Believe: The Complete Channie Series (70 page)

Abby rubbed his back and said, “It’s okay, honey pie. She’s back now. Nobody knows she left but you and me.”

Okay. That was weird. “What’s his problem?”

Diego lifted his chin and looked at Channie with such sadness it almost made her feel guilty. Almost. He said, “Your papa asked me and Abby to take care of you while he’s gone. How are we supposed to protect you if you disappear?”

“I left a note.”

Abby raised her eyebrows and sucked her lips into her mouth, obviously trying not to laugh.

It didn’t fool Diego. He pushed his hair off his forehead then turned towards Abby. “This is no laughing matter. What am I supposed to tell your papa?”

All traces of humor slid off Abby’s face. She grabbed Diego’s well-muscled arm and said, “You ain’t gonna tell Daddy nothing. Channie’s sixteen and old enough to make her own choices.”

“Thank you!” It was about time somebody noticed.

“So, lil’ sis, when do we get to meet this Joshua of yours?”

Uh-oh.

“Abby…” Diego drug her name out, showing his displeasure with the tone of his voice.

Abby nudged him with her shoulder. “Oh, come on. We never would have had a chance if your cousin hadn’t a loaned you his pick-em-up and camper. And I was only fifteen.”

Diego shook his head and sighed, but he did so with a grin on his face.

Channie desperately needed an ally, but if Abby met Josh, she’d sense his magic. And with all the hullabaloo about Valor Veyjivik’s name on the Book of the Dead, how long would it take her to figure things out? She didn’t think she’d tell on her, but Abby was notorious for letting things slip.

“It’s not that I don’t trust you. But it’s a matter of life and death. And I mean that literally. I’m not being dramatic.”

Abby took Channie’s hands in hers. “In that case, maybe you should be a little more careful about sneaking out to meet him.”

Channie bowed her head and nodded. “You’re right. That was reckless and selfish and—”

“And you’re going to do it again, ain’t ya?”

“Most likely.”

“Well, next time give us a little more of a warning so we can come up with a better alibi than ‘gone for a walk.’”

Diego threw his hands in the air and said, “Leave me out of this,” then stomped out of the room. Channie didn’t need to understand Spanish to know that Diego was swearing under his breath. She bit her lip and waited until she was sure Diego was out of hearing range then grinned and said, “We’re supposed to meet again tomorrow, at midnight.”

Abby giggled as she pulled Channie into a hug. “This is so much fun!” She patted her back then held her at arm’s length. “Now, what are you doing about birth control?”

Exhaustion
fought with euphoria as Josh drove home after hooking up with Channie. Was it okay to call sex with your wife hooking up? Hell. Who cares. Whatever he called it, it was amazing. He never would have guessed that Channie had it in her. He enjoyed the cuddly sex that Channie called “making love” too, but tonight’s sex was just … just …
man
.

He couldn’t get the grin off his face even when he drove up to the house and Dad’s office light was still on. Josh had texted him after school and warned him that he’d be home late, but he’d turned his phone off afterwards and it was after two in the morning. Dad never yelled at Josh but the
disappointment
was hard to take sometimes.

“Joshua!”

Whoa. That didn’t sound like disappointment.

“Get in here.”

Josh grabbed the doorframe and leaned his upper body into the office. “Yeah?”

Dad was sitting in the high-backed leather chair behind his desk. His power chair. He nodded at the office chair across from him and said, “Have a seat.”

Josh rolled it out and flopped into it, one leg draped over the armrest. “What’s up?”

“We need to agree on a few ground rules, since you’re going to live here permanently.”

“You’ve never had rules before. What happened to trust and mutual respect?”

“Leaving me a text message while I’m in a meeting and staying out…” he glanced at his watch, “…until two-thirty in the morning shows a distinct lack of respect and makes it very hard for me to trust you.”

“I know. I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to worry you.”

“You’re eighteen, Josh. You need to act like an adult.”

“I said I was sorry. What else do you want me to say?” Josh regretted his snarky tone of voice, but damn it, Dad’s little lecture was killing his buzz.

“I want you to say that it won’t happen again.”

Josh slumped further down in his chair and swiveled it back and forth. “It won’t happen again. Can I go to bed now?”

“I want you to come straight home from school tomorrow.”

“All right fine.” Josh rolled his eyes and spun the chair towards the door.

“And I want you to stay home.”

“What?” He whirled back around to face Dad and planted both feet on the floor. “No way. I have a date.”

Dad jerked his head up and said, “With Channie?”

“Of course with Channie.”

“Her father made it very clear he doesn’t want you to date his daughter. And Channie told you to stay away.”

“She’s just trying to protect me.”

“So am I.”

“If you want me to act like an adult, you need to treat me like one. You don’t have the right to tell me who I can and can’t be with.”

“Do I need to take your keys?”

Josh dug his keys out of his pocket then tossed them onto the desk. “That won’t keep me from seeing her. I’ll move back in with Mom if I have to.” He could ride his bike from Boulder to Louisville, but the traffic was a bitch. Of course there was always the RTD. The diesel fumes gave him a headache, but Josh would do whatever it took to be with Channie.

