Page 63 of Beneath the Blue Moon

***Ethan***

My mother is in church giving me the evil eye. Lord help me.

The moment she walked in and saw me sitting with Casey, her whole countenance

changed. It’s a good thing Casey hasn’t seen her; she’s been totally absorbed

in the sermon. Reaching over, she takes my hand, and suddenly, my mother is the

last thing on my mind.

After the service, the reverend walks up and shakes my hand.

“Been a while, Sheriff. Glad to see you back.”

“Good to be back. Reverend Thomas, this is Casey and her

dad, Luke.”

“Always nice to see new faces. Welcome.”

“Thank you. I really enjoyed your sermon,” Casey tells him.

“Thank you, Casey. I hope I’ll see you again.”

“Definitely.”

“Good, good. You all have a blessed day.”

Outside the church, I finally have to deal with my parents.

They approach us just as we’re exiting the building.

“Son!” Dad greets me. “Good to see you back in the fold!” After

patting my back, he turns to Casey with a huge smile, not even giving me the

chance to introduce her. “You must be Casey.”

She extends her hand with a warm smile.

“It’s a pleasure to meet you, Mr. McKenzie.”

He looks down at her hand with a chuckle. “What’s this?” She’s

surprised but allows him to pull her into a bear hug. “I’ve been looking

forward to meeting you, sweetheart. And call me Victor, please.”

I shift my attention to my mother, who’s staring at my

father in shock. When they pull apart, she turns to Casey with a disdainful

stare. I shoot her a warning glare, and she adopts an air of cool indifference.

“Mother, this is Casey. Casey, this is my mother, Helena.”

“Mrs. McKenzie, it’s a pleasure to finally meet you.”

“Is it, now?”

Damn it, Mother! I don’t want to push her, but I will

if I have to.

“Yes,” Casey replies. “I saw a picture of you and thought

how beautiful you were, but it did you no justice.”

That caught her off guard. Her icy facade slips for just a

second, but she steels herself for a rude remark, and I instantly step in,

taking her elbow. Be nice. I only meant to give her a little push, but I

guess I overdid it; she grabs Dad’s arm to steady herself.

“Are you okay, Mother?”

She smiles and turns to Casey.

“Thank you, Casey. That’s very kind.”

“You’re welcome. This is my dad, Luke.”

While our parents exchange pleasantries, she turns to me

with a helpless shrug. Before I can ask what’s wrong, she shakes her head and

takes her father’s arm. Mother doesn’t look too good. I guess I did push her

too hard.

“Dad, maybe you should take her home.”

“I will. I’ll be seeing you around, Casey.”

“Good-bye,” she answers with a wave.

Dad gives me a “be prepared for the storm” look, shakes

Luke’s hand, and leads Mother away. When Hurricane Helena gets on the warpath,

there’s always hell to pay. She’ll be livid when she realizes what I did. This

time, I don’t care, so too bad for her. Casey laces her fingers through mine

and tugs on my hand.

“Let’s go home.”

“Why don’t you go on? I need to call Charlie, but I’ll meet

you at the truck.”

“Okay.”

Once she’s a safe distance away, I dial Charlie’s number.

“Well, well,” he answers. “If it isn’t half of the couple of

the night.”

“You saw that, huh?”

“Saw it? You know you just put a huge neon sign on her

forehead, right?”

“That’s why I’m calling. I need two men on her at all times,

except when I’m with her, of course. Covertly. They are not to approach unless

she’s in trouble.”

“Got it.”

“Thanks, Charlie.”

“No prob, boss.”