Chapter 21

Chapter

Twenty-One

KEIR

“We welcomeany friendly spirits who will talk to us.” Sibley was trying hard, but nothing was happening. Her folks had already called and asked if we wanted them to bring home some burgers. She’d jumped at the chance.

“Horace Green. Sergeant Horace Green, come forward.” My voice was a little louder than it needed to be, but I was about done with this shit. I wanted to be home… Wherever that might be.

Horace materialized in front of us with another man I didn’t know. Sibley’s breath hitched, and she took her fingers off the planchette. “S-S-Sandy?”

That was when I noticed he looked like Sibley, though I could see the pair of recliners by the bookcase through him. I needed to be sure who he was for my own sake. “You’re Sandy George? Keirnan’s best friend? Sibley’s brother?”

“Mr. Dearly, it’s nice to meet you, sir. Race told me how nice you were to him, and that you found Rachel for him. He asked me to come along and clear up some things for you.”

Sandy looked around the living room and chuckled. “Damn, even the scratches on the baseboard are still there. That stupid cat.”

Sibley sat up taller. “Don’t dis Nacho. He was my cat, jackass.” She suddenly giggled. “Hi, big brother. This is unusual for me. I read cards and do charts, but I’ve never been able to get anyone from the other side to talk to me.”

I was glad she wasn’t freaked out, though I wasn’t sure why I wasn’t. No time to dwell. “So, what can you do to help bolster Mr. Green’s case when I tell Rachel her dad wasn’t a bad guy?”

It didn’t seem to me that Rachel would have an issue. It would be Keith and Naomi who would have a problem with the truth, especially since Naomi hadn’t been truthful with Keith in the first place, or so I suspected.

“In my room, there’s an air exchange for the furnace in the back of my closet. Inside is a letter Race gave me before he went to the brig. If something happened to him while he was in there, he wanted me to deliver it to his daughter. I brought it home with me when I was back here for medical leave after my ACL surgery.

“I’d signed up as Race’s Dignified Transport escort, and he was mine, but he ended up getting redeployed because of that fight. He started using drugs after that and his world went to hell. He thought I’d abandoned him, but I never would.”

I turned to see Sibley with tears streaming down her cheeks, so I stood and helped her up. “Maybe you can go get the letter?”

She nodded and hurried upstairs. I turned back to the two of them, my focus on Horace. “I’m sorry there wasn’t anyone to meet you when you passed away. From what I’ve learned, someone should have been. I’ll try to find out why there wasn’t.”

Horace grinned. “That’s okay. I think because I didn’t believe I was dead that I didn’t know to look for someone. Maybe I just missed them, but I didn’t recognize anyone. I found my buddy, and now, I’m not alone. Please be sure Rachel gets the money and the contents of the safe-deposit box. Dash and Keirnan know where to find it.”

Dash! My fiancé Dash!“I need to call him.”

I hurried to the kitchen and picked up the receiver of the old-fashioned phone on the wall, but my fingers only hovered over the keypad. I couldn’t remember the number.

Horace chuckled behind me. “He’ll be here tomorrow, don’t worry. Now, you’re going to help Ronny with that money issue, right? Rumor has it you’re getting some heavy hitters to help you out. We’ll be watching and rooting for you.”

Sibley rushed downstairs with the envelope in her hand holding it above her head and shaking it like a golden ticket. On the front was Rachel’s name. The formerly white letter-sized envelope was thick and yellowed with time. I wasn’t sure how we’d ever explain the envelope to Keith and Naomi, but currently, that was the least of our worries.

After tearful goodbyes between Sibley and Sandy, the spirits left us, and I held her while she cried. “I wish Mom and Dad had been here to talk to him. I know how much they miss him.”

I gently moved her out of my arms to stare at her face. “I know, but that might have been a little too much for them. Sounds like Keirnan will be back tomorrow sometime. I’m calling Marcus Shannon to set something up for tomorrow night. I’m just not sure how to explain everyone to Betty and Ronald…especially with me looking like Keirnan.”

Sibley sighed. “Maybe it’s better if you and Keirnan don’t appear at the same time. Where can I call to talk to your fiancé?”

“I don’t remember…”

“You have a business, right?”

It struck me. “Dearly & Son Funeral Home. There’s only one.”

Sibley smiled and began typing into her phone. “Dearly & Son Funeral Home, Reardon, California. Oh! You have a five-star rating with almost eight hundred reviews. Congrats.”

She called the number listed on the website. It rang twice. “Dearly & Son Funeral Home. This is Dash.”

His voice brought tears to my eyes and broke through the fog of what I couldn’t remember. I snatched the phone from Sibley’s hand. “Love, it’s me.”

His breath hitched. “Oh, Dearly. I’ve missed you so much. I’m bringing Keirnan with me to Iowa to get you and return him. We’ll be there tomorrow at eleven. Keirnan says it’s about a two-hour drive to Gilbert. I can’t wait to get to you.”

“I understand completely. We have a bit of an issue, but Jo told me you would bring reinforcements. It’s the mobster who is coming after Keirnan and his family. Does Keirnan remember anything about the deal?”

“I’m here, and I remember it all. Is Sibley there?”

I handed her the phone. “Oh, Keirnan. I’m so glad you’re safe. This is almost too incredible to believe, but I can’t wait to see you again, sweetheart.”

“How’s the baby? I’m so sorry for the ugly things I said, Sibs. It wasn’t me I swear. I was possessed—well, we can talk about it, honey. You sure you’re okay?”

