Chapter 28
Davina told us all about the beast, and the battle, and explained in more layman’s terms what Seiji had done. After hearing her story, my opinion of Seiji was reinforced: Do not piss off.
It also made more sense why he’d been so exhausted afterward. He’d done an insane amount of work in about six hours. I’d be demanding a nap in his shoes too.
Because of what Seiji had done, though, we had an easy breezy time passing on the ghosts still in the ghost town.
With the locker broken, they could freely see and interact with us, and we had a line formed very quickly to pass them on.
With so many Mediums, we were able to parse through the amount in hours instead of it taking us weeks. A godsend, no question.
I owed Seiji so many thank-yous and favors. I wasn’t even sure how to pay him back.
It was coming on night by the time we finally finished. I gave Gwyn an hour break just to ride a horse around because she deserved a treat. She was so excited to finally be on a horse again, it was cute. Made me think I needed to arrange for trail rides when we were home again.
With Miner’s Creek finally cleared, we pulled out, heading back to the ranch.
Someone had very smartly put a chicken dish in the Crock-Pot, and all it needed was to be dished up over some rice and put fruit and nuts on top.
Hawaiian haystacks, or so it was explained to me.
Wasn’t sure how culturally accurate the recipe was but it smelled divine.
I ate my fill—and it was filling—before finally buying a minute to step out onto the back patio and update Sylvia.
Brandon joined me for the conversation, both of us quite at our ease on the couch.
I was exhausted. After passing all of those ghosts and running around all day, my feet were in danger of falling off. Felt good to sit down.
Sylvia picked up with her usual briskness. “Speak.”
“Hi, boss. I bring you great tidings of awesome joy.”
“Music to my ears. What’s happened?”
I started at the top, telling her what Seiji had done, of the beast, the broken locker, and the ghost town cleared. It sounded so simple listed out, and it felt wrong, as it had been an insane amount of work.
Sylvia’s tone was pure delight. “Wow! Seiji really was the man for the job. And no one’s injured?”
“Remarkably, no. Bit sunburned, but that’s the worst complaint anyone has.”
“Wonderful. I hate it when my agents are hurt. You have done great today, definitely rest up. Now, how is Seiji?”
“Dead tired,” Brandon answered simply. “After watching him work, I understand why. You would not believe what that looked like through the thermal goggles. I watched just because I was curious, and it was like he carried this little mini tornado, then shaped it into a hammer before using it. If I hadn’t seen it with my own eyes, I wouldn’t have thought it possible for any human being to harness so much energy at once. ”
Truly, that had been a sight to behold. Gwyn was in awe of Seiji after watching him work. I think we all were.
Sylvia sat on that for a full second before stating factually, “So I need to find a way to keep Seiji.”
“Please and thank you.” Brandon paused before adding, “I think one of the stumbling blocks to him being FBI was no anchor, correct? Well, and you weren’t sure you could afford him.”
“I think that was part of it. I’d have to pull his file and read up on it to verify. Why?”
“Boss, I don’t think that’s going to be an issue for much longer.”
I snorted. “If you saw what we did, you’d realize it yourself. Lachlan and Seiji are dating. Well, barely dating, but Lachlan’s completely gone on the man already.”
“Get out! They are not!”
“Not long, mind you. But yes, they are. And Lachlan looks at Seiji like he would battle hell itself for the man.”
Brandon tacked on, “And he’s acting like an anchor, although I don’t know if he realizes it. He’s protective of Seiji, guards his back, and was the one to carry him back when Seiji collapsed. It might take them a few months to work around to the idea, but I see the potential.”
“Would Lachlan immigrate for Seiji?”
Sylvia was clearly scheming things over there. “I think it’s too soon to ask that question. But if you want to maybe plan out a welcome packet to lure them into staying, I’d do it.”
“Hint taken. All right, you’ve cleared the ghost town in a single day—seriously, good job there—and now have Black Rock left. How long do you think that will take?”
“Longer,” I said with a sigh. “Just because we’re dealing with inhabited businesses and homes.
We need to work around other people’s schedules.
There’s a few problem spots, too, where I want Seiji to clear the energy.
I think half of the reported hauntings are residual hauntings more than anything, and Seiji’s best suited to handle those.
We believe we’ve gotten rid of all of Joey’s minions, but we don’t want the power vacuum to create a whole new ghost gang, so we’re intent on clearing this place. ”
“How long do you expect it to take, though?”
I guessed I hadn’t answered her question. “Two, three weeks? Depending.”
“Okay, I’ll plan for three, just to be safe. Then give you an extra week to rest.”
“That sure would be appreciated.”
“Keep me posted, and hint to Seiji I would love to have him.”
“Will do.” I disconnected.
I had no idea if Seiji actually wanted to be a government grunt, but at least the option was open to him. If nothing else, he could continue to freelance with the FBI. I was just very invested in keeping him as a friend. He was a great guy.
Brandon leaned back and sighed deeply. “A good day today, but it was exhausting. Oh! I did steal a moment while we were waiting on the mine explorers to email the Crescent Hotel and ask about availability. She gave me a bunch of dates in response. Want to look them over?”
“Sure.” Locking in the date was the first step, really.
He shifted his phone to his left hand so I could comfortably see the screen too. I read through the welcome email and the list of dates, most of which were in spring or summer next year.
All except one.
“Mon cher, that’s a December date.”
“Huh. It is. December 2.” Brandon regarded it, then looked at me. “Is that too soon?”
It might be, but… “It’s damn tempting. Would we have time to pull a wedding together in one month?”
“I do like the idea of getting married the same month we met.”
