Secrets (2 page)

She filed the disturbing premonition of the cat in a corner of her mind. Nothing dire seemed to pop up regarding Madeline, but still, she couldn't help but check her cell phone for a text from the vet, just as Sterling and Lacey walked out to her desk.

“Expecting some news?” Lacey sipped her latte, then arched an eyebrow at Michelle. “Thanks for the coffee. Did you get Madeline yet?”

She nodded her head. “Yes. This morning. She's at the vet now.” It didn't surprise her that the sisters knew her routine of capture, spay or neuter, and release. Though they differed in appearance and personality—Lacey, the oldest, had long, curly, copper hair and a soft center, while Sterling, a former cop, had straight, shoulder-length, mahogany hair and an edge to her—they both had hearts of gold.

Michelle admired them. They'd been through so many hard things—the Aegar Curse, they called it. First it was the loss of their father, and their mother's resulting breakdown, leaving the sisters to essentially fend for themselves at a young age. Then it was the loss of Lacey's husband Nicholas—who had been murdered by the same crime family as their father—and his return as an embodied spirit. Though Nicholas's return had forced Lacey to move on from his death, it had also given them all a special gift of opening up the world in unexpected ways, including the experience of endless love.

The Aegar Curse didn't really exist, of course, but the family blamed the curse to relieve the immense pain of their senseless reality. And each time they came out the other end stronger.

Lacey was happily re-married to Jackson now—four months ago they'd married at the Justice of the Peace—and Sterling was still going strong with her husband Ben.

Sterling reached across the desk and put a hand on Michelle's shoulder. “No news is good news, right?”

“Maybe.” Anxiety swirled in Michelle's gut, even though she had a feeling Madeline was okay. She played the anxiety in her mind for more information, but it wouldn't pin down. “If there's bad news, I want to get it over with.” If tests revealed Madeline had feline leukemia, feline distemper, or feline immunodeficiency virus, she would have to be euthanized.

“I understand,” Lacey said while Sterling nodded in agreement, her coffee in hand.

“I'm glad you do. In my three years of working with homeless cats, too many have had unhappy endings.” She chuckled, her nerves getting the best of her. “You'd think I would be able to take the deaths in stride by now, but I don't. It doesn't have to be like that.”

“Right. If people would care enough to spay and neuter their cats and keep them inside, the incidence of fatal diseases would decrease. If only communities would care enough to take humane action to ensure the safety and wellbeing of its homeless cats.” Lacey's words carried anger and sorrow at the same time.

“You're an angel, Michelle. You make a difference, and I for one am grateful for your efforts.” Sterling slanted her head and smiled at her. “Making a difference in the lives of cats is your passion. And passion gets things done.”

“Thanks. You guys are the best.” Michelle took another look at her cell phone, then turned her attention to her own mail. Bills, bills, junk mail… She stopped breathing. “What's this?” Her cry stopped the sisters just inside their office doorway.

“What?” they chimed in together.

“Did you hear from the vet?” Lacey knitted her brow and waited.

Michelle tore into the envelope with a return address belonging to a lawyer. She didn't have anything lawyer-worthy going on, but it scared her anyway. Her heart thumped painfully in her chest. She stared at the text, disbelieving.

“Michelle, you're scaring me. What's going on?” Sterling planted her hands on her hips and waited.

Her heart racing, Michelle scanned the letter. “There must be some mistake.” She lifted her gaze to meet Sterling's and Lacey's. “It says an undisclosed party is interested in purchasing my property. It says another title search revealed a problem with my deed and therefore my property is not secured as believed.”

“That's nonsense. Let me see that.” Sterling grabbed the letter, her eyes moving quickly over the text. “This may be a scam of some sort. You need to call your bank.” She passed the letter to Lacey.

Michelle's gut went cold watching Lacey chew at her lower lip. While premonitions and perceptions were useful, they also could be unnerving. As she drew tight focus, she closed her eyes and her sense of it clarified. The anxiety gripping her wasn't so much about Madeline as this letter. Something was wrong with her property purchase, she could feel it.

