by C. L. Parker
Kerrigan read over the letter three more times. Dominic watched as a plethora of emotions washed over her face. Although he hadn’t read the letter himself, because it wasn’t addressed to him, he knew how vague Availia could be. He just hoped that Kerrigan would give him the chance to explain further.
“Tell me what you know,” she finally said. She was relinquishing control to Dominic because her grandmother trusted him as much as she did. Truthfully, she was relieved to be doing so, although, she was scared to death that she would never be able to live up to the expectations that seemed to have been built up around her.
“From what I understand, this gift you have has been handed down through the generations of women in your bloodline. Availia inherited it from her mother, who got it from her mother, and so on. When Availia had your father, and then her husband died, leaving no possibility that she would ever have a daughter of her own, she thought the gift would die with her. But then you came along. She said she knew the moment that Priscilla and Hudson told her they were pregnant that they were having a girl.”
Kerrigan sighed and slouched back onto the futon. “Okay, so I’m assuming by gift, you’re referring to the Light?”
Dominic nodded.
“What, am I supposed to be able to like zap things or something? I’ve got super powers?”
He couldn’t help but laugh at her sarcasm. “The Light is sort of like a super power, but it’s your Light, which means that you make it what it is. With its help, you can make things happen by sheer willpower alone.”
“Like I can make you dance ballet right now?”
Dominic chuckled at her absurdity. “I suppose, if that’s what you really want. But, you have to develop and fine tune your ability first, or it will drain you of all your energy, which is dangerous.”
“That’s what happened at the lighthouse,” Kerrigan said, finally understanding. “But I didn’t do anything. At least I don’t think I did.”
“No, your energy attracted a spirit,” he explained. “See, spirits need energy to manifest, and you’ve got tons of it. Basically, you were like a beacon…you became the lighthouse.”
“Okay, so I’m like just this big ball of light, and creepy old ghost men want to suck on me? Ew, that’s just gross.” She scrunched her nose up in disgust.
Dominic laughed at her misinterpretation. “No, they need your energy, but I’d say William was a bit greedier than most would be. But, whatever. That’s not your purpose anyway.”
“Then what is it that I’m supposed to do, and how am I supposed to do it?” She was exasperated by all the secrecy. Why couldn’t someone just be straight forward for once?
“I can help you with the how, but I don’t have a clue as to the what. I think we should work on developing your gift a little bit each day until you can control it. And then, when the what comes, you’ll be ready.”
“Okay, so when do we start? Do you want to try something tonight?”
Dominic looked at his watch and noted how late it was getting. “Actually, it’s a little late to do anything tonight. How about if we start out fresh tomorrow?”
“Another date?” Kerrigan did nothing to disguise her jealousy.
He gave her a wide smile and shook his head. “I haven’t been going on dates, Querida.” Dominic pushed a lock of hair behind her ear. “I’ve been going to work.”
He had no idea where that came from, but he was glad he thought of it when he saw the look of relief flash across her face. It could work. People worked third shift all the time, right?
“You have a job?”
“Most red-blooded Americans do. Not all of us are lucky enough to be gifted a rather sizable inheritance,” he chuckled sarcastically.
“Oh,” Kerrigan said, exaggerating the ‘o’ shape of her mouth. “Well, where do you work?”
The problem with thinking on your feet and letting lies spill from your mouth without pre-planning the questions that could possibly arise, was that more lies were needed to cover the first lie, and so the endless cycle begins to spiral out of control.
“Um, I’d really prefer not to say. It’s sort of embarrassing.”
There, that should work, right? he thought to himself.
“Come on, Dom. You don’t have to be embarrassed.”
Okay, apparently not.
He looked at his watch and noted the time, seeing an easy out.
“Actually, I need to be leaving pretty soon.” He stepped to his wardrobe and pulled out a T-shirt to emphasize his point. “So, after I get some sleep in the morning, we’ll start your training.”
“Training? That doesn’t sound formal at all,” she deadpanned.
He slipped the shirt over his head. Kerrigan pouted a little on the inside at the loss of the visual.
He shrugged as he pulled a pair of clean pants out of his wardrobe. “Well, that’s what it is.” With his hand on the top button of his jeans, he turned to look at her expectantly, as if hinting that she should go.
“Oh, right,” she said, tearing her eyes away from him and walking toward the steps. “Have a good day, or night, at work then.”
“Yeah, I’ll try. Sleep tight.”
And with that, she was gone. He had dodged the bullet for one more day.
“Rise and shine, sleepy head,” Sydney’s sing-song voice called. She went around the room and drew back the curtains to let the light in.
“Ugh. What time is it?” Kerrigan groaned.
Another set of scuffling feet could be heard in the room. She knew who those belong to even before the prissy voice pierced the air. “Time for you to get your fat ass out of the bed, bitch. We’re going to the beach today.” Gabe smacked her on the butt and plopped down on the bed, causing Kerrigan to bounce.
“No, I can’t,” she said in a groggy voice as she pulled the sheet up to cover her bare shoulder. “Dominic and I have plans today.”
