When the Dead Come a Knockin' Read online

  “Still, I don’t like the way they did it.” He repeated. I sighed and moved my face closer to his.

  “But, it did get you down here,” I whispered soft and low. His eyes grew warm. My heart filled with warmth at the way he looked at me, making me feel beautiful all over again. “And I did get the best sleep I’ve had in a long time because of you.” He leaned closer his lips almost brushing mine, but not quite.

  “That is true.” His husky voice was low and soft, sending those warm shivers down my spine. I closed the distance and kissed him. My heart raced as his lips moved with mine. His hand went to my cheek, and my toes curled. That warmth in my chest spilled through me, filling me till I felt like I was glowing. The world disappeared, there was just me kissing Dylan. The guy who made me feel beautiful, who always made me smile. My Dylan. I felt his lips open, and this time I swept in, claiming everything I could. He groaned deep in his chest, making my stomach do that low hard flip. His hand moved around my back, pulling me against him as his mouth dancing with mine. I slid one hand up his chest to wrap around the back of his neck. I felt his hand slide down my spine, leaving a trail of sparks behind. Every thought I had disappeared. His hand moved to my butt, and he pulled me against him. Sparks ran through my body; my breathing grew heavy. He was kissing me now. His mouth taking mine just as I had his. I knew this wasn’t going anywhere here, so I just enjoyed kissing him, feeling him touching me as I touched him. My chest filled with… yeah. That emotion I never talk about, as I kept kissing him. His hand ran down my leg and pulled my knee up to hook around his hip. I felt his body flush against me. He felt really good like that. My body was melting, I was sure of it. Our kiss changed turning hungry as his hand ran back up my thigh to my butt, his fingers digging in. His teeth nipped my bottom lip before he kissed me again, the kiss turned desperate. I was making little sounds in the back of my throat, and I didn’t care. As long as he kept kissing me, I didn’t care about anything. His hand moved back up my spine, his arm pulling me so my chest was smashed against his. Why did he feel so fucking good? From far away voices came from the hallway. He eased back from our kiss, his forehead resting against mine. Both of us were trying to catch our breath. He swallowed hard.

  “Sunshine, I-.” The voices in the hall got louder.

  “You don’t need to check on them, Zeke. They’re still asleep.” Asher's voice brought the world crashing back immediately. I opened my eyes. Dylan pulled back, eyes open as he was listening to what Asher was saying. “If they weren’t I’d hear it.” I cringed. Yep, he knew we were awake and what we were doing. Shit!

  “It doesn’t hurt for me to check.” Zeke pointed out.

  “It does if you wake her up.” Asher countered. “Let her sleep. I can hear if anything is going on in there. Just leave her alone right now.” I bit my bottom lip. Asher was running interference. Best friend ever!

  “Yeah, I guess you’re right,” Zeke grumbled. Heavy footsteps moved back down the hall away from the family room.

  “Thank you, Ash,” I whispered. I heard Asher whistle softly as they walked away from the family room door. Dylan started laughing quietly, and I couldn’t help but laugh too. That was a close call. When I finally stopped, I looked up at him. “You can’t be mad at Ash now. He so saved our asses.” Dylan starting chuckling again.

  “Yeah, I guess not.” His eyes were sparkling when they met mine. “You and your fucking five big brothers.” I chuckled, relaxing again. He smiled at me, his hand cupping my face again.

  “You love it, and you know it.” I teased smiling at him. His eyes ran over my face, making my heart flutter.

  “Yeah, I know.” He sighed. His hand ran over my shoulder, down my back, over my hip, and to my knee. “I need to calm down, Sunshine.” He whispered, his eyes meeting mine. “And you feel way too good like this.” I winked at him and moved my leg off his hip. He gave a deep suffering sigh, kissed my cheek then did a strange turn and sit up move, so he was sitting on the couch edge normally. I shifted, so I was lying on my back more, stealing his spot.

  “I’m sorry you had to come down.” I was starting to feel guilty for how much he ended up driving down here.

