by Vivien Dean
One more sprig. One more, and then it was all done. Tilting his head back, he opened his eyes to the windy assault and searched for it.
It was there, near the top, whirling in its own eddy to unheard music. He couldn’t reach it sitting down. As soon as he took one hand off the glass, it wobbled, nearly colliding with the candle. The sprig might as well have been back in Philadelphia for all the good it did him, and he blinked away the tears of frustration that sprang to his eyes.
The shadows shrieked in victory.
Brody sagged, a puppet with its strings cut. So close. He’d come so close. All he wanted was a shot at happiness. “Is that so wrong?” he whispered.
The shrieks turned to cries of pain. In the next instant, the wind had lessened considerably. Brody looked for the sprig of herbs again and found it lower now, falling without the aid of the hurricane to keep it airborne. He had to hold the glass one-handed again, but this time he plucked it from its free fall with a rush of heat that went all the way to his bones.
It caught alight at the first touch to the flame.
That was the last he remembered before everything went black.
SOFT hands touched his brow, soothing back and forth, almost hypnotizing him with their regular sweeps. Brody opened his eyes and immediately regretted it. He was flat on his back, staring up into the lights. But when he winced and started to shut them again, the lights dimmed to a much more comfortable level.
“Is it over?” he croaked. “Are they gone?”
“They’re gone. I’m so proud of you.”
His chest seized. The voice belonged to a woman, but it wasn’t Simone’s belligerent alto. This was an echo of love long lost, and just the thought of it brought tears back to his eyes.
He turned his head, and there she was, almost exactly as he always remembered her. Megan Weber had been a woman driven by passion in life, delicate in features but fiery in temperament. The energy that had infused her from within was still there in death, a force so bright it stole Brody’s breath away.
“What’re you doing here?” he asked in wonderment.
She smiled. God, she was beautiful. “You opened the veils and invited me.”
“But I was trying to get the others.”
Her eyes saddened. “You did. I don’t understand why you’d want such awful creatures around, though.”
“I don’t. They’ve been haunting me since….” He couldn’t finish. With her presence, the memory of her loss stabbed even deeper.
“And you were trying to banish them for good?”
“Yes.”
“Then I’m even more relieved I arrived in time to help you.”
It took him a moment to realize what she meant. The last sprig. Somehow, she’d been the one to ensure he could reach it. “Thank you.”
“I’m so sorry I didn’t come earlier.” Her small hand cupped his face. “I didn’t know what you were facing.”
“Why would you?”
“I could’ve chosen to stay,” she said. “Some of us do, you know.”
Brody nodded. Simone was proof of that. Etienne had a whole career based on it.
“But I didn’t want you wrapped up in the past,” his mother continued. “Life’s too precious to waste like that. The one thing I hoped you’d remember was how to dream about tomorrow instead of dwelling on yesterday.”
Except he hadn’t. His grief had locked him in stasis and attracted the malevolent shadows. He’d even banished her music box from his life to try forgetting.
“I missed you so much.” Then, because he knew it was unfair to leave it out, he added, “So did Dad.”
A hint of her previous smile returned. “My two men. I’m glad you had each other.”
He didn’t have the heart to tell her the truth about their fractious relationship. What he could do, however, was work to mend it in the future. “Things will be better now,” he said. “I promise.”
The caresses along his forehead resumed. “I have to leave soon. I’m so glad you woke up so I could tell you goodbye.”
“You have to go? Why?”
She nodded to the walls. The smoke was almost gone. He understood without her having to reply.
“Will you do something for me?” she said.
“Anything.”
“Be happy now. Live.”
“I’m going to try.” He flushed, suddenly shy about admitting, “I met someone.”
“I can see that.” She looked over him to where Cruz had been left in the corner. “He’s very worried about you.”
“That’s kind of his thing.”
Her touch disappeared. Though he could still see her, the edges of her body were fading.
“I love you, Mom.”
“I love you too, my beautiful boy.”
And then she was gone, and Brody’s tears fell for the last time that night.
Chapter Eighteen
CRUZ pulled into the hospital parking lot, aiming for a row as close to the exit as he could get. Next to him, Brody scanned the next row over, humming under his breath as they conducted their search.
“Two down, about halfway up,” Brody announced.
They actually got a spot a third of the way closer when a dark Taurus pulled out and left it empty. “I wonder why it’s so busy today,” Cruz said as he parked.
“Maybe a new wonder drug has hit the market and everybody is getting released.”
“One you’re responsible for, perhaps?”
“You never know.”
Cruz laughed. “You’re in a good mood.”
“And why shouldn’t I be?” They clambered out of the station wagon and met behind it, clasping hands without pause to start walking to the door. “It’s finally starting to cool down a little, my dad stopped bugging me about when you’re coming back for a visit instead of work—”
“Only because I called him and made the arrangements,” Cruz said.
