Free Truth Is Found by Morgan Kelley

falling.
    Julian caught her as she began to drop. Swinging her up in his arms, he carried her over to the bed and placed her on the soft mattress.
    Tori was already gone, and the only thing Julian could think about was how much he hated this.
    To his core.
     
     
     
     
                         * * *   L   i   t   t   l  e  m  o  o  n  * * *
     
     
     
     
    Beau was washing dishes in the prep room when he could hear people talking outside the door. It was the big blonde woman on her cell phone. The conversation was apparently one sided.
    Carefully and quietly, he shut off the water, wiped his hands, and moved toward the door.
    As he stood there eavesdropping, he listened to the woman talking, and it was a telling conversation-- if he did say so himself.
    “I can’t meet you tonight,” she said.
    There was a pause.
    “We have guests arriving. You know that,” she added.
    More silence.
    “I want you too,” she whispered, her voice barely over a hiss. “You know you’re the only man who gets me off. I know! It’s just for sex. I get it.”
    Beau rolled his eyes.
    “I’ll see what I can do,” she finally said. “Okay?”
    He started back to the sink and the stack of glasses. It appeared that Pearlie wasn’t the only piranha in the winery pool. This woman was making a date.
    It appeared to be a booty call of sorts.
    As he made it back to the counter, he returned to his task at hand. He was curious, and when Cordell returned to the room, he had to know.
    “There’s this woman,” he began, describing her.
    “That’s Pearlie’s step-mother. She’s the boss’s wife. I’d keep your distance if you want your job.”
    He looked appalled. “No, I’m not interested. I just saw her and was curious. I didn't get to meet her on the tour. She seems way too intense.”
    “Well, she’ll eat you up and spit you out,” Cordell teased. “She makes Pearlie look like a saint--if you know what I mean. You’d think there was a contest between the two of them to see who could bag more dicks.”
    Well, that said it all.
    Cordell grabbed the tray of glasses. “Wow! You did a good job,” he stated. “There’s not a spot on them! The boss loves when the glasses look like this. You have a gift.”
    Beau laughed.
    What he had was years of working in the military. If you did it half-assed, you were on latrine duty.
    No one wanted that, so it was perfect the first time.
    “Thanks.”
    “I hope you stick around for a long time,” Cordell added.
    “Why?”
    “I hate doing glasses.”
    The two men laughed.
    When Cordell walked out, Beau finished his work. As he was washing and rinsing the dishes, he felt a breeze across his neck. It tickled his flesh, just subtly letting him know something was there.
    He’d heard the men at the agency talk, and it looked like he was having his first run in with a spirit.
    Where were his sister and Julian when he needed them?
    Beau was nervous.
    Looking around, there were no windows, so his initial suspicions had to be right.
    Then he heard children laughing.
    His heart began pounding in his chest. There was no way there would be kids running free in a winery.
    Right?
    Standing very still, he felt someone touch him. It was light and on his arm. It was like a finger was tracing some of the lines in the ink.
    He was afraid to move.
    It was when the apron ties around his waist began moving, like someone was pulling on them that his breathing became erratic.
    That’s when he saw it.
    His breath was visible in the once warm dishwashing room.
    He didn't move. Instead, he watched the dissipating puff of breath float up into the air.
    Chills crisscrossed his body as more fingers found the flesh on his arms. This was worse than Pearlie pawing at him.
    As one sleeve slid up, revealing the tattoo there, he heard more laughter.
    What the hell?
    There was a tug at his waist. Beau glanced down at the mesmerizing sway of the apron strings.
    Then they stopped.
    Slowly, they