In Love by Christmas: A Paranormal Romance Read Free Page B

attentive, but not truly distressed. Will would have been happier if Leroy looked scared.
    “She’s a junkie. Heroin mostly, but she’ll do whatever she can get. Cass will do anything to get drugs, and there’s nothing she won’t do when she’s on them.” Will looked down. “I give her money and she uses it for drugs. They call me an ‘enabler’ in recovery circles.” He looked at Leroy. “I am. I cannot stand the thought of what they’d do to her if she couldn’t pay.
    “Of course, Donatore and his goons probably already have done it. She was fourteen when her mother started taking her to his castle in the summer. She was eighteen when her mother escaped and took Cass with her.”
    The last picture was Cass screaming at the camera. The hair on half of her head was done up in blue spikes, the other half was shaved. Her scalp bore a tattooed dragon that wound its way around, ending at her hairline, if she’d had hair. Her reddened, infected ears were pierced so many times that it was amazing that the earrings didn’t tear through.
    Cass’s sweater hung off of her shoulder, exposing her skeletal collarbone and upper arm. In the background, a huge Christmas tree’s lights shone cheerily. Garlands of evergreen branches, lights, and ornaments festooned a log room.
    “That was last Christmas at my ranch in Montana, just three months ago. She cursed me, Leroy. She said the worst things that one person could say to another. I ran out of the house and took my jet back to Woodside. She was right! I was the things she said.” Will’s face was rigid. “Or she made me think I was. She took a thread that was true, and another one from somewhere else, and made it into a condemnation of me and everything I’ve done. She’s so smart. She used her brains to crucify me. I don’t want anyone else to go through that.
    “Leroy, I don’t want her to unleash her venom on you .” Will moistened his lips and patted Leroy’s hand. “You’re my last hope. But know you’re handling a vicious snake.”
    “I think I can heal her,” Leroy said softly. “I can see her in there. She’s not dead.”
    Will sighed heavily. “She’ll destroy you if you try to have a relationship with her before she’s healed.”
    Leroy nodded. “Yeah, maybe. But I want to try. I may be harder to destroy than you think.” He set his chin.
    “OK. I’ll give you a chance. But we’re going to do it my way. I’ve done this before, Leroy. I’ve gotten up a team and found her at death’s door, and then put her in some nicey-nicey rehab center where she skipped out a couple of days later. To do it all again.” Leroy tried to object, but Will cut him off. “It’s my way or no way.
    “First, she goes to the hospital to gain weight and get physically healthy, then a treatment center for mental illness. She’s been in a bunch of those, by the way. Seven. Some have kicked her out before she was fully admitted. When they let her go from successful treatment, you can try to form a relationship with her.”
    “We’re soul mates, Mr. Duane. I love her already, even seeing that.” He indicated the photo with the dragon. “Even seeing all of those pictures.” Tears gathered in Leroy’s eyes. “I’ll go get her and put her wherever you want. But I get a shot at healing her. I know that’s what you want too.”
    “OK. Give it your best shot. But let’s put some limits on this. It’s the end of April. If you’re not in love by Christmas, I want you to give up.”
    “I don’t know that I can do that, sir.”
    “Well, I wanted you to know what you were getting into.”

3
    Findingthe Dragon Lady
    “ B y e, Grandpa,” Leroy said as he kissed the top of his grandfather’s head, tears running down his face. “I’ll never forget you.” He bent down and hugged the old shaman standing in front of him, squeezing him to his belly. Leroy was 6’ 8 ½” tall. Grandfather was not quite five feet. Hugging had always been a problem for