Finding Valor (41 page)

He’d even had Zen bug Dad’s office phone. But all that did was add another layer of guilt to Josh’s overburdened conscience. Whenever Wisdom called, she never mentioned where they were or where they were headed. It was always from a pay phone and she never stayed on the line long enough for Zen or any of the Bowling Green rebels to trace the call.

Channie rolled onto her tiptoes and pulled Josh’s face down for a kiss. “This is a day to celebrate, not argue.”

Josh smiled, even though he didn’t feel like it. “I’ll come right home as soon as it’s over.”

“You’ll do no such thing! Your grandparents came all the way from New York to see you graduate. Enjoy your family. Spend the night and then bring me pictures tomorrow morning. We’ll have our own celebration.” Channie pressed her body against his as she kissed him, giving him a hint of just how she planned to celebrate.

“I’ll go to dinner, but I’m not spending the night away from you.”

~***~

Dad rented the entire Flagstaff Restaurant for Josh and Kassie’s graduation party. They’d just finished their salads and were waiting for the next course when Kassie gasped. The color drained from her face as her eyes widened. “I think…my water broke.”

Josh reached across the table and covered her hand with his. “Are you sure?”

Kassie nodded and looked down at her lap. “I’m sure.”

“I’ll call 911.” Josh leaned to the side and dug his phone out of his pocket.
 

Aunt Mary grabbed it before he could dial and laughed. “That won’t be necessary. First babies usually take quite awhile. We’ve got plenty of time.”

“But…the baby’s not due until next month.” Josh stood up. “At least let me drive you to the hospital.”

“This kid is due in three weeks, but if she wants out now, I’m not going to argue.” Kassie scooted her chair back. “And I’m not leaving my car here.”

“I’m not letting you drive yourself to the hospital while you’re in labor!”
 

Aunt Mary laughed again. “I’ll drive her, Josh. Stay here and enjoy the party.”

Josh glanced down the table. Dad was talking to someone on his cell phone. Mom was arguing with Grandmother Waverly about ordering another glass of wine. Elijah was building a log cabin out of breadsticks to entertain Savvy, CoCo and Zeal. And the containment field Josh created to keep the trips from zapping anyone should last until morning. “I don’t think anyone will notice I’m gone.”

“What are you going to do? Hold my hand while I push the baby out?”

Josh felt the blood drain from his face.

“Didn’t think so.” Kassie rolled her eyes. “You better grow a pair before Channie goes into labor.”

“Kassie!” Aunt Mary gave Josh a sympathetic smile. “Apologize, right now.”

She muttered, “sorry,” but did so with a look of disdain.

Josh closed his eyes to keep from glaring at her. They were still using Channie’s fake pregnancy and doctor prescribed bed rest as an excuse for her prolonged absence. But Kassie, Dad and Liz knew the truth. Kassie had taken it hard but it wasn’t like Josh had lied to her on purpose. Dad hadn’t been happy about the news, or the fact that Josh had lied to him, so it was surprising when he was the one that suggested they wait until Channie was out of danger to tell everyone that she’d lost the baby.

“Josh, do you mind helping Kassie to the car while I explain to everyone why we’re leaving early?”

“No problem.” He tried to take her arm, but Kassie jerked it away from him.

“I’m pregnant, not helpless.”

“Look, I know you’re mad at me, but I don’t know how to make it up to you.”

Kassie tore into Josh while they were waiting for the valet to bring her car around. “You want to make it up to me? Then get Channie pregnant so my kid will have a cousin close to her own age.”

That had to be one of the worst reasons Josh had ever heard to have a baby, but he wasn’t about to tell Kassie that. “Will you at least call me and let me know when the baby gets here?”

“Why? You never have your phone on you anymore.”

“I’ll keep it with me tonight. Okay?”

Kassie sighed then nodded. “Okay.”

Channie was even more excited than Josh about the baby. He leaned his back against the fridge, put his phone on speaker, then held it out of reach so Channie could talk to Kassie. Josh tuned them out when they started discussing cervical effacement, dilation and epidural blocks. He just enjoyed watching Channie’s face as she chatted with Kassie. It was obvious that she missed her. He hated that Channie had to be so isolated. Maybe he’d have Vince ‘kidnap’ Kassie and the baby for a week…or not. That would probably freak Channie out too much.
 

