told them and then glanced up at the door as it swung open again. This time, a man and a woman entered. They also were not familiar. They were dressed more casual than the previous patrons, but there was still something off about them.

The two strode up to the bar, several stools away from the guys she was currently serving, and stood. “I’ll be right with you,” she called out, finishing up with the beers. They merely nodded in response and began to whisper among themselves.

Quickly, she mixed the rum and coke, handed it to the guy and then hurried over to get their orders. They stuck with cheap beer in a bottle. Easy peasy. She popped the tops and handed them over. “Let me know when you’re ready for another,” she told them.

The woman thanked her and then turned back to her partner.

“Hey, bartender,” the dark-haired guy called out. She made her way back to them and stood across the bar. “Yes?”

“You wouldn’t happen to know a good place to stay in this town, would you?”

“The only place in town is the old motel. It’s on the right as you head south. It’s not glamourous, but they have clean sheets.”

“Great. We’ll check it out.” He sipped his beer and nodded.

“So, you guys aren’t from around here, are you?”

She watched him closely as he shook his head. No, we are on a trip through California, so we thought we’d stop in and see a friend who lives here. Hell, we might even stay for a while if we like it here.”

“Oh.” She raised a curious eyebrow. “Coming from out of state then?”

He nodded. “Yeah, nothing like a good road trip.”

“I wouldn’t know, I’ve never been anywhere but between here and San Francisco,” she casually admitted.

“You should try it sometime, there are some great sights to be seen.”

Reese shrugged and moved down the bar to her lemons. “I’ll pass, I’m good right where I am.” Then, she switched topics away from herself. “What friend? Do they know you’re here?” She didn’t worry about asking questions. She was a bartender and aside from listening, that’s what bartenders did.

“His name is Estmond.” As he spoke, he flinched as if something had bit him. Then he quickly raised his beer to his lips and drank.

The Estmonds huh. Something about that didn’t ring right with her at all. No one in that family traveled, except for Greg and that was because he worked in the Bay Area. Greg was back and forth a lot. It wasn’t out of the question that he would have friends there, but these guys said they were from out of state.

“There are several Estmonds who live in this town. Which one are you looking for? I could give them a call and let them know you’re here,” she offered.

“Oh no, we’re going to surprise him. That’s okay.” He smiled. “Thank you for the offer, though.”

Reese noticed his demeanor had gone from comfortable to anxious. She sliced her lemons and eyed the group as she did. She couldn’t peg it, but something was definitely off about these guys. She knew people. She spent every day listening to people spill secrets in a drunken slur. She listened to them lie, as if that would somehow make their lives better. She listened to truths from people who had no one else to talk to. She watched as some cheated on their spouses and then lied to the rest of the world. She watched, she heard, she kept silent, but one thing was for certain, she knew when someone was blowing smoke up her ass.

She shrugged. “If that suits you. I’m sure it will be a fantastic surprise.” She finished the lemons and dumped them into the container. With a fresh rag, she wiped off the cutting board and set the knife in the sink. Then, she discreetly pulled out her phone and set it on the counter. Leaning over, she quickly pulled up Hannah’s number and texted her.

There are some people in here asking about the Estmonds. Won’t tell me who they are looking for. Just thought you might want to know. It’s weird. I don’t like them.

She sent the message and left her phone sitting where it was on the counter. Standing, she checked and was happy to see that the guys at the bar were chatting amongst themselves, except now they looked like they might be arguing in whispers.

The couple at the table also had their heads in and were speaking low enough that she couldn’t hear what they were saying. Their drinks had barely been touched, so she didn’t call out to ask if they were ready for another one.

“Reese, can I get another,” Jane Lowery called from a table where she had her laptop sitting in front of her and was typing faster than Reese had ever seen anyone type.

“Sure thing, Jane.” She turned and began to gather the ingredients for a Long Island Iced Tea. Jane was an author and often came in to work on whatever book she was writing. She scooted her chair out and headed up to the bar.

Reese mixed the drink and slid it over to her. “Here you go.”

“Thanks, Reese.”

“How’s the book coming?”

Jane let out a long sigh, “Slower than I’d like, but I think it’s going to be a good one.”

“I can’t wait to read it,” Reese told her. She didn’t have to lie either. She read all of Jane’s books and knew for a fact that she was a fabulous storyteller.

“I’ll make sure you get an advanced copy,” Jane assured Reese as she lifted her drink. “Back to it now.”

Reese watched as Jane headed back to her table, sipped her drink and returned to hacking away at the keyboard.

Her phone chimed and she moved down the bar to check the text. It was from Hannah.

Coming to check it out.

Reese didn’t respond since she didn’t feel that she needed to. She attended to a few more customers who needed refills, keeping a close eye on the shady group, who had gone silent, now facing forward and sipping their drinks.

True to her word, ten minutes later, Hannah entered the bar with David, Liv, Greg and Steph close at her side. “Hey Hannah,” she called out, waving as she greeted them.

“Hi Reese,” Hannah responded, but her eyes were scanning the bar and Reese immediately sensed that something was wrong. David didn’t look as tense, but she could see Hannah gripping his hand and squeezing.

Greg took in the interior of the bar as well. When he met Reese’s gaze, she tilted her head to the side, indicating the three guys at the bar were the ones she had meant when she texted Hannah. Greg appeared to already know who the culprits were, but still offered her the slightest nod that he understood.

The three hadn’t even turned around yet, so they didn’t take notice of the Estmond family behind them. The two at the table, however, seemed to recognize one or more of them. They straightened in their chairs and the woman elbowed the man gently. He responded with a silent nod, never taking his eyes off of the Estmonds.

Shit. She sensed trouble brewing. Her gaze moved back and forth between the Estmonds, the couple, and the trio at the bar. Her hand crept underneath the counter to where her bat was propped up against the cabinet. Her fingertips caressed the wooden surface of the handle and she felt better simply knowing it was there.

Suddenly, the door blew open and Jack Walker, Lucy’s new man, entered with his friend and Liv’s new boyfriend, Aiden. Reese’s eyes slid over the two men and she couldn’t help but wonder where they had come from and how in the world Liv and Lucy had scored these smoking hot guys.

Maybe it was the fact that she never left Summer Hollow and she had known every guy here her whole life, but she found very few men in town attractive at all. Daniel Estmond was one of the only guys she’d ever found herself attracted to, but he had never even looked twice at her. Then, he’d met Anna and his world revolved around her. After Anna passed away, Dan had changed tremendously. He would probably never get over losing her.

As soon as Jack and Aiden stepped inside, relief flashed across Liv’s face. One of the three at the bar turned and Aiden glared at the man, a flicker of familiarity glimmering in his eyes. Aiden knew these men. In fact, she was positive that they all knew each other from somewhere.

Aiden rested his hand on Jack’s arm and then, after letting it fall, he marched toward the three men at the bar. Reese moved so that she was closer and could hear what they were saying.

“What the hell are you doing in here?” Aiden demanded, fists clenched at his side.

The dark-haired one glanced at Reese and then smirked. “Just stopping in to visit an old friend.”

Aiden only glared, his emerald eyes stone cold as he assessed the man before him. “You need to leave town. It’s pretty damn ballsy of you to show your face here after all that has happened.”

With a shake of his head, the man responded. “We will stay as long as we see fit.”

This time it was Aiden who threw a glance at Reese before turning his gaze back to the group. “You know damn well what I’m capable of. I think you better take my advice and just leave.”

The blond guy turned to Aiden and shook his head. “We don’t have to go anywhere and you don’t scare me. I don’t care what you were before, you are nothing now. We’re simply here to watch the precious Estmond family, nothing more. Last I heard, Summer Hollow was still open to tourists and you don’t get to choose who spends time here.”

Reese watched as Aiden’s jaw set and his fists clenched. Jack and Greg moved, one on each side of Aiden. “Why are you staying in Summer Hollow?” Jack growled.

The man didn’t respond, he simply met Jack’s gaze and very deliberately sipped his drink.

Obviously irritated, Jack raised his eyebrows and rubbed the stubble on his chin. “Listen man, you know who I am. There might be a time coming soon when you are going to wish that you answered when I asked you a question, because I never forget a face.”

The guy spread his hands out in explanation. “I don’t have to tell you anything.”

Reese tried to digest everything she was hearing. First of all, she wanted to know what in the hell Jack and Aiden had going on with their ‘You know what I’m capable of,” and ‘You know who I am.” Sounded like they were with the freaking mob or some shit.

Greg inhaled deeply and then exhaled a long sigh. “We can’t make you leave,” he told them in a low, intimidating voice that Reese had never heard Greg use before. “But, everyone in this bar is witnessing this encounter. If anything happens to anyone in my family … and I mean one fucking hair on their heads, I will unleash hell as you have never seen it before. Do you understand?”

What kind of shit had the Estmonds gotten themselves into? Sure, she had heard Greg threaten people before. When you messed with any one of those siblings the entire group came after you. But they were adults now and she hadn’t seen him threaten anyone since high school.

None of the men answered him. Greg turned, pointed to the couple at the table and said, “That goes for you, too. I know you heard me. One. Fucking. Hair.”

None of the newcomers seemed phased by his threat. That fact also shocked Reese. Everyone, even David, who was a police officer, acted as if this sort of encounter was a daily occurrence or something.

Jack took one step back and tilted his head. “Now, we are going to go stand over there while you finish your drinks, so mind your manners,” He glanced up at Reese and she saw apology in his deep dark eyes. “And don’t forget to tip your bartender generously.”

He backed away slowly and then turned, striding quickly over to Hannah, Steph and David.

Okay, no fight. She released the grip on her bat, but eyeballed them from the bar. Steph stood with her hands crossed under her breasts. She appeared nervous, but also angry. Everyone else was whispering and motioning with their hands.

Reese wanted to know what the hell was going on, but she had a feeling that she shouldn’t go over there and talk to them with these strangers watching her. Best to be neutral and let things simmer down.

Maybe she never should have texted Hannah about these guys. Maybe if she had left it alone, they would have just continued on their road trip.

Nah, she shook her head as she silently argued with herself, grabbing a fresh bar towel and wetting it. They had said that they were specifically looking for an Estmond. They knew that the family lived here in Summer Hollow, so it was probably best that she had alerted Hannah to the fact that they were here.

One thing was for sure, these guys were not friends with the Estmonds.

The tension in the room was still thick, but the Estmonds, David, Jack and Aiden had all taken up posts throughout the bar. None of the regular patrons appeared to notice or care. Some had witnessed the confrontation, but hell, it was a bar and confrontations were common.

She wiped the bar mindlessly while she thought over the details of what had just happened. The moment for reflection didn’t last long, though, as the dark-haired guy signaled to her. “Could I get another down here?”

With a nod, Reese set down the rag and made her way down the bar. Smiling, she grabbed his empty glass. “Same thing?” she asked.

He nodded, now appearing uncomfortable in her presence. Likely because she heard every single word that had been exchanged earlier. “Yes, that would be great.” He threw some bills on the bar.

She finished filling it and was just setting it down for him when the door burst open once again and Dan entered the bar. He let the door swing shut behind him and his gaze moved over the bar. He caught her eye, nodded, and then moved his line of vision from the guys at the bar to the two seated at a table, over the other customers and finally settling on his brother.

“Shit,” Reese whispered, more to herself than anyone else, but the group of guys in front of her swiveled on their stools and followed her eyes. She set the beer down on the bar and grabbed the cash off the bar. “Thanks,” she mumbled without taking her eyes off of Dan.

“Keep the change,” he mumbled back.

Dan’s face morphed into a mask of anger and he strode quickly through the crowded tables and over to his brother, who was by the bathrooms. She watched as they whispered hastily back and forth. Greg was calm, leaning up against the wall. Dan was moving his hands around as if he were trying to convince his brother of something.

Then, Dan turned and marched toward the bar. The two at the tables stood as he passed and the trio near Reese all got to their feet, because the look on Dan’s face said he wasn’t in the mood for talking.

“Son of a bitch,” Reese hissed under her breath and, once again, curled her fingers around the handle of her bat.

Dan approached the group, his siblings and the others following him. “You need to leave,” he began, pointing at the trio. “Right now.”

Blondie rolled his eyes. “Are we seriously going to go through this again?”

“Get up, get out of this bar and keep going until you are far from Summer Hollow,” Dan growled.

“Dan,” Reese tried. “It’s okay, there isn’t a problem here.”

He glanced at her from the corner of his eye. “Oh, you’re mistaken. There is a problem. These guys are a threat to my family and I want them gone.”

“Threat?” Reese asked, but Dan ignored her and stepped even closer to the dark-haired guy, so close that their bodies almost touched.

“Dan.” This time, her voice was low with warning.

“Step back.” The guy raised his hand and pushed Dan’s chest so that it forced him backward.

That was it. He had pulled the trigger. It happened so fast there was no stopping it. Dan reared back his arm and punched him. His fist made contact with the guy’s cheek bone, his head twisting to the side from the force.

And then it was on. The room exploded. The guy hit Dan back and grabbed the front of his jacket, lifting and then throwing him backward. Dan landed on one of the chairs and it snapped beneath his weight. He cursed and jumped to his feet, just as the trio went after the other Estmonds and their significant others.

Just as Dan got to his feet, Reese was grabbing her bat. “Knock it off,” she yelled as she slid easily over the bar, landing on the other side with a thud. Immediately, she intercepted the two strangers who had been at the table. They had been headed for the fight, but stopped in their tracks when Reese held up her bat in front of them.

“Don’t even think about it,” she warned, panting a little from the adrenaline.

The woman snorted. “What, are you really going to hit your customers with a baseball bat?”

“Of course I will. That’s what it’s here for.”

The man grabbed the bat with both hands and tried to yank it from her. “Hey,” Reese pulled back and then without thinking, kicked out her foot, finding his stomach.

“Shit.” He stumbled back a step, but didn’t let go of the bat.

Chaos was all around her, people yelling and fists flying. The next thing she knew, she saw a chair swing up and then down over the top of the guy’s head. Surprised, he cried out and released her bat so that he could reach for his head.

“Jane!” Reese shouted. “Move back. Get out of here.”

“Your welcome,” Jane shouted back, but didn’t appear to be going anywhere. The woman lunged at her. Reese had no choice. She swung the bat, making contact with her small shoulder. “Don’t come near me,” Reese screamed as the woman side-stepped several feet while clutching her shoulder.

This is bullshit, Reese thought as she swung her bat up so that it rested on her shoulder. Breathing hard, she turned and saw that everyone … well, not Mr. Alders, but everyone else in the bar was fighting now. This trio of strangers and the two she had been scuffling with, they were in deep shit. The townspeople were not having any of their own messed with.

“Get them out of here!” Reese called out above the noise.

With that, the three men were hoisted up and dragged toward the door. She bent over and took a few deep breaths as Aiden and a few other guys took care of the man and woman she had been fighting.

Man, I really need to get back in shape, she thought, realizing that even that little bit of physical activity made her feel like she’d climbed a freaking mountain.

Finally, the doors shut. All five strangers had been escorted out to the parking lot and, for a short moment, the entire bar was silent, everyone looking to everyone else as if searching for clues to what had just happened.

And then, Dan straightened his jacket and yelled, “Next round is on me! Everyone get a drink,” and the room erupted with cheers of victory.

CHAPTER THREE

DAN

Reese looked so pissed. No, she looked more than pissed. He had seen her upset before and it was nothing compared to the look on her face now. Why was he always fucking things up when it came to her?

After he announced that he’d pay for the next round, Reese had tossed her long dark waves over her shoulder and slid back over the bar without a word. He waited until she stashed her bat on the other side somewhere before he approached the bar and slid his card over to her. “Whatever they want, I’ll pay for it,” he told her softly.

Reese glared at him and took the card off the bar without looking away. “You have some explaining to do,” she told him, setting his card inside the cash register. “After you all clean up. I want my furniture replaced too.”

“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, they 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.”

“Yay! I can’t wait,” Heather squealed. “We’re going to have so much fun. You won’t regret it.”

“I know I won’t. Now let me get some coffee in me and get ready. I’ll be at your place in a couple of hours.”

“Great! See you then!”

“See you then,” Reese agreed and clicked off the line.

Well, there could be worse ways to spend her birthday and sitting around her apartment eating and drinking wine was one of those worse ways. She’d planned on working just to keep her mind off the fact that she was getting old. She didn’t want to get old.

After downing a cup of coffee, she took a shower and then changed into a fresh pair of jeans. She wore a little tank top with a purple and black flannel shirt over it. She slid her cowboy boots on and arranged her jeans over the top of them, then she twisted her hair up into a bun because she knew that Heather was going to do it for her later.

She pulled down her duffle bag and threw in some comfy clothes to sleep in, but also grabbed a few nice things and tossed those into the bag as well. She had no idea what Heather had planned, but usually a night out with her required dressing up to some extent, so she grabbed her little black dress off the hanger and selected a pair of heels to go with it. Then, after packing her toiletries, she was ready to go.

Before setting off over the mountain, she hurried down to the bar and put up a sign on the door that told everyone she would be closed for the night with no other explanation. She slid behind the wheel of her blue Jeep and realized that she had forgotten to prepare a to-go cup of coffee. On a normal day, she would have stopped by the bakery to grab a latte, but being that she was mad at the Estmonds, she was not going to do that.

She drove in silence. Working in a bar there was music and chatter all the time, so she cherished every silent moment she got. In the quiet, she was able to appreciate the beauty of where she lived.

And boy did she live in an amazing place. Many associated California with cities and drought, which the state did have, but Summer Hollow and the surrounding area had large looming oak trees, pine trees that were green all year round, creeks that flooded in the winter rain and almost went dry in the summer, lakes for summer swimming and grape vines everywhere you looked. Once you traveled over Mt St. Helena into the wine country, there were vineyards as far as the eye could see.

It was amazing.

She pulled up to Heather’s little house and shifted the car into park. Heather came running out of the house. Her golden blonde hair was cut short and the curls bobbed all around her head as she threw open her front door and ran across the pavement to meet her friend.

Reese hopped down from the driver seat of the Jeep and opened her arms to give Heather a hug. Her friend slammed into her and wrapped her arms around Reese’s neck. “Oh, my goodness, woman, we need to see each other more. These visits are getting to be too far in between.”

“They are,” Reese agreed. “We need to do better.”

Heather released her grip on Reese and hurried to the Jeep to grab Reese’s bag. “Okay, let’s go inside and get you ready.”

“What are we doing?”

“First thing, wine tasting, of course.”

Reese nodded. “Of course.”

Heather led the way into the house. “Then, we’re going to have dinner with the girls at that restaurant you like.”

“Mmmm, sushi.” Reese rubbed her hands together.

“I hate fish, but I’m doing this because I love you.”

Reese grinned. “I know you do. I love you back, but don’t act like that place doesn’t have American food on the menu.”

Heather pushed open the front door and threw Reese’s bag on the white, faux leather couch. “Whatever. I’m still only going there for you.”

“Well thank you. I’m excited to get something that doesn’t come out of a grocery store.”

Heather crinkled her face in horror. “Oh, my … don’t tell me you actually eat that?”

Laughing, Reese shook her head. “No, I was making a point as to how little selection we have in Summer Hollow.”

Her hands over her heart, Heather breathed a sigh of relief. “Oh thank god, I was seriously worried there for a moment. Okay, this way to the bathroom. We’re starting with hair and nails.”

“I know where your bathroom is.”

“Okay, then go there. I’ll be right back.”

Reese wandered into the large bathroom that was immaculate, aside from the long double sink counter that had makeup, hair product, hygiene items, pain reliever bottles and a selection of curling irons and hair brushes covering almost the entire space.

A chair, and a stool that stood taller than the chair, was set in front of the huge mirror. Reese shook her head as she sat down in the chair. Her own bathroom had a quarter of the items sitting out that Heather’s did. She considered herself pretty low maintenance, but that did not mean that she didn’t pay attention to her appearance. She took care of herself and also, the better she looked, the more tips she usually made. That fact was sad, but true.

“Okay.” Heather strode into the bathroom with a bottle of red wine and two glasses. “Here we go.”

Reese shook her head. “I’m not drinking if you’re drinking, someone needs to be sober to drive.”

Heather set the wine and glasses on the counter and then turned to face Reese, hands on her hips and a serious expression on her face. “Do you honestly think I would let either of us get into a car with someone behind the wheel whose been drinking? I have a designated driver lined up, don’t worry.”

Heather was right. Of all people, Heather was the only one who knew exactly what Reese’s father’s death had done to her. He was killed by a drunk driver. The man had owned a bar, but the fact was he didn’t even drink, so it was completely ironic that he had been hit by a man who had.

Reese ran the bar with strict rules about drinking and driving. She had zero issues taking a person’s keys if it meant it saved their life or someone else’s. All of the locals knew the rules and were prepared for it, she mostly had issues with the tourists who weren’t aware of her policy. She didn’t care if anyone had issues with it. If they refused to give up their keys, she called the SHPD the minute they walked out the door.

“I’m sorry. I should have known you would,” Reese apologized.

“Don’t worry about it, I understand why you’re careful.” Heather filled both glasses up half way and offered one to Reese. “Now, let’s get to work on this hair.”

Later, she sat admiring her friend’s work. The top half of her hair had been elaborately braided and twisted up onto the top of her head, while the rest hung down her back in shiny dark waves. Although she loved the hair, she was reluctant to change out of her comfortable clothing. She did anyway, though, since Heather had put on a tight little red number and black heels.

Careful not to mess up her hair, she changed into her black dress with the flared skirt. The top half of the dress had a sweetheart neckline and halter style strap that tied behind her neck. After slipping on the matching high heels and finding her purse, she was ready to go.

It wasn’t long after when two of Heather’s girlfriends that Reese knew fairly well showed up in a minivan. Shannon, one of the more serious of the bunch, was driving and had been declared the designated driver for the duration of the day. Shannon had a sort pinup-slash-librarian look going on, she wore a dark blue pencil skirt, heels and a white blouse with a big collar. Her hair was piled on top of her head and she had cat eye glasses to finish the look.

They went wine tasting, as Heather had said they would, and then dinner at Reese’s favorite sushi place. Reese assumed the night was over and she would go home or crash on Heather’s couch, but when they arrived back at the house, Heather disappeared into the kitchen.

While Heather was in the kitchen, Shannon dimmed the lights and Heather reappeared with a sheet cake that had roses on it and Happy Birthday Reese written in script with silver frosting. The candles took up more of the cake than Reese would have preferred, but that was okay. The thoughtfulness of her friends outweighed any thoughts about her age.

“Happy Birthday!” Heather called out as she carried the cake toward Reese, and then she began singing the happy birthday song. The others chimed in and clapped excitedly when it was over. Heather set the cake down on the coffee table in front of Reese and smiled. “Make a wish and make it a good one.”

Reese stared at the glowing flames of the candles and then closed her eyes. She wished that, whatever was going on with the Estmonds, that they would be safe and that their troubles would end. After her silent wish was made, she sucked in a breath and held it for a moment before blowing out all the candles.

“Good job, woman. Now let’s eat some of this delicious chocolatey goodness.” Heather lifted a large glimmering knife and wiggled it around. “Emma, bring those plates in from the counter.”

“I’ll get the wine while I’m in there.”

Reese shook her head. “I’m not sure I need more wine.”

“Up to you, but I’m definitely having more.”

Despite the concern about having more wine, Reese did have another glass while Heather cut the cake and distributed large chunks to everyone.

After she polished off the entire piece of cake and washed it down with wine, she leaned back contentedly on the couch and kicked off her heels. “I’m so full,” she murmured sleepily.

“Oh no you don’t.” Heather threw one of the decorative couch cushions at her. “There is no sleeping at nine o’clock on your birthday.” With that, she poked her index finger at the screen of her phone and pop music began blaring throughout the speakers that were wirelessly connected to Heather’s phone.

“Oh no, turn it off.” Reese covered her ears with her palms, pretending to dislike the song choice.

“Not a chance.” Her friend leaned back on the couch and crossed her legs as she got comfortable.

Reese shook her head. Heather always got her way. She was one of those friends that when she asked you to hang out, you were basically just along for the ride. In a way, it was nice because you didn’t have to worry about anything. You just show up and have a good time.

“Someone’s at the door,” Emma shouted.

Reese sat up straight on the couch, leaning forward as Heather let out a long sigh and lowered the volume of the speakers from her phone. “I have no idea who that could be. I didn’t invite anyone else.” She rose. “I’ll be right back.”

“Oh, hello officer,” Emma’s voice carried across the house. Reese sat up straighter. The cops! The music hadn’t been that loud. Why would the police be here?

“Hello, ladies. I’m following up on a noise complaint. You’re going to have to turn the music down.”

Reese didn’t move. She figured it was best to let Heather deal with that since it was her house. But, there was something familiar about the officer’s voice.

“I’m so sorry, we’ll keep it down,” Heather assured him.

There was a pause and then, “It doesn’t seem too crazy here. Are you having a party?”

“No, just a few of us girls celebrating a friend’s birthday.”

“Oh, is that so. Where is the birthday girl?”

Reese’s back stiffened. Why would he care about her, regardless of if it was her birthday?

“Right through there,” Heather directed the officer.

And then, they all appeared in the doorway of the living room and Reese felt her jaw fall onto the floor.

The cop was Daniel Estmond.

Time seemed to suspend as each of them recognized the other. Their eyes met and gazes locked. Reese inhaled sharply and tightened her grip on her wine glass. Why was Dan impersonating and officer? Was he actually a cop? And how could she have not known this? There were so many questions.

She opened her mouth to start demanding answers when Dan gave the slightest shake of his head and she read the message clearly in his eyes. He didn’t want her to say anything.

“So this is the birthday girl, huh?”

Heather, Emma and Shannon all nodded eagerly. And what was wrong with them. The three of them had suddenly gone total teen girl, with their star struck eyes and big grins.

“Well,” Dan lifted both hands and rested them near the buckle of the utility belt he wore. “I didn’t bring a present.”

“Oh, that’s okay …”

“I do like to dance, though.” He cut her off before she could finish her sentence.

“What?” Reese blinked, not understanding why he would say that. For one, it was completely unlike him. For two, if he was really a cop, that was totally unprofessional. But then, Dan clicked the clasp on his belt and removed it. Heather hit a button on her phone and changed the song to something with good beat and the girls all squealed.

Then it dawned on her. “Oh, my god. No!”

Dan wasn’t a police officer at all. He was a stripper! The wine glass she was holding shook as her hand trembled. Dan began dancing, moving slowly toward her while staying in sync with the music.

No, no, no. This could not be happening. Her eyes met his, and she found that his initial shock must have worn off because he grinned mischievously and winked. What a bastard. He was actually going to go through with this.

The girls giggled and clapped as they hauled chairs over and placed them beside the couch. “Happy Birthday!” Heather cried out as Dan began unbuttoning his police uniform shirt.

Reese couldn’t speak. She felt frozen in place. It was the oddest thing. She felt more uncomfortable than she had probably felt in her entire life, but at the same time, she couldn’t look away.

He peeled off the shirt slowly, exposing a physique that Reese had definitely not expected. One thing was for certain, he obviously worked out … a lot. His abdominal muscles rippled as his body moved and his biceps flexed, revealing arms that could probably lift her up as if she weighed nothing.

He neared closer to her and she leaned forward to set the now empty wine glass on the coffee table. Oh please lord, she prayed. Do not let this go any further.

Heather jumped up and quickly shoved the coffee table out of the way. Then, she grabbed another of the dining room chairs and lugged it into the living room, placing it near Dan.

