Chapter Twenty: On Our Way

Juliana

 

 

Horses as gigantic as the mountains and made of clouds gallop across an indigo blue sky. Their hooves stamp a thunderous beat against my eardrums as they frolic and delight in their freedom. Their celestial celebration is contagious and my spirit soars alongside them. I did it. I rescued the horses. I can hardly believe what I accomplished. Satisfaction and joy bursts out of me and I relish the sensation of the hard-earned accomplishment.

As it happens, contentment never lasts as long as you might like. The cloud horses gather and darken into a massive thunderstorm. I duck my head and make a run for cover. I dash along a trail and up a wide stone stairway. The stairway ends at a stage with a backdrop of megalithic red stones. I know this place. It’s one of the best amphitheaters in the world. I’ve seen many of my favorite bands here. The venue is gorgeous, memorable, and superb in every way.

People mill about, some climb the stairs in hope of a trimmer waistline or rounder butt or maybe because they’re masochistic. Other visitors picnic in the stands or wander around, exploring the outdoor theater and grounds. I turn my attention to the stage. The place where the famous, or want-to-be famous, bleed their desires and heartaches in the form of music. This is where Jared will be tonight. His guitar will sing, hum, and chant for him. The instrument will rip out his passion and project it into the crowd and amphitheater of his dreams.

Star stands in front of me. The calculating behind her dark amber eyes has me wary, but I lean in to listen as she explains something to me. I hear her instructions, but it’s as if she’s talking through water. I’m about to ask her to repeat herself, but she suddenly looks startled and flinches. She turns back to me and stuffs a small messy clump of beads and feathers into my hand.

“What’s this?” I ask.

“Follow my lead,” she says, and keeps looking around for something, or someone.

I stare at the clump in my hand. It’s woven of black and white feathers with tiny trinkets tied to it. A small clock face, multicolored beads, a crescent moon and sun, an acorn, and a snake. The miniature snake sends a chilling ripple down my spine. The next thing I know, Star’s unusual gift pulls me forward. Time zips ahead in a blur of flashing stage lights, pounding drums, and peeling guitars. Caleb sings a familiar lyric. It’s something I helped write.

I’m suddenly blinded. Fear strikes an unimaginable blow to my senses. Stealing not only my vision, but also my breath, and my ability to comprehend reality. Disoriented, I stumble about until my vision clears. I’m standing to the far side of stage right. There’s arguing nearby and I turn to better hear the familiar voices. Then I notice my brother lying flat on his back. Marcus faces away from me. The argument is between Jared and Marcus. Only Jared is in two places at once. His body is on the ground but his spirit is upright.

Suddenly, there’s chaos everywhere on stage. The members of Mostly Mayhem move in closer. People rush around in the periphery. The stagehands keep a wide berth with equally wide eyes. Star is surrounded by her band mates. She appears shaken and close to panic. I’m appalled she isn’t trying to help Jared. I thought she loved him. Why isn’t she doing something? I see everything, but I can’t get over the fact that my brother isn’t moving. He’s dead. This is it. We’ve been waiting for the moment to happen, but it’s still unreal.

I run forward and throw myself down next to Jared. Except it’s not me and it is me. It’s another me. Why am I not talking to Jared’s spirit? He’s obviously not in his body any longer. How am I seeing this? I stare at my dream self. Then I look back and forth like that until I’m spinning and confused.

“Juliana. Wake up. Please, love,” he says.

“Nooo,” I moan and bury my face against Nathaniel.

I shake my head in denial. “Nooo,” I say again. “They’re supposed to stop now.”

“Another vision?” Nathaniel asks as he strokes my back. “You’re awake now. Let it pass,” he soothes.

I inhale a deep breath and blow it out. Then repeat.

“Would it help to tell me about it?”

“Yes. No,” I say confused. “I rescued Chris and the horses. I don’t want any more visions.”

Nathaniel is oddly quiet for a second and then asks, “You want to hit something? Violence is always a good solution.”

Unable to stop the smile, I shake my head at his suggestion. “No, it isn’t.”

“I’m trying new tactics. My usual M.O. hasn’t been working so well. We could go blow up your trashcans or take a chainsaw into the woods and demolish some dead trees. That sounds satisfying, doesn’t it?”

