But first he needed to compare this list of parcels with the tax records—
Evie walked in smelling of cinnamon and vanilla and carrying a platter of lemon bars. “I wanted to test these on you first to make certain I’m not poisoning Loretta.”
“Good thought. Got coffee?” Unconcerned, he crunched down on the graham cracker crust, and tart lemony sweetness dissolved on his tongue. If he was going to die, this would be the way to go. He studied the yellow square, then decided the tart worked and ate the rest of it.
“Your coffeemaker arrived, but I have no idea what to do with it. It looks like it might eat small children. Have you found those lot numbers yet?” She picked up one of the bars and nibbled.
Curvaceous fairies shouldn’t wear tight T-shirts with sparkly rainbows over their breasts. Orange corkscrew curls did not help his spinning senses. “I’m working on them. Did the coffee beans arrive, too?” He shoved the rest of the bar into his mouth and stood up to look for his coffeemaker. She stood between him and caffeine.
She stepped back, apparently reading hisauracorrectly, which, given his level of lust, might be dangerous if such things were real.
“The grocery sent a bag of whatever was probably priciest. Giving a small store carte blanche isn’t the best way of keeping costs down.” She spun around and returned to the kitchen.
“Are you looking for my parents or just fighting?” Loretta asked, swinging in circles on the stool at the butcher block. “The principal said she knew my father when he was little. Maybe my parents are hiding with friends.”
“Why would they be hiding?” Evie filled up an empty milk glass and put away the cookies.
“Because someone is trying to kidnap them? Or they’re working on a secret project and don’t want anyone to know. Maybe I could put an ad in the newspaper to say I’m here so they’ll find me.”
“The paper only comes out once a week. I think they already know you’re here. Remember, you wanted a psychic. That’s me.” Evie began cleaning up the baking dishes in the sink.
“You think they’re ghosts.” The accusation was clear and filled with disappointment.
Jax leaned past Evie to clean out his new coffee pot. “Do ghosts have bubbles?”
That shut them both up, temporarily. He filled the pot and looked for an electrical outlet. While they warbled over the possibility of ghosts, souls, and bubbles, he unplugged an unnecessary old-fashioned clock to plug in the coffee machine.
A pounding on the roof reminded him he was supposed to warn Evie. She was already halfway to the door when he grabbed her. “That’s Roark. He’s my hardware expert. You’re not under attack.” Before she could maim him, he set her back down. Shame she wasn’t still wearing that halter though.
She grabbed her silky curls and pulled, apparently to control her temper. Jax leaned back against the counter, listening to the wondrous sound of perking coffee, and waited to see which direction the explosion would take.
Instead, she stalked out to the back step and shouted, “When you’re done putting holes in my roof, would you take down the Christmas decorations? There are lemon bars in the pantry.”
She looked calmer when she returned to the kitchen sink. “Loretta, do you have homework?”
Apparently understanding Evie’s tone—or reading her bubble—Loretta climbed down from the stool and headed for the stairs. “I’ll need more school supplies. I didn’t bring my colors.”
Jax found a mug and filled it with delicious brew and waited.Calmdidn’t mean his hostess didn’t intend to slice his throat.
“I need to speak with her parents to find out where they’re buried.” She plunked a dish into the drying rack.
“They’re buried at the bottom of the Caribbean. I need to see that Loretta gets a proper education. My boss is breathing fire and wants her out of here.” Jax crossed his arms, leaned on the counter, and sipped the elixir of the gods.
She swiveled and flicked soap suds at him. “Loretta needs people who recognize that she’s special, people who will help her learn and use her abilities for the good of humankind. An Indigo child is a harbinger of peace and unity—if we surround her with love. You know any schools that can do it better than a small town where everyone knows everyone and looks out for each other?”
“Bull crap. Small towns have proportionately as many jerks as any other place. She needs a proper education and protection against those who want her money.”
“No one would know she had money if you’d shut up about it! She’s just a kid. Let her be a kid instead of one of the snots trying to show off who has the mostest. She needs time to learn how to be who she is meant to be. What school will teach her to understand her bubbles? She’s talking aboutsouls, doofus. She sees right into our souls. What would happen if she mentioned them to a teacher or other kids who have no concept ofdifferent?”
She might end up like Ariel was Jax’s first panicky thought.
But that was ridiculous. Ariel was neurodivergent to the extent of social incapacitation. Loretta wasn’t anything like Ariel. She was merely precocious. She needed... People who didn’t laugh at her.
“Souls?” he asked warily. Was she serious? “And why won’t she be laughed at here?”
“Souls,” Evie affirmed. “She is not making up bubbles. I have never known anyone who can see souls, but I know better than to sneer at what she sees. So does my entire family and half the town. Afterthought has dealt with Malcolms for centuries. They accept that we’re different. They might not understand how or why, but they’re willing to let me rid them of ghosts and Iddy teach their animals and my mother remedy their ills or read their futures. You’re standing there sneering now. If you can’t believe in her, go back where you belong and leave Loretta to us.”
He continued sipping his coffee. The grocery’s ground coffee was crap. “She cannot earn a living or survive in this world talking aboutsouls,or bubbles she’s making up from a video game because she wants to be a witch. She needs to learn economics and finance and make the world a better place by putting her money where it does the most good. You are quite obviously not the best choice for that.”