Page 8 of It Runs in the Family

Garrett got a beer from the fridge and popped the lid off the bottle. “Was it spiked?”

“No,” I said with a laugh. “Not this time. I helped her transplant onions and lettuce into her vegetable garden.”

He took a pull from his bottle and set it on the counter. “All the more reason for her to spike it so she could get you to agree.”

“I don’t need to be bribed.”

“You’re definitely one of a kind.” He grabbed a glass, filled it with ice and water, and handed it to me. “To what do I owe the visit?” He glanced down at JJ, whom I was currently bouncing with one arm around his chest. “And hell no, I’m not watching Rita’s baby.”

“Nobody asked you to. I can’t imagine it would be great PR for Mesquite County if one of their deputies was accused of not knowing how to take care of a baby.”

He grinned. “That’s not an actual crime, Irie. Otherwise, half the county would be locked up.”

“Well…” I said, making a face. “I know that you, of all people, would never let this baby come to harm.”

“Thank you. I’m going to take that as a compliment.” He sat in his recliner and took another pull from the bottle.

I continued to stand because JJ seemed happy, and I wasn’t about to screw that up.

“So, to what do I owe the visit?” he asked again, keeping his eyes on the baby.

“Do I need a reason to visit my favorite cousin?”

“No, but you usually text or call or FaceTime. Not drop by without warning.”

It was true. We were close, but we didn’t have a drop-by-on-a-whim relationship. Even when he let me force a vision of him, we always scheduled it.

I considered bullshitting him, but like Granny, Garrett and I didn’t have a bullshitting relationship.

“I had a spontaneous vision last night.”

His brow furrowed and he ran a hand over his chin. “I thought you didn’t have many spontaneous visions anymore. Not since you started scheduling visions with us cousins. Well, if you’re here in my living room telling me about it, it must have been something that upset you.”

“You’re right,” I said, suddenly nervous, “and if you give me a chance, I’ll tell you.”

Right now, the vision was sitting in my head, not real. But once I told Garrett, I would be giving it life. Part of me wondered if I should just ignore it and hope it never came to fruition, but if I did, I’d be leaving Selena at risk.

He started to say something, then stopped.

“It was after one this morning at the Stop-n-Go,” I said, barely holding back my fear, “and this man came in. He had bad energy, Garrett, like scary. I had my finger hovering over your speed dial button on my phone before I realized you were likely in bed.”

His eyes flew wide at the word scary. He knew I wasn’t one to overreact. “You should have called me anyway, Irie!” he said in a panic. “What if he hurt you and left? It could have been an hour or more before someone came into the store!”

As he said it, I realized he was right. Unless I’d had a chance to hit the panic button first, but it only takes a second to shoot someone. My vision had proven that. “That’s beside the point.”

“Then what is?”

JJ let out a whimper. I turned him around so his face was snuggled against my neck, then cupped his butt and bounced him lightly. “The guy came up to the counter, and that’s when I had the vision.”

He stilled and studied me for a few seconds. “When was the last time that happened?”

“A few years.”

“What did you see?”

“Last night or the one years ago? I think the other one was about donuts.”

His eyes darkened. “Iris.”