“It does. Except it probably won’t stop my blasted brain from conjuring what I don’t want to know about the future.”

The image of Jared’s passing rises to my mind’s eye. My entire body shudders. Nathaniel wraps me tighter in his arms.

“Jared. Tonight—” is all I can say as emotion staggers me and my voice fails.

“You don’t have to say any more, Jules.”

I cling to Nathaniel until the images fade.

 

∞

Nathaniel

 

“She’s been hiding you from us, hasn’t she?” Charlotte Crowson asks as Juliana and I make our way downstairs.

Juliana’s grandmother turns from facing the television in the family room and eyes me like I’m a spectacle on display. The unnerving look is thorough but not necessarily uncomfortable. There’s a unique quality about Mrs. Crowson which interests me. Her scrutiny sort of reminds me of how Juliana looks at me, and then again, it sort of reminds me of how Chris stares at me, too.

“Grandma!” Juliana says as she skirts in front of me and whisks her grandmother to the kitchen. “I am not,” she defends.

Mrs. Crowson takes another look over her shoulder at me as she’s led into the other room. On the TV, a news anchorwoman stands in front of apocalyptic cloud of rising smoke. The distant hills covered with pine and cedar trees and sagebrush look all too familiar in the background. The crawl line reads that an estimated fifteen hundred acres have already burned and there is five percent containment. Cringing, I turn to face the women in the kitchen. As the saying goes, out of the smoke and into the fire.

“Fess up, honey. You’re keeping him to yourself so your mother and I won’t drool on him. What a handsome young man you’ve found.”

Her voice is high pitched and sweet as honey. Juliana has been keeping me from her family, but I won’t sell her out. At least, not yet.

“Good morning, Mrs. Crowson. Juliana, do you want me to start some tea while the two of you work out your differences of opinion?”

Jules cuts me a look and I try hard not to laugh. She’s flustered at being caught by her Grandmother and it’s the greatest thing I’ve seen in days.

“Tea is an absolute must, Nathaniel. Thank you,” Mrs. Crowson says.

“I was getting ready to call you.” Jules tries to steer her grandma to the dining table.

Mrs. Crowson lingers near the kitchen counter, observing me with her golden-brown eyes. Her hair is long and straight like Juliana’s, but it’s mostly silver with streaks of pure white and a few strands of her original black.

“I think it’s about time we had a formal introduction, Mrs. Crowson. Juliana does keep me to herself.”

“I suspect I know the reason why, but I fully disagree with her.”

My brows reach for my hairline as I grab the teakettle. Could she really know? Juliana said her paranormal abilities come from her grandmother. And Juliana thought Charlotte Crowson may know what I am on sight, which is why I’ve been kept a secret. She was giving me an interesting once over as we came down the stairs.

“It’s an honor to meet the head of Juliana’s family. I’m an open book. Feel free to ask anything,” I offer. “And I should admit I didn’t know until now that Juliana’s mind-boggling beauty comes straight from her grandmother.”

Juliana sort of chokes and sputters after my announcement, then disappears behind a cabinet door below the countertop before I see her expression.

Mrs. Crowson reaches up to smooth her perfectly combed and braided hair. “Flattery will get you nowhere with me, sweet boy,” she coos the warning, and a smile plays around her mouth. “Her grandfather and father were such lookers, too. Julie gets it from all of her family members.”

I hear some throat clearing going on from my hidden girlfriend, and then she says, “Excuse me. I’m in the room.”

“Well, what do you want me to say?” Mrs. Crowson asks. “That we’re all ugly mutts?”

“No, but the two of you need to stop it. It’s weird.” Jules reappears, glares at us, and bends down to pour cat food into Ariel’s dish. With the rattle of the bag, Juliana’s cat materializes from thin air and buries her face in the food bowl.

Juliana stashes the kibble and sighs. Surrendering to the inevitable, she says, “Grandma, this is my incredibly cute boyfriend, Nathaniel Evans. And Nathaniel, this is my incredibly nosy and persistent grandmother, Charlotte Crowson.”

“Well, it’s about time, dear. He shouldn’t be kept hidden from me any longer.”

