Ashes to Ashes (Experiment in Terror #8) (33 page)

“
Meaningful.”

“
That’s
right,” he said with a nod and took the burlap bag from my hands.
“And I think this is a good start.”

The sharp blast of a horn from
outside startled the shit out of us. We looked out the window to
see the Highlander running outside. Seconds later, Rebecca came
running up to the door, pounding on it.

Dex swung the bag over his
shoulder and we hurried over before Rebecca hurt herself trying to
break it down. Unfortunately, the door was bolted shut.

Lucky for me, I was marrying an
extremely strong man.

“
Get back,” he
yelled through the door before taking a step and kicking it off the
hinges with one go. Fuck that was hot. Fuck, I was
lucky.

Rebecca stared down at the
splintered door that was lying beside her then snapped her gaze up
to us, eyes wide. “Impressive, Dex.”

“
Do you wanna
know what else is impressive?” he asked as he grabbed my hand and
led me out of the building toward her.

“
I don’t want
to know,” she said with a grimace.

“
This!” he
boasted, holding up my left hand and flashing the ring at her. “She
said yes!”

It took a moment of shock
before it hit her. “Bloody hell!” she exclaimed. “Congratulations!”
She ran toward us with open arms, engulfing us both at once. She
started jumping up and down, making us jiggle. “I’m so happy for
you!” She squeezed us hard and then pulled back, her eyes moist.
“I’m serious. This, this couldn’t have happened to better people
than you two. You’re meant for each other.”

“
Thank you,
Rebecca,” Dex said warmly. “And congratulations to you and
Dean.”

I raised my brows. Rebecca
looked at me accusatorily even though I hadn’t said a word to Dex
about it.

“
Don’t worry,”
he assured her. “Perry didn’t tell me anything. I don’t have to be
a genius to figure it out, either. I’ve seen the way you’ve been
around him lately.”

She bit her red lip. “How do
you know I’m keeping it?”

He gestured to her face.
“Because despite the fact that you’re scared, you’re glowing.
You’re also happy. You’ve wanted this for as long as I’ve known
you.”

“
I don’t know
what Dean’s going to say,” she mumbled, looking away.

“
I don’t know
either,” he said. “But knowing Dean, he’s going to be okay. You
both are, no matter how this plays out for you. You’re going to be
a wonderful mom, you know.” He pulled her closer to him and kissed
the top of her head. Even after everything I’d learned, there was
something pretty special about their relationship, and I could see
now, it really was like they were brother and sister.

She looked at me and smiled
shyly. “Let me see the ring again.”

I held it out for her so she
could ooh and ahh over it. Then we headed for the Highlander,
mailbag in tow, and drove off down the road, away from the school
and sanatorium, from the demons and the death.

I went there as Perry Palomino
and I was leaving as the future Mrs. Declan P. Foray.

***

Even though it was after five
in the evening and the storm had covered the town in a blustery
shroud of wind and rain, there were still signs of life in the
local museum. You could see Oldman working at his desk in the
quaint wooden building with its blue seascape mural on the outside.
We got out of the car and ignored the CLOSED sign, pounding on the
doors until he opened them.

He invited us in for tea
and some shortbread cookies while we told him what had happened to
us at the sanatorium. I told him about my encounters with Shawna
and the
bad thing
and Elliot, and when he seemed to have absorbed
all of that, Dex plunked the mailbag down on his desk.

It was like it was fucking
Christmas. Oldman was in historical heaven as he poured through all
the envelopes, bringing out the letters and reading them. I could
see he was crushed that the allegations of murder and abuse were
true, even though they didn’t seem to have happened when his
grandmother was working there. Still, it was a tough truth to
swallow.

The good thing was that Oldman
was loyal to the truth and to the hidden events of history and
promised us that he would keep us updated in the coming weeks as to
whether the discovery of the letters would help to end the
hauntings. He had a feeling they would, just as I felt the fear
dissipate the moment I found them in the post office. He said he
would make a formal announcement through the museum and the local
paper, attributing the find to me and Dex. I didn’t think it was
necessary but I didn’t protest either. For once, I wanted to be
known publicly for something that didn’t involve me screaming my
head off on camera. I wanted to be known for something more
respectable.

