Spirit Bound (6 page)

“But it happens,” Blythe said.

Airiana put a comforting hand on Blythe’s shoulder. “Yes it does, Blythe. Sometimes, especially when we’re quite young, we trust the wrong people.”

Judith nudged Airiana with her bare foot in an effort to lighten the mood. “Some of us are still quite young.”

Airiana gave her a mock scowl. “I am not the baby of this family, Lexi is.”

“You’re close,” Judith teased. “Not quite grown yet. Didn’t you get carded going into an R-rated movie last week?”

Blythe burst out laughing as Airiana winced. “You can’t deny it, Airiana, and you’re never going to live that one down—at least not for a very long time.”

Airiana joined the laughter as she shook her head at the absurdity. “Clearly the woman needed glasses.”

“Who called earlier?” Judith asked as the laughter subsided.

“I almost forgot,” Airiana said. “Inez called. She said she needed you to call back as soon as possible. Someone’s inquiring about buying the gallery and she’s hoping you can take the time to show them around.”

“That would be so nice for her and Frank to get out from under that payment,” Blythe said. “She really struggled to keep things going for Frank while he was in jail. His health is so fragile right now that they can’t keep both the store and the gallery. You’ve been so good to them, Judith.”

Judith indicated Airiana with her teacup. “I’ve been working at the gallery more than in my own shop. If Airiana wasn’t helping out, I wouldn’t have been able to help them.” She grinned at her sisters. “I might just get out of working out tonight.”

“Oh, no you don’t,” Blythe protested. “If I’m going, you have to go too.”

“Levi doesn’t even let Rikki off the hook,” Airiana pointed out. “You’re going to go, Judith. Call Inez back, but don’t you dare try to make an appointment to see them this evening. We promised Levi we’d learn self-defense.”

“But I’m hopeless,” Judith wailed.

“Only because you won’t hit anyone,” Airiana said. “Personally, I enjoy hitting the man. Try it, honey, you might like it. Just pretend he’s someone you don’t like.”

Judith’s heart jumped. She forced her mind away from that possibility. Airiana had no idea just how dangerous that would be. Judith could tap into every element, draw power from all energy, ignite the room with Lissa’s fire, flood it with Rikki’s water, bury it with Lexi’s earth or use Airiana’s air to blow a house down. She couldn’t afford—not ever again—to lose control of her emotions. She didn’t even dare acknowledge a darker emotion, for fear of what would happen.

She was
afraid
to hit someone, especially someone she loved. She ducked her head to hide her expression, hanging on to her smile a little grimly. “Levi thinks I’m a pansy ass.”

Airiana nudged her with her toe. “Isn’t that better than having a big ass?”

“Or no ass at all?” Blythe asked.

Judith gave them both a mock scowl. “You’re both obsessed with my butt.” She studied Blythe’s face. “But you didn’t come here to discuss any of this, did you? What’s wrong, Blythe?”

Blythe sighed and put down her teacup. “You know Elle and Jackson are in Europe. He’s taken a leave of absence for six months and they’re touring right now. But they’ll be coming back. The seventh daughter has always lived in the Drake house in Sea Haven. They’re definitely coming back. Joley Drake married Ilya Prakenskii. We can pretend that Levi is a Hammond all we want, but Ilya’s going to know. And Jonas is going to tell Jackson.”

Judith bit her lip. Levi Hammond would not be welcomed to Sea Haven by Jackson, Elle’s husband. Levi had been there when Stavros was holding Elle Drake captive. He’d been deep undercover trying to stop a major human trafficking ring and he couldn’t risk blowing his cover to save Elle. But, none of that would matter to Jackson. Elle had been raped and tortured for months by Stavros, and as far as Jackson was concerned there was no goal important enough to justify turning a blind eye to her suffering.

“You’re afraid they’ll make his life hell,” Airiana ventured.

“Or worse. Rikki is too fragile for that.” Blythe rubbed her temples in agitation. “If they force Levi to leave, Rikki will go with him, and she won’t do well out of this environment. It took her so long to adjust.”

“The Drakes can’t force us out of Sea Haven,” Judith said. “But if they can’t get over who and what Levi was, and they make his life here impossible, I’m willing to relocate.”

Blythe looked up at her. “Really think about it, Judith. We all should before making a personal decision. You have your business and studios here.”