Juliana’s eye roll amuses me, but I try not to let it show as I wait for the water to boil in the kettle.

“With that out of the way, let’s get straight to it. You wouldn’t believe how my hair and eyes are changing color after the lightning strike. It’s the darndest thing,” Mrs. Crowson says.

“Did your eye doctor say anything about the color change?” Her previous tone of annoyed frustration instantly switches to concern as the conversation changes to her grandma’s health.

“He said it’s an unusual side effect and my vision has to be monitored closely. My eyes are one of the reasons I’m here, honey.”

“What?” Juliana asks, and the alarm in her voice makes me look over from monitoring the stove. “What’s wrong now? Who’s watching the store? Oh crud. Am I supposed to be at work today? I’ve totally lost track. And now with the fire outside of town and everything with Jared. My brain is whacked.”

“Now, now.” Mrs. Crowson pats Juliana’s arm. “Don’t have a panic attack. Let’s drink tea and I’ll fill you in. I couldn’t wait any longer to tell you. I was afraid I would miss you again so I came over and waited for you to wake up.”

Juliana presses her palms to her temples and squeezes. “Grandma, I don’t know if I can take any more news.”

“It is such a shame about the fire outside of town. How were you two involved?” she asks as if she were asking about the time of day and not if we were there when it started the night before.

“Grandma! But how? I mean, who told you we were there?”

Mrs. Crowson moves around to my side of the counter and opens the cabinet containing the herbs and teas. She begins lining up an assortment of Juliana’s herbs.

“No one told me a thing. It’s my eyes. They’ve changed so much, but it’s not a matter for the doctor.”

Juliana backs up until her legs bump into one of the chairs by the dining table. She sits without looking and half misses the seat. I catch her before she hits the floor and tip her onto the chair without thinking of the consequences. It’s a reflex I’ve developed and is apparently out of my control.

Juliana squeezes her eyes shut and shudders. She understands completely what I’ve just done to incriminate myself.

“Well now,” Mrs. Crowson says. “If I didn’t already suspect you were of the angelic realm, I might have thought you were some kind of superhero.”

Keeping a steadying hand on Jules, I turn to face Mrs. Crowson. “You’re okay with this?”

“I couldn’t say for certain until I tracked you down and saw you with my new eyes. Now I know my sight isn’t playing tricks on me. You’re a welcome friend as far as I’m concerned.” She begins to spoon loose herbs from the jars into the kettle.

A thump sounds behind me and I see Juliana’s head planted on the tabletop. She shakes her head back and forth and says, “Oh, my God. Is this really happening?”

“He’s a nice young man. You’re lucky to have one another.”

“Grandma, did you just say you came over to see Nathaniel for yourself?” Juliana raises her head and turns her green eyes on Mrs. Crowson.

“That’s right. I had a vision I couldn’t make sense of. With the change in my eyes, I knew I had to see him. The lightning strike gave me such a surprising gift. I’m seeing everything in an entirely new way. You should see the two of you through my eyes. It’s a wonder. All light and waves. It’s so beautiful, honey.”

“Visions, too?” Juliana asks.

The dread in her voice is so painfully familiar. Her visions have been a curse these last few weeks.

“The visions have come and gone my whole life. It’s been some time, but this summer has brought many. The fire is a recent one. Nathaniel’s wings were another one. And now, well, Julie, I think we need to have a talk about the future of our family.”

If I didn’t know Jules so well, I wouldn’t think it was impossible for her to be any paler than she already is, but the blanching of her skin frightens me.

“Nathaniel doesn’t have wings,” she mumbles.

“It’s symbolic, dear. My mind contains a million pictures that mean something different for every image. What has meaning to me may be different for you. The symbol of wings clearly meant angel.” She strains the tea into two coffee mugs. “Do you drink tea, Nathaniel?”

“Not right now, thank you.”

“Sit with us,” she instructs, and moves to the table and places a steaming cup in front of Jules.

“Grandma, you’re sort of freaking me out. I think I should leave now and we can talk later. I’m headed up to Denver. Actually, Jared’s show is in Morrison tonight.”

I take the seat to Juliana’s right.

“Red Rocks? Oh, that makes more sense,” she says as if some vital piece of information has suddenly clicked into place. She sips her tea. “Best place for a concert. Your grandfather and I have been there many times.”