He was now directly in front of Reese. She felt heat rush to her face when he held out his hand for her to take. Unable to speak, she shook her head nervously.

Dan must have had experience with nervous birthday girls, because he bent over and reached out, grasping her hand and tugging gently until she was forced to her feet. Once she was standing, Dan moved in closer, circling his hips all the while.

He took one of her hands in each of his and raised them up while he moved in so close that their bodies were almost touching. Then, he brought her hands down and placed them on the bare muscles of his chest.

Her face flamed. For the love of god, make it stop, she thought. But, somewhere deep inside, she didn’t want him to stop. A deep curiosity that she didn’t know she had wanted to see more of him.

He guided her hands over his body, downward until she felt the hard ripples of his abdomen beneath her fingertips. Unconsciously she inhaled a sharp, quick breath and hoped he couldn’t see how much she enjoyed that. He released her hands and pointed at the chair. “Sit.”

She shook her head, still not wanting to speak.

“Come on birthday girl.” He moved in closer, his body touching hers as he circled around her. His hips grazed against her and so did his chest when he leaned in and whispered, “I didn’t know it was your birthday.”

She closed her eyes and let out a long breath before answering. “I didn’t think I needed to tell you. I’m mad at you”

“Let me make it up to you.” He moved her hair away from her neck. She felt his hot breath on her throat and tried to move away, but he quickly took her by the waist, his hands holding her gently but firmly in place.

“Make it up to me how? By stripping for me? Who the hell do you think I am?”

“Shhh.” He brought a finger to her lips.

She swatted his finger away. “Don’t you shush me!”

Ignoring her anger and embarrassment, with his hands still on her waist, he pushed her down into the chair. Frustrated, Reese began to protest, but the girls screamed in delight and clapped their hands.

A new song had begun. Dan bent over her again and whispered, “Just let me work.” Then, he backed up into the room where he had more space and in one swift movement, he literally ripped his pants from his body.

For what felt like the thousandth time since he’d arrived, Reese’s jaw dropped and her entire body grew warm. Another loud chorus of cheers from the girls erupted, but Reese couldn’t join them. She would have never guessed those pants had Velcro or whatever on them and now that they were lying beside the very chair she sat on, she could only stare at the man in front of her as he performed.

It was impossible not to look.

She had known this man her entire life and sure, she had seen him with his shirt off before. They grew up together in a small town. But, now, it was as if she was seeing how well built he was for the first time. And boy, did he know how to dance. She hadn’t had a clue that this depressed, alcoholic of a man, had this sort of enthusiasm inside of him.

Suddenly, he lunged toward her and thrust his hips forward several times. Gasping, Reese gripped the seat of the chair and sat up straighter, raising her eyes up to his after she realized she had been staring at the tiny thong that was the only thing he still had on.

And maybe she had been thinking about what the thong was covering as well … but how could you not when it was right there.

Oh good lord, he was coming even closer. Her eyes caught his as he straddled her, his legs on each side of the chair with her in between, and his thong right in front of her face. She silently begged him to stop, hoping that he knew how uncomfortable he was making her.

He appeared to get her message loud and clear, but not care one little bit. He grinned and winked, then gently placed his hand on the back of her head as he lowered himself down into her lap and thrust his hips again.

The girls went wild, whooping and cheering. But, the sound was all background noise now. All Reese knew was that Daniel Estmond was nearly naked and on top of her. She should definitely not be aroused by this and when it started, she didn’t think that would have been possible at all. But, it was.

By the time Dan’s performance was over, she had a feeling that she would be red from embarrassment forever. He left her to go pay the other girls some much awaited attention, so she took the opportunity to escape to the kitchen.

In the usually pristine kitchen, which was now cluttered with dishes and snacks, Reese hurried to where the wine sat uncorked on the counter. She had forgotten her glass on the coffee table, so she heedlessly lifted the bottle to her lips and began chugging down the red liquid.

This was insane. Maybe she’d passed out and it was some kind of wine induced dream. Whatever it was, it couldn’t be real.

The music volume lowered and she heard the sound of voices from the living room. Oh shit, he was finished. She looked around the room, realizing that there was only one doorway in and out and that escaping to the bathroom or outside was now out of the question.

She took another swig, finishing off the last bit of what was left in the bottle and then set it on the counter. Nervously, she smoothed her dress down with her fingertips and hoped that he would leave without them having to speak.

How would she ever speak to him again?

The girls appeared, piling into the kitchen with Dan right behind them, a giant piece of birthday cake on a plate in his hand. He looked up from the cake when they entered and found her basically cowering against the counter.

“Hey birthday girl, you okay?”

“Yeah.” She glared at him. “Fine. Just getting some wine, but we’re out.”

A mischievous twinkle glimmered in his dark eyes. “Sorry, I don’t have any wine but, I have some whiskey in the car.”

Her glare hardened. “I bet you do.”

Smiling, he lifted a forkful of cake to his lips. “I’ll go get it for you.”

“No, no need.”

“Are you sure?”

Heather had been glancing back and forth between them. “We have more booze. What kind of host do you think I am?” She crossed the kitchen to the pantry and disappeared inside shaking her head and mumbling what sounded like, ‘sheesh.”

“Maybe you could just put your clothes back on.” Reese suggested, trying desperately not to look at his crotch.

“Why? I’m comfortable and they don’t seem to mind.” He gestured to Emma and Shannon. Shannon pushed her glasses up onto her nose further and nodded her head. “Definitely don’t mind.”

He licked the frosting off the fork. “See.”

Heather appeared before she could further insist that he dress. She glanced at Reese and Dan and set a bottle of wine down on the counter before cautiously asking, “Do you guys know each other?”

“No.” Dan answered before Reese could get a word in. “I’m sure I’d remember if we’d met.”

Reese kept silent, letting his lie be enough to sate Heather’s curiosity.

Heather shrugged. “You guys just seemed like you were familiar.”

Reese turned away from Dan’s gaze, which still twinkled with mischief. “I need more wine.”

CHAPTER FIVE

REESE

Bang, bang, bang. The obnoxious pounding on her door seemed to match the pounding in her head.

She was hungover. It had been a really long time since she had enough alcohol to get even the slightest touch of a headache in the morning, but this time she had a full blown hangover, complete with nausea, headache and a weak body.

Dammit. “I’m coming,” she groaned, even though she knew well enough that whoever was out there couldn’t hear her. She had passed out fully clothed on her couch, so she hoped whoever it was wasn’t someone she needed to impress.

The night before, Dan had flashed her a huge smile and wished her a happy birthday before leaving Heather’s house. After that, Reese drank even more wine and then had switched to a bottle of vodka that she’d found in her friend’s pantry. It was pretty much downhill after that, an hour later after throwing up they had tried to get her to go to bed, but Reese had insisted she needed to go home, even if she had to walk, which she had tried to do at one point.

So, Shannon drove and all the girls helped Reese up the stairs and into her apartment. Reese had passed out before they left, so she had no idea if any of them were even still in the apartment. Though, they probably would have heard whoever was banging on the door as well.

She staggered across the living room in her bare feet, wishing she hadn’t slept in her dress.

Bang, bang, bang.

“What!” she cried out as she yanked the door open.

“Jeez, you don’t have to yell.”

She blinked and looked up at the ceiling. Great, just great. It was Dan.

He stood there, dressed in jeans and sporting that trench coat he always wore. He had one of those paper cup holders with two coffees balanced in one hand and a shiny white box in the other.

“What the hell are you doing here?” she asked as he strode into the house.

“I brought you coffee and doughnuts from the bakery.”

Reese rolled her eyes and shut the door. “Are you trying to bribe me not to tell your family about your secret stripping job?”

He set the coffee and doughnuts down on the table in the corner of the room. “As a matter of fact, that is exactly what I’m doing. And you look like shit by the way. Have some of this coffee. I told Liv to make whatever you usually have.”

“Thanks, asshole. You’re part of the reason I look like this.”

Dan plucked one of the coffees from the holder and handed it to her. “Don’t blame me. You’re the one who drank a couple gallons of wine.”

She accepted the coffee even though the mere thought of it made her stomach churn. “Ha ha.”

“Did I tell you how hot you looked in that dress last night?” He nodded, indicating the little black number that was now basically a wrinkled piece of fabric. She didn’t even want to think about what her hair looked like. “You don’t have to butter me up, I won’t say anything to your family … or anyone, but you didn’t have to actually…” Her voice trailed off.

“Actually what? Dan raised an eyebrow in question.

“Dance, or whatever you call it.” She felt the heat rise into her face as she thought about his naked body and how close he had been to her. She was never going to be able to look at him the same again.

“It is dancing and I did have to do it. You weren’t the one paying for the job to get done.”

“Dan, seriously. That was embarrassing.”

“I’m sorry if my body gets you hot and bothered.”

“For fucks sake,” she cried out. “That is not what I meant. I mean that I’ve known you for way too long to watch you strip dancing, and then you … you directed it all at me.”

Dan flipped open the box of doughnuts and selected one with chocolate glaze. He bit into it and stared at Reese while he chewed. “I think you’re lying.”

“Lying about what?”

“About being hot and bothered. I know you were turned on.”

“Are you kidding me?” How were they even having this conversation right now? And the worst part was that she was lying. She couldn’t even look at him right now without seeing the muscular body that was hiding beneath the clothes he wore. “I am not lying.”

“Yeah you are, but you aren’t very good at it.”

“Shut up.” She pulled out a chair and sat down at the table. “Damn, my head is freaking pounding.”

“I’ll get you some pain killers. Where are they?”

She wasn’t going to fight with him about it since she knew she could really use them. “Bathroom cabinet, top shelf.” She gestured in the direction he should go.

“I’ll grab some water to go with that,” he called as he crossed the apartment from the bathroom to the kitchen. When he returned, he had a tall glass of tap water and handed her two tablets. “Here you go.”

“Thanks.” She took the tablets and the water, downing them immediately. “I said I wouldn’t tell anyone. You can go now.”

“Don’t kick me out. We have more to talk about.” He pulled out the chair across from her and sat down.

“No, we don’t have any more to talk about. I’m angry with you guys for lying to me about that shit in the bar and now this whole secret stripping thing. I’m done, Dan.”

For a moment, Dan didn’t say anything. He removed the lid from his coffee and then lifted it up and took a few swallows. When about an inch was gone from the top, he set it back on the table and removed his flask from his coat. He twisted the cap off and poured enough into the coffee that it filled it back up to the brim.

“Nice, Dan.”

He looked up at her as he replaced the flask. “What? It’s no secret and I honestly don’t need your approval.”

She rolled her eyes and sipped on her own coffee. “I just think you’re better than all this.”

“So does my entire family.”

“Then why? Why do you keep drinking? And I know you have more potential in you for a job other than stripping.”

“Exotic dancing, thank you. And I keep drinking because it makes everything feel less shitty. Plain and simple.”

“Don’t you think that it is actually the opposite?” Reese countered. “I mean, it may feel like it’s making things less shitty, but it’s probably the thing making your life shitty. Dan, there are so many things you could be doing with your life. You need to try and stop drinking at least.”

“I don’t want to.”

“Find a reason to want to.” She leaned forward. “Look at me. I know what it’s like to lose someone. Not a partner, but when my dad died, I lost my entire life. He was my rock, my best friend and the man who raised me to be the woman I am. I felt like nothing without him, and I still do. There are ways to get over this, but the longer you keep doing this to yourself, the longer it will take to end it.”

“I don’t want to talk about this, Reese.”

“Yeah, you and everyone else. No one wants to talk about a damn thing and now you all want me to keep secrets when I don’t even know what some of the secrets are.” Frustrated, she smacked the table with her palm. “This is bullshit.”

Dan sighed. “You know what I do for work now, that’s something. It’s easy money and it helps leave time for my other job.”

“What other job?”

Dan was silent. He sipped his coffee and set it back down.

“Yeah, there we go. That one is a secret, too.”

“It’s not a secret. I work online.”

She knew he was still lying. “Have you forgotten what I told you? I’m a fucking bartender, you can’t lie to me. I know when people are lying.”

“Look, Reese.”

She shook her head. “No, I don’t even want to know anymore. I really wanted to think that after knowing you forever that you and the rest of your family would actually trust me.”

“We can’t …”

“I know, you can’t tell me because it’s dangerous or some shit like that. I don’t care, okay.” She shoved her chair out and stood. “Thanks for the coffee, but you need to go.”

He sat there, unmoving, as if he were contemplating telling her. For a moment, Reese believed she could see the soul inside the man. He was broken and hurt, but not beyond repair. Yet, even though she knew this about him, she told herself she didn’t need someone with that kind of baggage. She needed friends who had their shit together.

And now she had to cut ties with the whole Estmond family, because there was definitely something going on there that she didn’t want to be a part of. The only problem with that was that they lived in the tiniest town on Earth and it was pretty hard to avoid people.

“Okay, I’ll go.” Dan rose and gestured to the doughnuts. “You can keep those. There is an apple cinnamon muffin in there for you, too.”

“Thank you.” She crossed the room to the door and yanked it open.

He stopped in front of her and stared her right in the eye. “I’m sorry about last night. I’m sorry that I drink and I’m sorry for what happened in the bar, but I’m not going to be sorry for being me. I know that I’m a fuck up, but I’m not hiding in the shadows either. I don’t care that everyone knows I’m an alcoholic. It helps me and that’s all I care about … numbing the pain.” He stepped through the doorway. “And yeah, I don’t work online, that was a lie.”

With that, he strode away quickly, disappearing from vision.

Letting out a long breath, she leaned back against the door. Nope. She couldn’t get more involved with anyone in that family. They had to keep their problems out of her bar and they could all stay away from her.

But at the same time, friends didn’t run. Friends helped each other with their problems. Friends were loyal and understanding, they were supposed to be forgiving.

She wasn’t being any of those things.

CHAPTER SIX

DAN

Dan left Reese’s place and drove out to the farmhouse. He was angry. Not at Reese, but at himself and at the damn family business. He had lied to everyone he’d ever known for his entire life, it should be easy to blow this off and let it go. But, for some reason, this time was different. This time, he resented that he had to lie to Reese about anything.

Seriously though, what was he supposed to tell her when she asked about his job? That he goes out and walks around a graveyard protecting souls as his other job, and it pays absolutely zero, so stripping pays the bills.

No thank you. She would think he was more bat shit crazy than she already did.

The other question nagging at him was why he cared so much what she thought. It wasn’t an issue to let everyone else they had known all their lives believe their lies, but with Reese, it felt wrong.

He had gone over there this morning not only to make sure she wouldn’t tell his family, but also to get a read on how she felt about what had happened. He’d had fun taunting her, but he wanted to make absolutely sure that he hadn’t misread what he’d seen in her eyes. If that was the case, he had a lot of apologizing to do.

Thank goodness, when she had opened the door, he didn’t see resentment or hatred. Sure, she was hungover and still pissed about the other stuff that happened, but underneath the shell of anger, he saw understanding and compassion.

The farmhouse was fairly quiet when he got there. He found Lucy in the kitchen, the huge book that bore their family legacy open on the table. She had her legs pulled up onto the chair with her and a glass of what appeared to be orange juice also on the table in front of her.

“Hey Luce, what’re you up to?”

She straightened and looked up at him. “Looking for clues.”

“Clues?” He opened a cabinet, selected a coffee mug and filled it with the steaming black liquid that waited in the pot.

His sister sighed and leaned back, stretching her arms as she did. “I need to know what the Chosen One is supposed to do to fulfill this prophecy. I hate sitting around waiting for something to happen.”

Dan pulled a chair out and sat down across from her. “Find anything?”

“No.” She shook her head. “There is literally nothing here. Not a damn thing. All this is, is recounts of the lives of the past Keepers in our family. Nothing more about any prophecies.”

“Sorry, I know this sucks. It sucks for all of us.”

She closed the book and brushed a lock of dark red hair away from her eyes. “I am having a baby. I can’t afford to sacrifice anything now. I have to make something happen so that we can end this.”

“I know, Luce.”

“Every day feels like we sit stagnant, never getting anywhere.”

Dan thought for a moment before answering her. “I think this is one of those things that time has to play out. Think about it, you would still be the Chosen One, even if you didn’t know that you were.”

She nodded. “That’s true. I just wouldn’t know that the prophecy was already on its way to being fulfilled.”

Dan opened his jacket and withdrew his flask. Thoughtfully, he twisted the cap off and lifted it to his lips. Lucy stared at him, criticism clear in her eyes, but she didn’t say anything about it. “Exactly. So, there is probably nothing that you can do at this point. Except keep yourself and the baby safe.”

“But if I knew why they wanted me, why they wanted us out of the picture. That would help me understand.”

He tucked the flask back into his jacket. “Good luck with that.”

“I just feel like I’m missing something huge.” She sipped her juice and set it back down. “I miss coffee. Jack won’t let me have more than one cup a day because it’s not good for the baby. He’s reading books on pregnancy.”

Dan didn’t much care for Jack at first, but the man had more than once proved his loyalty to their family. And one thing was certain, if Jack was over the top about protecting his sister, he could only imagine how much more that would intensify when it came to his kid. “I think he’s going to be a good dad.”

Lucy grinned. “What? Did I just hear you actually compliment Jack?”

“Don’t get used to it.” Dan rolled his eyes and blew it off. “I’m just saying that it’s obvious to everyone that you and the baby are his whole world, I can’t find any fault in that.”

“That much is for sure,” she agreed.

They sat there for a moment. The comfortable silence of home and family enveloped him with warmth as he sipped his coffee and stared out the window. The day was brisk and sunny. In the distance, rays of sunlight filtered through the oaks and pines in the graveyard, leaving bright streams of light shimmering over the markers.

That graveyard symbolized so many aspects of his life. It was his history, his family, his duty, his destiny. He had gained love through the guarding of souls, but the very same thing had brought him his greatest loss. Everything, good and bad, in his life revolved around the fact that he was a Keeper.

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 liars. 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 her 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.

He couldn’t believe that they would actually force him to stay home because of his drinking. What kind of bullshit was that? He was a drunk, but he functioned just fine and it had never interfered with any of their missions before. Why now?

He could supply them with the funds they needed and they still didn’t want him to go. He had never felt more betrayed by his family than he did at that moment. He wanted to help protect them. He wanted to be there for them and they were denying him.

Because he drank and he hated Reapers. They all drank, every single one of them, and he was the only one who ever got bitched at for it. Granted, he knew that he was an alcoholic and none of them were, but still, it wasn’t like he was the only one who had ever flown off the handle and made mistakes.

They all made mistakes.

He bent his head and pressed it into the steering wheel. How could they tell him that he couldn’t go? It wasn’t that he wanted to go put his life in danger, but he definitely wanted to help his family. And he was good at helping protect his family, whether he was drunk or not.

“Assholes,” he mumbled, turning the key and shifting the car into drive. “Fucking assholes.”

He drove slowly through town, glancing at the bar as he passed and wondering how Reese was feeling. She worked pretty much every day and hardly ever closed the bar. She didn’t trust anyone else to work it, so she was the only one who was ever behind the bar. If she had to take time off or there was an emergency, she just shut the place down.

The lights were on and several people stood out on the sidewalk smoking and chatting. Maybe tomorrow he would try to talk to her again. Maybe she just needed a few days to cool off.

He laughed out loud even as the thought rolled through his mind. Right, Reese was not one to let this stuff go. She was definitely a grudge holder, so he was going to have to stick it out until she was done being mad.

And that could be a while.

CHAPTER EIGHT

REESE

In the early afternoon, before opening, the bar was always silent. This was the time Reese loved most. She would enter the establishment that was once her father’s and let the silence envelope her as she stared the bar her father had crafted with his own hands, at the furniture that he had carefully chosen for the room, at the jukebox that he had haggled for with the owner of a pawn shop in the city. These were the things that made up Knight’s Bar, and each day when she looked at them, it reminded her of why she loved this place so much.

Her mother had hated the bar. She had hated Summer Hollow, too. She had hated those things so much that she had left them when Reese was just seven years old. Reese would love to say that she didn’t think about her mother very often, but she did. She thought about her every single day when she walked into the bar and stood there in silence, remembering why her father had loved the place so much. It was then that she would remember that her mother hated it enough to leave her family and her home.

She would never do that.

Sure, she didn’t have a family and didn’t plan to anytime soon, but she would never abandon her family. Families stick together.

Even as the thought struck her, she knew that she should give the Estmonds another chance. The people of Summer Hollow, the people she had grown up with, they were her family … the Estmonds were her family.

She began lifting the chairs off of the tables and setting them on the floor. If the Estmonds were in trouble, she needed to help them. The problem was that they wouldn’t tell her what the hell the trouble was, so she either had to trust them and understand that they were keeping it secret from her for a good reason, or she could continue to shut them out.

She really hated shutting them out.

If she decided to forgive them, she had to make peace with herself about the lying. They knew that she knew they were lying and they still stuck to their story, so that meant that whatever it was had to be important enough for the whole family to keep their mouths shut, even when they had been caught.

But, she wanted to know. The secrecy was killing her. That was another thing. She would have to come to terms with the fact that she would be blindly accepting that they were the ones in the right. She really hoped they hadn’t done anything really horrible.

She was crouched behind the bar, stacking the glasses that had been sitting in the dishwasher overnight when she heard the back door open. The front door was still locked since she hadn’t officially opened the bar yet.

“We’re closed,” she yelled. “Come back in an hour.” When no one answered, she stood up so that she could yell at whoever was wandering around. She didn’t see anyone. Maybe they had turned around and left when she’d hollered at them.

“Weird,” she whispered to herself, then bent back down to finish what she was doing. Not a minute passed when she swore that she heard the floorboards creak on the other side of the bar. No, they hadn’t left. There was definitely someone in the room with her.

Quietly, she felt her back pocket for her phone and then bit her lip to hold back a curse when she realized it wasn’t there. She had left it on the edge of the pool table earlier.

Well, I guess we’re gonna have to do this the old-fashioned way, she thought as she reached over and wrapped her fingers around of the handle of her bat.

“I know someone’s in here,” she called out. “If you’re trying to prank me, now is definitely not the time to be doing something like that.” After what happened the other day, she was taking this kind of thing seriously. The Estmonds had put their friendship in jeopardy by lying to her and claiming that that it was too dangerous for her to know what was really going on. She hadn’t expected that danger to be real, but she wasn’t dumb enough to take chances.

Again, no one answered.

“Fine, don’t answer me.” Slowly, cautiously, she gripped her bat and stood. As she rose, she scanned the room, searching for signs that anyone was present.

Nothing. All was silent.

Keeping her feet soft, she walked the length of the bar and rounded it. She kept the bar at her back as she went the opposite way on the other side. The last thing she wanted was anyone sneaking up on her from behind.

She held up bat up, gripping the handle tight but leaving her elbows loose in case she needed to swing it. “Come out now and I might not beat the shit out of you.”

Silence still hung heavy in the air. Only the sound of her breathing and soft footfalls could be heard. Step by step, Reese crept through the bar toward the pool table, hoping she could get to her phone before anyone showed their face.

Her heart beat loudly in her chest, banging away so loudly that she was sure the intruder could hear it. Instinct told her that she was absolutely not alone and that the person in there with her did not have good intentions.

When she was only a few steps away, her bat in her right hand, she turned slightly and stretched out her left hand, reaching desperately for her phone. Her fingers were within inches of contact when a figure stepped out of the corner behind the giant cardboard cutout of a beer bottle.

It was the dark-haired guy from the other night … one of the ones who had faced off against the Estmonds. He had a dark blue hoodie pulled up over his head, but she recognized his facial features, even with the scabbed up scratches on his cheek and bruised eye.

Reese left the phone and gripped her bat with both hands, holding it in a position ready to strike. “Get out of here! I just called the police.”

The man shook his head and tsked her. “You don’t have to lie, Reese. We both know you didn’t.”

Dammit, he knew her name. He must have heard it the other night. “Get out,” she growled.

He ignored her demand and took two paces forward. In turn, Reese backed up and regretted doing it as soon as she realized that she just signaled that she was frightened, which would give him the upper hand. “Why are you here?” she demanded.

He tilted his head thoughtfully. “You heard everything the other day. I’m sure the Estmonds told you all about us.”

“They told me nothing. Now get out.” Sweat trickled down her back and fear had her almost shaking, but she held fast to her bat, hoping that she could defend herself.

“Lies again.” He moved closer.

“I told you, they didn’t tell me a damn thing and I was too busy working to hear anything that you guys were talking about before the fight.”

“We can’t take any chances.”

Her heart skipped a beat and goosebumps erupted all over her skin. “What … what does that mean? Are you talking about killing me?” Her voice was far more frantic than she had intended.

“Like I said, we can’t take any chances.” With those last words, he lunged at her. She’d been prepared for that and swung the bat before he got near enough to make contact with her. The bat nailed him in the shoulder, but only caused him to stumble a little bit. She rallied, swirling the wooden shaft and swung again, this time aiming for the head.

Anticipating her move, he had ducked in time and went for her in a crouch as the bat sailed through the air. He rammed into her with such force that it knocked her to the ground. Her grip on the handle came loose on pure reaction when his body hit hers.

She landed on the floor with him almost on top of her. “Get off of me!” She curled her fingers into fists and tried to punch him, but she couldn’t get her arm back far enough for it to do any good. He was straddling her, grappling to get ahold of her arms and pin her down. There was no way she could hit him hard enough to impact, so she went old school elementary and used her index finger to poke him in the eye.

“Fuck!” The Reaper grabbed his eye, releasing her and losing his guard for just a moment. Reese took the opportunity and used as much force as she could to push him off of her. He fell to the side and she flipped onto her hands and knees, crawling away as fast as she could.

It wasn’t any use though. He recovered quickly. She heard him get to his feet and from behind, he grabbed her shirt, yanking so hard that she heard the front of it rip. He lifted her up and before she knew it, her feet were off the ground and she was sailing through the air.

She landed hard on top of the pool table. Every bone and muscle in her body was screaming in pain. He didn’t give her anytime to reach for her phone or to run, he was there, looming over her.

“I really don’t want to have to do this. But it’s what she wants.”

“Who? What …” before she could get anymore words out, the man reached down, his huge fingers wrapping around her throat.

Holy shit, he really was going to kill her. Her legs kicked uselessly against him, searching for any impact with his body. Her hands instinctively went to where his was wrapped around her neck. She tried desperately to pry his fingers away, but it was useless, he was insanely strong and for the first time since she realized there was someone in the bar with her, she actually feared for her life.

Fuck that, though.

Nope. She was a fighter and she was absolutely not going to let this bastard choke her out without fighting back. Removing her hand from his, she reared it back and then viciously clawed at his cheek.

“Dammit! You bitch.” He tried to grab her hand with his free one but she used her other hand and attacked in the same manner. She could feel the lack of air now, it made her dizzy, but the fight or flight was kicking in full force. She could not give in. Not a chance.

He slapped her with his hand still firmly squeezing her throat. If she could have screamed she would have, but only a muffled squeal emerged from her throat.

“Do that again and I’ll do worse than throttle you. I can make the pain last a very, very long time and you will think dying this way would have been a blessing.”

She wanted to tell him to fuck off.

And then, a miracle happened. Her fingertip grazed something cool and hard. Of course! The cue ball was still on the table. To distract him, she blew as hard as she could and all the saliva that had built up in her mouth from not being able to swallow flew onto his face.

“You fucking…”

He wasn’t able to finish because her fingers wrapped around the cue ball and she used all the force she could muster as she brought her arm around and slammed the cue ball into the space by his ear.

