The Journey is Our Home

by Kathy Miner

  Grace seemed to shrink in on herself again, and again, Tyler and Adam both moved closer to her. Adam draped an arm across the back of her chair and tapped her opposite shoulder with his fingertips. When she looked at him, he pointed to his eyes, and spoke for her ears only. “Who’s got you, little sister?”

  She leaned into his shoulder. “You do.”

  “Damn straight.”

  Luc watched this whole exchange, and the expression on his face made Jack think of Grace, when she was putting together one of her “mental puzzles.” The pieces were coming together, and young Luc did not like what he was seeing. Again, he leaned forward. “Slavery? To what end?”

  “Mal-adaption to the current crisis,” Piper said. “Exploitation and a hierarchal society worked for us before, why not now? The strong will always seek to use the weak. It’s the way the human species is constructed.”

  Nods and sounds of agreement circled the room, but Luc frowned. “I don’t agree,” he said slowly. “Or, I don’t want to agree. Obviously, I can’t know for sure, but it seems to me we’re poised to be something different. So many of us have evolved – there’s no other word for it. And intuitively at that. We understand each other better. Why? Why would we change as a species in just that way?”

  Silence met his question, the only sound for several moments the pop of the fire. Then, Grace spoke, her voice tentative at first, then gaining strength. “We needed to recognize the interconnectedness of life,” she said. She looked at Piper. “Of all life. What you learned, Piper. What hurts one of us, hurts us all. When we help someone, comfort them or offer a kindness, we are all comforted and supported.” She kept her eyes fixed on Piper. “I thought I hadn’t evolved. Verity kept trying to tell me differently, but I didn’t believe her. She told me I was always in my own way. Over the past few months, as we traveled, as I started to feel safe, I let myself feel again.”

  Sudden tears swam in Grace’s dark eyes, and the punch of her emotions caught Jack off guard. She certainly was feeling again; he wasn’t used to shielding around her. She had always been so cool and contained, so logical. What he felt from her now wasn’t illogical, but it was strong and deep.

  “I was so afraid to feel,” she went on, clinging now to Piper’s hands as well as her eyes. “Ever since my mom and Benji died. I thought if I started crying, I’d never stop. Then, the gang. And Lark.” A great sob shook her. “It wasn’t safe to feel. I couldn’t keep functioning. So I didn’t. I just used my brain and kept doing what needed doing. But after Brody and Verity died, I just couldn’t keep the walls up anymore. As we traveled, I just let it come. I cried whenever I needed to.” She slid a rueful glance between Adam and Tyler. “I cried a lot.”

  “And raged. And screamed.” Tyler’s hand had landed on Grace’s back, rubbing in soothing circles. “But we’re big, tough rangers. Can’t scare us.”

  “I haven’t worked it all out, but I did learn this – the more I feel, the more information becomes available to me, intuitively. My brain is making these leaps I couldn’t have made before – it’s crazy. The more I feel, the more I know. I can’t explain it, but I know it has to do with integration of emotion and intellect. With allowing myself to be human, and fallible.” She leaned even closer to Piper, her eyes intense, and Jack was sure she’d forgotten the presence of everyone else in the room. “I have been dying to talk to you about this – you’re the only one I could think of who would understand. I know who it was. Lark’s dad. I saw his eyes before he died, and I know what I have to do. I don’t know how to do it, but I know: I have to forgive. Somehow, I have to get there, to forgiveness. How do I get there?”

  Grace bent her head, and the sobs that wracked her made Jack’s heart ache with misery, right through his shields. Piper gathered her up and helped her to her feet, shepherding her towards the stairs. “I’ve got you, honey, you just let it all out. Let’s go find a bath and a bed for you, tuck you up all warm and cozy. We’ll get some lunch and just chat…”

  She sounded so much like her mother, Jack had to smile through the pain in his chest. Luc’s eyes followed Piper and Grace up the stairs. When they were out of sight, he leaned back, a thoughtful frown on his face. Adam leaned forward and dropped a heavy hand on his shoulder.

  “So, Luc? What you heard right there – that’s what we call ‘privileged information.’”

  Tyler’s hand landed on the opposite shoulder. “Yep. As in, ‘if you keep your yap shut, you earn the privilege of keeping your balls.’”

