“Oh,” I said and stepped out of the car when he did. The house was quiet when we entered. The garage attached to an open family room-kitchen concept that was warm and inviting. Beyond the sitting area stood sliding glass doors and an enviable view of the ocean. I crossed to them and stared out at the large, pristine pool. It all looked inviting and utterly foreign.
“Did you want to see your room? I’m sure your swim trunks are still in the drawers somewhere,” Steve said and the thought of jumping in that water turned me on my heels. I followed him up the stairs and we turned to the left. Steve showed me where the bathroom was and across the hall he opened the door to what he said was my bedroom.
I stepped inside, hoping for some reference of familiarity and it just felt strange. Pictures on the shelves clearly contained me in them along with some of the people who had come into the room yesterday. I picked up one of Tom and me, leaning together in formal attire, our champagne glasses raised and grins plastered on our faces.
“Tom’s wedding,” Steve said when I turned to him. “You two had a little too much to drink.”
I put the frame back on the shelf and picked up another one with three pictures. The center was a man in a suit who looked a lot like me and a stunning woman in a white dress. On one side the woman stood with four children and on the other, the man sat with two boys on his knees.
“My parents?” I stuttered and got a nod in response.
“You remember them?” The hopeful arch of his brow hit a nerve and I put the picture back on the shelf. It was a nice looking family, but I didn’t have any recollection of any of them.
“No. I look a lot like my father,” I replied, pointing.
“Yes, you do.” He stepped closer and pointed to one of the older children. “That’s your brother, Eric. He was my partner at Quanitco. And that’s Emily, your older sister. I never got the chance to meet her.”
I stared at the picture. “Only Tom and I are alive?”
“Yes.” He sighed and opened the top drawer of the bureau under the shelf of pictures. “Your swim trunks are in here. I’m going to enjoy the rest of the afternoon by the pool.” He crossed to the door. “I’ll bring my tablet out and we can start re-learning how to read and get you some basics of sign language so you and Tom can communicate.”
“We talked just fine yesterday,” I said, glancing at him and tapped my temple.
“You may have heard him without an issue, but he struggled to understand you at times, so having the sign language as a backup will help him. He can’t read minds.”
“Oh,” I said and he left me standing in what should have been a comfortable room, but I just wanted to be with Valerie, not here, feeling empty and lost.
Chapter 27
The summer heat hit me when I stepped out on the patio. I crossed to the chairs and took a seat on the lounge chair next to where Steve’s things were stacked. He was in the pool swimming laps. I squinted, scanning the oceanscape beyond the rock wall.
A tablet sat on the table between the chairs and I picked it up, swiping my finger across the screen like Valerie had with my chart. It came to life and I stared at all the icons, unsure of what to do next. None of the symbols meant anything to me and instead of trying to figure it out, I placed the tablet where I picked it up and lowered the back of the chair, closing my eyes in the warmth of the sunshine.
Pain gripped me and I sat up with my breath ripping at my chest. Steve pulled himself out of the pool, concern traced the lines in his face and his sharp gaze was locked on me. I glanced around the empty back yard with my heart pounding in my throat, not understanding the panic that overwhelmed me.
“Are you okay?” he asked, approaching me.
I shook my head, afraid to speak, my gaze continued to dart around, like I expected a monster to appear from the shadows.
“Just take a deep breath,” he said and sat on the end of the adjoining chair.
I did as he said and my head started to clear.
“Take another breath,” he said when I glanced at him.
Fragments of my dream surfaced and I winced, shrinking into the chair at the intensity.
“You fell asleep,” he said and I nodded.
“Nightmare,” I whispered in my broken way. The scratchy fear in my voice flipped the irritation switch. “I’m okay. Just thirsty,” I said, forcing my muscles to relax.
Steve reached over the side of his chair and opened a cooler. He handed me a bottle of chilled water and I sucked it down, the coolness quenching my thirst and calming my nerves.
“You might want to jump in the pool to cool off.”