“The bank wouldn't have given you the mortgage if the property wasn't free and clear, sweetie. Don't worry. It will get worked out.” Lacey laid the letter on Michelle's desk.

Michelle rolled her eyes, sinking a bit into her chair. “I'm nearly all moved in. I love it there. I've always loved it.”

Lacey nodded her head. “I know.”

Despite their attempts at dismissing the letter, Michelle could see it in their faces. They were worried, too. She frowned. “You don't suppose the Aegar Curse applies to me, too, do you? We are like family.”

“I swear, if that's true, we need to finally call in the help of a voodoo guy, or a shaman.” Sterling put on a good face for her, and the mood in the room did lift a little at her suggestion.

Michelle breathed in and out, slowly. “I like the idea. Do you suppose voodoo guys are listed in the phone book or on the Internet?”

The phone rang and Michelle let out a squeal at the same time that Lacey jumped.

“Girls, if that's a voodoo doctor I'm going to faint right here.” Michelle knew Sterling was only making fun of the dark mood. Sterling would never faint.

Michelle answered the phone and smiled, the result of the sound of Casey Mitchell's lively voice on the other end. Working for serious and focused Jackson Carter, Lacey's husband and the owner of another detective agency in Laurelwood, hadn't diminished Casey's propensity to see life through an upbeat lens. Sometimes he was a problem child for Jackson because of his tendency to see humor and craziness in most things, but she enjoyed his easy temperament. It was a pleasure tinged with sorrow, because she sensed he held himself apart from others.

“Is this the crazy but beautiful blond cat lady of Laurelwood?” Teasing was his solid MO.

“No. You've got the wrong number.” She never considered herself less than sane and loving cats did not make her so. She giggled. “Am I speaking to the crazy lawyer turned PI of Laurelwood?”

“Oh, that hurt. Seriously, do you have a minute? I'd like to drop by your office and deliver a small donation from my parents. Something to help keep your kitty rescue going another month. I also have a delivery of cat food.”

“Lovely. When do you expect to be here? I can meet you outside.”

She'd met Casey four months ago at a picnic at Lacey and Jackson's house. Their paths crossed now and then because of the close relationship between the sisters' husbands and Casey. Michelle appreciated Casey's friendship, but when they'd dated briefly she'd gotten scared and told him her life was too busy to have a serious relationship. He'd been gracious, but something was always there, unspoken, between them. Though he was fun to be around, he remained a bit aloof. Which worked for her, because she needed space with nearly everyone, a buffer zone, since her rape. Boundaries surrounded her that helped her feel in control. Though it made her sad that she couldn't enjoy closeness.
Another possibility taken from me by the man on the university quad.

But seeing Casey always managed to elevate her mood
.
Waiting for news about Madeline, getting bad news about my new home … I could use a lift.

They made arrangements to meet in the parking lot across the street from the office so Casey could load the cat food into her cherry red Jeep.

“I'm going out for a minute. I'll be right back,” she called to the sisters.

Lacey ambled out. “Why don't you take the rest of the day off? Go finish moving, take care of Madeline, and look into this stupid letter you just got.” She ran her fingers through her copper waves and looked stern, for Lacey. “We can manage without you and you need to take care of things.”

Resting her chin on her hands, Michelle thought for a moment. It wasn't like she couldn't handle these pressing things, she was a big girl. Still, it would ease her concentration to address them sooner rather than later. “Hmm … I guess you're right.” She grabbed her fall jacket from the back of her chair and shrugged it on as she headed out. “Thank you.”

Outside, she buttoned up her coat and waited for Casey. The fall air felt crisp and clear as she breathed it in. It sharpened her thoughts.

Alone with her buzzing brain, Michelle let the possibilities of problems with her new home expand. How could anything be wrong? She'd done all the right things. It had to be a mistake. It dampened her excitement for getting settled in. The home held so many good memories of growing up and being a family—Michelle had lived there into her teens before her parents sold the house and moved into a bigger one across town. The thoughts of losing it churned inside her gut like a bad cheeseburger from a fast-food place. The home would be her haven, her safe place, a place where she could keep out the fears that had invaded her life that fateful night.

