Cascade (6 page)

Honey fell silent.

“
You were talking about the baby,”
her therapist said.

“
I feel stupid. I almost died. I
easily could have died. And now there’s this new life… inside of
me… and…”

“
I think it’s very normal to feel
overwhelmed. Most mothers feel that way.”

“
Mother,” Honey snorted. “Even the
word is foreign.”

“
You can abort the baby, Honey.
The doctor said you might be better off to wait. It’s only been a
short time since… your injury.”

“
Since my life was tipped upside
down? I was going to go to college in September. I was going to
work and go to college. Live in my little apartment.”

“
Instead, you married a man you’ve
loved since you were a young child. Remember, you thought you’d
never see MJ again. You live with your brother in an almost fantasy
house filled with love and support. You have lots of friends and
work you like. And now you’re going to have a baby.”

“
And this.” Honey’s crippled hands
gestured to her paralyzed legs.

“
What’s got your goat, Honey?” Her
therapist pointed to Honey’s legs. “You’ve told me over and over
again that your injury was the best thing that happened to
you.”

“
My sister’s trial is coming up,”
Honey said.

“
You have to testify
soon.”

“
I have to testify to
everything.”

“
Everything?”

“
Mostly what our childhood was
like. My lovely sister’s defense is that she didn’t know any better
because she was abused.”

“
Was she?”

“
She did most of the abusing. Now
she says this was a one time event.”

“
Which it’s not.”

“
No. No. She’s always been like
that. They’re hoping the jury will believe me over her. But no
one’s ever believed me over her.”

“
That’s a lot of
pressure.”

