Falling Light (Game of Shadows #2)(50)

A central fieldstone fireplace dominated the living room area. Both her and Michael’s shoes had been set on the hearth, along with the blanket that she had cut to make a makeshift poncho.

She paused to study an eighteen-inch artifact on the mantel. It was a doll constructed of sticks, scraps of cloth and a painted black-and-white face. It was an odd, compelling figure that somehow embodied both gaiety and menace. She stood on tiptoe to get a closer look.

A man said behind her, “What do you think of the Haokah?”

She turned around.

Jerry stood taller than she thought he would. He was every bit as tall as Nicholas and his grandson. She ran a professional gaze down his body. His face was still haggard but he seemed steady on his feet, and his color was good. He had pulled his gray-streaked hair back in a ponytail, and he was dressed and wearing a jacket.

Jamie stood at his grandfather’s shoulder, his youthful, handsome face lively with curiosity.

Jerry looked at Jamie and jerked his chin toward the door. With a flash of disappointment in his eyes, Jamie gave her a sullen smile that was startlingly sexy and left the cabin.

“Hello,” she said to Jerry. She held out a hand, and Jerry took it in both of his. He squeezed her fingers. “I was just wondering what this doll was. What did you call it?”

“It is the figure of a Haokah, or a sacred clown. A Haokah teaches us through adversity. Sometimes the lessons are funny, like slapstick. You might slip on a banana peel and laugh, but you know you’ve learned to watch your step.” Jerry regarded the figure on the mantel with a complex, unreadable expression. “Sometimes the lessons are darker and harder, like how to live with the death of your son.”

“I’m so sorry for your loss,” she murmured, even as Nicholas took form beside them.

The ghost put his hand on his father’s shoulder. She held her breath, waiting to see if Jerry would sense it.

He did not appear to notice, and her gaze moistened, for both father and son. She cleared her throat and turned away to focus on the doll on the mantel.

“A Haokah teaching is a big gift,” Jerry said. “It makes the soul grow. We honor our Haokah teachers but we are wary of them too, because those lessons can hurt like a son of a bitch.” He paused. “I dreamed of Nicholas. He said I owe you my life. He also said that you would kick my ass if I didn’t stop smoking.”

She glanced sidelong at Nicholas, who nodded, and she felt somewhat better for the both of them. She told Jerry, “He was right.”

Jerry’s dark eyes studied her as he grumbled, “I make no promises.”

“Then I make no promises about not kicking your ass,” she told him with a small grin. “You shouldn’t be out of bed yet.”

Jerry grunted. “I see you’re one of those doctors.”

“Who are ‘those doctors’?”

“You know, the bossy ones.” Lines deepened at the corners of his eyes as he returned her smile. He said, “Thank you.”

“You’re welcome. And I meant what I said—you need bed rest, and I want to check you over again. What are you doing up and dressed?”

“I’ll have to take a rain check on that exam. The boy is going to see me home, and I’ll rest there. We’ve been here too long, and his mother will be worried. You’ve done enough for now, and it’s past time for us to leave.” His smile faded. “You and the others, you have bigger and more dangerous concerns to face.”

She bit her lip. She had meant to do more than just check Jerry over. She had wanted to tell him how much Nicholas, even as a ghost, had come to mean to her.

She had also been tempted to tell him what they were going to try to do.

But now she rethought that impulse. If they failed—if she failed to resurrect Nicholas—Jerry would mourn his son all over again. If they succeeded, then Nicholas could tell his father in person.

“Hold on,” she said. “You’re not going to slip away from me that easily. At least let me examine you.”

He grumbled, but there was kindness in his eyes and no heat in his complaints. She made him sit at the kitchen table, while she stood behind him and put her hands on his shoulders. Then she sank her awareness into his body and studied her handiwork from earlier.

Finally she pulled out again, patted his shoulder and told him, “You’re not going to like me saying this, but you need rest and a low-fat diet. No red meat.”

He grunted. It was the most noncommittal grunt she had ever heard.

She nodded and patted him again. “When you feel up to it in a few days, start taking short walks and gradually increase those over time. Build up to at least a half an hour a day. And no more smoking.”

He reached to his shoulder and took one of her hands. “On that note, I think it’s past time I leave.”

She chuckled. “Okay.”

He stood and faced her, and to her immense surprise, he gave her a strong bear hug. It startled a smile out of her, and she hugged him back.

“Come and see me,” he said. “I’ll make deer stew, fry bread and blackberry sauce. It was Nicholas’s favorite meal.”

“I would be honored,” she told him. With any luck, Nicholas would be with her to visit, and they could turn the meal into a celebration.

Jerry nodded and turned toward the door. Nicholas joined her, and together they watched Jerry as he walked out of the cabin. He moved with care but he was steady on his feet, and he appeared to be in no pain.