She lay back on the bench and looked at the sky. A few stars were actually visible tonight, and she nearly wished on one. But what was it she’d wish for? That Black Pinnacle would just poof away and leave them alone? Or that somehow she and Marina would end up on the same side? That made her chuckle. Even if they weren’t facing each other down, they were opposites in big ways. While it could make for hot nights, it could also make for explosive opposition in every other way. Who needed that?
She jumped off the bench and walked home. As she crossed the main street, she saw a crowd gathered outside Goat and Girl, and she smiled. The media attention could end up helping the local businesses, which was a damn good side effect.
When she got to her little front gate, she paused. Shamus sat in the front living room window, his hackles raised as he stared at the trees to River’s left. River followed his line of sight and sure enough, there was the mysterious ghost who’d been hanging around. She pushed open the gate and stopped in the middle of the stone path.
It floated closer, and she could make out soft features, like they’d been smudged by the artist. Big, dark eyes. Short dark hair cut to shoulder length. A dress of some kind that floated around her, bohemian style.
“How can I help you?” River whispered. “What do you need from me?”
The ghost raised her hand and then dropped it again, like she was frustrated.
“I talk to souls who have passed all the time. Can you not speak?” River moved a step closer, onto the grass. The ghost didn’t move away this time.
But she shook her head, her hands fluttering slightly again. Then she floated back into the trees and was gone.
The sadness, the despair, those didn’t go away with her. They lingered in the air along with the scent of…vanilla? River gave up and headed inside. “Hey, Shamus. It’s a strange one, isn’t it?” She lifted the giant cat into her arms and smiled as he purred like an engine. Then he struggled, never one to be held for long, and she set him down. He trotted off to the kitchen, giving a clear indication that she should follow.
The phone rang, and she answered without looking. “Hey, Audrey. How’s our big guy?”
“He’s fine. Tell me about the rally. I watched it from the hospital room. We’re going to have a long talk about what it means to be a friend when I can see your face. But for now, tell me things.”
River got out a tin of tuna and dumped it in Shamus’s bowl. “Then what do you want me to tell you, if you already know?”
There was a sound a lot like a swear word. “Was your snobby girlfriend put in her place? It didn’t look like it, but without being there, I couldn’t tell. I wish I’d been able to hear what she was really thinking.”
“We had a little chat after everyone was gone.” River had wanted to touch her so bad it almost hurt, but she only acknowledged it now. “You know, I think I might be right about her. I mean, she’s a beast, but she looked genuinely sad when she gave me some advice that she said shewasn’tgiving me. I think she’s just gotten all twisted up.”
“No.You’reall twisted up. She’s exactly who she says she is, and don’t you forget it. She hasn’t pretended to be anything other than the shark she is.” There was the sound of a door closing. “Sorry, I’ve moved out in the hall, so I don’t wake the snoring lump in there. River, I know you like to see the good in just about everyone. But honey, this one is a swamp, not a lake.”
“Your comparisons sometimes leave me sleepless while I try to figure them out.” River didn’t have the energy to defend Marina anymore tonight, but she couldn’t shake the feeling that something minor had shifted between them.
“Okay, I’ll drop it. What I was actually calling to say is that you standing in front of the camera may mean we get some new customers. But I don’t want to leave the hospital for long stretches of time. Can you handle it on your own?”
River laughed. “Probably not. But I’ll manage. I’ll see if one of the workshop kids wants to help if it turns out we get a stampede of people through the doors.”
There was the sound of a door opening again. “You mock, but I have a good feeling about this. You’ll see. Get some sleep and don’t dream about wicked women.”
“That’s like telling me not to breathe, but I’ll give it a try.”
She hung up and lay back on the couch. Shamus jumped up and stretched out on her like a living blanket.Wicked women.She closed her eyes and fell asleep picturing what Marina looked like when she was naked and begging for River’s touch.
CHAPTER 19
Marina sipped her quadruple-shot latte,her feet up on her desk, her laptop precariously balanced on her thighs. Two million views and a constant flow of heart emojis crowned Adriana’s segment from the night before. The comments were largely in support of the South Shore community and against the idea of gentrification as a whole, though one commenter wondered why being genteel was such a crime. Many of the comments cited articles, videos, and facts about what happened when real estate developers took over a city, and those comments had received an enormous amount of clicks. “Sheep. Fucking sheep, all of them. They wouldn’t know the definition of gentrification if it was tattooed on their fucking foreheads and they read it every day in the mirror.” No one was in her office to respond to her acidity, but she didn’t care. Some things just had to be said out loud.
“Warpath warning,” Rob said, appearing in her doorway. “Incoming.” He wandered away as quickly as he’d appeared.
She took her feet from the desk, and her laptop tipped, slid, and headed for the floor. She lurched to grab it and the lid popped off her coffee, which then splattered over her whiteblouse and onto the desk, where files began to suck up the liquid like they’d just been waiting for the chance.
“Sometimes I wonder if you’re occasionally replaced with a bot who doesn’t know how to act like a competent human.” Montgomery stood in her doorway, his hands clasped behind his back. He turned his head slightly and spoke over his shoulder. “Ms. Fuentes could use some paper towels.”
Marina stood, embarrassment setting her face on fire. “Believe me, some days I wonder if I’ve been cursed.” She shook out her blouse, trying to hold the wet fabric away from her bra. She wasn’t prepared for a wet T-shirt contest in her own office where she was the only one on stage.
Cari came in with a roll of paper towels and took in the whole situation instantly. She dropped the roll on the desk and opened the small corner closet to pull out a sweatshirt, which she tossed to Marina. She turned her back and pulled it on quickly.
“Let’s sit here while Cari does her thing.” She sat on the couch, and he took the leather chair beside it. At least she could dictate that much of their interaction.
“Sheila says she specifically told you not to go to the protest last night. But there you are on camera. Why?”