Hey, the anesthesiologist is here to give me my epidural. Thank god. I gotta go.”

“Give us a call as soon as you can after the baby’s born.”

Channie made a grab for Josh’s phone when Kassie ended the call, but he had no problem keeping it away from her. “Oh no you don’t, shorty.”

“I had to try.” Channie smiled and shrugged. “But I’m glad you’re so big and strong that there’s no way for me to overpower you to steal your phone.”

“Is it a problem? Are you going to try to knock me out or something?”

“You’re too smart for that.”

“Damn straight.” Josh tightened his grip on his phone. “Why don’t you sit on your hands so I can show you the pictures from graduation.”

Channie hopped her butt onto the counter and tucked her hands under her thighs. Tears filled her eyes as she watched the slide show on his phone. “I’m so proud of you.”

“I’m proud of you, too.” Josh didn’t want to risk Channie picking his pocket, so he shoved his phone down his pants before sliding between her knees. He put his hands on the counter next to her hips and leaned over her. “You’ll be a senior next year. Just one more year of high school and you’re done.”

Channie tucked an unruly strand of hair behind her ear. “Actually, I was thinking that I might like to go to college someday.”

“Awesome! Any idea what you’d like to study?”

“Herbal medicine.”

“That sounds like a perfect fit.”

Channie wrapped her legs around Josh’s hips. “I figured I could use what I learned about plants from Aunt Wisdom when I was her apprentice and apply it to empty medicine.”

That gave Josh an idea. The box Wisdom constructed for the Book of the Dead was made from a live cedar tree. Ordinary magic was plenty strong enough to keep other mages from touching it, but if he used the added power of his sapphire with elemental magic, there was no way Channie could get past that.
 

He tucked his phone under the Book of the Dead, strengthened the no-touch spell on the box then showed it to Channie.
 

Her hand shook as it hovered over the box. She tapped the top of it with her index finger then yelped in pain and stuck her finger in her mouth.

Josh hated hurting her, but she needed to feel the repellent shock to satisfy the death pledge. “Are we good?”

She nodded.

Josh set the box on the nightstand next to his side of the bed. “Come on. We might as well try to get some sleep before Kassie calls with good news.”

~***~

Josh’s phone chimed with a text alert at seven thirty the next morning. He dug it out from under the Book of the Dead and grinned when he saw the picture of a newborn baby. “Hey, Channie, wake up. Kassie had the baby.”

She bolted upright and blinked. “Let me see.”

Josh kept a death grip on his phone as he showed her the picture.
 

“It’s a boy!”

“How can you tell?” Josh hoped Channie was wrong. The kid was bundled up from head to toe. Kassie had declined the doctor’s offer to give her his best guess of the baby’s sex after each ultrasound, saying she already knew it was a girl.

“The blanket’s blue.”

“I hope you’re wrong or that Kassie’s not disappointed.” Josh’s phone chimed again. The message read, “Hunter Joshua Waverly born 5:55 am 5 lbs. 3 oz. CUTEST BABY EVER!!!”

“Whoa.” Josh’s mouth fell open. “She named her kid after me and Hunter.”

Tears streamed down Channie’s face as she laughed. “I wish I could see Hunter’s face when he finds out.”

Josh grinned as he leaned back against the headboard. “You wanna call Kassie?”

Channie nodded.

“Okay, you know the drill. Sit on your hands.”

Channie and Kassie talked, nonstop, for fifteen minutes, before Josh got the chance to congratulate her. He was shocked to hear that Kassie hadn’t texted Hunter with the news of his namesake’s arrival.

“Why’d you name the baby after him if you don’t even care enough to tell him?”

“I just like the name, that’s all. It doesn’t mean anything.”

“Yeah, right.” Josh could tell from Kassie’s voice that she was lying.
 

“So when are you coming to see us?”

“Sometime this afternoon?”
 

“I’m bored. Come now.”

“It’ll take me a couple of hours to get up and around. Channie and I didn’t get much sleep last night.”

“Are you kidding me? I didn’t get
any
sleep last night. And you didn’t push a kid out of your hoo-haw. You don’t know the meaning of the word tired.”

“I’ll get there when I get there. And if you’re bored, call Hunter. I’m sure he’d love to hear all about your hoo-haw.”
 

‘Call Ended’ flashed on Josh’s screen. He pulled up the picture of the baby, as well as Kassie’s text message, and forwarded them to Hunter.
 

