Heroes of Falledge Book One: Black Hellebore (24 page)

Julianna stalked to the bathroom. Yes, she did look worn. Considering all the long hours she was putting in -- in addition to the worry about the super-villain and the monster Earnest had told her had killed several people in Lightmeadow -- it was a wonder she looked this good with her clothes pulled on the right way and her hair brushed.

Dinner tonight with her parents and Nick. Not exactly her idea of a good time.

*****

After work, Nicholas returned to Ginny's. She sat on one of her porch chairs. He parked himself beside her, watching the few cars that drove past.

"Where were you last night?" she asked. "Woke up to get a glass of water and saw you weren't in your room."

"I spent the night out."

"Where?"

Nosy old broad. He fixed his stare on the porch. It needed to be repainted. He'd work on that next.

"Where?" she demanded.

"At Julianna's."

"There, now was that so hard? Julianna's a great girl."

"Nothing happened," he growled.

"Ah, but you
wanted
something to happen." She laughed. "Of course you did. You're a guy. She's beautiful. It doesn't matter who you love."

Before this morning, he agreed, but if he was over Justina, as he thought he was, why was he now seeing her ghost again?

"All that matters," Ginny continued, "is that you love. And speaking of Julianna, she dropped by earlier. I'm to tell you that dinner is at six and that you should freshen up."

Nicholas glared at her. "You already knew where I spent the night."

Ginny grinned. "Would you be a dear and bring me back a slice of pie? Joanna's pies are still the best in all of Falledge."

"I'll be sure to eat every bite of pie so you won't get a crumb."

"Oh, stop pouting. It's not manly."

Nicholas had to laugh. He patted her shoulder and went inside to change into dark jeans and a white golf shirt. He owned a small wardrobe now, having some spare cash to spend on clothes. Not that he purchased a lot of nice ones. This would have to do.

He used his speed to run to the grocery store, grabbed a bouquet of flowers, dropped some change in a cashier's open drawer to pay for it, and reached Julianna's front door at five till six.

She opened the door and reached for the flowers, but he held them out of her grasp, instead offering his other arm. "Would the lovely lady care for an escort?"

She slapped his arm but wove hers through his.

"You do look beautiful." He inhaled her scent.

"Thank you." She walked stiffly beside him, and he stopped to get a closer look. She wore a simple black and white wraparound dress that hugged her curves. Her hair fell loose around her shoulders. Unlike her normally natural appearance, makeup covered her face.

"Trying to impress me? Because you should know you don't need this to look good." He touched her chin.

To his surprise, her eyes looked wet. "Mom thinks... Mom's opinion means a lot to me. I know I'm grown and out of the house... but sometimes, she makes me feel like a child who still wants her approval. Silly, huh?"

"Don't let anyone change you. You're strong and beautiful and..." He lifted her chin with his hand and closed his eyes, leaning in for a kiss.

"There you two are. Come in, come in!" Mrs. Paige wiggled her way between them and pushed them to the open front door. "We're having smoked sausage casserole tonight. It's a little on the heavy side, but Julianna's looking a little too thin for my liking. Oh, are these for me? You are so thoughtful, Nick." Mrs. Paige took the flowers and walked into the kitchen, now talking about a vase.

Julianna smiled wanly.

"Perfect," he murmured in her ear. "Strong and beautiful and perfect."

"Mom does have a point though." She tugged on her dress sleeve.

"If you want to put on weight, lose some weight, doesn't matter to me." Over her shoulder, he saw Justina's ghost. He ducked his head, embarrassed, worried he was losing his mind, and almost annoyed that she had showed up again. Hadn't she told him that time would heal him? That she wanted him to move on?

"What's wrong? You look pale. Do you want me to get you something to drink?" Before he could answer, Julianna went into the kitchen.

Now Nicholas was alone. Save for Justina. He glared at her.

She giggled and twirled like a ballerina, her blinding white dress fanning out like petals. "Aren't you happy to see me?" she asked.

He had never answered in the negative before so he chose to remain silent.

She stuck out her lower lip. "Oh, don't be like that. Besides, I'm not here to see you."

Willing to risk being overheard and thought crazy, he opened his mouth, but she disappeared.

