up with that scuzzbucket Landry again. I’d bet my soul on it!”
I looked to her mother for help. “Who’s Landry?”
Regina grimaced, her heart-shaped face, so like her daughter’s, contorting. “He’s who Gable used to hang out with when he was using, and for a while, he,” she leaned down and whispered, “sold drugs for him.”
I’d had no idea Gable was a drug user, too. I’d thought only alcohol was involved. And that name, Landry…I was sure I knew it.
Looking to Regina, I asked, “Wait, do you mean Landry Tithers? The one who used to play football at Marshmallow Hollow High?”
Regina made a face of sheer disgust. “That’s the dirtball. I don’t care what all of Gable’s AA buddies say, Landry was the one who got him addicted, and if I get my hands on him, I’m going to kill him!”
Just then, Hobbs popped out of the elevator, his eyes concerned when they met mine as he crossed the room to where I was sitting with Anna.
“So you think Gable was mixed up in selling drugs again, and he was killed for it?”
“I don’t know!” she cried, twisting her fingers together. “I don’t know what’s happening. Nothing is right anymore. He wouldn’t talk to me, even though I knew something was wrong. But now he’s dead. He’s dead and our daughter’s going to grow up without a father! I’ll be alone forever! He wasn’t supposed to leave us alone like this!”
Her hysteria left me feeling deeply anxious. I couldn’t imagine how torn up inside Anna must feel, and I hated that she was in such obvious agony. So I did the only thing I could think to do. I made her focus on me and tried to cast a quietly covert incantation.
“Anna, look at me, please,” I urged as I tried to subtly create a calming spell. “Listen to my words. I heard this once somewhere, and while I don’t remember who I heard it from, I hope it helps you. Will you listen?”
She nodded wordlessly when I took her hand, making circles on her palm, and whispered, “Soothe my soul in times of sorrow, give me peace until the morrow. Allow me these next hours’ rest, for then I shall be ready for the test.”
Anna stared at me for a moment…and then she relaxed, almost slumping against me.
Looking to Regina, whose blue eyes had gone wide, I gave her a sympathetic smile. “I think the meds have finally kicked in. Maybe now’s the time to take her home? But please, take my number, and if you need anything or if Anna remembers anything else I can pass on or help with, she can call me. Day or night.” I took her phone and typed in my number.
Regina gave me a grateful if not weary smile, tucking her bobbed hair behind her ears before scooping Anna up. “You’ve been very nice, Miss Valentine. Thank you for indulging her.”
“It’s nothing. Bundle up now, it’s mighty cold out there,” I reminded her before she helped Anna out of the lobby, and I turned to Hobbs. “Everything okay?”
He was staring at me so hard, his dark chocolate eyes so intense, I felt naked. But then he appeared to shake it off. “It depends on how you define okay. But first, let’s talk about what just happened.”
As I began to rise, I froze. “Talk about it?” I asked with a mouth as dry as the desert.
“Yeah! Holy smokes, Hal. You were really great with her. I’d like to know where you heard that quote, because it did the trick. I’m gonna look it up when we go home.”
Oh, jeepers. Would I never learn? “And second?”
He sighed, his big chest rising and falling, his eyes unable to hide his concern. “Monty is awake.”
I hopped all the way up and straightened, my heart pounding. “That’s great, right?”
Hobbs stared at me again, but this time he put his hand on my arm. “Sort of.”
I cocked my head and narrowed my eyes. “Explain?” I asked with a hesitant wince.
“He doesn’t remember Uncle Darling.”
Aw, come on, Universe. Cut it out!
Chapter 7
Last Christmas
Written by George Michael, 1984
We stood outside my uncle’s ICU room and hovered there, unsure what to do. From the small window in the door, I saw my Uncle Darling struggle with the fact that Uncle Monty didn’t appear to know who he was as he held his hand and kissed him goodnight.
Dr. Jordan had been very clear when he’d said Monty was still under the effects of the