The Spirits of Christmas Read Free Page B

son has been
trying to rent it out for at least a year,” she said, mustering all the
patience she could manage. “Why can’t you be happy for him that he’s finally found
someone to pay a few bills?”
    Hannah glared. “He hasn’t visited once. Not once. And I need
. . .” She looked away, but Akira had already caught sight of the tears in her
eyes.
    “Oh, hell.” Akira stuffed her hands into the pockets of her
jeans and hunched her shoulders. “You could leave any time, couldn’t you?”
    “I’m not going until I’ve said good-bye.” Hannah grated out
the words through clenched teeth. “And…” She swallowed and said in a much
smaller voice, “…and apologized.”
    Out of the corner of her eye, Akira saw a flicker of
movement at the window. She looked back at the house. Nora was watching them. Well,
or her, anyway. Great. Not that their chance of real friendship had ever been
high, but being seen talking to herself on the sidewalk couldn’t help.
    Still, it gave her an idea. “Okay, but you don’t need Nora
and Toby gone. What you want is for your son to come home, right?”
    Hannah nodded stiffly.
    “Zane can find anybody,” Akira said with confidence. “You
leave Nora and Toby alone and he’ll find your son. We’ll make him visit you.”
     “How will you get him here?” Hannah asked, her suspicion
clear.
    “Leave that to us,” Akira said. “Do we have a deal?”
    Hannah pursed her lips. “Two weeks,” she said finally. “I’ll
give you two weeks.” She pointed back at the house melodramatically. “After
that, I will do my best to make her existence hell on earth.”
    *****
    Akira stared at where the ceiling fan should be. She
couldn’t see it in the darkness but she knew it was there.
    It’s a natural process, she told herself. Women have been
managing for thousands of years. She’d said that to Zane so blithely just a few
days ago. But that had been about her body making the baby. Sure, it was a
miracle, but it was an ineluctable miracle—her body would take care of the
details without her.
    Raising a child, on the other hand, was a process consisting
of innumerable daily decision points. Decision points that she had no idea how
to make.
    It was stupid to be scared. There was no point. Like it or
not—and she did like it, very much, or at least she had just a few short days
ago—the baby was on his way.
    The thought was terrifying.
    “Rose, Rose.” Akira lifted her head. Had she heard someone
calling Rose’s name? The sound was like a whispered hiss, at the very edge of
her hearing. She listened, but it didn’t happen again. She rolled over, burying
her face in her pillow.
    She shouldn’t be lying awake worrying about her
not-so-theoretical future child; she should be worrying about Toby and Nora.
Finding Hannah’s son hadn’t proven as easy as Akira had expected. Zane’s gift
worked best when he could touch an object that was connected to the person or
thing that he was trying to find. Akira suspected it was some form of quantum
entanglement. Unfortunately, he couldn’t touch a ghost.
    And Akira was very afraid that she’d screwed up. Maybe big
time. Asking Meredith about the owner of the house had seemed like a logical
next step. The realtor had to know how to get in touch with him, right? But
Meredith had been surprised to hear that anyone was living there.
    The owner had had the house remodeled, planning to live in
it himself. Apparently, he’d then changed his mind and posted it for rent over
a year ago. Meredith had never managed to find a tenant.
    “Ever since the real estate crash, Florida’s got more houses
than people. Even in Tassamara, some are always empty,” she’d told Akira. “And
there’s something about that one. People just don’t like it. It’s a sweet
little house, great light, top-of-the-line appliances. Seriously, I’d love to
have that double oven in my kitchen. But I’ve shown it a dozen times and…” Her
voice trailed off and