Death Takes a Holiday by Jennifer Harlow Page B

says, squeezing my hand.
    I smile as she pulls her hand away. “It’s weird being back.”
    “Do you want to talk about last night? You really scared me.”
    “I was just stressed,” I say before taking another bite. “I had this huge fight with my boss and then Oliver.”
    “Well, you just have to work with them. Just be glad you don’t have to live with them too.”
    If only. “It’s just that the team spends so much time together. We’re so close knit and we have to rely on each other, so when everyone hates each other, things get pretty unbearable.” I take another bite. “But Will and I spoke this morning, and things should be better when I get back.”
    “It’s unfair of them to put you in that position. I’m surprised they didn’t fire him.”
    “He’s just … been through a lot. His wife died, and he has this incurable disease that he’s had to get used to.”
    “Still. That’s not your fault.”
    We eat in silence for a little bit. “So,” I finally say, “how are Brian and Renata adapting to parental life?”
    “Very well. They have a nanny, which helps, but I’ve never seen him so happy.”
    “He’s okay with me being here? If you want I can spend Saturday at April’s.”
    “Nonsense. You should meet your new sister-in-law and nephew.”
    “I’m just not sure they want to meet me.”
    She sets her fork down. “That was an accident,” Nana says.
    “I almost killed him, accident or not. I wouldn’t want to spend Christmas with me.”
    “That was a horrible night, but it’s time to move on. It’s over. It’ll never happen again.”
    She looks down at her plate and starts eating again, ready to put the topic to bed. But I’m not. “I know I said it before but … I’m sorry. I’m sorry I lost control like that. I’m sorry I left the way I did. I know I scared you. I’m just … sorry.”
    She keeps her eyes on her plate for a few moments, then lifts them up to mine. “I know you are, Honey Bea.”
    “You’re not still scared of me, are you?”
    “Of course not. I love you. No matter what.”
    “I love you too,” I say, near tears. They just snuck up on me. I shake my head to clear them.
    “Are you okay?”
    “I’m just tired. It’s been a long couple of days.”
    “Go rest, baby.”
    I rise and take my plate to the dishwasher before slinking back to my bedroom. I fall face first onto the bed. With all the travel I do one would think I’d have mastered jet lag, but it always gets me. I inhale and exhale slowly. It has been a day. I’ll just unpack stuff for the night and save the rest for tomorrow.
    When I pull out my cell phone charger I suddenly realize it’s been off since I got to the airport. I find it at the bottom of my purse and switch it on. I have four voice messages.
    “ Hello, Bea, this is George. It seems in your haste you neglected to fill out your incident report. If you could type it up and e-mail it ASAP, I’d greatly appreciate it. Have a safe flight.”
    Crud. Not even being a government secret saves me from bureaucracy. I wonder if the guys at Area 51 have as much paperwork as we do.
    “Um, hi ,” Will says. My heart skips a beat. “ I just, um, wanted to say, good talk this morning. It was … good. Enjoy your family. I’ll, uh, miss you. ”
    Darned if my smile isn’t from cheek to cheek.
    “Hey, ” April says. “ Where are you? Call me .”
    Must have been at the airport.
    Last one. “So, Trixie dear ,” Oliver begins, “ I arose this evening ready to eat an entire murder of crows to regain your good graces, only to find you have fled the state. I do hope it had nothing to do with me .” He pauses. “ Please call me ,” he says seriously.
    Great. A vampire with bruised feelings is a disaster waiting to happen. He’s either terrorizing Will or moping around like Hamlet. I do have terrible taste in men, even when it comes to office husbands. I should divorce him and take up with Andrew. Less blood, more laughing at Carole