She loved his voice. Warm, tender, inviting. “That sounds like a plan.” She rose up to kiss him again, her stomach twisting, only in a good way this time. “Let’s see how tonight goes, and how I feel later. No promises. Okay?”
He pulled her to him and kissed her again, slowly, sweetly. She felt him harden against her through his slacks. “No rush. But that also sounds like a plan I can get behind.”
* * * *
“Fucker lost his job a couple of weeks ago,” Sachi triumphantly announced ten minutes later after darting upstairs to find Mandaline in the warehouse.
“That didn’t take you long,” Mandaline said.
“Fired,” Sachi excitedly continued. “Rumor has it they caught him with his hands in the till, but the police weren’t involved. My guess is he found out you inherited everything from Julie, and he was looking to schmooze with you in hopes of getting back in your good graces and getting some money out of you.”
Mandaline sat on a box and stared at her. “Why wouldn’t he just go to his parents?”
Sachi let out a snort. “Seriously? You think he’s going to admit doing something like that to them?”
“True. And here I was hoping he’d had a change of heart.”
Sachi frowned. “Why the fuck would you hope that?”
Mandaline immediately realized why Sachi sounded so upset. “No, no. For the sake of his karma. Not because I have any desire to reconcile with the fucktacious twit.”
Sachi giggled. “Fucktacious. Wow. I’m stealing that one. I think I’m finally wearing off on you. I also seriously doubt there’s anything that can help Carl’s karma. Karma’s going to run right the hell over him and his mother’s dogma.”
“So who were your sources?”
She grinned. “I haf vays of makeng pipple talk.”
“No, seriously.”
“I read for a woman whose sister works over where he works. Worked,” she amended. “Said there was a huge blowup when it happened. Full outside audit of the books and everything. Rumor has it he has a set amount of time to pay everything back in full or they will prosecute.”
“That just doesn’t make sense. Carl was an idiot and a mommy’s boy, but he wasn’t a thief. Not when I knew him.”
“Well, she also told me that before he got shitcanned, maybe about a month, he went from driving a really nice Mercedes to a beater Toyota. Told everyone it got stolen and he was waiting on the insurance settlement to come through, but he didn’t want to talk about it when people asked for details.”
“The plot thickens.”
“Yep. More rumors speculated he’s racked up some pretty hefty gambling debts. They discounted drugs and alcohol simply because he still showed up for work, and his physical appearance didn’t change.”
“You missed your calling to be a cop.”
Sachi’s face darkened. “No, thank you,” she quietly said.
Mandaline blanched. “Sorry, hon.” She stood and stepped over to hug Sachi. “I wasn’t thinking when I said that. Thank you for the info. I really appreciate it. You done good.”
Sachi brightened a little. “Aw, shucks, ma’am. Just doin’ my job.” She snapped the brim of an invisible Stetson hat, hooked her thumbs in an invisible gun belt, and cowboy-waddled her way out of the warehouse.
Mandaline couldn’t help but smile. Sachi was such a mixed bag. She looked up to the ceiling and closed her eyes. Please, Goddess. She deserves happiness. She’s been through so much, done so much for others. Bless her karma with love and happiness in the best way possible, helping her and harming none.
She looked to where Sachi had disappeared through the doorway. “So mote it be,” she whispered.
* * * *
Ellis returned from his errands a couple of hours later, just before they prepared to close the store for the night. He refused help schlepping the groceries and other items upstairs. Mandaline worked downstairs helping out and showing Brad their closing routine when the front doorbell tinkled.
She turned to find an elderly woman shakily tottering toward the front counter. Mandaline didn’t recognize her. She looked to be in her eighties, at least, her blue-grey hair permed. She wore pull-up jeans with an elastic waistband and a button-up shirt in a pattern that went out of style at least twenty years earlier.
“How can I help you, ma’am?” Mandaline asked, wishing she’d thought to lock the door behind the last customers to leave.
