Page 15 of Dead Calm (Cold Case Psychic #38)

The rest of the day had, thankfully, gone smoothly.

The kids had a great afternoon at the beach.

Ronan, Jude, and Fitz sat in the sun and read their book.

Ten napped, while Cope and Jace played with the kids.

For dinner, they’d made reservations for the main dining room.

The meal was incredible. They’d all gotten steak, with the exception of Aurora, who wanted shrimp scampi.

They’d skipped dessert, which none of the kids were happy about, as they made their way to the second floor and into Ten and Ronan’s suite.

The unhappy kids piled on to the sofa and shot mutinous looks at Ronan.

“Okay, guys, let’s settle down,” Ronan said, holding his hands up for silence, like the principal did at Salem Elementary. “There’s some stuff we need to talk to you about. You’re going to be upset by what we’re saying, but it’s important you listen. Fitz?”

“Hurricane Sophie is going to hit New England. We don’t know where or at what strength yet. You all saw the pictures on the television of the damage the storm did, right?”

“Right,” Everly, Wolf, and Aurora muttered.

“Our job is to keep all of you safe. Weather reports are saying they think the storm will hit on Sunday,” Jude said, picking up from Fitzgibbon. “What we’ve all decided is that we’re going to leave for home Saturday morning.”

The kids groaned in perfect harmony.

“We know it’s disappointing,” Ronan said. “We’re worried about there being a lot of traffic trying to get back to the highway and there’s a lot of work we need to do back home.”

“Stupid police work,” Aurora said, crossing her arms.

“No, honey, not police work,” Fitz said. “We all need to hit the grocery store and get food that won’t spoil, like bread, peanut butter and crackers, just in case the power goes out and we can’t cook. We also need to stock up on batteries for flashlights.”

“On the way back to the hotel, I found lanterns and radios that are powered by crank handles. Not only will we have light that way, but we can also charge our phones. I ordered two of them for each family. They’ll be delivered to Carson’s house tomorrow,” Jude said.

“Depending on how bad the storm will be, we might need to get wood to board up our windows to protect them.” Fitz’s eyes were on Aurora. “If the storm is going to be super bad, we might have to evacuate to a hotel and ride out the storm that way.”

“What we need from you all is your cooperation. We’re going to start packing tonight.

Dirty clothes and things we won’t need again,” Ronan said.

“It’s our plan to spend tomorrow enjoying one last day at the hotel.

We’ll go to the beach and have lots of fun.

We’ll go to the Lobster Shack near the harbor for dinner. ”

Aurora perked up when Ronan mentioned lobster. “What can I do to help?”

“That’s the spirit!” Fitz gave Aurora a high-five.

“We need all three of you to pack your suitcases and carry on bags for Saturday. Make sure all of your stuffies are packed, we don’t want any unicorn left behind.

Same with you, Wolf, make sure all your new toys and LEGOs are packed.

We’ll have breakfast at the hotel Saturday morning and then we’re going home. ”

“One last thing,” Jude said. “I’m going to be keeping my eye on the weather forecasts. If the storm starts to move faster, then we might have to leave tomorrow instead.”

Ronan looked around the room at all the sad faces. “I’m sad that we have to leave early too, but we don’t want to put any of you in danger.”

“Who’s in the mood for smores?” Tennyson asked.

“Me!” All the kids’ hands shot into the air.

Ten stuck his hand in the air with the others. “Let’s go grab a fire pit down by the beach. Ronan, bring the supplies. Jude, grab beach blankets. Fitz put juice pouches in the cooler.”

“Yes, sir, General Grimm!” Ronan snapped off a salute. Jude and Fitz followed suit.

Ten gathered the kids, along with Cope and Jace and left the suite.

“That went pretty well,” Jude said. “We’ll meet you back here in a few minutes.”

“Okay.” Ronan walked Fitz and Jude out and grabbed one of Ten’s beach bags.

He packed it with marshmallows, chocolate, a new box of graham crackers and sticks to roast marshmallows.

When Ronan was a kid, he had to find his own stick in the woods and strip the bark off the tip to roast marshmallows. Now, stores sold entire kits.