I couldn’t argue with his offer and I drained the bottle before I approached the pristine water. The breeze ruffled through my hair and I closed my eyes, letting the wind dry the layer of sweat on my skin. Before I had a chance to jump in the pool, the sliders opened and a woman stepped out. The smile that formed warmed me. It took me a moment to place her name and then Steve filled in the blank without knowing it.
Jennifer. Steve’s wife and by default, my mother. She crossed the distance with a tentative gait and I turned toward her instead of the welcoming pool.
“I’m glad you’re home,” she said, looking up at me and then she stepped in and gave me a warm hug. “We’ve missed you,” she said and pulled away when I didn’t reciprocate the hug.
“Thank you,” I said and turned away, diving into the cool water. The chill of the water brought me to life and I surfaced, shaking my head and flipping my wet hair out of my face. It refreshed in a way that soothed my hot nerves.
I climbed the ladder to the edge of the pool just as the rest of the crew came rolling out the door. Tom gave me a wave and I sent a nod of acknowledgement in his direction. The quiet of the back yard erupted into activity and I found a towel, drying off before the chaos got to me. I excused myself and headed into the house.
“CJ?”
I stopped with my foot on the first step and glanced at the door. A man filled the doorway and I couldn’t recall his name, but he was the man Grace had run to at the hospital.
“I never got to say thank you,” he said.
I had no idea what to say, so I just nodded and headed upstairs without another word. In the bedroom, I slipped on dry shorts and turned on the laptop on the desk and picked up the piece of paper Valerie had given me just before I left the hospital. She had drawn the instructions of how to give her a call using the computer and I followed the pictures, plugging in the symbols on the keypad in the order they were drawn. The program buzzed and I waited.
When her picture filled the frame, I exhaled and closed my eyes, hanging my head with the overwhelming relief.
“Hey. Are you okay?” her tender voice caressed me.
“Yes,” I whispered and opened my eyes to her beautiful face. “I just miss you.”
She glanced down at the desk in front of her and then back at me. “I miss you, too,” she said and folded a notebook closed.
When she stretched, I just wanted to wrap my arms around her and I shut my eyes. When I opened them, I stood in the room right behind her. The image on the computer was an eerie version of me, with a layer of milky white over my naturally bright eyes. Even with my non-existent memory, I knew this was not normal.
Valerie turned towards me and stood, running her hands up my chest with eyes filled with wonder. She grinned and wrapped her arms around my neck, pulling me to her lips. The sweetness of the kiss drew my breath from my lungs and I was the one who broke free first. I traced her face with my fingertips and met her gaze.
“What the hell am I?” I whispered looking between her and her computer screen.
“You are a very special man.” She cupped my cheek, running her thumb gently over my lips before meeting my gaze.
I laughed softly. Special? This was more in the land of freak than I cared to understand.
“Whatever runs through your blood gave you the ability to recover. A normal human would not have come back from the amoun
t of raw damage you were brought to me with. It scared the living daylights out of me. My magic healing infusions brought your body back from the edge of death, but you had such severe brain damage that none of the doctors thought you’d ever regain the ability for coherent thought, never mind the ability to speak again. I like to think I had a little to do with your being able to function, but I think it was more about your inherent gifts than mine.” She reached up on her tip toes and kissed me gently.
“Speaking is debatable,” I stuttered and she smiled.
“I’m on call right now, so you have to go back.” She pointed toward the computer monitor.
“How?” I didn’t even know how the hell I got there in the first place.
“Just release the connection. Let go.”
I hesitated and then dropped my arms, stepped back, and closed my eyes. The sensation of being pulled overtook me and I opened my eyes to my room and her smiling on the computer screen.
“Now, do you understand why I wasn’t as concerned as you about not being in Maine?”
I slowly nodded. “I can do that whenever we talk?”
She put her palm on the screen and I covered it with mine, staring into her swirling irises. “Not necessarily. Popping into a roomful of people wouldn’t be cool, so you have to wait until I give you the all clear, okay?”
I saw her point and nodded, dropping my gaze to the floor.