  “I’m not.” He said turning a bit, so he was facing me. “I got to see you, cuddle you, and even kiss ya.” I grinned at him. “That’s a good day in my book.” I chuckled softly. I reached over and took his hand. I started playing with his fingers, and he just let me. I loved that about him. Hell, I… I stopped myself before I even thought the words. Too soon Lexie, and you probably actually don’t. You’re just caught up in how cute he is, how funny he is and sweet. And the fact he’s a good kisser. Yeah, that list wasn’t helping. I pushed the list out of my head for now.

  “What did you have to skip to come down?” I asked suspiciously. He gave me a half smile.

  “Just checking on my science project. I can do it later tonight.” He admitted. “What are you doing tomorrow?” He reached out with his other hand and pushed more hair out of my face as he smiled. I smiled back.

  “We’re decorating Miles' house, and I’m baking your cookies.” And working on another present for him. But I wasn’t going to tell him that.

  “So, you're really going to bake the cookies?” I nodded. His smile grew bigger. “Thank you, Sunshine. Even if they don’t turn out, like mine never do. Thank you.” I winked at him. He cringed. I knew that face.

  “You need to go,” I said, not even having to ask.

  “Yeah, the hour drive is a bitch.” He grumbled then stood up, and I followed.

  “I’ll walk you to the door,” I mumbled. Dylan’s arm went around my shoulders, pulling me against his side. My hand went up and held his hand on my shoulder.

  “What are your plans for Wednesday?” He asked as we headed into the hall.

  “We have our first official friend only get together at Ash’s house,” I told him. “I’d invite, but-”

  “It’s friends only, I know.” Dylan looked around the hallway. “I got in here, though. That’s something.” He snickered. I smiled, then got worried.

  “Uh, Dylan. Miles is really private...” I began, he looked down at me as we walked past the dining room. “So, can you not tell anyone where he lives?” He smirked at me.

  “You mean certain bitches I wish you punched?” I nodded. He smiled. “No problem, Sunshine.” We reached the living room where, Zeke, Asher, Isaac, and Miles were playing a board game.

  “How much trouble are we in?” Asher asked his voice worried.

  “Are you really taking our Christmas presents back?” Isaac joined in smiling. I smiled at them.

  “No, I’ve forgiven you, but you still have to appease Dylan,” I warned as we stopped by the coffee table. Dylan snickered evilly, I snorted. The guys just shook their heads.

  “It’ll be okay,” Dylan told them. “Next time, just call me, I’ll come down and talk to her.” I rolled my eyes. Dylan made me sound like a hysterical girl from the 1700’s. The guys saw it and snickered. “I’ll see you guys later.” I walked Dylan to the door and gave him a very quiet, soft kiss before he left. I was grinning like a mad woman when I walked back into the living room. Then I remembered how I spoke to Miles today. The grin went away. I went over and sat next to Miles. Then promptly leaned against his shoulder and hugged him.

  “I’m sorry I was a bitch today, Miles.” His brow furrowed as he looked at me like I was nuts.

  “You weren’t. You were just very blunt.” He assured me, before looking back at the game board. “And rather unaware that we were in the room with you.” I cringed at that.

  “Yeah, sorry honey,” I said softly. His cheeks tinted pink.

  “I’ll survive.” He assured me. I snickered, he gave me a shy smile. Asher looked at us confused.

  “Okay, what did I miss?” Asher asked. No one said a word, the three of us just laughed. That night before leaving Miles’ house I got another bit of the link built. If I could keep this rate up, I’d have it done in a few days. I went to be
d that night, and the ghosts finally stayed away. I woke up three times, two of the dreams were of Sophia rotting like Mary Summers.

  Chapter 13

  Tuesday Morning

  The next morning, after my morning Veil session. During which, I more than made up for the shitty job I did yesterday. I was feeling like a bad ass as I put the finishing touches on the moose head over the fireplace in Miles’ living room. Miles had answered a call from Autumn and was somewhere else in the house. When I was done, I was snickering as I climbed down. I took the end of the lights and plugged it into the extension cord. The colorful lights I had strung around the antlers of the moose head lit up. With the lights on and the red Santa hat on the moose’s head, it looked great. I loved it. Yeah, I know it’s a dead animal. But it’s Christmas; even the dead can have some fun. I put the plug down and went back to going through the box. I kept looking up and giggling to myself. Miles’ Mom will probably make him take it down. It didn’t really say classy Christmas. But I wanted the guys to see it before then. I was stringing lights on the huge front windows, well, the ones I could reach with a ladder at least when Miles came back in.

