Page 54 of Stronger Than Blood

Chapter forty-nine

Rory

Eddie’s Sprits did better than I think any of us, except maybe Kalinda, anticipated. It became a proper tourist attraction, with people coming in not just for the booze but to buy the merch Bev had cleverly displayed throughout the store.

Because we specialized in moonshine, that also caught a lot of attention, and with Uncle Eddie’s legacy as a distributor, the word got out, causing us to become a popular stop among those who “missed the good ol’ days.”

Our home life was also good. Okay, not just good.

It was amazing. I loved being with Mick.

My heart was his in every possible way. Even though we were all busy working at the microdistillery, Mick was often at his bakery and restaurant.

By the summer, we’d all fallen into a happy routine and the seasons sped by.

Unfortunately, there hadn’t been enough time to put Ida’s beloved gardens in this year, but she seemed to understand. As it was, we barely had enough time just to mow her huge lot.

Once the summer settled, she and Kalinda would spend their days sitting outside, enjoying the weather and Ida’s niece had found someone to provide enough vegetables that she could at least can a few, which made her happy.

When the weather changed in September, it brought with it other changes as well.

Even when I was a child, I noticed the season changes almost always coincided with those of life.

When Kalinda told Mick and me to meet her outside under the plum trees, I knew something wasn’t right.

Sure enough, when Mick sat across from her and I joined her on the swing, she reached over and took Mick’s hand.

“I woke up this morning, Mick, with a warning.” Mick immediately began to blink back tears. “Shh, I know this is hard, but… well, your Granny has been given some really good months. You shouldn’t feel bad about what’s about to happen.”

He nodded, and I immediately knelt beside him. He took my hand and squeezed it, then looked over at Kalinda. “Does she know?”

Kalinda nodded. “I spoke with her this morning, and she confirmed she had sensed it herself. Mick, she doesn’t want to go back to that hospital, and I can’t say I blame her.”

“When?” he asked.

Kalinda shrugged. “I’m not sure. It could be soon, could be a week or more.”

“Okay, I’ll let Essie know I’m going to need to spend more time at home. I think Arden can hold down the fort for me until… well, for a while.”

Kalinda patted his hand and then stood to go back into the house. “You okay?” I asked as soon as she left.

He shook his head. “No, far from it, but I still have her for now, and I am going to enjoy what time I have left.”

He stood up, and I immediately drew him into my arms. This past year had been one of the best of my life. I’d grown so much closer to Kalinda, and of course, I loved Mrs. Ida. But I had fallen completely and totally in love with Mick, so much so I couldn’t imagine living life without him.

When we pulled apart, he smiled at me, then wiped away the tear that’d escaped during our hug. “Okay, I’m gonna go spend some time with her,” he said and turned to go.

I lingered a while, thinking how I could make the transition easier for the people I’d come to think of as my family. When I went back into the house, I was shocked to find nothing less than chaos.

It looked like a tornado was passing through. Stuff was flying around the room, including clothes and bedclothes. I even got hit by a cushion from the sofa in the living room.

“Mick, Kalinda,” I yelled. “What’s going on?”

At first no one responded. Then a feeling of dread came over me.

“Now… now it’s my time.”

The voice sent cold shivers up and down my spine. I knew what I was hearing was more in my head than in real life, but that made it worse, especially since I knew it was the voice of Preston Garrison.

“You’re wrong, your time has come and gone. Leave this home. You are no longer welcome here!”

The laughter came as cold as ice on an early winter morning. “It’s my time.”

I stumbled backward and luckily caught myself against the dining room wall. When I looked up, everything was back to normal. No tornado, no items being flung around. In fact, nothing seemed out of place.

“What the hell?” I asked, then noticed Mick, Kalinda, and Mrs. Ida all staring at me from the living room.

Kalinda immediately got up and came to me. “Rory, what’s wrong?”

“I-I saw him. H-he said it’s his time now.”

“Oh,” Kalinda said. Then, taking my arm, which I was thankful for since I was still unsteady, she led me into the living room and asked me to start from the beginning and tell them what I’d seen.

“Oh, that bastard thinks because I’m dying he will take over,” Mrs. Ida said, and even though she was clearly weaker than she’d been in a while, she still had fire within her.

“He is wrong,” Kalinda said. “You are wrong,” she said to the room.

I listened for the laughter, but luckily, there was nothing. Thank goodness for that.

“So, what do we do?” Mick asked.

Kalinda shook her head. “I… well, I don’t have any direction.