Julianna was laughing at something her mom said, and Nicholas smiled. Although Mrs. Paige had a habit of harping at times, she dearly loved her daughters.

"Harold? Dinner's ready!" she called upstairs. "I'm sorry. He had a migraine earlier."

"And yelling always makes that better," Julianna teased.

Her mom smiled ruefully. Then a twinkle sparkled in her blue eyes. "He probably got it from yelling at his students."

"I never yell at them," Mr. Paige said as he came down the stairs and took his place at the head of the table. "They know better than to act up. I assign extra worksheets if they misbehave. Takes each new class a week to learn that, and they behave for the rest of the year. Mostly." He nodded to Nicholas. "Glad you're here."

"Shall we say grace first?" Mrs. Paige asked, for the first time seeming a little nervous. She looked hopefully at Julianna, but Nicholas stood up.

"Thank you, Lord, for letting us all be here tonight. For our health. For this food." He paused, not sure what else to add. He didn't pray often.

"For togetherness," Julianna added.

"Amen." Mrs. Paige beamed. "Dig in, everyone. But save some room for dessert. I made pie."

Mrs. Paige spearheaded the conversation, asking Nicholas tons of questions, and he answered as best he could, being honest yet still hiding his shady past. Mr. Paige didn't say much but wore a smile, proud as a parent welcoming home a wayward son.

"So, Nick, how long do you think you'll be staying in Falledge? Are you ready to settle down yet?" Mrs. Paige asked.

Nicholas glanced at Julianna. Justina was back, giving her twin bunny ears. He grimaced.

Julianna looked down at her plate.

"I want to. Who does real estate?" He knew his credit was nonexistent, but Julianna's eyes bulging made the question worthwhile.

"What about Ginny?" she asked, her gaze flickering from him to her plate again.

"What about her? She can take care of herself just fine. She doesn't need me."

"No, but..." Her voice sounded small.

"There's a house on Elm that's for sale," Mr. Paige interjected.

"Elm's on the other side of town," Mrs. Paige said. "I think the Walkers are looking to sell. Their house is a block up the street."

"Who says he wants to live so close to us?" Mr. Paige asked with a chuckle.

Julianna bit her lower lip. She jumped up. "Excuse me."

Nicholas blinked. Why had she gotten so upset? Didn't she want him to stick around? Damn! The woman could be so infuriating.

Justina bounded up the stairs after her. Nicholas readied to stand up when Mrs. Paige dumped more casserole onto his plate.

"Eat up," she encouraged. "This is Harold's favorite meal."

Mr. Paige shoved another forkful in his mouth as if to agree with her.

Nicholas shoveled it in as quickly as he could without being rude then said he would be right back. He was only halfway up the stairs when he overheard Mrs. Paige say, "I wish Julianna would find someone. She's downright miserable lately. I don't know what's wrong."

The sound of something breaking had him bursting the bathroom door open before he realized how improper it was. At least he hadn't broken the door.

The soap dish was shattered into a hundred pieces at her feet. Julianna wasn't looking at her nicked-up ankle. Instead she stared at the bathtub.

Where Justina was singing.

Julianna turned to face him. "Oh, it slipped..." She glanced at the tub again before bending down to pick up the pieces.

He glowered at Justina. She shrugged and sang louder.

What had gotten into her? Was she pissed he found love with her twin? He hadn't planned on it. He hadn't meant to. Neither of them had.

"Are you all right?" he asked, taking the broken pieces from her trembling hands. She had cut herself picking them up. He dumped them into the trashcan, then held her hand under cool water, and patted it dry with a towel.

"I-I'm fine. I just need to get more sleep."

He opened the bathroom mirror and looked for the bandages. None were there so he opened the cabinet beneath the sink.

"Nicholas..."

He glanced up to see her swaying on her feet. She jerked away, turned the faucet on full blast, and splashed her face with water. Closing her eyes, she took several deep breaths and smiled at him.

"I'm sorry. I don't know what came over me." She took the bandage from his hands and wrapped her hand herself. "Come on down. Mom's pies have only gotten better over the years."