His hand released and curses streamed from his mouth. Sucking in air, she wanted to take a moment but knew that she didn’t have a moment. She sat up and kicked him in the balls, simultaneously switching the cue ball to her other hand and cracking him in the head with it. This time, he let out a gurgling scream and she knew she might have a chance.

Choking now, she rolled, sliding off the table and went for her phone. Grabbing it, she hauled ass, not looking back to see if he was following her. Hauling ass at the moment happened to be more of a stumbling run, but she was moving and that was all that mattered. She pulled up the dialer, tapping out 911 as she ran.

She hurried to her Jeep rather than her apartment. She needed to get away. Fast. She got in the Jeep and realized she didn’t have her keys.

Shit!

“911 what’s your emergency.”

“I was attacked. I’m leaving now. There’s someone in my place. My bar. Knights Bar. He tried to strangle me.”

“Do you need medical attention ma’am?”

“I … maybe … probably. I don’t know. But send the cops to get this guy. Hurry!”

“Address.”

Reese choked out the address and they assured her that someone was on the way. She didn’t have her keys and couldn’t go anywhere, so she slipped out of the Jeep, cautiously glancing around the parking lot.

Seeing no one, she ran around the corner and almost ran right into Liv. “Reese! Slow down!”

Reese, relieved to see her, no matter how she felt about the Estmonds at the moment, bent over and began to sob.

“Oh my gosh, Reese, what’s wrong?”

No one that she could remember had ever seen her cry with the exception of when her father died. So she could understand the shock. Liv dropped her purse on the ground and took Reese by the shoulders, helping her to stand straight. When she did, Liv’s eyes widened and fury ripped through those brown eyes. “Who did this to you?” she demanded.

Reese sobbed harder and they heard sirens in the distance, but David burst out of the door of the station, which was across the street and one block down. Sheriff Davis was right behind him and they ran toward them at a speed most wouldn’t have thought the Sheriff could pull off.

Reese looked up at Liv and with a raspy voice whispered, “One of those guys came back.”

Liv released her, gently but then turned to greet David and the Sheriff. “Check the bar!” she commanded. “He might still be in there. Go!”

Both men did just that, knowing that Liv would help Reese. David nodded and both he and the Sheriff drew their guns before kicking the door open and heading inside.

“Let’s walk to the station, they’ll check the bar okay.”

“Fucking hurts,” Reese whispered.

“I know.” Liv told her, picking up her purse and leading Reese across the street. “I’ll kill that bastard if we find him, I swear it.”

Before she knew it, she was in the station sitting in a chair. Liv must have found a blanket somewhere because it was wrapped around her shoulders.

“What happened?” Liv asked. “Do you want to tell me or wait for the guys?”

Reese cleared her throat, which still felt like that assholes fingers were wrapped around it. “I was prepping to open, and he, one of those guys, showed up. He told me I knew too much and was a liability. He tried to …” She broke down again, tears streaming down her bruised cheeks. She gestured to her throat and Liv nodded that she understood.

“I’m so sorry, Reese.” Liv wrapped her arm around Reese’s shoulder. “Dammit, I’m so sorry.”

David and Sheriff Davis entered, door swinging open and guns holstered. “He’s gone. We scoured the entire place and your apartment. He’s not there,” David told them.

As much as she hated it, another sob wracked Reese’s chest and she buried her face in her hands.

Sheriff Davis knelt down in front of her. “Honey, we’re gonna have to file a report. I know you don’t want to talk about it, but you’re going to have to tell me what happened.”

And she did, somehow knowing that she should leave out the parts about the interaction with the Estmonds at the bar. She was still angry with them, but she also wanted to protect them if they were involved with something bad.

“You can stay with me if you want,” Liv offered as they were leaving. “Or the farmhouse.”

Reese shook her head. “No, I have to work. And I can take care of myself.”

“Reese, you just got attacked,” Liv countered.

“I have to work.” Her voice was flat.

David walked with them as the crossed the street. “Maybe you shouldn’t go to work tonight, what are you going to tell everyone about your …”

Reese knew what he was talking about and feared the moment she had to look in the mirror. “I don’t know, but I have to make money, which means I have to work. And I can stay by myself. I don’t think he will come back.” It was a total lie. She was terrified that man, or one of the others, would come back for her.

“Reese, please let us help you,” Liv pleaded with her.

Reese rested a hand on the handle of Knight’s Bar. “I don’t need your help. But thank you.” With that, she opened the door and strode inside to face the still empty bar that now held a bad memory along with all the good ones.

CHAPTER NINE

DAN

The graveyard was peaceful. No sign of Reapers, thank goodness. He wasn’t in the mood for fighting. He just wanted some peace. He was sure most would find it a strange thing, but the cemetery calmed him. Normal people didn’t like being in a place where they buried the dead, but to him, it was a retreat from the world around him.

He had always come out to the graveyard when he was pensive. Even when he was young. The souls always seemed to know that he was upset, or whatever it was that he was feeling at the moment. The beautiful blue mist of the souls would swirl around him, circling his body as if they were embracing him.

And now, there they were, doing just as they always had. He protected them, and they gave back by offering their comfort.

“I’m okay,” Dan whispered. “Just don’t know what the hell to do with my life.”

What a loser thing to say, he thought as soon as the words passed over his lips. It didn’t matter, though. The souls didn’t judge. They were just there for him, no matter what, just like his family was supposed to be.

He heard a car and turned toward the sound of the engine. Liv’s van was tearing up the driveway, faster than she normally took the driveway.

Shit, that meant something was wrong. He strode down the path a few paces and then broke into a jog so that he could get to the house quicker. Liv burst through the front door just as he was charging through the back.

“Family meeting!” Liv called out. “Everyone get your asses in the living room.”

“What’s wrong?” Dan demanded.

“Tell you in a minute.”

Thundering sounded as multiple footsteps hurried down the stairs and more from other rooms on the main floor. Everyone was there except for James and Steph who had gone into Clearlake for groceries.

Liv took a deep breath and then exploded. “Reese was attacked in the bar by one of those Reapers from the other day. He tried to kill her, you guys. Her throat has fucking finger prints on it and giant bruises on her cheeks!”

Dan felt a white, hot anger rise up in his body.

“Holy shit, is she okay?” Lucy asked.

Liv shook her head. “She says she is, but I don’t think so. I offered for her to stay with us and she could shut down the bar for tonight, but she wouldn’t do it. I think we need to send a couple of us to help watch her, and the place.”

Dan turned, he didn’t need to hear anymore. He was going to her.

“Where are you going?” Hannah asked as he dug his keys out of his pocket.

He swung around to face the rest of the group. “To watch Reese and kill anyone who gets near her.”

“I’ll go with you,” Aiden told him, slipping on his hoodie and zipping it up.

Hannah stared with wide eyes. “She doesn’t want us there. You guys can’t just waltz in when she told us to stay away.”

“She’ll get over it or deal with it, we’re still going.” Dan strode toward the door.

When they arrived at the bar, Dan paused with his hand on the door handle and turned to Aiden. “Are you ready for this, because she’s not going to be happy with us.”

Aiden smiled grimly. “I’m dating your sister. I think I can handle a sassy bartender.”

“We’ll see.” Dan rolled his eyes and yanked the door open.

It took a moment for his eyes to adjust from the bright California sunshine to the interior of the dimly lit bar. He shaded his eyes with his hands to help the process along. When he was finally able to focus, what he saw was Reese’s beautiful face, covered in bruises. She was staring at him with an expression of anger and sadness that he had never seen on her before.

“Yeah, she’s pissed.” Aiden nodded.

“You think?” Dan agreed. He moved to the back of the room and found an empty table. He was definitely not going to talk to her. She could figure out on her own why they were there. That way, if there was a scene, it would be because she came over to talk to him.

Aiden followed him, but didn’t sit down right away. He moved around the bar, scanning the people, poking his head into the restroom and out the back door. When he was done with his rounds, he joined Dan at the table.

“She looks bad. Did you see her throat?”

Dan had seen it. He had seen it and he wished he hadn’t. The marks on her made his blood boil with anger. How dare those Reapers attack her, an innocent, who knew nothing about any of this. “Yeah, I did.”

Aiden leaned back in his chair. “You sure are quieter than usual.”

Dan reached into his coat and pulled out his flask. “I don’t feel like talking.” He didn’t say it, but he especially didn’t want to talk to Aiden. He was a Reaper. Yes, Aiden was on their side now, but at times like this it was harder for him to remember that.

He twisted the cap off his flask and brought it to his lips. As he drank, he looked over the top of the flask and his eyes met Reese’s piercing glare. Quickly, he put the container away in its place inside his coat.

“Sucks to be in a bar and not be able to have a beer,” Aiden pouted from beside him.

Dan agreed, though he usually preferred the harder stuff.

“Shit, she’s coming over.” Aiden turned his head toward the photograph on the wall near them and examined it as if he were standing in an art gallery.

“Coward,” Dan accused just as Reese approached them. Her hair was loose, flowing over her shoulders and down her back. He could see that she had used makeup to unsuccessfully cover some of the bruising. She wore a tank top and jeans, with her cowboy boots underneath.

“I thought I told you that I didn’t need your help.”

Dan forced a smile and looked up at her. “I don’t care if you need our help or not. You’re getting it.”

She huffed and crossed her arms over her chest. “I don’t need you, or any of your family to protect me.”

“Again, I disagree. We’re here, Reese, so you can physically throw us out or you can just deal with it, okay?”

“This is total bullshit.” She spun around and stalked back to the bar.

Dan let out a relieved sigh. “Well, that went better than I expected.”

“Yeah.” Aiden had returned his attention to the patrons of the bar. “I thought it would be worse, too. She’s a fire cracker.”

“That’s for sure,” Dan agreed.

“She’s not bad looking either, for a small-town bar tender.”

A flash of something rippled through him at Aiden’s words. He wasn’t sure exactly what it was, but he didn’t take his eyes off of Reese as he answered, “She’s not bad looking regardless of small-town or bartender status.”

“Oh … I see.”

“You don’t see shit, so quit thinking you do.”

Aiden laughed. “This is getting super interesting.”

Dan sighed, but didn’t respond. The last person he wanted all up in his business was Aiden.

They both sat in silence for a while. Eventually, Aiden took his phone out and started clicking away at the keyboard.

Reese would glance over his way occasionally, but not once did she smile or show any indication that she was in a forgiving mood. He didn’t blame her, it was their fault that this had happened to her.

“I’m bored,” Aiden announced after several hours had passed. “And hungry.”

“Well, go get something to eat.”

“I should stay here with you.”

“I’ll be fine,” Dan assured him. “I doubt that guy will be coming back here tonight, but even if he did, I got it.”

“Fine. I’ll just go grab a sandwich and come back. Do you want me to bring you one?”

Dan let out a laugh. “Hell no. I can only imagine what would happen if I brought outside food in here. We’re lucky she’s leaving us alone right now.”

Aiden shrugged. “Okay, but don’t say I didn’t offer.”

“I won’t.”

Dan kept his eyes on Reese as Aiden strode away. She glanced up as he left the establishment and then over at Dan. Their eyes met. Her expression was unreadable, though, so he didn’t know what she was feeling. Someone called her name and she turned away to go serve her customer.

It dragged on like that all night. Several times, Dan caught himself shutting his eyes and almost falling asleep. Man, he was a seriously shitty body guard if he couldn’t even stay awake to do the job.

Finally, Reese announced last call. Since it was a week day, most people had work the next day, so there were only a few people left at this hour anyway. Those who were left cleared out pretty quickly and Reese began her clean up.

Dan turned to Aiden. “I’m going to help her clean up and I’ll take watch at her apartment, we don’t both need to be there.”

“You sure, man. I don’t mind coming with.” Dan could tell that Aiden would rather not have the duty if he didn’t have to.

“That’s nice of you to offer, but it might freak her out having you there. She knows me better.”

Aiden lifted his eyebrows and grinned. “I bet she does.”

“Not like that, and dude, why is everything about that with you? I can’t believe my sister likes you so much.”

“I can’t believe she likes me that much either,” Aiden told him as he rose from his chair and stretched. “I’ll just be a call or text away if you need me. I’m going home.”

“Thanks, man.”

Aiden left and Reese only glanced his way as he exited the bar, then she went about cleaning up for close. She ignored Dan, acting as if he weren’t there at all. He was completely aware that she was giving him the cold shoulder, but he didn’t care. He rose, went to the bar to get a clean rag for the tables and began wiping them off and putting the chairs on top.

Just as he was finishing the last table, she appeared behind him. “You can go. I don’t need you around and I’m going home now.”

He turned so that he was facing her and looked down into her big brown eyes. “I am going up with you.”

“Dan, I don’t need you to watch me twenty-four hours a day. Please just go home.”

“Sorry. Not gonna happen.”

“Why are you doing this? I told you I don’t want to be involved in any of this and you hanging around is only putting me more on edge.” Her voice was resigned and almost sad.

He set the rag on the table and reached out, stroking one finger down her bruised cheek. “This … this is the reason I’m sticking around. I am going to make sure that this doesn’t happen again.”

She didn’t flinch at his touch, but she froze and her lips parted just a tiny bit. She didn’t respond until Dan had pulled his hand away picked up the rag again. “I appreciate that, but I don’t need it.”

“Stop arguing with me. I’m coming up. You can continue to ignore me if you want, that’s fine, but I’m coming. You can refuse to let me in and I’ll just sit outside your door. No matter how you play it, I’m still going to be here.”

She straightened and set her lips in a hard line. “Fine.” With that, she turned and strode off to finish whatever she was doing behind the bar. He grabbed a broom and swept the floor, then mopped it while she took care of the bathrooms and then finally, they were both done.

She collected her phone, tucking it into her back pocket and held a key ring in her hand. “Let’s go.”

He followed her out the back door and up the stairs to her apartment. She unlocked the door, which he noted was not usually locked, but was on this night. He lay a hand on her shoulder as she made to pull the door open. “Let me go first,” he whispered.

She nodded and stepped back, which told him that she was, indeed, nervous that someone was inside. He stepped over the threshold, hand resting on the hilt of his gun, ready to draw if anything moved.

All the lights were on in the place, every single room was brightly lit. She must have anticipated her return in the middle of the night and turned everything on so it wouldn’t be total darkness. He didn’t blame her, she’d been attacked. There were certain fears she would always have now.

Because of him … because of what he was.

Reese stayed right behind him, moving in tandem with him as he made his way through each room of her apartment and announcing in a whisper that the rooms were clear. Once they had finished the entire place, Dan sat down at the little dining table and crossed his legs, ready for a really long night of trying to stay awake.

“I’m going to bed,” Reese announced.

“All right. I’ll be right here.”

“I still don’t need you.”

Dan sighed. “So you keep telling me. I understand that, okay.”

“There’s a couch if you want to sleep,” She told him flatly, and then she turned, her chocolate curls swinging over her shoulder as she did. He watched as she made her way through the apartment and disappeared into her bedroom.

She was conflicted, he could see that. She was still angry with him and his family, but she was also protecting them. She hadn’t told Sheriff Davis about the incident in the bar with the Reapers, which meant that she knew that doing that might incriminate or harm them in some way.

He wasn’t sure if it would be easier or harder if she knew the truth. But, that wasn’t something he was going to find out anytime soon.

CHAPTER TEN

REESE

Daniel Estmond was in her apartment in the middle of the night. There were a lot of reasons she might envision Dan being in her apartment, but protecting her from some freak who tried to kill her was definitely not one of them.

She had slipped on a pair of cotton shorts and a tank top before crawling underneath the blessed warmth of her comforter. But, as exhausted as she was, sleep would not come. She lay there, staring at the ceiling, wondering how her simple life had taken such a turn. One minute she was just a woman who owned a bar, and now she was the target of an assassination attempt for something she knew nothing about.

Sighing, she threw the covers aside and got out of bed. Wandering into the living room, she stopped short and sucked in her breath at what she saw before her.

Dan had pushed the coffee table aside and was doing pushups on the hardwood floor. That wouldn’t have been so bad, but he was shirtless and covered in sweat. His muscles bulged, flexing with each rise and fall of his body.

She couldn’t look away … couldn’t move. She had absolutely never met an alcoholic who took such amazing care of himself. He was the definition of a functioning alcoholic. The really sad part was that she knew a part of her deep down longed for him … a part of her that always had, even before Anna.

Dan must have sensed her there because after pushing upward, he suddenly jumped to his feet and his hand went to his side where she spotted a gun that she hadn’t even realized he’d had on before.

“Whoa!” She held her hands up, “It’s just me.”

“Fuck, Reese, don’t sneak up on me like that.”

“I didn’t know you had a gun.” Her gaze slid over his chest and abs, which were shiny with sweat. “And why are you doing pushups in the middle of the night?”

He turned and strode into the kitchen. She followed and watched his backside as he reached up into the cabinet for a glass and filled it with tap water. After guzzling down the entire glass, he turned back to her and leaned on the counter.

This time, he was the one to stare. His smoldering dark eyes took in everything, beginning with her bare toes and working upward over her legs, all the way up her body until their eyes locked. He drew in a deep breath just as she was releasing one.

“Of course I have a gun. Don’t worry, I know how to use it. And I’m doing pushups in the middle of the night to try and stay awake. What’s the sense in staying here to protect you if I fall asleep?” He turned and flipped on the faucet to refill his water.

“You can sleep, Dan. Staying awake like this isn’t good for you.”

“Why are you awake?” He changed the subject. “I figured you’d be so exhausted you’d pass right out.”

“I am. I tried. Too much on my mind to sleep I suppose. Can you grab me a mug from up there?”

“Sure.” He turned, reached up to grab one of the million coffee mugs from above him and handed it to her. She moved up beside him and turned on the water, filling it three quarters of the way from the top. Then, she crossed the room and put it in the microwave, setting the time for one minute.

She could feel his eyes following her as she moved about the room. The silence was awkward and she knew she should say something, she just didn’t know what. The tea was in a container on the counter, so while the water heated she got the tea bag out and unwrapped it. The tea dinged it was ready, so she removed it from the microwave, dropped the tea bag in and grabbed a spoon from the drawer.

“I’m going into the living room.” She felt weird standing around in the kitchen staring at Dan’s chest. He followed her out of the kitchen and watched as she sat on the couch with her back up against the arm and pulled the throw blanket, which had been neatly folded over the back, onto her lap. She spread the blanket out, covering her legs and waist.

Dan picked up his shirt off the floor and slid the white cotton over his head then pulled the rest of it down over his stomach.

His rock hard stomach.

When he was finished unknowingly taunting her with his body, he sat down on the opposite side of the couch.

“You know that you have to tell me now, right?”

Dan shook his head. “Reese …”

“Seriously, you can’t still think that this can happen to me and you could still keep whatever is happening here a secret. I know all that stuff you guys told me is a lie.”

“We’ve been over this, and I’m sorry but I still can’t tell you.”

“Why?” she cried out. She was so frustrated that if it hadn’t been for the hot mug of tea in her hands, she would have thrown her arms in the air. “There can’t be any reason good enough for you to keep something from me that has to do with why someone tried to kill me.”

Dan sighed and ran a hand through his dark red hair. “Look Reese, I know that you know these are all lies, but if you knew the truth you would think we were crazy, and we need to get permission to tell you.”

“Oh, my god. That’s even more cryptic than the ‘we can’t tell you, it is too dangerous’ part of it. Permission? From who?” Once again, she wondered how all of this had even happened. Why the hell would the Estmonds get mixed up in something like this? Maybe it was money. After their father passed, maybe they got into something bad because they needed help financially.

“I don’t know what else to tell you, except that’s the story.”

Reese examined his facial features as he spoke. He was truly sorry that he had to lie to her, she could tell. She could also tell that he regretted telling her as much as he already did.

“I can’t have this shit in my life if I don’t know what’s going on, Dan. I can help you if you just tell me what the hell it is.”

“I’m sorry.”

“Damn you, Dan.” She let the words out underneath her breath.

He nodded. “Yeah, Damn me. That’s about right.”

“Stop that,” she ordered. “You have to stop acting like everything and everyone in this world is against you. I’m just pissed off. Do you know how irritating it is just to have someone hold something above your head? Well this is like a hundred times that feeling. This is my life, Dan.”

“It’s all of ours too. My family …”

She held up a hand. “Okay, I get that. Family first. It’s just that doesn’t make me feel less angry about it.”

“No.” He shook his head. “You were right, you’re part of that family, too. Everyone in this town is in a way.” He paused and then leaned toward her. “I’m trying. I want to tell you what all this involves, but I need everyone to agree. So just know I’m trying, okay?”

She set her mug on the coffee table and stood up, moving the blanket aside. “I’m trying too, Dan. I’m going back to bed.” She gestured to the couch. “Lay down and get some sleep, too. You need it.”

He didn’t respond, but she could feel him staring at her as she exited the living room. Once she was back in her bed, she lay there, wrapped in her blanket and thinking about how long it would take for the bruises on her neck and face to go away.

CHAPTER ELEVEN

DAN

When he woke, his cheek was flat up against Reese’s dining table and the book he was reading had flipped closed, exposing the cover. After wiping his face, which embarrassingly had a little bit of drool on it, he quickly reached out and pulled the book closer to him.

“Don’t worry, I’ve already seen it,” Reese’s voice came from behind him.

To his horror, he actually jumped at bit at the sound of her voice. “For crying out loud, you scared the shit out of me.”

“I hope that’s not true.” She set a steaming mug of black coffee in front of him.

He turned and saw that she still had on those insanely tiny shorts and tank top she had been wearing the night before. How in the hell was he supposed to not look at her when she was strutting around in those? Her hair had been pulled up in to a big, messy bun on top of her head, exposing the purple marks on her neck. He cringed as he thought about what could have happened if she wasn’t as tough as she was.

“So …” She cracked an egg, letting the contents slip out into a bowl. “You like dirty romance books, huh?”

He felt his face flame with embarrassment. He’d never intended for her to see what he was reading. He had seen the advertisements for the movie and nothing else on her shelf looked like it would interest him. “What? No.” He sipped the coffee and then set the mug back down. “I … I was just curious.”

She held up a spoon in defense. “No judgment here. I’ve obviously read it.” Though she said she didn’t judge, he could see that she wanted to laugh by the smirk tugging at the corner of her lips. “It’s not like I thought you were into that stuff or anything.”

Now that he had recovered, it was his turn to smirk. “Maybe I am.”

Her back was to him but he watched as she froze, her body going stiff. After a few second she laughed and stirred the eggs into a pan. “Well, that’s your business now isn’t it?”

“Yup.”

“You’re an ass, you know that?”

“Yes, in fact, I do know that.”

“Shit,” Reese cursed as the spatula fell on the floor. When she bent to pick it up her shorts rode so far up that he had a perfect shot of her backside. He was already looking at her and totally didn’t mean to be ‘that guy’ but it was impossible not to look.

The moment passed quickly though, thank god, because now he really did feel like an ass. She collected the spatula, stood and tossed it in the sink. Then, she turned toward him and shook her head when she saw his expression. “Well, I guess it’s only fair. I’ve seen you without your clothes.”

“I wasn’t …”

“Yes you were. I would have looked, so don’t worry. But the expression on your face looks like you just lost your virginity or something.”

“For fucks sake, Reese.”

“What?”

“One minute your all like, don’t touch me you filthy stripper and the next your bending over intentionally showing me your ass.”

“I wasn’t intentionally showing you. I dropped the spatula, and I’m just not shy around you is all.” While she was explaining, she grabbed a plastic spoon out of the container by the stove and stirred the eggs. “I just didn’t want you to feel like a dick for looking.”

He rolled his eyes up to the ceiling. Women were so wishy washy. “Well, it certainly sounds like it was intentional and fuck it, yeah, I’m going to look because you happen to have a nice ass. Fuck!” His flask was on the table in front of him and he reached for it. As he picked it up, he remembered that he had emptied it during the night.

“How could a woman possibly resist your charms?” Reese joked as she slid scrambled eggs onto a plate.

“I don’t want to charm women. If I did, they wouldn’t have a chance.”

Reese burst into giggles and set a plate in front of him. When she saw that he was holding the flask, her laughing ceased and she turned away quietly. She collected her own plate and sat down across from him.

He toyed with the lid of the flask, twisting it back and forth.

After a moment of awkward silence, she finally spoke. “I know we already had this conversation, but you have to quit drinking. Which means stop hauling that flask around with you.”

Dan set it in front of him and lifted his fork. “I doubt that will ever happen.”

“Listen, I know what it’s like to hurt, to need something to numb that pain, but you can’t keep doing this to yourself.”

Dan huffed. The last thing he needed was another lecture from her. They just went through this the last time he was at her place. “Do you honestly think that isn’t something that every single person in my life has said to me?”

“Then maybe you should try. They wouldn’t say anything if they didn’t care about you.” Her eyes were, indeed, full of concern. Not anger or superiority, just concern for someone she cared about.

He didn’t respond, just pushed his eggs around on the plate. Even though he knew she meant well, it still felt like a lecture.

“Look, man, I’m not against drinking. I own a bar, for crying out loud. What I am against, is letting alcohol ruin your life. You aren’t doing yourself any favors right now.”

“Reese, can we just not talk about this.”

“I’m worried,” she responded flatly. “You can’t blame me for that. I’m sorry, I know we’ve covered this, but I feel like I wouldn’t be your friend if I didn’t say something. Like I said before, I understand pain of losing someone and how you want that pain to go away. Well guess what, it never does it just becomes tolerable. Same as growing a tolerance to drugs or booze, you are able to handle more emotionally than you could months or years before. But dude, your time of mourning is over.”

“What?” Dan was shocked, how could she be so forward.

“You need to move on with life. That doesn’t mean get a girlfriend or get married, but just do something that Anna would be proud of, ya know.”

That was it. He couldn’t take it anymore. He slipped the flask into the pocket of his jacket, which was hanging on the back of the chair. “This isn’t you’re business. Just leave it alone already.” His voice had taken on a hard edge and she definitely caught on to that.

“Oh, really, it’s not? But you can make watching me twenty-four seven your business. You can make everything about me your business, but I’m not allowed to care about my friend? That is bullshit.” She dragged out the last words for emphasis.”

“That’s right.” Dan pointed at her. “You are in this situation because of us. You did not cause my drinking, you didn’t cause these problems and you didn’t fuck up my life. Actually, your one of the better things in my life. So yeah, I can make you my business because if it wasn’t for us, you wouldn’t have those bruises.” He threw up his hand, gesturing at the bruising that still marred her beautiful face.

“No.” She pointed her fork at him. “That’s not fair. You don’t get to care about me and not let me care about you.”

“What?”

“You heard me, dick! Why do you have to be like this? I just want you not to die or waste away because you couldn’t get away from the booze.”

He pushed his chair out and stood, grabbing his coat as he rose. He waited till after he had taken a deep breath and then released it before he spoke. “I know you mean well, but this is my life and my business. If I want to drink, I’m going to. So please, if you want to lecture or pry into someone’s life, do it to someone else.”

Her expression had gone from concerned to shocked and hurt. He felt bad, but she was making him feel bad. Leaving her in silence, he stalked through the kitchen and then right out the front door.

CHAPTER TWELVE

REESE

She watched him go, cringing when the door slammed behind him. She wasn’t sorry, though. Someone had to tell him all those things and ride his ass about the drinking. She was mad at them right now, but she loved his brothers and sisters. She just wished they would try harder with Dan. He needed support, but he also needed a giant kick in the ass.