The woman smiled. “I read in the paper that y’all hunt ghosts.” She spoke with a thick Southern accent.
Mandaline forced herself to keep her smile painted on her face. She didn’t want to be rude to the woman. “Yes, we help people who think they’ve got paranormal activity.”
The woman put her hand flat on the counter, patting it as she spoke to emphasize her words. “My husband, Gerald. He’s coming to me. Every night. He died nearly a year ago. We were married over fifty years. Now, I keep telling him that enough is enough. I loved him, he loved me, but it’s time he moves on to Heaven.” She frowned. “I don’t think he’d go to Hell. He was a good man.” She smiled again. “I’d like you to tell him to move on.”
Mandaline blinked, unsure what to say. She didn’t honestly know if the woman was serious, or suffering dementia, or pulling her leg.
Brad stepped up beside Mandaline at the counter, a notepad in hand. “We can come out Wednesday night,” he brightly volunteered. “Just give me your name and address and information.”
The woman looked at Brad, her smile brightening even further. “Thank you, son.”
Her name was Marjorie Caswell and she lived over in Spring Hill. Once she left, Mandaline locked the door after her, turned the sign to Closed, and started pulling down the shades.
Brad walked over, his expression clouded. “Why do I get the impression you’re not happy with me?”
She let out a sigh. “Because, sweetie, I’m not. I would have rather you not volunteered us for tomorrow night.” She turned to look up at him.
“Are you mad at me?”
“No, I’m not mad.” She hugged him. “But next time, let me be the one to set the schedule. Okay?”
Truthfully, she didn’t want to handle any investigations right then. She’d only done Ellis and Brad’s house because Julie had marked it urgent. Fortunately, there were no other surprises in Julie’s personal appointment book.
She’d wanted to wait a couple of weeks, unless another urgent case came up and people felt in fear, to take on any more investigations.
“I’m sorry. I just wanted to help.”
“I know.” She rose up on her toes and brushed a kiss across his lips. “Help Sachi, please. I need to run upstairs for a minute.”
Truthfully, she wanted to see if Ellis needed any help. She found him with all the groceries unbagged on the counter and trying to figure out where to put them.
“Here,” she said. “Let me help.” She gently nudged him out of the way and started putting the groceries away.
“Thanks.” He gathered the plastic bags together. “Sorry.”
She turned. “Sorry? You bought all this. You don’t need to apologize to me.” She took a breath. “And, seriously, you don’t need to go with me Thursday. It’s fine. I don’t need help.”
He startled her when he grabbed her hand and spun her around.
“Why do I get the feeling that no matter what I do, I’m in a no-win situation with you?” Ellis quietly asked.
Her face heated. “That’s not true!”
“I’m really trying here, Mandaline. And I meant it when I said I’m willing to wait as long as it takes to earn your trust back. It doesn’t mean you can slam the door in my face every time I try, though. Based on what happened with Carl this afternoon, I don’t have any doubts about how you feel. But you have to let me in. Please?”
“Why is this so important to you?”
He cupped her cheeks in his palms and kissed her, deeply, passionately, making her body take on a life of its own as it press
ed against him and her arms encircled him. She softly moaned, but then he lifted his lips from hers and smiled.
“Because,” he softly said, “you’re that important to me. I know I can’t protect you from every possible bad thing in this world, but whatever happened out there is one bad thing I won’t let have you.”
She nodded. “Okay.”
He smiled and kissed her again. “Good,” he said when he let her come up for air. “Then no more arguing about it. No more excuses, no more trying to shut me out. I’m not changing my stance on waiting you out, but quit fighting me and at least let me into your life.”
She rested her cheek against his chest and listened to his heart thundering in her ear. Closing her eyes, she dropped her defenses and tried to really feel him, sense his energy the way she did with clients.
All she could feel was love and sincerity.
“Thank you,” she whispered.
He kissed the top of her head. “You might not be thanking me after a few months cooped up in this apartment with us,” he teased.
