Talisman (14 page)

“Shiloh
?  Are ya comin’?  Just ’cause we’ve been bought by some rich Yankee, don’t mean I’m plannin’ on turnin’ into a doorman no time soon,” Uriah griped.

I snapped out of my trance and hur
ried past him, rushing out of the gate.

“Thank ya,” he replied sarcastically, needing to point out my lack of manners.  But right then, etiquette was the last thing on my mind.

Uriah must’ve noticed the strange look on my face.  “I hope ya didn’t find
no trouble
while ya’s in there.  I ain’t cleanin’ up no more of ya messes!” he hollered.

I kept walking
sluggishly and thought,
No…But something tells me that trouble just found me
.

I
drifted past the exuberant crowd, eyes straight ahead and my body moving in slow motion.  The walk was almost surreal. Everyone around me was jumping up and down — a whoopin’ & a hollerin’ — but I remained locked in my daze while I tried to rationalize what had just happened.

Too much static electricity in the air?
  That sounded far-fetched.  My reasoning for psychic phenomenon was extremely limited, and I didn’t believe in telepathy.  It’d never happened before, and trust me, there had been PLENTY of times over the years that I could’ve put it to good use.

There has
to be a “logical” reason…because if there isn’t, that would make me…NUTS!

Finally, I arrived
at my car.  I climbed in and sat there for a moment, simply clutching the steering wheel.  All the other cars parked alongside the road were in such a hurry, bustling to get out of here — but not me.  I was fine right where I was.

My things were
exactly where I’d left them, lying beside me in the passenger-seat.  I picked up my cell phone.

Missed Calls:  4

Missed Texts:  8

They were
all
from Katie.  Apparently, she was more concerned than she was letting on earlier.

Should I tell her what happened?  I know she’s my best friend
, and I can tell her anything…but THIS?  I think I’d better weigh the pros and cons of that one!

I tried my best to compose myself (sadly, no luck).  Within a few minutes, I cranked up the old Charger.  Most all the
other cars were gone now, so I had a lot more room to get out of the tight spot I’d jammed my car into earlier. 
I’ll call Katie later
, I thought as I threw my car into reverse.

Without looking, I drift
ed back towards the highway.  I glanced into my rearview mirror just in the nick of time to see someone hovering behind my car.  I slammed on the brake.

“SHIT!”
I yelled as my body bounced up and down in the seat.  As the reality of what “could have happened” began to sink in, I looked into my rearview mirror and ordered myself to, “
Snap out of it!”

I couldn’t see the face of the person I’d almost hit.  All I saw was a tan coat.  I waited for them to move, but they stood there motionless, blocking my exit.  In spite of the fact
that I’d almost hit this person, I couldn’t help but think,
Why won’t they MOVE?
  No sooner than I’d glanced over at my side mirror, the man came into view.

Mr. Estell
.

My eyes flared as he slowly started to walk around my
car, headed straight for my door.  Considering the events of the past thirty minutes, naturally,
I freaked
.  Another crazy feeling came over me.  This one made me question if his approach had anything at all to do with the fact that I’d almost hit him.

Seeing how there weren’t any other cars sandwiched around me anymore, I opted to throw my vehicle in
to “drive” and managed to make a hard turn without scraping the side of the mountain.  I steered my Charger onto the highway, slinging gravel every which way while my spinning tires belted out an ear-piercing,
“s-c-r-e-e-c-h”
.

As soon as
I was safely on the road, I acknowledged my rudeness by rolling down the window and awkwardly yelling back, “
SORRY
,” as I sped down the highway.  Once I’d reached the fork and turned right onto the mountain road that would lead me home, I began to chastise myself.

I think you need to do more than
just clean out Daddy’s workshop this evening…Like most important — your freakin’ head!

Chapter  4  —  Beautiful Stranger

The next thing I knew, I was home —
safely
home.  I couldn’t remember anything after the incident with Mr. Estell, not steering my Charger down the road, or if I’d even passed any cars along the way.  My mind was being held captive by the remnants of Lazarus Xcavare’s voice still swirling in my head.

I gazed at my reflection in the rearview mirror. 
You have to snap out of this!  There’s a logical reason for what happened.  You just don’t know what it is…YET!

I was gathering up my things when I heard the phone ring. 
Katie
.

“Hey
,” I answered.  “Look, I saw where you called and—”

“Then
WHY
didn’t you call me back?” Katie interrupted, sounding ticked.

“Sorry about that.  I just have a lot on my
…
mind
.”  That was truer than she could ever imagine.

“Didn’t you go
to the
meeting?
” Katie asked.  “Oh, and by the way, I’ve already heard the news.  The
whole town
is talking about the sale.  See, you can stop worrying now…well, at least about the mine.  You can go back to your
normal worries
, about college…and your witchy mom.”

