The Touch (Healer Series) (15 page)

  
He knew he could harass AJ. The kid seemed to
be fresh faced with the
Grims
. To keep AJ from coming
with, Addie looked at him as she stood behind the truck door.

  
“Keep an eye on Rose for me, would
ya
?” she said, hoping it would force him to stay behind and
leave her alone. She was annoyed at his treatment of this stranger. Everyone in
Lee had been kind and accepting of AJ on his first days around, albeit a little
nosy.

  
“Yeah,” AJ said, looking around and spotting
Rose. He scowled in the direction of Devin who only smiled wider as Addie
backed up the old truck.

  
The truck rounded the corner into town and AJ
looked over at Rose. Her miniature frame with the gigantic brown eyes just stared
back at him.

  
“Did he touch you, Rose?” AJ asked, trying to
look a little calmer since he was dealing with a child.

  
“Nope!”
Rose replied
absently, still petting the dog. “What do you want to do?”

  
“I don’t know. What do you want to do? What
do kids do around here?”

  
“We could play house.”

  
“I don’t play house,” AJ said, a little
frightened at the aspect of donning an apron and cooking. “Want to see if Helen
has any cookies inside?”
 

  
What he really wanted was to get on the phone
to Max, who should have been arriving home by then. Cookies seemed like a sure
bet for getting a kid to give in.

  
“Cookies!”
Rose
squealed, jumping up from her seat on the ground and running towards the
B&B with AJ at her heels.

  
As he walked in the door the phone was
ringing. “Damn,” he thought to himself, knowing from just a few days that Helen
could talk on the phone for hours. It would be awhile until he could call Max.
He knew the situation wasn’t dire – Devin was there for a purpose – yet he
still wanted Max to ease his worry.

  
“It’s for you,” she called, handing him the
phone as he rounded the corner in the kitchen. He grabbed it, shoving the cool
plastic to his ear. He was sure it was Addie, calling to rip him a new one for
his behavior a little earlier. If only she understood, he thought.

  
“I already know,” said Max’s voice, the
concern blatant and loud, rendering words unnecessary. AJ looked at the table
and saw Rose content with a cookie, Helen sitting next to her and basking in
the glow of a child in the house. He ducked around the corner into the living
room where he could have privacy.

  
“What do I do?”

  
“Not much you can do, unfortunately,” Max
said, his voice becoming hushed as though Helen might hear him talking. “Any
ideas as to who he’s there for?”

  
“Said he was here for
Isabelle.
Addie had picked him up in town, said she was helping a stranger.
She’s
gonna
be pissed at me because I was giving this
guy the third degree. Asked him if he touched her, but he didn’t. She thinks
I’m just some crazy jealous fool who doesn’t want her but doesn’t want her to
be with anyone else.”

  
“She’ll get over it. Does this guy seem like
he’ll carry out his job and leave?”

  
“I’m not so sure about that. I don’t know if
it was to get a rise out of me, or because he really meant it, although he said
if he finds something he likes, he might just stay around.”

  
“Probably won’t stick around, but better safe
than sorry. Keep an eye on him. They have rules they have to follow. With a
history like theirs though, a Grim can’t be trusted to follow the laws that
govern us.”

  
“It’s taking everything I have not to go
check on her,” AJ said, the fear in his voice evident. He couldn’t stand the
thought of this vile being standing next to Addie and getting close enough to
touch her.

  
“I know, kid,” Max replied. “I can feel your
anger from all the way out here. I’m going to head back. If there are two of
us, it might deter him from prolonging his stay.”

  
“You think that’s necessary? If he’s here for
Isabelle, shouldn’t he be gone by tomorrow?”

  
“Should be, but you can’t trust them to
follow any particular logic. I’m heading back in, staying for a few days. Is
there room at the B&B for me?”

  
“Are you kidding? Helen will be thrilled,” AJ
said, peeking back around the corner to check on the ladies. “And I won’t have
to eat as much. I’ve put on about ten pounds already. Seriously though, wait
till tomorrow to come back. If I recall right everything you’ve taught me, he
can only touch one person a day. I know he’s here for Isabelle, and I can’t
heal her. Neither can you. So tomorrow is the day to worry.”

  
Max sighed knowing the kid was right. AJ was
simply glad to see that after nearly 200 years Max still had a heart and a good
soul. That boded well for AJ. “See you tomorrow then, friend.”

  
“See
ya
tomorrow.”

  
AJ clutched the phone in his hand, slapping
it against his palm a couple times, before following the curly cord back to its
resting place on the wall.

  
“How you girls doing?”

  
“Good,” they replied in unison, smiling
sneakily at him. He raised an eyebrow, wondering what no-good scheme the two
were about to throw on him.

  
“What’s up? You have a look like you’re
trying to melt me before you say something.”

  
“AJ, will you take me into town, please?”
asked Rose, her eyelashes batting as though she were begging him for a pony.

  
“Why? Your mama won’t be happy if she catches
us. I think she wants to be away from me right now.”

  
“
Puh
-lease?”

  
“Nope.
Nada.
Not
gonna
happen.”

  
She looked up at him with big puppy dog eyes,
her hands clasped in a praying position and her lips forming a big pout.

  
“Please? It’s really important!”

  
“More important than my
life?”
AJ joked. Although he wasn’t entirely kidding; he was sure Addie
was mad enough to beat him.

