Where The Heart Is: A Bay City Paranormal Investigations story

Where the Heart Is
Ally Blue
Dedication
    To Melanie and Jesse for introducing me to Carrboro, especially Weaver Street Market and The Open Eye. Talk about inspiration! And as always, my eternal gratitude to my wonderful, wonderful critique partners for their support, their friendship and their knack for seeing things I don’t.
Chapter One
    Carrboro’s Weaver Street Market was a veritable Godiva Gold Collection of eye candy. Especially on sunny, unseasonably warm Saturday afternoons in early January. The faint lingering nip in the air wasn’t nearly enough to discourage the crowds of aging hippies, families and college students from congregating on the Market’s wide lawn and outdoor tables.
    Slouched on a bench beneath a spreading oak, legs stretched out in front of him, Dean Delapore lifted his black shades and aimed a smoldering look at the doe-eyed young man watching him from across the shaded lawn. The boy gave him a coy smile.
    The bench moved as someone plopped down beside Dean. He turned to face Kerry Shiffer, one of the friends he’d come here to visit. “Did you get your ice cream?”
“It’s not ice cream, it’s gelato.” Fishing in her canvas grocery bag, Kerry pulled out a small brown and white container. “Organic and locally produced by Green Fields Creamery.”
“Of course.” Dean slid his shades back into place and lifted his face to the winter sunshine. “I’m glad you and Ron talked me into coming up here to visit. Y’all know how much I love my job, but I seriously needed a vacation. We’ve been up to our eyeballs in freaky cases lately.”
Kerry turned sideways on the bench and tucked a leg underneath her, one hand absently rubbing her six-months-pregnant belly. “Well, we’re both glad you could come up. With the baby coming Ron needs to save up his time off, and we both need to hang on to our money. But we wanted to see you. It’s been way too long.”
“It sure has.” Putting an arm around Kerry’s shoulders, Dean kissed the top of her curly auburn head. “I miss college some days. The three of us had some great times together here at UNC.”
“We sure did.” Kerry planted a kiss on Dean’s cheek, patted his knee and rose to her feet. “Come on, let’s head back now. Ron should be home soon.”
“Cool.” Dean jumped up and fell into step beside Kerry. “I hate that he had to go in to work today.”
She shrugged. “That’s what he gets for being the only one there who actually knows how the hell their computer network functions, I guess. At least it’s only for a little while.”
“Yeah.” Sticking his hands in his back pockets, Dean grinned at a gap-toothed little girl who waved at him from atop a nearby brick planter. “I don’t blame y’all a bit for settling here. It’s a great town. Always has been.”
“Yeah. I’m just glad this warm snap hung around for your visit. It’s usually colder than this in January.” She gave him a sidelong glance as they crossed the street and headed down the hill past colorful shops and restaurants. “I wish you could stay longer.”
“Me too. But Bay City Paranormal could only spare me for a couple of weeks.”
Kerry wrinkled her freckled nose. “I don’t see why they couldn’t let you off for longer.”
Dean laughed. “Bo was willing to let me off for a month, but I told him I’d only take two weeks. It’s a small business, and we’ve been super busy lately. They need me.”
“Yeah, but still—”
“Kerry, I love you, but give it a rest, huh?” Dean nudged Kerry’s shoulder. “I don’t mind. Really. Like I said, I love my job. And I love my coworkers. They’re a great group.”
Her round face lit up, blue eyes sparkling. “Any of them you love more than the others?”
Shaking his head, Dean pushed the “walk” button at the next corner. “You know me, Kerry. I don’t tie myself down.”
She shot him a careful look. “You would have, once. Please tell me she didn’t totally destroy your ability to settle down with somebody else.”
At that moment, Dean was grateful he had his sunglasses on. He didn’t want Kerry to see his eyes, because she was right. Sharon had been his first real love. The first person, male or female, with whom he’d seriously considered having a permanent relationship. When she found out he was bisexual and had slept with men, she’d left him. He didn’t like to admit, even to himself, just how painful that had been. Or just how much it had affected his life