She wasn’t really sure if she should tell her friends about her new discovery. She knew Gabe would be mad if she kept something from him again, but until she knew exactly what was going on, she wouldn’t be able to explain it to him anyway. So, she decided to wait and see what happened first.
A gentle knock sounded on the door. At least someone was courteous enough to knock, Kerrigan thought.
“She’s decent!” Olivia’s voice called out from the other side of the room.
“A little too decent if you ask me,” Gabe mumbled under his breath. Kerrigan heard him and kicked him hard enough to knock him over the side.
“Am I interrupting something?” Dominic asked from the doorway.
“Yeah, this ass whooping that I’m about to give yo’ bitch.” Kerrigan squealed and curled into a ball to protect herself just as Gabe launched himself on top of her and started an unrelenting attack of tickles to her sides.
“Get…off!” she yelled between breathy laughs.
Dominic cleared his throat from the doorway and drew their attention back to him. Kerrigan’s hair was sticking up all over the place as she sat up in bed and tried, in vain, to smooth it out. “Um, hey. What are you doing up so early?”
Dominic looked down at his watch. “It’s not early. It’s a little after noon.”
“I can’t believe I slept that long.”
“It’s a scorcher outside today, so we want to go to the beach. Talon and Tyson are already there, and Gabe wants to learn how to surf,” Sydney told Dominic, ignoring Kerrigan’s protests.
“I told you guys, we have plans. Right, Dom?” Kerrigan asked.
Dominic smirked, picturing her in a bikini. “Actually, the beach is a perfect idea for today. I’ll meet you downstairs.”
“But…” she started to protest, but he was gone before she could say another word.
“Ha, ha! We won,” Olivia sang childishly. Sydney stuck her tongue out at Kerrigan, and they looped their arms together and left the room. Gabe put his hand up to his forehead with his fingers in the shape of an ‘L’ and mimed the word ‘loser’ with
exaggeration before he skipped out behind them.
Kerrigan watched after them from her bed, confused. How were they going to get any training done at the beach? She blew a frustrated puff of air from her lips and climbed out of the bed before stomping over to her dresser and pulling out her bathing suit.
It didn’t take long for everyone to be ready to go. Dominic insisted on driving Kerrigan, while the girls packed everything up in the Lady Bug, Gabe’s new name for Sydney’s VW. Dominic explained on the way that they could still start her training, but he thought it would be a good idea to do it at the beach because the sun was stronger there. He further explained that using her gift would drain her energy, but Availia had told him natural light sources like the sun and the moon would help to replenish it.
She should have been freaked out over all the new and unusual information, but she wasn’t. Something just told her that it was right. It was who she was, and everything about her grandmother was finally making sense. Her life was finally making sense. The dreams, the visions, the pull to something greater.
When they arrived at the beach, Dominic helped the girls unload their things, and they went to set up near Tyson and Talon’s kiosk. It looked just like one of those huts off Gilligan’s Island, but with a wooden countertop to conduct business on the front. The twins beamed when they saw the rest of their group approach. They started pulling out a few choice surfboards from the back and stuck them in the sand just outside their little palm leaf hut. Talon put up a “surf’s up” sign, while Tyson unhinged the bamboo sticks that were holding the palm-covered shutters open and lowered them to lock the place down before they joined up with the others.
The girls started to disrobe, revealing their slinky bathing suits. When Kerrigan pulled her shirt over her head, she heard Dominic exhale a long breath. Her bikini was just a plain, chocolate brown with a light blue trim. It wasn’t showing anything inappropriate in nature. But, for Dominic, it was just the fact that he was seeing – well, just so much of her skin, not to mention that birthmark.
“Aren’t you going to change?” Kerrigan asked Dominic. The others ran out into the water to start Gabe’s surf lessons.
“Um, yeah.” He reached for the hem of his Led Zepplin T-shirt and tugged it over his head.
The way his muscles pulled and straightened with his movements and relaxed back into a comfortable flex drew Kerrigan’s attention, and she couldn’t help but stare. She felt her heart flutter in her chest when she caught sight of the mark on his shoulder. She would probably never get over that connected feeling whenever she saw it. It reminded her of the many things they shared, but there was still so much about him that she didn’t know. There was a large space of his life that was void for her; that time between the little boy she knew as Nicky, and the man that had come to haunt her every thought.
Odd, how she could feel like she had known him all her life when so much of his life was still a mystery to her. She wanted to know everything about him, no matter what his past may have been like.
While Kerrigan had been lost in thought, Dominic had kicked off his boots and socks. All that remained were his distressed jeans that slung low on his waist and clung to his other assets and the brown leather belt that held them in place.
“So, are you ready to get started?” Dominic asked. His arms extended to clap his hands together in front of him.
“You’re not going to change into swim trunks?”
He gave her that sexy smirk, his voice husky, seductive. “I don’t go anywhere without my jeans.” He bit his bottom lip and looked her over from head to toe. “Except to bed.”
Kerrigan cleared her throat, which had suddenly become very dry and looked away from him, unable to stand the intensity of his gaze. She grabbed a bottle of water from the cooler, grabbed one of the blankets, and pointed to a more secluded place just down the beach.
“Let’s go over there. It looks more private.”
