Free Loss, a paranormal thriller by Glen Krisch Page A

wadding a newspaper into the mix, he lit it with a long stick match.
    "Sometimes dumb luck is the luckiest."  Angie hugged Bizzy close, feeling the rapid-fire heartbeat against her shoulder.
    When Nathan turned to face Angie, his smile still wide, almost too wide, she noticed for the first time how he'd started growing a beard.  It was scraggly, and needed a trim. 
    "When did you start growing a beard?"
    "About the time Macy told me I couldn't."  His smile faltered for a second, but then it returned as he rubbed a palm across his cheek.  "It's ugly as hell isn't it?"
    "I think I agree with Macy.  You're not a beard kind of guy."
    Nathan took a seat on a recliner and stared into the fire.  "I've been thinking lately that I'm not a Macy kind of guy, either."
    "What?  What are you talking about?"
    "It started when you were still in the hospital," he said, meeting her eye.  "She was sad, hell we were all miserable, and so she stayed over one night.  Which is fine, but then, you know, she never left."
    "Is that so bad?"
    "No, I guess not.  But there are other things.  Things that she doesn't like about me, that are a part of me.  Things that I can't change."
    An immeasurable discomfort accompanied the odd direction the conversation had taken.  And her muddled mind couldn't shake the idea that the dumb luck of his arrival might not have been so dumb after all.  "Are you sure you should be talking to me about this?  Maybe one of your brothers would be a better choice."
    "It's you, Angie.  I've always had a thing for you.  You know that.  That night... the night of the accident... when I followed you out so I could move my car when you were leaving the party?  The kiss?  I told Macy."
    The breath left her lungs in a rush.  "You didn't?"
    "I did.  And she didn't like it.  I thought she would be mad, or that she'd even break up with me.  But instead, she moved in with me, and ever since then, I can barely leave her side."
    "You've been together a long time.  She loves you, and deep inside, she understands you.  That means something.  That means a lot, actually.  That level of understanding can mean everything in a relationship."
    "But understanding... believing you know another person, that's pretty arrogant, don't you think?  Who really knows anyone else?  Who can look inside another, even their supposed soul mate, and truly understand?"
    "You can never know a person to that extent, at least not how you're thinking."
    "Even you and Paul?"  He looked into her eyes, his cynicism pinching his smile into a sharp-bladed slash.
    "No matter how long you're with someone... no matter how open you are with your partner, you'll never fully understand them.  It's impossible, a part of human nature to shield a certain percentage of yourself from the rest of the world.  You and Macy are great together.  It's so hard to find someone, and to find someone who connects with you on the level that you and Macy connect?  That's a miracle.  Don't turn your back on that."
    "Maybe you're right."
    They were silent for a long while.  The heat from the hearth chased away the last of Bizzy's shivering.  The dog fell asleep in Angie's arms.  So like a baby.  So like the one thing in the world Angie had never been able to give to Paul.
    "I want to tell you something, but I don't want you to be mad at me," Nathan said, his voice a whisper as warm as the heat from the fireplace.
    After a moment's hesitation, Angie said, "Okay?"
    "Promise?"
    "I can't promise anything.  I can try, at least."
    "This is going to sound weird, but I don't want it to be.  I don't want you to think I'm weird, or some kind of stalker."
    "Nathan, you're starting to worry me."
    "It's not you, not really.  That's not what it's about.  It's about me, and my role in this family.  I've always been the baby, but I don't want that anymore."
    "What are you talking about?"
    "Maybe two, three times since the accident... well, I've come over and watched the