by Anne B. Cole
“The flowers arrived yesterday.” Laurie gestured to a vase of a dozen yellow roses.
Gretta opened the card and read out loud, “‘Congratulations on the birth of Silas and Diana. Will talk soon. Love, Ruby.’”
“Katarina entwines within Ruby. We’ll soon find out everything we want to know,” Sam whispered in her ear.
“She’ll be able to give us advice on parenting the twins,” Gretta replied, admiring the flowers.
“How long is our stay?” Sam asked Laurie.
“Through the end of the month. Your flight back to the States is booked for July thirty-first.” Laurie tapped a white envelope. “I could change the plane reservations if you’d like.”
“Three weeks is—”
“Perfect,” Gretta interrupted. “Shh, they both fell asleep.” She nestled each baby into bassinets located next to a huge window with a balcony view of the sea.
“I’ll send breakfast to the room in an hour,” Laurie whispered and closed the door behind her.
Gretta took Sam’s hand and led him to the balcony. He wrapped his arms around her and she leaned into his hold. Together they gazed across the blue-green sea, letting the breeze kiss their faces with scents of salty water and olive blossoms.
“Everything is perfect.”
“More than perfect.” Sam nibbled her ear and along her neck.
When she slid her hand beneath his shirt, his lips abruptly halted their foray.
“We have visitors,” he whispered.
Gretta followed his stare into the suite.
“Dad?” she gasped. “Sam, can you see them?” She watched her father stand beside Sam’s mom. The two spirits smiled at them before returning their attention to the twins.
“Your father, my mom, JD, Raja, Roxana, Minnie, Lucy, all of them are using one of their passes out of the Elysian Fields. Do you think we will be able to talk to them?” Sam waved to his brother. JD returned the gesture and snuggled closer to Raja.
“Grandma Lucy? Roxana?” Gretta’s heart surged when they blew silent kisses to them. Sam took a step into the suite, causing Raja to hold her palm out in warning.
“Stop, Sam.” Gretta clutched his hand in hers and remained on the balcony. “They can see and hear us, but we must be unable to approach them.”
“Thank you. Without your help we would have never been able to break the curse, escape from Tartarus, and deal with the gods.” Sam curled an arm around Gretta’s waist.
The spirits took turns placing kisses upon the sleeping twins. Roxana swirled to the balcony. Her essence wrapped around them. Sam shivered.
“Where did Roxana go?” His eyes darted in search of her. “JD? Mom?”
Gretta watched the spirits enter the balcony and join hands to form a circle surrounding Sam and herself. She could tell he was no longer able to see them.
“They want to say good-bye.” Happiness surged within Gretta when each of the spirits swirled closer.
JD and Raja’s happiness touched her heart. Her grandmother’s wisdom empowered her with confidence. Sarah and Minnie enlightened her with motherly wisdom. Roxana’s pride filled her with happiness. Her father’s love melted her insides and gave her the strength to free herself from all lingering feelings of guilt over his death.
With a final good-bye, the spirits left as quickly as they had appeared.
Sam clung to her and sobbed.
“You okay?” She wiped tears from his cheeks.
Sam touched his forehead to hers with a slight nod. “Yeah. You?”
“Being able to see them one final time, knowing they are happy means so much to me.” Gretta didn’t want the moment to end.
“I think they feel the same way.”
“What about Katarina? With the curse broken, she could move on to the Elysian Fields to see Henry. Why wasn’t she here, too?” Even though Katarina was Sam’s ancestral grandmother, Gretta held deep feelings for her.
“Before Roxana entwined my soul within yours, she told me Katarina would remain in the Purgatories to not only keep an eye on us, but to help Kadir find Aphrodite’s other two rings. Once they find the rings, other cursed souls will be able to leave Purgatory-In-Tartarus.”
Gretta giggled. “Katarina will keep Kadir in line. I have no doubt they will succeed in their new quest.”
“If they don’t kill each other first.” Sam laughed.
Out of the corner of her eye, a soaring bird caught her attention.
“Our chaperones have arrived.” She pointed to an osprey being chased by two white doves. They watched the large bird dive to the water and snatch a fish in its claws.