After quickly doing the dishes and scrubbing down the kitchen, she set out her clothes and stepped into the bathroom. She started the shower and stripped off her clothes. A glance in the mirror showed her that the bruises looked worse than the day before. The handprint on her neck was absolutely disgusting. A shutter ran though her as she remembered his hand squeezing her throat and thinking that she might actually die.

They hadn’t caught the guy who had attacked her, so that meant he, or someone else, could still come after her. If they truly thought that she was a liability, they would come back.

Turning away from the mirror, she pushed those thoughts away. There wasn’t time to dwell on that. If she did, it would eat at her and cause her to live in fear … she refused to live in fear. She supposed she should be grateful that the Estmonds had placed guard on her. If she had been alone the night before, she probably wouldn’t have slept at all.

After a scalding hot shower, she dressed in jeans and a long sleeved, fitted tee shirt. She brushed her hair and wore it loose, fluffing the waves of dark brown hair around her shoulders. She applied her makeup and then decided that she needed to cover her neck. She could explain the face bruises easily enough, but the ones on her neck were harder to brush off when people asked. She found a light weight scarf with dark blue swirls all over it and wrapped it around her neck, letting the ends hang down over her breasts.

She had several errands to run before opening the bar, so she had to get to it or she wouldn’t have enough time. Grabbing her purse, she made sure that her phone was tucked inside and that she had her keys and hurried out the door.

“Oh, my god!” Her hand went to her purse and she stumbled back a few steps. “Dan! You scared the shit out of me.”

There he was, leaning casually against the wall beside the door of her apartment. He had his phone out and appeared to be perusing social media. “Sorry.” He apologized in a flat voice that sounded anything but apologetic.

She moved back to the door, made sure it was secure and then locked it. “What are you doing out here, anyway?”

Dan shrugged. “I am supposed to be protecting you. I don’t have to be in your face to do that.”

“Well it would be nice to know that you were out here, at least.”

“I didn’t feel like telling you. You’re not the only one who can be mad at someone.”

“Well.” She adjusted the strap on her purse. “I’m going to the post office and grocery shopping, are you coming?”

He nodded. “I’ll follow you over.”

“You don’t have to follow me, just ride with me.”

Silently, they made their way down the stairs and across the parking lot to her Jeep. She opened the driver side door and hopped up into the seat. Dan didn’t speak, but got into the passenger side without speaking.

At the grocery store, she got more stares than she ever had in her whole life, and that was saying a lot for a small town. Between her bruises and strolling through the isles with Daniel Estmond at her side, the people of Summer Hollow were going to have plenty to talk about for a little while. She wondered how fast it would take for the rumors to spread through town.

She glanced at Dan a couple of times as they shopped and saw that he didn’t seem bothered at all. He picked up a few things for himself and when they got to the checkout he put his stuff on the belt beside hers. “I’ll get your groceries,” he told her.

“No, you will not,” Reese protested.

“It’s the least I can do. Now let me pay.”

Frustrated, Reese shook her head. “Seriously, you don’t have to do that.”

“I know I don’t have to, but I want to.” He paused and she stared up at him with a glare. “Please?”

“Fine.” She agreed only because he seemed to really want to. “But, don’t think that it’s because I can’t afford my own food.”

He rolled his eyes. “I know you can. This isn’t about that at all.”

Realistically, she knew that it wasn’t. This was about guilt and also when her bar furniture got busted up.

The cashier had been silently listening the entire conversation, even though they had spoken in hushed tones, she could still hear them. Her eyes had slid over Reese’s face, taking in her bruises, and then over to Dan who towered over her and insisted on buying her groceries. To an outsider, it may have appeared that he was trying to buy groceries as an apology for beating her up. She really, really hoped that was not what the cashier was thinking.

Dan paid and they left the store. More stares and whispers from people in the parking lot as they loaded the Jeep. Reese sighed and shoved a bag in the back. “The entire town is going to have us pegged as an abusive couple by morning,” she told him.

He shrugged. “I disagree. They know you, they know me and they know that I’d never hit a woman. I’m flattered they think we’re a couple, though.”

She flushed at the thought of her and Dan being a couple. “What they know, Dan, is that you are an alcoholic now and they probably assume that abuse fits right into that type of lifestyle.”

He straightened. “Fuck that. I don’t care how fucked up I am, I’d never hit you or any woman. I’d never even hit a guy for no reason.”

“I know,” Reese assured him in a soft voice. “I shouldn’t have said that.”

He slammed the back of the Jeep shut. “No, you’re right. It’s part of the stereotype. I shouldn’t be surprised. And with your bruises…”

“Let’s go.” She climbed up behind the wheel. I have to get these put away and get ready for work.

On the way back to the bar, Dan got a phone call and proceeded to say things like. ‘Okay, what time and I’ll be there.’ When he clicked off he glanced over at Reese and announced, “I have a job tonight.”

Why in the world did he think she cared?

Who was she kidding? She did care. Now that she knew he was off showing his body to all kinds of women and grinding around in their faces, she didn’t like it at all. “Well, have fun. Don’t pull a muscle.”

He ignored the sarcasm and continued, “I’m going to have James come over and sit with you.”

“I’ll be fine. I’ll be in a bar full of people.”

He leaned back in the seat. “Don’t argue. It’s happening.”

She realized that there was nothing she could do and that she was going to have to tolerate the fact that someone was going to be around her at all times now until the threat on her life was no longer there. “Fine,” she agreed.

They made quick work of unloading the Jeep and putting the groceries away. She had to admit, it was kind of nice having someone to help with lugging all the bags upstairs. Usually she did it all by herself and it was a total pain in the ass. She often found herself loaded down with so many sacks in each hand that she could barely walk, just to cut down on the number of trips.

“Okay.” She clapped her hands together. “That’s done. Now I’ve got to go prep for opening.” Neither of them mentioned it, but that was when she had been attacked the previous day.

They entered the bar and Dan immediately checked every nook and cranny, just in case someone was hiding in there. When he was finished, he asked her what she wanted him to do. Surprised at the offer, Reese answered, “If you could get the chairs down and place them at the tables that would be great.”

“Will do.” He told her and began the task while she made sure the ice was filled and there were enough garnishes. Right before it was time to open, someone pounded on the main entrance door.

Dan held up his hand, indicating for her to be silent and that he would take care of it. His hand hovered at his side as he crept toward the door. “Who’s there?” he called out.

“It’s your brother you douche, open the door.” James’s muffled voice filtered through the thick metal as Dan reached over and flipped the bolt locks. He pulled open the door and James breezed inside, limping a little bit, Reese noticed.

“I’m here to protect you, m’lady.” James attempted a poor imitation of a bow, complete with a grand flourish of his hand.

Reese laughed and shook her head. “I’d tell you I don’t need you here, but I’ve already argued that fact with your brother a million times in the last twenty-four hours.”

James nodded. “You are correct. I would just argue with you as well. Now what do you want me to do?”

Dan beckoned his brother over near the restroom. “I need to talk to you for a minute in private before I go.”

Reese worked behind the bar while the boys chatted in whispers. She really didn’t even want to know what they were talking about. Why did she keep lying to herself? Of course she wanted to know what they were talking about, especially if it was about her or the big secret they were keeping.

When they were done, Dan strode over to talk with Reese. “I don’t know when I’ll be done, but it will be sometime in the middle of the night, so I’m not sure when I’ll be back. James will stay with you if I’m not back.”

“This is so not necessary, Dan.”

He rolled his eyes. “Yes it is, stop trying to tell me it’s not.” He lifted his phone and glanced at the icon displaying the time. “I have to go.”

“Have fun,” she called after him in a too sweet tone.

He turned and offered her a grin as he pulled the door open and left the bar. James limped over and leaned his hands on the counter. “Okay, let me know what you need me to do. I’m here to help.”

“Why are you limping?” Reese asked, curiosity getting the better of her.

James winked. “I was shot.”

“Shot? With a gun?” As soon as the words were out of her mouth she regretted them. Of course with a gun, what else would he have been shot with?

“Yup. And no, I can’t tell you who or why.”

Reese sighed and poured herself a shot. “You guys don’t honestly expect me to just go along with all of this and not ask questions.”

He shook his head. “No. We know you want to know, we just can’t tell you. So you can keep asking, and we’ll keep telling you we can’t talk about it.”

“God, you’re just like your brother.”

The red headed younger man grinned wide. “Yes, yes I am. Except for the whole alcoholic thing.”

Reese downed her shot. It was going to be a long night.

CHAPTER THIRTEEN

DAN

He left James at the bar with Reese, trusting that his brother would take care of her. He hoped that he would be back before the bar closed, but it was hard to tell how things would go at these parties. Sometimes the women got all crazy and wanted him stay and party with them. Usually he found an excuse to bail, but more often than not it was hard to get away.

First he went home to shower and change. The house was quiet and undisturbed, as it always was. His place was nothing like the farmhouse, which was almost always bustling with activity. It was actually one of the reasons he was glad he had his own place. Sometimes you just needed the silence.

After his shower, he dressed in regular clothes, jeans and a tee shirt, and packed his duffle with the supplies he needed for the party. After that was squared away, he made a round of the house to make sure everything was turned off, even though he hadn’t been there much. His last stop was the kitchen, where he selected one of the bottles from the cabinet and refilled his flask. Once the flask was full, he took a long pull straight from the bottle.

Reese was right, about everything, and it made him feel like an even bigger loser. Maybe, just maybe, he should at least try to cut down on the booze. He knew his family didn’t like it and that should be enough reason, but so far it hadn’t been enough to make him quit.

It hurt when he thought about Anna and how their life was before she died. It hurt to think about what life would have been like in the future, had she not been murdered. He just wanted those thoughts to go away and the alcohol made it fade into the background, even if it didn’t completely go away.

He returned the bottle to the cabinet, tucked the flask into the usual pocket of his coat, and with that, all thoughts about quitting were gone … at least for the moment.

Before he headed out to work, he backtracked into town. He had made sure that he left early enough that he would have enough time to stop at the farmhouse and fill the family in on what was going on with Reese.

Several cars were in the driveway when he arrived. He crunched over the gravel drive and parked behind Greg’s beat up old Escort. He didn’t have a whole lot of time, so he jogged up the stairs and let himself into the house.

Greg, Liv, Lucy, Jack, Aiden, Steph and Ethan were all sitting in front of the television watching a movie that looked like it was about pirates, from what he could see. They even had a giant bowl of popcorn on the coffee table in front of them.

“Seriously?” He shook his head as he observed them. “How can you guys just be sitting around watching a movie with all that has been going on?”

Liv glanced up at him. “We are allowed to relax occasionally. You should try it sometime.”

“I don’t want to relax, I have shit to do. Like working and watching Reese.”

Jack tossed some popcorn in his mouth and then washed it down with beer. “It sounds stalkery when you say it like that.”

“You all know better than that. One of those fucking Reapers tried to kill her, so until that threat is neutralized, one of us is on duty with protecting her at all times.”

“We know, and we agree,” Greg assured him. “You seem to have control of that, though, so we’re taking a break.”

Dan inhaled deeply, shoving his anger deep down. There was no reason to be mad and yes, they all deserved a break every now and then. All of them had been stressed out for the last several months, so yeah, they needed this sometimes.

He was still pissed about the family not wanting him to go to Florida, but he had shoved that tidbit away as well. He had to let it go, because the family had to be united at all times if they were going to win against the Reapers.

“Reese is still hassling me about telling her what we are hiding. She isn’t going to stop,” he announced.

Greg clicked a button on the remote to pause the movie. “We still can’t tell her. I know it feels horrible, but if she doesn’t believe us and goes to the authorities, we’re all screwed.”

“I know that.” Dan nodded. “It just freaking sucks. It’s not even lying. It’s just telling her, ‘I know you know that we’re lying, but you’re going to have to deal.’ I hate that.”

“Talk about other stuff,” Lucy suggested.

He threw up his hands. “We do, and most of that consists of her lecturing me about my drinking.”

A knowing look passed over everyone, but it was Ethan who spoke. “Well, she isn’t wrong. Also, I doubt she would say anything about it if she didn’t care.”

“That doesn’t make it better, man.”

Ethan shrugged, “I don’t know what to tell you. Have someone else take over guarding her.”

He had thought of that, but the deep down fact was that he was happy for the excuse to spend time with her and he didn’t want anyone else to take over. What he wanted was to be able to tell her the truth. “No, I’ll tolerate it,” he told them. “I’m just irritated about the whole thing.”

Greg took a swig off the beer that was sitting on the table and turned toward Dan again. “Sorry, man. I wish we could do more.”

“I wish we could, too,” Dan muttered under his breath.

Lucy adjusted herself to a more comfortable position. “I might be in the minority here, but would it really be so bad if we just told her. We told David and that went fine.”

“No.” Greg shook his head. “That was different. Hannah and David are together. He’s a part of the family and circumstances to save Hannah called for it.”

“I agree with Lucy,” Jack added his two cents to the conversation. “She already knows that something bad and weird is going down. She’s in it, so why not go all in.”

Finally, Dan thought, at least a couple of them were able to see it his way. “She keeps saying that she’s known us her whole life and that we are family and should trust her. I won’t lie, that shit hurts when she puts it like that.”

Greg nodded, appearing to finally understand. “Let’s give it a little bit more time. I want to make sure it’s the right thing. If we tell her, we need to be prepared for the repercussions.”

That had to be enough, and with Lucy and Jack on his side, chances were good that Greg would cave. Now he needed to ready himself for if they decided to tell her. How would they tell her and what would they do if she freaked?

“I’ve got to go. Let me know when it’s decided.”

They all said their goodbyes and Dan left the farmhouse with more on his mind than before he’d arrived.

CHAPTER FOURTEEN

REESE

James helped her with clean up after she closed the bar. It had been a busy night and the floors were absolutely disgusting, as were the bathrooms. It wasn’t anything unusual, though. She’d been cleaning those bathrooms since she was old enough to do chores.

“All right,” She finished wiping the bar and glanced at James. “I think we’re done. Let’s go up to the apartment.”

“Right behind you.” James smiled and followed her out the back door and up the stairs to her apartment.

Once they were inside, James did the same thing Dan had done when they entered the night before. He reached underneath his shirt, withdrew his sidearm from a holster that she hadn’t even noticed he had been wearing, and began to clear each room.

She didn’t ask him about the gun. By now she figured every one of the Estmonds had to be armed. Maybe she needed to be armed, too? Problem was she didn’t know how to work a gun, much less hit a target. Maybe Dan would help her get a gun and teach her how to use it.

Then again, maybe just a taser or something would be better.

“All clear,” James announced after going through each room. He holstered his weapon and let out a long breath. “I’m sorry you’re going through this, Reese.”

“But, why am I going through this, is the question, now isn’t it?” She cocked her head to the side.

“Nice try, but I’m not authorized to speak on such matters.” She could tell he was trying to make it into a joke.

“You know I’m not going to stop asking.”

“I know. I wouldn’t either if I were you.” He followed her into the kitchen where they worked together making sandwiches and then sat down to eat. They ate in silence. She didn’t feel like talking and James, who usually was quite chatty, didn’t appear to be in the mood to converse either.

When they were done, he helped her clean up the dishes and she led him into the living room. “I’m going to go to bed,” she told him. “I don’t have an extra room, but the couch is there with blankets if you want to get some rest.”

“Thanks.” He flashed her a smile, revealing the dimple on his cheek that both he and his twin had. “I don’t know if I should go to sleep, though. I’m supposed to be guarding you.”

She rolled her eyes. “Yeah, your brother said the same thing. Well, it’s there if you want to.”

“Thanks.” He removed his gun and set it on the coffee table. “Do you mind if I turn on the television? Will that bother you?”

“Not at all. I’ll see you in the morning.” She left him as he plopped down onto the couch and clicked the T.V. on.

In her room, she changed into sleeping clothes. This time, instead of shorts, she wore a pair of flannel pajama pants and a tank top, instead of shorts. She crawled underneath her comforter and relaxed into her blessedly soft mattress.

After fifteen minutes of laying there, staring at the ceiling and sleep not coming, she picked up the romance novel off of her nightstand, turned on the lamp and let the fictional lives of the characters take her to another world.

She woke to hushed voices coming from the living room. Her lamp was still on and the book she was reading lay next to her, having fallen when she passed out. A quick glance at the clock told her that it was four in the morning. She hadn’t been asleep for that long.

Her eyes felt like sandpaper and her body ached, but she dragged herself out of bed and listened at the door.

“I really don’t think any of the Reapers will come back here after that incident.”

“James, they will come back. You and I both know that,” Dan whispered loudly. “It’s only a matter of time, especially now that he attacked someone other than a Keeper, they are going to want to eliminate this threat.”

What the hell? Reapers? Keepers? Were those some kind of code names for the people they were involved with? The Reapers did sound like it could be a gang or something.

Dan continued, “I’ve been telling Reese, and myself, that I don’t think they will come back. But after thinking about it for a while, I’m certain they will.”

She pressed her ear to the door so she could hear better.

“I can stay here with her for the rest of the night. Why don’t you go get some sleep.”

“No, it’s okay. I can take over.”

“Dude, you’re practically asleep on your feet. Go rest. Also, you stink and need a shower, why are you so stinky.”

Reese held back a giggle. If only he knew what his brother was doing. Dan would never live it down if the family knew his secret.

“Don’t worry about it. And I’d rather be the one to stay here.”

“I bet,” James teased. “I think someone might have a tiny crush on Reese.”

“Shut up. It’s not like that.”

“I think it is. And let me tell you, if you want to impress her, you need to go take a shower.”

She could practically see Dan rolling his eyes. “Fine. I’ll stop and do a patrol in the graveyard before going home. I’ll check back with you guys in the morning.”

Patrol the graveyard. What did that mean? She knew they lived on the property of the cemetery, but she didn’t think they needed to do patrols there. What would they be looking for … kids out vandalizing, or grave robbers maybe? Whatever it was, it was weird.

“Good, I’m worried about those assholes stalking the farmhouse, too.” James paused. “Greg will probably still be out there if you head right over. We’re trying to always have someone watching the souls.”

What in the actual fuck were they talking about? Reese was more confused than ever and briefly wondered if she was dreaming, because she couldn’t possibly be hearing this for real.

“All right man, I’m out of here then. Thanks for staying.”

She heard a clap and then silence, which probably meant the two men were hugging and then James said, “No problem man. See you in the morning.”

She heard the front door click shut and then James bolting the lock on the inside.

There was absolutely no way that she was going to be able to get back to sleep now. Being as quiet as she could, she crept over to the closet and pulled a pair of jeans off a hanger. She grabbed a sweatshirt and then went for her shoes, which were by the door.

She was going to find out what the hell a graveyard patrol consisted of. If they weren’t going to give her answers, then she would have to find out what they were up to all on her own.  She dressed quickly and listened at the door before gripping the knob. Hearing nothing, she twisted, easing it open as slowly and quietly as she could. A quick peek through the crack told her the hallway was clear, so she opened it the rest of the way and slipped out. She shut the door with the same care as she had opened it, and then crept down the hall.

James was in the living room and the front door opened way into that area, so he would definitely see her if she passed through. Her keys were also by the door. Her phone had been on her nightstand, so she had that with her. She was likely going to have to wait for James to fall asleep before she could slip out.

At the corner of the hall, where it ended and opened up into the living area, she halted and pressed herself up against the wall. It was really going to suck if she had to wait hours for him to fall asleep. He already told her that he didn’t want to sleep because he was supposed to be guarding her.

The couch squeaked with the sound of someone shifting position and then she could distinctly hear James get up and cross the living room into the kitchen.

This was it. This was her chance. She crept across the hardwood, keeping her steps soft and silent, angling herself toward the front door. Right before she got to it, James flipped on the faucet and the precious sound of running water could be heard.

She took advantage of the situation and turned the deadbolt and opened the door. She grabbed her keys off the little table by the entrance and held them close in her palm so they wouldn’t jingle and stepped out into the brisk early morning air.

Reese shut the door behind her and hoped to god that he hadn’t walked in while she was closing the door. Hearing nothing, not even the running water, she carefully made her way down the stairs and then ran across the parking lot. The door handle practically came off of her Jeep as she gripped it and yanked hard, flinging the door open.

It was a very short drive to the farmhouse. Even shorter because she parked around the corner in a pullout off the highway so that no one would see her pull in. She wanted to see what they were doing without her knowing she was there.

Thank goodness there was a clear sky with a bright moon above. Otherwise she would have been totally blind. Zipping her hoodie closed, she left her jeep and carefully picked her way along the small fence that lined the Estmond property and the cemetery. She bypassed their driveway and went on to the entrance of the cemetery. The whole way, she prayed that no one would see her creeping around out there.

She thought it would be darker once she stepped onto the grounds of the graveyard. The trees overhead provided cover, yet also blocked out the moon. But, as luck would have it, there were lamp posts scattered here and there that emanated a soft, pale light.

Though there were more chances of being seen, she still stuck to the path. Her steps were slow and soft as she moved deeper into the cemetery.

In the distance, there were lights on in the farmhouse, she didn’t know if anyone inside was awake, or if they just left lights on, as some people tended to do.

Minutes passed, and each one that did brought home the fact that she was walking around in a cemetery, in the middle of the night, and it started freaking her out. Crickets chirped, branches shifted in the breeze, causing leaves to rustle and fall to the ground. The sounds of the night didn’t make her little excursion any easier.

Finally, she saw him. Reese spotted Dan sitting on one of the benches at the top of a slope. His dark red hair radiated a glow from the lamplight that shone down on him as if it were a spotlight. The bench faced the farmhouse and also provided a good view of the darkened cemetery before him, with its gravestones and markers barely visible.

Dan sat in a reclined position with his legs out in front of him. He tilted his head back and she saw a flash of silver and realized he was sipping on that ever present flask of his. Good grief, she wished that he would quit drinking. He was sabotaging the rest of his life by poisoning himself with booze.

Her breath caught when he froze as he pulled the flask away from his lips. She held perfectly still until he leaned forward and twisted the cap onto the small container. Once she was sure he hadn’t heard her, she stepped back off the path and into the shadows where she would be even more hidden if he should choose to turn around.

Once she was sufficiently enveloped by the darkness, she took a moment to wonder what the hell she was going to do now. I have sunk to an all-time low, hiding in the darkness and stalking. Just freakin’ great.

She didn’t have to wait long, though. Only a few moments later a door opened and shut down at the house and a figure could be seen making their way across the lawn and up into the cemetery.

She couldn’t tell who it was until they were practically right in front of her. Though, she did move further back, hiding behind the thick trunk of an oak tree.

“Hey man.” Greg’s voice was low as he approached his brother. “Anything?”

She peeked around and found Dan staring up at his brother. “No, all is peaceful … and boring. I’m exhausted.”

“Why don’t you go home? I can take over patrol.”

“Nah.” Dan shook his head. “This is a good place to think, and I have lots of thinking to do.”

“Well, that’s up to you, but I can hang with you for a while if you want,” Greg offered.

“If you want.” Dan shrugged, but he didn’t sound like he really wanted anyone around.

Reese tried hard to think of any reason why someone might need to patrol a cemetery. She could understand if they lived in a big city where there were criminals and tons of shady people, but this was Summer Hollow. There truly wasn’t any reason that walks in the graveyard at four in the morning would be necessary.

“How is Reese?” Greg asked softly.

Dan leaned forward and rested his elbows on his knees. “As well as can be expected. She’s pissed and disappointed. She trusted us and now, I don’t know if we’re ever going to be able to make that up to her.”

“I don’t know.” Greg sat. “We’re keeping her safe. That matters.”

“Yeah, but it’s our fault that she was attacked and almost killed in the first place. There are a million reasons why she is perfectly justified to be angry with us.”

“We’re probably going to have to tell her. I just need a little bit more time. I’d rather not have to go that route if we don’t have to.”

“Why?”

“I told you earlier … hey, look.” Greg pointed off in the distance.

“Dammit, I was really hoping that we wouldn’t have to do this tonight.” Dan bent over and extracted two knives from underneath his coat somewhere

Reese scanned the area in the direction that Greg had pointed and couldn’t see anything. What on earth were they looking for? She turned her attention back to them and found Greg now had a large dagger in his right hand.

Good lord, what were they going to do with those?

“You packing, just in case?” Dan asked his brother in a low voice.

“Yeah, I’m not taking chances anymore.”

“Same here,” Dan mumbled and then gestured down the slope before them. “Looks like he’s coming this way. I know he can see us. Should we just wait, or go to him?”

Greg shrugged, “Let’s wait. It saves us energy if nothing else.”

Reese reminded herself to breathe. She kept catching herself holding her breath in attempt to be quieter. As soon as she’d seen those knives come out, a bad feeling had come over her. Something bad was going to go down, she was sure of it.

“Ready?” Dan held both blades loosely in hands, not even glancing at his brother as he asked the question.

“You bet I am,” Greg responded just as a man appeared, striding quickly up the same path that she had used.

Reese unconsciously stepped back one more pace and covered her mouth with her hand to help keep her quiet. The man coming toward Dan and Greg wasn’t one of the men from the bar. She had kind of expected it to be one of the men or the woman that she had seen that night.

“Well, well.” Dan flipped one of his knives, catching it by the handle. “Look what we have here.”

“Sorry,” Greg added, “No souls for you tonight.”

The man snorted, his blond hair glowing in the lamplight. He smiled wickedly and spread his hands out. “I’m not here for those souls. This time, I’m here for yours.”

Dan tilted his head. “Oh isn’t that cute. They couldn’t even win against us when they send ten of you guys. Now they send one and think that is going to get the job done.”

“They didn’t send me,” The man sneered. “I’m here on my own. Can you imagine what the Empress would award me if I brought her one of the Estmonds?” The thought seemed to make him giddy as he laughed at the thought of what he might receive.

Greg rolled his eyes, but kept his blade up in a defensive position. “Let’s get it over with. I need to go back to bed.”

The man nodded, pulled his own blade from a sheath at his hip, and lunged toward Dan and Greg. Dan kicked out, his boot connecting with the guy’s chest and sending him backward a couple of feet.

At the same time, Greg rounded behind him and tried to go in from the other side. The brothers appeared to have the upper hand, until the man suddenly smiled and performed a standing backflip which took him out of the space between Dan and Greg.

The blond man, using a fast pace, circled the brothers, pointing his knife at them. “All I have to do is throw this and it will hit the target I aim for.”

Dan sighed and rolled his eyes. “All right.” He turned, never taking his eyes off the guy. “I’m tired of screwing around.” He returned one of his blades to its sheath and replaced it with his gun. “Leave now. This is your only chance. Leave now or I’m going to have to kill you.”

“No!” Unable to help herself, Reese burst out onto the path. She hadn’t intended for them to see her, but she would not witness a murder while hiding in the bushes. She didn’t care what kind of beef these guys had with each other.

“Reese!” Both Dan and Greg cried out in unison, heads swinging her way.

“Don’t kill him.”

The man took the opportunity and lunged at Dan, his knife poised to stab Dan wherever the blade happened to land. Greg reared back and threw his dagger, apparently not aiming, but only reacting to save his brother. The dagger sailed through the air, end over end, until it finally hit home, sinking into the flesh of the blond man’s shoulder.

“Mother fucker.” The man dropped his blade and it fell to the ground with a dull thud. He clutched the hilt of the dagger that was sticking out of his shoulder and yanked as he fell to his knees. The dagger, covered in his blood, slipped from his fingers and tumbled down.

