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

sounds like a great idea.” Silas went around and got in his side. Soon, they were driving along the coast, both of their windows down so they could enjoy the salty ocean breeze.

“Everything is so colorful here,” Tessa mused as they passed a group of turquoise, orange, and yellow-painted shops. “I’ve always loved the bright colors of ocean towns.”

“Mist River Manor is going to be due for a paint job soon. Maybe we should consider Caribbean blue.” Silas grinned. The breeze caught his hair and deposited it over one eye, where it seemed to live most of the time anyway. Suddenly, he pulled over and parked the car. “Do you mind if we walk the boardwalk for a bit? I really need to find a kiosk or shop selling sunglasses. I forgot to bring some.”

“Sure. My legs could use a stretch after the plane ride.”

They strolled on the boardwalk for an hour or so, ducking into shops and buying Silas’s sunglasses. Tessa got a pair too, even though she’d brought some. She couldn’t resist a huge, purple-rimmed pair with rhinestones on the corners.

The sun set as they watched from a deck jutting out from the boardwalk overlooking the beach. Then, Silas suddenly pointed at something a little further along. “Whatever that truck is selling, it smells amazing.”

Tessa inhaled a deep breath and groaned. “Mexican,” she said.

“Let’s go.” Silas grabbed Tessa’s hand and pulled her along, almost jogging, until they stood in front of the truck’s window perusing the menu. Then he darted a look at her and abruptly dropped the hand to push back his hair.

Tessa was sorry he’d let go.

They ordered empanadas and a basket of chips and salsa to share and picked a spot on the sand to sit and eat. They munched in silence, watching the waves and other beachgoers wander along.

“This is nice,” Silas said when his food was gone. “And you didn’t need to be dressed fancy or anything.”

She laughed and popped the last bite of empanada into her mouth.

It was nice.

In fact, Tessa found herself wishing she got to spend all of the next few days with Silas. The thought of attending boring reaper presentations—the thought of death in general—was far away when he was around. Silas was so alive, so full of life and energy, that it made her want to be that way too.

Chapter 6

THE SPREAD OUTSIDE the conference room entrance was insane. Tessa surveyed the first of two long tables. There were all kinds of breakfast foods to choose from. Of course, she gravitated toward the sweets. There were pastries galore as well as French toast stuffed with cream cheese and chocolate chip pancakes.

But thinking of her bathing suit, she settled for scrambled eggs and some sliced fruit. Next to her, Gloria grabbed a sampling of all the treats, ignoring anything that wasn’t sweet—except bacon. Because bacon. She stacked several slices on her already loaded plate.

“These talks can be boring,” she said, gesturing to Mount Sugar on her plate. “This keeps it interesting.”

To Tessa, it looked more like Gloria would be comatose in about a half hour. She grabbed a cup of coffee from the coffee station—and reluctantly snatched a couple donut holes—before following her friend to sit at one of six or seven long tables facing a small stage with a podium.

Tessa stuck pretty close to Gloria. So far, she’d only met a few other reapers in the elevator and the lobby. And she’d tried to act cool. But the truth was it was all slightly intimidating.

Part of her mind was on Silas, wondering what he was doing with the day. He’d dropped her off at a decent hour the night before. Gloria had been in their hotel room, waiting to grill Tessa on how the night had gone. She’d struggled to hide the disappointment on her face, hearing it was just a walk on the beach and some food truck eats with no goodnight kiss.

Tessa might’ve forgotten to tell her friend about the brief moment when Silas had taken her hand. She was still unsure herself if it had really happened—and if it meant as much to him as it did her.

Gloria sat next to Shirley, the reaper from British Columbia, who sipped tea and smiled at them from behind the steaming cup.

Music began to play, and a countdown timer started on a screen above the stage, signaling to everyone that the program would begin shortly.

Gloria and Tessa dug into their food. Around a bite of Boston cream donut, Gloria said, “How’s things in the great white north, Shirl?”

“Oh, just fine. Just fine. And Mist River is still standing, I take it?”

“It’s as exciting as ever,” Gloria confirmed before gulping some orange juice. She wiped her mouth with a napkin. “Luckily, our district covers a pretty big area, so we have plenty of chances to get out of our micro-town pretty often. Oh, this is Tessa Randolph. She’s a rookie this year.”

The woman gave Tessa a kind smile. “I remember when I first started. It’s such an exciting time.”

Exciting. That was definitely one way to explain Tessa’s first week on the job.

“Make sure you take notes here—there are always lots of good tidbits and takeaways. And come to my talk later today. It’s lighter than most. I’m doing one on the funniest reaps I’ve done in my several decades on the job.” She chuckled. “I’ve had some real roll-on-the-floor fantastic times.”

Gloria jerked her chin toward the conference room doorway, where April was just entering. “While Shirl’s talks are fun, there are others that border on torture.” She rolled her eyes and leaned closer to Tessa to whisper, “I challenge you not to fall asleep during April’s afternoon sessions.”

Tessa snorted. “Boring, huh?”

“Mind-numbingly.” Gloria leaned back, getting Shirley’s attention once more. “Do you know anything about Art’s death?”

The elder reaper checked that no one nearby was listening and then said, “Just that it wasn’t planned. There was no order for it and no reaper ready for his