* * * *
Dinner was delicious. Mandaline watched as Sachi the voracious carnivore experienced nearly orgasmic bliss over Ellis’ perfectly cooked steaks.
“I’m telling you,” Sachi mumbled through a mouthful of food while jabbing her fork in the air at Mandaline, “shit or get off the pot, girlfriend. Tarzan and the chief are perfect for you.”
“You’re just a steak slut,” Mandaline teased.
“Duh.” Sachi swallowed and looked at Ellis. “We could get her drunk so you two can have your way with her.”
He laughed. “No. I promised her I’d limit her to one glass of wine.”
Sachi scowled. “You’re absolutely no fun.”
After dinner, Sachi and Mandaline retired to the bedroom with a box of plastic garbage bags. She felt a little guilty that the men had made the bed that morning, and that Brad had done such an awesome job cleaning and tidying things up. She’d rarely made her bed, especially since moving in to the apartment, and Julie had gotten by with just pulling the covers up.
With the door closed behind them, the other side of Sachi appeared. She touched Mandaline’s arm. “Where do you want to start, sweetie?”
“I’m thinking socks, underwear, and bras go in one bag. Do you think we should donate those or throw them away?”
Sachi kindly smiled. “Let’s bag them up and I’ll take care of them for you.”
At times like this, she absolutely loved Sachi to death. “Thanks.” They found them in three dresser drawers. There were a few pairs of funky, psychedelic knee-highs that Sachi fell in love with and put in her keeper pile. Mandaline ended up taking two pairs of thick, wool hiking socks that looked brand new.
The rest went in a bag that Sachi set just outside the bedroom door.
“Okay,” Sachi said. “Drawer by drawer to start?”
Mandaline nodded.
There were three dressers in the room, a large one and two smaller ones. With Pers and Damiago watching from opposite sides of the bed, it took them an hour and a bucket of tears to finish sorting everything. By the time they finished they had a keeper pile for Mandaline, a larger one for Sachi, a pile to see if any of the other women on staff wanted, and several more bags in the hall for Sachi to take to donate.
“Let’s get your clothes put up,” Sachi suggested.
“But…” She turned and stared at the tubs. What she had likely would barely fill the large dresser, and that included the items in her keep pile. “Okay.”
That took another half hour, and the room looked much larger with most of the tubs unpacked, excluding one of costumes and a few heavy winter items.
“Now the guys can use those tubs and the other dressers,” Sachi said. “You won’t have half your living room taken up with their crap.”
They tackled the closet next. There were a few things Mandaline wanted, and still more for Sachi. By the time they finished, Mandaline had drained her wine glass and was sitting on the bed with Sachi and sobbing on her shoulder.
Sachi let out a sigh. “It’s okay, sweetie. It’s healthy to let it out.”
“I feel like I’ve done nothing but cry lately.”
“Well, that’s because you’ve done a lot of crying.” She hugged her and stood. “Stay here, I’ll be right back.” She grabbed the empty wine glass and headed to the kitchen. She returned a few minutes later with a smile and a full wine glass. “Here.” She handed the glass to Mandaline. “I think you need it tonight. I told them it was for me. And the boys are loading all the bags in my car for me. Drink up.”
Mandaline quickly gulped down the wine. When the guys finished loading the bags for her, Sachi called them into the bedroom. “We left those two dressers empty, and there’s plenty of room in the closet, too.”
“Thanks, Sachi,” Brad said.
Ellis nodded. “Thank you.”
“No problem. And with that, I bid you adieu for the night.” She gave everyone a last round of hugs before heading down the stairs.
Ellis smiled and walked over to the bed. “So Sachi was your wine beard tonight, huh?”
She snorted a laugh. “Sorry. She made me.”
Brad stretched. “I don’t begrudge you. Not with what you’ve had to do. I’m going to grab some of our stuff and start unpacking it.” He returned to the living room, where she heard him rummaging around.
Ellis sat next to her on the bed. “You all right?”