Reese gasped and stood frozen in place as she watched blood pour from the wound at the man’s shoulder, staining his light blue sweatshirt black as the blood soaked into the fabric.

“Get out of here.” Dan grabbed the man by the arm, forcing him to stand and then shoved him hard. “If you come back here, or mess with anyone or any place in this town, you won’t get the same chance again. Understand?”

The guy didn’t even answer, he just glanced back at them, a fearful expression on his face and then took off running.

Reese watched as he disappeared into the darkness. She had no idea what to think about all of this, but turned to the brothers and blinked. “You … you were going to murder that man.”

Dan shook his head. “Reese, you don’t …”

“Don’t tell me I don’t understand. Do not tell me that. I know what I saw.” Greg moved toward her a few steps and she moved backward. “Stay away!”

“He tried to murder us first,” Dan exclaimed, his voice almost like a child blaming another child for kicking down his sand castle.

“Seriously, that is what you are going with?” Reese couldn’t believe what she was hearing.

Dan and Greg looked at something to the left of them and nodded. Then they glanced at each other. Dan stepped toward her, reaching out a hand and in response she stepped backward again. “I said stay back.”

With a sad expression on his face, Dan caught her gaze and their eyes locked. “Reese. We can see spirits.”

CHAPTER FIFTEEN

DAN

“What? You … what does that have to do with anything?” Reese responded to his admission with the expected confusion.

He glanced over at his father, asking him silently if he was sure that they should tell her this right now. “Yes, it’s better if she thinks that you are a family of crazy people who belong in an institution, rather than a family of murderers.”

He had been shocked to see Reese barreling out of the darkness, screaming at them. He had been somewhat prepared to tell her their story, but not like this. Nowhere, in any of the scenarios he had played over in his head where he explained everything to her, did it involve having to do it after a confrontation with a Reaper.

Dan sighed and holstered his gun. “The Estmond family, all of us, we can see ghosts. We were born with the ability to see spirits.”

Reese’s lips parted in disbelief. “You have got to be kidding me?”

He ignored her and continued. “We are called Keepers. Keepers have existed for many generations. We are born to protect souls, to keep them safe.”

Reese appeared to be taking this all in, but she didn’t look like she believed a word of it. “I need to go.” She cautiously sidestepped and then turned.

“Reese. Wait,” Dan begged. “Let me finish.”

“I’ve heard everything I need to hear.” She looked like she was going to bolt at any moment, but remained where she was.

“No, you haven’t. There are another kind of … being, I suppose would be the word. They are called Reapers and they feed on the souls. The spirits are what keep the Reapers alive and strong.”

“Reapers? Do you honestly expect me to believe this?” Reese’s eyes were wide. “You are all insane.”

Dan nodded. “I understand why you would think that. This is why we couldn’t tell you before. We’ve gone our whole lives protecting the souls in this graveyard. We have had to lie to everyone we have ever known in order to maintain this secret. As much as it hurts us, as much as it completely sucks not to tell the people closest to us, we can’t go around telling everyone what we are. We … I never meant to hurt you by keeping this from you.”

Greg stepped in when Dan’s voice faltered. “There’s more. There is a prophecy, the prophecy says that they seventh child from one of the original seven Keeper bloodlines, born on the seventh day of the month, will bring forth an end to the warring between the Keepers and the Reapers.” He paused, took a deep breath and then continued. “It’s Lucy. The Chosen One to bring forth the end of all this is Lucy.”

Dan took in how shocked Reese was. She stood frozen in her spot, her arms crossed in front of her, hugging her own body. Her eyes glittered with disbelief and probably anger.

She didn’t believe them.

But, did he really expect her to just say, ‘Oh, so that’s why all of this has been happening, thanks for coming clean.’ No, he had expected her to start making calls to have the whole family carted off to the asylum.

“I … I don’t even…”

Dan held up his hand. “You don’t have to say anything. We know how this sounds and that is why we couldn’t tell you, why we haven’t ever been able to tell anyone.” Right at that moment, his phone rang.

“Shit,” he cursed, digging his phone out of his pocket. “It’s James. Hello?”

“Reese is gone!” his brother cried out over the line. “I’m sorry man, I don’t know what happened. I’ve been awake and right here the entire time. I thought she was asleep in her room.”

“Don’t worry,” Dan assured him, tossing an accusing glare at Reese. “She’s here. She must have followed me from her place.”

“Dammit. I’m sorry man,” James apologized, but Dan could tell that he was relieved Reese was with them and not kidnapped by some Reaper.

“It’s okay. We’re telling her the truth now.”

He could practically see his brother roll his eyes. “Oh, that’s going to go over well. Good luck.”

“Doing it now, gotta go.” With that, he hung up on his brother. “That was pretty low to sneak out on James. He thought you were taken by a Reaper or something.”

She shook her head. “Do you think I really give a fuck about that right now? You all, those … Reapers, you are all killers.” She backed away several steps this time. “Stay away,” she hissed. “Stay out of my bar, out of my apartment and away from me.”

“Reese, please.” Dan knew he was begging. “The Reapers have been gunning for our family. They don’t want the prophecy fulfilled.”

This time, she didn’t bother responding. She turned and ran, tripping over her own feet at first, but then catching herself and picking up speed as she descended the slope of the hill.

Dan glanced at Greg. “Shit!” He turned and kicked the bench. “Shit!”

“You should go after her.” Their father’s voice interrupted his tantrum. “She needs more than what you were able to tell her.”

Greg nodded. “I agree with dad. This wasn’t a total shit show, but she shouldn’t be alone right now. Also, we need to make sure she doesn’t call the cops or anything.”

Inhaling deeply, he turned to his father. The shimmering blue mist that made up his father’s soul wavered, ebbing in and out as he struggled to stay solidified. “Dad, this is …”

His father nodded, understanding. “She will come around. But, stay with her. Just feel lucky that she showed herself. If you hadn’t known she was here, there could have been a real problem on your hands.”

“Okay.” Dan nodded, gathering his courage. “You’re right. She’ll come around. David did fine when we told him about the family.”

“But David was also closer to us than Reese is. You may have known her all your life, but that doesn’t mean she was close,” his father explained and then waved him off. “Go.”

Dan felt a hand on his shoulder. “I know this is hard, but this definitely not the hardest thing you’ve ever gone through.”

Memories of opening the door and finding Anna’s body lying amongst the remnants of a broken coffee table, blood hardening the frilly pink top she wore and staining the pale blue carpet all around her, flooded his consciousness.

No, this wasn’t the hardest thing he had ever gone through. But, that didn’t mean it wasn’t hard.

“I know you care about her.” Greg tilted his head.

Dan nodded, but didn’t respond.

“It’s not cheating on Anna, Dan. Anna wouldn’t want you to be miserable the rest of your life. And the fact is that Reese is good for you. She’s tough and speaks her mind. She hits you with a baseball bat if you get out of line.”

Dan couldn’t help but smile. That much was true. Reese was a force to be reckoned with. She was one of the strongest women he’d ever met.”

“I’m not saying go out and make a move on her, but at least try to salvage this friendship. We love her, the whole family does, but I see something more in your eyes. Go. Keep her safe and try to explain again. She probably just needs to get over the initial shock.”

His brother was right. This was how anyone would react if they were told that an entire family could see spirits and it was their birthright to protect them from people who sucked souls to survive.

Yeah, that was crazy.

“All right.” He nodded. “I better go.”

CHAPTER SIXTEEN

REESE

Reese burst into her apartment and slammed the door shut behind her. Did they seriously expect her to believe that shit? Who the hell did they think she was, anyway? Their stories just kept getting more and more unbelievable.

James shot up from where he had been sitting at the dining table. “Reese! Thank god, you’re back.”

She pointed. “Get the hell out of my apartment, you lying, murdering piece of shit.”

His mouth feel open in surprise but nothing came out.

“Get out!” She screamed, stomping her foot for emphasis.”

He held up his hands in surrender. “All right. All right. I’m going.” Still holding his hands up, he circled around her. She circled as well, her moving into her apartment and him moving toward the door.

“Whatever happened, I’m sorry,” James told her in a soft voice.

Heat coursed throughout her body. She was so angry. She couldn’t remember when she had ever been this mad. How could she have missed that this entire family needed to be inside a looney bin? “I don’t want to hear anything you have to say,” she seethed. “Just get away from me.”

He reached over and opened the door. “I’m leaving. Don’t do anything stupid okay.”

She snorted. “You’re one to talk.” Her words were out just as James was closing the door behind him. “Keepers and Reapers. Fucking crazy bastards.”

She stormed into the kitchen and grabbed a bottle of red wine out of the cabinet where she kept her liquor. She filled her biggest wine glass almost to the brim and then lifted the bottle and took a long pull directly from that.

The wine would help, but it sure as hell wouldn’t make what just happened go away and right now, that was all she wanted. If only she could turn back time and do all of that over again, she would have never followed Dan into the cemetery.

She pulled out a chair and sat down at the kitchen table, setting both the wine glass and bottle in front of her. Burying her face in her hands, she tried to think about every word that Dan had said to her.

If they weren’t telling the truth, why would they be walking around the cemetery? They lived in the cemetery, for crying out loud, and their father’s parents had lived there before them. Maybe they truly, truly believed the lie that they had been living. Maybe it had been told to them so many times that they actually believed they were protectors of souls.

They were always a weird bunch, but she never would have thought that an entire family, maybe even their parents and grandparents, would actually be crazy. This was straight out of some horror movie or something.

And David, he was a cop and he was with Hannah, did he know about all of this? If he knew about it, was he just okay with his girlfriend being a killer … or worse, was he a killer, too?

“Oh, good lord.” She lifted her glass and drank half the contents.

These Reapers they had mentioned, they were supposed to feed on the souls. Seriously, seeing ghosts was one thing, but trying to convince her that there were people out there who ate souls to survive, that was completely ridiculous.

A knock sounded at her door. She looked toward the door but didn’t move to answer it.

“Reese,” Dan called from the other side and pounded on the wood again. “Reese, please open the door.”

“Go to hell!” she hollered at him instead of staying with her initial thought to ignore him.

“Open the door,” he said, calmer this time.

“Nope.”

“Okay, I’m coming in anyway then.”

She stood, her chair sliding out as she did. “You go right ahead and try that and you will find out what happens.” She hurried over to her purse and opened it. Reaching in, she found her pepper spray.

He was picking the lock, she could hear him doing it. She positioned herself several feet in front of the door, held her can up, arms extended and poised to use it on him when he entered the house.

Dan finally freed the door from its lock and pushed it open.

“This is your last chance,” Reese warned him. “I don’t want to have to use this on you, so just turn around and leave.”

“Go ahead.” Dan took a step toward her. “I can take it.”

“Stop there.”

Another step and then he lunged toward her, quickly grabbing the pepper spray and twisting so that she was forced to release it. “If that was anyone but me, I would hope that you would have enough in you to actually fire it before they got that close.” He set the can on the table by the door.

“I don’t want you here.” Against her will, her voice wavered.

“I know,” he whispered. “I know, but I need to be here to help you understand.”

And then, she looked up into his eyes and saw genuine truth there. She felt her own eyes well up and tears began to slip from the corners, running down her cheeks. Dan moved toward her, reaching out to wipe the wetness off of her cheek. She wanted to flinch away, to run, to fight. Instead, she did nothing but stand there.

“Why are you crying?” he asked in a whisper.

She sniffed. “I don’t know. I don’t know.”

“It’s okay, I promise.” He reached out with his other hand and then brought her toward him, embracing her tightly against his chest.

Reese didn’t resist, she actually felt better once his arms were around her and she could hear the beating of his heart beneath his tee shirt. “I just … I thought I knew you.”

“You do,” he assured her. “This doesn’t change as much as you think it does.”

“How can it not? You are killers … murderers.”

“Listen, Reese.” He pulled her away just enough so that he could look into her eyes. “I’m not going to lie to you and tell you that I’ve never killed anyone, but up until a few months ago, we rarely saw a Reaper in this town. We have only killed if we are defending our own lives. Hannah was attacked and killed a Reaper who most certainly would have murdered her first. We were attacked several times by large groups of Reapers with guns and knives. Aiden’s elderly friend was kidnapped, Lucy was kidnapped … do you see what I mean? We have to defend ourselves or we will die.”

“I don’t know.” Reese sobbed. “I can’t handle this right now. I feel like everything I’ve ever known about you has been fabricated.”

He shook his head, his big brown eyes filled with intensity as he stared down at her. “I hated lying to you. Before, it was no big deal, but since those Reapers were in the bar that night, I knew that eventually you would find out about us. I didn’t want it to be like this, though.”

“And David, is he a … Keeper?”

Dan shook his head. “No, David can occasionally see the spirits, though. We only told him what we are recently. It was like you’re situation. Different, but sort of the same. The biggest reason we told him was because Hannah wants to make a life with him, and she didn’t want to go any further with that if she had to base their life on a lie. She had to tell him for them to stay together.”

“And he just … believed you?”

Dan smiled ruefully. “Yes and no. We took him into the graveyard to tell him and he was open enough to it that he was able to see and hear the souls, particularly my father, who is stuck in the cemetery until god knows when. But, that was all it took for him to believe, now he is one of the team.”

Even though she enjoyed the comfort of Dan’s arms around her, she pulled away and crossed the room to the dining table. Lifting her glass, she downed a large sip of wine and then turned back to Dan. “Now, what about Jack and Aiden?”

She hadn’t been sure she would want to know any more of this. She was still far from believing anything he had to tell her, but the more information she got, the more she could attempt to understand, at least.

“Jack and Aiden are Reapers.”

Well, now that was unexpected. “But aren’t Reapers bad?”

Dan nodded. “Usually. Keepers and Reapers are born enemies, so there is something in the chemical makeup of our bodies that causes a burn when one … species, I guess we could all them, touches the other. Now, Jack and Lucy are different. None of us know why, but they don’t have the burn when they touch. It’s just not there.”

“So, they fell in love because there isn’t a burn between them?”

“No, they fell in love because they had no choice. The moment they saw each other, there was no question. Jack would protect her with his life. He has done that and will continue to do so. It’s almost like they imprinted on each other or something.” He paused. “Not that imprinting is a thing with Keepers or Reapers, it’s just an example.”

Trying hard to take this all in and give him the benefit of the doubt, Reese let out a long, low breath. “Okay. Aiden and Liv?”

Dan shook his head. “You’re guess is as good as mine. I don’t really care for the guy, but he’s proved himself to us and Liv truly cares about him. They have the burn, so I really don’t know … don’t want to know how they get around that.”

Reese thought for a moment and then crinkled her brow. “Neither do I.”

“It’s all a long story. There is a hierarchy of Reapers and Jack’s mom is the Empress. Jack has renounced all claim to his Reaper heritage and has become one of us. Aiden was basically kicked out for helping us, so he’s on our side now, too.”

“My god,” Reese whispered. “This is a fucking fantasy story.”

Dan shook his head. “No it’s not. A fantasy would have some good shit, like magic wands and fairies that grant wishes or something that would give us an upper hand.”

Reese jumped when a knock echoed through the house. Who in the world could be here at this hour?

“I’ll get it.” Dan held his hand out for her to stay seated. She nodded and let him, taking the opportunity to refill her wine glass.

When he opened the door, Lucy was on the other side. She was wearing pink yoga pants and a baggy sweatshirt. Her dark red hair was tied up into a messy bun with a few strands hanging down. In her arms, clutched against her chest, she held a large, leather bound book.

CHAPTER SEVENTEEN

DAN

Dan was as surprised as Reese to see Lucy standing on the other side of the door. He could tell that she had woke and hurried right over. He hoped that Reese could see that his family truly cared about her.

“Hey Luce, what are you doing here?”

Lucy shifted her eyes downward, toward the book. “I heard what happened, and I wanted to help.”

“Come on in.” Reese beckoned her inside. “I’d offer you wine, but you’re drinking for two, so …”

Lucy flashed Dan a concerned look and entered the apartment. “I don’t need anything. Thank you, though.” She crossed the room to the dining table where Reese was currently refilling the wine glass again.

Dan closed the door and joined them. Lucy set the large tome down on the table and pointed to the name on the front. “See this. This is a record of the Estmond family Keepers. Some of it is in other languages, but some entries are in English.” She pushed the book toward Reese, “Go ahead and take a look if you want.”

Reese appeared interested, examined the cover of the book with its emblem and the Estmond name. She flipped it open and stared down at the aging pages before her. Lucy leaned over and helped her turn to the entry that their great-grandmother had written. “This entry is from our great-grandmother and describes the prophecy.”

Silently, Reese read the handwritten words that had been penned by their ancestor. Dan leaned back in his chair and watched Reese’s facial expressions as read. She remained serious and flat, so he was unable to decipher how she was feeling as she worked her way to the end.

Finally, she finished and tore her eyes away from the pages. “Okay, this helps, but …”

“Do you believe in ghosts?” Lucy asked before Reese could get any further.

Reese nodded. “Well yes, but apparently not like you guys do. I have never seen anything or have any reason to believe they exist.”

“Then how do you know they do?”

“I just do,” Reese told his sister. “Like, how one believes in God, I just know that they are there.”

Lucy nodded, understanding what Reese was saying. “Okay, so you know they are there. How hard is it to believe that someone can actually see them? We were born this way, Reese. We didn’t ask to be born into a legacy that has an enemy. We didn’t ask to have to give up friendships, possible love lives, careers and so much more … we were given this birthright and it isn’t something we can just ignore.”

Reese looked from Lucy to Dan and then back to his sister. “I can see how all that would be difficult, in your situation.”

Dan pulled out his flask and opened it. “It’s been more than difficult in some ways.”

Reese met his gaze and something clicked into place. “Anna?” she asked.

A quick nip from his flask was the only answer Dan could manage at the moment. Lucy reached across the table and yanked it from his grip. “Dan, you need to tell her.”

“Hey!” He tried to grab it back from her but she leaned back and held it out of reach. “No, this is important. Tell your story, brother.”

He didn’t want to talk about it. Talking about it brought back fresh memories of the ones that had faded over time. After letting out a long sigh, Dan focused on Reese, who met his stare and held it. “Anna was a Keeper as well. She didn’t live here at first. I met her by chance at a mall in Santa Rosa. I knew she was a Keeper, because we can tell another when we see one. Anyway, I fell in love with her the moment I saw her. I know, that’s for fairy tales and usually total bullshit, but I loved her … so much.

“We dated and then she moved here. I don’t want to talk about all of that, but in the end, it was being a Keeper that got her killed.”

Dan paused, his eyes stung and his leg wouldn’t quit tapping the floor. “In Summer Hollow, we have never had a lot of Reapers to deal with. It’s an ‘on occasion’ thing. The cities have a full time job in their graveyards. Ours we patrol, but it’s usually for nothing. In the past, when we see a Reaper, its unspoken law that we do our best not to kill. Silver weakens them, so we use blades, but killing has always been avoided if possible.

“The Reapers don’t go by these rules. However, they do try and keep a low profile, which means we stay off the grid of regular people and don’t kill because it is not only wrong, but too much work to cover up. So, both sides pretty much obeyed these unspoken laws.

“But, some didn’t.

“Anna had her own little house. I bought mine shortly after we got engaged and she was actually in the process of moving in when she … when … when it happened. I don’t know why, I will absolutely never know. Maybe there was bad blood from something that had happened before she met me. Maybe her family had some issues with these Reapers, or maybe it was chance and they followed her back to her house.

“She didn’t answer my text messages. She didn’t answer my calls. I started to get worried because we were supposed to have dinner in the city that night. So, I went over to her apartment and let myself in.

“She …” Dan choked and paused, tearing his eyes away from Reese and turning to face the wall. “She was gone. Broken and bloody on the floor. Stabbed seven times.”

He turned back to face them, unwanted tears streaming down his cheeks. “Seven times!”

Reese’s hand flew to her lips, covering her shocked expression. “Oh my god, I am so sorry.”

Lucy reached over and tried to grip his hand. Dan didn’t want comfort, though. He wanted to run, to hide, and to drink the images of her away from his memory. “She was murdered. I don’t know why and I never will. My grandparents were killed by Reapers as well, in a gas station, and it was played off as a robbery gone wrong.”

“Dan,” Reese began softly. “I had no idea. When we heard about Anna, all that was reported was that she was killed trying to fight someone who broke into the apartment.”

“I know what they reported,” he told her. “Basically, it was correct. There was no way you could have known the secret part of it.”

“So you see,” Lucy explained. “We live a dangerous life and now, the entire Reaper society is gunning for us because of this prophecy. I am the Chosen One, which means they want me most, but they are after the entire family … and apparently anyone who seems close to us.”

“Good lord.” Reese buried her face in her hands. “This is so much more than I ever imagined when I wanted you guys to tell me what was going on. I get it, why you would lie or refuse to tell me.”

Dan wiped his cheek with the back of his hand. His face felt hot and he knew that he was flushed. This was straight up embarrassing, he’d never broken down in front of anyone except his parents and his siblings.

Lucy closed the book and then stood, bringing the book with her. “Well, I hope this helps. I just wanted you to know that we aren’t liars and we aren’t murderers. Living, being who we are, it’s harder than hell, and we have sacrificed more than most to protect those who have passed on from losing their souls forever. Once a Reaper gets a soul, it’s gone. Done.”

“Thank you.” Reese stood, joining Lucy. “I’m glad you came.”

“I have to go back home now. Call if you need anything.” She glanced at Dan. “Either of you.”

“We will.” Reese assured her. She walked Lucy to the door and let her out, then closed and bolted the door behind her.

By the time Lucy had gone, Dan had gotten his shit together and stopped bawling. “Okay, you can be pissed all you want. I know it’s been a long night, but I’m not going anywhere until I feel like you are safe again.”

“Okay.”

“Okay?”

She nodded. “I said okay. Now get some sleep. I’m going to bed for a couple hours.”

CHAPTER EIGHTEEN

REESE

She still didn’t know what to think. However, one thing she did know was that thinking an entire family was crazy was just … well, it was crazy.

Exhausted was too mild a word for how she felt at the moment, physically and emotionally. Although she was this tired, she tossed and turned, unable to sleep. Everything that had been revealed to her earlier spun circles in her head and would not allow her to rest.

It had been horrifying to hear how Dan found Anna. Regardless of who did the killing, no one should have to see their loved one like that. Reese knew that it had been a break-in and that Anna had been stabbed, but really there was nothing more than that in the papers or on T.V. Seeing him as he described it hurt her heart. She had understood his pain before, but hearing him and watching him tell it had really driven it home.

What in the world was she going to do? She had no clue if she believed Dan and the rest of them or not. But, at the same time, her lie detector had not gone off and, as she had repeatedly screamed at Dan, she was a bartender, she could tell when people were lying.

Also, they obviously cared about her or they wouldn’t be going through this much trouble to make sure that she was protected. Perhaps it was time that she let go of the mistrust and gave them the benefit of the doubt.

Her eyes lids began to feel heavy as fatigue took over. The glowing rays of morning light had just begun to stream in from the window in her room when she finally, blessedly, fell asleep.

Later that morning her eyes popped open and she sat up with a start. It had to be late … she needed to get her ass out of bed. A glance at the clock told her it was indeed late, but not as late as she thought. It was nearly noon and she had to open the bar in a couple hours. “Shit.” She tossed the covers aside and stumbled sleepily across her room.

She found Dan in the kitchen. He stood with his back to her, dressed in the same rumpled jeans and tee shirt that he’d had on the night before. He had taken his boots off and was barefoot though. Reese took a moment to admire him from behind and then greeted him.  “Hey. Did you get any sleep?”

Dan turned to face her. Locks of his dark red hair were falling into his eyes and from the looks of him, if he did get any rest, it wasn’t much at all.

“A little. I had a hard time falling asleep.”

She joined him at the counter. “Ohhh, what’s that?” She pointed at the white bakery box beside a couple of to-go cups.

He smiled. “Liv dropped off bagels and coffee for breakfast.” He offered her one of the cups. “Apparently this is something you’ve ordered before, Liv described this as ‘that shit she likes.’”

Reese lifted it and carefully sipped. “Yum.”

Dan arched an eyebrow. “Well, are you going to tell me what’s in that or am I going to be left hanging all day?”

“I’m not telling.” Reese smiled at him sweetly. “It’s a secret Liv and I share and it’s my special drink.”

She wasn’t going to tell him that it was only a coffee mixed with liqueur. Liv had probably only said that to Dan so he wouldn’t drink her coffee, too. Liv absolutely was not allowed to sell this, so it was not something she purchased in the shop … ever. But Liv had gifted it to her more than once.

“That’s mean,” he told her with a mock frown.

“Sorry.”

“You are so not sorry.”

“No, I’m not,” she admitted playfully. “Let’s dress up those bagels. I’m hungry.” She was more than hungry, she was starving. The events of the night before must have eaten up all of her energy or something.

They prepared their bagels and took them to the dining table. “Okay,” Reese began after they were comfortable. “I have decided to believe you.”

Dan had just taken a large bite of bagel and made a choking sound as he tried to swallow it. He grabbed his coffee to wash it down and then met her gaze. “You have?”

With a nod, Reese sipped her blessedly spiked coffee. “Yes, I have. I’m giving you all the benefit of the doubt. I don’t think you guys are lying about this, but listen … it’s hard for me to believe what I can’t see.”

She waited for his response. “Of course, I understand that,” he told her.

“It just might be hard for me to be totally on board with all this at first. But I know you guys care. I don’t necessarily like some of what you do in certain situations, but I’m going to try to be okay with this. I’m tired of fighting with you … with all of you.”

Dan tore his eyes away from hers and stared down at his coffee. “I’m tired of fighting, too. I have been. I hated lying to you.”

“I know you did,” she told him. “Let’s just do a reset and start over, okay?”

He nodded. “Agreed.”

They finished their bagels in comfortable silence. When they were finished, Reese took their plates to the sink and then headed for the bathroom. “I’m going to take a shower and then you can have it. You need to get cleaned up before we go to work.”

“We?” Dan asked, very obviously shocked.

“Well yeah,” she told him. “You would be going ‘to work’ with me anyway, but I’m putting you to actual work today. It’s lame for you to be sitting around looking like a bouncer or something. You can do something useful while you’re pulling guard duty.”

“Reese …”

“Don’t.” She put her hand up in a gesture for him to stop. “You’re doing this.”

The expression on his face was full of doubt, but she wouldn’t put him behind the bar unless she was sure he could do it. She was the only one allowed behind the bar and, so far, he would be the first one she would permit to help serve her customers. “I’ll be quick,” she told him and then hurried off to get ready.

True to her word, it didn’t take her that long to shower and change. Dan took over the bathroom while she dressed in her bedroom. When they were both finished, they headed down to the bar, locking the apartment behind them.

“Okay.” Reese used her keys to unlock the heavy bolts on the door. “You are going to be helping behind the bar today.” She pushed the door open and the two of them entered the empty bar. She loved it, the silence before the storm.

“No shit?” Dan turned to her, probably to get a look at her face to see if she was messing with him.

She nodded. “No shit. I have rules, though.”

“Can I hold the bat?”

“That is a no.”

“Well it was worth a shot.” He shrugged. “Okay, let me hear the rules.”

She led him through the little swinging gate and into her sacred, off limits area behind the bar. “Well, there is mainly one rule.”

“I think I know what it is.”

She turned to him and stared him straight in the eye to make sure he understood. “There will be absolutely no drinking while you are working.”

“I knew it.”

“Do you got it?”

He tilted his head just a tad and smiled. “Of course I got it, your bar, your rule.”