She shuddered, letting the various versions of emotions floating by from passing people pass through her. As a highly sensitive person, or HSP according to the experts on the subject, she was still learning not to let emotions of others swamp her. She could feel the anger, just know it wasn't hers to act out, her counselor told her. Funny how much the chaos of emotions floating around felt like hers. She didn't mind being abnormal, with her premonitions and high sensitivity, but it did bog her down at times.

It was one of those times, months ago, when she and Casey sat in a booth together at a fast-food restaurant and the wailing of a small boy about his food sent Michelle into a sobbing ball, that she'd told him her secret, her premonitions and sensitivities, known only by those close to her. When she'd shared it with Casey, he'd never blinked. He simply questioned about her experiences in great detail, trying to understand. His interest had warmed her heart and it had felt good to be forthright about her strangeness. A smile lifted her lips as she remembered his teasing about having to wear aluminum foil on his head around her.

“Hey, gorgeous!”

Michelle jumped, stiffened at the hand on her shoulder. It was Casey.

“Whoa there. Sorry, I didn't mean to startle you.” His eyes narrowed, searching her face. “Deep thoughts?”

“I didn't hear you coming.” Her private thoughts were just that, private. She shot him a smile. Heck how could she not? His face, a beautiful shade of brown framed by dark, short dreads, practically glowed with personality. “You're stealthy.”

His eyes shuttered for a just a moment. “You're just distracted.”

Though she felt his typical distance, kindness emanated from him. For a moment she allowed feelings for him to emerge, cautiously. “Well, hey, you know me. I get distracted easily.” It felt good to smile up at him and be met with a wink. His golden brown eyes glinted back at her. She imagined how nice it would be to have that in her daily life. She naturally relaxed around him. Though she'd always sensed his reservations about sharing his private life. He was hiding something, but she never pushed him to explain and she'd never shared her dark secret about the rape.

He gave her a look, then slid a muscled arm around her shoulder and tweaked a lock of her long blond hair. “I do know you. Now, shall we load this cat food into your Jeep so you can get back to work?”

“I'm not going back to work, but yes, let's get it done so we can both get out of the cold. Be sure and thank your parents for me. You do have parents, right? Weird I've never met them.”

Casey smirked. “Of course I have parents. My mom's a teacher and my dad's a dentist.”

She nodded, noting the lilt of love and pride emanating from him. “So you have a good relationship with them.”

“Yeah, they're all right.” Suddenly his brow knitted. “Wait, it's only ten o'clock. Why aren't you going back to work?”

Michelle dropped her gaze and rubbed her toe against a crack in the sidewalk. Talking to Casey would relieve her anxiety, she knew from experience. But it wasn't his concern.

He lifted her chin to face his gaze. “C'mon. I won't tell Sterling and Lacey you want to play hooky.”

“They gave me the day off.” The touch of his hand made her skin warm. “I've got several things going on today, so they suggested I tie up ends.”

Another smile unleashed. “Oh. I thought you might spend the day with me.” He rolled his shoulders, nervously, then slanted a smile her way. “Get you more settled in at your new house. Spend some time together.”

Her heart clenched. His interest in her was subtle but she felt it. It had popped up before and she'd ignored it. Ignoring was getting harder. But she just wasn't ready for more than friendship. Not yet. “Casey, I'm sorry. I can't.”

He bunched his hair in both hands and slanted a somber gaze at her. “What are we talking about here? We're friends, Michelle. Can't we spend time together?” He shook his head. “I'm sorry. I know you have your reasons for needing space.”

“And so do you,” she whispered.

Casey flinched, as though she'd just sucker punched him. Conflicted feelings rose in him, unsettling her insides. They stood across from each other as seconds ticked by, traffic noise filling the space between them. Then, silently, he lugged several large bags of cat food to her Jeep while she watched, mesmerized by his sleek physique as much as his ability to dampen down his emotions to a place of indifference.