All Fired Up (20 page)

Calleigh bolted upright with a sob, the haunting dream of her mother’s last days in the hospital still piercing her brain. Tubes everywhere. Machines beeping. The cold wash of green fluorescent light. The medicinal smell of the scrubbed white halls.

She inhaled hard, scrubbed at the tears wetting her cheeks and her elbow bumped something hard. Alrik held her on his lap.

“Hush now, the dream is passed.”

“How did I get in your lap?” The last thing she remembered was sitting on the couch beside him watching the movie. Some infomercial played on the screen now.

“I have overstepped my bounds.” He loosened his embrace. “But you wept in your sleep. I did not know what else to do but hold you.” He lifted her off his lap and moved her back to the cushions but she clung to his neck.

“No. I want to stay here.” She sniffled and relaxed against his chest. The solid muscle comforted her in a way ice cream never had. “I have these dreams sometimes, about my mom. It’s like I’m reliving everything all over again.”

She could feel him nod. When he spoke, his voice was distant. “I know about dreams.”

“Do you know how to make them stop?”

He shook his head, ruffling her curls. “I wish I did, fair eyes.”

One last, quiet sob shook her body before she spoke. “I’m ready to make my next change.”

He tensed then relaxed again so quickly she almost wasn’t sure she’d felt it. “What is it?”

She sat up so she could look at him. “I don’t want my mom to have died of cancer and my dad to have suffered a heart attack. Can I change that?”

“Aye but—”

“Good.”

“But if they were meant—”

She held her hands up. “Just do it. Please. It’s what I want more than anything. No more nightmares, no more missing them, no more pain. And don’t forget, you said you would stay with me.”

He sighed resignedly. “I will return as quickly as possible. I must be gone for a little time, to cause the change to occur.”

“Good enough. I’m ready then.”

Alrik eased her off his lap and stood facing her in front of the TV. There was a look on his face she didn’t like. He didn’t meet her eyes when he spoke. Instead, he stared ahead, eyes fixed on some distant point. “With the power of the Phoenix, I grant this change.”

From his shoulders the now familiar but still amazing wings of fire unfurled with a soft hiss. Their crimson glow burnished his unsmiling face with coppery light. She wanted to be inside those wings with him, to feel the warm caress of the gentle heat wafting over her body, to be held in his comforting arms.

Think about Mom and Dad. It will be wonderful to have them back.
She stayed where she was on the couch as the blaze surrounded him. When his face disappeared behind the feathers of flame, a small sadness tugged at her heart.
He’s coming back as soon as he can.

Just as before, the fire flared brightly then snuffed itself out from the floor up.

A faint ring of ashes marked the carpet in front of the television. Her Viking was gone.

Chapter Thirteen

This time, Calleigh woke before her alarm went off. She couldn’t wait to see her parents. Maybe she could convince her mother to close the studio so they could spend the day doing girl stuff.

She sat up in bed and stretched. Everything was a blur. She blinked a few times but her vision was as clear as Vaseline. She fumbled her hand over her nightstand.

Glasses.

She still wore glasses! Of course. She hadn’t had her LASIK surgery until her mom had passed away. It was the one extravagant thing she’d spent her inheritance on.

Same old wire rims, too. She plopped them on her nose and smiled. She was in her old bedroom, not her parents’ redone master. Snickers curled at the foot of the bed, tail tucked over his nose. Happiness bubbled up inside her like it was Christmas morning.

Grabbing her robe, she headed downstairs, pulling the worn chenille on as she went. The house was quiet. Unusual for her parents to sleep past seven. The door to their room was open, so she stuck her head in.

The bare mattress and partially-filled boxes on the floor sent an icy shiver down her spine. Something wasn’t right. Where were her parents?

“Mom? Dad?” She called out, praying for a response. She got none.

A stack of mail sat on the table near the door. She grabbed it and read through the envelopes. Some were addressed to her, some to her dad and one piece of junk mail to her mom. Well, that was a good sign, right?

The return address on one of envelopes addressed to her caught her eye.
Genesis Assisted Living.
She ripped it open. It was a bill for forty-five hundred dollars and it had her father’s name listed under patient. She scanned the paper, trying to make sense of it. Why was dad listed as a patient in an assisted living center? What was going on?

Uncle Corri would know.

The phone rang twice before the receptionist answered it. “McCarthy, Davis and Reagan. How may I direct your call?”