Sibley’s smile was glowing as she spoke to her husband. “Yes, Keirnan. I’m good. Keir has been looking out for all of us. There’s a lot to do when you get home. You and I, we have a lot to talk about, but we’re going to make it, Keirnan. We’ve got a baby on the way who needs us.”

I was glad it was almost over. We both needed those we loved, and there was finally a light at the end of the tunnel.

“Sibley?”

It was her mother, Cecilia. We were in the living room cleaning up the candles and the Ouija board so as not to freak out her parents. They didn’t even know it was downstairs in their home, and Sibley decided to take it back to Ames with her and Keirnan when they left after Thanksgiving so she could try to reach out to her brother again.

“It’s best not to tell my Mom and Dad about anything, okay?” Sibley was whispering, so I nodded. It was her decision to make.

“Whatever you say. It’s yours and Keirnan’s story to tell…whether you decide to tell it or not.”

“Or it can be erased so they never have to decide.” The voice in my head wasn’t my own. It wasn’t Dash’s either. I didn’t know who it was, but it was an interesting idea.

“Uh, yeah. When Keirnan gets here, I’ll give him the letter to give to Rachel.”

Sibley shook her head. “It’s better if you give it to her, Keir. She’ll have questions, and I think you might be the only one who can answer her honestly. When Keirnan calls me tomorrow, I’ll tell him to meet us at the Cornstalk Inn. It’s a bed and breakfast, and they have good food. It’s outside of town. I’ll reserve a couple of rooms, okay?”

“Yeah, that’s a good idea.” I took Sibley’s hand and led her to the kitchen to talk to her mother while I went outside and helped Ethan carry in the rest of the groceries.

“I thought you and Cecilia were coming to Mom and Dad’s on Thursday.” Keep playing the part.

As I carried in the bags, it seemed as if there was enough food to feed an army. Had the plans changed without my knowledge?

Ethan chuckled. “We are, but as you know, those women are in constant competition. Betty is making a turkey. Cecilia is making ham. It goes on and on. You’ve been there.”

I nodded and laughed as I carried in the rest of the bags, slipping my wet boots off by the door. I put the bags on the counter where the others had been placed.

“Thank you, Keirnan.” Cecilia took the bag I was carrying that contained the ham and put it on the table before she turned to me, her face morphing into pure anger.

“How could you ever say those things to Sibley? She has adored you nearly her whole life, and when you finally gave her the time of day, she told me she was going to marry you. She said the two of you were soulmates. How could you hurt her so badly, Keirnan?”

My heart ached to hear the pain in Cecilia’s voice. It wasn’t my fight, but I felt the need to defend Keirnan. If Sibley loved him, I was sure he was a decent guy. She’d mentioned it had only been in the last few months that he’d acted harshly.

“Momma! You have no right to speak to Keirnan that way. Our problems are ours alone. We’re working things out, so don’t add your two cents.” Sibley was a strong woman. I was proud of her for standing up for herself.

I wanted to tell Mrs. George that I was lucky to have Sibley as my wife, but she wasn’t my wife. I would call her a friend for the rest of my life, even though there was a chance she might not remember me when it was all over. Hell, that might be the best for all involved.

I walked out of the kitchen and into the family room to give them privacy. Their discussion wasn’t for my ears.

I sat on the couch and closed my eyes. There, in my mind, was Dashiell Clegg as clear as day. The memories were flooding back to me now that the fog had cleared, and I couldn’t wait to hold my man.

Sibley and her mother continued to argue in the kitchen, so I decided to return to Betty and Ronald’s home. I needed to talk to Keith, and I had to get my story straight before I did.

I went to the kitchen and touched Sibley’s shoulder. “I’m going back to Mom and Dad’s. Keith comes over in the evening to milk, so I’ll help him and give Dad another night off. You wanna take me, or you want me to come back and get you?”

Sibley slid the envelope into the back pocket of my jeans without her mother seeing. “Uh, I’ll get Daddy to give me a ride over later. I’m going to help Mom with all this. I’ll be over after supper, okay?” She kissed my cheek, and I returned it with a smile.

I had the keys in my pocket, so I grabbed my coat and slid my boots back on. “Call the house if you need me to come pick you up. Bye.”

The sidewalk was a little slick where the snow had melted and refrozen as the temperature dropped, so I grabbed a scoop of salt and sprinkled some on the sidewalk before I went to the car, leaving the scoop on the fencepost as I’d seen Ethan do earlier.

I drove back to the farm and parked next to Keith’s truck. Since he was already there, it seemed as though it was the best time to talk to him about Rachel.

I got out and trudged through the dirty snow to the milk barn. I found Ronald standing in the pen as the cows made their way through the gate for their afternoon milking.

I walked to the fence and grinned. “I’ll take your spot so you can go inside to help Bet—Mom with dinner. Sibley’s having dinner with her folks, so it’s just the three of us.” I climbed the fence and went over to the man.

He chuckled. “Don’t guess we could talk you two into sticking around and working from here while you write your book, huh?”

We exchanged coats. “I’ll discuss it with her.”

Ronald nodded, patted my shoulder, and made his way to the house. I couldn’t commit to anything so serious on Keirnan’s behalf, but I’d mention the invitation to him when we finally met.

I’d texted Marcus Shannon while I was at Sidney’s house, so I was waiting to hear back from him about meeting up tomorrow night. I wanted to be on a plane to my mother’s house by early Thursday morning.

If the stars aligned, maybe I would be?