Lost Bird Read online

  The difference was she never acted on it.

  Ever.

  She didn’t date, she didn’t flirt. She kept her thoughts and feelings to herself and, sometimes, her handheld shower massager.

  Even that was fairly rare, though.

  Maybe a little cold water will jolt my senses into proper alignment.

  * * * *

  John tried to focus on the task at hand as he drove to the shop to pick up the new water heater. He’d never met Sachi Wolowitz before, although he was familiar with who she was.

  Hell, someone would have to be living under a rock to not know who she was. It had made the news when she’d been shot by a guy, who was then shot and killed by Ellis Fargo, a local attorney and a customer of his. John had personally overseen the work in that very house after a previous contractor had screwed some of it up.

  The haunted look in Sachi’s eyes when they’d shown her on TV had drawn him in an unusual way even then, having never met her before.

  When the dispatcher had given him her info he’d suspected it would be the same woman, yet he still felt the unusual lurch his heart made when she opened the door.

  Those gorgeous blue eyes of hers, almond-shaped and full of wariness, looked even more beautiful and powerful in person. She wore her long, straight black hair loose today, although in some of the news coverage he’d seen of her, pictures of her on a skeet field, she’d worn it pulled back in a ponytail or braid.

  Part of him wanted to turn to her and ask her out, but he couldn’t make himself do it. For starters, he didn’t want to get involved with a client. In a small town like Brooksville, it didn’t take much for the rumor mill to run overtime. He suspected she’d already had more than her fill of that to last a lifetime. Also, if it went badly between them, word of that could get around, too. He had a good reputation in town. He didn’t want to do anything stupid to mess that up.

  Hell, his ex-wife had done more than her fair share of trying to ruin him.

  No, better not to touch the topic with a twenty-foot pole. Besides, he was way too busy to have any kind of a private life. He still felt raw from his divorce over a year earlier. And Oscar’s breakup late last year with his longtime girlfriend was another reminder of why people needed to protect themselves financially as well as emotionally.

  Nope, leave it alone. Stay professional. And he’d bring a guy back with him to help him with the water heater…and as a little extra insurance for him to set a good example as the employer.

  * * * *

  Sachi had just gotten dressed when John returned, knocking on the front door to announce his arrival. She felt a little sigh of relief when she realized he had a guy with him, one of his employees now parked in yet another Evans Plumbing truck along the street in front of her driveway.

  From him, she saw nothing more than the slightly hazy muted colors she usually saw when she looked at someone and tried to read their aura.

  John, however, still bore a vivid blue aura around him.

  Fuck.

  That delicious blue aura remained there, in fact, when the men finished less than an hour later and waited until they were sure the new water heater was working properly.

  That the aura stubbornly refused to go away despite her best efforts to not see it made her dig her heels even more deeply into denial.

  She handed over her credit card to him to write the info down, being careful not to touch his hand when she did. She didn’t want to know what that might feel like. Although she imagined it would feel as yummy as his aura looked.

  When she went to see the men out, in the front yard a brilliant red male cardinal landed on the small concrete statue of Buddha that sat near the front entryway. By the time she closed the front door her heart raced, out of control.

  Cardinals.

  Her mom’s favorite bird. It never seemed to fail when she was at a crossroads, a cardinal always appeared to give her a hint as to the right way to proceed.

  The only time she’d ever ignored one, she’d walked away from a good man who’d deserved better than her.

  Why did this guy have to live in this town?

  Fortunately, before now, she’d never had contact with him. And as long as she didn’t have any other plumbing issues of that magnitude, she likely wouldn’t need to have any future contact with him. She could fix a leaky faucet or replace a toilet flapper valve herself. Hell, she’d done it before.

  As long as the damn water heater holds up, I’ll be good.

  On that thought she went to go freshen up, change into yet another clean pair of panties, and head back to Many Blessings with Ellis’ car.

  Chapter Three

  When Sachi’s dad arrived at the store to pick her up later that evening, she told him about the water heater.

  “I feel bad I wasn’t here to help you out, sweetheart. I could have replaced it for you.”

  She suppressed her groan. I should have known he’d feel guilty. “Daddy, it’s fine. I’m a home-owning adult. This stuff sometimes happens.”

  “I wish you’d called me.”

  She walked over to him and hugged him. “Daddy,” she softly said, “I called you when I really needed you, and you came. That’s what matters most to me.” She straightened his cap. “How’d the interviews go?”

  “I have three job offers, and two other people called to ask me to come in for interviews tomorrow.”

  She smiled. “You fast worker, you.”

  “You’re sure you’re okay with this?”

  She hugged him with both arms, ignoring the twinge in her right shoulder as she did. “Daddy, it’s going to be good to have you here all the time. And you’ve said your arthritis is really starting to bother you in the winter. This makes sense.”

  Mandaline appeared in the office doorway. “Whenever you’re ready to move, Ellis and Brad have already said you’d better let them come help.” Not only Mandaline, but both her guys had also readily taken to Michael Bloomfeld as an adopted dad, something Sachi was secretly happy about. Other people from the store had also quickly taken to him and welcomed him with open arms.

