Page 120 of Dead End

Slowly I lowered the knife to the chopping board as I took in the familiar spines. “These aren’t from the library.” Wiping my hands on a kitchen towel, I plucked the top book from the stack and admired the watercolor illustration of Elizabeth Bennet and Mr. Darcy. “They’re beautiful.”

“Stunning, and I’m not even into books.”

As I cracked open the spine, the note fluttered to the floor. I crouched down to retrieve it. My heart jammed in my throat when I recognized the neat, precise handwriting.

Dear Lorelei,

I took the liberty of purchasing a few new books for the library I lovingly built. Well, technically I gave Jessie my daughter’s phone number and Renee paid, but she has the money for this sort of thing, and she was more than willing when Jessie told her the books were foryou. By now you’ll realize I won’t be there to enjoy them with you, but I hope you’ll think of me whenever you stop to admire them on the shelf.

Much love in this world and the next.

Ray Bauer

I laughed through my tears at Ray’s addition of his last name, as if I needed help to identify him.

“Everything okay?” Goran asked.

“Yes. More than okay.” I couldn’t wait to read them in front of a crackling fire. I pictured myself curled up against Kane with a book on my lap and a mug of hot cocoa with big, fat marshmallows on the end table beside me. Alicia would approve.

Goran seemed to notice my meal preparations. “I promise I’ll be out of your hair by five o’clock.”

“It’s no rush. Kane will have Josie with him to help with the boxes.”

“I can help, too.”

“I’m sure Kane would appreciate that.”

“I have a date tonight.”

I resumed chopping. “That’s great. Anyone I know?”

“Don’t think so. She isn’t local. Lives a couple towns over in Pond Eddy.”

“Human?”

“As far as I can tell.”

“Good luck, Goran. I hope it works out for you.”

He smiled. “A prince needs his princess.” He scratched the back of his head. “You know what? I take that back. I don’t need her, but it sure would be nice to have her.”

My phone vibrated on the countertop. It was the TeamFairhaven group chat. I immediately saw West’s name on the screen, requesting verification of the time and place of the next supernatural council meeting. Phaedra’s name popped up with an eyeroll emoji. Chief Garcia beat me to the punch with an actual response. This month was Otto’s turn to host, which made me happy. Otto’s house meant amazing food, expensive wine, and a musical interlude. If you had to gather together to discuss a town’s supernatural issues, you might as well make the meeting enjoyable. Without The Corporation or Lucifer to worry about, the meetings were less fraught now, although there was always the threat of the occasional monster looming over us because of the crossroads. Nothing we couldn’t handle though. At this point, we were all seasoned professionals.

The sound of the doorbell made me jump. I almost missed the ward. I still had one, of course, but now it was more of a basic security system. Visitors were free to knock on the front door or ring the bell without warning. Kane wasn’t enthusiastic about the change. After living in fear as long as he did, it was understandable. His paranoia would take time to subside.

I recognized the silhouettes through the beveled glass panel and opened the door.

“It’s hotter than me outside,” Gun said, striding across the threshold. “I hope your AC is working.”

“It’s fully functional at the moment, but no promises.”

Camryn held up a large bag decorated with shiny hearts. “We come bearing gifts.”

“What’s this for?”

“Open it.”

I reached past the tissue paper and pulled out two flat plastic objects.

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