  
“I want to get her a birthday present!”

  
“Her birthday?
When
is that?”

  
“Next week. Please AJ? Please, please pretty please?”
she pleaded, still batting those mile-long lashes that she got from her mother.
Helen watched the whole interaction with glee.

  
“Okay, let’s get you cleaned up and we’ll
head out. One hour is all you’ve got. Get some running shoes on, because we’re
gonna
walk so if anyone asks, we can honestly tell them
that we took a walk. That way, we’re not lying.”

  
“Deal!”
Rose replied
as she bolted through the door and across the street to change her shoes. AJ
nodded to Helen and walked out after her, letting the rusty-hinged screen door
creak back into position.

  
Rose’s shoes were worn out, obviously her
most beloved pair. They were covered with what she referred to as
bling
. Little
rhinestones and glitter circles adorned the entire surface and AJ actually laughed
at himself for knowing what a rhinestone was. The shoes lit up as she walked,
creating a non-stop lights show with every step.

  
“Don’t you have any other shoes?” AJ asked,
teasing her a bit.

  
“Yep.”

  
“Don’t you wear them?”

  
“Nope.”

  
He could tell she was obviously not one for
words. Since they’d met, she hadn’t spoken more than a sentence to him at a
time.

  
“You don’t talk much, do you?”

  
“Nope.”

  
“Why is that? I would think a little girl
would have plenty to say, especially one with the mom that you have.”

  
“Exactly.
You’ve met
her. She talks enough for all of us.”

  
Rose was brilliant, that was certain. Her
mother sure did love to talk, although AJ couldn’t say he seemed to mind the
sound of her voice.

  
“What are you
gonna
get her for her birthday?” AJ asked, the hair on his arms beginning to rise. He
could feel how close they were getting to Devin, and it was making him uneasy.
He walked a little closer to Rose, just in case.

  
“Maybe a necklace.
Maybe a pet rock.
I don’t know. I want to see what’s at the
general store. Maybe she’d like a lollipop.”

  
AJ laughed at the innocence of the young. He
knew the little girl could hand her mom dirt off the road and Addie would love
it, the same way his own mother treated all the handmade gifts and cards he’d crafted
for her over the years. His mom was never much for jewelry or fancy gifts; she
was happiest when she had something in her hands that some thought and effort
had gone into. They never had much money, and so those cards were little
reminders of the love between a mother and son whose greatest gifts were each
other.

  
“Those sound like great ideas Rose,” he said,
looking up from the dirt road as a car rattled up behind the duo. It slowed
down as it caught up to them and he could see Isabelle and her parents inside.
For a moment he felt a brief relief to see their faces, as though perhaps
Isabelle had a few more good minutes before the pain foreshadowing the end of
her young life would take hold. She smiled sweetly at AJ and nodded. It reminded
him that of her whispers at the party telling him all would be okay.

  
“Afternoon,” Isabelle’s dad greeted them,
leaning out the passenger window. “You two need a lift? We’re heading home but
we could bring you wherever you’re heading.”

  
AJ looked at Rose. She shook her head yes
with a pleading look. She was in a hurry so her mama didn’t catch them.

  
“Sure,” AJ replied, opening the passenger
side back door. “That’s kind of you.”

  
Isabelle’s father smiled and signaled for
Rose to hop in and she followed AJ. He squished into the middle between
Isabelle and Rose.

  
Isabelle slid her hand over to AJ and set it
on his arm.

  
“We’re going home to meet a doctor,” she
said, a big smile across her face. “Mom and Dad hope he can help me. I know
he’ll be the one to set me free from this cancer.”

  
The look on her face was one of faith - hope
even. As he returned her gesture by engulfing her hand with his, the visions
flooded through. He saw Isabelle hugging her parents and siblings. He got the
sense that when she said “set free,” she wasn’t speaking of a cure. Rather, the
words echoed
a knowledge
of the end to her suffering.

  
“Sure are!” her parents said excitedly. “Says
he might be able to help us, give us some answers.
Came here
all the way from the big city.
Never heard of him.
He said he heard about our case from the hospital and wanted to stop by and see
if he could do anything to help.”

  
AJ wasn’t sure what he hated more at that
very moment: the fact that this Grim was about to take a child’s life, or the
fact that he did it with a lie to her parents, a lie which instilled in them a
false sense of hope. It was obvious which bloodline this Grim descended from.
AJ wondered which was worse: not having hope, or having your hope
crushed?
Probably the latter he decided, as not only would
hope be crushed; it would also be lost entirely.

  
Isabelle squeezed his arm and he could sense
her fear. If there was one thing he had learned from healing, it was that being
okay with your future, whether it be death or life, was completely separate from
the fear you experience of the unknown. Being okay does not equal freedom from
all sadness and fear. Acceptance simply means you can take the hand dealt to
you and supersede all the other emotions it brings.

  
The car rumbled along in silence, the sounds
of gravel under the tires deafening in the moment. It was all AJ could
concentrate on as his internal radar sensed the closeness of Devin with each
foot they drove closer to Isabelle’s home. The car ambled up to the general
store and AJ and Rose hopped out. As Rose bounded through the old wooden doors
to the store, AJ watched Isabelle through the back window. She waved and the
car continued on to the end of her life. It was a humbling aspect, knowing that
someone was walking right into their own demise. The last moments before the
realization that the end was near were how AJ always wanted to remember those
he touched.