In Love by Christmas: A Paranormal Romance Read online

  Kathryn had somehow escaped with Ashley. He didn’t know where either of them was. Kathryn seemed to have disappeared from the world. And Ashley was a nodded out junkie somewhere. A nodded out junkie who called herself Cass—from Cassandra, her middle name. Even she knew the sweet Ashley didn’t fit the person she’d become.

  The shaman had said he’d help him find his daughter and restore her to health. He said his grandson could help. Leroy was single and his father could handle their ranch alone. He could leave immediately.

  Sitting at the table with him, Will studied Leroy. “You certainly can drum, Leroy.”

  He smiled shyly. “Thank you, sir. I been doin’ it a long time. My mama said I banged on pots and pans from when I could sit up.”

  Leroy continued to listen carefully, making comments that showed he understood exactly what they were talking about. “You think we can get in and out without them knowin’ and save her? I’d be interested in hearin’ more about how you think you can do that.”

  Once the shock of Leroy’s arrival diminished, Will found him to be a polite, soft-spoken and very nice young man. He was smart too, easily grasping their plans and their weak points.

  As Will gazed at the stranger, a revelation burst upon him. It was like one of those explosive Native deities that kept popping out of the sky around Grandfather.

  His daughter would love Leroy. Initially, she might love him because he was the opposite of every man he’d tried to set her up with—corporate suits, all of them. She might want Leroy because she thought a brown-skinned man would horrify her father. But she would love him for himself too.

  Will was unable to keep his eyes off of the man. Leroy was Michelangelo’s David, if the statue had come to life and turned into a person of color. His high cheekbones and aquiline nose said he was a Native American. His wide lips and flared nostrils said African American. He had hazel-flecked light brown eyes. He’d seemed tall on the horse. In person, Leroy was taller than that. Perfectly formed and proportioned, the young man was almost slender, but for his shoulders and chest.

  Leroy wore the spirit warriors’ obligatory black shirt and jeans. Half a dozen unmatched earrings were spread over both ears. The brown and white feathers fastened at the nape of his neck said, “I am an American Indian.”

  Leroy had the same dignity and erect posture as Dr. Elizabeth Bright Eagle. Leroy was so presentable that his daughter would be able to go anywhere with him. Minus the feathers, in some places, but …

  Stop it, Will! You do this all the time. You can’t push her; she’ll go the opposite direction. She has to see him, and then like him. He reined in his unrealistic thoughts. Plus, you don’t know where she is. Or if she’s alive.

  But if Leroy found her and they married, I could have grandchildren. Will wanted grandkids as much as he had wanted his first billion dollars.

  He forced himself to return to the conversation. Elizabeth was talking to Leroy, planning the rescue of the Indians’ wild horses and their transport to Will’s Montana ranch. Then she excused herself. Had her exodus been planned, Will wondered?

  Grandfather coughed, and then said, “I told Leroy of your daughter, Will Duane. He wants to help her.”

  Will’s eyes stung and swam with tears. The shaman was going to help him. Maybe it would be OK. “I worry about her every day. She’s a heroin addict, Leroy, a very bad one. Before that, she was an alcoholic.” His hands quivered.

  “I don’t know where she is. I want to find her and get her into treatment.” His face tightened. “She’s been hospitalized before. A lot of times. Nothing worked. See if you can find her and get her someplace where she can be treated. I can’t say how much it would mean to me.”

  Will jumped up and returned minutes later, his nose blown and eyes wiped, clutching an album. Will flipped through it. It was mostly horse show pictures and a few from ballet recitals. Leroy turned the page and stopped at the only informal one in the book: an eight by ten of Cass galloping a cow pony across a creek. Cass was laughing, mouth wide open, head back. She had dark hair and pale skin.

  “She was almost fourteen, just a young girl.” Will’s eyes filled again.

  Leroy studied the photo. Will could see he was smitten. He hadn’t breathed since he took the scrapbook. His eyes glistened as he picked the book up to examine the photo more closely.

  Grandfather studied the photo and smiled. “You will find her, Leroy. No one else in the world can.” The young man looked uncertainly at his grandfather. “You’re soul mates, Leroy. I’m certain of it. The energy never lies. The Great One created you to be each other’s perfect mates.” He sat back with a satisfied grin.

