I jumped as I turned to see Sebastian standing barefoot and bare-chested in my kitchen. His black jeans hung low on his hips, and his inviting smile lit his face. My heart skipped several beats.
“I hope I am not disturbing you. I woke up a bit ago, and the strange noises coming from my stomach indicated to me that I was hungry.”
“So you’ve never had your stomach growl before,” I teased with a laugh. “Lucky you.” I made my way over to the microwave. “I saved you a plate from dinner. Plus, I have more leftovers if you need them.”
“What is the sweet smell?” he asked as he lifted his head and sniffed the air.
I smiled. “That’s cookies. You can have a few of those after you eat a good meal.”
He nodded, then turned and walked into the dining room. He seated himself in one of the chairs, running his hands over the wood slowly, as if he were appreciating the craftsmanship. My dad would love this guy.
Once the microwave dinged, I went over, grabbed his food and some silverware from the drawer, and took it out to him. He nodded. Then he picked up his fork and began sampling my chicken and dumplings. Again, the look of contentment on his face made me smile. Leaving him to eat in peace, I went and poured him a glass of iced tea. When I handed it to him, he thanked me but never once stopped eating the food on his plate. I nodded, then vanished back into the kitchen.
Leaning against the counter, I wondered about some of the things he had said. He had never tried bacon, and he claimed he had come here for me. Then there were his eyes. I had never seen eyes that color before. Something was different about my new guest.
I heard the chair in the dining room move and looked up just as he came into the kitchen carrying his empty plate and glass.
“Would you like something else?” I inquired.
His full lips curved into a sly smile. “I do believe you called them cookies.”
I smirked. “Yes. Yes, I did,” I answered as I turned and went over to the cookies I had just pulled from the oven. I gathered him several of each kind, placed them on a plate, and handed them to him. “I hope you like them. They’re one of my specialties.”
Nodding, he lifted a cookie, looked at it, turned it over in his hands, and then popped the entire thing into his mouth. The moan that escaped him sent heat throughout my body. My mind quickly imagined something else that could make him moan in such a way.
“What are you thinking?” he asked, which completely took me by surprise.
“Huh?” I mumbled, then tried to gather my thoughts. “Nothing, really.”
He cocked his head to the side, slid his sly smile back into place, and winked. What the hell? Did he know just how mouthwatering he was?
“Lying does not suit you, Harley. Your voice catches when you do it.”
“My mom used to say that,” I told him, shaking my head slightly. “But it isn’t true.”
“I know she did. I also know she used to tell you that dyeing your hair hid your natural beauty. She hated that you wore it so dark. She is pleased to see you have decided to wear your natural chestnut locks now.”
I could feel my body starting to shake. Something wasn’t right here. How did he know things that Mom and I had talked about in private? I had decided to go back to my natural color when Mom passed. She had mentioned it several times while she was sick. I hadn’t had time to worry about it then, but before the funeral, I had made an appointment to have it taken care of. I hadn’t wanted to say goodbye in hair she wasn’t a fan of.
“Who are you?” I finally blurted out. He had me so flabbergasted that I could barely form words.
“My name is Sebastian, and I was asked to come here to help you.”
“By who?”
“Your mother.”
“That’s impossible. My mother is dead.” I was wishing I hadn’t taken the gun away from the back door.
“I know. That is how we met. I am an angel.”
I didn’t say anything. I just stood there watching him. Did he really think I was going to fall for this craziness? Why would my mom send an angel to me? Especially one that made me think of nothing but sinning? She wouldn’t, and he wasn’t one. Some crazy guy had gotten his ass kicked so hard that he no longer knew reality from fiction. He needed help.
“Look, I don’t know what happened to you, but I can take you to a doctor. They can check you out, find a place that’s safe for you, whatever.” I tried my best to sound reassuring. I didn’t want him to think he was in any danger.
He laughed. The sound was like music to my ears.
“I do not need a doctor. I promise you. Every word I speak is true. My name is Sebastian. I am what humans call a guardian angel. Your mother requested one for you. She asked me to be the one to come. She knows you are struggling and wants me to help you find peace.”
“What exactly am I struggling with?” I asked him matter-of-factly.
“Losing her.”
“Of course. She was my mother. That’s natural.”
“I am also here to help put an end to the nightmares.”
I stared at him, mouth agape. He knew about the nightmares. But how? Could this be true? Could he have been sent here by Mom?
“Is it true that you are plagued by nightmares, Harley? Haunting dreams of your mother’s last days, then of her death? Do you not see her in the darkness, coming after you? Does she not claim you will be like her soon?”
“Stop it,” I demanded. “I don’t believe in angels. I don’t believe in any of this stuff. I have dreams about my mom. That’s normal. There’s nothing else to it. Maybe it would be best if you leave.”
“Is that truly what you want?” he asked as he stepped closer to me.
I didn’t speak for a moment. I couldn’t think. Did I want him to leave? Heaven knows, he was something amazing to look at, but just how insane was he? Then an idea formed in my mind.
“You claim you’re angel,” I said. He nodded. “Then prove it.”
