Page 70 of When the Angel Falls First

“Your gears are turning,” Nana whispered.

Axel and Marigold’s grand gesture. I turned back to Nana. “They are. And I’ve got to go.” I grabbed my phone and dialed Caleb, who answered on the first ring.

“Josie? What’s?—”

“No time, listen up. I know how to get your couple together.”

TWENTY-EIGHT

Caleb

My ears were ringing.Why were my ears ringing?

“Caleb, are you listening to me? I said there’s a beached orca on Alki Beach! This is perfect! We can get both of your eco-lovers over there and help them save the whale together. But we’ve got to move quickly. Barb can watch the store, and I can meet you there, but it’ll be?—”

“I’m coming to get you. Stay at the shop, and we’ll go together.”

“Okay, okay. I’ll get my things together, but hurry!”

She hung up the phone without saying goodbye, leaving me alone with the tinny ring.

The Host was calling. The same thing had happened the last time, when I’d been called up for correction.

Not yet. I can’t leave her now. I still have to figure out if I’ve started the Chosen seal on her!

I swiped my keys off the hook and jogged to my car, the ’87 Buick Grand National, which purred like a kitten when I cranked it up, as always. But even the rumble of my classic carcouldn’t bring a smile to my face. Not when the ringing in my ears meant that I was nearly done with my task, and any minute, I’d be called back to stand before the heavenly Host.

Plus, I still hadn’t found the book. How could I be so close to completing my mission without it? It didn’t make sense.

I whipped out of the parking lot more quickly than I should have and forced myself to suck some deep breaths through my nose as I made the short drive to the Bookish Cat. My hands were steady if a bit white-knuckled on the wheel when I parked next to the curb, jumping out to tell Josie I was there.

I hadn’t made it through the front door when a wolf-whistle cut through the usually quiet bookshop.

“Well, look at you, Mr. Hot-to-trot! I like your car. The eighties were my jam.” An elderly woman in neon Lycra sidled up next to me. Her hair was sprayed into a flare of riotous curls, and was she wearing a pearl necklace and earrings with her… was that workout gear? I blinked, trying to figure out what was going on, as a peppy eighties song played over the sound system I didn’t know the shop had.

“Josie?” I called, opting to go straight to the source. Maybe she had planned some sort of eighties theme day, and I missed the memo.

“Caleb! There you are.” She plucked her messenger bag from behind the counter and walked quickly toward me. But she didn’t make it all the way to my side before I heard a familiar voice.

“There he is, ladies! That’s my great-granddaughter’s new beau! Isn’t he a doll?” Nana Geraldine crowed with delight.

Coos of, “Oh, he’s so handsome!” and “He’d be a perfect cover model forHighlander Escape” had me backing toward the front door like a deer surrounded by a dozen hunters. Moreand more of Nana’s friends came pouring out of the stacks, several of them with towering piles of books adorned with bare-chested men in kilts. All of them wore fluorescent Lycra and leg warmers.

“This has been great, ladies.” Josie tried to save us. “Unfortunately, we must be going. We’ve got an urgent?—”

Someone poked me in the backside, so I grabbed Josie’s arm and bolted for the door, not waiting for the rest of her goodbye.

She laughed at my panic as she slid into the passenger seat. Before I pulled away from the curb, I saw a dozen ladies, all with their noses pressed against the glass door.

“What is wrong with you? Surely, you’re not afraid of Nana Geraldine’s friends. They’re sweet as can be.”

“Maybe toyou. Did you see how they were looking at me? I felt like they had x-ray goggles. And I’m pretty sure one of them pinched my butt. That’s when I bolted.”

She stifled her hysterical laughter with a hand over her mouth, but there was unbridled glee in her eyes.

“Laugh all you want. I’m going to get us safely to the beach.”

“I’m sorry! It’s just too cute. Here you are, an angel with all this divine power, and yet… you’re scared off by a bunch of elderly ladies in their dancercise gear.” She tittered again, and it was like a dam burst inside me. All of a sudden, I was laughing, and then she was laughing louder, and we were just cackling like loons as I drove us down the highway.

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