Keepers: A Timeless Novella Read Online Free PDF

homeowner’s insurance
company politely sent me a letter in the mail to inform me they
would be dropping me as a client, which was ridiculous because they
hadn’t paid out a dime for the damage.
    This was why I had propped
my feet on my coffee table as I watched Chris do manual labor.
There was just something justified about it. Unsurprisingly, there
was a pile of plank wood stacked in my backyard from previous
mishaps, if they could even be called mishaps. Chris easily carried
two large pieces of wood inside and shoved them against the broken
window. The cold rush of air was cut off, and I finally felt like I
could breathe again, as if the world outside wasn’t just enduring
the winter months but was fighting off a vast emptiness of
bone-chilling wind. Honestly, I was just happy the media couldn’t
see inside my living room. Maybe I should
board up all my windows and become a recluse , I darkly mused to myself. The idea seemed rather appealing,
especially after my neighbor’s nosy tendencies.
    Following the cuteness that
was Jules, the media went wild, refusing to get off my lawn. Though
I knew it would only agitate the crowd, I asked Firen to stay
outside to keep people away from the house while Chris boarded up
the window. She agreed, knowing this would cause more problems, but
she also felt the same way I did. Safety first. When the crowd
refused to back down, Firen had exploded in anger and used magic to
fling trespassers into the street. It wasn’t like any of us had
protested, but it made things all the worse, which was expected. I
pictured having to install bulletproof glass and build a bomb
shelter in the backyard to protect Jenna and Jules. Okay, that
would be going a bit overboard, but with the way the media and
protesters were acting, who could blame me?
    Jenna was clearly upset
that everything went downhill after Andrew had calmed the raging
crowd. So much so that she locked herself and Jules in the bedroom.
I couldn’t blame Jenna—my heart had grinded to a halt when that
brick came through the window. To think of those outside egging
each other on to act out because Firen was keeping them away made
me nervous. Though I didn’t stop Firen, nor did I want her to stop.
People were overstepping, and a huge hole in the side of my house
made those outside think of it as open season, or in my mind, an
eighties sitcom.
    “ Sorry for putting you on
hold for so long,” Tom said. I jerked, forgetting I was on hold. I
turned the speakerphone option off as I held the phone to my
ear.
    Firen came inside just
then, looking flustered and infuriated. She didn’t say anything as
she stalked past, and I rose to my feet. For some reason I had the
urge to pace. My house felt unsafe and unwelcoming, like aliens had
taken up residence and constantly threatened me with cattle
prods.
    “ Agent?” Tom
queried.
    I sighed into the phone,
close to my breaking point. “If you don’t do something about the
reporters and protestors, I’m going to do something you don’t want
the news to see,” I threatened.
    Normally, this was not
something I would ever say to my boss, but I had a legit excuse. I
had reasons for being stressed and upset. If anything, the Director
should be offering me a trip to the Bahamas, all expenses on
him.
    The Director cleared his
throat; I’d most certainly taken him off guard. For a moment I
thought he was going to chew me out, but after a steadying breath,
he laughed. It wasn’t a funny laugh, or a “that’s so weird it’s my
only response” laugh. He was furious, and the laughter was his way
of releasing steam.
    “ Help me out,” I pleaded.
“You’ve left me alone to deal with this situation, and now we’re
dealing with the consequences.”
    I swore I heard Tom growl.
I actually pulled the phone from my ear to stare at it to make sure
it hadn’t turned into a tiny lion. “You should have been more
careful,” he accused.
    I gripped the phone more
firmly. “No one has used the front