Judith nodded. “I love Rikki. She’s my sister and she’s autistic. She needs us. She needs the ocean and she needs Levi. If they go, I’ll go with them. It doesn’t matter to me where I work. I love this place, but our family is what matters most, not where we are.”

Airiana let out her breath. “I’ve been worried too. I didn’t realize anyone else was.”

“Have you spoken to the others? To Lexi?” Judith asked.

Lexi spent most of her time on their large farm. She grew the vegetables they sold to markets and at the farmer’s markets in the surrounding towns.

“Everyone but her,” Blythe admitted. “Lissa said she’ll relocate as well. It will be hard for Lexi. She’s put so much into this place.”

“Do you really think it will come to that?” Airiana asked. “Jonas did fairly well when he found out and he’s married to Hannah, Elle’s sister.”

“That doesn’t mean Jackson is going to have the same reaction,” Blythe pointed out. “I’m their first cousin, a family member, and believe me when I say, they can close ranks just as we can. If Jackson can’t come to terms with Levi, Sea Haven’s going to become a difficult place for us to live. Rikki is very sensitive and she’ll feel it.” She shrugged her shoulders. “I’m just trying to anticipate that it might happen.”

“All of us have been worried,” Judith said. “I think Levi worries, but probably not in the same way. He wouldn’t care one way or the other if he’s accepted, and I suppose Rikki wouldn’t either if she could stay out of the village.”

“A child would feel it,” Airiana ventured. “A child always knows when they’re being ostracized.”

“I doubt if Rikki would consider having a baby,” Blythe said. “But at least we’re all in agreement. I’ll approach Lexi on the subject as well, just to be safe.”

“It might be difficult to sell the farm,” Judith pointed out. “Times are hard right now, although the farm is making money.”

“Which will make it easier,” Blythe said. “Showing a profit is going to be beneficial. But we can cross that bridge when we come to it.”

“Have you looked at other places where we might all relocate together?” Airiana asked. “This works for us all. Can we find something similar somewhere else?”

“We’ll find the right piece of property if we need to,” Blythe said with conviction.

“Are you going to talk to Rikki and Levi about this?” Judith asked.

Blythe shook her head. “Not Rikki. I thought I’d talk to Levi tonight, but not until I see Lexi. I thought I’d break it to her after I leave here. I just wanted to make certain the two of you were on board.”

Judith looked around her house. She’d designed it from top to bottom, just as they all had. They built the houses together, each doing quite a bit of the carpentry. She’d planted her gardens just the way she wanted. She had a Japanese garden with a waterfall cascading down rocks into a quiet pool of koi, surrounded by every shade of green available. Each night, from her bedroom window she looked down to her night garden of white flowers, lifting their faces to the overhead stars. She loved the peace created, a midnight sky with white above and below just spoke to her soul. And there were all the gardens where riots of color reigned, so many blossoms vying for space and attention, a wild melody of color. It had taken every day of the five years she’d lived there to get her gardens the exact way she wanted them.

It would be wrenching to leave—but family came first. Rikki’s needs were priority. As awful as leaving would be, Judith wouldn’t look back. She had learned the hard way that people mattered most, not where she lived or the job she did. “You know what Levi is going to say, Blythe,” she said gently. “He’ll say the hell with all of them.”

“I know,” Blythe agreed. “But in the end, like us, he’ll do what’s best for Rikki.”

Airiana cleared her throat, fiddled with the handle on the teacup and then forced her eyes to meet Blythe’s. “Couldn’t you talk to Elle? You are her cousin.”

Blythe shook her head. “I’m not on the best of terms with the Drakes, Airiana. You all know that. We get along, mostly because they’re never impolite and neither am I. We were all raised to never be rude.”

“Blythe,” Judith said gently, “they all love you. No one blames you for your mother’s death but yourself.”

Blythe blinked back tears. “Maybe that’s true, but I can’t ask anything of them and I doubt it would matter if I did. They’d just say they aren’t forcing us out, which technically would be the truth. They would politely freeze us out.”

Airiana hugged her. “I’m sorry I brought it up. I know this is a difficult time for you and it was inconsiderate and selfish of me to even suggest it. I really am sorry, Blythe.”

“No worries, Airiana. I think it’s just that time of the year.” Her eyes met Judith’s. “For you too. How are you doing?”