She nodded and leaned against him. He draped his arm around her shoulders. It felt so good, so right nestled up against him.
“Can we still have our movie and snuggle night?” she softly asked.
He kissed the top of her head, another gesture she’d quickly come to love about him. “Of course we can.”
“I’m going to grab a shower while you guys work on unpacking.” She stood, wobbling a little, but didn’t fall over, which she considered a very good sign. It took her three tries to remember in which drawers she’d put things before she had a pair of underwear and a large T-shirt to sleep in.
Maybe I won’t need either of them.
She stepped into the shower and let the hot water run over her. She wondered if the temporary peace she felt was due to getting that emotional task out of the way or the two glasses of wine.
Either way, she didn’t care. For the past several days she’d felt like she was running in place emotionally.
She hated that.
When she got out of the shower, it was nearly eleven o’clock and the men had finished putting away as much as they could. The living room looked a lot better, although there was still a pile of things in the corner.
“I thought I saw a couple of dressers over there,” Brad said, pointing at the doorway to the warehouse. “If you don’t mind, I could dig them out tomorrow and move them so they’re along the wall by the door. We don’t mind going over there to get stuff.”
“Sure. That sounds good.” She grabbed her pillow from the couch, then went into the bedroom where she pulled down the covers and crawled into the middle of the king-sized bed.
For the first time, Mandaline thanked Julie for it.
The men had both changed into shorts and snuggled along either side of her.
“So what do you feel like watching?” Ellis asked. He held up the remote. “Or do you want to pick?”
She shook her head. “I don’t want to think tonight. I don’t want anything sad. You pick.”
“I’d say cartoons,” Brad suggested with a grin, “but Ellis isn’t a fan.”
Mandaline giggled. “Aww, but he has other redeeming features.” Yep, the wine is kicking in now.
“That’s not true,” Ellis said. “About the cartoons, not the redeeming features,” he clarified. “I love Scooby-Doo and The Flintstones. I’m just not a fan of anime like he is.”
“You pick,” she insisted again. The heat from both their bodies was proving very distracting to her concentration, maybe even more than the effects of the w
ine. She grabbed Brad’s arm and draped it around her waist as she rolled onto her side and threw her arm over Ellis’ chest.
He looked down at her, a playful smile on his face. “You comfy?” She didn’t miss the hard bulge expanding against the front of his shorts. She felt another hard bulge pressing against the seam of her ass through her underwear as Brad snuggled close.
“Uh-huh.” She closed her eyes and pressed her face against his warm shoulder. “Just pick something.” A large yawn broke through.
“Okay.”
* * * *
Brad lifted his head as Ellis channel surfed. He looked at Mandaline. “She fell asleep,” he whispered.
Ellis nodded. “I figured she would.”
He looked at Ellis. “You realize you need to back off, right?”
“You lost me.”
He tried again. “You need to quit wearing the world on your shoulders. I’m not going to drop dead if you take a few minutes for yourself here or there.”
A stubborn frown crossed his face.
He didn’t want to wake Mandaline, but he wanted this out in the open. “I can’t begin to tell you how much I love and appreciate you and everything you’ve done for me. But for this to work, you have to learn to work as an equal partner now. Everything’s going to be okay.” He smiled. “Now you’ve got backup.” He nodded toward her. “With her. Seriously, it’s time for you to breathe and relax. We will all take care of each other. Okay?”
He finally nodded. He was sure this wasn’t the last time they’d have this conversation, but he was glad Ellis finally seemed open to having it. Maybe he could get his friend to finally relax and enjoy life again.
With that settled, Brad tried to temper his own sexual frustration, knowing that was selfish as well as childish. “I have to admit it’s not exactly how I hoped the evening would end.”
Ellis looked over at him. “I’m just glad she’s going to be sleeping in bed with us. I got tired real fast of waking up to make you roll over because you were spooning me.”
Brad stuck his tongue out at him. “You didn’t have to pinch my nipple that one time.”