  To Jack’s great pride, only a spike of fear escaped Luc before he locked it down. He looked between Adam and Tyler, then straightened in his seat, shrugging off both their hands. “She’s not the only one with secrets. Statistically speaking,” his teeth flashed, white and sharp in the dimly lit kitchen. “She’s in the majority. I don’t think there’s a single person alive today who hasn’t had to compromise their values or learn something terrible about themselves in order to survive. So don’t sweat it. And leave my balls alone.”

  A moment of silence. Then Adam and Tyler both shook with guffaws. “I like you, kid,” Adam said. “Even if you’re as bad as Grace. Both ya’ll sound like you swallowed a college syllabus.”

  A soft rapping on the kitchen door made all of them look up, and Jack stood, hurrying to let Cass and Veda in. It had just occurred to him that others would have heard the helicopter and would be wondering what was happening. He should have sent a runner around with reassurances. Introductions went around the room, and Veda planted herself happily between Tyler and Adam, patting their cheeks in welcome.

  “It is about time. I have been waiting on you two for-eh-ver! The spirits have been fluttering about ‘the boyz’ for months – Verity says ‘hello,’ by the by.”

  Jack grinned as Adam and Tyler floundered around with that greeting and hugged Cass. As always, a sense of rightness settled inside him, a sense of being complete whenever he was in her presence. “Sorry, I should have sent word that we have visitors. Are the villagers armed with torches and pitchforks?”

  “No, no thanks to you.” She squeezed him back, then linked her arm with his, as she was wont to do. “Gavin sent Bastian around with the news that they were friends, not foes, as well as word of sweet baby Micah. Veda and I dropped by their place with a pot of soup and a loaf of bread before we came here. Mama, daddy and baby were all sleeping, so we just left it all in the kitchen. Where’s Piper?”

  Jack explained in a low voice about Grace, and Cass nodded thoughtfully. “When she’s ready, I may be able to help her. Piper, too, if she wants. They’ve both got unfinished business with the dead.”

  “Verity’s gone,” he said, and felt his throat tighten with fresh grief. “I’m so disappointed. I wanted you two to meet in the worst way, though I’ve never been sure what the cosmic consequences of such a meeting might be. Now, we’ll never know.”

  “If she has reason, she may visit. I suspect she won’t. From what you’ve told me, she was almost certainly an advanced soul – the silly ones always are. She did what she needed to during her time here and is enjoying some well-earned down time, I hope.”

  In this, Cass was the teacher, Jack the student. He was still working on integrating what he’d been learning from her, as well as what he’d learned from Verity, with the religious teachings he’d been raised with. He probably always would be. “Why would she go with Brody? I can’t think why she’d waste her life on such a despicable man.” Jack’s lip curled without his volition. “And if you give me some pat answer like, ‘All souls return to source,’ I’ll swat you. That’s great in theory but not in this reality. Make it make sense to me, Care-bear.”

  She smiled at his childhood nickname, but the expression was touched with sorrow for his loss. “The pat answer you don’t want is that they had a contract. They agreed to perform that task together in the time before time. What I suspect, though we’ll probably never know for sure, is that they were light and dark sides of the same coin. Soulmates, perhaps
even parts of the same soul. They needed each other, for balance. I know this may be hard to hear, and it’s just a theory, but I’ve begun to believe that all of us are servants of the Divine, even when we’re involved with evil acts. Even when we hurt each other. We serve, no matter what we’re called to do, and sometimes, the greatest servants among us are called to do the most disturbing tasks.”

  “You’re right. It’s too far for my puny little brain to go, at least right now.” He patted her hand, where it rested in the crook of his arm. “I’ll keep working on it.”

  For a moment, they listened to the conversation that was going on across the room – Tyler was every bit the movie buff Veda was, and a quotation contest was under way – then Cass looked up at Jack. “Do you suppose this will make Piper want to stay here now? I mean, her short-wave radio project is going so well. She told me she reached someone from Georgia the other day. And with Grace here now, maybe she’ll give up her gypsy ways.”

  Jack smiled down at her. “Not my Piper.” His Valkyrie, though he called her that only in the privacy of his mind. She’d either laugh or be embarrassed, so he kept that part of his admiration to himself. “She’s a wandering spirit, Cass. I knew that when I married her and accepted it, just like she knows I’m going to keep putting down roots right here on this island, thank you very much.”

