The Tessa Randolph Collection, Books 1-3 by Paula Lester (best ereader for comics .txt) 📗

was old but sparkling clean and cheerfully decorated. It looked more like someone’s home than a hotel, which Tessa found soothing. The lobby was filled with plants and bright paintings, and a small desk stood in the corner instead of a big doctor’s office-style window.

No one sat behind the desk.

Tessa hurried over and rang the bell. She waited, tapping her foot, for a minute, but time was getting away from her. Thinking about how she’d been too late to escort Mr. Sanborn over and the huge mess that ensued, she figured she’d better be proactive about finding Ellen.

Her maternal grandmother had lived in the home, so Tessa knew her way around a bit. She pictured the layout for a moment—there was one wing for men and another for women. She headed toward the women’s wing, entering the long hallway through a metal door.

The cheerful décor continued in the hallway—more plants, paintings, and tables. Tessa hurried along, glancing into each open door she came to, hoping Ellen wasn’t behind one of the few closed ones.

About halfway down, on the left, Tessa found her. And she was too late. Ellen had already passed away. Her spirit stood next to the still form on the bed. Well, at least she’d stayed put. She hadn’t run like Sanborn did when her reaper wasn’t johnny-on-the-spot.

Tessa moved into the room. It reminded her of her grandmother, all decorated in pale pink and pastel green. Lace doilies covered every available surface, and silver-framed pictures of Ellen and her family made up the main decoration.

Ellen smiled at Tessa. “Hello, dear. I’m glad you could make it.”

“Sorry I’m late.” Tessa smiled. “I’m new and still getting the hang of all this.”

“Oh, don’t you worry yourself about it.” Ellen gazed lovingly at her physical form, brushing a transparent hand over her own cheek. “It was a good body, and in the end, I went in my sleep.”

“So did my grandmother,” Tessa said.

Ellen beamed back at her. “I couldn’t have asked for a better life or death.”

Tessa couldn’t help but think of her dad. He hadn’t gotten the good, long life that Ellen had. He didn’t even have much time to contemplate the rest of his life. His reaper had let him sacrifice himself.

Ellen’s spirit floated away from her body, stopping at a framed photo of her younger self, smiling next to a handsome man. “I can’t wait to see Walter. Do you know, will it be very long before I can be with him?”

“I, uh, I don’t know the answer to that.”

Ellen waved off the apology. “Oh, that’s right. You’re new. It’s okay. I guess I’ll find out soon enough!”

“Yeah, it’s probably time to go.” Tessa wanted to get back to the agency and put in her resignation. She waved a hand, and a beam of light shot into the room as though someone had opened a skylight. She reached out for Ellen’s spirit. “Are you ready?”

“Yes, dear. I am.” Ellen turned away from her body. She shot Tessa one more smile.

Tessa reached out and touched the spirit. It didn’t feel like anything, but suddenly, she felt like she was moving—rising into the beam of light. They traveled together like that for a few moments. Tessa glanced at Ellen’s spirit. Her expression was serene. Hopeful. Happy.

She looked beautiful.

Suddenly, Ellen gasped and pointed. Ahead of them, a figure stood, backlit by the white light. As they got closer, Tessa could see it was an elderly man. She stopped short and let Ellen go ahead. She floated toward the other spirit, who opened his arms to embrace her tenderly.

Tears sprang to Tessa’s eyes. She could feel the joy emanating from both spirits. They were at peace, finally reunited at the end of long, happy lives.

The spirits parted, and the man offered his elbow to Ellen, who accepted it readily. They floated away, blinking out of Tessa’s view after a moment.

In the next instant, Tessa was back in Ellen’s room. The light was gone. She slipped out and hurried back toward the lobby, filled with emotion, still wiping tears from her eyes. What she’d just witnessed—the reunion she’d facilitated with her reaper power—had been nothing short of breathtakingly beautiful. Tessa felt honored to have witnessed it.

She emerged from the nursing home into the sun and looked to the sky, imagining Ellen and her husband dancing with the stars, still in love even in the next leg of their journey. She smiled and breathed deeply, feeling her heart settle into an easier rhythm than she’d felt in days.

She shook her head, thinking about her mother. Cheryl knew exactly what she was doing. Maybe Tessa didn’t want to give up her new job after all.

Chapter 15

TESSA DECIDED TO HEAD home for some lunch and figure out her next move for finding Chet Sanborn. She realized that crossing over wasn’t necessarily as scary as Chet probably thought. Or at least it didn’t have to be. She just had to convince Chet. Things would resolve themselves on Earth with or without him. But she did hope that everything with his son Mark found a resolution soon.

Silas was in the lobby, taking a rare break and sitting behind the front desk doing nothing. He smiled, revealing those irresistible dimples. He nodded toward the sun streaming through the front windows. “Nice day.”

“Yeah, it’s wonderful out.”

“If only I wasn’t stuck inside.”

“What? Are you out of repairs to work on?”

He snorted. “Never. I’m just taking a breather.”

“That’s so . . . unlike you.”

“I’m taking a play out of your playbook,” he said. “Oh, by the way, I saw Officer Stewart at the hardware store this morning. We had an interesting conversation.”

“About?”

“Well, about grout mostly.”

“And?”

“And he told me they released Mark Sanborn.”

Tessa pursed her lips, thinking. “So, they can’t prove he did it.”

“Usually,” Silas said, “they don’t make an arrest until they’re pretty sure they can prove it. I’m thinking he must have had an alibi that checked out and overwhelmed their proof.”

“That’s what you think, huh?”

Silas shrugged.