“Really?” Juliana asks.

“I haven’t always been an old woman, you know.” She tsks.

The look of love in her eyes for her granddaughter is so keen I know I will always adore this woman.

“As for you.” She stares straight at me. “You will do fine. I’m afraid of what is happening, but you will have an important role to play very soon. I want to thank you for taking care of us during this time.”

She really knows. How it’s possible is beyond my comprehension, but the certainty of her knowledge ripples through me and keeps going like a passing current. I try to catch it before it slips away, but the truth is so damn elusive. Charlotte Crowson knows Jared is dying. That his time is coming to an end and I’m here to comfort the family. My thoughts immediately reach out and pull at the fraying ends of what was just said. What else does she know?

“You’re welcome. I can’t imagine being anywhere else or with anyone else,” I say carefully.

She drinks tea and continues to watch me.

I’m about to ask her what she means exactly about my role in all this when Juliana says, “Wait a second. No, Grandma. Please, stop this. I can’t take anymore.”

Juliana rises from her chair, tea in hand, and backs away from the table.

“It’s difficult for us, Julie. Don’t walk away. We have each other and that is where we can draw strength.”

“Nah-nah-nah-nah,” Juliana chants and presses her free hand over her ear. “I’m not talking about this right now. I have a long drive today and I don’t want the distraction of this conversation.”

Jules scurries out of the room and heads for the stairs.

“Where are you going?” I ask, but she doesn’t stop or say anything more.

I rise to follow my girlfriend. “She had a long day yesterday and she’s worried about tonight,” I say.

Mrs. Crowson reaches across the table as if to stop me. “Is she seeing the future in her visions?”

“I think so. Juliana said it will happen tonight.”

“I had the same sight,” Charlotte says, and the solemnity of her declaration weighs down the room like leaden cloud cover.

“He’s a special boy. There’s no one like him. My grandson will be… He is,” she falters and I lay my hand over hers and squeeze.

“He will be loved and taken care of always.”

“It is heartbreaking. Sometimes, I wonder if all the men I love will be taken early.” She sighs. “I wanted to welcome you to my family, Nathaniel. No one will ever replace Jared, but having you here will ease our grief.”

“You have faith in me I may not deserve,” I say.

“I’ve seen much. I’m glad you’re here.”

She scoots her chair back and stands. Then her arms are around me and the hug she gives me feels like home. Like the arms of my mother when I was young. It’s slightly uncomfortable and embarrassing, but so warm and reassuring that I embrace her back and let her hold me until she pulls away.

“I’m going to go check on Jules. Do you want me to try and send her back down here?” I offer.

Charlotte Crowson has tender tears in the corner of her eyes as she smiles at me. “You already understand my granddaughter well. I heard you say ‘try,’ and I think your try will probably fail. Let her have her space right now.”

I nod in agreement. Juliana’s hard-headedness is best dealt with by giving her a wide berth and waiting it out. She’s not unreasonable, but it’s best to let her come to her own conclusions before inserting unwanted suggestions.

I move toward the stairs, but Mrs. Crowson stops me with her hand on my arm. “Trust your heart, Nathaniel. It will never lead you astray.”

It wasn’t what I was expecting. Not that I was expecting anything in particular from this remarkable lady. “Why are the hardest things in life so easy to say but so hard to accomplish?” I ask.

“Hard and easy are two sides of the same coin, Nathaniel. When the time comes, look at the other side. And now, I have to figure out how to explain all this to my daughter-in-law.”

“I will do my best,” I say. Having forgotten all about Diane and feeling rather dense, I ask, “Where is Juliana’s mom?”

“She has errands to run. She left shortly before you two came downstairs. When she returns, we will have a conversation. I don’t know how it will go. Some things never get easier in life.” She squeezes my hand and transfers subliminal messages directly from her eyes to my subconscious.

The intimate gesture is as odd as it sounds. I shake it off and take the stairs two at time. Follow my heart. It’s the message that sticks. All the rest will have to go into the “have faith everything will work out in the end” file.

 

∞

 

What is the saying? “All that will go wrong will happen exactly when you need it not to.” I’m sure I’m remembering incorrectly, but it fits the current situation.