“Chris, no matter how much physical distance separates us, you can always step across it. You know why?”
I shook my head.
“Because we’re connected. Not only by this unnatural power we both possess, but by the depth of love in our hearts.”
I couldn’t help but smile. “That’s the corniest thing I’ve ever heard,” I said.
“Yeah, well, you’re a real mind fuck.” She grinned and for the first time since I woke up, I wasn’t worried about whether I would regain my memory or not, as long as I had her by my side.
* * *
Read more from J.E. Taylor:
Website: http://www.jetaylor75.com/
Amazon: https://www.amazon.com/J.E.-Taylor/e/B003FER8M6/
About the Author
J.E. Taylor is an award winning author, a publisher, an editor, a manuscript formatter, a mother, a wife, a business analyst, and a Supernatural fangirl, not necessarily in that order. She first sat down to seriously write in February of 2007 after her daughter asked:
“Mom, if you could do anything, what would you do?”
From that moment on, she hasn’t looked back.
In addition to being co-owner of Novel Concept Publishing, Ms. Taylor also moonlights as a Senior Editor of Allegory E-zine; an online venue for Science Fiction, Fantasy and Horror.
She lives in Connecticut with her husband and two children and during the summer months enjoys her weekends on the shore in southern Maine.
Visit her on her website www.jetaylor75.com and sign up for her newsletter for early previews of her upcoming books, release announcements, and special opportunities for free swag!
Read More from this Author on her Amazon Author Page!
About the Authors
Emma L. Adams
Emma spent her childhood creating imaginary worlds to compensate for a disappointingly average reality, so it was probably inevitable that she ended up writing urban fantasy and young adult novels. When she's not immersed in her own fictional universes, Emma can be found with her head in a book or wandering around the world in search of adventure. Visit emmaladams.com/ to find out more about Emma's books, or subscribe to her newsletter (smarturl.it/ELAnewsletter) for new release alerts and a free short story.
Read more from Emma:
Website: http://www.emmaladams.com/
Amazon: https://www.amazon.com/Emma-L.-Adams/e/B00AY6MN7I/
Margo Bond Collins
Margo writes contemporary romance, urban fantasy, and paranormal mystery. She lives in Texas with her daughter and several spoiled pets. Although she teaches college-level English courses online, writing fiction is her first love. She enjoys reading urban fantasy and paranormal fiction of any genre and spends most of her free time daydreaming about heroes, vampires, ghosts, werewolves, and the women who love (and sometimes fight) them.
Read more from Margo:
Website: www.MargoBondCollins.net
Amazon: https://www.amazon.com/Margo-Bond-Collins/e/B00EOU9DEG/
Keta Diablo
Keta lives in the Midwest part of the United States on six acres of woodland. When she isn't writing or gardening she loves to commune with nature. A lifelong animal lover, she also devotes her time and support to the local animal shelters.
Keta's a bestselling Amazon author who writes in several genres, including western romance, historical romance, paranormal romance and the occasional gay romance. Her books have received numerous Top Pick, Book of the Month and Recommended Read reviews.
Read more from Keta:
Website: http://ketaskeep.blogspot.com
Amazon: http://www.amazon.com/Keta-Diablo/e/B002BODURI/
Blaire Edens
Blaire lives in the mountains of North Carolina. She grew up on a farm that’s been in her family since 1790. Of Scottish descent, her most famous ancestor, John Comyn, Lord of Badenoch and Guardian of Scotland, was murdered by Robert the Bruce on the altar of the Greyfriars Church at Dumfries.
She has a degree in Horticulture from Clemson University. She’s held a myriad of jobs including television reporter, GPS map creator, and personal assistant to a fellow who was rich enough to pay someone to pick up the dry cleaning. When she’s not plotting, she’s busy knitting, running, or listening to the Blues.
Blaire loves iced tea with mint, hand-stitched quilts, and yarn stores. She refuses to eat anything that mixes chocolate and peanut butter or apple and cinnamon. She’s generally nice to her mother, tries to remember not to smack her bubble gum, and only speeds when no one’s looking.