“Corrigan McCarthy, please.” She started a pot of coffee while she waited to be put through. After an endless Muzak interlude, her uncle picked up.

“Corrigan McCarthy.”

“Uncle Corri! I have a question for you—“

“Calleigh love, why didn’t you tell Marta it was you? She would’ve put you through quicker.”

“It’s okay. I just have a question. What’s this bill from Genesis Senior Living doing here?”
And what is Daddy’s name doing on it?
She hoped he offered enough info so she didn’t have to come right out and ask. He would think she was losing her mind.

He sighed. “Did that come to you again? I’ve filled out the bloody paperwork three times already trying to get them to switch that billing address. Don’t worry about it, just give it to yer Aunt Moreen when she comes to pick you up.”

“Aunt Moreen is coming to pick me up?” Calleigh didn’t want to sound like she didn’t know what was going on, but she didn’t. She knew things were going to be different. How different was the question.

“Of course, unless you changed your mind about visiting your mother.”

Visiting her mother? Where was her mother? Was she in some nursing home, too? “No, of course not. I just forgot it was today, is all. Around noon, right?” she bluffed.

“Unless you changed the time with your aunt, I think she’s still coming at ten.”

“Ten! Oh yeah, that’s right. Don’t know what I was thinking.”

“It’s okay, love. You’ve had a lot on you lately with yer dad and all. I’ll see you soon.”

“Okay, talk to you later.” She hung up more confused than when she started. What had happened to Dad? In a few more hours, Mom would straighten everything out.

She stared at the bill while she drank her coffee. When the caffeine finally entered her bloodstream, she picked up the phone again and dialed the number on the paper.

“Genesis Assisted Living.”

“Hi. I got a bill—“

“Is this a billing question? Please hold.”

“No! Wait, I—” “
Stairway to Heaven”
on pan flute filled the receiver. How oddly appropriate for a nursing home, she thought.

Finally someone answered. “Mrs. Lynch, billing. How can I help?”

“Hi, my name is Calleigh McCarthy and I received a bill with my dad’s name on it and I was wondering if I could get an update on his condition.”

“This is billing. I’m going to have to transfer you to patient care.”

More Muzak. More waiting.

“Patient care, Doreen speaking.”

“Hi Doreen, I’m trying to get an update on my father’s condition, can you help me?”

“Your father’s name or patient number?”

“Eagan McCarthy.” She scanned the bill for a number. “22-14-62.”

“Just a moment.” More Muzak. “Your name please?”

“Calleigh McCarthy.”

“I’m sorry Ms. McCarthy, you’re not listed as Mr. McCarthy’s guardian. I can’t release any information about him to you.”

“What are you talking about? I’m his daughter! Of course you can release his information to me.” What twisted reality had she wished herself into?

“I’m sorry, ma’am. The patient privacy act of New York forbids releasing this kind of information to anyone but the patient’s guardian.”

“And who, exactly, might that be? Can you at least tell me that?” Frustration stung her eyes.

“Corrigan McCarthy is the listed guardian.”

She was going to have to ask Uncle Corri what was going on after all. Or maybe not…there was one more possibility. “Can you give me Eagan McCarthy’s room number?”

“1217.”

“Thank you.” Calleigh hung up. A slight tremble shook her hands as she hit redial.

“Genesis Assisted Living, how may I direct your call?”

“Room 1217, please.”

There was a brief pause. “I’m sorry, those rooms don’t have phones for safety reasons.”

“Safety reasons?” The trembling kicked up a notch.

“Well, you know how they can be. Just last week one of them got into the nurses’ station and made a long distance call to Sri Lanka. Just pushing buttons, the poor thing, but still, someone has to pay the charges.”

Calleigh’s vision blurred a little. “What section is room 1217 in?”

“That’s the Autumn wing.”

“The Autumn wing?”

“The Alzheimer’s and dementia center.”

She mumbled a thank you and dropped the phone into the cradle before falling back into her chair.
Alzheimer’s and dementia.
She slipped her hands around her coffee cup, craving the warmth on her skin.

Daddy hadn’t died of a heart attack but this wasn’t better. She couldn’t imagine her father with such a terrible disease. He was so sharp-witted. The most brilliant man she’d ever known.

She shook her head. Her father did not belong in a home with strangers looking after him. She’d talk to her mother this afternoon. They’d bring him home and take care of him.