Juliana stands in front of the bathroom mirror, arranging her hair in a twisty braid pinned and wrapped around the back of her head. I watch because, well, I like to look at my girlfriend, but also because she nearly always wears her hair loose and I want to see what she’s trying to accomplish.

She asks, “Will you grab my hair clip? I need one more. It’s on the trunk by my bed.”

“Sure,” I say, and head for her room.

I have no idea what hair clip she’s asking for, but it’s a hair clip and can’t be hard to find. I stare at the big storage trunk, the stereo, CDs, books, lamp, phone, and papers on top, but there’s no clip. Acting quickly, because I know she’s waiting, I place everything carefully aside and open the trunk lid, only to find shelves, compartments, and stacks of notebooks, envelopes, clothing, and other miscellaneous items. Frustration creeps up my back like a hard shell as I begin to think the hair clip was a ploy to make me to stop hovering while she gets ready to leave.

Digging through one last corner of the trunk, I only find a picture of a log home that looks likes it was torn from a magazine. A star is drawn on the corner of the picture with a handwritten note that says, “mine someday.” It catches my attention for a brief second because it looks familiar, but I don’t know why exactly. Since I’m still hurrying, I replace the picture and turn around to go ask for another clue as to where the blankety-blank effing clip is. I don’t get the chance.

“What are you doing?” she asks from the doorway.

She holds a twist of braided hair with one hand to keep her hairstyle from coming undone, but the look on her face has me more concerned that her attitude may come undone first.

“I’m trying to find your hair thing,” I say. It may have come out more harshly than I meant it to, but I just searched through the contents of my girlfriend’s past, moved a locker full of miscellaneous stuff, and came up empty handed. “You said it was inside your trunk.”

She walks up, reaches over, and swipes the lid closed. It slams shut with a whoosh of air. Juliana sidesteps around me, looks at the piles of her belongings, and picks up the black hair clip.

“I said it was on my trunk.”

“That’s not what I heard you say,” I defend.

“It’s what I said.” She secures the braid in place and begins placing everything back on top of the trunk.

Juliana never gets upset about small stuff. The snippy attitude is so unlike her, I’m not sure what to do or say. I help put the stereo back. “I must have misunderstood.”

Her shoulders are rigid. She looks away for a second, hiding her face from me, and takes a deep breath. “Sorry,” she mumbles. “It’s umm… Could you stay out of my trunk? It’s private.”

“Yeah. I’m sorry.”

“I can’t believe it wasn’t locked. I guess it doesn’t matter now.” She stares at the closed trunk, sulking. “You’ve already seen everything inside.”

“I wasn’t snooping, Jules.”

“I didn’t say you were. I’m touchy about it. You can have or do anything you want in my whole house, but not my trunk.”

I feel like I’ve been scolded, but I swallow some pride and say, “It’s okay. It’s important for us to keep our own identity. I’m glad you have something private that I’m not a part of.”

I think I see tears in her eyes, but she’s quick to hide it as she walks out of the room. “I’ll be ready to go in a few minutes.”

I say to her back, “Do you want me to get the car ready?”

“That’d be good,” I hear through the walls.

Torn between making sure she’s all right and giving her space, I decide that looking over the car is the better option in the moment.

I find a tire pressure gauge in the glove box and check all the tires. Then I start to clean out her car. There isn’t much garbage to throw away, but there is some clutter, so I start stashing and or removing everything we won’t need for an overnight trip.

Juliana walks out of the front door and over to me.

The cringe on her face makes me realize I’m messing up again. I step back from the open hatchback of her Saab and wait for the reprimand.

“Where’s my car blanket and bag?”

“Your what?”

“The little blanket and tote bag that was back here. Where are they? I keep them for emergencies.”

“With the shopping bags and ice scraper. Over there.” I point to the pile I made on the front porch.

She turns around and walks over to said pile and puts everything back inside the trunk.

“The ice scraper? It’s summer.”

“If I don’t have it with me, I will definitely need it. It’s like weather insurance.”

“Of course,” I say, knowing I will never win an argument based on that sort of logic.

“I guess I should have told you to leave the stuff in my car alone, too.”

