Murder to Go

Victoria and Elizabeth looked at each other again. "Did they see you?"

"No. I was standing right in front of them, as close as me to you."

Aunt Vicki took my hands. "Cam... listen to me. I'm glad you could use your gift to help Ken, but you have to stop."

"Stop? How? I can't control it."

"I know. That will come with time, but you have to stop trying to use your gift. If you can interact with the past, or the future, then who knows what the ramifications of that are? Imagine if you somehow managed to stop Greg from killing Melina, and because of that, she and Ken went for a ride in his car, had an accident, and he was killed? See what I mean? Or, how could you be in Gardner to help Ken, if she hadn't been killed in the first place, because you stopped Ken from leaving, and she was never killed?" Vicki shook her head. "It makes my head hurt just thinking about it."

"What am I supposed to do? Should I have let Ken go to prison for no reason?"

"I don't know. We need to get you to the compound where we can consult with the masters and let them try to help you. You could be the most powerful gifted since Caomhainn," Liz said.

"That's the guy that could do the time thing?"

"Yes, that's him," Liz confirmed.

"So, what do I do until then?"

"It seems your gift is caused by stress, strong emotions, things like that. Would you agree?" Vicki asked.

I shrugged. "I don't know. Maybe?"

"Then we need to keep you away from those situations. Only happy thoughts until we can make the arrangements," Liz said.

"What arrangements?"

"For you to go to the compound," Aunt Elizabeth said.

"When?"

"As soon as possible," Liz answered, her voice firm.

"What? No! What about Cathy's, and ¡Picante!, and Coffee with Cream? I can't leave now!"

"This is for your own good," Vicki chimed in.

"Yes... but..." I spluttered.

"Cam... you need to do this, and the sooner the better. One of us will go with you, and the other can stay behind to look after things," Vicki said.

"That's going to be a lot, between the resort, Coffee with Cream, and everything else," I pointed out.

"I know, but it can't be helped," Aunt Vicki said softly.

I slumped. "I need to think about it."

"It's going to take a few weeks to get everything ready anyway," Liz said. "Until then, you need to stay away from Ken." I sighed as I slumped lower in my chair. "Just until you can learn control."

"Hunter too," Vicki said softly.

"Hunter? Why?"

"I've seen how you look at him. You can't tell me he doesn't provoke an emotional response in you," Liz said.

I couldn't stop my smile. "I suppose you could say that, but that's asking a lot."

"I know. But we're worried about you," Victoria said. "About what you might inadvertently do."

I sighed. "How about Hunter and I keep it casual for now?"

Victoria agreed instantly with a smile. "Deal. I'm thankful to get that much."

"Hello, beautiful," Hunter said as he opened the door to his apartment.

I smiled as I stepped in. Hunter's apartment was small, with more than a few motorcycle and performance parts catalogs laying around, but it was generally neat and tidy.

I melted into his arms. I'd only been gone four days, but it felt like four months. "I'm so glad to be home."

He held me. "Me too. Even though I don't see you every day, just knowing I could is way better than having you all the way up in the U.P."

I smiled, enjoying his warm embrace. "I know how you feel."

He eased me out of his hug and gave me a quick kiss. "From what I've heard, that was some fantastic work up there. How ever did you figure out it was Greg?"

I shrugged. I didn't want to talk about it. "He was the only person I could figure out that had anything to gain."

He shook his head as he smiled at me. "I'm going to have to start introducing you as Mrs. Sherlock Holmes. No! Even better, Nancy Drew." He gave me another quick kiss. "I better be careful or you'll be after my job."

I smiled. "I don't want your job. I've had quite enough of murder, thank you very much. I'll stick to dipping ice cream and let you catch the bad guys."

He smiled, his face softening before he took my face in his hands and drew me into a long, slow kiss. "That's good," he breathed. "If you took my job, I don't know how I'd pay my half of our rent."

I smiled. "Don't worry. As I said, I don't want... wait... what? Our rent?"

He smiled. "I realized how much I missed you while you were gone. I know it was only four days, but it felt like four years." He took me gently into his hands, holding me by my shoulders as he watched my eyes. "I know we've been dating only a little more than seven months, but I've been thinking about this for a while. I know you're staying in that trailer just to save money, but if we moved in together, it should be even less expensive than living there by yourself."