His phone rang immediately.

“Hey, Hunter, what’s up?” Josh was already regretting his rash decision to play matchmaker.

“Did she really name the baby after me?”

“She’s denying it, but that’s what it looks like.”

“I’m coming home.”

“Hang on a second.” Josh hurried into the bathroom, closed and locked the door, then turned on the faucet. He suspected that Channie knew Hunter was looking for Prudence, but it wasn’t something they discussed. “What about your mission?”

“The trail’s colder than a pump handle in January. We’re no closer to finding Prudence and Wisdom than we were when we started.”

Josh shoved his hand into his hair. “You can’t give up!”

“I’m not giving up. I’m just taking a break.”

Josh could order him to keep searching until he found the evil bitch, but Hunter hadn’t complained or asked for a single day off since he began the search back in March. “You can take a week off, but I want you back on her trail in seven days. I don’t care how cold it is.”

“Thanks, buddy. I really appreciate it.”

“I’ll call Zen and ask him to come pick you up in the chopper.”

“Um…if it’s all the same to you, I’d rather just take a plane. I’m in Oregon so it’ll be faster and I have enough money to buy my own ticket.”

Josh suspected Hunter would’ve insisted on flying commercial even if it weren’t faster. He wasn’t a fan of helicopters. “Suit yourself. Give me a call if you need a ride from the airport.”

“Will do. Oh, and don’t tell Kassie I’m coming. I wanna surprise her.”

~***~

Josh picked Hunter up at Denver International Airport a little after two o’clock in the afternoon. The sense of déjà vu was so strong it almost felt like a flashback. Hunter looked like a drug lord in his skintight silk shirt, black jeans and silver tipped crocodile boots.
 

Hunter grinned when he spotted Josh and waved. He ran up to him and wrapped him up in a bear hug. “Man, it’s good to see you.”

“It’s good to see you, too.” Josh hugged him back, but when it lasted too long to be considered manly, he thumped Hunter on the back and pulled away. “Where did you get the new clothes? And, more importantly, why?”

“I earned a bit of a reputation dancing in Vegas so it ain’t hard to get a gig as a guest star at the best ladies’ clubs in the big cities.”

“You’re supposed to be looking for Prudence. Not stripping.”

“I don’t strip.” Hunter rolled his eyes. “Ladies pay a lot of money to watch me dance. And we gotta eat.”

“If you needed more money, all you had to do was ask.”

“As long as I can entertain the ladies, we don’t need to dip into the rebels’ coffers. I ain’t taking money from folks that’s barely getting by.”

“Veyjivik Enterprises is bankrolling both rebel bases. They can afford to support your mission.”

“I can support myself.” Hunter patted Josh’s cheek and winked at him but there was a hard glint in his eyes.
 

Josh jerked his head back. “Dance all night. Sleep all day. No wonder it’s taking you so long to find Prudence. I thought you cared about Channie.”

Hunter narrowed his eyes. “I only dance from eleven to one and only on Friday and Saturday nights. Vince is either searching for leads on the internet or driving us to our next destination while I catch up on sleep. My dancing is not interfering with my mission.”

“Whatever. Did you check any luggage?” He didn’t have a carry-on bag with him.

“No, but I did check a package I need to pick up at carousel number four.”

The ‘package’ turned out to be a four foot tall, blue teddy bear encased in bubble wrap and plastic.

“Holy crap, Hunter. There’s no way the hospital is going to let you haul that monster into Kassie’s room.”
 

“Hospital?” Hunter’s tanned cheeks paled. “I know the little fella arrived a bit early but he looked okay in the picture you sent. Is Kassie okay? She didn’t have any problems birthing him, did she?”

“They’re both fine.”

“Then who’s in the hospital?”

“Most women have their babies in hospitals, just to be safe.” Josh clicked his electronic key to help him find his car then crossed into the next row, following the sound of the beep.

“That don’t make a lick of sense.” Hunter shifted the bear to his other hip. “Hospitals are full of sick people.”

“Kassie and the baby will probably go home either tomorrow or the next day.” Josh opened the back of his car so Hunter could stuff the ridiculous bear inside. “It’s a good thing I drive a hatchback.”

Hunter left the bear in the back of Josh’s car, but insisted on buying another, much smaller, one in the hospital gift shop. He also bought a dozen roses in a crystal vase.