  Sachi knew if her dad had a strong structure of friends in Florida, it would only help bolster her argument of getting him to make the move without her having to resort to guilt to fully convince him.

  Fortunately, it looked like he’d need little convincing, although she kept her joy over that to herself.

  Once in the car and on their way home, he said, “I really think I’ll end up taking the job down in Pasco County at Garson Aviation. It wouldn’t be a bad drive, and they seemed very nice.”

  There was more, she could tell from his tone of voice. She also knew enough to let it play out in his way.

  “But I need to talk to the others first before I make my final decision.”

  She nodded. “That sounds like a good plan.”

  Quiet settled over them. “A cardinal landed on the roof of the car as I was walking out to it after I got done talking to the people in Pasco.”

  Aaaand there it is.

  Her father didn’t know about all her talents. When he’d asked her before about how she got into doing readings for people and teaching at Many Blessings, she’d never given him a full and accurate answer. But there was one thing they shared in common.

  The cardinals.

  He’d never come right out and said anything about it, but had hinted all around the subject enough over the years that she knew his feelings about them.

  Starting from the cardinal that had landed on her mom’s casket at the funeral. A bright red male that had no business being there that time of year.

  Her mom’s favorite bird. And, from that moment on, their private signal of Sachi Bloomfeld speaking to them in her own way, the only way she now could.

  She reached over and patted his leg. “Dad, you make whatever choice you need to make. I’m behind you one thousand percent.”

  He smiled. “There you go sucking at math again, sweetheart.”

  Sh
e laughed, glad to see him smiling.

  Hell, it just felt good to actually laugh for a change.

  When they got home, he carefully went over the water heater, checking every bit of the men’s work until he was fully satisfied. “Looks like they did a good job. How much did they charge you?”

  She handed him the detailed bill, already anticipating the request.

  He slowly nodded as he read through it. “Looks reasonable. You said Ellis recommended him?”

  “Yes, Daddy. He does work for him and Brad on their house. He’s good.”

  “Good.” He returned the receipt to her. “Then I guess I’ll get dinner ready if you want to do another load of those towels.” He pointed to the pile of them she’d left on the floor by the washer.

  “Deal.”

  As she loaded the washer and got it started, her mind drifted back to John Evans’ aura. Not like she could or would do anything about it.

  Figures that the Universe would throw a curveball at me.

  She put it out of her mind as the delicious aroma of her dad microwaving the leftover brisket began filling the kitchen. Nope, she’d focus on her dad. She’d spent too many years away from him.

  For now, he’d be the only man in her life.

  * * * *

  Friday morning, Sachi was covering the store for Mandaline, who had driven Brad down to Tampa to the VA for one of his regular doctor appointments. Both Mina and Paige were in the back giving readings to clients, and Makenzie was scheduled to arrive for her shift any minute.

  Fortunately, the store was quiet, with only two people browsing the showroom, and two more sipping their lattes while working on their laptops.

  When the elderly woman hesitated on the sidewalk in front of the door and stared, as if reading the signage, Sachi successfully stifled her groan. She knew that look well, someone who wanted to talk to them about doing a paranormal investigation on their home.

  Finally, the woman pushed the door open and stepped inside, blinking as her eyes adjusted from the bright Florida sunshine to the store’s dimmer interior.

  Sachi pasted a practiced smile on her face and throttled back on her snarkometer. “Good afternoon, and welcome to Many Blessings. How may I help you?”

  The woman’s expression brightened as she toddled over to the counter. “Are you the people who do the ghost hunting?”

  Somehow, Sachi held the groan back while keeping her smile firmly planted. “That’s us.”

  “I’d like to hire you. I think my husband is trying to talk to me.”

  Sachi let her focus sharpen on the woman’s aura. A light, crisp, fresh spring green color, looking completely untouched by any of the signs she usually spotted when someone was mentally succumbing to the natural progression of age.

  “How so?” Sachi asked.

  “I’m seeing a lot of things moved around outside. Sometimes I hear things and see things outside at night. He used to love working in our garden. I really think he’s trying to get a message to me. Maybe him, or even possibly our son, Charlie.”

  Sachi reached for the notepad and pen they kept by the cash register. Mandaline continued Julie’s tradition of checking out every local case, even if they didn’t think it would come to anything. A vast majority of their investigations involved debunking things that people thought were supernatural in origin. It was rare they actually found supernatural or unexplainable phenomenon.

  “Well, let’s start with your name,” Sachi said. “And your address.”

  “I’m Tammy Evans.” She listed an address to the east of town, almost all the way to Ridge Manor but west of the interstate. A little buzzer went off in Sachi’s mind as she noted the information, yet she couldn’t identify why. “I have twenty acres of land. My nephew and his friend help me out when they can around the property, but I really don’t want to bug them with this.” She leaned in. “I don’t want them thinking I’m dotty.”

  Sachi didn’t let her smile slip. “What exactly are you experiencing?”

  The woman, who insisted Sachi call her Tammy, listed a very cogent and reasoned-sounding list of events, phenomenon that had occurred off and on for over a month. By the time she finished talking with Tammy ten minutes later, Sachi was no longer sure if she doubted the woman’s mental soundness.

