Keepers: A Timeless Novella by Laura Kreitzer Page B

“Not sure how Andrew
will react, though.”
    “ With grace, I’m sure,”
Jenna said.
    I looked back at Jenna.
“You’re probably right.”
    The sun was setting, so
everyone went inside. The house smelled delicious, and on top of
the stove were two baking dishes of lasagna. Jenna had already set
the table.
    “ What’s the special
occasion?” Gabby asked, eyeing the food. With everything going on
today, we hadn’t eaten since breakfast.
    “ Where food’s involved, we
don’t need an occasion,” Jenna said. “Just ask Joseph.”
    “ It’s true,” I agreed.
“Eating should always be an affair.”
    After we ungraciously
stuffed our faces with Jenna’s delectable meal, I excused myself
from the table. On the guest bed were three wrapped boxes. Gabby
had poked fun at me for owning one of these since we first met, so
I thought it only appropriate she be given the chance to own one
herself. Everyone went silent when they saw the gifts. Jules
bounced in Firen’s lap as if it were her birthday.
    “ What’s this?” Gabby asked,
looking skeptical.
    “ Just a thank you gift,” I
said.
    She shook her head. “That’s
not necessary.”
    “ Yes it is.” I shoved a box
in her hands. I handed the second one to Andrew, and his eyebrows
rose in surprise. “I owe you my life,” I told him. “So don’t look
so surprised.”
    Andrew accepted it with
grace, just as Jenna predicted. I placed the third box in the
middle of the table.
    “ Who’s that for?” Jules
asked, still bouncing excitedly.
    “ If you eat everything on
your plate, you can have it,” I said, grinning. I knew it wasn’t a
wise idea to bring gifts without giving Jules one too.
    Jules shoveled food into
her mouth, giving herself a tomato sauce mustache. Gabriella still
held the box, checking it over and shaking it.
    “ What is it?” she
wondered.
    “ Open it, Aunt Gab-ella,”
Jules demanded through a mouthful of food. Firen held up a napkin,
but Jules ignored it.
    “ We don’t talk with our
mouths full,” Jenna scolded her. Jules was too busy scarfing down
the rest of her food to say another word. Jenna rolled her eyes,
something she and Gabby both did quite often.
    Gabriella pulled the
strings of the bow and ripped open the wrapping paper. Andrew
followed her lead. She stared at the box for a few seconds, then
her eyes found mine.
    “ No,” Gabriella said in
disbelief. She suspiciously watched my expression to see if this
was a trick. “No,” she repeated. “What’s really inside this
box?”
    Andrew twisted his box
around, reading the outside. His face was so serious that I worried
I’d offended him. Then his lips twitched. He glanced up at Gabby,
and they had another one of their mind-to-mind
conversations.
    “ Hey, none of that,” I said
and stepped between them.
    Gabriella tore through the
box and pulled out the shiny phone still wrapped in plastic.
“Joseph.” Her voice was awed. “You shouldn’t have.” She stood and
hugged me.
    My breath left me in a
whoosh of air. “Can’t. Breathe.”
    “ Oh, sorry.” She backed
away. “Thank you so much.”
    “ This is the Miracle
Phone?” Andrew asked from behind me.
    I laughed.
“Allegedly.”
    “ This is a generous gift. I
do not deserve it.”
    Jenna mouthed, “I told you
so,” from behind Andrew. He held his hand out, and I
accepted.
    Andrew and I weren’t
exactly sharing bunk beds like best of friends, but he’d proven
himself a true warrior in Italy. Plus, he tried to save my life
when the Soul Stalker had gutted me, even though Gabriella was hurt
too. I knew he mostly did it for her, but who was I to complain? A
hero was a hero, no matter his motivation.
    Gabriella turned on the
phone. I’d already had it activated with a blocked number to help
protect her from the media. The only reason her house wasn’t
swarming with news vans and tourists was because I had the title of
the house transferred into the fake identity the FBI had given her
in the fall. Now that