  “I’ll help you,” Leroy said. “When do you want me to start?”

  “Right after dinner? I have a feeling that she’s in terrible danger. She’s in New York City somewhere. You’ll need help finding her and getting her free.”

  “I can find her by myself.”

  “You may be able to find her, but I’m not sure you’ll be able to get her away from whoever’s got her.” Will’s mouth tightened. “I give her money. I know what they’ll do to her if she can’t pay. I can’t stand thinking of that. She’s a golden goose to them—guaranteed income. That’s why they keep her alive and why they’ll fight to keep her. Enzo Donatore is behind her condition. Did your grandfather tell you about him?”

  Leroy nodded. “He is the devil in human form. He caused the massacre here.”

  “Never forget that. Donatore tried to kill me twice this week. Grandfather is the only reason I’m alive. Donatore wants to steal your soul and make you into his slave forever.” Will stopped talking, ran his hand through his hair, and looked around wildly.

  “You need to get going. I have some people at home who will be valuable in extracting her, wherever she is. Hannah Herhrman is my chief of security. She’s a former Israeli commando. Hannah loves Cass. She was her unofficial babysitter. I’ll send her and some of her operatives to New York. You should also take Doug Saunders. He’s here at the Meeting. He has connections and knows how to get places you don’t. Can you leave right away?”

  Leroy nodded.

  One of the warriors approached cautiously and said, “Leroy, want to drum?”

  Leroy looked at his grandfather.

  “Go ahead, Leroy. For a few minutes.” Turning to Will, he said, “Leroy is the best drummer in all the Nations. He is the best drummer I have ever heard. Maybe the best in the world. Because of Leroy, we beat the Northern Salmon six years in a row.”

  Will thought Grandfather was exaggerating. He had no idea what he was talking about with the salmon. But very soon, he noticed a change in the music coming from the Pit. It had cohesion; it had rhythm, and power. The sound Leroy created was magnetic. Will had absolutely no musical abilities. He couldn’t even clap in time. But he moved to Leroy’s beat. Leroy’s drumming was exciting, and that seemed to portend something changing in a good way.

  Grandfather took the photo album Leroy had been examining, flipping a page. The shaman touched Will’s hand. Energy flowed between them, joining them.

  “Do you think Leroy can help Cass?”

  The old man looked at the photo of Cass on the horse. “If anyone can. They are soul mates.”

  “He’ll be able to save her, won’t he?”

  Grandfather shrugged and indicated the other side of the compound with his head. Elizabeth Bright Eagle chattered away with Larry Wolf and the other doctors. “Elizabeth is your soul mate. Both of you know it. But look at what she is doing. If they’re sane, he’ll be able to save her, but you never know.”

  Will saw Elizabeth pull out a chair and sit between Larry and an intern. She’d moved the place card with her name on it from his table over to Larry Wolf’s.

  Grandfather touched his hand again, “I know less as I get older, Will Duane. Leroy and your Cass, who knows?”

  2

  A Messed-up Young Woman

  Will had watched Leroy as he studied the images of C
ass in the scrapbook. The young man’s brows pulled together as he concentrated. The pages flipped: Cass smiling. Cass at a dance in a fancy dress at a ball. Cass riding a horse. Leroy’s chest rose and fell with the photos as he turned the pages. He was captivated.

  He’s in love with her already, Will thought. He would never play games with Cass as others had. He wouldn’t hurt her, either. Not physically or mentally or in any way.

  Will heaved a sigh. Leroy was in big trouble.

  After dinner, when they were making arrangements to go to New York, Will realized he needed to say something before letting the young man go off in total ignorance. He motioned to him. “Leroy, could you come with me into the Cass? I need to show you something.”

  Will got up from the banquet table and together they headed for the RV.

  Leroy regarded the luxurious motor home, eyes widening.

  “It’s just fancy and expensive, Leroy. It won’t bite,” Will said.

  He took him into the main cabin. “Take a seat, I’ll be right back.” Will went into his bedroom and brought out a thinner scrapbook than the one he’d shown at the table. He held it as though it were about to burst into flames.