Judith shrugged. There was nothing else to do but smile and say “fine.” Whatever that meant. Her brother was dead and there was no bringing him back. Paul had been murdered, plain and simple, because of her. Because of her stupidity. Her carelessness. Her actions. Blythe blamed herself for her mother’s death, but she wasn’t the direct cause, no matter what she thought, whereas Judith knew she absolutely was.

“I guess I’d better call Inez back and set up the meeting with the potential buyer for the art gallery. I hope this one’s for real. Inez can’t afford to keep funding both businesses.”

“There was a rumor going around for a while that Jackson bought part ownership in the grocery store,” Airiana said. “Do you think that’s true?”

“If it is, then Inez is in worse financial shape than I thought she was,” Blythe replied. “She loves that store and it’s always made money for her. If she had to do that, it means she poured way too much into keeping Frank’s gallery alive.”

Both women looked at Judith. As manager of the gallery, she knew better than anyone else just how much the place was making. She shrugged, unwilling to talk about Inez’s business even to her sisters. She glanced out her window to the garden below, needing to see the riot of color, great splashes of it, to soothe her wounded spirit. The wind blew across the flowers, setting up waves of color in every shade.

Even as she watched, a shadow slid across the flowers, dampening the effect for just a moment. She glanced upward, toward the sky, expecting to see a seagull or vulture flying overhead, but there was only blue sky. She felt, rather than saw, Airiana stand behind her.

“What is it?” Blythe asked.

“I don’t know,” Airiana said. “But that shadow passed directly over this house, and that’s worrisome.”

The three women exchanged a long look. Sea Haven was a place of power, there was no doubt about that. The location had energy of its own and it attracted people with psychic energy as well.

“You’re the air element,” Blythe said. “All of us know it, so don’t look at me all wide-eyed. What does that shadow mean?”

“I have no idea,” Airiana admitted, “but I don’t like it. I think trouble may be coming our way.”

“Ilya? Joley and Ilya are doing a huge benefit concert, but she is pregnant. Maybe she needs to come home and rest,” Blythe guessed.

“I doubt if Ilya would throw his own brother out of Sea Haven, not even for Joley. Nor would she ask him to do something like that.”

“I don’t think Ilya really knew any of his brothers,” Blythe pointed out. “He’s closer to Jonas and the Drakes than he is to his family. He wasn’t raised with them, nor did he have any contact with them.”

“Great,” Airiana said, “I don’t know about either of you, but just this once I’d like to say damn it. Just damn it. This is our home and I hate the thought of leaving. I will, if we have to, but I really hate doing it.”

Judith forced a smile. “We’ll be all right. Right now we don’t know how the Drakes are going to react to Levi’s presence. We know we’re all willing to relocate if we have to—well, all but Lexi.” She glanced at her sister. “Blythe, you’ll be talking to her today, right?”

Blythe nodded. “I don’t feel we can just pretend leaving isn’t a real possibility. Finding another place like this—with the ocean for Rikki, enough land for Lexi to farm, enough for us all to live together—that’s going to take time. And we’d have to sell this place.”

“Lexi will be upset,” Airiana said.

“She’s put her heart and soul into this land,” Judith acknowledged. “It will be harder for her than for any of us.”

“Maybe we can just not say anything until we know one way or the other,” Airiana said. “All we’re really doing is speculating.”

“We promised each other we’d always tell the truth no matter how difficult. This is a joint decision we have to make together. When we’re all on board, then we’ll talk to Rikki,” Blythe said. “Rikki has to see us all together and know we’re more than willing to move with her and Levi.”

There was a small silence. No one wanted to leave after they’d spent five years working to build their dream homes. Lexi had worked hard to get the farm producing enough to make money. It hadn’t been easy, but they’d all pitched in with every job, making the dream they all shared come true.

Judith stood up, gathered the empty teacups and took them to the sink. “Shadows can be just shadows,” she called over her shoulder. “We could just be paranoid.”

“That’s true,” Blythe admitted, getting to her feet as well. She did a slow stretch. “I guess I’ll go talk to Lexi and see you tonight at the gym.”

Judith swung around with a small grimace. “Honestly, I detest self-defense class. I feel like the teacher’s duncey student.”

Airiana flung her arm around Judith’s waist. “Honey, you are the teacher’s dunce student. Fortunately we all love you, so it doesn’t matter if you can kick butt or not.”