The sly smile I had found myself going weak in the knees over returned. He reached out his hand. I automatically took it. The instant our hands touched, we vanished from my kitchen.
4
Appearing in the middle of complete darkness, I had to double over and put my head between my knees. My stomach felt as though it was doing somersaults inside my body. My head was spinning, and I couldn’t help but feel as though I might throw up.
“Breathe deeply,” Sebastian cooed in his soothing voice.
I nodded my head slightly as I attempted to do what he instructed. It sounded so simple, but currently, I was having a hard time taking short, gasping breaths. Deep breaths were out of my reach.
“Harley, do you need assistance?”
I held up my hand. The last thing I needed right now was him to do something else that would make my body betray me. Instead, I forced myself to look up. My vision spun. I closed my eyes, counting to ten slowly, then opened them again. Things weren’t spinning any longer, but the night sky had engulfed me.
“Where are we?” I asked as I wrapped my arms around me. The frigid winter air was sending chills throughout my body already.
“The top of your mountain,” he answered nonchalantly as he began to walk.
His bare feet made no noise as they made their way through the thick layer of decaying leaves. He was bare-chested but showed no issue whatsoever with the cold. I hated myself for the thoughts going through my mind, but in ways, I was beginning to believe he was something other than human. I wasn’t completely sold on the whole angel thing, but something was up with my new acquaintance.
“Why did you bring me here?”
He turned toward me, smiling, then shrugged.
“I felt it would be a great way to show you I was telling the truth. Besides, you love these mountains; you always have. Your father used to bring you up here when you were younger. You learned how to use a gun, hunt, fish, all the things you would need to survive out here if need be. You do not like admitting it, but you loved it.”
I chuckled. He did have a point. My dad must have wanted a son but decided he would teach his daughter how to do all the things he loved. I suppose I was the perfect mixture. I could make myself at home in any kitchen like Mom had taught me, or I could hunt down my own dinner like Dad.
“I suppose you are beginning to realize just how much I know about you,” he said as he opened his arms wide, leaned his head back, and inhaled the crisp, clean mountain air.
“Maybe,” I answered as I took a few steps closer to him. “If this is true, why would I need an angel to help me through some nightmares? It would seem there are other people in the world who need you worse than I do.”
“Ah, there it is,” he announced as he turned quickly toward me. “You feel you are undeserving of my divine intervention. Most people feel that way when they encounter their guardian angel. You, however, do not know what lies ahead.”
“Then why don’t you tell me about it?”
“I have been debating that. I wondered if prior knowledge would help you make the right decisions, or if it would simply cause more issues,” he pondered and then suddenly dropped to the ground in a seated position. “Either way, a bit of warning cannot hurt.”
“All right, I appreciate that.”
“Those men who attacked me behind your house were not humans. They were demons. They were demons who were coming to take you.”
“What the hell? Why would demons want to take me? “Why?”
“Your mother. It all revolves around your mother.”
“She’s gone. How could she have caused anything?” I asked, finally allowing myself to get angry. The way he kept tossing my dead mother’s memory around was beginning to piss me off.
“She took a soul from them, one they wanted badly. Their revenge for her act is to take yours.”
I stared at him for a long moment, not saying a word. I knew what he was hinting at. My mom had become a guardian angel. She had saved someone from something bad. It made total sense. That was her way. If someone was in trouble, she would do whatever it took to help them. Finally, I nodded.
“So how do I stay safe?”
“Me.” He smiled warmly.
“You weren’t doing the greatest of jobs last night.”
“I met you, did I not?”
“Smooth moves,” I said sarcastically, throwing in an eye roll for good measure. “So, let’s say I believe you. Can you keep them away from me?”
“I am going to try.”
“Fine. You can stay at the bed-and-breakfast. We’ll see how all this plays out, or do you already know?”
“No, your free will has a role to play. All of the possible outcomes depend on you, Harley.”
“Great,” I mumbled as he reached out his hand. I took it, and once again, we vanished.
Back at the bed-and-breakfast, I excused myself to go to the restroom. Taking a seat on the closed toilet lid, I held my head in my hands and tried to think. When I was near Sebastian, he clouded my judgement a bit. I didn’t need that right now. I needed to go over everything he had said and decide just how much I believed.
Could my mom have become a guardian angel? Most certainly. She was a kindhearted Southern Baptist who believed in God, the Bible, and most importantly, helping her fellow man. On more than one occasion, she had sent food to the hungry, brought people into the bed-and-breakfast when they couldn’t afford a place to stay, and tried to do anything and everything to help the community. She was a great person. Helping others in her afterlife wasn’t a shock.
Was I truly in danger? That was the real question. Could Sebastian be using my mother’s death to play on my sympathy and get a free place to stay and all the free food he wanted? Doubtful. Whatever was going on here, he was able to teleport me from one place to another with ease. That was no magic trick. He was odd, different from anyone else I had met. It was completely possible that what he claimed was true—that is, if people really had guardian angels in their lives.