Nicholas watched her glide down the stairs, seemingly without a care in the world. He closed the bathroom door. Justina now stood before him.

"What do you want?" he asked.

"You don't make her happy."

"How can you say that? Of course I do!"

She shook her head and disappeared before his eyes.

Chapter Thirty-Eight

Julianna stared at the huge piece of apple pie in front of her. "Mom, this is much too big."

"Nonsense. Eat up." She cut herself a slice half the size of Julianna's. "Let me know if you like it. I added lemon zest to this one."

Nicholas took a huge bite. "Delicious," he said around the mouthful.

Julianna glared at him. Her mom prided people's manners, and his had been appalling tonight.

It was unfair for her to push her feelings of inadequacy onto him. She had known tonight would be a disaster, even if her parents seemed to think it a success. They hadn't spoken much to her, much more involved with Nick, and it pained her to see how happy they were, and how obvious it was that they still thought of him as Justina's.

She did too, sometimes. Lately, not too much, but here, in her childhood house, she could swear she was seeing and hearing Justina. Upstairs in the bathroom, Justina had begun to cry. "You failed me. You all failed me." Then when Nick had showed up, she had started to sing a song Julianna didn't recognize.

And Nick all of a sudden wanting a place of his own. Why? Just last night, she had begun to wonder what it would be like to have him move in with her, to have breakfast with him each morning, to go to bed together at night. Her Catholic upbringing meant they would have to marry first, and the idea of marriage terrified her. Would Nick even think about marrying her? Or was he using her and her similarities to Justina to finally get over her twin?

"Nick, it's so wonderful to have you around again," her mom said, patting his hand.

Nick smiled. "It is, but I have a question for you two." He twisted to face her parents. "Do you mind if I take your daughter out for a walk?"

It was the kind of request he had often made before, only it had always been for Justina.

Her mom raised her eyebrows, looking from Nick to her to Nick again. "I don't understand..."

Julianna reached for her mom's hand, but she covered her mouth with it.

"Julianna, how could you?" She shakily climbed to her feet.

"Mom, it's not like that."

"Joanna, sit down," her dad said.

"Mom, please..."

"Mrs. Paige, I--"

"I just don't understand," her mom repeated, her eyes filled with shock.

Her dad stood and ushered her mom into the kitchen.

Julianna burst out the front door, leaving her pie slice untouched. Nick was by her side immediately, and she wished he wasn't, that he'd never returned to Falledge.

"What do you want from me, Nick?"

He chuckled softly. "You have to ask?"

Her thoughts a swirling mess, she increased her pace, wishing to outrun them. Nick began to hum as he followed, and she stopped abruptly. "That song, what is it?"

"Hmm?" He blinked and frowned. "I didn't realize I was humming."

"What is it?" she asked, desperation creeping into her voice.

Nick looked like a kid who had been caught with his hand in the cookie jar. "I don't--"

"Don't lie to me." She winced. Her tone was so harsh it hardly sounded like her voice.

"I wrote Justina a song once."

She touched her throat, scarcely able to breathe. "You saw her too, didn't you?" she asked, her voice barely a whisper.

"I've seen her several times." The muscle in his jaw jumped.

Julianna blinked back tears. "I saw her a few times after she died, but after the first year, she went away. I never thought I would see her again."

"What did she tell you?"

She shook her head, unable to share the precious memories she had of her twin, even though she wanted to share everything with the man standing before her.

"She's been trying to help me move on. To get over her."

Julianna barked a laugh. "You mean to say she approves of..." She gestured to herself, then him.

A vein in his temple twitched, and he briefly looked away. "Her approval doesn't matter. Your mom's doesn't either. I'm sorry. I just didn't want to hide anymore. I couldn't tell if you wanted me to say anything, or if you wanted to be the one to tell them." He reached for her hands, but when she made no move to hold his, he let his arms dangle by his sides, his head down, making him look like a lost puppy.

"So she
doesn't
want us to be together." She swallowed hard. Nick had always been Justina's, not hers. For her to think differently was foolish... wasn't it?

"Do you want to be with me?" he asked.

She stared at his chest and nodded. After a long, deep breath, some of her self-loathing for wanting him began to dissipate.