"Hunter, I--"

"Not here," he hurried on. "This place is too small. You said you'd like to live in someplace nicer. We could find someplace nice together. A bigger place. What do you think?"

To say I was stunned would be an understatement, but I could feel a smile tugging at my lips. "I'd like to, I really would. But I can't. Not right now."

"Oh," he said, his face crumbling into crushing disappointment.

"It's not like that," I said. "I really would like to. In fact, let's do, but I have something I have to do first."

His face smoothed slightly as a glimmer of hope appeared. "What?"

"I'm supposed to go with one of my aunts to Vermont."

"Okay," he said slowly. "You can't do that after we move in together?"

"It's not about the moving in. It's about a promise I made. I'd move in with you tomorrow, now even, except I promised my aunts that I'd, uh..." I faltered, unable to tell him the real reason I couldn't move in with him.

"You'd what?"

"That, well, to be honest, that I wouldn't become involved with someone, namely you, until after the trip."

He looked at me, his face a mask of confusion. "I don't understand."

"Don't try. There's a complicated religious reason that I don't fully understand myself."

"Okay," he said slowly.

"It's not like that," I said. "It's because I gave Aunt Vicki and Liz my word, that's all."

"And why do they care?"

"They worry," I said. I needed to change the subject because I was running out of excuses. "It has something to do with their religion, and I have to see some somebody about something. Like I said, it's complicated and I don't understand it myself. Everyone around here knows my aunts are a little... different. You live here long enough, you'll realize it too."

"You're not using this as an excuse are you? I'd rather you tell me you're not interested than to string me along.

"Absolutely not. I'd love to move in with you, and had you asked me this before I promised my aunts, we'd go get my clothes tonight." I smiled as I reached up and touched his face. "In fact, can we go apartment shopping this week? Maybe... if you don't mind, if I get everything packed and leave you my house key, you can move me in while I'm gone?"

He relaxed and smiled. "I might be willing to do that." His smile spread slightly. "You're not saying this just to get out of helping move are you?"

"Would I do that?"

He kissed me quickly. "I don't know. Would you?"

I smiled. "Maybe... but not this time."

"Because you gave your aunts your word?"

"Yes. There's some kooky religious reason why they don't want me to become even more involved with you than I already am until after this trip... but I'm doing it because I gave them my word." That's close enough to the truth that I'm not telling him a complete lie. "It's not about me not wanting to move in with you, it's about me wanting to keep my word... and I'm giving you my word... if you still want me to, I'll move in with you as soon as I get back from my trip."

"I still don't understand."

"I don't either. All I know is I'm not supposed to become emotionally involved with anyone until after this trip. Well... to bad, because I'm already involved with you, but if we moved in together, there's no way I can maintain the distance we have now."

"What kind of weird religion is this, anyway? Some kind of cult?"

I smiled. "No, nothing like that. At least I hope not. That's what I'm supposed to find out. I only know it has some very old traditions, so old, I guess nobody is even sure how far back it goes." He looked at me, his face still displaying his hurt. I smiled and kissed him. "Don't worry. I'm not being brainwashed or anything like that. I want to do this, to see what it is my aunts prize so highly."

"But you'll come back, right?"

I smiled again. "Of course, silly. You've met my aunts. Do they seem coo-coo to you?"

He smiled. "No more so than the rest of us."

"There you go."

"When is this?"

"Not sure. My aunts are working on setting it up."

"And you'll come back?"

"Yes."

"And you'll still move in with me?"

"If you want me too." I smiled. "Especially if all my stuff is here... there... wherever we end up."

He smiled. "Want to go apartment shopping this weekend?"

"I'd love to."

"And you don't think they'll change your mind?"

"They might try," I said, pitching my voice up so he'd know they'd be wasting their breath.

"How long will you be gone?"

"I don't know... but not one day longer than I absolutely have to be."

He sighed dramatically. "I've waited this long. I guess another few weeks won't matter."

"No," I breathed as I snuggled into his chest and looked up, "but I see no reason to not practice living together tonight, do you?"

He smiled as he lowered his lips to mine. "No," he rumbled in return.