Yes, that appealed to my romantic side as well. I wasn’t really one for pomp and ceremony—to me it made no sense to spend that much money on a single day—but I did want a party. This was a milestone well worth celebrating.
“I did hear from Lauren’s college friend who’s an event planner, but she’s booked for the next year.” Brandon indicated the phone screen. “They have a wedding planner on site who can handle it all for us.”
“Oh? Then I say we use them. They know everything about the options there anyway.”
“Also true. Should we lock it in, then?”
“Let’s do it. If it’s too much to handle in too short a time, we can always move the date out.”
“I’m all for it.” Brandon took control of the phone back and started typing up a response.
I looked at him, this sweet man who had moved the world for me several times, and I was so excited to marry him it felt like the emotion was a superball bouncing around inside of me.
Funny how life could throw you plot twists.
Two years ago, if you’d asked me what my life would look like, Brandon would never have come to mind.
An anchor was a fantasy, never mind having a husband.
I didn’t picture an amazing career with friends I could rely on.
I didn’t envision a cute apprentice to protect and guide.
I didn’t think I’d live in a beautiful house.
This future was so much better than anything I’d imagined for myself.
And I was very grateful fate had better plans for me than I did.
I leaned against Brandon’s shoulder, felt the warmth and strength of him, and smiled. He was so very lovely, my Brandon.
He dropped a kiss on my hair before going back to typing. Even such a simple gesture of affection made me absurdly happy.
“All right, emailed. Hopefully we can have that date. Do you want to do tuxes or suits?”
“Suits.” I couldn’t imagine skinnying into a tux. That felt too fancy for me.
“We’ll probably need to buy suits, then. Really, we should have one in the closet anyway, just in case.”
“It’s not a bad thought, cher.”
The sliding door opened and Lachlan stepped out. He slid it closed behind him but paused, looking us over. “Interrupting something, am I?”
“Not so much.” Brandon waved him closer. “What’s up? How’s Seiji?”
“That poor man’s puggled.”
“I’m sorry?” Scottish slang was just indecipherable to me sometimes. I imagined American phrases for them were just as bad.
“Pure done in?” he offered.
“That one translated better. So he’s worn out, eh? Do you think he’ll be recovered by tomorrow?”
Lachlan shook his head immediately. “No chance, mate. Even if he’s awake by then, he shouldn’t be working.”
“He did an insane amount of work today. I think he’s due a day of rest.” Practically, I added, “I vote we all take a day of rest.”
“I’m all for it.” Brandon’s voice did hint at fatigue.
But then, we’d all worked a full twelve-hour day, so no wonder we were all feeling tired. A day of rest would do us good.
“Lachlan, looks like we’ll be staying here another two or three weeks, clearing out the ghosts as much as we can. I’ve got a few choice spots I need Seiji to clear out for me, as it’ll be a breeze for him and work for me. But afterward…”
“You don’t need us,” Lachlan finished. “Well, that’s fine. Knowing how busy Seiji is, we’ll like as not be called to some other emergency.”
Nice segue into the nosy questions I was dying to ask. “So you’re sticking with him, then?”
“Much as I can. Might get pulled away by a job, but…” He ruffled a hand through his hair. His braid hadn’t lasted long. “Brandon. You said before, Seiji should have an anchor. After today, I agree with you.”
Ohhh, I knew that look well. The Havilis got it all the time. Protective instincts were running at high speeds. It was like if determination tangoed with pure affection. Hard to describe in a word but I knew it well.
Seiji just got an anchor whether he wanted one or not.
Oh, I was sure Lachlan wasn’t going to jump in feet first—he was the type to think important things over, but he also had no trouble forging ahead when he found the right path. He was strapping on boots right now, if his face was anything to go by.
Brandon sat up a little, expression intent. “You sure, Lachlan?”
“He’s one of the best men I’ve ever met.
I don’t have a clue whether we’ll work as a couple in the long run, but I want to try being his anchor for a spell.
Try it out for both of us.” Nose wrinkling up in aggravation, he grumbled, “And frankly, the idea of him out on a job alone makes me fair fleggit.”
I translated fleggit to something like giving him the willies and moved on with the conversation. “It’s a reasonable feeling. He scared even me for a second.”
Lachlan pulled up a chair, elbows on his knees, eyes intent on Brandon. “So I’ve come to ask you to give me some pointers.”
“I’ll be happy to.”
I very wisely sat still, with my mouth shut, and listened.
I could probably explain half of what Brandon did to Lachlan just fine, but that wasn’t the point of this conversation.
Lachlan was feeling his way forward. I was proud of him.
All of my friends seemed to have this trait of knowing how to tackle challenges, of not flinching in the face of one.
And working with Seiji would be a challenge. Not because of the man himself, he was a dream to work with, but because of what his job entailed. It wasn’t an easy life. But neither Seiji or Lachlan were built for easy careers and being home at five. That wasn’t where they thrived.
Honestly? If anyone could keep up with Seiji, it would be Lachlan.
I couldn’t wait to see how this panned out.
So I sat, and I listened, and I made a few bets with myself.
I played a little on my phone, texting Mom and my sister about the possibility of getting married in Arkansas in one month.
Got a few excited responses. I’d need to send my family a little money so they could afford to travel and dress up for the event.
I didn’t want them financially stressed trying to make it.
Then, because I was still too excited about the wedding, I started looking up color schemes and online checklists of what wedding planners needed to know.
Turned out it was a lot of things I’d never have thought of.
Hell, Brandon would need to chime in on some of this, as I had no idea what he’d choose.
And the idea of greeting the new year married to this amazing man? Oh, what a sweet fantasy indeed.