And, if I’m being honest here,
I wanted something to impress my damn parents with.

Because, as we got back in the
car and headed up to Seaside where we’d be spending the night in a
hotel, I knew my parents weren’t going to be very impressed with
the fact that I was engaged.

They were going to be more
upset than they were before.

And suddenly it all came back
to the fact that after everything I’d been through so far, facing
my parents was going to be the scariest thing of all.

CHAPTER SEVENTEEN

We woke up bright and early in
Seaside, having gone to bed as soon as we checked in—Dex and I in
one room and Rebecca in another. The sunshine was spilling out
along the beach as the waves crashed on the shoreline. It was warm
again and shaping up to be a beautiful near summer day. In some
ways it felt like the sanatorium was just a distant memory, but I
knew too well that it wasn’t.

Besides, the ring on my finger
was a constant reminder of what had changed. Dex and I drank mugs
of steaming hot coffee on the balcony before crawling back into bed
for another roll in the hay. I thought I’d done a lot with him, but
sex as an engaged couple was something truly special. It added
bliss on top of bliss.

When it came time to check-out,
we met Rebecca in the lobby and headed out on the road, taking
route 26 through the lush interior toward Portland. The music in
the car was blaring (Metallica) and the sunny weather was holding
up, the fresh forest air flowing in through the open windows. I was
with two of my most favorite people, yet I got more and more
nervous with each mile that brought us closer to my parents’
house.

Unfortunately, it also was
Friday, so even though I kept texting Ada to the point of getting
car sick (and no, I hadn’t told her about the engagement yet), she
had to be at school until three, meaning there would probably be a
good hour of just the three of us along with my parents. It was
amazing how much I had depended on Ada as a buffer between them.
Now I had to suck it up and deal with it alone.

Of course, I wasn’t totally
alone. Dex was with me, and I could tell from the way he kept
glancing over at me as he drove, the way his eyes lit up when he
saw the ring, that he would do what he could to stand up for me, to
stand by me. I kept repeating that to myself, trying to quell my
nerves.

Once we drove across the
Skidmore Bridge and started heading further east, toward the
airport, I was a mess, nervously chewing on my fingernails, my knee
jumping.

“
You’ll be
alright, Perry,” Rebecca said, putting her hand on my shoulder.
“It’s just one night, and Dex and I will be here. Even if you don’t
get their approval, they will love the fact that they got to see
you. You’ll see.”

Rebecca really didn’t know shit
about my family, but she’d soon see it wasn’t going to be that
easy.

Dex turned the car down our
family street, and I was struck with a sharp pang of homesickness.
I loved Seattle and all, but I missed the countryside, the wide,
green lawns and wildflowers, the trees, and the invigorating smell
of the Columbia River.

But as soon as we nosed into
the driveway, I realized I did not miss living at home. At all.

“
Honey, we’re
not home,” Dex joked. I shot him a wide-eyed look. It wasn’t funny.
I was freaking.

He leaned over and gave me a
soft peck on the lips. “Come on, kiddo. Let’s go show them your
ring.”

That didn’t get me moving
either, so I sat there, frozen to the seat, until Dex and Rebecca
got out of the car and opened my door for me. I could tell that I
if I didn’t step out on my own accord, they’d carry me.

“
It’s going to
be fine,” Dex said. “They’re just your parents. Appreciate them
while they’re alive and not mental.”

I appraised him for a moment,
thinking about how hard it must be sometimes for him, being more or
less an orphan. Even his own brother, Michael, was like a
mysterious stranger to him, wanting nothing to do with him, leaving
Dex truly without any family. Now my parents were going to be his
in-laws, whether they wanted to be or not. He had a lot riding on
this as well.

I nodded. “Okay.”