“He still stopped bugging me, so I’m taking that as a win. But the pièce de résistance is that I am finally meeting Mariana.”
Today had been a long time coming. Three weeks, in fact. Regardless of the success that night at Etienne’s, Brody had refused to impede her recuperation until she was on the schedule for discharge. No more incidents had occurred, not even when they went back to Binghamton and went through the motions for Loren, but Brody was firm on this.
“Her health is more important,” he stated, and that was that. He wouldn’t budge.
But Cruz was glad when he agreed to be a part of taking her home. He wanted to show off his new boyfriend to the reason they’d met in the first place. Because if he hadn’t been agonizing about money, he never would’ve agreed to Etienne’s crazy plan, and Brody would’ve remained haunted by his shadows for who knew how long.
They didn’t talk about that night after they left Etienne’s. Etienne had no recollection of what had happened. As far as they could tell, the shadows had temporarily banished Simone, which had been enough of a distraction for Etienne for them to put him in some kind of holding pattern until they were gone. But Cruz had seen the whole show. None of the supernatural magic could reach him in his protective bubble, so he had a front-row seat to Brody’s battle. He’d seen Brody stand up to them, their furious response with the miniature windstorm. He’d figured out what the shadows were going to do with the explosives before Brody did, but when he saw Brody ready to take it out himself, he’d driven himself hoarse shouting for Brody to stop.
He hadn’t fully understood what happened next until Brody explained it. All Cruz knew was Brody passed out and the wind stopped. He was flat on the floor for less than a minute before he came around, but then he was talking to someone Cruz couldn’t see. It didn’t take a rocket scientist to figure out what dead person in Brody’s life could make him cry.
Cruz was dying to know what it had been like, but Brody wasn’t ready to talk about his mother yet. Someday, Cruz figured. When Brody had a little more distance. He was dealing with enough already,
like coming to grips with his remaining paranoia now that he had no reason to fear his ghosts’ terrorizing. Going out to Etienne’s helped with that. He soaked up all the information about ghosts and being a sensitive that Etienne could throw at him, then asked for more. Like it had done throughout his life, knowledge was going a long way in helping Brody adjust to his brave new world.
In the meantime, Cruz offered his own family as a surrogate balm for Brody’s second loss of his mother. They’d spent more than a few nights at his parents’ house so his parents would have the chance to get to know him like Cruz did. The best surprise of all had been when Brody decided to teach everyone how to ballroom dance. Even Cruz’s dad begged him for more.
Now it was time to add Mariana to the mix.
Everyone greeted Cruz as he strolled to her room. More than one nurse included Brody in that welcome. As awful as it was to have to keep coming back, the staff turned the hospital into someplace warm and accepting, and a small part of him would miss it once Mariana was home again. Her treatments weren’t over, of course. They would be extra vigilant about her maintenance in the aftermath of the pneumonia, and there’d be a ton more tests to ensure she continued getting strong. But hopefully this was the last trip to the children’s ward for a very long time to come.
“Knock, knock,” Cruz said when they reached her open door.
Mariana sat on the edge of the bed, dressed in the clothes he’d brought her yesterday. Her color was back to normal, and she’d pinned her hair off her thin face with new colorful clips that trailed feathers longer than her short locks. Her smile was wide, though, and when she spotted Brody hanging back behind Cruz, it widened even more.
“You brought him!”
Her enthusiasm worked. Brody’s natural shyness around new people went away as he approached the bed. “He was supposed to keep that a secret,” he said.
Mariana rolled her eyes. “Cruz sucks at secrets. Don’t you know that yet?”
They shared a quick, knowing glance. Brody smiled. “Yeah, I know.”
Patting the bed next to her, she scooted over to give him room. “You look different in person.”
“Mariana,” Cruz chided. “Don’t be rude.”
“What?” For a second, she looked exactly like Bella. Not yet, Cruz silently pleaded. Let her stay a little girl a while longer. “I just meant he doesn’t look sad anymore.”
“I was pretty sad in that picture Cruz showed you,” Brody admitted. “But now I’m not, so it makes sense that I look different.”
“Because of my brother?”
Cruz sighed. She really was incorrigible.
But Brody didn’t seem bothered by her invasive questions. “He’s the biggest part of it, yeah.”
She nodded. “He’s good at that. I think he should be a doctor. People feel better when he’s around.”
“I have a job, thank you.”
Brody looked up at him through his lashes. “Speaking of jobs….”
“I thought we were going to wait.”
“But Mariana’s going home today,” Brody argued. “That deserves something special.”
“For her or for you?” he said, smiling.
“Tell me,” Mariana demanded.