When Jude and Fitz returned, they piled into the elevator and rode it to the first floor. “I’m gonna check in on Lainie before we go outside,” Ronan said, pointing to the entrance to the Taproom.

“We’ll come with you.” Jude and Fitz followed behind.

Focused on Lainie’s safety and well-being, Ronan was shocked when he walked into the bar and saw Lainie and Kurt hugging each other. “Fuck, someone posted his bail.”

“By the look of that hug, it’s easy to see who it was.” Jude shook his head.

“Let’s get back to the kids,” Fitz said. “We’ve done all we can for Lainie.”

Ronan disagreed. There was so much more that could be done for Lainie.

He could put her on a bus or give her gas money to drive back to Boston this very second.

He could write a check for the bonus Lainie was promised for being on staff at Hurricane Pointe for the entire summer.

Ronan was about to say as much to Fitz, when Kurt broke away from Lainie. His eyes found Ronan’s instantly.

With a kiss to Lainie’s forehead, Kurt walked up to Ronan. “She picked me, asshole. Take your detective badges, and your speeches on domestic violence and get the fuck out of here. Neither of us want to see or speak to you again. Got it, motherfucker?”

Ronan looked over Kurt’s shoulder at Lainie, who stood with her head held high. The mark Kurt left on her face that morning was long gone and judging by the defiant look in her eyes, so was her fear. “I don’t think you realize what’s going on here.”

“I realize just fine that you’re trying to take my girlfriend away from me. People fight. It’s a way of life.”

“Hitting women isn’t a way of life, Kurt. It’s a crime,” Jude said

“Says you.” Kurt shrugged.

“Lainie said you were never controlling or jealous before you came to Hurricane Pointe. Is that true?”

“Yeah, it’s true. She never pissed me off at home like she does here.”

“Did you ever hit any other girlfriends before Lainie?” Jude asked.

“No, asshole. Never.” Kurt raised his left eyebrow. “What’s your point?”

“The fact that you’ve never done it before is my point. Do you ever feel like you’re not in control of your mind or your body?” Ronan could see the annoyance in Kurt’s eyes. He knew his time was limited to get through to this obstinate blockhead.

Kurt’s eyes darkened. His angry demeanor drained away. In its place was a perfectly flat affect. “Fuck off. Leave me alone. Leave Lainie alone. I won’t ask again. If you persist, I will come for your daughter and son. Do you understand me?”

Ronan chuckled. “Sure thing, Walt .” He turned to walk away. “Oh, and by the way, where’s Vivienne?”

Kurt/Walt reached out for Ronan, grabbing him by his shirt and jerked him forward. “What have you done with her?”

Fitzgibbon got between the men and shoved Ronan back a few steps. “You want to go to jail again? This time I’m certain charges won’t be dropped against you.”

Ronan watched in fascination as the possessed man blinked several times, shaking his head. His eyes were back to normal. Ronan assumed that meant Kurt had returned from wherever he’d been when Walt was in charge. The only thing different about him was the confused look on Kurt’s face.

“Stay away from Lainie.” Without waiting for an answer, he stalked back toward the bar.

Ronan tried to catch Lainie’s eye, but it was obvious she was intentionally ignoring him. “I’ve got to tell Ten what happened.”

“Have a smore first, huh?” Jude asked, slinging his arm around Ronan’s neck. We’re cutting this trip short as it is. Give Ten one last night of fun with the kids.”

“You’re right,” Ronan said, elbowing Jude in the ribs. “I’m an idiot sometimes.”

“Well, not quite, but you’re on the right track.” Jude snorted.

Walking out of the hotel, Ronan heard Everly’s laugh. It echoed up the lawn from the firepit his family was spread out around. He knew this was what being on vacation was all about. Being carefree and happy. Leaving your worries and woes at home to let loose and just relax.

Ten didn’t need to know that he’d seen Kurt’s transformation with his own eyes.

Ronan would tell him about it in the morning.

Ten mentioned trying one last time to get Walt to cross over and leave the hotel and Kurt alone.

If he wasn’t able to do it, then that was that.

Hurricane Sophie was barreling up the coast with her sights set on New England.

They were nearly out of time.