“I can’t win right now. Maybe it would be best if I meet you up there. I should be assigned a new case by now anyway.”

“Still nothing?” she asks.

“Not yet,” I say with a shrug.

“Please, don’t leave. I’m on edge right now and I can’t help myself. If it’s any consolation, this is as snappy as I get.” She looks abashed. “I know you were trying to be helpful and I appreciate it,” she says as she stares at the stuff in the car. “It would be nice if you hung out with me for the drive. It would be even better if you can stay with me all day and tonight.”

I wrap an arm around her and hold tight. “I’m staying. Even if I can’t do anything right. Do you have bags I can grab for you?”

She smiles knowingly. “I’ll get them.”

 

∞

 

On the road, things are getting worse instead of better. Juliana’s mood seems to have improved — or she’s trying not to be grumpy. That is, until we get pulled over.

The police car flashes its lights behind us. I don’t have a license or any ID whatsoever.

“What are we going to do?” she asks. “You can’t go to jail.”

Juliana is nearing panic mode.

“I won’t go to jail. I might get a ticket,” I say, and hope it’s true.

“I’m not so sure. You don’t even exist. Well, not for a couple decades.”

“It’ll be all right,” I say.

“Disappear and I’ll scoot over the shifter into the driver’s seat.”

“I’m sure the cop will see you. No. I don’t like the idea.”

“I don’t want you to get into trouble.”

“I can handle it,” I say.

Juliana clamps her mouth shut and twists around in her seat to look behind us.

“Unbelievable,” she says and palms her forehead.

“What?” I ask, concerned.

“It’s Officer Suarez. Again.”

“Good. He knows you. That should help.”

“Yeah, right. I’m not exactly his favorite person.”

I lower the window and switch off the car. To the southwest, we can see the giant plume of smoke from the fire which has been devouring the open lands, hills, arroyos, and plateaus since last night. With the rising sun, the fire has grown exponentially. The heat of the day isn’t helping, either. There are scattered clouds over the mountain peaks to the north, but south and west of the highway is clear azure skies. The news is reporting a chance of scattered thunderstorms, but they aren’t supposed to arrive until late tonight.

I hand the officer Juliana’s insurance card and vehicle registration.

“Driver’s license, please,” he says.

“Hi, Officer Suarez.” Juliana leans over so he can see her through the low window.

“License, please,” he says again.

“My boyfriend doesn’t have it with him. We’re really sorry, but we can’t find his wallet.”

He tips his sunglasses and stares at Juliana, then at me.

“Are you knowingly driving without a license, Sir?” he asks.

Unable to lie, I stumble for an answer. I wish I had a driver’s license. Vivi said she could obtain any piece of identity I would need once I was alive again. I guess I’m going to have to take her up on the offer. “I’m here visiting and misplaced my wallet,” I say.

“What is your name? And where are you visiting from?”

“Nathaniel Evans,” I say.

“He’s here from Angel’s Camp, California,” Juliana says.

She knows I won’t lie and I’m grateful she’s filling in the blanks for me. Not that she’s any good at lying, either.

“The reason I pulled you over is because your brake light is out. It’s also cracked. I believe I told you about it the night you were stuck in the ditch.”

“Umm,” she says. “I’m sorry. I must have forgotten.”

He frowns at us and glances at his paperwork. “May I have your license, Ms. Crowson? I saw it last night, but I’ll run it again in case you’ve been up to more trouble in the last ten hours. What is it with you, anyway?” he asks, but I suspect he doesn’t want an answer.

Juliana retrieves her driver’s license from her bag and passes it over.

He taps the card against his palm. “You two stay put,” he says and walks back to his SUV.

“Angel’s Camp? Really?” I ask when the cop is out of earshot.

“I had to say something before you blew your cover,” she says with a grimace.

“I wasn’t sure what to say,” I admit.

Officer Suarez keeps us waiting for an eternity. Juliana is so tense I think she may shatter. His presence upsets her.

“What’s going to happen when he doesn’t find any trace of you?”

“I’m not sure. I’m considering the idea of messing with his computer or something. This is ridiculous. We need to get going or you’re going to miss the concert.”

“I know. We’re cutting it close. What could be taking him so long?”

“I short circuited his computer and now he’s waiting on the radio,” a female voice says from the back seat.