  “Lexie, what...?” I turned and watched as Miles started laughing his ass off. I smiled big as I watched his face light up. He’d get close to stopping then he’d look at the moose and start up again. I just sat on the top of the ladder and watched him laugh. Miles had a good rich laugh that always caught my ear. So, I just sat and smiled as he tried to get control again. When he managed to stop laughing, his face had changed from pink to red, and his eyes were watering. It made my week to make him laugh like that.

  “Oh, Lexie.” He said wiping his eyes. “I really needed that today.”

  “I thought so, you’ve been quiet today, even for you.” I pointed out moving to stand on the ladder again. The ladder wobbled.

  “Lexie!” I managed to save my ass from falling off the ladder, barely. “Okay, get down.” Miles voice calm but firm. I looked down to find Miles holding the ladder still. Damn, he moved fast. I was going to argue, but the look in his eye told me not the bother. I sighed and started climbing down. The shit head. When I was near the floor, he let go of the ladder and stepped back. I stepped onto the ground, then looked up at him.

  “I still have lights to string ya know,” I pointed out. He gave me a half smile as he adjusted his glasses.

  “I’ll take care of it, or one of the guys will.” He assured me before going back to one of the boxes of decorations. “There’s enough stuff here to keep you busy with both of your feet on the floor.” I felt like being a smart-ass. So, I lifted one foot and hopped over to the boxes. He laughed again. I put my foot on the floor and dug into the box. There were a lot of tree ornaments.

  “Are you getting a tree? Cause it’s getting close.” I asked.

  “The guys are picking one up now.” He said. I gasped in mock outrage.

  “Without us! Those bastards!” I said dramatically. Miles chuckled at my antics.

  “The girls are with them, and they’re dropping them off before bringing the tree here.” Miles' eyes were warm now, making me happy again. When I got here, he had his blank face on. I was glad I could get his smile back. “Is that why you did the antlers? You didn’t think we were getting a tree?” He asked, his voice was full of suppressed laughter. I smiled.

  “No,” I admitted. “I’ve wanted to do something to Gus since I saw him.” Miles raised an eyebrow.

  “Gus?” I gave me my big smile, the one I rarely ever used.

  “Yep, I named the bugger.” I snickered. Miles laughed again, his smile staying around this time. I looked up at the moose and sighed. “Your Mom is going to make me take it down, isn’t she?” I looked back at him to find him frowning as he watched me. “It doesn't exactly say classy Christmas. She’ll probably hate it, right?” Miles looked away as he started pulling out tree ornaments, his shoulders grew tense.

  “She’s not coming back.” He spoke so quietly I almost didn’t hear him. It took me a minute to understand. She wasn’t coming back for Christmas? What the fuck? What kind of mom left their kid alone on Christmas?

  “Is she stuck somewhere and can’t fly because of weather or something?” I asked gently hoping he’d say yes. His face became drawn, his mouth a thin line.

  “No.” I stopped looking through the boxes. My stomach knotted. That fucking bitch was choosing to leave Miles alone on Christmas!

  “When is she showing up?” I asked my voice not hiding how I felt very well. I had just pulled out a nutcracker when he answered.

  “She’s not.” I went still. I looked up at him not quite believing what I heard. Oh, this was fucking unbelievable.

  “She’s not coming home for Christmas at all?” I asked, my voice showing what I really thought about that. I watched as Miles' posture became rigid.

  “She’s not coming back period.” He muttered. I went still. My heart dropped. He didn’t just say… I reached out and grabbed his forearm, stopping him from pulling something from the box. He went still and waited. He kept his eyes on the box.

  “She’s not coming back, at all?” I asked my voice hard. He swallowed hard.