“Good. You can have all the soda you want from the fountain, though.”

“I just have one question. Don’t you have to go to school for this, or like, know how to make drinks, at least?”

Reese checked the clock and then opened the ice bin, taking a look inside. “No, most people order beer or shots, you’ll be fine.”

“Okay.” He moved out from behind the bar and started on moving the chairs down. “I lied. I have another question.”

“What?”

“Do I get to keep my tips?”

Reese let out a laugh and rolled her eyes. “Of course you do. Though, I’m sure it won’t be anything what you’re used to getting at your other job.”

Dan tossed his head back and let out the most genuine laugh she had ever heard from him.

It was nice.

CHAPTER NINETEEN

DAN

After the first few hours and a couple of mishaps, he had become a pro at pouring beer from the tap and filling shot glasses. He didn’t mind working behind the bar at all, though he silently prayed the entire time that no one would order some crazy drink.

He didn’t even have the urge for a drink the entire time. That was saying something, because usually being in a crowd of people unnerved him and being nervous made him want to drink.

He served the customers, pocketed the tips, which he had no intention of keeping and would give to Reese later, and had a good time doing it. No one was more surprised about that than he was, that was for sure.

After all, he was an alcoholic and being around all the booze was bound to make him want some. But he did fine and actually enjoyed visiting with the citizens of Summer Hollow. They talked to him, too. He was surprised that people just opened up like they did. He found out that Don Reynolds was having a baby and he was scared shitless, so his wife, Jenny, thought he didn’t want a baby and tossed him out on his ass. Sarah Lewis had lost her job, Ken Walters got a job, and Bob Anderson, who was the high school track coach, came in and cursed his whole team of foul mouthed teens who had no respect for authority.

Working in a bar was quite enlightening.

“Time to close up.” Reese joined him at the tap and smiled. “You want to kick everyone out or should I.”

He grinned back at her. “I would rather watch you do it.”

“Okay then.” She began the rounds and he watched while she went from table to table, cutting people off by telling them to drink the rest of what they had or abandon it. Most of them downed what they had and brought their glasses to the bar where Dan added them to the dishwasher.

There were a few people who were far too screwed up to drive. In this case, she made them turn over their keys and hooked them up with someone who was capable of driving, and would give them a ride home.

Only one person tried to argue with her and refused to give up their keys. Dan watched, preparing himself to help if needed.

“John, give me the damn keys.”

“Fuck off, Reese,” John slurred. “Who made you the po-lice? I drive myself home.”

“No,” Reese lunged for his pockets and he pushed her backward. “Stop trying to grab at me, woman. I’m married.”

“I’m not hitting on you, dumbass. Dan!” she called out. “Call John’s wife and tell her to come and get him and explain what is going on here.”

“No, don’t call Linda,” John slurred. The man was tall and very heavy set. He swayed on his feet and frowned at Reese. “Linda will kick my ass if she has to get up and come here.”

“Then give me the keys.”

Dan knew that he was supposed to call Linda anyway, so he found the little address book Reese kept by the phone and looked up the number. Linda answered in a sleepy voice and then ended the call by cursing and hanging up on him.

“I think she’s coming,” he told Reese and glanced over at them. Reese and John were circling each other like animals ready to fight.

“Come on, John. Gimme those keys.”

“Never,” John growled.

Dan still didn’t move in to help. He figured Reese was more or less keeping him busy until Linda arrived. The whole scenario was pretty comical, actually. So, he wiped the bar down and kept an eye on Reese while he cleaned up. He even had time to put the some of the chairs up while Reese lunged from side to side, faking him out and making him dizzy.

It wasn’t very long, though. Just a few minutes and then finally, Dan strode by John while Reese had his attention diverted and snagged the key tag that was hanging out of his left pocket, effectively lifting the whole key ring from John’s saggy britches. “Here you go.” He tossed the keys to over to Reese, who caught them in the air with her right hand.

“Victory!” she shouted just as Linda burst in the front entrance. “Oh, hi Linda,” she panted.

Linda was a plump woman with blonde hair that she had twisted up into a pile on top of her head. She wore a pair of furry pajama pants with cats on them and a big sweatshirt that she had zipped up, probably to cover up the fact that she wasn’t wearing a bra.

“John! I swear to god this is the last time I’m dragging myself out of bed in the middle of the night to come and get your ass. I have work in the morning!”

Reese jogged over and held out the keys. “Here you go. Sorry you had to come out. I would have taken him, but I don’t think he’d get in my car.”

Linda glared at her husband as he lumbered across the bar toward them. “Yeah, he’s an ornery old brute.”

“Well,” Reese laughed, “at least he keeps me in shape, chasing him around and all.”

Linda shook her head. “If he thinks a hangover is the worst thing he has to face in the morning, then he has another think coming.”

Reese laughed again and patted Linda on the shoulder. “You guys drive home safe.”

“Will do,” the other woman responded and then led John out of the bar as he slurred apologies profusely.

Dan shook his head when Reese closed the door behind them and then leaned against it, letting out a long sigh. “Boy, I thought I was your most troublesome customer.”

She rolled her eyes and pushed off the door, then turned to throw the bolt. “Not even close. All I have to do is wave my bat at you and you fall in line.”

Dan pressed his hand to his heart and feigned mock offense. “I am not that easy.”

She chuckled lightly as she rounded the bar. “You did good tonight, Estmond.”

He did, didn’t he? It felt awesome to be useful and a total bonus to get to hang out with Reese all night. Now that they didn’t have the awkward secret sitting between them, they were able to interact with more ease than they had the last several days.

“Thank you. I enjoyed it too. I didn’t think I would.” He joined her behind the bar and leaned against it.

Reese bent down and opened one of the sliding coolers. “Here. This is for you.” She lifted a six pack and set it on the shiny wood of the bar.

Dan examined the beer and then sighed. “Non-alcoholic.”

“Yup.”

“I usually don’t drink beer. I’m more of a hard liquor kind of guy.”

She smiled and pushed the cans toward him a smidge. “Now you are a non-alcoholic beer kind of guy.”

“Seriously. You’re killing me, Knight.”

“Just try it. I’ve met several people who have told me it just takes a little getting used to.”

With another sigh, he plucked one of the cans off of the plastic ring and popped it open. Reese waited for him and then followed suit by getting her own. “You have to start trying harder, Dan, to be the man I know you can be and this …” she patted the top of the cans, “is a good way to start. I can even set up meetings for you to go to if you want.”

Dan chuckled and then sipped the beverage. “Ugh, gross … this tastes like ass.” He grimaced. “Anyway.” He continued when he had recovered. “I’m not sure about the meetings. That is just too much for me.”

“Well let me know if you change your mind. I can help,” Reese assured him.

Dan froze for a few seconds. The thought of quitting, of going to meetings and actually moving forward with something he has known he had to do for quite a while, was daunting. He wasn’t sure he could do it. He drank to numb the pain, not because he particularly liked it.

“I’ll let you know. Let’s just start with this.”

Reese nodded, took a swig of her own beer and made a face. “Yuck! You’re right, this does taste like ass.”

“Told you.” He set the can aside. “I’d almost rather have nothing than drink that.”

“I agree. It’s pretty nasty when you’re used to the real thing.”

They were standing side by side at the bar, both leaning their backs against the edge. She set her can down and moved in front of him. “Dan, I know that stepping away from alcohol will be hard, but you have to try. I made a decision.”

He looked down into her dark eyes, which were glittering intensely and asked, “What decision?”

“I’m not going to serve you booze anymore. Even if I have to kick you out of the bar, I have to do my part in helping you beat this. If I kept encouraging you, I wouldn’t be a good friend.”

He took a moment to consider this before flying off the handle or insisting that he was fine and could handle it. She saw one of her friends in a situation and was trying to help. She cared about him. He couldn’t be mad at her for caring about him.

“Why do you even care so much?” he asked, his voice low. He wanted to know why she would make such an effort for him when he couldn’t even do that for himself.

Reese offered him a small smile. “I don’t really know. But, I can tell you what I do know. I know that you are a good man. You have an intense love for your family and those you care about. You can’t be there for them if you aren’t doing everything you can for you. I know that you are capable of so much more than drinking all day long and taking your clothes off for money.” She reached out and without hesitation, touched his cheek, running her fingers over the rough stubble.

“Reese …” he whispered, lifting his hand to cover hers.

“I know that if it is true, what you say you are, then you were put on this earth for an important reason and throwing your life away is a waste of your gift. You have been given a tremendous power that you have seen as a curse at times, but you save souls, Dan … you can’t toss that aside.”

He stared down at her in awe. Her dark waves tumbled down over her shoulders and her brown eyes seemed to bore right down into his soul. His hand was still on hers, holding it in place as if he didn’t want to let go. “I never thought about it that way,” he whispered.

“Well, you need to start. You are important to so many people, and the souls as well.”

Before he knew what he was doing, he slid his free arm around her waist and pulled her close until her body was pressed against his. She squeaked a little in surprise and then relaxed against him.

“Dan …” She began, but he cut her off by lowering his head and touching his lips to hers. She responded immediately, her arms moving to encircle his neck and her lips parting, opening for him to explore.

God, she felt amazing. To hold a woman … this woman, felt better than he had ever thought it would. Her hips involuntarily moved against him, causing him to let out a moan beneath her lips.

He suddenly felt like he could conquer anything, like he could rule the world, as long as he could keep on kissing her.

CHAPTER TWENTY

REESE

She was the first to break the kiss.

Gently, she pulled away, but he kept her firmly pressed against him, secure in his embrace. “What was that for?” she asked softly. She had always been attracted to him, but she didn’t think he had ever felt that way about her. Maybe it was just a spur of the moment thing because of high emotions. Maybe it didn’t have anything to do with if he liked her or not.

“For believing in me,” he told her. “For believing that I can be a better person.”

As much as she wanted to kiss him … perhaps even more, she didn’t want to do it if it wasn’t real. Not with Dan, that would hurt too much. She was already risking so much just with the one kiss.

“And that warrants a hot and heavy kiss?”

He stared down at her, meeting her gaze, his expression completely serious even with the strands of dark red hair that were falling in his face. “Reese, I have wanted to kiss you long before now.”

She knew he was still mourning Anna, that the loss of the love of his life would take a very, very long time to get over. But she suddenly wanted to be there for him, to help him overcome all of it. She raised up onto her tiptoes and crushed her lips against his.

He pulled her tighter, and the kiss grew deeper and harder than before. She nipped at his bottom lip and he groaned beneath her. Her hips were pressed against his and she could feel his excitement growing.

Subconsciously, she knew they had to stop or she would let him take her right there on the bar where she served her customers. But, she didn’t have the strength to pull away yet. Everything about him felt good. The touch of his fingertips, the softness of his lips, the lack of space between their bodies. No, she didn’t want to stop.

Time passed too quickly and she was disappointed when Dan was the one to break the embrace. When he released her, they were both breathless and flushed.

“Okay.” She tried to mentally brush aside the sexual frustration. “Let’s get this finished and get out of here.”

As they cleaned up in comfortable silence, she kept sneaking glances at him and, every time, she found him staring at her. Knowing that his eyes were on her, she could barely concentrate on her tasks. She could not wait to get out of there and up to the apartment.

She hadn’t thought about that either, what was going to happen when they went up there. Oh, man, if they kissed like that again there might be no stopping something more and she didn’t want to rush him into anything.

When they were finished with the bar, she locked everything up and he followed her up to her apartment. She unlocked the door and then waited while he cleared the apartment. “It’s good,” he called out as he appeared by the front door.

“Thanks.” She offered him a smile and crossed the threshold into her home. “Are you hungry?”

“I’m a man, I’m pretty much always hungry.”

She thought she would whip up some breakfast for dinner, since that was what she was in the mood for. Reese worked bar hours, so she was never up for actual breakfast and always missed dinner. Set meals were not her thing. “I’m going to make some food, why don’t you pick out a movie and we can watch it while we eat.”

Twenty minutes later they were eating sausage and eggs while watching a romantic comedy on her flat screen. She couldn’t believe he had chosen this movie because he liked it. The choice was probably based more on what he thought Reese might like.

After the food was gone, they took their dishes to the sink and she sank down into the couch. Dan sat next to her in the corner. He looked like he wanted to say something, but didn’t.

“What is it?” she asked. “Do I have food on my face?”

He chuckled and ran his fingers through the loose locks over his forehead. “Okay, I’m going to ask you something, but you can’t laugh at me.”

“Well, what is it?”

He somehow managed to appear sheepish as he asked her, “Will you cuddle with me?”

A laugh escaped Reese. “Cuddling, seriously? I thought you were going to ask me something inappropriate. You looked so scared.”

“It’s just that cuddle isn’t a manly word, so I wasn’t sure how to phrase the question.”

Reese had never, ever seen Dan look so uncomfortable. Normally, he was a very confident man. I guess you’d have to be to be a stripper. In any case, it absolutely melted her heart to see this side of him. “Of course I will.” She rolled her eyes. “I need a place to kick back and watch the movie anyway, so I’d totally planned on using you for a cushion.” Before he could say anything, she crawled up beside him and they positioned themselves so that they were laying on their sides facing the television.

Reese was surprisingly comfortable pressed up against Dan’s body with his arm around her waist. He didn’t try and kiss her again, which she had kind of expected and more than kind of wanted him to do. But, she was more than happy to lie there with him and have a normal few moments before they had to go back to the craziness of their lives.

Bang, bang, bang.

Reese’s eyes shot open. The T.V. had long since shut itself off and the apartment was bathed in the glow sunshine streaming through the windows. “Oh, shit.” Her eyes went to the clock and she discovered that it was only seven in the morning. “We fell asleep.”

Dan squeezed his arm tightly around her waist. “I slept good. Even if it was on a couch.”

Bang, bang, bang. “Wake up you guys!” Greg’s voice hollered from the other side of the door.

“Coming!” Reese shouted back. She peeled Dan’s arm off of her since he didn’t appear to want to let go of her any time soon.

“Go away,” Dan yelled back. “It’s too early.”

“Open up!”

Reese sighed and stood. She still wore her clothes that she had come home in the night before, so she didn’t have to worry about being decent. “Sounds like trouble or they wouldn’t be here.”

Dan nodded and pushed himself into a sitting position on the couch. “Yeah, most likely. Figures, though. Maybe someday I’ll actually get an entire night’s sleep.”

“It’s technically my fault you didn’t sleep.”

He shook his head. “No, technically mine, because if it wasn’t for the crap with my family, I wouldn’t be following you around like the secret service.”

“Fine. It’s your fault.” She flipped the bolt lock on the front door and swung it open. What she saw outside her door made her turn to Dan and say, “Yeah, definitely trouble.”

On the landing outside her door stood Greg, Jack, Lucy, Hannah, David and Aiden. “What’s going on?” she asked, holding the door wide for them to come in.

“Brandy’s Café was vandalized last night. Someone busted all the windows and trashed the entire inside,” Lucy announced as they piled inside. Suddenly, Reese felt like her apartment was smaller than it was.

Dan had risen from the couch and crossed the living room to the kitchen. “I’m going to make coffee,” he told her, catching her eye as he passed. “Then we can get on with the newest shit show.”

The look in his eye had her cheeks flaming and she knew that she was blushing. Crap, that figured. Right in front of everyone who had just invaded her apartment. She slowly turned back toward the group of people standing awkwardly in her living room and discovered that they were, indeed, staring at her with knowing looks.

“Nothing happened.” She spread her hands out. “Now stop looking at me like that. Find a place to sit if you want. You all look uncomfortable just standing there.”

“We didn’t say anything, but you seem awfully defensive.” Jack winked at her.

“Good grief, Jack, don’t do that.”

“Your coffee pot is slow!” Dan hollered from the kitchen.

Lucy rolled her eyes. “Just get your ass in here so we can tell you what’s up.”

Dan appeared at the door to the kitchen. “You already told us. So, I’m assuming it was done by Reapers or you wouldn’t be here.”

David nodded. “There is video footage. SHPD went over it and we weren’t able to identify anyone yet. There weren’t any prints anywhere either. I asked Aiden to take a look at the footage and he was able to identify one of the men. They took out the cameras so there isn’t a lot of video with them on it.

That’s right. Reese suddenly remembered that Jack and Aiden were Reapers. They didn’t seem different than anyone else, unless being more attractive than most was a Reaper trait.

“Are you sure it’s a … Reaper?” she asked, feeling as if she were asking if she was sure someone had a second head or something.

“I’m sure,” Aiden told her. “I worked with this guy before.”

“This is awful. We should go down and see if there is anything we can do to help clean up.”

Hannah nodded at Reese’s suggestion. “We were actually going to do that as soon as we were done here.”

Lucy paced the length of the living room with her arms crossed over her chest. “This isn’t good. The only reason they would want to destroy a random business in Summer Hollow would be to get to us. To hurt the people we care about.”

“Yeah,” Reese agreed. “They probably found out at the fight in the bar that this town protects their own. It’s such a small town that everyone here is like family.”

“Agreed,” Hannah mumbled.

Jack marched over and slid his arm around Lucy, probably to get her to stop pacing back and forth. She glanced up and smiled at him and then turned to the group. “So the question is, what do we do now?”

David, who had taken a spot on the couch, leaned forward a little and spoke up. “Well, Sheriff Davis has called for extra patrols of the town and surrounding area. So, that will help some. I think that these guys knew that our department is tiny and we don’t have that many officers on night duty.”

“Good.” Lucy nodded. “This is bad. If they are straying away from the rules and involving innocents, then we are looking at some very serious issues that surpass everything we’ve ever dealt with.”

Reese glanced at Dan, who had been silent the entire time. He was leaning on the doorframe between the kitchen and living room. He looked angry enough to beat the hell out of someone just for speaking to him. “They already strayed away from that rule when they attacked Reese.”

Aiden stood. “All we can do is wait and see what happens, but keep our eyes open for anything strange. I have a feeling this isn’t the end of whatever they are planning.”

Jack nodded. “Agreed. Maybe if they see more cops out and more of us hanging around they won’t do anything else like this.”

“Let’s hope,” Dan muttered.

“Just be careful,” David warned. “If law enforcement sees you they might think that you are the one acting shady, especially if you’re just milling around town for no reason. Seriously you guys, the last thing we need is for the cops to stop you and catch you guys with guns and knives. You don’t need any more issues than you already have.”

“That’s for sure,” Hannah agreed. “I don’t want to go back to jail for something stupid like that.”

“You won’t,” David assured her. “You guys just need to be careful not to look suspicious if you’re roaming around town, since the police will be looking for strange activity.”

The group nodded that they understood and fell silent for a moment. Finally, Hannah clapped her hands together and said, “All right, we have to go down to Liv’s and let her know what’s going on and then we’re going over to Brandy’s to help with clean up. So, we’ll let you guys get back to your … coffee.”

Dan pushed his sister on the shoulder as she strolled past him. She only laughed as she stumbled and then regained her footing. “Touch me again and I’ll give you the worst wedgie of your life.”

“Go ahead and try it,” he dared her.

Reese shook her head at their childish antics and watched them all file out the door. She hated that she felt so relieved that they were gone, but her tiny little apartment was not made for that many people.

“Now, we can have coffee,” Reese announced to Dan, making a beeline for the kitchen.

CHAPER TWENTY-ONE

DAN

Dan watched from the doorway as Reese poured them each a cup of coffee. Her hair was loose and the waves were tangled into knots from sleeping, but she didn’t seem to care. The bruises had begun to fade and looked much better, but the one on her neck appeared worse as the purple finger prints healed. It was turning a yellowish blue that made Dan want to throttle whoever had done that to her.

She filled the mugs and handed him one, filled to the brim with the steaming black beverage. “We’ll go down to Brandy’s after we get dressed.” She sipped her mug and leaned against the counter. “Do you have anything planned for the day … or tonight?

He shook his head. “Just hanging out with you.” He had cancelled the appearance they had him scheduled for that night. He had actually told his boss he was sick, which was a total lie and they both knew it.

“Cool.” Reese sipped more coffee, looking down into her cup.

He was also silent for a moment and then joined her at the counter. “Are you … upset about yesterday?”

Her eyes grew wide and she shook her head. “No, of course not. Why … why would you ask me that?”

“I don’t know.” He shrugged. “I guess I’m worried that you’ll regret it or something.”

She turned and he did the same. Now facing each other, he was able to look into her eyes and see that she was telling the truth. “I have zero regrets and I immensely enjoyed kissing you.”

“Even the cuddling?”

She nodded. “Especially the cuddling.”

It had been a very long time since he had slept with his arms around a woman. It wasn’t that long ago that he hadn’t been able to even think about being with someone else other than Anna. But, Reese, she was different. He had known her forever, but now he was wondering why it felt like he was only just now really seeing her. “Good,” he told her. “I liked that too. I’m going to hit the shower. I’ll be quick so you can get in.”

She nodded. “Go, get ready. It’s going to be a long day.”

An hour later they were standing on the sidewalk outside Brandy’s Café. The huge windows in the front had been shattered, though the glass had been removed from the sidewalk and a professional window repair service was working on the glass that protruded dangerously from the frame.

Anger coursed through him. He reached into his coat and felt for his flask. When his fingers touched the cool metal of the container, he froze. He shouldn’t. He hadn’t made the actual decision that there would be no more. But, in that moment he realized that as soon as something made him feel angry, reaching for the flask was his automatic response.

He held onto the flask for a moment more and then withdrew his hand. One step at a time, and passing it up one sip this time may be a small step, but it was one, nevertheless.

“I can’t believe this,” Reese whispered, staring at the wreckage of the little restaurant.

Dan agreed, but didn’t say anything. His emotions were all over the place. On one hand, he would have loved to get ahold of the reapers who did this. On the other hand, he was upset because, like the incident with Reese, this wouldn’t be happening if it wasn’t for the conflict between his family and the Reapers.

“Let’s go in and see what we can do to help,” Reese suggested.

“Okay,” he agreed, leading the way. Everyone that was at her apartment earlier was already inside helping sweep up glass, throw out broken furniture and artwork, and making lists of things that needed to be replaced.

Lisa, one of the servers, stood at the entrance to the kitchen with Mr. Thompson. Ed Thompson was the owner of Brandy’s. Brandy was his late mother. The man himself was around fifty years old and the Café had been around about as long as he had.

Dan felt bad. Mr. Thompson gestured with his hands as he spoke with Lisa, and the expression on his face was just plain defeated. He could imagine. It was probably hard enough keeping the place afloat in a town this small, then to have some jerkoff come and destroy practically everything.

Mr. Thompson glanced up as they entered, the bell jingling merrily as the door slammed shut behind them. He waved and offered them an appreciative look, then went back to his discussion with Lisa.

For the next two hours they helped out with whatever needed done, and then Reese told Dan she had to head over to bar to prep for opening. He agreed and they bid farewell to everyone, then headed out the door.

They strolled silently down the couple of blocks it took to get to Knight’s Bar. Was it weird that he wanted to put his arm around her? He wasn’t going to, though. He had no idea how she felt about what happened between them except that she wasn’t angry about it. She had told him that she enjoyed it, but he felt like things needed to progress organically. They both needed time to see where they stood.

They arrived at the bar and Reese used the keys to open the door. When they stepped inside the dark interior, Reese suddenly turned to him and the next thing he knew she was in his arms, her lips crushing against his.

He accepted the kiss and returned it ten-fold. Her arms curled up around his neck, bringing him close. He wove his hand into her hair, feeling the silky tresses against his skin. He walked her forward as they kissed, until her back came into contact with the edge of the bar and they were forced to stop moving. He pressed himself against her, wanting their bodies to be as close as possible.

It wasn’t long after that Reese pulled away, breathless and panting. “I … oh, my gosh. I’m so sorry.”

Dan trailed a fingertip over her cheek. “I’m not.”

“I’m so mad, Dan.”

Confused, Dan arched an eyebrow in question. “You’re mad that we made out for a couple of minutes?”

She shook her head. “No, not at all. I’m mad about Brandy’s and these assholes who tried to kill me. I’m angry and I needed something. It was either break some stuff to release that bad energy, or kiss you and get an even better result.”

Dan rolled his eyes and ran his hand through his hair nervously. “Well, if that is how you need to take out your aggression, I’m available anytime of the day or night.”

She laughed. “Thank you, I will probably take you up on that.”

Taking a chance, he bent down and kissed her again. This time, soft and slow, taking in the feel of her mouth under his as his palm rested on her cheek. He didn’t let it last long enough to wet their hunger again, but only enough time to allow Reese to know that his affection was genuine.

He pulled out of the kiss and stared down into her shimmering dark eyes. “I want you to know that I haven’t been with anyone, not even kissed anyone, since Anna. You don’t have to say anything, I just want you to know. I don’t want things between us to go to shit because of this. So, moving slow is fine with me.”

She nodded and he saw that she understood completely, “Okay,” she acknowledged.

“Now let’s get this place ready to open.” Dan released her completely. Reese’s arms slid reluctantly from around his neck and groaned. “The last thing I want to do today is work.”

“That’s because you never take days off unless someone tries to kill you.”

She grinned. “Or if it’s my birthday and my friend plans me a party with a male stripper.”

He pulled a chair off the table and set it down on its legs and then pointed at her. “Or that.” He laughed as he thought about that night and how it felt so long ago, when actually it wasn’t.

Reese flipped the open lights on and they were officially on duty. Dan got to tend bar again, which he was excited about. The difference was that this time, he really, really wanted a drink. Maybe he couldn’t do this job and not drink, but then again, maybe if he were alone, it would be easier for him to hit the bottle. One step at a time.

After closing, Reese locked up and before they could go upstairs he asked her to go with him to the farmhouse. “I have to grab a change of clothes and it’s closer than my place. Would you come with me? I don’t want you to be alone.”

She shook her head. “I’ve told you guys before that I don’t need you to pull guard on me. I just let you because you’re easy on the eyes.”

He gripped her hand. “I’m serious, Reese. I’d feel better if you came with me. It won’t take long.”

“Fine. But I’m not doing this because I’m incapable of taking care of myself.”

“I know that.” He nodded.

So, instead of going up to her apartment, they got in Dan’s car and drove over to his family home. As they pulled in he saw lights on in the main room and the kitchen. He was sure someone was awake, even at this hour. Someone was always awake no matter what time of day or night.

Reese was staring at the graveyard, not the house.

“Everything okay?” he asked, killing the engine.

“Yes, I’m just wondering how it was for you growing up? Could you always see souls? How did your parents teach you about what you are? Children are so vulnerable, how in the world did you get through school having to lie to everyone? Kids are so apt just to blurt out the truth, I can’t imagine how hard it was for your parents, and then for your dad to have to do it alone.”

Dan followed her gaze out over the cemetery. The gravestones and markers were lit up in the dim lamplight and the souls wove in and out of them, the shimmering blue mist spreading out and coming back together as they swirled about.  “It wasn’t easy, that’s for sure.” He stepped out of the car. “Come on, walk with me for a few minutes and I’ll tell you a little bit about it.

He spotted a silver aura near the woods at the edge of the cemetery. He didn’t know which of his siblings were out there, but he hoped they would leave him be with Reese for a little while.

They crossed the lawn, then started up the path into the graveyard. “We probably didn’t have it as bad as some Keepers do, since Summer Hollow never had many Reapers until after my father died.”

“Why would that trigger them to come here?” Reese asked.

“Because, the Reapers know about the prophecy, too. They had likely been keeping tabs on us and when my father passed, they decided that they should take out Lucy to make sure. Actually, the Empress kidnapped Lucy and told her they had their own prophecy. It had something to do with mixing blood, so they stole blood from my sister for experiments.”