I sat in silence, half-listening to her ra
mble on about the “good news”.

“Shi?
Shiloh?
  Are you still there?”

“I’m here,” I finally answered
.  A part of me wanted to pretend like my phone was losing signal and hang up, but I couldn’t do that to my best friend.

“
Out with it,” Katie demanded.  “What’s
wrong?
”

I wasn’t surprised by her assumption.  After all, she did know me like the back of her daggone hand. 
Should I tell her what happened?  Will she think I’m a mental case?  Isn’t your best friend supposed to believe you, no matter what crazy thing pops out of your mouth?  Wasn’t that in the best friend by-laws or something?

“
Well
,” I started, “Don’t get me wrong…I’m glad the mine isn’t closing and Daddy’s job is safe,
but
…I just had a
not-so-great
encounter with the new owner, Lazarus Xcavare.”

“You
MET
Lazarus Xcavare?”  Katie seemed way too impressed to hone in on my distress.

“I sure did,” I answered
flatly.

“
What was he
like?
  I bet he’s extremely sophisticated,” Katie gushed.  “You can tell from the pictures of him in the magazines.”

“He was
…
different
.”

“
Different?
”  Katie’s excitement turned into puzzlement.  “Anyone not caught runnin’ around draped in plaid flannel and missin’ some teeth is
‘different’
in this town, Shi.  What do you mean by ‘different’?  And what was
‘not-so-great’
about it?”  By her tone, you would have thought I’d just insulted Welch’s newfound “savior”.

“I don’t know.  He seems anx
ious about acquiring the mine, but I don’t think he cares too much for the area…
or
the people who come with it.”

“Did he
say that?
” Katie inquired.

I paused for a moment and thought,
What the heck — Just let it rip
.  However reality forced me to tread very lightly with my answer.

“No…
but he was
thinking
it,” I replied.

“Well, Mayor Williams stopped by the store and told us
that a representative from Xcavare met with the city council earlier today.  They talked about restructuring some of the town’s zoning ordinances.  They’re planning on bringing in some new businesses to help revitalize the area.  It seems they want to adopt the whole damn town!”

Now
I was totally bewildered.  That certainly wasn’t the impression I’d gotten from Lazarus Xcavare, and my gut had never failed me before.  I knew what I’d heard (and felt).  Lazarus Xcavare’s vibe wasn’t one of a “Good Samaritan”—
FAR FROM IT!
Plus, I was still ticked about the unwarranted barb he’d made about me being “knocked-up”.

“That’s good for
Welch
, Katie, but I don’t particularly care for
him
…or
his contributions
.”

“Hold up a sec,” Katie interjected.  “
How do you know what he was
‘thinking’?
  You can’t just
assume
something like that, not without a reason.  I think all your worrying is makin’ your mental elevator go
‘side to side’
.”

I was a tad insulted by her last crack.
She’d definitely hit a nerve.

“Maybe
so,” I snapped.  “I shouldn’t have said anything.  Look, I have to get off here.”

“
Wait
— Are you pissed?”

“No,” I lied.  “I have to get started on Daddy’s workshop out back.  It’s a mess,
and he wants me to clean it up
tonight…
for some daggone reason.”  The more I thought about how out of the blue his request came, the more I realized it had to be some sort of punishment for my embarrassing behavior at his office.

“Call me w
hen you get finished…
Okay?
” Katie requested.

“Sure.  Bye.” 
I lied again
, I thought as I turned off my phone and threw it in my purse.  I didn’t feel like talking to anyone.  Except maybe Daddy, and all I could muster would be an “I’m sorry,” or possibly, “I plead temporary insanity”.

At least I hope it’s only
freakin’ temporary!

I ran up the steps of our front porch and threw open the door. 
No need for any secrecy this time
.  Charlotte was in the living room watching Chloe as she twirled around, modeling her new dress.  I wasn’t in the mood for a fashion show, so I quickly hurried up the stairs.

“That’s awfully rude, Shiloh,” Charlotte criticized.  “Come down here
and see how
beautiful
your sister looks.”

I made a u-turn and trotted back down to the bottom step.  I cast an unenthusiasti
c glance into the living room.

“You look nice, Chloe.” 
At least I didn’t tell another lie. The color and cut of the dress looked perfect on her, but I wasn’t about to lay it on any thicker than that, not for Chloe or Charlotte’s benefit.

“Nice?”
Charlotte challenged.  “That’s
all
you can say?”

Chloe
hadn’t even heard me.  My little sister was too fixated on the girl staring back at her in the mirror, the one striking various exaggerated poses while she twisted around in the low-cut aubergine dress.

“
Really
nice?” I added.  Charlotte didn’t seem too pleased with my embellished reassessment nor the lackluster tone in my voice.  “I don’t have time for this.  I have to change and head out back to start cleaning up the workshop.  Those were
Daddy’s
orders.”