Read more from Blaire:
Website: http://www.blaireedens.com/
Amazon: https://www.amazon.com/Blaire-Edens/e/B00NO99LJU/
Dormaine G
Dormaine was born in Long Island, New York where she lived most of her life. As an adult she liked to travel out of the country though her favorite places to explore were her fantasy worlds as an author. She may be a nurse by profession but her heart has always belonged to writing. As a young child she spent many Saturdays in the library nurturing her love for books. There she discovered her fascination for the science fiction genre, through books, movies and graphic novels.
Now she resides in Colorado with her husband and two feisty dogs. After many years of working in hospitals and travel nursing she took time off to pursue a career in writing. Her first novel "Connor" is in one of her favorite genres, young adult urban fantasy. Her second love is for horror of which she created the "Madame Lilly, Voodoo Priestess" series. This is just the start of her exploration as she stays locked up her office in Colorado spinning more tales.
Read more from Dormaine:
Website: http://www.dormaineg.com/
Amazon: https://www.amazon.com/Dormaine-G/e/B00HNE9GOC/
Erin Hayes
Sci-fi junkie, video game nerd, and wannabe manga artist, Erin Hayes writes a lot of things. Sometimes she writes books. You can reach her at her website and she'll be happy to chat. Especially if you want to debate Star Wars.
Read more from Erin:
Website: http://www.erinhayesbooks.com
Amazon: https://www.amazon.com/Erin-Hayes/e/B009W8D29W/
Steffanie Holmes
Steffanie Holmes is the author of steamy historical and paranormal romance. Her books feature clever, witty heroines, wild shifters, cunning witches and alpha males who always get what they want.
Before becoming a writer, Steffanie worked as an archaeologist and museum curator. She loves to explore historical settings and ancient conceptions of love and possession. From Dark Age Europe to crumbling gothic estates, Steffanie
is fascinated with how love can blossom between the most unlikely characters.
Steffanie lives in New Zealand with her husband and a horde of cantankerous cats. The second book in the Witches of the Wood series, Coven, is due to be released in January 2016.
Read more from Steffanie:
Website: www.steffanieholmes.com
Amazon: https://www.amazon.com/Steffanie-Holmes/e/B00MI89LY8/
K.N. Lee
K.N. Lee is an award-winning author who resides in Charlotte, North Carolina. When she is not writing twisted tales, fantasy novels, and dark poetry, she does a great deal of traveling and promotes other authors. Wannabe rockstar, foreign language enthusiast, and anime geek, K.N. Lee also enjoys helping others reach their writing and publishing goals. She is a winner of the Elevate Lifestyle Top 30 Under 30 "Future Leaders of Charlotte" award for her success as a writer, business owner, and for community service.
Read more from K.N.:
Website: http://knlee.com/
Amazon: https://www.amazon.com/K.N.-Lee/e/B00CR5IPGM/
Rebekah Lewis
Rebekah Lewis holds a Bachelor of Arts in English Literature. She is also an award-winning cover artist for digital publishers and enjoys every minute of it when not immersed into the worlds of satyrs, Greek gods, and Cheshire cats. Always feeling the need to stay productive, she can be found creating something with words, images, or crafts. She currently resides in Savannah, GA with her cat, Bagheera.
Visit her website to stay up to date on recent and upcoming releases and events, and to find links to follow her on Facebook, Twitter, Goodreads, and Pinterest. She also has a newsletter to make staying updated even easier!
Read more from Rebekah:
Website: www.Rebekah-Lewis.com
Amazon: http://www.amazon.com/Rebekah-Lewis/e/B00DT54BZ8
C. P. Mandara
Christina Mandara is a USA TODAY bestselling and award-winning author who loves writing erotic suspense with a touch of kink. She speaks three languages and has been chiefly employed in the fields of finance and travel. Her favourite city is Sydney and her favourite holiday destination is a remote island retreat where lots of uninterrupted reading can take place.
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