Mike, who'd walked up behind me, took my phone out of my hand. "What did you say to the boy, Tess?"
"Uncle Mike? What in the world are you doing with Jack?"
"Never mind that. What's this about the tree?"
He listened as Tess repeated what she'd told me, and then he started laughing. "Life is never boring around you, kid."
You'd have thought Tess was a tiger, too, from the way she growled.
"Jack's on the way. Talk to you soon," he said and ended the call.
I held out my hand for the phone. "I guess I'm on my way to help return purloined presents. Let's complete the plans soon?"
He rolled up the sketch. "Definitely. This will take hard work and some time."
"Maybe not as much time as you think. I know some guys," I said. "We might get more help than we need if we throw in some grilled steaks."
A huge smile spread over his face. "I'm always up for grilled steaks. Just don't—"
"Tell Ruby," I finished. "Deal."
Then I headed off to my girlfriend's pawnshop to find out what bizarre situation had come crashing into our lives this time.
Never a dull moment in Dead End.
3
Tess
The shop got super busy, so I hadn't yet called the Pierson family about their missing gifts.
There was a teensy amount of cowardice involved, too. It had been a wonderful week, and I wasn't quite ready to blow that up yet. Being yelled at by Mrs. Pierson over Jeri Lynn's missing gifts was sure to do it.
Jack had spent every night this week but Wednesday with me at my house—and I'd spent that night with him at his. We were in what my best friend Molly called the "blissful first stage of love," and she'd been kind enough not to hint at other, potentially not-as-blissful stages, because she knew this was my first-ever serious relationship.
It's hard to find a boyfriend when you can see how someone will die just from touching them. It had put a complete stop to any casual dating I might have wanted to do. I hadn't been about to risk seeing how some nice boy would die just for the chance of a make-out session. My one actual relationship, with a very sweet man, had ended amicably in friendship. But I'd only considered dating Owen to begin with because he'd accidentally touched my hand at the pawnshop and I'd seen his future, sweetly peaceful death—he'd be very old and surrounded by friends and family.
I hadn't had to live in fear of kissing him and learning something horrible.
But Jack—I'd seen how Jack had died the very first time he'd touched me. How hehaddied because he'd died once before. It was a long story. Thankfully, I'd never seen his future death.
For all the hype in books and movies, trust me, knowing how and roughly when someone is going to die is not a gift. It's a terrible curse.
It's also why I was currently smiling and pointing to the small wooden tray on the counter while a sweet-faced elderly woman tried to hand me her credit card. I didnotwant to know how much of a future she did or didn't have.
When she hesitated, looking puzzled, I gave her my usual excuse. "I'm sorry, but immune system stuff. I'm sort of forced to be a germaphobe," I said. The vagueness of the explanation and the brightness of my smile almost always deterred any further inquiries.
I sighed when I saw her expression.Almostalways deterred.
She frowned and clutched her card tightly. "Are you contagious?"
Eleanor, who'd watched me grow up and was as protective as a mother hen, swooped in to save the day—and the sale.
"Oh, no, of course not. She's just a little weak in the lungs," she lied, murmuring as if confiding a state secret. Then she gently nudged me aside and took the credit card. "She catches everything that goes around, and then I have to take over, and I can't do that right now. Did I mention I'm getting married soon?"
The customer's eyes widened, and she gave Eleanor a huge smile. "Oh, honey! That's so exciting! And at our age, too!"
Eleanor didn't even wince at the "our age" part, though the customer had to be at least two decades older than Eleanor's early sixties.