  “If the ground ever thaws.”

  Jack laughed. “Spring’s coming. And when the weather is warm, Luc and Piper will be back out again. If they find Annalise, it won’t surprise me if she ranges farther. She’ll want to visit her mother, sooner rather than later, gathering her information as she goes. Maybe Adam and Tyler will go with her – they seem to make outstanding escorts.”

  “And you?” Cass’s voice was higher pitched than normal, and Jack realized she was clutching at his arm, digging her fingers into his forearm. “Will you go with her, if she decides to do that?”

  “No.” He freed his arm from her grasp, then looped his arm around her shoulders, hugging her and kissing the top of her head. “No,” he repeated. “I’m not leaving you. Never again. I promise.”

  She clung to him, hard, for a moment. When she moved back, her eyes were luminous. “I know I’m supposed to be all chill about death, but I’m not. Not with you. If you left and never came back, I don’t know how I’d go on. I always loved you, of course I did. You were my big brother, and you hung the moon. Even when we were apart, I loved you. But now that we’re back together, and we’re friends, not just siblings, I don’t want to even think about you leaving. You’re a gift to me.”

  Jack felt a shiver slip down his spine and heard the long-ago echo of Verity’s words. “You’re a gift to me, too,” he said, not altogether steadily. He hugged her again, and kissed her temple. “And I may sound all chill now, with the lake frozen solid and eight feet of snow, but when Piper goes, I am going to be a disaster. I’ll be looking to you, to keep me steady and sane.”

  “You are each other’s place of refuge, you and Piper,” Cass said in a faraway voice. Her eyes were glazed, the pupils dilated, and a soft, golden glow suffused her features. Jack felt the hair on the back of his neck rise. “She is your haven, and you are her sanctuary, in a hard, brutal world.”

  Across the room, the conversation abruptly ceased. “The Sight’s on her,” Veda whispered. “Just let her be.”

  Cass was silent for long moments, swaying a little as she clung to Jack’s arm. Then she took a deep, shuddering breath and looked at Jack. “Piper will leave, Jack. Over and over. She’ll bring children here, for years to come. But she’ll return to you, always.”

  “Always,” Veda intoned happily. “A love like Snape and Lily Potter.”

  Tyler snorted, and muttered, “Yeah, except, you know – reciprocated.”

  Cass laughed, and Jack heard Christmas bells. He’d only seen that golden light surround one other person. “And by the way? Verity says she loves you, too.”

  LAST: Naomi: Pagosa Springs, Colorado: July

  Naomi was struggling to hold onto a squealing, splashing Lark in the Crick Tub pool when Karleigh found them. She’d clearly run some distance, poor girl, and she bent over, bracing a hand on her knee and holding up a finger while she tried to catch her breath. Naomi didn’t need to hear what she had to say. She met Hades’ gaze, and his senses confirmed what her heart had already told her. With a scrambling splash, she was out of the pool, bundling Lark into a towel and plopping her in Karleigh’s waiting arms. She snatched up her clothes and took off in a precarious, skidding run.

  Piper was here.

  Naomi had known she was close for days, and the anticipation had been just about more than she could bear. With Hades on her heels, she dashed past the mostly empty soaking pools and the cascading, multi-colored mineral formations. She yanked her clothes on over wet skin as she went, hopping as she jammed on her shoes. Then she ran up the steps Karleigh had just run down. Past the bath house and into the parking lot beyond, where a crowd had gathered, and there, there was her girl.

  With an inarticulate cry, Naomi barreled through the onlookers, not stopping until she had Piper wrapped in her arms. Sobbing and laughing, they rocked and swayed together. Naomi pulled back and took Piper’s face in her hands, kissing her forehead, the sweet curves of her cheeks, her eyelids, her darling nose, her laughing mouth. Then, she looked deep into her daughter’s beautiful, teary green eyes.

  “Goodbye, travel safe, I love you with all my heart and all the breath in my body,” she said. “And don’t you ever, ever leave without me saying that again!” She hauled Piper back into her arms, rocking her more gently this time. “And welcome home, my baby, my girl, my love.”