The last thing I really needed right now was a questioning of faith. I had gone to church and Sunday school as a child. As I had gotten older though, that had changed. Mom hadn’t forced me to go to church once I was a teenager. It had then become my choice. She had told me I was old enough to take my faith into my own hands. I hadn’t abandoned church altogether, but admittedly, I wasn’t there as often as I should’ve been. Still, I had never stopped believing. If I had truly been sent a guardian angel to protect me from demons on Earth, should I resist it?
The man from last night who had hissed at me just before vanishing returned to my mind. That hadn’t been normal. That had been something beyond my comprehension. The way he had made me feel still sent chills down my skin. Perhaps he was something evil. If that were the case, the last thing I wanted to do was fight that on my own.
I got to my feet. I had decided. Going over to the sink, I splashed a little cold water on my face and peered into the mirror. Looking back at me, I saw my mom’s green eyes. There was a bit of my father’s determination in them. I was doing this. I was handing my future over to allow a supposed guardian angel to lead me down the right path. I had truly lost my mind.
Finishing up, I stepped out of the bathroom to a waiting Sebastian. He was leaning against the hallway wall with his signature cocked grin on his face.
“You believe,” he said softly, then nodded his head. “I knew you would see things for what they truly were.”
“I’m trying to believe,” I said, correcting him.
“No, you believe. I know what is truly inside you, Harley. You cannot hide things from me.”
I quickly recalled the thoughts that had run through my mind where he was concerned.
Once again, he smirked and then shrugged slightly. “We have just met. I would not dare entertain those kinds of sinful thoughts. At least not yet.”
I swallowed hard as he vanished from sight. I could feel my heart racing, and my palms clammed up. He had to be joking, right? Angels weren’t allowed to do things like that. Were they?
5
Over the next couple of days, I introduced Sebastian to the guests at the bed-and-breakfast. I introduced him as an old friend from school who had come by to stay for a while. No questions were asked. I could have given those coming and going any lie I wanted I suppose, but I still thought it made more sense to say we knew each other. It would explain the time we spent together, and it would keep my guests from thinking I was on the verge of hooking up with a random guest I barely knew.
Admittedly, my guardian angel did well with people. He was friendly and chatted openly. He even gave opinions on things they asked him about. He joined the guests for breakfast and dinner each day and had lunch in the kitchen while I worked. He wasn’t much trouble. He was actually good company. Still, I had quite a few questions, and he didn’t seem to be in a hurry to provide me with more answers. This annoyed me.
I wanted to keep up with my normal routine. The last thing I needed was to sit around and dwell on the fact that an angel, or whatever he was, was living in my bed-and-breakfast—for free, mind you—and was supposedly here to protect me. When I worked, I did my best to keep everything Sebastian had told me out of my mind. I didn’t mind looking at him when he was around. Hey, I was like any normal twenty-four-year-old when it came to checking out hot men, but the rest of it—the threat of something as dark as demons coming after me and the thought of my mom being a guardian angel for those in need—was all a bit much to think about when trying to run this place.
I had taken to using a notebook in my kitchen to jot down thoughts that came to me throughout the day. I knew at some point I would ask Sebastian more questions. I would have to. Keeping my thoughts in order around him was hard though. Using the notebooks would be a great way to know what to ask and what answers I expected. If he gave me the wrong ones, then this little free ride he was taking would end quickly—unless of course one of those black-eyed, hissing freaks showed up at my door again.
Pulling
a cake out of the oven, a new thought passed through my mind. His wings. I wanted to see his wings. If he was truly an angel, weren’t they supposed to have those? Placing the cake on the cooling rack, I wiped my hands on my apron and hurried over to write my question down. That question, of course, led to a longer list of questions. By the time I had finished writing, I had an entire page of things to ask about angel wings. I shook my head. All this was far more than I had ever imagined I would be dealing with.
Hearing the chime of the doorbell fill the house startled me slightly. Normally, people simply walked in. I rolled my eyes. If they were ringing the bell, most likely this was something official like a new delivery guy in the area or a hiker who had never stayed with us before.
Hearing the chime once again, I closed my notebook and took off toward the door. Impatient much? I thought to myself as I reached the door and pulled it open. What stood before me was far from what I had expected. A girl—a child really—was looking up at me with a warm smile through a veil of blonde hair. Her gorgeous blue eyes seemed to catch each one of the sun’s rays, making them sparkle.
“Well, hello,” I said, smiling down at her. I couldn’t help but wonder where her parents were.
“Hi, I’m Kylie,” she announced as she reached her hand toward me.
I, of course, shook her hand, smirking at how adult she was trying to act.
“Hi, Kylie. It’s nice to meet you.”
“It’s nice to meet you. I’ve been wanting to since that night.”
Confused, I tried to figure out what she was talking about. Unable to place her, I shrugged slightly.
“What night?”
“The night your mama saved me.”
Hearing Kylie’s words took me by surprise. Knowing I would need a few minutes to collect my thoughts, I brought her into the house, settled her in the dining room, and made her a bite to eat. Even more shocking than her words was the way she devoured the food. It was clear she was hungry, which left me wondering once again where her parents were.
A Paranormal Easter: 14 Paranormal & Fantasy Romance Novellas Page 53