The Piper by Lynn Hightower Read Free Book Online Page B

‘No.’
    â€˜Sorry. Really, I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to be such a bitch.’
    â€˜It’s just – I’m finally home, okay? And it feels good for me here. I just want to be happy, I’m not looking for trouble. I’ve got my hands full making a living and raising my kid. Things are looking better for me. Or are you going to tell me I should never have come home?’
    â€˜No, that’s
not
what I’m saying. The call from Chris came when you were in California, remember? It would have happened no matter where you live. I just wish I understood what your brother meant, don’t you? Doesn’t it worry you at all? And hearing about this Metro link thing – it just makes it feel more real. More like you better pay attention. The phone call
was
a warning, Olivia. Don’t turn your back.’
    â€˜Fine, then, Amelia. What is it you suggest I do?’
    â€˜I don’t know.’
    â€˜Exactly. I just need to remember not to be happy because something bad is going to happen and I better watch out. That sum it up?’
    â€˜I’m not saying don’t be happy.’
    â€˜Well, hey. Thanks for that.’

EIGHT
    O livia was restless after Amelia called. Upset over their fight.
    She went to the kitchen to unpack a box, but found she did not have the heart or the energy to open it up. She opened the refrigerator and looked inside. Nothing interesting to eat.
    Finally, she went to the sunroom, opened her briefcase and fired up her laptop. It was dark out, lights from houses down the block reflecting in the window panes. She wondered why Chris and Charlotte didn’t have any blinds or curtains or shutters in the sunroom. Of all the rooms in the house, this one had the most charm. Olivia wasn’t quite sure why she didn’t spend more time here. It had been the heart of the house, when she was a child.
    She took her laptop and curled up on the couch in the living room, where all the windows were tightly shuttered. She felt more private here, more safe. In the sunroom she felt watched.
    She pulled up a search engine, and entered
phone calls from the dead
plus
warnings.
She looked over her shoulder, while the screen began to fill, and tapped a finger on the edge of the keyboard. She wasn’t sure she wanted to do this, look at her brother’s phone call this way. But Amelia, annoying as she was, definitely had a point. Maybe she was hiding in southern denial.
    Olivia looked over at the fireplace mantel, at the picture of Chris and Charlotte and all three of his kids. An old picture, Cassidy was just an infant. The picture had actually been taken here, in front of the fireplace, and Chris looked happy, unshadowed. God, she missed him. They had had the usual family squabbles and irritations, but there was no one quite like a sibling, someone who had lived so much of your life. So easy to ignore a big brother when you lived hundreds of miles away. To take for granted that you could visit, share a meal, go for coffee and talk. Little things you never thought about until you couldn’t do it anymore, and then they seemed more important than anything else in the world.
    Thinking about the afterlife and ghostly visitations was fine, Olivia thought, as long as the thoughts and experiences were good. As long as the experience was a spiritual comfort.
    When it went south to the dark side, Olivia wasn’t sure she wanted to know. She had enough problems just dealing with everyday stuff.
    But she went to the search engine, and found a chat room, not joining or signing in, just lurking, reading old posts that came up under
warnings from the dead
.
    TORN & IN LOVE (posted eighteen months ago): But he’s perfect. I never expected to find a man like this. My daughter lives in San Francisco, but she came down for Easter, and they hit it off. He charmed her, that’s for sure. He never loses his temper, like my first husband. He cares about me. I’ve