Sam chuckled. “The sea is Poseidon’s domain.”
“Aphrodite looks stunning in white,” Gretta added when the doves landed on the balcony rail. A thought ran through her mind and she moved Sam’s gaze off the white bird with a single finger to his cheek. “You never explained how you escaped from Manticore.”
“Would you believe me if I told you I gave a monster the finger?” Sam kissed the end of her nose.
“You didn’t.” Gretta licked his lips with a tantalizing tease.
“A giant finger.” He swept her into his arms. “Later, I’ll explain every detail. Right now my mind is a little preoccupied. Whenever Aphrodite is around all I can think about is—”
“Her?” Gretta shifted her shoulders to block his view of the dove.
“No.” His chocolate browns met her blues. “All I can think about is loving you.”
A groan escaped his lips when she crushed them with hers. Gretta kicked the balcony door open and Sam carried her into their suite. Sinking into the luxurious pillows on the giant four-poster bed, she glanced at the bassinets as Sam tucked a stray hair behind her ear.
“All of the curses are finally broken.” Gretta laced her fingers with Sam’s. “No more pirates or time traveling. No more bad luck. No more trials to complete or gods to deal with.”
Sam nibbled on her neck. “No more being away from you.”
“I’m still coming to terms with the fact we are together, back in our bodies, and in our time. Do you think the babies—”
“The babies are sleeping and I think we should take advantage of every minute we have.” Sam pulled her ponytail out and ran his fingers through tangled curls.
Gretta melted into his arms as peaceful happiness swept through her soul. “We’re finally together and—”
Sam’s lips claimed hers as he murmured, “And I’m never gonna let you go.”
“No more talk?” Gretta suggested.
“No more talk.”
A Note from the Author
Thank you for reading Souls Endure. Sam and Gretta’s time travels in the spiritual world have concluded, but their children’s adventures are ideas waiting to be written.
I love to receive feedback from readers. What did you like about Souls Endure? Anything you’d like to see in future books? Please take a minute to post a short review on Amazon. You can find all three books of The Souls Trilogy on my Amazon Author page: www.amazon.com/Anne-B.-Cole/e/B00K0Z8RDC
Currently, I’m working on a suspenseful, fast-paced, action/adventure novel tentatively titled, Protected.
To connect with me and watch for updates on future books, check out my website www.annebcole.com
Recipes, preschool activities, author interviews, and more can be found on my blog www.annebcole.com/blog
Hugs to all,
Anne
Also from Anne B. Cole and Soul Mate Publishing:
SOULS ENTWINED
When a cursed family heirloom sends Gretta Dobbs back in time, a hunky construction worker, Sam Daggett, suddenly finds himself love struck and joins her adventure. Their souls entwine within the bodies of young lovers on
a Greek island in 1829, where they begin to unravel the mysteries behind Gretta’s ring all while avoiding a bloodthirsty pirate who is determined to seek revenge. Gretta and Sam must find the secrets needed to save her and her relatives from an afterlife in purgatory and return to their own lives—or risk becoming prisoners of the past, continuing the evil cycle of the ring’s curse.
Available now on Amazon: http://tinyurl.com/qe84d62
SOULS ESTRANGED
Book Two of The Souls Trilogy
Back from their adventures in Souls Entwined, Sam Daggett begins a new relationship with Gretta Dobbs, whose memories of their time traveling experience have been erased. Determined to never leave her again, Sam vows to help Gretta, despite the bad luck curse on her heirloom ring. Within hours of their return, tragedy strikes.
As Sam becomes the third victim of the bad luck curse, Gretta’s memories of her time spent in the past begin to return. Unable to remember more than snippets, she realizes that anyone close to her is in grave danger. In order to keep Sam and her family safe, she flees in the middle of the night.
Finding the perfect summer job in the back hills of Virginia, Gretta unknowingly crosses paths with a serial killer. With guidance from their ancestral spirits, Roxana and Katarina, Sam desperately attempts to find Gretta before the curse strikes again.
Available now on Amazon: http://tinyurl.com/jsbp9q5