That got their full attention.  They both gasped and
appeared just as confused by his request as I was.

“He’s never
told
you to do any sort of work before,” Chloe queried.

Then it was Charlotte’s turn.  “Saint Shiloh never has to be
asked
or
ordered
to do chores,” Charlotte announced in a suspicious tone.  She stood there eyeing me with her arms crossed, racking her brain for a reason.  Her brow rose.  “
Hmmm
…
What did you do?
”

My mother’s unnerving smirk c
onfirmed my hunch. 
This has to be some sort of punishment.
  I took a deep breath and attempted to play it off.

“He’s going to be working out there this weekend and needs it organi
zed. 
That’s all
,” I declared as I spun around and dashed up the steps.

Charlo
tte knew she’d hit the correct button. 
Well, at least I was able to put a smile on my mother’s face — one way or another
.

I quickly changed into an old pair of jeans and one of my WVU hooded sweatshirts. 
Once my ponytail was good and tight, I stomped back down the stairs.  I wasn’t the least bit thrilled to start the project, not feeling like this.  I still didn’t know what had happened back there.  Hopefully, I wouldn’t act like such a dazed idiot the next time.

It couldn’t p
ossibly be as shocking a second-time around?  Could It?  Knock on wood, it won’t happen at all
, I thought as I tapped my knuckles twice on the banister and jumped from the third step onto the Oriental rug lying in the center of the foyer.

I stepped into the kitchen to grab some water before I headed out to the workshop.  Charlotte and
Chloe were in there sifting through a pile of cosmetics that she’d dumped out of her little pink shopping bags and onto the table. 
Makeovers must be next on the agenda
.

“Mom, which e
ye-shadow do you like?  My left…or my right?” Chloe asked, twisting her head back and forth.

“Your right eye.  The smoky plum color makes your hazel eyes pop, sweetie,” Charlotte beamed.

I couldn’t help but notice how “proud” Charlotte seemed as I strolled towards the sink to fill up my plastic tumbler.  Chloe was definitely “her mother’s daughter”.  While the water rose closer to the rim, I wondered if I really could listen in on someone’s thoughts —
again?
The thought of knowing what was running around in their heads triggered a smile.

I turned off the faucet and placed the tumbler down on the counter. 
Why not give it a try?  In the name of science, of course
.

I stood there silently focusing on Chloe. 
Nothing.
  After a minute, I turned and directed my full attention to Charlotte. 
Still nothing!
  Considering how upset I’d been when it happened with Lazarus Xcavare earlier, I found myself strangely disappointed.  No matter how hard I tried to concentrate, I couldn’t make a connection with her either.  Unwilling to concede to defeat, I strolled over to Chloe.

M
aybe I need to be “touching” them?

“Shi, how should
I wear my hair?” Chloe asked.

I ignored her question as I
placed my hands on her head and then began to toss her raven mane around in several different directions.  She looked puzzled.  I pushed her hair back with my fingers, to get a better grasp of her head.  I didn’t quite know what the heck I was doing or how I should go about an attempt at telepathy, so I winged it by looking into her eyes, trying to absorb any thought I could.

Cluelessly, Chloe’s hazel eyes narrowed.
“
Sooo? 
Should I wear it
back
or
up?
” she asked.

Again, I heard nothing but the sound of my sister’s words coming out of her mouth.  F
rustrated, I stood there shaking my head back and forth.

“
Stop it, Shi!  You’re confusing me!” Chloe snapped as she shoved away my hands.  She thought I was shaking my head about her hairstyle dilemma.

Charlotte threw back the last swig of wi
ne in her glass.  “What in the Hell are you doing, Shiloh?” my mother asked snidely.

My fixation subsided. “
Nothing. 
Absolutely nothing
,” I mumbled as I shook my head, grabbed my water, and stepped out the back door.

Through an open window I heard a faint, “What did I
ever do to
deserve HER?
” coming from Charlotte as I hopped off the back porch.

I could ask the same thing
, I grumbled quietly as I headed across the backyard, straight for the workshop.

I
bent over to retrieve the key out from under a small terra cotta planter where Daddy kept it hidden and unlocked the door.

O
ooh my
, I thought as I stepped inside. 
It’s HORRIBLE!

My eyes swept around the room.  S
craps of wood littered the entire space like confetti.  I’d actually seen wood-chippers make less of a mess.  Most of his tools were randomly lying all over the various worktables, caked in sawdust.  Drill bits and spades looked like they hadn’t seen the inside of a tool chest in years.  The whole room was in complete disarray.  Its jumbled appearance just confirmed how overworked and exhausted Daddy must have been.  Charlotte really kept him hopping.  He wasn’t a messy person by nature and always took great pains to keep his stuff in perfect order.