Reese’s eyes widened. “Oh, shit …”

“Yeah, thank God they hadn’t killed her though, I’d rather them take her blood than just kill her. But now they know we will fight back. And we have Jack and Aiden, so now they just want to kill us all.”

“Even Jack? She would kill her own son.”

Dan nodded. Wasn’t that some shit. “Yeah, actually that is why Aiden is here. They have been best friends since they were kids. He saved Jack when the Empress was going to shoot him. He lost his rank in the Reaper Army and lost all trust from the Empress. So, he worked for us as a double agent until they found out he was doing it. We gave him safe harbor for helping us and then he and Liv … yuck. I don’t know.” He shuddered as he thought about his sister and Aiden, he really hoped that dude was in love with her. Because he could tell that she sure as hell loved the Reaper assassin.

“That is a crazy story.”

“And that’s only part of it.”

He pointed as they approached a bench. “I have come to this bench since I was little. I’d come out and sit here and talk to the souls.”

“Talk to them? Do they talk back?”

He shrugged. “Sometimes, it depends. Most souls can’t even solidify into the form of a human. It takes a lot of energy and endurance for them to maintain the form and also speak. Sometimes they can do one or the other and sometimes both. My father is out here and he can do both.”

She shook her head. “That has to be weird.”

“It is,” he assured her. “In any case, I’d come out here and talk to the souls. Most of the time they don’t speak, so it felt as if there was no judgement. Unlike the kids at school, they weren’t worried about my clothes, or my red hair, or anything … they just accept me.”

Reese turned to face him and he realized that sadness was etched all across her face. “I didn’t realize that you were concerned with any of that when we were kids. You always seemed confident to me.”

Dan grinned. “Well that’s because I had all my brothers and sisters to back me up if anyone messed with me.”

“I remember more than one fight that involved several Estmond children.”

“But,” he added. “That didn’t mean that kids didn’t make fun of me and it didn’t mean that I was immune to getting my feelings hurt. I had issues, just like most kids.”

“Bullies,” Reese seethed. “If I had known people were making fun of you I would have kicked their asses myself.”

He didn’t doubt that one bit. The Estmonds weren’t the only ones to get into fights at school. Reese was practically a legend in elementary school. No boy dared push her down on the playground or they would end up with a bloody nose or a black eye. “Yeah, I know you would have. You were such a badass, even back then.”

“I had to be. After mom left, a lot of people made fun of me and made fun of my dad. One day, a boy said something about my mom running off to be with another man and that I was probably just like her. Then he slapped me on the ass. That day, I went home crying and my father told me that I could protect myself and never, ever to take shit from a boy or anyone else. From that moment on, I just started beating the hell out of anyone who messed with me. That was probably not what my dad was going for, but no one messed with me after a while.”

Shock rippled through him. “I had no idea that you went through that.”

“Most kids deal with bullies in one way or another. I just decided to stop it, for myself and for others. At the time, it was the only way I knew how.”

“Still sucks.”

“Yeah.” She shrugged. “Tell me how you can tell if someone is a Reaper.”

She changed the subject seamlessly. Dan was glad, because he’d rather not talk about it either. Although, he was happy to get some insight on to what made Reese into the woman she was.

He leaned back on the bench. “Okay. You probably won’t believe this.”

“Try me. I’ve already accepted that you can see ghosts, so how much worse can it be?”

He tilted his head and raised his eyebrows. “Keepers have a glowing silver aura around them and Reapers have a red one. It’s like a shimmering cloud of mist that surrounds them at all times.”

Reese’s jaw fell and he saw the clear disbelief in her eyes. “Seriously?”

He nodded. “Absolutely. I’m used to seeing it, so it’s nothing for me to see it or not see it. It’s like getting used to someone who has a big mole on their face, you just get used to it and don’t even notice after a while.”

“Wow.” Reese shook her head.

“And the souls, they are a glittering blue that glows day and night. It is especially beautiful to see at night.”

“I wish that I could see all this.”

He slid his arm around her. “I wish you could, too.”

She frowned. “It’s just so hard. I believe you, I do, but I wish that I could see it. That it was as real for me as it is for you.”

“Me too …” Dan’s last word faded away as he spotted two bright red flashes in the woods. “Shit.”

Reese obviously heard the alarm in his voice. “What?”

He removed his arm from around her and stood. “There are Reapers here.”

CHAPTER TWENTY-TWO

DAN

Footsteps pounded behind him and he spun, whipping his gun from his holster faster than he ever thought possible.

“Whoa bro!” Steph held her hands up. “Save that for the bad guys.” She nodded toward where he had seen the flash in the woods. “Hi Reese.” She waved.

Reese waved back and shifted her eyes back and forth between Dan and his sister. “Hey.”

“Shit, Steph. How long have you been creeping around back there?” He fit the gun back into his holster.

His sister had her dark red hair twisted into two braids and a black beanie cap pulled down over her head. She had on a short, black leather jacket with tight black jeans and boots with flat soles. She shrugged. “I’ve been here the whole time. I was just giving you guys some space.”

“You were spying!” Dan accused, pointing his finger.

“Dude, we have to go take care of this now. We don’t have time for bickering. Let’s go.”

Dan turned to Reese. “Go into the house, okay. If anyone is up you can let them know what’s going on, but don’t wake anyone unless you have to.”

“Okay.” She sounded confident, but he could hear the fear beneath it when she spoke.

“It’s going to be okay, I promise,” he told her as he slid his trench coat off and handed it to her. His eyes slid over to the woods where he saw the red flashes again. This time they were headed for the house.

“Shit. Nevermind. You need to stay here and keep out of sight, okay.” He lifted his hoodie up over his head. “Let’s go Steph, they are near the house.”

Steph nodded, pulling a dagger from her boot. “I’m ready.”

He took off at a run down the slope, his sister close beside him. These Reapers had to know they were out there and had seen them, or they would have at least tried to hide themselves a little better. Unless they were stupid, which was always an option. Dan’s best bet, was that the Empress was getting desperate and her plans were becoming erratic.

The two Reapers had disappeared behind the corner of the house where the garden was located. Once he was in the yard, he beckoned Steph to keep the house at their backs as they crept along. He stopped before they rounded the corner and inhaled deeply, preparing himself for a fight. Then, he signaled to his sister that it was time and they rounded the corner, weapons drawn and ready.

Before he could react, something slammed down onto his hand and reflex caused him to release his grip on his gun. It fell to the ground with dull thump. “Dammit!” He turned in that direction and no one was there. He circled and saw Steph already engaged in a fight with one of the Reapers. Where was the other one?

A boot to the back of his knee took him down. Holy fuck that hurt. He hit the ground and pain radiated all the way through his body. Quickly, he rose and limped around in a circle again. Finally, he spotted the Reaper who had been attacking him. To his surprise, it was the woman from the bar. Great, he hated when he had to hit women.

“Come and get me, Keeper.” The woman spread her arms wide, indicating he go for it.

Steph was grunting with each kick and punch, but he could see that she was doing fine, so he shook his head in frustration and lunged at the woman.

The gun option was always there, but he didn’t want to use it unless he had to. The woman blocked his first punch, but he landed the second one with his left. His fist made contact with her cheek bone and her head swung to the side, her hoodie slipping off and exposing more of her red aura.

Without hesitation, Dan grabbed her right arm, circled around her back and then secured her in a headlock. He pulled her arm up far enough on her back that if she moved it might break. The Reaper woman was far stronger than he was, as all Reapers were, but that position still gave him the upper hand.

He held her tightly, not giving the slightest bit of slack. “Now what are you gonna do?” he whispered in the Reapers ear.

“Fuck off, you piece of shit. It’s all because of you and your family that we even have to do this in the first place. Once you all are gone, we can stop having to follow your dumb asses around and we can go home.”

“Sorry for the inconvenience. I didn’t know we had placed such a burden on you.”

Steph growled and Dan glanced up just in time to see his sister perform a spin, her dagger blade glittering in the porch light and then she lunged, slamming the blade up into his shoulder. The Reaper stumbled and then fell down to his knees just as the back door flew wide open.

David stood there in his pajamas, a wild look in his eyes and his gun pointed out into the darkness. He spotted them and hurried down the steps. “What the hell, you guys.”

Steph reared back and kicked the Reaper in the face with the heel of her boot. He toppled backward and David bolted back inside. “Hold on! I need my cuffs!”

He was gone only seconds and Steph’s Reaper was attempting to get up. She nailed him with her boot again and held her dagger out. “Quit trying to be brave. You’re done,” she hissed at him.

The woman squirmed beneath Dan, so he yanked her arm a little bit in return. She cried out in pain and cursed at him.

“Shut up.”

David appeared with two sets of handcuffs. “Here.” He hurried down the stairs and first went to the Reaper Steph was dealing with. He knelt behind him and secured his wrists inside the metal rings. Then he moved to the woman and carefully, they maneuvered the woman so that they could get the cuffs on her.

“Looks like I’m taking these two in for breaking and entering.” David stared down at the Reapers and then handed Dan his keys. “Go put them in the back of my car. The police car, not the Chevelle.”

Dan rolled his eyes. “Duh.”

“Just making sure,” David called as he hurried into the house.

“Hurry up, though, Reese is in the graveyard alone,” he shouted after him and then yanked on the woman’s arm. “Let’s go.”

It took way longer than Dan would have liked for them to lead the two Reapers to the cruiser and force them into the back. He was surprised Reese hadn’t already made her way down to the house if she could see that they had secured the Reapers. Maybe she was hiding and couldn’t see what was going on.

“She’s just going to keep sending more of us, no matter what you do.” The woman hissed at Dan as he shoved her into the car. “Not until you are dead and gone.”

“I told you to shut up.” Dan growled as he slammed the door closed. The other Reaper had been surprisingly quiet.

David appeared shortly after. He had thrown on a pair of jeans and a sweatshirt, but his hair was still tousled and sticking up in some places.

“Hopefully they keep these assholes in jail and don’t make me regret not killing them,” Dan told David as he handed him the keys.

David nodded. “I’m with you, man. I’ll do the best I can, but we can only do so much here.”

Just then, a scream echoed through the night. The sound pierced his heart and had him bolting off at a dead run. “Reese!” he called out as he crossed the parking lot. He scanned the cemetery and found what he was looking for, a red glow at the top of the slope.

He heard footsteps pounding behind him and knew that Steph was with him. They didn’t take the path, but plowed right over all the plots, taking the shortest route to where the Reaper had Reese.

Another scream rippled through the night and Dan, who already thought he was going as fast as he could, picked up speed. They emerged at the top of the slope onto the path and bathed in the glow of lamplight, there was Reese.

The Reaper had her from behind, his arm around her neck. She had her keys in her hand and was struggling, fighting against the man who held her that was ten times stronger than she was. But, this woman, never one to give up, somehow already knew what she was doing. She raised her hand and slammed it down into the Reapers thigh.

A roar erupted from the Reaper just as Dan and Steph arrived, and he saw that Reese’s entire key ring was stuck in the man’s leg. She had stabbed him with her key!

He already had his gun drawn and skidded to a stop in front of the two, just as Reese took advantage of the guy’s agony. She stomped his foot with hers, slamming her heel down into the top of his shoe and then bashed her head backward, slamming the back of her skull into his forehead.

“Fuck!” She screamed at the same time as the Reaper shouted the same thing and released her. She bolted forward, trying to get a safe distance away. “Shit, that fucking hurts! Not like the movies at all! Oh, my god! Her hand went to the back of her head.

The Reaper surprised them all by springing up from where he had been crumpled in pain and lunging for Dan. Dan felt his body going down and his finger reflexively tightened, pulling the trigger. A loud blast echoed through the night and Dan’s one thought as he hit the ground was, please, don’t let that bullet have hit anyone.

He was flat on his back and the Reaper rolled on top of him, his dagger out. Everything happened so fast that Dan didn’t really know what was going on, but he saw Steph behind him with her blade flashing downward and then pain ripping through his right shoulder as Greg and Jack appeared and pulled the Reaper away. There was grunting and shouts and then, blessedly, Dan was free again.

He rolled onto his hands and knees and realized blood was gushing from his arm. “Dammit.” He moaned, getting to his feet.

“Oh, oh my god you guys! He’s cut!” Reese’s voice came from beside him.

“I’m okay,” Dan assured her. “I’m sure it’s just a scratch.”

She opened the hoodie where it was sliced and peeked in. “I’m sorry big guy. That is not a scratch. You need a hospital.”

Greg and Jack both held the struggling Reaper so that he couldn’t get away. “Let me go, dammit. I promise not to come back.” The guy was pleading. Reese turned her head slightly, glancing at the Reaper out of the corner of her eye.

Then, she turned to face him fully and marched toward him, as soon as she was within distance she reared her arm back and slammed her fist into his nose. Blood erupted instantly, spraying his clothes, the ground and even onto Reese.

“Holy shit!” Jack blinked. “Didn’t see that coming.”

“That was for everything you and your kind have ever done in this town!” Reese shouted, looking ready to hit him again.

“We got this,” Greg told her in a calm voice. “No more.”

Reese panted with anger and exertion, but then nodded that she understood.

Dan bent over and held himself steady with his arms on his knees and then looked up at Reese as she hurried back to him with her arms out. “I should not be excited by this, but baby, you are a badass.”

Reese grinned at him and shook her head. “No, you really should not be excited by that, weirdo.”

CHAPTER TWENTY-THREE

REESE

Her head hurt with a pain that she had never felt before. Her fist hurt too, but not as bad as her head. Even after lugging the Reaper through the graveyard and over to where David was waiting in the cruiser, she was still shaking with anger and fear.

She understood now what the Estmonds were up against. This was real. All of it was so, very real. She felt horrible for ever having doubted Dan or the others at all.

Jack and Greg opted to ride with David to make sure that he could handle the Reapers and get them put into a cell. She had no doubt that they would be back out tomorrow and they would have to face them again sometime.

She couldn’t fathom it. These people would kill the Estmonds. They almost killed her, twice now, and there was nothing they could do about it. What were they supposed to do if they didn’t kill, just keep chasing them off? There had to be another way that didn’t involve killing.

The Reapers were people. If they were monsters or something crazy like that, it would be easy to say, hell yeah, let’s vanquish them. But, no, they were actual, living breathing people who just happened to survive on souls and wanted to kill the Estmond family.

This brought so much into perspective. She couldn’t imagine the moral dilemma that this family went through on a daily basis.

Inside the house, Reese ordered Dan to sit at the kitchen table.

“I’ll get the medical kit,” Steph told them, and hurried off.

Lucy wandered in, yawning and stretching, but her eyes grew wide when she saw Reese kneeling on the floor beside Dan who was sitting in a chair, both covered in blood.

“What the hell happened?” Her eyes moved around as if the answer were right there in the kitchen. “How did I sleep through this? Darn pregnancy, it’s making me sleep so heavy.” She looked down at her stomach and frowned.

“There were Reapers out there,” Dan explained. “I’m okay. David, Greg and Jack took them all down to the station.”

“Let me see that.” Lucy strode across the kitchen and took a peek at his wound. “Oh, man, that’s pretty bad.”

“I’ve got the medical kit and the alcohol. Oh, hi Luce.”

Dan sighed. “Go back to bed Lucy, and Steph go get cleaned up. We got this.” He slid out of his hoodie and tossed it on the floor.

Steph glared. “Are you sure you don’t want to go to the hospital?”

Dan glared back. “And tell them what, I was sliced open by a Reaper? They have to take reports on this stuff. I’d rather not have to do that.”

She set the kit on the table and slammed the alcohol down beside it. “Fine. I’ll be upstairs taking a shower.”

When they were gone, Reese let out a long breath. “Wow, always something going on with you guys.”

He rolled his eyes. “You have no idea.”

“Take off your shirt.”

Dan raised an eyebrow. “Are you trying to ogle my body again?” he teased.

“You wish. I need to get a good look at that cut.”

“It will be fine, we can just clean it up.” He peeled his tee shirt off and Reese sort of wished that she hadn’t asked him to take it off. His abs were clearly visible and the muscles in his arms flexed every time he moved. She fought the urge to run her fingertips over his chest and down over his stomach.

“See.” He grinned. “I knew you were just using that as an excuse to get an eye full.”

She didn’t mean to, but a giggle escaped from between her lips. “Don’t flatter yourself. And both you and I know full well that if I want an eye full, I don’t need excuses. You would take off your clothes for me anytime I asked.”

“Okayyyy.” She heard a voice said from behind them. “Obviously the wrong time to get up for a snack.”

“James!” She turned around and found Dan’s brother standing in the doorway of the kitchen. He had obviously heard everything that had been said. “Um … we’re cleaning Dan’s cut.”

James rolled his eyes and crossed the kitchen to the refrigerator. “That is clearly what is happening.”

Dan picked up a roll of gauze and tossed it at his brother, nailing him in the side of the head. “Get out of here.”

Reese shook her head. “Do any of you have your own homes? Why are you all always here?”

James poured a glass of juice and put the carton back in the refrigerator. “We all have our own places. This is Lucy’s house now. But, we all hang out because it’s just easier when we’re all together.”

Reese straightened Dan’s arm and poured alcohol on it. He hissed as soon as the liquid made contact. “Well,” Reese told James, “It’s weird.”

James shrugged. “Eh, like we’ve never been called weird before. Come up with something original, woman.”

“Get out of here,” Dan growled at his brother.

James polished off his juice and set the glass next to the sink. “Fine. I’m going back to bed. Have fun with that.” He gestured to Dan’s arm and strode out of the kitchen.

“Are you absolutely sure you don’t want to go get stitches. This is going to leave a super nasty scar. Even with stitches it’s going to be pretty visible.”

“I’m sure,” he told her. “But I could really use a drink right now. Like really fucking bad.”

Reese had been sure this was coming, so it was no surprise. She was more surprised that he didn’t just go for it and use his flask or find something on his own. He was fighting the urge and that showed that he was trying, at least.

“Let’s just get this cleaned and then we can go back to my place.” She skirted the comment about booze because she figured it was easiest that way. Talking about it might just make him want it more.

“Do you know what you’re doing?” He closed his eyes when she opened the wound and poured some of the alcohol in.

“I own a bar in a redneck town, do you honestly think that I’ve never treated a knife wound before?”

“Sorry, miss know it all.”

“Shush now and let me nurse you.”

“Where is your uniform nurse Reese?”

She slapped at him lightly and then continued what she was doing, but she did it with a smile on her face, even after what they had been through.

As Dan drove them back to her place, she sat sideways in the seat so that she could look at him. As she stared at him, she realized that she had fallen for him. She wasn’t sure when it happened or why, but it happened.

How was it possible that she fell in love with this broken and torn man who pined for his dead fiancé, this man who was an alcoholic and had a million pounds of baggage.

If you didn’t know his secret, it would appear that he had nothing to show for his life. But he was one of the bravest, big hearted, strongest and most amazing people she had ever met. Reese knew it, she could feel it in her bones that Daniel Estmond would sacrifice his life to save hers if he had to.

Not that she would ever want him to do that, but the fact that he would, spoke volumes to her.

As soon as they stepped inside and the apartment door was closed, she set her keys down on the table beside the door and then turned to Dan. He seemed to anticipate the embrace and welcomed her into his arms.

She hugged his chest and then stood on her tiptoes so her lips could reach his. The first touch of their lips was soft, just a whisper as her lips brushed against his. She ran her hands down the length of his biceps and then back up again where she gripped the collar of his coat and gently began to tug it down.

He released her from his strong arms only long enough to let the coat slip away from his body. Then, his hands were on her back again, pressing her tightly up against him. She began to kiss him with a passion that could not be mistaken, she wanted him to know that she was hungry for him.

He stepped forward a couple paces, walking her into the door and there was literally zero space left between them. Her body was flush against his, but he bent and gripped one of her legs in each of his hands, lifting her up so that he was between her legs. Her arms went around his neck, helping to stabilize her in place.

She nipped at his bottom lip with her teeth and kissed his lips, then his neck, teased his ear with her tongue. She was ready, more than ready.

“Reese …” His voice was low and hoarse. “We … maybe we should stop here.”

She did stop, but only long enough to look him in the eye and tell him, “I’d kind of like to keep going.”

He kissed her lightly. “I don’t want to take advantage of you.”

She threw her head back and laughed. “How in the world would you be taking advantage of me? I’m not drunk or emotional, or anything like that. I’m a big girl who knows what she wants and right now, that is you.”

“I just …”

“Look Dan, if anything, I’m the one taking advantage of you. You’re the guy with the baggage and the problems. So, if you want to play that game, we can. Otherwise, take me to my room and have your way with me.”

He didn’t respond by saying anything. He slammed her against the wall, grinding his hips upward so that she could feel his erection, hard between her legs. Their lips met in a frenzy of passion, kissing and nipping and biting.

Then, he lifted her away from the door and carried her to her room, kissing down her neck the whole way. Once they were in her room, he tossed her down onto the bed and stared down at her.

Reese watched as, without hesitation, he removed his shirt and then bent down, helping her remove hers. Then he began removing his pants and she shimmied out of her jeans as fast as she possibly could, not once taking her eyes off of his amazing body.

Once her jeans were off, she sat on the bed, holding herself up with her hands behind her. Dan’s eyes slid over her body. She had on matching teal green bra and panties that had lace edging of the same color. He drank her in, his dark eyes glazed over with lust. “My god, you are amazing.” He bent down and she scooted backward a bit so that his knees were between her legs.

He began by kissing her neck, then moved downward over her chest. Her breathing hitched as he cupped a breast and pulled the fabric of her bra aside, grazing his thumb over her hardened nipple.

“I want to go slow for our first time,” he whispered against her ear.

Her fingertips slid down his back and around his middle, then down over his thighs. “I’m not sure I want to go slow,” she told him. Her body felt like it was going to combust if she didn’t have him inside her soon.

“There are perks to not moving fast.” As the words spilled from his lips, his fingertip traced down the side of her body all the way to her upper thigh, then around and he slid his finger across the silky fabric between her legs. “Oh, you tease,” she groaned, thrusting her hips upward.

He grinned. “That isn’t teasing. This, would be teasing.” He pushed her panties aside and suddenly he had found the most sensitive spot that existed on her body. “Oh, yes,” she panted as he made circles and rubbed his fingertip over the area. “That … that is definitely teasing.”

He continued on, but suddenly included slipping a finger inside her. She bucked her hips upward in shock and pleasure, and was met with another finger. He pushed his two fingers in and out of her, at the same time using his thumb on her clitoris.

“Now this,” he leaned down and dropped a kiss on her lips, “is a perk to going slow. I love seeing you like this.”

She moved her hips to the rhythm with his fingers until he withdrew them. She sat up quickly, and practically tore at his boxers in order to get them off. She needed him, needed him now.

He was more than happy to help her remove them and once they were off, her eyes were in the direct line of vision to see what awaited her. She throbbed with the ache of wanting him inside her.

Spreading her legs wide, he lay over her and pressed his body flat against her so that they were completely skin on skin. “Reese …” he whispered against her ear and then, her whole body exploded with pleasure as he slid into her.

CHAPTER TWENTY-FOUR

DAN

He woke to a throbbing headache and a throbbing shoulder. Aside from the fact that everything hurt, he felt pretty damn good. Beside him, Reese lay on her side, facing him, the sheet low around her waist and her breasts free.

For so long, he’d felt like being with another woman would be betraying Anna. He hadn’t wanted to either, so it wasn’t as if he had intentionally abstained. He just hadn’t wanted anyone else.

These feelings he had for Reese had come out of nowhere, that much was certain. But, it was also certain that they were real. Somewhere in between the bar fight and last night, he had fallen in love with her.

He traced his finger over her cheek and down her shoulder. At the touch, her eyes fluttered open and she found him staring at her. “Morning,” she whispered.

“Good morning.” He leaned over and kissed her. “Do you mind if I use the shower?”

She snuggled against her pillow and her hand found his, holding it against her cheek. “Go ahead. Be careful of your shoulder. I’ll redress the wound when you get out.”

“I’ll be careful,” he assured her, gently taking his hand back from her.

He peeled back the covers and sat up. As he did, his stomach rolled. Holy crap, was he coming down with something. After a shaky and unstable walk across the bedroom, he made it to the bathroom and flipped the shower knob over as hot as it would go. He adjusted it once it was pouring out steam and stepped inside, shutting the door behind him.

He tried to clean up, but it felt like it took forever. After he soaped up his body and washed his hair, he slid down the cool tiles on the back wall of the shower and sat there, letting the water run over him.

“Dan,” Reese called into the bathroom. “Are you okay? You’re taking longer than normal.”

“Yeah,” he managed to croak out just as Reese yanked open the shower door. “Oh, my god, are you all right?”

“I don’t know. I think I’m sick.” He felt cold, but hot at the same time. How was that even possible?

Reese stripped off her robe that she had put on at some point and tossed it on the floor. Then, naked, she climbed into the shower with him. She curled up beside him on the floor and wrapped her arms around him. “You do realize that you haven’t had a drink in like two days, right?”

“What?” He didn’t understand. “Well, I want one now.”

“That’s what I’m saying. I think this is alcohol withdrawal.”

“It sucks. I want to go back to drinking now.” His whole body shook as he spoke and he buried his head against her chest. “I’m sorry.”

She chuckled but just a little. “Don’t ever tell me that you are sorry for this. I will be here no matter how rough it gets.”

“Reese.”

“What?”

“How long will this last?”

“I don’t know. I hear that it’s different for everyone. I’m pretty sure for most it’s a few days to a week. Some people get some of the symptoms, some get all. It’s horrible for some and others get a tiny headache. It just depends.”

“Shit.” He pressed the back of his head into the tile.

Reese scooted even closer to him and wrapped her arms around him. “I know. I know. Don’t worry, though. I’ll be here,” she promised.

“No, you have to go to work.” He would feel bad if she stayed home and missed out on work because of him.

She shook her head. “Sorry, that isn’t going to happen. I’m closing the bar today.”

“That’s stupid,” he stammered. “You need to work.”

“I’m a big girl,” Reese assured him. “I own the place. I can close whenever I want.”

He lowered his head. “I don’t want you to miss work because of me.”

“Stop that.” She gripped his hand. “You are important to me, so of course I’m going to stay with you and you are not going to feel guilty about that. Feel happy that you have someone who wants to stay and help you through it. Okay?”

He nodded. Understanding that she was right about the mindset. He needed to be more grateful for the things he did have in life.

They sat there with the water raining down on them until it ran cold. Then, Reese shut it off and helped him get dry. After that she brought him out to the living room and made him a bed on the couch. “There you go.” Do you need to call anyone from your work and let them know you will be out for a while?”

He shook his head. “I don’t know.” Eric hadn’t called, but he probably would eventually.

Reese handed him his phone. “You need to call. This might get worse, so I’d do it now while you can.”

“Fine.” He accepted the phone and made the call. Eric wasn’t too upset, which was surprising. He set the phone on the coffee table and then lay back, covering his clammy forehead with his hands.

The days passed slowly and felt like forever at times. His symptoms did get worse, not better. He’d truly hoped that he would be one of the few where the symptoms were quick and painless. He learned quickly, though, that being a functioning alcoholic does not mean that you will experience less withdrawal.

Reese never left the apartment the entire time. Each time he woke, she was there. If he needed something, she was there. If he was sick, she was there. Although the days were blurred and he couldn’t tell one moment to the next, he knew that she stuck to her word and stayed with him, no matter how rough it got or how long it took.