  “This is the real Cass, Leroy. I saved these pictures so I wouldn’t forget who she is. I want you to find Cass and bring her back alive, but I don’t want you hurt in the process. Take a look.”

  She was in a club, strobe lights cutting swaths in the darkness. Cass had her blouse off. Two men were sucking her tits, with more in the background waiting. Her head was tilted back. Her lips were parted and her eyes half closed in an expression of ecstasy.

  “I’ve had investigators follow her at various times. They took the pictures, but some were sent to me anonymously. Cass or her friends were fooling … no, fucking with me. She does it to hurt me.

  “I was a terrible father, Leroy. I didn’t hurt her or abuse her sexually. I neglected her from the time she was born. And her mother too. Kathryn—Cass’s mother and my former wife—got mixed up with Enzo Donatore. He has spies and slaves everywhere. They got my wife and daughter.

  “I’m sure my daughter is worse than anyone you’ve seen. I don’t know if you’ve had experience with mentally ill people, but some illnesses can be harmful to others. No, vicious and murderous toward others. That’s Cass, Leroy.

  “I want you to find her with all my heart. But I think a mental hospital is what she needs, not a husband. After a long time, maybe she could make someone a wife. But not you.”

  “Why not?”

  “You’re too good. She’ll destroy you, and she’ll do it deliberately. Keep looking at the pictures. They’re my reality check.”

  Leroy worked his way through the album, pulling away from it, eyes narrowing. Will studied him. He sat forward, attentive, but not truly distressed. Will would have been happier if Leroy looked scared.

  “She’s a junkie. Heroin mostly, but she’ll do whatever she can get. Cass will do anything to get drugs, and there’s nothing she won’t do when she’s on them.” Will looked down. “I give her money and she uses it for drugs. They call me an ‘enabler’ in recovery circles.” He looked at Leroy. “I am. I cannot stand the thought of what they’d do to her if she couldn’t pay.

  “Of course, Donatore and his goons probably already have done it. She was fourteen when her mother started taking her to his castle in the summer. She was eighteen when her mother escaped and took Cass with her.”

  The last picture was Cass screaming at the camera. The hair on half of her head was done up in blue spikes, the other half was shaved. Her scalp bore a tattooed dragon that wound its way around, ending at her hairline, if she’d had hair. Her reddened, infected ears were pierced so many times that it was amazing that the earrings didn’t tear through.

  Cass’s sweater hung off of her shoulder, exposing her skeletal collarbone and upper arm. In the background, a huge Christmas tree’s lights shone cheerily. Garlands of evergreen branches, lights, and ornaments festooned a log room.

  “That was last Christmas at my ranch in Montana, just three months ago. She cursed me, Leroy. She said the worst things that one person could say to another. I ran out of the house and took my jet back to Woodside. She was right! I was the things she said.” Will’s face was rigid. “Or she made me think I was. She took a thread that was true, and another one from somewhere else, and made it into a condemnation of me and everything I’ve done. She’s so smart. She used her brains to crucify me. I don’t want anyone else to go through that.

  “Leroy, I don’t want her to unleash her venom on you.” Will moistened his lips and patted Leroy’s hand. “You’re my last hope. But know you’re handling a vicious snake.”

  “I think I can heal her,” Leroy said softly. “I can see her in there. She’s not dead.”

  Will sighed heavily. “She’ll destroy you if you try to have a relationship with her before she’s healed.”

  Leroy nodded. “Yeah, maybe. But I want to try. I may be harder to destroy than you think.” He set his chin.

  “OK. I’ll give you a chance. But we’re going to do it my way. I’ve done this before, Leroy. I’ve gotten up a team and found her at death’s door, and then put her in some nicey-nicey rehab center where she skipped out a couple of days later. To do it all again.” Leroy tried to object, but Will cut him off. “It’s my way or no way.

  “First, she goes to the hospital to gain weight and get physically healthy, then a treatment center for mental illness. She’s been in a bunch of those, by the way. Seven. Some have kicked her out before she was fully admitted. When they let her go from successful treatment, you can try to form a relationship with her.”