The three of went up to the
door, me in front, Rebecca and Dex to my side and slightly behind.
I lifted my finger to ring the doorbell.

And the door flew open before I
even had the chance.

It was my dad, looking as he
always did with his round face, strong Italian nose, and
rectangular reading glasses that he had to constantly adjust.
Unlike his brother, he looked like he’d lost weight. He also looked
really happy to see me.

“
Perry!” he
cried out, bringing me into a big hug. “It’s so good to see you,
pumpkin.” He held me so tight that my own boobs were choking me.
When he pulled back he stroked my face with his warm hand and gave
me a squinty-eyed smile. “You’re looking beautiful.”

It’s not that my dad never paid
me compliments before because he was always the more vocal, warmer
parent. But for some reason, it was surprising me now. Maybe I was
actually believing it this time.

His eyes darted over to Dex and
Rebecca behind me, and I could see from the way he was moving his
jaw that he wasn’t happy to see Dex, and Rebecca was throwing him
for a loop. He addressed her first. “Hello, I’m Perry’s
father.”

Rebecca smiled like a pin-up
girl and gave his hand a hearty shake. She had dressed in a
form-fitting grey retro skirt suit, complete with an hourglass
inducing belt and kitten heels. I had wondered that morning why she
was looking so professional, but now I was appreciating it—it made
her look like the mature one, and one out of three wasn’t bad.

“
I’m Rebecca.”
She cocked her head at Dex. “And I believe you know Mr. Foray
here.”

A smile twitched on my lips.
Somehow my dad had to be more polite now that Rebecca was doing the
introduction.

“
Yes of
course,” my dad said in a tight voice, offering his hand as he
stared Dex down.

Dex stared right back with a
stupid grin on his face and did the two-handed shake. This was like
Uncle Al all over again, yet Dex seemed a million times more
confident. I guess because he knew I was stuck with him now and so
were they. “Mr. Palomino. Or can I call you Daniel?”

My dad’s smile froze
momentarily. “You can call me Daniel,” he allowed.

“
How
about—“

“
Dex!” I said
sharply, afraid he was going to say something else that started
with Da.

“
Daniel,” I
heard my mother’s voice from inside the house. “Stop standing out
there and bring them inside.”

Oh boy. My mother. I took in a
deep breath and stepped through the doorway.

My mother was standing in the
middle of the hall, looking as if she was having the same anxiety
attack that I was. Though she looked put together as always with a
jeweled tunic and white capri pants, her gaudy bracelets jangled on
her wrists because she kept nervously flapping them by her side.
When did my mom turn into Lucille Bluth?

“
Perry,” she
said, once she saw me. She gave me the once over. And here it came,
the look of disappointment, the remark about me gaining weight.
Only she snapped her lips shut and forced a stiff smile on them. I
wondered if my dad had said something to her about being nice.
“Your face looks very pretty. New makeup?”

It was more about what she
wasn’t saying than what she was saying, but I’d take it.

“
New eye
shadow,” I lied to her and she gave me a quick hug. She’d lost
weight too and I could feel the bones in her back.

“
Looks
lovely,” she said, as she inspected me closer, her strangely tired
eyes going from my hair to my chin, to my shirt, to my arm, to my
hand…and suddenly her eyes were light blue discs bulging out of
their sockets. Realization was setting in. She looked up at me in
some sort of shock or horror or I don’t know what.

“
What is
this?” she asked as she picked up my left hand. She stared at the
ring dumbfounded then looked to me for an explanation.

“
I have some
news,” I said, trying to pretend this was all totally
awesome.

She eyed my dad, still not
acknowledging either Dex or Rebecca behind him. “Did you see
this?”

My dad furrowed his brow and
walked over. His mouth dropped once he saw the shiny piece of
jewelry. “When did this happen? And to whom?”

I let out a small snort. My
god, were they ever in denial about whom their daughter had been
living with for the last two months. I stuck my thumb in Dex’s
direction. “That man, of course.”