She found the spot she wanted, stopped, and killed the engine.
“Gail, when you say that it wouldn’t matter with strong faith, are you not certain of your own faith?” I asked.
“What? Oh, well, I’m no virgin-nun, but I have faith. I just prefer to have everything on my side when I can get it.”
“Oh,” I said.
She opened her door and climbed out, leaving the door open. I got out and met her at the side doors. Gail rummaged around in a box in the back of the van until she found a glass flask and a small book.
When she slid back to stand beside me in the grass, she caught my expression. “What’s the matter, Hoss? Did I say something to make you look so … pensive?”
I shrugged to one side. “Well, this supernatural stuff has me thinking about religion. I’m thinking that my faith ought to be stronger knowing that these things we hunt are out there.”
Gail stopped thumbing through her book and looked up at me. She surprised me by grabbing my shirtfront and pulling my lips down to hers. We kissed, long and hard.
When she finally broke it off, she was smiling at me.
“Well, not that I mind the kiss or anything, but what did I do to deserve such a great one?” I asked.
“You said ‘we hunt.’ That’s the first time you’ve implied that you’re with me for longer than this job.”
I couldn’t help the frown that momentarily crossed my face.
Gail cocked her head to the side. “You did mean it, didn’t you?”
“Well, yes, I guess I did. I just hadn’t realized it until you pointed it. I wonder when I made up my mind.”
“Knowing you as I do, it was probably when I asked you to wash my back,” Gail said with a laugh as she went back to looking in her little book.
“No, I don’t think it was then. I actually think it was when I was helping dispose of the three bodies at Dad’s cabin.”
She stopped again and stared at me. “Really? You decided that long ago and are just now telling me?”
I glanced away from her, stalling for something to say.
“Well, out with it, why’d you wait?”
“I thought you might not like my reasons.”
“Oh? What kind of reasons could you have that I wouldn’t like?” She scowled at me. “Wait a second; you weren’t waiting to see if it would be partners with benefits, were you?”
“What? Hell, of course not, Gail. I’ve figured you were going to end up jumping my bones from the moment I heard your voice on the phone.”
Her frown slipped away. “Oh, really? So I’m a sure thing, eh?”
Thankfully, there was no ire in her voice.
“No, not a sure thing, but we had chemistry. I figured unless you had turned old and fat on me then—”
I almost caught her fist before it thudded against the right side of my chest.
“Hey, joking here. No, Gail, when I realized how tough you had it hunting on your own since your Dad died, I knew I could not, not help you.”
She cocked her fist back, threatening. “So you didn’t think I could handle myself alone?”
“God, no. Look, you’re fighting the good fight. I joined the Army to fight the enemies of America and now you’ve revealed that you’re fighting the enemies of all mankind. There’s no way I could live with myself if I didn’t help you in that fight.”
Gail lowered her fist. “Jesse, I told you this isn’t a job for heroes. Heroes get themselves killed in this line of work. You have to be practical.”
“I’m nobody’s hero, Gail, and I’ve learned to be practical the hard way. I’m not talking about being some kind of a knight in shining armor for you. I’m talking about not being able to turn my back on a fight that needs fighting. If you were to reject me as a partner, I’d still have to become a hunter, besides, I’m sure Marta would let me—”
I was ready and caught her wrist before the blow landed. I yanked her to me and kissed her just as hard as she had kissed me. This time, I broke the kiss.
Gail gazed into my eyes for a few moments and then gave me a quick peck on the lips. “That was the right answer, Jesse, except for the crack about Marta.”
“Just trying to lighten the mood,” I said.
“You’re going to get a lot of bruises if you keep trying to ‘lighten the mood.’”
I released her and she went back to her book. After a minute, she said, “Here it is. The rite of exorcism.”
“Don’t you have to be a priest or something to use that?” I asked, reading over her shoulder.
“I am something; I’m a hunter. We have a long history of using the church’s rites. Some of us are even sponsored by the Vatican.”
“No shit?”
“Yeah, but those guys have a lot of rules and have to take orders. Most hunters prefer to find their own cases and handle it however they see fit.”
I nodded. “I can see that. Orders that I didn’t agree with was one of the reasons I left the Army after my first enlistment.”
“Good, get the bracelets. We’ll try this right here. The van will block our view from anyone coming unless they get close.”
I pulled her bag from between the seats and found the bracelets on top of her overnight stuff.
Removing them, I left the bag open, at the edge of the carpeted floor. “Got them, what can I do to help?”
“Mostly by remaining quiet,” Gail said. “Here, set them on this marker.”
The marker was a tombstone from somebody named J.D. Wigger who died in World War II. He was in the Army and had been younger than I currently was when he died.
“Gail, what if the exorcism breaks the spell on the bracelets?”
“I don’t think it will.”
“Are you willing to