I’m not getting anything. Sorry, I don’t know why, but I believe things are gonna work themselves out.

As I’ve said before, he doesn’t belong here, and he knows that as well as we do.

Regardless, I don’t think we should pay him any attention.

Our focus needs to be on Ida right now. Attention on him will only feed him. ”

We all looked over at Mrs. Ida, which clearly made her cross. “Don’t worry about me. When it’s my time, I’ll be…” She began coughing and didn’t get her words out, but we’d all come to know her well enough to understand what she meant.

Kalinda handed her the glass of water she kept by her bed, and she drank, then lay back. Damn, it sucked to see such a powerhouse wasting away. Such was the way of nature, though.

Unfortunately, that night, my nightmares began.

I guess the SOB decided he could no longer influence Mick, and Mrs. Ida had no tolerance for him.

Kalinda wasn’t someone any being could control, plus, she spent the nights elsewhere, so apparently, I was the most vulnerable person to try to influence.

I stood firm, even when he filled my dreams with death and torture.

I suppose they were memories of his acts against his victims. They were disturbing and beyond frustrating to have to face them when I wanted nothing more than to give solace to my lover and friends as Mrs. Ida prepared to cross over.

Finally, I’d had enough and asked Kalinda to help me block him.

“I’m sorry, Rory, I don’t have the power to do that, not even when I was Madam.

Besides, my guides are telling me this is all part of the process.

I know the dreams are disturbing, but they are a desperate attempt for him to break free. ”

“Can you give me something to block the nightmares, at least?”

She thought for a moment, then smiled. “Come with me,” she said.

“Ida, do you have anything that belonged to your daughter?” she asked.

“Of course,” she said and tried to sit up. “Mick put it all in the bedroom upstairs.”

“Do you mind if we use something to help Rory sleep?”

Mrs. Ida looked confused but nodded. “Have Mick show you where he put it,” she said before closing her eyes.

We found Mick in his room just before he took his afternoon nap.

He wasn’t able to get away from the bakery and restaurant entirely, but he’d negotiated with Essie to arrive extremely early to ensure all the pies were cooked.

Then Arden would take over for him for the afternoons, so he needed a nap if he was going to stay up past dark.

He led us into the guest room when Kalinda told him we needed something that belonged to his grandmother. Of course, he laughed when he opened the drawer and pulled out a brooch with a sheet of paper attached.

“I haven’t really been in here much other than to vacuum and run a dustcloth over the tops of things since Dupris stayed here,” he said and handed the brooch and note to Kalinda. “I’m going to guess your niece already saw what you needed.” The note was addressed to Kalinda.

Auntie,

I think this is something you’ll be looking for.

Madam Baptiste

Kalinda chuckled and then escorted us to our bedroom. “Rory, which side do you sleep on?” she asked.

When I pointed to my side of the bed, she attached the brooch to the lampshade. “When you go to sleep, ask Mick’s grandmother to watch over you. I have a feeling she won’t tolerate his shenanigans any longer.”

“Um, wait, does that mean she’ll be here, like, all the time?” Mick asked.

Kalinda paused, and when she figured out why Mick was concerned, she chuckled. “No, just when Rory summons her. So, you know, don’t summon anyone until you get… all your business done.”

She was laughing as she walked out of the bedroom, and of course, my adorable Mick was blushing from ear to ear. “Aah, come on, your grandmother will want to know you have a healthy sex life, right?”

“I doubt it. She was pretty religious, at least according to the stories my mom used to tell.”

“Your mom might have had a different perspective of her mother than you. Regardless, I’ll be glad if I can get some help sleeping at night. I hate that we’re still dealing with that demon.”

“Agreed, but yeah, no summoning my ancestors until we are ready to sleep, though, okay?”

I took him in my arms and kissed him until he relaxed. When we pulled apart, I winked. “I promise to only spend our special time with each other, no one else.”

“Good,” he said, then kicked me out of the bedroom so he could get a good nap, since we were both planning to spend the evening watching one of Mrs. Ida’s favorite “programs,” as she called them.

That night, after we made love, I rolled over, touched the brooch, and asked if the owner could watch over us tonight as we slept.

Thank goodness, it seemed to work, as I didn’t have one nightmare; instead, what little I remembered of my dreams was of a woman holding a tow-headed baby, singing songs about how much she loved him.

I knew instinctively it was Mick’s grandmother singing to her baby grandson. I decided not to tell him about the dream, at least not right away. For now, I allowed the love she had for Mick to surround me every night and keep the monster pushed far away from us, just as he should be.