Juliana screams and jumps so high she bumps her head on the ceiling.

“My apologies, sweet girl. There’s no need to be frightened of me,” Harmony says.

“What are you doing here?” I ask my fellow Angel of Death.

“Hi to you, too, Nathaniel,” she says.

She’s not in her physical body, but to Juliana and me it doesn’t matter. We both see and hear her as if she is.

“Are you okay?” she asks Jules.

“Not really.” Juliana presses her palm to her heart. “What did you say about the computer?”

“It’s in need of tech support. There is a lot of static on his radio as well.”

“Why are you helping us?” I ask.

“You are full of yourself today, aren’t you?” she asks me.

“It’s been a trying last few days,” I say, and adjust my attitude. Harmony has always been a friend and she’s here to assist, not delay.

“Another reason I’ve come to your aid,” she says, and squeezes my shoulder. “Give me one more minute with our dear friend back there.”

Harmony disappears from our car. In the rearview mirror, I see her blonde hair inside the police cruiser.

“What do you think she’s doing?”

“I hope she’s helping speed up this mess.”

Five minutes later, our officer meanders up to my window and hands over Juliana’s license and papers.

“You need to let your girlfriend drive from here on out,” he says. “It seems my computer is on the fritz and doesn’t want to cooperate. I’ll have to trust you’re not pulling the wool over my eyes.”

“No, Sir. We’re definitely not.”

“Ms. Crowson, repair your brake light before you get pulled over again.”

“I will, Officer,” she says as she grips her license, white knuckles glowing with tension.

He stares hard at the two of us, then focuses on Juliana. “I don’t know why your luck keeps holding out, but this is the last warning. Next time, you’ll be ticketed and a tow truck will be giving you a ride home.” Officer Suarez blinks. His stern mouth softens a few degrees. “Since you’re here, I want to thank you personally for helping break the horse thieving ring. Dominic Reeves was apprehended this morning. The last of the missing horses was brought in with him. Catching those men has been difficult and I think every department working on the case is grateful to you, Chris, and Sherman White Wolf Abeyta. I think every horse owner in the Four Corners area will sleep better at night.”

“Umm… I was glad to help,” Juliana manages to say.

“Thank you, Sir,” I say with as much humbleness as I can muster.

Straightening, he mumbles, “Drive safe and fix that light.”

Juliana and I switch seats quickly and pull away. Harmony rejoins us.

“Good. I was hoping he would take my advice and dismiss the ticket he wanted to give you,” she says.

“How did you manage that?” Jules asks.

“We talk to people all the time whether they hear us or not. He was quite receptive for a cop.”

“Sort of like subliminal messages?”

“Yes,” she confirms. “Some people are more open than others. You should know how it feels, I would think.”

“Umm, yeah. I do,” Juliana says with a pointed look over her shoulder at our angelic visitor in the back seat.

“Now, I’m going to steal your boyfriend away from you. I need him to accompany me.”

“I doubt I’ll be of much use to you. I’m batting pretty low these days,” I say.

“Nonsense. You’re just the angel for what I need.”

Reluctant to leave Juliana alone, I say, “What’s going on, Harmony? Troubled client or something else?”

“Come with me and you’ll see,” she says with a sweet smile.

“I don’t want to leave Juliana. The cop rattles her nerves.”

“I’m fine now,” Jules tries to assure me. “You owe Harmony paybacks. She helped us out.”

“You won’t be gone forever, Nathaniel Evans,” she says crossly. “I need your opinion on something important.”

My jaw tightens and I stare out the window in silence for a minute. Everything feels wrong about today. Since I left Steven at the crossover, it has been one tense moment after another. Now, Harmony wants me to leave with her. She’s never come to retrieve me for a job before. I’ve sought her out, but never the other way around. She and Marcus are the two angels I look up to when I need answers. Even Marcus will call on Harmony for assistance. Because of ranking, I know she can make me go with her. There’s no use pretending I have a choice here.

Stalling will only prolong the inevitable. “Lead me to your master.”

It was only a joke, but Harmony nods like she’s agreeable to my poor choice of words. I lean over to Juliana and brush her hair back exposing her ear and side of her neck. “See you soon.”