“Look, Dad. I like living here with you. I really do. But no one is going to keep me away from my wife.”

“She’s not your wife, Joshua.”

“She’s my soul-mate. But I don’t expect you to understand.”

“I’ve been in love a couple of times, so yes, I do understand. And as amazing as it feels right now, those feelings won’t last forever.”

Josh slammed his palms flat on the desk and leaned forward. “No
secretary
is going to seduce me away from Channie. This is forever.”

Dad remained calm and kept his voice low, even as a red flush crept up his neck. “That was uncalled for.”

Josh knew he’d crossed the line, insulting Liz like that, but instead of apologizing, he said, “I won’t let you demean what I feel for my
wife!”

Dad pinched the bridge of his nose and sighed then crossed his arms and rested them on top of his desk. “I know you love Channie. And as soon as she’s eighteen, you can get married if that’s still what you both want. But she’s a minor and neither you nor I have the right to go against her parents’ wishes. Not unless she’s ready to accuse them of abuse. If you really love her, you can wait a couple of years.”

Josh’s heart hammered in his chest as he jumped out of his chair. “That’s bullshit and you know it!” The rush of blood behind his ears sounded like a roaring river.

“You need to calm down, son.”

“I’m not your son!”

All the muscles in Dad’s face went slack.

Josh fell back into his chair and shook his head. “I can’t believe I said that.”

Dad’s chair creaked as he pushed away from the desk. He grabbed Josh’s biceps and pulled him to his feet then crushed him against his chest. “My blood may not flow through your veins, but I made a conscious decision to make you my son when I adopted you sixteen years ago. We are bound by law as well as love. You are my son, Joshua Vincent Abrim. And
that’s
forever.”

The
house-shaking bang of the front door, followed by a string of pseudo swear words woke Channie a little before dawn the next morning. “Goll darn it, boy, I ain’t lost that much money since we got here.”

“I’m sorry Mr. Belks. I truly am. I’ll make it up to you.”

“I lost five grand on account you. Where you gonna get that kind of money?”

Channie pulled a robe on over her nightgown and ran to the banister to peer over the rail. Hunter looked terrible. The dark bags under his eyes combined with the chalky pallor of his face worried her. Was he sick?

“I’ll find a job and pay you back. You have my word.”

Daddy dismissed Hunter with a wave of his hand, turned towards the stairs and bellowed Momma’s name.

“Where’re you at woman! Get down here.”

Momma opened her bedroom door and stepped into the hall. She was wearing the same clothes she had on when she locked herself in her room two days ago. Channie thought Hunter looked like death, but Momma looked ten times worse. She clutched the Book of the Dead against her bosom with one blistered hand and brushed the frizzy grey halo of hair off her brow with the other. She stared at Channie with unseeing eyes so blood-shot there wasn’t a speck of visible white. She looked like one of the characters from Elijah’s Saturday morning cartoons after they’d dropped a toaster in the bathtub.

The floor shook beneath Channie’s feet as Daddy bolted up the stairs. He stared at Momma for a second then ran down the hall and grabbed her by the shoulders. “Prudence? What happened?”

The hair on the back of Channie’s neck stood on end as Momma leaned around Daddy and glared at her with demonic eyes. She raised a hand and pointed at Channie’s heart. “You. This is all your fault.”

Diego burst into the hall, wearing nothing but a pair of boxers. “What’s going on?”

Daddy said, “You tell me. I left you in charge and I come back to this? Look at her.”

Abby tried to push her way past Diego, but it was clear he had no intention of letting her anywhere near Momma or Daddy.

Diego said, “She locked herself in her room. Abby took several trays of food up to her, but she refused to open the door. I didn’t think you’d want me to break the door down.”

Daddy sighed and slumped his shoulders. “Alright, son. I don’t blame you.” He slipped an arm around Momma’s waist from behind and held her against his protruding belly with one hand. He kissed the side of her head then held his other hand in front of her. “Prudence. Give me the book.”

Momma snapped out of her catatonic state and screamed. Hunter’s shield slammed down over Channie before she even realized he’d joined them upstairs. Momma cast multiple curses but they bounced off everyone’s shields like steel marbles in a pinball machine.

When she’d finally exhausted all her energy, she slumped against Daddy. He pried the book from her grasp, handed it to Diego, of all people, then carried Momma into their room. Abby, still wearing nothing but a sheet, ran down the hall and pressed her ear against the door. She motioned for everyone to join her. Diego was the first to comply. Channie looked at Hunter and raised her eyebrows. He shook his head then took her hand and dragged her downstairs.

Abby, Diego and the trips joined them an hour later.

Channie said, “What’s going on up there?”

Abby shooed Diego and the trips into the kitchen and told them to start breakfast then led Channie and Hunter into the parlor. “Daddy’s trying to talk Momma into going back to Blackhawk with him without making it a direct order.” She looked at Hunter and smirked. “He says you got the worst poker face he ever saw.”