Believing (Lily Dale #2)(61)

Odelia sighs. “You did. But you need to learn that there are other ways to protect yourself. Not just physically.”

“Meaning?”

“Meaning it’s time you learned what you’re dealing with, Calla. Look, I know you went to Patsy’s class yesterday. And I’m glad.”

For a moment, as Calla figures out what to say to that, the only sound in the room is the rumble of Gert’s purring and the ticking of the stately grandfather clock on the far side of the room.

Then the telephone rings. All three of them—Calla, Odelia, and even Gert—jump at the piercing interruption.

Pressing one hand against her heart as if to calm its racing, Odelia stands and reaches for the receiver with the other. “Hello? Oh, Jeff! Hi!”

Uh-oh. Here we go.

At last, Calla faces the imminent answer to the question that’s been on her mind all day: How long will it take Dad, after her grandmother tells him what happened last night, to get on a plane? Or maybe just buy her a one-way ticket out of here?

She’s willing to bet one of them will be packing his or her bags momentarily.

“Oh, we’ve been fine,” Odelia says casually. “It’s been a little chilly since you left, and yesterday it poured all day.”

Wait a minute. Did Odelia just tell Dad they’ve been fine? And now she’s talking about the weather?

Shocked, Calla catches her grandmother’s eye. Odelia merely smiles at her and keeps chatting.

“Yes, she actually had a date last night with a nice boy. I’ve known his family for years. Hmm? Oh, he took her to a jazz concert in Buffalo. I know. Yes, she soaks up culture like a sponge, and there’s plenty of it around here. I was thinking of taking her to the Albright-Knox Art Gallery in Buffalo next weekend, actually.”

This is the first Calla’s heard of that, and if she weren’t so edgy, she’d have to smile. Odelia is laying it on thick.

Yeah, and now she’s outright lying: “No, she’s not here right now. She and Evangeline are out shopping with Ramona . . . Yes, from next door. Okay, I’ll tell them you said hello. Of course I’ll give Calla your love. Sure, I’ll have her call you back tomorrow since it might be too late when she gets back tonight. What? Oh, right, the time change. Well, sure, I’ll try to remember to tell her. You know how forgetful I can be, though, so don’t worry if you don’t hear from her until tomorrow . . . Okay, ’bye, Jeff.”

She hangs up, looking pleased with herself.

“Why did you do that, Gammy?”

“Because it was necessary. I thought you might be too exhausted to take a phone call right now.”

“When are we going to tell him what happened?”

“Who’s going to tell him? Not me.”

“So, you want me to do it, then?” Calla asks slowly, trying to wrap her mind around the situation. “Is that it?”

Odelia tilts her head. “Do you want to tell him?”

“Are you kidding me?” Calla frowns. Does she dare believe her grandmother is going to keep this a secret? That’s too good to be true.

“Look, if we tell him,” Odelia says matter-of-factly, “he’ll pull you out of here so fast your head will spin. He won’t understand that with that horrible man in jail, you’re as safe here as you are anywhere.”

Calla exhales shakily. Odelia is right. The danger—that particular danger, anyway—is past.

Dad definitely won’t see it that way if he finds out, though.

Which he won’t, if she and her grandmother don’t tell him. After Phil Chase was able to track her down thanks to the Dispatch article, the authorities promised to keep the press out of it this time. Calla was assured that her name, and any identifying details about her, won’t appear in the papers.

“The thing is,” her grandmother goes on, “it would be much more dangerous for you to be removed from Lily Dale and thrown into a world where you’ll have no spiritual guidance whatsoever. Here, I can keep an eye on you and you can begin with Patsy’s class and learn how to use your psychic abilities responsibly.”

“So, you want me to stay, then?”

“Of course. But more than that . . . you need to stay.”

“I thought you were going to be angry with me because . . . well, because I didn’t tell you about those visions I was having. With Kaitlyn. And that I called the tip line about Erin.”

“And saved a life.” Odelia sighs heavily. “Listen, I know what it’s like to see things you don’t understand . . . and to hide those things from everyone else because you don’t know what they mean, or you’re scared out of your mind, or you’re embarrassed and you think you’re some kind of freak. I need to set you on the right path. When I think about what might have happened to you . . .”

“But it didn’t happen.”

“But it could have,” Odelia says firmly, and holds her close. “And it’s partly my fault. I kept feeling it—that you were in some kind of danger—and what did I do?”

“It doesn’t matter. I’m okay.”

“It does matter. You almost weren’t okay. But you’re going to be safe here from now on, Calla. Lily Dale is the place for you right now and I’m going to do everything I can to see that you stay for as long as you need to. Now go get some sleep.”