She drained her coffee and went to take a shower.

By 9:45, she was pacing, wondering why Aunt Moreen couldn’t be early for once in her life.

When her aunt pulled up, Calleigh jumped in the car. The sweet smell of lilies greeted her. A bouquet of the white flowers, her mother’s favorite, rested on the back seat.

“How’s my favorite niece this morning?”

“Do you think you could take me by to see Dad later this afternoon?” She buckled her seatbelt, wondering if her mom would look any different.

“And good morning to you, too.” Moreen leaned over and kissed Calleigh’s cheek. “Of course I’ll take you to see yer father, if you’re sure that’s what you want.”

“It is, yes. Thank you and good morning. Sorry, I guess I just have a lot of stuff on my mind.”

“It’s all right, love. I know you do. Bridget said to tell you hi and to remind you about the feis.”

Calleigh smiled. Not that much had changed after all. She lost herself in a lengthy conversation about Bridget and the twins.

When Moreen brought the car to a stop, Calleigh took a good look at her surroundings for the first time since she’d been in the car.

“What are we doing here?”

“To visit your mother, child. That’s the whole reason we came.” Her aunt reached into the back seat for a bouquet of lilies.

Calleigh shook her head in disbelief. Her knuckles whitened as her grip on the door handle tightened. “No. Not here. This isn’t right. This isn’t what I wanted.”

***

“In a hurry, Viking?”

Alrik swung around, Calleigh’s hourglass still in his grasp. He quickly flipped it over so her change would begin and placed the timepiece back on the shelf. “I do not know what you mean, goddess.”

She trailed her hand over the globes of a few hourglasses as she came toward him. The crystal grains jumped in response to her fingers passing by. What havoc had she just wrecked with her whim? A love lost? A friendship ended? A lie revealed?

“Then you were on your way to see me? I think not.” She stood before him now, the shimmering blue of her diaphanous pleated gown the perfect match for her eyes.

“Each Phoenix must come before me and announce the change their charge wishes to affect. You know that. And yet, I find you here, in the Hall of Time, inducing your charge’s change while I know nothing of it.”

The chill of her gaze swept over him. For once it held no lust, just anger. Let the goddess feel what she would. He cared little about pleasing her.

“My charge has requested I return to her as soon as possible.”

“Requested?” The venom in her voice was unmistakable.

“Commanded.”

His answer did nothing to soften her temper. “And so you must scurry back like a lovesick errand boy?”

“I am not lovesick. And if I am an errand boy, it is only what you have made me.” He clenched his hands into fists.

She tossed her head back and laughed. “What
I
have made you? You became a Phoenix of your own free will.”

“I must go.” He brushed past. She grabbed his arm, her fingers icy on his skin.

“You are
not
dismissed. I do not care what your precious mortal has commanded, I am not done with you, Viking.” She pulled him closer.

“I know you desire her. I see it in your eyes when you speak of her. Slake your lust with me and I promise you more pleasure than that ordinary creature could even dream of giving you.”

Her honeyed tone sickened him. He yanked his arm out of her grasp. “She is not ordinary.”

The cold fire returned to Freya’s narrowed eyes. “You love her.”

“I love no one.”

“You loved Dagny.” The goddess shook her head and snorted in disgust. “I see now how easy it must have been for her to bring you down.”

If Freya had slapped him, he would have felt it less. The bitter sting of her words caused his blood to rise. Goddess or not, it matter little. He would not contain his rage this time. He opened his mouth to speak when another voice rang out.

“Freya, my love. I have been looking for you.” Eros stood in the arched doorway leading into the Hall of Time. He wore nothing but a short wrap of linen about his hips. He shot Alrik a quick glance before speaking to the goddess again, his voice thick with emotion. “I have need of you, my lady.”

Alrik heard an undercurrent of something else in the demi-god’s otherwise hungry plea.

A pleased smile lit Freya’s face. “Of course you do, pet. How good of you to seek me out.”

She moved past Alrik, speaking to him without taking her eyes off Eros’ nearly naked form. “Go to your charge, Viking. I will deal with you when your time with her is up.”

Not until Freya was nuzzling Eros’s neck did he make eye contact with Alrik again. It was a look the Viking instantly recognized, but his thoughts returned to Calleigh. There would be time enough later to wonder what payment Eros would exact in exchange for distracting the goddess.