  Then again, Julie’s murder was proof that people weren’t always what they appeared to be at first blush.

  Tammy was a widow, her only child deceased, and no other close relatives such as siblings or grandkids. Just the nephew she’d mentioned earlier. Sachi preferred talking with other family members when dealing with elderly clients, just to get an objective gauge of their mental state. In one case they’d dealt with a couple of years earlier, it turned out the woman had a benign brain tumor her family was able to get successfully treated.

  After consulting their master schedule, Sachi set up a preliminary investigation appointment with Tammy for six o’clock Sunday evening. Instead of having to drag everyone and all their equipment out for a massive investigation, it was easier to scout the location first and then see if it was possible to debunk anything on the spot, saving them time and effort.

  “You mentioned a nephew,” Sachi said, hoping to get him brought into this. “Any chance we could have him there, too? Sometimes it helps to have other family members involved in things.”

  “Oh, of course. His name’s John Evans. He runs a plumbing company here in town.”

  Sachi blinked, forcing herself to remain standing and not repeatedly pound her forehead on the counter.

  Of course.

  * * * *

  It didn’t help Sachi’s growly mood later when Mandaline returned and Sachi updated her, telling her about the new investigation.

  Mandaline cocked her head and pointed at the office door, indicating Sachi was to close it, giving them some privacy.

  Sachi blew out a long breath before reaching out and pushing the door shut.

  “Spill it,” Mandaline said, her brows arched. “What aren’t you telling me, and none of that bull that there isn’t anything.”

  Sachi hadn’t related anything to Mandaline about her encounter with John Evans except that the guy had done great work at a reasonable cost in a very short amount of time.

  Heat filled her face. “Spill what, boss?”

  Mandaline crossed her arms over her chest and waited her out.

  Sachi lost the glaring contest. “You know, it’s all your fault, you damn witch. You and Tarzan, both. You fucking manifested me a goddamned guy despite me specifically asking you not to!”

  “What?”

  “You heard me.”

  “I heard you, but I’m beginning to think you got shot in the head, not the shoulder. What the heck are you talking about?”

  Sachi didn’t want to admit it. Not even to Mandaline, who she considered to be her closest friend.

  Mandaline waited her out.

  “Okay, fine,” Sachi grumbled. She told Mandaline about John’s aura, and waited for the grinning to commence.

  Mandaline surprised her by not responding how she’d anticipated.

  She simply nodded. “Now I understand why you’re acting like this. Would you prefer I have someone else help us with the prelim on Sunday? And do you want me to call him for you?”

  “What?”

  “I’m not going to make you explain yourself beyond that, sweetie.”

  Sachi stared at her. This was why she loved this woman so much, like a sister, maybe even more. She had a connection with Mandaline the way she’d had with Julie…before.

  She felt the prickle of tears in her eyes and quickly blinked them away. “No, I’m good,” she quietly said. “I’ll call him and talk to him.”

  Mandaline didn’t reply.

  “Seriously, I’m okay,” Sachi insisted. She took a deep breath. “Julie once told me I’m not the sum of my scars. Maybe it’s time I start listening to her and stop putting up walls.”

  Mandaline reached out and gently took Sachi
’s hand. “You’re not agreeing to marry the guy. Maybe this is the Universe telling you it’s time to start facing other fears now that you have the biggest one banished from your life for good.”

  Sachi stared at her friend’s hand as she laced fingers with her. “I’m not sure I know how,” she whispered.

  Mandaline squeezed. “Yes, you do. One step at a time, the way you do everything else.”

  “Maybe he’ll hate skeet, or guns in general. That’s a hard limit for me, you know.”

  “Maybe he’ll love them.”

  “Maybe he’s gay.”

  Mandaline smiled. “Maybe he’s not.”

  Sachi wouldn’t lift her gaze. “Maybe he’s not interested in me.”

  “Maybe he is. Or will be.”

  “What if he’s not? Or he doesn’t even like me?”

  “Would it be so bad if he did?”

  Sachi didn’t move to pull her hand free from Mandaline’s. “Did Julie ever tell you about Tom?” Julie had been the only one she’d ever told about Tom. Her relationship with him had happened before she’d started working at the store.

  “No.”

  “He had the same aura,” she said. “And damn, did I love that man.”

  “What happened?”

  Sachi shrugged. “I happened. I got scared. I loved him too much, and I was afraid he might get hurt because of what happened to me. So after I realized how much he loved me, I told him it wasn’t him, it was me, and let him go.”

  “Where is he now?”

  Sachi sadly smiled. “Last time I saw, he was posting pics of their new baby daughter on Facebook.”

  “Ouch. I’m sorry.”

  “No need to be. My choice.” She finally met Mandaline’s brown gaze. “I never told him all the deets about what happened to me. Just enough that he didn’t think I was a total weirdo without cause. But just before I broke up with him, I had a weird hang-up call on my house phone that left me with a serious case of the heebie-jeebies, and I freaked out.” She shrugged. “I was still looking over my shoulder all the time. I couldn’t have lived with myself if he’d gotten hurt because of me.” She smiled. “That’s why I took a bullet for ya.”