  “Mama, I missed you so much, so much.” Piper pulled back this time, and taking Naomi’s hands, held her mother’s arms out to her sides. She scrutinized her from head to toe, nodding. “You’ve rounded out some. Looks good on you.” She hugged her again, joyous, exuberant. “Feels good, too – almost like my old, squishy mom.”

  “Well, you’re downright scrawny,” Naomi retorted. She wrapped her arm around Piper’s waist, and for the first time, looked around. “Did Jack come with you? Or Ed and Owen?”

  “No, Jack stayed behind on the island with his sister and the kids. As for Ed and Owen – oh, my gosh, there’s just so much to tell you, I hardly know where to start.” She wrinkled her nose. “Is now a good time to tell you I married Jack?”

  Naomi shut her eyes for a moment. Her only daughter, married. She could safely bet there’d been no fairy-tale wedding day, no perfect white gown, no gorgeous flowers or fancy cake. She sighed deeply, let those things go, and opened her eyes. “Are you happy?”

  “So happy, Mom. And get this – Dad gave his blessing. I’ll tell you all about it, but first, you need to meet some people.” She stepped back, and two enormous, heavily-armed men stepped forward. “Adam and Tyler, my dear friends, and the men who were responsible for destroying the helicopters on Fort Carson last summer. They also helped Grace get to us safely, and me get back to you.”

  “Well, then.” Naomi brushed right by their rifles and knives, and wrapped her arms around them both in turn, kissing the cheeks they bent to offer her. “Martin told us about the helicopters, so your reputation precedes you. Welcome, and blessings on you both for keeping my girls safe. Plan on being spoiled rotten while you’re on my turf.”

  A disturbance in the crowd made her turn. Martin was hurrying towards her with Lark in the crook of his arm, Karleigh trailing behind them. When he saw Piper, his face lit with a brilliant smile. He swooped her into a hug, then pulled back and looked around. “Grace?”

  “Safe and sound with Jack. She wanted to make the trip, but we overruled.” Piper reached for his hand, and squeezed it. “Martin, she’s doing so well. She’s healthy, sleeping so much better, and healing by the day. The safety of the island has so much to do with that, so we insisted she stay, this year at least. She didn’t fight us too hard, so we knew it was the right decision. She se
nt letters – a huge one for you, one for Anne, one for Quinn.” Piper’s eyes landed on the toddler on Martin’s hip, currently squirming to get down. “And one for you, little bean. Gracious me, but you do look like your mama.”

  Lark, suddenly shy, dove to hide her face against Martin’s chest. After a moment, she peeked at Piper, then stuck her finger in her mouth and gave her a gooey smile. Her sweetness lasted about ten seconds. Then she was twisting and wiggling to get down again. Martin looked over his shoulder. “Karleigh, can you please watch her for me while I catch up? I’d really appreciate it.”

  “Sure, Mr. Ramirez.” She took a ready position. “Go ahead and set her down. I’ll chase her until she wears out.”

  Martin set Lark on her feet, and she was off, dark curls bouncing as she ran back towards the pools. Karleigh scooted after her, and Piper looked at Naomi. “Where’s Quinn?”

  “Delivering a baby,” Naomi said. She put her arm back around Piper’s waist, squeezed, then began walking towards the buildings so many of them now called home. “We’ve got a lot to tell you, too.”

  Most of the travelers from Woodland Park had settled in what was formerly known as the Springs Resort and Spa, spreading out among the old Spring Inn Motel building, the Mountain Suites and the luxurious, 100% geothermal heated, EcoLuxe hotel. The surviving inhabitants of the town, numbering only nineteen, had welcomed them after a period of uncertainty and negotiations, and the two communities had blended with only a few bumps in the road. Most of the original inhabitants had stayed in their own homes, but the Springs Resort grounds had become a central gathering point, much like Jack’s church back in Woodland Park.

  Naomi and Martin shared a suite with Quinn and Lark on the ground floor of the EcoLuxe building, with Ethan, Elise and the kids in a nearby suite. Cries of welcome greeted Piper when they entered the building, and she stopped to hug people frequently as they traversed the busy lobby, a popular gathering spot. Martin met Naomi’s eyes and tilted his head at the bar, raising his eyebrows in question. Naomi nodded, grateful, and Martin peeled off with Adam and Tyler in tow.