Chapter 29
TWENTY-NINE
My mother was gone when we emerged inside the cemetery building.
“Whoops,” I said as I glanced around.
Galen and Brody had waited inside of the building for us.
They claimed it was to warn us about the zombies but I knew better.
The second Galen pulled me into his arms, everything that had been uneven in his heart smoothed.
He buried his face in my hair, holding me close, then exhaled heavily as he regained control of his emotions.
“I knew you would be okay,” he said as he pulled back. “It’s just … time passes differently.”
I understood. “What time is it?”
“Three in the morning,” Brody replied. He’d hugged Aurora upon her return, but he was nowhere near as dramatic as Galen because Aurora wouldn’t have tolerated a similar welcome.
“Wow.” My mind went momentarily blank. “We lost an entire day.”
“Nothing was lost,” Brody countered. “We saw the ghosts you sent through. You saved them all.”
My stomach constricted. “Where are they?” I didn’t ask specifically about my mother but Galen would know. He always knew.
“Most of them took off to see their families,” Galen replied. “I didn’t know any of them. My mother had left by the time they came across. She seemed bored with the entire process once Declan … well, once Declan took his bow.”
Declan. I’d almost forgotten about him. “He’s dead?” I asked.
Galen ran his hands over my shoulders. “He died fairly quickly on this side. Going through the door took a lot out of him.”
“Where is he?” Lilac asked. “I ended up chopping off Bogdan’s head because I feared he might regenerate like a vampire. Maybe I should do that to him.”
“That would have been smart,” Galen replied.
“When he died, we called Jareth. He came right after the sun set. He walked across the cemetery as if it was nothing. He didn’t even look at the zombies.
He looked down at Declan’s body and then pulled a little hatchet out of his pocket and … .” Galen mimed chopping.
“Well, that’s a visual I don’t want to think about,” Aurora said, wrinkling her nose. “Where is the body now?”
“Jareth took it back to the funeral home,” Brody replied. “He said that Declan wasn’t to be revered, but he was family. He didn’t have a good start in life. He could never overcome what he’d lost. He wanted to give his nephew a quiet final resting place.”
I swallowed hard. Jareth was a good guy. I made a mental note to drop in and check on him in a few days.
“Then it’s done,” I said, forcing a smile.
Galen nodded. “I called Wesley’s ranch a few hours ago. As soon as Declan died, the symbol on his property disappeared. It seems it really did take a combination of their magic to keep it going.”
That was a relief. “Did Declan say anything before he died?”
“He cursed Clive’s name. He blamed him for leading them astray.”
“We’ve all cursed Clive,” Booker said.
I felt awkward and out of place. “Did Wesley say anything else?”
Galen’s smile was soft. “He was angry with May for messing with his memory, which was to be expected. She can’t restore it, so he had to have his reunion with Emma all over again. He was crying when I talked to him, but not in a sad way. He’ll get over his anger.”
“They’re at the ranch?” My first impulse was to drive out there to see them. Weariness caught up with me before I could make it a reality. “That’s good. I guess,” I added as an afterthought.
“Your mother wanted to wait for you,” Brody volunteered. He seemed desperate to make me feel better. “She was determined.”
“May pointed out that you could be gone for hours,” Galen added. “She convinced Emma to go to the ranch. She said she would be dropping in tomorrow, after you have your morning coffee. She’s angry that you crossed over when she told you not to.”
I scowled. “Hey, I saved the day.” I poked my chest. “Me.”
Booker cleared his throat pointedly.
“Fine, Lilac saved the day,” I corrected. “It was my idea to bring you guys over, though, so I really did save the day.”
Galen chuckled as he pulled me in for another hug, this one less fervent. “You saved the day.”
“It was a hellscape,” Lilac said. “It was just my milieu. Plus, they might have been terrifying to humans who couldn’t fight them — which is what they were banking on — but I’ve seen way worse monsters.”
