Georgie gave River’s arm a little squeeze when she reached them—a silent thank you that sparked a warm glow inside of him.
Her hand lingered there, making him wonder where her mind was at after the weekend. Did she still think kissing him was a mistake?
Did she want to make that mistake again?
“My stuff?” she asked.
He pulled a face. “Sorry. I tried to save everything I could, but the suitcases themselves are basically shrapnel. I folded your things into a couple of boxes I had in my trunk. I’ll help you bring everything in after the…” He stopped short of calling it a party. “…thing.”
“Oh, thank you,” she said, her face flushing. She had to be thinking about just what he’d folded—which made him think about it too. Not that he’d really stopped. He felt his ears burning, and his aunt shot him a knowing look.
They headed toward the computer together, but Tom waylaid Aunt Dottie.
He held out his arm, which sported angry-looking scratches. “Dot, that cat’s guarding the bathroom. Won’t let anyone in.”
“Oh dear, that won’t do. We don’t want Lurch to get any ideas and use the punch bowl,” she said with a wink at Georgie. “I’ll be right back, my dears. Can you make sure the computer’s all set?”
“Will do, Aunt Dottie. Let me know if you need any help wrangling the beast.” Not that River had a particular talent for that. If Jezebel had been pissed that he and Georgie had intruded on her territory the other night, she had to be a thousand times more on edge tonight. No one had ever accused her of being social. Still, he wasn’t worried about his aunt. She had enough of a way with animals, even that animal, that she’d once convinced Jezebel to wear a Christmas sweater. No one had been able to get it off her, not until it essentially fell off from wear and tear, but the initial accomplishment was still impressive.
Georgie pulled away her hand, as if only then realizing it was still there. “Thanks, River.” She paused. “For dealing with the mess, and for saving me with Lurch back there.”
“Don’t thank me just yet,” he said. “We still don’t know what the crystal ceremony entails.”
Her mouth quirked up. “Just how much were you involved in the preparations for this?” She waved a hand, indicating the insane display in what was now her living room. Yeah, he probably should have warned her.
“Directly? Not much. But enough to know she’d gone a little over the top.” His eyes combed the room again. “Okay, massively over the top. I’m sorry, Georgie. I should have called or texted you about this, but I figured you wanted space. I honestly didn’t mean to encourage her. I just thought all of this might help her feel better.”
Sadness welled in her eyes, and she touched his arm again, in that same spot. He wondered if her touch would be seared there, if he’d feel it always from now on. He hoped so.
“You don’t need to apologize for being a good nephew. Besides, my sister said there’s a 93.4% chance Lee will call in, and I absolutely want to see his face when he gets a look at all of this.”
His smile spread wider. “Will you think less of me if I say I feel the same way?”
“You may be perfect,” she said softly, “but you’re only human.” Then she smiled at him again and made her way to the computer, leaving him with the glow of having been called perfect—again—by a woman like her. Even if it was far from true.
When he joined her there, he started up the meeting, something that only took a matter of clicks given he’d already set everything up. Adalia connected instantly, so she must have been waiting on them. She had on a paint-splattered black T-shirt, and her hair had been pulled back in two short French braids.
Her face stretched into a huge grin when she saw them—only she wasn’t really looking at them, but at the statue of Beau and the insane wall of letters behind it.
“Hi, Georgie. Hi, River. Oh, this is even better than I thought,” she said. “Did Dottie make that?” Her expression had been teasing, but she tilted her head a little, studying it—her attention drifting up to Beau’s sculpted face. Some of the humor dripped away. “Wow, she’s really good! I had no idea your aunt was an artist.”
“And I would be thrilled to create art with you one day, my dear. I see it in our cards,” Aunt Dottie said, joining them. River wasn’t sure whether she meant it literally. With her, there was simply no way to tell. “Soon, I think.” Her gaze darted around the screen before landing on River. He shrugged, indicating the other two hadn’t yet called in. “I’m afraid we’ll have to start the crystal ceremony without your brothers,” Aunt Dottie said, “but you can tell them all about it.”
“Oh, I will,” Adalia said, grinning again. “You can be sure of it.”
River was about to ask about Jezebel’s whereabouts, but he caught sight of her on the food table, eating a dish of something brown. The people who’d been standing around the table had backed up in a protective circle, and it was obvious no one intended to stop her.
Neither did he. He had too much to live for.
Aunt Dottie picked up a bell she’d set beside the computer and rang it, and all conversation in the room trickled to a stop.
“It’s time for us to begin. I know you’re all as excited as I am to reach across the curtain and commune with our dear Beau. Please help yourself to the refreshments, if you haven’t done so already,” she said, gesturing to the table. The people closest to it flinched, as if worried her gesture might startle Jezebel, who’d moved on to what looked like a black dip.
“To start, we’ll each choose a crystal to put us in tune with Beau’s psychic energy.”
Aunt Dottie left her spot at the front of the room and walked up to the statue. Georgie let out a gasp as she reached for the crystal shaped like Beau’s dick. At that exact moment, River heard a chime, indicating someone else had joined the video conference. Lee stared in openmouthed disbelief as Aunt Dottie removed the crystal from the statue. “We’ll use Beau’s crystal as a tuning rod to lead us to the crystals that will best allow us to communicate with him.”
Oh shit. He’d volunteered Georgie to go first.
“Georgie,” Aunt Dottie said with an expectant grin as she turned and held the crystal out to her. “Would you do the honors?”
Chapter Twenty-One
“Uh…” Georgie stared at the phallic crystal Dottie was offering, then took an involuntary step back. Could this night get any worse?
A third box had popped up on the screen and Jack stared out into the room with a look of horror, obviously regretting his decision to call in.
“What are you waiting for?” Adalia’s voice crackled from the computer speakers. “Go get yourself a crystal.”
“Is that what I think it is?” Lee asked with a shocked look on his face.
“If you’re thinking it’s a pink crystal replica of our grandfather’s penis, then yes,” Jack said in a dry tone, “I believe it is.”
Georgie Buchanan was a put-together woman who had handled herself with integrity and professionalism in a wide variety of situations, but this…she had the urge to run home and hide under the covers, only this was her house now and she was stuck.