She would’ve found out tonight at dinner, so he figured, what the hell. “My office has decided to open another site. In Philadelphia. And I’ve agreed to be the one to make sure it runs smoothly.”
Her jaw dropped. “You’re moving back?”
“Not for a couple months, but yes, I’m moving back.”
The decision had been easy. After realizing he’d spent most of the last year here anyway, when the offer came up, he took the time to seriously consider it. He missed being close to his family. Plus, there was Brody. His work at Perelman was too important to walk away from, whereas Cruz’s could be done almost anywhere. They saw each other as often during the week as they could manage, which as it turned out wasn’t nearly enough to satisfy either one of them. Living in Philadelphia would solve the biggest time suck of having to drive back and forth.
He curled his hand into Brody’s again. Besides, the way things were going, the issue of moving in together would come up sooner rather than later. If Cruz was already in the city, the logistics would be a lot simpler to overcome.
As Mariana began listing all the things she wanted the three of them to do together, Brody brought their entwined fingers to his mouth and brushed a kiss across Cruz’s knuckles.
His heart swelled. Brody might claim that Cruz was the biggest reason for his current state of mind, but as far as Cruz was concerned, Brody was the only reason for his. He loved this man. It was too early to say so out loud, but one day soon, Cruz knew he would. He’d utter those three words, and for the first time in his life, he’d absolutely mean them.
Love had won.
Love would always win.
VIVIEN DEAN is a firm believer that love doesn’t care about gender. That’s why her titles encompass both GLBT and het, erotic and sweet, as well as a wide variety of genres. After growing up in the snowy and isolated Midwest, she went off in search of her creative muse. She performed on stage, wrote and directed indie films in Orlando, then met her British soulmate online. One wedding, two children, and ten addresses later, she resides in the Bay Area where it’s easy to indulge in her favorite pastimes—good theater, great movies, and amazing food. Vivien is a three-time EPIC eBook Award winner and collaborated with Pepper Espinoza to write as Jamie Craig for five years.
Website: viviendean.com
Blog: vivien-dean.blogspot.com
Email: [email protected]
Facebook: www.facebook.com/vivien.dean.3
Twitter: @VivienDean
By Vivien Dean
DREAMSPUN BEYOND
#2 – The Charlatan’s Conquest
DREAMSPUN DESIRES
With Rick R. Reed: #15 – Stranded with Desire
Published by DREAMSPINNER PRESS
www.dreamspinnerpress.com
Coming September 2017
Dreamspun Beyond #3
Stalking Buffalo Bill by j. leigh bailey
A smitten coyote isn’t the only one stalking Buffalo Bill.
A buffalo walks into a cafe. Sounds like the start of a bad joke, but for coyote shifter Donnie Granger, it’s the beginning of an obsession. Donnie is a little hyperactive and a lot distractible, except when it comes to William. He finally works up the nerve to approach William but is interrupted by a couple of violent humans.
While William—don’t call me Bill—is currently a professor, he once worked undercover against an international weapons-trafficking ring. Before he can settle into obscurity, he must find out who leaked his location and eliminate the thugs. He tries keeping his distance to protect Donnie, but the wily coyote won’t stay away.
It’ll take both Donnie’s skills as a stalker—er, hunter—and William’s super-spy expertise to neutralize the threat so they can discover if an excitable coyote and a placid-until-pissed buffalo have a future together.
Dreamspun Beyond #4
Finder’s Keeper by Shira Anthony
The truth might ruin his dreams—or make them come true.
When Zane moves into an old gothic brownstone, he discovers the house comes equipped with a caretaker—Kit, who lives in the basement. But Kit is much more than an amazing cook. He is a five-hundred-year-old half human, half red fox spirit who guards a Gate between the mortal and spirit worlds—a fact Zane should recognize, but doesn’t.
Orphaned a young age, Zane never learned he comes from a long line of mystical Keepers. Kit is reluctant to tell Zane about his legacy when he learns Zane dreams of traveling the world. If he takes up the mantle, Zane will be bound to the Gate and unable to leave it. But when Zane realizes Kit’s true nature, and his own, he’ll have to make a choice—fight to protect Kit and the Gate, or deny his destiny and any chance of a future with Kit.
Don’t Miss Dreamspun Beyond!
Love Always Finds a
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Published by
DREAMSPINNER PRESS
5032 Capital Circle SW, Suite 2, PMB# 279, Tallahassee, FL 32305-7886 USA
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This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, and incidents either are the product of author imagination or are used fictitiously, and any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, business establishments, events, or locales is entirely coincidental.
The Charlatan’s Conquest
© 2017 Vivien Dean.
Cover Art
© 2017 Aaron Anderson.
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Cover content is for illustrative purposes only and any person depicted on the cover is a model.
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