“It was good you did what you did,” I told her. “Now we don’t have to worry about Bogdan crossing over to exact his revenge. He’s gone.”
“He was gone a long time ago,” Booker said. “The only one still holding onto his memory was him.”
“Are you ready to go home?” Galen asked. “We could stay here overnight but I figured there were plenty of us to fight off the zombies. I think we’d all rather sleep in our own beds.”
“You’ve got that right,” Aurora said. “Although … .” She cocked her head. “We know how the zombies got here now. Can’t we fix this situation?”
“We can at least start bandying about ideas,” Lilac confirmed. “It doesn’t have to happen tonight. They’ve been here for years. They can stay a little bit longer.”
“Later,” I agreed. “We’ll talk about it later.” I slipped my hand into Galen’s and forced a smile. “I’m exhausted.”
“You need a good night’s sleep if you’re going to start catching up with your mother tomorrow,” he said.
I was taken aback. “Do you think she’ll come see me?” I was afraid to hope.
Galen sent me a pitying look. “Baby, that’s all she wants.”
“Did she tell you that?”
“Yes, but even if she hadn’t I would have known.”
“How?”
“Because that’s all I want. I can recognize it in another person.”
I rolled my eyes. “That was so schmaltzy.”
“And I’m not the least bit sorry.”
I SLEPT LIKE THE DEAD. I didn’t fully remember my dreams but they involved a sandy beach, a coconut bra, a shirtless Galen, and frozen cocktails.
Galen was not next to me when I woke up. When I reached over to touch his side of the bed, I found the sheets cool.
He wasn’t in the shower. I cleaned up alone. He wasn’t in the kitchen when I went downstairs.
I was starting to get anxious when I heard raucous laughter on the patio. I let myself out through the door and frowned when I found everybody — Aurora, Lilac, Booker, Brody, Marjory, and Wesley — gathered around the table. Galen stood at the grill, tongs in hand.
“It’s about time,” he said. “I thought you were going to sleep the whole day away.”
“What time is it?” I asked.
“After noon,” he replied.
“And we’re having a breakfast barbecue?”
“Well, we’re having a barbecue,” Galen replied. “It’s a little late for breakfast. I got steaks.” He inclined his head toward the grill.
“Steak sounds good.” I feigned brightness.
“That was the most pathetic fake smile I’ve ever seen in my life,” he said with a laugh. “I got lobster, too.”
My new smile was the real deal. “You got lobster?” I loved lobster. It wasn’t exactly rare on the island, but it wasn’t a common commodity. We were surrounded by water, but lobsters prefer cold waters far to the north.
“I decided to splurge,” Galen confirmed. “The hotel got a shipment and they let me buy a few.” He paused a beat, then continued. “It’s not every day my future wife reconnects with her mother.”
The words were a bruising punch to the stomach. “My mother. Where … ?” I didn’t finish. I couldn’t.
“May is giving her a tour of the island,” Wesley volunteered, his eyes glassy and red-rimmed with anxiety. “Galen insisted we let you sleep.”
“She’s a bear when she doesn’t get her beauty sleep,” Galen said.
Laughter bubbled up. “But … she’s still here?” I pressed. It was hard to believe, no matter how much I wanted — no, needed — to believe it.
“She is,” Wesley confirmed. “The island hasn't changed much since the last time she saw it. They shouldn’t be gone long.”
“Then we’re going to have a barbecue,” Galen said.
“And talk about what we’re supposed to do with the cemetery,” I guessed.
Galen hesitated. “Not today. The cemetery does need to be dealt with, but that’s not a concern for today.”
“What is today’s concern?” I asked.
“Your mother,” Galen replied. “You get to spend as much time with her as you want and no one can take that from you.”
Tears pricked the back of my eyes. I had no idea what the future would hold for my mother. Would she stay or go when the cemetery problem was resolved? Ultimately, it didn’t matter.
For now — just for right now — I had everything I could possibly want, and that was enough.