Whisper in the Rain

Chapter Twenty-Eight

Chapter Twenty-Eight

GRACE

The next morning, Miles and I played hooky from school. I knew he had big plans on staying in his pajamas all day and doing as little as possible, but I had plans of my own.

I paced Miles' bedroom as he went to get us coffee. I don't think his parents knew I stayed the night, but even if they did, I was sure they'd be okay with it. Something told me Meg and Dean felt better about me being at their house than at my own. That wasn't really surprising. Everyone in town knew that Martha was a terror.

I stopped pacing at the sound of the door creaking open and looked to find Miles strolling in with two mugs of steaming coffee. As he handed me one, his eyes caught on the small piece of paper in my hands.

"I want to call them," I blurted.

Miles, who still seemed half asleep, nodded and set both mugs on his desk. He silently made his way across the room, ruffling his hair as he went. I couldn't tell if he was irritated, indifferent, or happy for me. His eyes were blank, his lips pressed firmly together in neither a grin nor a grimace.

After unplugging his cell phone from the charger, he pressed it into my free hand and laid a soft kiss to my forehead.

"Thank you," I said, closing my eyes as I let the warmth of his lips flow through me.

He nodded, just once, then walked right back out the door, giving me the space I needed to make what was bound to be the most difficult phone call of my life.

I took one deep, cleansing breath, then dialed the number on the card.

Ring...

Ring...

Ring...

"Paranormal Peacekeepers, Mark speaking."

A nervous lump formed in my throat, but I swallowed it back and summoned the courage to speak.

"Uh, hi. Yes. I was told..." I took another deep breath to collect myself. "I was told you could help me. I'm-"

"Grace Wildstone?"

My head jerked back in surprise. The stranger on the other end of the line knew my name?

"Uh, yeah."

"One second."

I held the phone an inch away from my ear as annoying elevator music started to play.

As I waited, I wondered how in the hell they knew it was me. Not caller ID. I was calling from Miles' phone. If any name was attached to the call, surely it was Meg or Dean O'Fallon.

"Grace?"

I jumped at the sound of my name. "Yes!"

"Hi, my name is Bodhi Johnson. I'm the lead investigator with Paranormal Peacekeepers. Marlow told me you'd be calling."

He paused, waiting for me to reply, but I didn't know what to say. I sucked at face-to-face interaction, and was that much worse over the phone.

"Hello? Grace? You still there?"

I gathered enough brain cells together to form a two-word sentence.

"She did?"

"Yeah. Marlow's a good friend of mine. She worked with our company for years back when it was just my dad running the show. But she still keeps in contact. Usually when she thinks someone needs help. Or when she needs a favor."

He chuckled and I nervously started playing with a stray thread sticking out of Miles' comforter.

"So tell me, Grace, how can I help you?"