“
Pressure? Yeah. Makes me wish I
was never born.”

~~~~~~~~
Wednesday night – 7:30 P.M.

The day before
Thanksgiving

Laughing at Katy and Paddie’s re-creation of
their martial arts lesson, Jill went toward the Castle side door to
answer the bell. Aden yelled something and she turned to look at
him. Everyone was happy, light and excited about the Thanksgiving
holiday. It was a Castle tradition to host a small dessert party.
In Castle style, that meant small desserts and not a small sized
party.

Expecting another friend, Jill opened the
door.

“
Who might you be?” The thin
little man asked.

Glancing to see if the gate was closed, she
shook her head at the man.

“
Jillian Roper Marlowe? Or Heather
Lipson? Or Honey Lipson-Scully? I know you’re not Valerie
Lipson.”

“
Jillian Roper,” Jill said. “What
do you want?”

“
I have a couple things for you.”
The man gave her a stack of papers then pulled out another set of
papers. “Is Heather or Blane Lipson here?”

Jill turned away from the door to look at her
papers. Hearing her name, Heather came to the door.

“
Did you need something?” Heather
asked.

“
I have this for you,” the little
man tried to hand her papers.

“
What is it?”

“
You’re being sued,” the little
man said.

“
What?” Heather tried to shut the
door on the man.

He stuck his foot in the door. “I’m just the
server. Just doing my job.”

Mike came up behind Heather.

“
What is it?”

“
Some guy who says I’m being
sued.”

Mike yanked the door open.

“
Jacob Lipson?”

“
He’s here,” Mike said. “Why don’t
you give me everything you have?”

“
I don’t get paid if they don’t
get them.”

The man tossed a stack of papers toward
Heather. Out of instinct, Heather caught them. She was about to
toss them back when Blane took them from her.

“
What’s going on?” Jacob asked
Jill. She was standing in the doorway to the living room staring at
the papers.

“
Lawsuits,” Mike said. “There’s
one for you.”

Jacob held his hand out. The man set a stack
of papers in his hand. Jacob put his arm around Jill and led her
from the doorway. Delphie, Sam and Aden came to the door to see
what was going on.

Mike tried to close the door but the server
put his foot in the door again.

“
What?”

“
There’s a couple more,” the thin
man said. “One for Valerie Lipson.”

“
I’ll take it,” Mike said. “I’m
her husband. I handle this stuff. Anyone else?”

“
Aden Norsen.”

Aden reached past Mike to take his set of
papers.

“
Honey Lipson-Scully.”

MJ stalked to the door. MJ’s towering stature
and dark look made the server gulp.

“
You’re not Honey,” the server
sputtered.

“
Prove it,” MJ said. “Give me the
papers.”

“
Subpoena. It’s just a
sub…subpoena.”

With a parting growl, MJ snatched Honey’s
subpoena and marched away.

“
Anything else?” Mike
asked.

“
Yeah, there’s one here for
Chastity Grace Bell,” the man said.

“
There’s no one by that name
here,” Mike said. “You’re out of luck.”

Mike tried to close the door only to hit the
server’s foot again.

“
Move your foot,” Mike
said.

“
There’s another name
here.”

“
What?” Mike asked.

“
Chastity Grace Bell.”

“
I told you there’s no one here by
that name.”

“
It says a.k.a. Oracle
Taber.”

“
Nope, you’re shit out of luck.”
Mike tried to close the door again.

“
There’s another name!” The server
shouted.

Mike’s very being radiated his irritation. He
motioned with his hand for the man to say the other
name.

“
Del-Fi.”

Delphie put a hand on Mike’s arm. She smiled
at the thin man and took the papers from him. She winked at Mike’s
stunned face. The process server bowed and Delphie shut the door in
his face.

CHAPTER
FIFTY-NINE

The Oracle Taber

The day before
Thanksgiving

How could it happen? How could the horrible
past reach up and snatch her from the perfect present? She couldn’t
make sense of it.

Lying on her bed, Delphie mentally tracked the
series of events.

She’d worried about her chocolate chip
cheesecake. Valerie loved Delphie’s cheesecake. Valerie could, and
would, eat an entire chocolate chip cheesecake herself. But Valerie
was ‘slimming down’ and muscling up for her movie role. Standing in
the kitchen, Delphie was worrying about Valerie when she heard
Heather’s indignant:

“
Some guy who says I’m being
sued.”

She remembered walking out to the door. Sam
slipped his arm around her shoulder as they watched the kids. She
glanced from person to person. With practiced ease, she read their
mental states.

Jill was being sued by Trevor’s parents. They
wanted custody of Katy. Jill wasn’t sure what was more annoying –
the custody bullshit or the subpoena for Honey’s sisters trial. The
dark cloud of Trevor hung in Jill’s mind.

Heather was being sued by the cretin who had
impregnated her. Delphie felt a flash of rage from Heather. Blane
thought it was funny.

Jacob blocked her from reading his mind.
Whatever he received was bad. So bad he didn’t want to disrupt the
party. He caught her eyes and shook his head. Nope, she wasn’t
getting in.

Valerie was being sued for defamation of
character by Heather’s sperm donor. Delphie hated that phrase but
Valerie used it. Valerie knew Mike would take care of the suit. She
trusted Mike implicitly and simply put it out of her
mind.

Aden’s ex-wife was claiming she was mentally
ill and wanted her parental rights restored. Unwilling to bother
with Nuala, Aden stuck the papers in his back pocket. A kiss from
Sandy set everything right in Aden’s world.

Honey was subpoenaed to her sister’s trial.
Even though they expected the subpoena, MJ felt helpless to protect
her. He masked his helplessness with fury. Delphie chuckled. The
little process server had been terrified by MJ.

Delphie had been so focused on reading other
people’s thoughts and emotions that she hadn’t heard the little man
say her birth name. Chastity. Not that she recognized the
name.

The next three words were like arrows through
her soul.

The.

Oracle.

Tabor.

The name she’d lived with for ten years – The
Oracle Taber. She took the papers, winked at Mike, and closed the
door. Easy. After all, she had a chocolate chip cheesecake to worry
about. When she turned from the process server, she saw everyone’s
shocked faces. She’d laughed.

What? Did they think she was born Delphinium?
No last name? Only the name of a flower?

No, Celia had given her that name. Sam nodded
in affirmation. He was there when it happened. If they didn’t mind,
she had a cheesecake to attend to.

She was standing in the kitchen when the past
crept up and snatched her.

Blow #1: Levi Johansen was dead. The demon had
been dead for eight months.

Blow #2: The Chastity Bell was a valuable
asset in the Johansen estate. She had two weeks to return the
Chastity Bell to the estate.

Blow #3: Oracle Tabor is the primary
heir.

Then it happened. Bang.

One minute she was standing in the Castle
kitchen, her kitchen in her home, the home Celia bought for her,
willed to her and Jacob fixed up for her.

Her home.

The next moment, she was ten years old, lost
and alone.

Someone took the papers.

Jacob.

“
You’re not ten and you’re not
alone.” Jacob’s voice was kind but firm.

Valerie’s face floated in front of Delphie’s
eyes. Her strong arms went around Delphie’s neck.

“
We’ll deal with this as a
family,” Valerie said.

Delphie felt herself fly through the air. She
was resting in Big Sam’s arms. Like a child, she pressed her head
into his chest. He carried her toward his bedroom but she wanted
her own room. He kissed her forehead then carried her up the
stairs. He laid her on her bed.

Mike came in with a cup of her favorite tea.
He kissed her cheek and set the tea on the table.

“
Go to your guests,” Delphie had
insisted.

“
I’ll stay, Dad,” Jacob whispered
to Sam.

“
No, I’ll stay,” Jill said. “This
is your party. Go and enjoy it. I’m fine here.”

Delphie drifted off to sleep with Jill sitting
in a rocker at the foot of the bed. Delphie wondered if Jill was
still there.

How long have I been asleep?

“
An hour or so,” Jill
said.

“
Oh, I didn’t realize I said that
out loud.” Delphie moved to sit up.

“
Slowly.” With Katy sound asleep
in her arms, Jill came to sit on the side of the bed. “You’ve had a
terrible shock.”

“
I was just trying to sort that
out.” Delphie shook her head. “I’m not sure what
happened.”

“
Past and the present converged at
the same moment,” Jill said. “That’s what Jacob said. He said it
happens to psychics.”

“
It’s never happened to me
before,” Delphie said.

Jill took Delphie’s hand.

“
Would you like to return to the
party?” Jill asked.

Delphie shook her head.

“
Is Katy all right?” Delphie
asked.

Jill looked at her little girl.

“
She had a dream after you settled
here. Jacob was able to help her through it but… She gets so
exhausted after those dreams. Jacob brought her to me. I’ve been
rocking her in your lovely room. So peaceful here.”

Katy made a sound.

“
Shhh, Katy-baby, it’s all right,”
Jill said.

“
You can lay her on the bed,”
Delphie said.

“
She likes to be right next to my
heart. She’s been like that since we spent the time with Trevor’s
parents. That’s what her dream was about.”

Delphie nodded.

“
Boy, everyone says they want to
be a psychic. I think it’s a lot of… work.”

“
It’s not all fun and lotto
numbers,” Delphie said.