  “Yeah.” His voice was rough. Then he gently slid his arm from me and went back to pulling stuff out. Oh, no, no, no. He wasn’t just going to say that like it was nothing. My heart ached as I watched him. He was back to his drawn, tense look he had on this morning. No, no, I couldn’t take it. I dropped the nutcracker into the box and walked around the coffee table. I all but tackled Miles as I hugged him. He didn’t move for a couple of heartbeats; then his arms were around me too. I held him tight not knowing what to say besides calling her every name I knew. But Miles would hate that. His grip on me tightened. Miles’ hugs were usually quick, loose arms and a squeeze. But he was holding on to me like a kid with his favorite teddy bear. “I'm all right, Lexie.” His voice was slightly shaking. He was so not fucking fine.

  “No, you're not, you’ve been off for a few days now,” I whispered my cheek against his collarbone. “No one would be okay after that Miles, so don’t bullshit me.” One of his arms moved, his hand went to cup my neck, his thumb resting in front of my ear. His cheek rested against my forehead. He took a deep, shuddering breath. I squeezed him tighter.

  “She’s just, not coming back.” He whispered, his voice thick. “She says there are too many bad memories here for her.” I wanted to rip that bitch apart. Yeah, her husband beat the shit out of her here, but this was your kid. Your kid who saved your fucking ass!

  “Like there aren't any for you?” I countered pissed as hell. He took another deep breath and let it out. It fanned across my face. I didn’t care; he always smelled like wintergreen to me anyway.

  “It’s not the same-”

  “Bullshit. It is the same. You watched it happen. You heard it all the time, and you saved her ass.” I pointed out my anger starting to show. “Not having the balls to come home to your son after that is fucked up.” I took a deep breath to calm down, but I kept talking. “Yeah, she got beat up. Yeah, it was horrifying. But you're her son. You should fucking come before everything else right now, at least till you're eighteen. And especially at Christmas.” I felt tears fall into my hair, and my heart broke. I kept hanging on to him. He had to know. “Miles, your mom is fucked up. This isn’t your fault.” His breath caught then was let out slow. “You deserve so much more than this shit.” His arms tightened around me almost painfully; I didn’t say anything about it. Over the next half hour or so I kept talking, he just listened, tears falling into my hair. I think I managed to hide my crying, but I’m not sure. Probably not. It was Miles. He noticed everything. I told him everything he already knew but needed to hear. That it was okay to be pissed at her, that it was okay to feel the way he did. That it wasn’t his fault. I said that a lot. But the most important thing I told him was at the end. I promised him he wasn’t going to be alone. That he was stuck with me, with us, trampling all over his house at odd hours. Making
huge messes then running off when it came time to clean it up. I heard him snort. That was better, but I wanted more. I reminded him of Zeke’s snoring, Isaac’s pranks, and I may have mentioned a few ideas I had to get the twins back good. But they involved remodeling certain parts of the house. He finally chuckled. Eventually, his hold loosened and he pulled back. His hands went up to wipe his face. I kept my eyes on his chest till his arms came back down. Then I peeked up at him. His red eyes narrowed on me.

  “Lexie…” His voice was that soft silky timbre I loved to hear. He reached out and wiped my face for me too. “Why?” I sighed deeply. Why do the guys always ask that fucking question?

  “Because I’m a girl, that’s why.” I pointed out making him laugh. I pointed up and him and glared threateningly. “Tell no one.” He laughed a good, real laugh. It was the best sound in the world to me. I smiled as I wiped my face. I wanted to hear it again. “So, we can keep Gus lit up like a tree?” I asked in my cutesy voice. He burst out laughing; I smiled my big smile as he kept going. When he was done, he looked down at me with warm eyes, and an expression that screamed ‘I don’t know what to do with you.’

  “Yes, we can keep him lit up.” His voice was his silky timber that always soothed something inside me. I threw my hands in the air in victory.

  “Yes!” He chuckled again. I stopped then looked at him seriously. “How about smores? Can we make smores?” His big smile was back.

  “Lexie, we can do whatever you want,” he said sweetly. I smiled mischievously.

  “Okay, then I’ll need a paintball gun, paintballs of course, and permission to hunt Ethan through the house.” Miles burst out laughing again; it went on and on. Whenever he was close to stopping, he’d look at my eager face and start up again. By the time, he was done the shadows in his eyes had almost disappeared. I still wanted to kill his mom. I thought about the Gucci pumps in the closet in ‘my’ bedroom and all those designer clothes. I’d need a good pair of scissors...