didn’t see her arrive; she was just suddenly there, smiling with those knowing eyes I loved so well.
“Amber,” she murmured as she enfolded me in her arms. “It’s so good to hold you again. I’m sorry it’s taken this long.”
“Am I me?” I asked, looking down at myself and hoping for chunky legs and a big booty. Instead I saw long athletic legs and perky boobs. Damn.
“Don’t be disappointed,” Grammy told me gently. “You’re meeting me in a dream state, so just imagine anything you want to appear differently.”
I concentrated a moment, and then looked down again.
“I’m Amber! And I’m wearing my favorite butterfly pocket jeans.”
“It’s doesn’t matter how you look — I can always see you clearly.”
“Then why haven’t you helped?” I complained. “I tried to switch back and nothing happened. Cola was at the hospital but wouldn’t even help me.”
Cola hung his head and tucked his tail between his legs.
“Now don’t blame Cola,” Grammy chided. “He had a job to do and no time for you. When he returned here, he told me you needed my help.”
“But I also wanted to tell you about the Dark Lifer.”
Grammy gasped. “You’ve met a Dark Lifer?”
“Yeah — the hospital security guard, Karl.” I thought about mentioning my suspicion of Mr. Montgomery, but it just seemed too crazy.
“I’ll notify the Dark Disposal Team,” she told me. Then she apologized for not contacting me sooner. “But I’ve been busy with the Leah Montgomery situation. The switching of souls is a complicated affair, especially when suicide is involved.”
“You mean … Leah’s really dead?” I asked, afraid.
“No, thank God — and I do mean that literally. She decided to live. We don’t have time in this dream state for lengthy explanations so I’ll make it simple. Leah committed suicide, but thanks to your mistake, she was given a second chance.”
“My mistake saved her?” I asked incredulously.
“Yes. Instead of recycling into a new life, she went into a cocoon where she could consider her options. Ultimately, she asked for another chance at life. But that caused problems.”
“I don’t understand.”
“My job as an Earthbounder Counselor involves something called Temp Lifers. These are souls who temporarily step into someone’s body when they’re in crisis. When you switched into Leah’s body, you accidentally did what Temp Lifers do on purpose.”
I just looked at her.
“Okay, I can see you’re still confused, so here’s an example,” Grammy continued. “There’s this young girl, Jamie, who witnessed the drive-by shooting of her father. She was so traumatized that she needed a break from her body. So a Temp Lifer lived her life for a while.”
“Where did Jamie go?”
“Into a relaxing cocoon sleep. When she returned to her body, she was stronger. Her replacement had gotten her through the toughest moments — with enough memories merged so she can remember some of the experience.”
“Is that what’s happened to Leah? Is she sleeping?”
“Well … it’s different for suicides. But because you stepped into her body, fulfilling the same duties as a Temp Lifer, Leah didn’t die. Good for her, but not so good for your body, which was left at risk. I managed to delay the organ harvesting by causing your hand to move. But getting clearance to transport Leah’s soul into your body was more complicated. Finally I succeeded, and your parents received the good news a short while ago.”
“You mean my body isn’t … dead?”
“Breathing on its own with a sleeping occupant.”
“Wow! That’s like a miracle!”
“You’re my miracle. You have a natural skill for Temp Lifer work. Mostly we use non-living souls who need redemption. But occasionally Temp Lifers are living people who generously lift out of their body to help someone else.”
“How is that possible? People can’t just leave their bodies.”
“You did,” she pointed out.
“Thanks to my bad sense of direction,” I said, sighing.
“The Temp Lifer program is highly successful. You’d be great at it, with your natural talent for helping others. If you ever want a job, let me know.”
“Any time,” I said, flattered. “I’m happy to help out.”
“I may take you up on that.” Grammy touched my cheek fondly. “I know you thought I’d abandoned you, but I never did. I’ve been working hard to fix your problem.”
“Can I go back to my real body?” I asked hopefully.
“Soon,” she promised. “I’ve calculated your local time, and it should happen tomorrow around six in the evening. But for this to work, you must be near your real body.”
“No problem,” I assured her.
Then I felt something tugging, pulling me away from Grammy and Cola. I struggled to stay, but the pull was too strong. My last glimpse of Grammy was of her waving to me.
Jerking upright in bed, I shook off the grip someone had on my arm.
“What? Who? Hunter?” I blinked at the shadowy figure by my bedside. Gradually my eyes adjusted; only a small night-light lit the room. “What are you doing here?”
“Sorry for waking you,” he said. “But I had to talk to you in secret.”
“Um … all right. What is it?”
“Dad says you talked him out of sending me away. I didn’t think you would, but you really did keep your promise. Thanks,” he said softly.
“You’re welcome. It wasn’t much.”
“It was to me … except now I feel bad for stuff I did to you when I was really mad.”
“Huh?” I asked groggily. “What did you do?”
“Sorry, I took this.” He shoved a book at me. “I won’t steal from you any more — or anyone else. I promise.”
Then he mumbled thanks, again, and scampered out of the room.
I snapped on my bedside lamp and looked at the book.
It was a journal.
Leah’s.
31
Forget sleeping. I propped myself up against the bed pillows and opened the journal.
Unlike Leah’s other journal, this one was crammed full of writing, slips of papers, and cards tucked among the pages. Leah must have freaked out when she realized it was missing. Did she guess that her little brother stole it?
I held the book carefully so that the loose papers wouldn’t escape. Then I started reading:
The first page had no date or heading — just random scribbles of Leah’s name looped with Chad’s, and clusters of tiny hearts:
Without a date, I couldn’t tell if these romantic jottings were recent or history. Leah clearly loved Chad when