Those few days were not days that he ever wanted to repeat. But, finally, blessedly, he woke one morning and the clamminess was gone. All throughout that day he felt better. That night, he slept better than he had since getting sick, and then he woke and all the symptoms were gone.

Carefully, he sat up on the couch, waiting for pain to shoot through his head or abdomen. Nothing. The tremors and sweating had ceased the day before, but he’d still been in pretty rough shape.

To his left, Reese was asleep in the recliner with a book in her lap. Her head was tilted to the side and her chocolate colored waves were loose around her shoulders.

He decided to let her sleep. He was sure she needed it after everything he’d put her through the last few days. He checked his phone and found that there were a few texts from his brothers and sisters telling him that they loved him and to let them know if he needed anything. He glanced at Reese. She’d probably let the family know or they would have been blowing up his phone with ‘where are you’ messages.

Carefully, he rose from the couch and felt like a baby deer as he wobbled his way to the bathroom on weak legs. He managed to take a shower, dress in some clean clothes and then collapse back onto the couch. He smiled to himself. He was still weak, but the worst had definitely passed.

“Hey.”

He glanced over and discovered that Reese was awake. She still seemed tired, but he could see the smile that tugged at her lips and the glimmer in her dark irises. “Hey,” he said back. “Thank you for helping me.”

She uncurled her legs and set her feet on the floor. “You said that a million times the last few days.”

He nodded, remembering. “Well, I mean it. There is absolutely no way I could have done that by myself.”

She nodded, a forlorn expression taking over her features. “That is just the first battle, though. The fight will never truly be over. This is for life.”

He knew that. The first day he got sick he needed to make that decision. It had to be one way or the other, either drink or don’t. If it was don’t, then it would be forever. He knew recovering alcoholics and was aware of how often they were tempted to drink, so he was not ignorant to what that meant for the rest of his life.

“Did you leave the bar closed the entire time you were here with me?”

She shook her head. “I did the unthinkable.”

He arched an eyebrow. “You hired someone?”

“No, I let your brothers and sisters take over.”

His jaw fell, his mouth hanging. “Oh, good lord, is the place still standing? How … why?”

Reese let out a little chuckle. “I was hesitant at first, but they insisted since I was staying with you. They wanted to help, but I refused to let anyone in here except Liv, who bought and delivered groceries for us. Oh, she kept me in coffee too, so that was nice. Anyway, the family did a good job. I’m as surprised as you are, honestly.”

He could not believe what he was hearing. How in the world had they convinced Reese to let them take over the bar? She never let anyone sub for her. She always closed the place rather than let anyone fill in for her. “I feel like I’m in the twilight zone.”

Reese stood and stretched. “You and me both.” She leaned over and kissed him. “Things will go back to normal now.” She paused. “Well, different, but normal.”

He agreed with her, but he had a lot of cleaning up to do with his life before he could call everything good. Right now, this was merely another step, though unlike the previous smaller ones, this had been a really big one.

CHAPTER TWENTY-FIVE

REESE

It had been a couple of days since Dan had fully recovered and she was finally going back to work. She was trying to decide if Dan should join her or if she should tell him to stay away from the bar.

On one hand, being around all the alcohol might trigger him. On the other hand, if he was alone that might be worse. She had no idea which way to go. She could ask one of his brothers or sisters to keep an eye on him, but she doubted that he would be very happy about that.

“Good morning.” Dan strode into the kitchen and circled his arms around her waist. “What are you doing?”

She smiled. “Pouring us some coffee.”

He dropped a kiss on her cheek and strode over to the refrigerator to get the creamer. He brought it to her and after setting it down on the counter beside the mugs he asked, “Okay, what’s up?”

She shook her head. “Nothing.”

Was she really that readable? She always thought she had a better mask than that.

“It’s not nothing, I can see the contemplative expression on your face.”

“I’m having some issues,” was all that she could manage to tell him.

“Well, tell me what the issues are. Maybe I can help.”

Reese inhaled deeply and then let out a long breath. “Okay, let’s talk. Come sit down with me.”

His hand went to his heart. “Oh no, this isn’t the talk is it? The ‘it’s not you, it’s me’ talk. We just got started.” He tried to sound like he was joking, but she could clearly see the seriousness in the words.

“No, no.” She waved her hand. “It’s nothing like that.”

“Whew! You had me worried.”

“Don’t get too excited, it’s still a rough topic.” She pulled out a chair and sat down. Dan set his coffee on the table and then sat down across from her.

“Okay, what’s going on?”

She hadn’t mentally prepared herself at all for this conversation. She had no idea if it was even going to make sense as she explained her worries. She could only hope that he would understand that she wasn’t trying to break up with him … even though there hadn’t been a ‘we’re officially together’ talk.

“Dan, I’m worried about the fact that I own a bar and you are now a recovering alcoholic. You are an alcoholic.” He started to say something, but she cut him off by holding up her hand. “Let me get this out. The bar, you know how much it means to me, it … it’s my life. Now, suddenly, you are a part of my life, too. I might be overestimating what you think our relationship is, but I want to be with you and I’m just not sure that you being around the bar is a good idea.”

Unexpected tears suddenly welled up in her eyes. “I want both, but I’m not sure that I can have both.”

Dan roughly shoved his chair out and hurried over to her side of the table. He dropped to his knees in front of her, grasping her hands in his and staring up into her eyes. “I would never, ever ask you to give up the bar. I hate that you feel like you have to make this decision. But, Reese … it isn’t a decision, you aren’t giving it up. And I’m not giving you up, so you will always have both.”

Her tears streamed faster and her throat felt tight. “I just don’t want to hinder any progress you make. I don’t want you to be alone either. That might be worse than being in the bar. I don’t know what to do.”

“Shit.” He buried his face in her lap. “This is all my fault. It isn’t your problem, though. You aren’t responsible for me. Don’t get me wrong, I love that you care so much, but you do not have to accept responsibility for my fuck ups.”

“I don’t know what to do.”

“You don’t have to do anything,” he told her. “This is my problem.”

She shook her head. “No, it’s our problem.” A sob wracked at her chest and she sniffed. “Maybe … maybe this is a sign that I need to move on in life. A sign that the bar isn’t what is meant for me.”

“Shush! Don’t you dare,” he told her. “Listen, I am a Keeper of souls. I protect those who cannot protect themselves. You are a bartender. Do you know what another name for bartender is?”

“Yeah, there are several,” Reese whispered, not sure where he was going with this.

“Bar keep,” he told her. “Bar keep is another name for bartender. They call you this because you keep the bar. You protect those within your walls, you provide a place for those who have nowhere else to go, you provide an ear, and you gather people and bring them together. The bar … your bar, is a constant in Summer Hollow and as far as I’m concerned, what you do … that is just as important as what I do.”

The tears came harder and faster. He couldn’t have chosen better words in that moment. She tried to speak but nothing came out so she just let the tears fall.

He gripped her hands tightly in his and when she stared down into the dark pools of his eyes, she saw that he meant every word.

“Reese. It’s going to be okay, I promise. I am strong enough to get through this. I just needed to see through the fog and see that there is something out there worth fighting for.”

“Dan …”

“I have always fought for my family, but somewhere along the way I lost belief in myself. With Anna, I wasn’t given the chance to fight that final battle. So, I gave up … what good am I if I can’t even keep my fiancé alive. Everything worth fighting for was gone.” He offered a small smile. “And then there was you.”

“You showed me that I am worth fighting for. How can I fight for others when I can’t do that for myself? You made me see through the booze and the pain. You made me dig deeper so that I could finally see who I really am.”

He buried his face in her lap and then looked up at her again, even more intensity flashing in his eyes than before. “And I saw something in you, Reese Knight, something I’d never seen before, because the pain of loss wouldn’t let me see. I saw the tough woman who cares more about everyone else than herself. I saw the woman who is stubborn and driven. I saw you as I’d never seen you before and I fell for you.”

She shook her head, unable to speak.

“Stop shaking your head like you don’t believe me. I love you, Reese. I fell for you before you helped me with all of this and before you found out what I am. As a matter of fact, I think I began to fall for you the first time you hit me with your bat.”

Finally, a laugh burst from between her lips and a smile spread across her face. Dan stood, pulling her up with him, and circled her waist with his arms. She tilted her head and stared up at him. “I love you, too. Sorry I don’t have a big speech.”

He laughed and hugged her tighter. All the worries seemed to fade away while she was wrapped in his arms, though she knew that as long as she was involved with Daniel Estmond, the worry would never be completely gone.

“We are going to get through this,” he whispered against her ear. “Somehow, we will get through it.”

CHAPTER TWENTY-SIX

GREG

Thanksgiving Day

Greg pushed open the door of the farmhouse and stepped inside. It was fuller than usual with the entire crew having shown up for Thanksgiving dinner.

The scent of turkey filled his nostrils and made him smile. Thanksgiving was his favorite holiday. He loved the food, the family and the relaxed atmosphere of the entire day. Christmas had too much pressure attached to it for it to be on the same level as turkey day. Fourth of July came in second on the favorite holiday list.

This Thanksgiving, though, everyone had made it.

Lucy was in the kitchen helping with the food. She had an apron fit over her bump that was only now beginning to show. Jack had been banned from the kitchen for picking at the food, otherwise he probably would have been by her side the entire day.

Hannah and Liv both manned the kitchen, bossing everyone around and yelling directions. Steph sat on the floor at the coffee table playing a game of rummy with James, Ethan, Aiden and Reese, while Dan and Jack tried to put together an additional table for the food.

He had an arm full of groceries that had been forgotten on the original shopping trip for dinner supplies. “Here you go.” He set the bags on the counter.

“Hey. Don’t set those there. I need the space.” Hannah pointed a wooden spoon at him.

He turned in a circle, scanning the kitchen for anywhere that he might be able to set the bag. There was literally zero space available. Every inch of counter and table was covered in either food, dishes or garbage from food prep. “Well, is there a particular place that he would like me to put this?”

“Oh my goodness,” Liv sighed, rushing toward him. “Just give it to me.” She grabbed the bags away from him and hauled them to the other side of the kitchen. “Now get out of here!” She shooed him away.

“Fine, but I’m grabbing a beer first.” He managed make it across the room to the fridge and open it. It took some digging but he finally found a beer in one of the drawers. He twisted the cap off and tossed it in the garbage and then headed into the other room where it was calmer.

Dan and Jack had successfully set up the additional table and were sitting at it, chatting with their heads close together so they could hear each other. He grabbed a chair from the dining room and hauled it over so that he could sit next to them.

“Hey Greg.” Dan nodded at him as he sat down. Greg thought Dan looked a million times better, but that may have been all in his head because Dan always took pretty good care of himself. The things he did notice for sure, though, was that he looked less weathered and his face had previously had a pink tinge to it that he didn’t have now.

All in all, he looked happier than he had ever seen him, and that included when Anna was around. He caught Reese glancing over at them and exchanging a smile with Dan. That relationship was definitely one that he never saw coming.

He was happy for Dan and Reese, but the greatest thing that came out of that relationship was that she had somehow inspired his brother to quit drinking. No one had been able to get through to him about how drinking was ruining him, and then along came Reese and he just stopped.

“Hey.” Greg nodded at his brother and then to Jack. “I managed to get through the grocery store before they closed. It was crazy in there.”

“I bet,” Dan agreed. “I’m just glad I didn’t have to go.”

Greg leaned back and looked at his beer. “Are you sure this doesn’t bother you?”

Dan shook his head. “No way. I’m totally fine.”

“Really?”

“Yeah,” Dan nodded. I work in the bar with Reese and it doesn’t get to me at all.”

Greg tilted his head. “Seriously now, not at all?”

Dan held up his hands. “I’m as surprised as you are. I really enjoy bartending and being around the people. I almost never get a craving and if I do, it’s not while I’m working.”

Jack narrowed his eyes and leaned back, sipping his own beer. “Man, that is crazy. Alcohol is one of the hardest addictions to beat.”

Dan’s eyes drifted off across the room. “I’ve found myself another addiction.”

Greg followed his brother’s line of vision to Reese, who had her head thrown back, laughing at something. “Well, that is definitely a good choice of something you can’t get enough of.” He eyed his brother. “But, please make sure to let us know if you have any issues with the booze. You can’t go back to that, man.”

“I don’t intend to go back. I have some coping tools.” He opened his trench coat and put two items on the table. A bag of hard candies and his flask. “I still have the flask to satisfy the habit. It has cranberry juice in it.”

“Are you sure that’s a good idea?” Greg narrowed his eyes. The whole thought of using the flask seemed pretty counterproductive.

His brother shrugged. “I’m not drinking, that’s what matters right?”

“I guess,” he agreed, even though he didn’t like the flask idea.

“Look man, I know people think it’s crazy that I work in the bar around all the alcohol and people drinking. Well, that bar is Reese’s life and, therefore, part of my life. You guys think that every time you drink around me that you have to walk on eggshells. Well, I’m not doing that, I’m not going to make you change your lives because I am a fuck up. I just won’t do it.”

Greg nodded. “I get that. I am proud of you for that. It just makes it clear that you are one of the strongest people I know.”

“Thanks man. I’m not saying it’s not hard sometimes, because it’s really fucking hard.”

“I know. And you can come to Florida when we go.”

Dan smiled. “Thank you. I appreciate that.”

Hannah slammed open the door to the kitchen and hollered. “Dinner in five! Set the table!” His sister had her hair tied back, but somehow it had frizzed out in the front and made her look completely frazzled. She had stains on her apron and a glass of wine in her left hand. “I mean it, you guys, set the damn table okay.” Then she disappeared back into the kitchen while tipping her head back and taking a drink of her wine.

Everyone helped set the table, some getting plates and silverware, some setting out glasses, some helping bring the food in from the kitchen. Meal time in the Estmond house was always a team effort, no excuses.

Finally, they were all seated and Greg stood at the head of the table. He usually didn’t sit there, but this year was different. It was the first year his father was not there and the job of giving thanks and carving the turkey now fell to him.

It was not something he was happy about, he would much rather his father be around to do it.

He held up his beer and tapped his fork against it. “Okay, quiet everyone.”

The voices at the table calmed and everyone looked to him. “I just want to thank the ladies for cooking this amazing turkey.” He gestured to the golden brown turkey resting in the pan on the table before him. “It’s been a hard year. As a family we have been through more than most people can ever imagine having to face in our lives. We’ve faced the enemy and survived. We have gained new family members and friends. We have discovered the prophecy, which means that someday, the warring between the Keepers and Reapers will end. I can’t say that I’d like to have another year like this one, but hopefully it won’t get worse with the next one.”

A few laughs from the table. “Now, I’m going to carve this bird and hopefully I won’t screw that up, because this is my first time. You guys can go ahead and start serving your plates, it might take me a little while.”

He’d just made the first cut when a ding dong, echoed through the house.

Every single person at the table stopped talking and glanced at each other with confused expressions. He knew why. No one ever rang the doorbell. Half the time they forgot they even had a doorbell.

He grabbed a napkin and wiped his hands. “I’ll get it.”

Ding dong.

He left the table and crossed into the living room. He heard the scooting of chairs and pounding of feet as everyone followed him so that they could watch. He ran his hand over the gun at his hip, hoping that no one was on the other side that he had to use it on.

Finally, he twisted the knob and pulled the door open. There, on the other side, was a beautiful woman with long dark curls cascading down her back. She was dressed in a long, teal green skirt and a form-fitting, long sleeve black shirt. She had huge teal stones dangling from her ears that went perfectly with her dark skin.

“Emily?” He breathed the words, not believing that she was really there.

“Gregory.” She nodded. “Happy Thanksgiving.”

He shook his head. “Why … how … why are you here? Where did you go after we last saw you in Napa? We were so worried.”

She tilted her head up and her big brown eyes met his. “I have foreseen that I am supposed to be here. You and the others, you need my help and I am a part of your future.”

He couldn’t help it, his lips parted and his mouth fell open. “You what?”

She smiled. “You heard me.”

“Yeah. Yes, I did.” He turned to the side. “Please come in.”

She lifted the suitcase at her feet that he hadn’t even seen and crossed into the house. “Thank you.”

“Guys!” He called out in a loud voice. “We’re going to need another plate.” He knew they had seen the whole thing and Emily probably saw them hanging out behind him, but he hollered anyway.

“Well Emily, you’re just in time for dinner.” He gestured the way she should go.

“Thank you.” Once again she looked up at him. “I hope I’m not intruding too much. There was no better way to tell you than to just come here and tell you. After I had the vision, I had to come.”

Though he was a bit skeptical, he didn’t say so. “You’re always welcome here. We were wondering what happened to you.”

She narrowed her eyes as they strode into the dining room. “I think you should be more worried about what will happen to you.” And then, she turned to the group at the table and smiled. “Happy Thanksgiving, everyone.”

Excerpt from Immortal Ties

CHAPTER ONE

MOLLY

My heart pounded so loudly it echoed in my ears.

My footsteps fell hard on the earth beneath me as I ran. I could feel the evil reaching out for me, gaining on me. Fallen branches snapped under the pressure of my bare feet, piercing pain shooting through me each time. Leaves crunched and scattered around me as I mentally pushed myself to go faster. Only the light of the moon filtering through the trees illuminated my way through the thick woods. Sweat poured off of my face and blurred my vision, making what was already difficult to see nearly impossible.

I felt the soft fabric of my pajama pants catch on something, probably a tree branch, and tear as I kept moving. I couldn’t stop. No matter what, I had to keep moving.

Then it happened.

I felt the dip in the moist earth beneath me and suddenly my body was falling in what felt like slow motion. My knees hit the ground first, slamming into the dirt and leaves so hard that a jarring pain ripped through my body and a scream escaped my lips. I flailed my arms, desperately searching for something to catch my fall.

The next thing I knew, I lay sprawled on the forest floor. The side of my nose stung and I realized that the skin had been scratched open. The coppery taste of a renegade drop of blood confirmed that I had, indeed, obtained a cut. I had only taken a second to recover before trying to push myself up

However, that was too long.

A laugh echoed through the night. A dark, evil laugh that haunted every moment of my twenty nine years. My fingers dug into the dirt as I tried to force my exhausted body upward.

Then, ice cold fingers suddenly wrapped around my ankle. The prickles burned into my skin, freezing the flesh beneath and began to spread up my calves. I screamed again, trying to pull my legs from the frigid grasp that held me. Though my mouth opened, nothing sounded. It was as if I was on mute. The numbing cold crawled upward to my knees, and then my thighs.

There was no one to hear me anyway.

I continued to try and push myself up. Strands of my matted red hair fell down in front of my face, somewhat restricting my vision. I didn’t want to see what was going to happen anyway. The urge to give up began to tug at my will to survive.

Suddenly, the earth beneath me transformed, what was once firm and moist, was now slippery and slimy … and moved.

I twisted to the side and found my voice again as another scream erupted from so deep inside me that I had no idea how my body could produce such a sound. My head whipped back and I threw my hands out as I rolled fully onto my back in the pit of snakes that had appeared from nowhere.

My legs were completely numb, as if frostbite had rotted them away. I lay there on my back, unable to move as the snakes began to slither over my arms, into my hair and onto my face. In only seconds, they were even covering my chest and crawling beneath my shirt. Their reptile skin a sickening contrast to feel against my own warm flesh.

It was now fear that paralyzed me, not the cold that had numbed my legs into submission.

I could hear the laughter of the creature, mocking and eerily enjoying what was happening to me. It took every ounce I had, but I lifted my head and looked up, trying to see the monster who terrorized me night after night, but all I could see was a shadow and glowing, yellow eyes.

***

My eyes snapped open and I found myself screeching and writhing around on my sheets that were drenched in sweat and tears.

Rusty was on my bed, barking like crazy. But, not at me. He was turned away from me as if he were guarding me. My screaming ceased as I realized where I was and I stilled. I knew I was safe now, but that didn’t take away the lingering fear and pain. I simply turned to the side and brought my knees to my chest, curling up into a ball, and sobbed. The tears didn’t need to well, they were already spilling over before I even opened my eyes.

It was never going to end … never.

Rusty’s barking had silenced and my beloved golden retriever inched forward and began licking the moisture off my cheeks. “Stop,” I whispered, pushing him away from my face. He did stop with the doggie kisses, but lay down with his head on my side. I patted the soft fur on his head as if to say, ‘I love you too.’ You would think that he would be used to seeing me like this by now and simply ignore it.

All my life I had been plagued by these nightmares. Every. Damn. Night. I couldn’t even find rest in the day time. If I fell into a deep enough sleep, the horrid dreams came. Ever since I can remember I had only been able to manage non-REM sleep and sometimes stage one. If I hit stage two, the nightmares took over.

I finished crying and lay there for a while, staring at the ceiling, like I did every night, and wondering how this happened to me. My uncle had the nightmares, too. He died when I was six months old, but my mother told me that was it was almost exactly the same as what I endured, and mine began shortly after he passed.

When I was young, mom took me to every specialist known to man, from sleep studies, to therapists, to neurosurgeons, and they all found nothing. I was completely normal. No one could find anything that would cause the disruption of sleep.

The icy cold from the nightmare wouldn’t go away. I could feel it down to the bone throughout my entire body. The sweat and chilly, autumn nights may have also had something to do with that. Nevertheless, I forced myself to roll off the bed and staggered into the bathroom.

I peeled off my pajamas and stepped into the shower where I let the water rain down onto me and warm my muscles once again. For the longest time I just stood there trying not to think about how tired I was and how the dreams … nightmares, were always different, but the shadow was the common factor in all of them.

When I felt the water start to lose some of its heat, I quickly washed my hair and then lathered up my body with soap so that I could scrub off the sweat. The shower finally went cold just as I was giving my skin a final rinse. I turned off the spray and stepped out, wrapping myself in a towel, and then put on a new set of pajamas and went downstairs to make a pot of coffee.

While the coffee brewed, I turned on all of my downstairs lights and rummaged around for a snack. My fridge had pretty much nothing in it, mostly a bunch of condiments and a carton of milk. Since it was only me I had to shop for, I usually ate at the bar & grill so I didn’t have to cook anything.

I snagged the milk and pulled a box of cheerios out of the cupboard. The coffee was almost ready so I filled a mug and added hazelnut creamer, then sat down at the small round kitchen table. Rusty had followed me downstairs and lay quietly at my feet.

This was a nightly occasion, so my table was stacked with provisions. It held a romance novel I was in the middle of reading, a sketch pad, some colored pencils and my laptop. This time though, my eyes were drawn to the local newspaper that I’d dropped there on my way in from work the day before.

I shoved a huge spoon full of cereal into my mouth and chewed as I pulled the paper toward me. The front page was plastered with the coverage of preparation for the latest Saint’s Grove festivity. The next night there was supposed to be an extremely rare astronomical event, a total lunar eclipse and supposedly, the alignment of six planets.

With a sigh, I pushed the paper away and reached for my laptop. Of course I was excited about the Event, but the amount of people that were going to come out and see it was a little out of my league. I wasn’t a very social person, even though my job sort of required it. Most everyone who came into What in Carnation, was someone I knew.

Opening my laptop, I booted it up and sipped at my coffee while I waited. As soon as it was completely ready, I pulled up my word processing program and found my latest document. Before digging into the writing, I re-read a few of the passages that I’d written the night before.

This was my ultimate secret. My alter ego that no one would ever know was actually Molly McMillan.

Lola Whispers, author of erotic romance.

Writing wasn’t my day job, but the flower shop didn’t bring in that much money and I certainly had the time since I only managed a few hours of sleep regularly. Lola had come into existence because I needed a diversion to keep my mind occupied and off the scary memories of what happened in my nightmares. I began writing about love and romance because it was the complete opposite of what I experienced every time I closed my eyes. By the time the eBook boom and self-publishing hit, I already had seven full novels that were up and ready to publish. So, I took the plunge.

After a little while I tried my hand at some of the juicier stuff and people really liked it; that was when my books really took off. It actually amazed me how many people enjoyed reading the stuff I wrote. Heck sometimes it even embarrassed me.

In any case, I ran the shop during the day and love every minute of it. Because I dealt with horror and fear every single night, I filled my days with beauty. In the shop, the scent of flowers and earth surrounded me and I could somehow feel more alive. Flowers and the shop were my passion, the books were merely a hobby.

With Rusty at my feet, I worked on my latest book, the sequel to, A Knights Tail, until the sky began to lighten and I knew it was time to start getting ready for work.

Other Books by Jennifer Malone Wright

Keeper vs. Reaper (Graveyard Guardians #1)(Always free)

Keeper of the Peace (Graveyard Guardians #2)

Keeper Under Fire (Graveyard Guardians #3)

BearyTales

Savior (A Higher Collective Novel)

Once Upon a Zombie Apocalypse – Jade (Always free)

Once Upon a Zombie Apocalypse: Episode 2

The Vampire Hunter’s Daughter Part 1 (Always free)

The Vampire Hunter’s Daughter: Part 2

The Vampire Hunter’s Daughter Part 3

The Vampire Hunter’s Daughter: Part 4

The Vampire Hunter’s Daughter: Part 5

The Vampire Hunter’s Daughter: Part 6

The Vampire Hunter’s Daughter: The Complete Collection

(All six parts a total of 72,000 words)

The Arcadia Falls Chronicles is The Vampire Hunter’s Daughter story continued

Love & War (The Arcadia Falls Chronicles 1)

Taking Talon (The Arcadia Falls Chronicles 2)

Vampire Apocalypse (The Arcadia Falls Chronicles 3)

Blood Warrior (The Arcadia Falls Chronicles 4)

Winds of Fire (The Arcadia Falls Chronicles 5)

Innocence and Evil (The Arcadia Falls Chronicles 6)

Origins and Impulse (The Arcadia Falls Chronicles 7)

Mortals and Magic (The Arcadia Falls Chronicles 8)

Sound of Sirens (The Arcadia Falls Chronicles 9)

Heart of the Hurricane (The Arcadia Falls Chronicles 10)

Broken Souls (Runes Universe)

About the Author

Jennifer Malone Wright resides in the beautiful mountains of northern Idaho with her husband and five children where she practices preparing for the zombie apocalypse. Just kidding!

But seriously, between the craziness of taking care of her children, Jennifer has little time left for herself. The time she does have left, usually leading far into the night, is spent working on her beloved fiction or chatting with her equally crazy friends.

Jennifer also loves coffee, has a passionate affair with red bull, wishes the sushi were better where she lives and dances while she cleans.

Please visit Jennifer’s website at
www.jennifermalonewright.com

Follow Jennifer on Twitter

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Table of Contents

- KEEPER OF SPIRITS
- CHAPTER ONE
- CHAPTER TWO
- CHAPTER THREE
- CHAPTER FOUR
- CHAPTER FIVE
- CHAPTER SIX
- CHAPTER SEVEN
- CHAPTER EIGHT
- CHAPTER NINE
- CHAPTER TEN
- CHAPTER ELEVEN
- CHAPTER TWELVE
- CHAPTER THIRTEEN
- CHAPTER FOURTEEN
- CHAPTER FIFTEEN
- CHAPTER SIXTEEN
- CHAPTER SEVENTEEN
- CHAPTER EIGHTEEN
- CHAPTER NINETEEN
- CHAPTER TWENTY
- CHAPER TWENTY-ONE
- CHAPTER TWENTY-TWO
- CHAPTER TWENTY-THREE
- CHAPTER TWENTY-FOUR
- CHAPTER TWENTY-FIVE
- CHAPTER TWENTY-SIX