Nick slumped in the chair, the anticipation of some afternoon delight evaporating. “A moat, Thorn. We need a moat.”
She grinned at him, then turned to her sister. “I take it you can you still smell Larry?”
Wander grimaced. “Like he’s decaying in the next room.”
“You better give your mom the go-ahead for the cleansing ceremony,” Nick advised, getting to his feet.
Riley wasn’t certain that the herb smoke and pungent aroma of Bad Vibes Smoke Cleanser would be any better than psychic whiffs of dead guy.
“In the meantime, I brought an amazing new pumpkin spice incense,” Wander said.
“Is that what’s in the tote?” Nick asked.
Wander went stock-still like a rabbit scenting a predator. “Um, yes,” she squeaked. “This is my incense collection.”
“Well, you ladies have fun sniffing incense. I have power tools to play with,” he said, rounding the desk. He gave Riley an NC-17 kiss, tossed Wander a salute, and headed out with Burt on his heels.
“Where are the girls?” Riley asked her sister.
Wander slid the tote onto her desk. “Gabe has them. They’re throwing him a garden fairy tea party.”
“Uh, that’s adorable. I hope you get pictures of him in a tutu and wings.”
“I will,” Wander promised. “I came to see if you were okay after the Sesame situation under the guise of party planning. I was already nervous about lying to you. Then I panicked when Nick asked what was inside.” She patted the tote. The label saidHalloween Decor.
Wander was humblingly thoughtful. Not only was she raising three daughters mostly on her own, she was also running a successful business, keeping in shape, and dedicating time to enhancing her psychic sniffer powers, but she still managed to carve out time to check in on her hot-mess sister.
A drill squealed to life somewhere in the house.
“You’re the best. Want some tea?”
“I’d love some.”
* * *
“So it’s all just gone?No pretty clouds? No spirit guides?” Wander asked.
They’d taken their tea to the table on the back patio so her sister wouldn’t need to shield her nose from Eau de Ghost. Burt was using his gigantic head to push leaves into a pile and then bounding into said pile.
Riley sighed. “Yep. Except for the dream I had last night, it’s all gone. I feel like a little kid who’s about to get in big trouble. Gabe warned me not to push too hard. Now here I am, powerless. I still don’t know why Sesame could send me spiraling like that. What if this is permanent?”
It felt good to get it off her chest. Telling Nick and then her sister had made some of the guilt and shame she felt lessen a little bit.
“You know who would have the answers,” Wander said.
Riley groaned. “I know. But she’d just be all snotty and judgmental toward me for being too weak to handle whatever it is on my own.”
“That’s valid. But Grandmother is judging no matter what. You get to decide whether her judgment affects you.”
“It’s not that simple,” Riley argued, then yawned. She was tired. Weeks of crappy sleep were starting to catch up with her.
“It’s simple but not easy,” Wander countered. “But I respect your decision, whatever it is. I do think I might have a suggestion on what to do about your powers though.”
Riley perked up. “I’m desperate. If you want me to eat a vegan tofu hash and meditate naked under the full moon, I’ll do it.”
“As tempting as it is to punk you right now, I think the answer might be rest.”
“Rest?” Riley repeated.