Dominic nodded in agreement and let her lead the way. Once they got to the clearing, he took the blanket from her and spread it out so that they were far enough out of reach of the encroaching tide. Kerrigan looked out over the vast expanse of the ocean. The smooth roll of waves entranced her as she thought about how she once felt like she was lost among them, drowning in a sea of domineering men, willing someone to rescue her. When Dominic cleared his throat to get her attention, she saw that he was already sitting in a cross-legged position and wanted her to do the same. She mirrored his position and sat with a straight back. She hoped it looked like she was more confident than she actually was.
“Okay, so listen,” he started, talking with his hands. “It’s not like I’ve ever done this before, so we’re just going to have to learn together. I think we should start small. Your gift is supposed to work just by you wanting it to work.”
The vagueness of his statement made Kerrigan groan in frustration.
“I know, but that’s the gist of it,” he said with a shrug of his shoulders. “You just need to find your place. Sort of like a place where you are in complete control, safe.”
She looked at him in confusion.
“I don’t know where that might be for you, but you need to find it. I assume it would be different for everyone.” He took her hands in his and rubbed his fingers over her palms. “Try closing your eyes and listen to the sound of the surf, the birds…the breeze. Your gift comes from something natural, so it makes sense to me that nature should help you concentrate or meditate or whatever. Become one with nature, or some shit like that.”
Kerrigan giggled at his awkwardness.
Dominic rolled his eyes. “Just do it.”
She stifled her laughter, closed her eyes, and tried to do what he said. After a few minutes, she began to relax. She could hear the sound of the surf and birds, feel the warmth of the sun on her face, and smell the salty scent of the sea breeze as it caressed her skin. In her mind, she was warped into another world; one where she could picture the foaming white bubbles of the surf wash ashore and drifted back out as if the ocean was inhaling and exhaling a contented sigh. Her mind’s eye followed the ebb of the tide receding into the larger body of water. Through her concentration, she actually felt like she was afloat on the gentle sway of an ocean wave, and she was finally at peace.
Then the ocean of deep hues of blue turned sea green with intricate patterns of black that weaved through the swells and cradled her in a blanket of security. She could no longer smell the salt of the air. It had been replaced with an aroma she recognized immediately. Kerrigan slowly breathed out a breath she hadn’t realized she had been holding and felt her body become weightless. She was in her safe place, and there was no fear of anyone dragging her under. She was untouchable.
Dominic watched the way the breeze blew a few loose strands of her hair that had fallen from her ponytail across her face. Slowly, her furrowed brow of concentration eased and her expression smoothed. He could see the transformation she had undergone in such a short time and was astonished that it had been that easy. He had assumed it would take a few tries to get her where she seemed to go without effort.
“What are you thinking about?” he asked in a hushed voice.
“It’s you,” she whispered, lacing her fingers through his to solidify the connection. “You’re the sea.”
Dominic looked down at their entwined hands and felt a surge radiate between them. A stronger ocean breeze washed over them, and Dominic looked out toward the water, noticing that the swell of the waves had become larger. He felt a sense of pride as he considered her admission. Of all the things that she could have used, she chose him.
She was ready. He wasn’t sure how he knew it, but he could feel it.
His voice was low, but audible. “Can you see the water washing ashore?”
Kerrigan nodded.
“I want you to see if you can push it back.”
Her face contorted into a questioning expression.
“Concentrate,” he urged her, tightening his gri
p on her fingers. “At the point where the water comes onto the shore, not the whole ocean, just push it back with your mind.”
The lines in her face smoothed, and she inhaled deeply before exhaling again. She focused on the scene in her mind, letting all other thoughts fall away. She could see the tiny grains of sand rolling to and fro under the water’s edge in her mind. With everything she had, she willed the sand to hold fast. As the surf flowed forward, she imagined pushing it back.
Dominic hesitantly looked away from Kerrigan and toward the ocean. He waited with bated breath to see if she could do it. After a few seconds, he noticed the change in the surf directly in front of where they sat. The ocean’s edge rolled back and curled in on itself forming a small tunnel, but it did not come ashore like it did on either side of the strip.
“You have to see this, Querida,” he said with quiet awe and a gentle nudge of her hand. “It’s like nothing I’ve ever seen.”
When he turned away from the ocean so that he could watch her expression, his smile dropped, and he drew back in surprise. Kerrigan had opened her eyes. They were brighter than he had ever seen them before. Her pale blue eyes glowed. He had seen that color in Availia’s eyes the night she saved his life.
Kerrigan gave him a gentle smile, and a powerful feeling of serenity flooded his senses. Then she turned toward the ocean and saw what she had accomplished.
Her smile brightened, and she faced Dominic again. She was the most beautiful he had ever seen her. He was in awe. Before he had even made the conscious decision to do it, he dropped her hands and curled his into balls. Fisting them in the sand, he leaned forward, putting his weight onto his knuckles. His lips grazed hers so softly it was almost a whisper.
Kerrigan leaned into his kiss, deepening it. As she focused on the feel of his soft lips moving against hers, her concentration was broken. A loud splash of a wave sounded in the background. The barrier she had been holding suddenly gave way, and the spray of the ocean rained down on them in a chunky mist.