  “We’re soul mates, Mr. Duane. I love her already, even seeing that.” He indicated the photo with the dragon. “Even seeing all of those pictures.” Tears gathered in Leroy’s eyes. “I’ll go get her and put her wherever you want. But I get a shot at healing her. I know that’s what you want too.”

  “OK. Give it your best shot. But let’s put some limits on this. It’s the end of April. If you’re not in love by Christmas, I want you to give up.”

  “I don’t know that I can do that, sir.”

  “Well, I wanted you to know what you were getting into.”

  3

  Finding the Dragon Lady

  “Bye, Grandpa,” Leroy said as he kissed the top of his grandfather’s head, tears running down his face. “I’ll never forget you.” He bent down and hugged the old shaman standing in front of him, squeezing him to his belly. Leroy was 6’ 8 ½” tall. Grandfather was not quite five feet. Hugging had always been a problem for them.

  “Leroy, this old carcass is leaving this world, that’s all. Just a pile of meat and shit. Would we love each other any less if you were here for my last gasp?” Leroy shook his head. “Find Cass Duane. She can have much time on this earth if you find her, or she can have none if you don’t. Only you can save her. You are soul mates.”

  His grandfather paused a moment before letting him go. “You have been with me all your life, Leroy. You are a spirit warrior, my spirit warrior. We live a certain way, and you have lived that way better than any. Now, you may find it necessary to ‘break the Rules.’ Do you follow me?”

  “No.”

  “To save Cass Duane, who has fallen to such a desperate low, you may have to do things that are counter to my teaching. For instance, my spirit warriors are faithful to their husbands and wives. If warriors are not married, they do not have sex at all.”

  Leroy blushed.

  “You have lived this way perfectly, my grandson. I’m very proud of you. But because of where Cass is, you may have to lie to get to her. You may have to do other things too. You have my blessing, my dear one, to do what you need to do to save her.”

  Leroy sputtered. “You mean …”

  “Yes, that is exactly what I mean.”

  He stood silent, glad they were alone. He didn’t want any of the others to hear. He was a virgin at age twenty-four. The other
warriors knew, of course. They respected him. But in the world … Would he have to betray the principles he’d held all his life?

  Those were the last words he’d hear his grandfather say. He had made that crazy dash from the rodeo in Las Vegas to the Mogollon Bowl because his grandpa was dying. And now he had to cut their time short.

  They bounced across the desert in a SUV. Will Duane had ordered a helicopter to pick them up at the main highway and take them to the Las Cruces airport. A Numenon jet waited for them there, ready to speed to New York City.

  He was traveling with Doug Saunders. Leroy had barely spoken to him, but during the few minutes he’d spent drumming at the Meeting, he’d heard that Doug was Will’s “fixer.” He handled tricky situations, legal and illegal. Leroy couldn’t see how Doug would be very useful. Doug’s hair was messy and his shirttail hung out. He seemed stoned, but many participants in the Meeting did. He shambled when he walked, like a bear.

  On the plane, Leroy clenched his teeth and grabbed the arms of the seat to keep from screaming. Two things got him on that plane: his grandpa told him to go and he wanted to save Cass. He’d never been on a plane; it was his greatest terror. Tumbling out of the sky, hitting the ground. The horrible noise the door would make when it closed. Thoughts like those had kept him from going near a plane. His breath exploded in short pants.

  Doug looked him. “Your first time flying?”

  Leroy nodded.

  “If you get airsick, there’s a bag in here.” He pulled a flat bag out of a pouch in the back of the seat in front of Leroy and opened it up. “Puke in there, then close it with these tabs.” Doug gave a pantomime demonstration.

  Leroy left the bag in his lap. Hadn’t occurred to him that he might throw up. His guts roiled at the possibility.

  He didn’t vomit and he did make it to New York.

  “Hannah, would you stop doing that at the breakfast table?” Doug barked, his fork stuck into a gooey mass of sauce and egg yolk. “I can’t eat my eggs Benedict with you flashing that, what? Vibrator? It’s too big to be a shell. First you tore apart that missile launcher, now this. Don’t you know how to act in a house?”