by Kay Maree
He approached the admissions desk, stopping behind a tall brunette wearing jeans and a bright yellow T-shirt. Her husky voice triggered a flash of memory that sucked the air from his nonexistent lungs.
“I know that you can’t give out medical information on her, ma’am, but I was the dispatcher that took the call last night. I just wanted to make sure she was all right and maybe leave a present, if I may?” She sat a small wrapped gift on the counter in front of the receptionist.
It was definitely her—the dispatcher on the other end of the phone, Colton realized, staring at the tall woman’s back. She’d heard him.
Colton stepped up next to her to gaze at her profile. Her skin had a brown hue to it, as if she had some kind of Native American heritage running through her veins.
Her lips were the color of a berry that he’d love to taste, but it was her eyes that really grabbed him…a light shade of blue, beautifully contrasted with her darker skin.
“I’ll see to it that her father gets the gift, Miss…?” the receptionist was saying.
“Collins. Gina Collins.”
The receptionist’s eyes lit up. “Any relation to Judge Collins?”
Colton could almost taste the resentment that abruptly radiated from Gina. “Yes, Judge Collins is my father. Please see that the little girl gets the gift?”
It became obvious to Colton that Gina resented using her family’s political position to get what she wanted.
The receptionist smiled. “If you would like to leave your number, Miss Collins, I could pass it along to the family. One of them may be so kind as to call you with an update.”
Gina’s shoulders visibly relaxed. “That would be great.”
After writing down her digits on a piece of paper the receptionist had given her, Gina thanked her and turned to leave.
Colton quickly memorized the two phone numbers Gina had written down and followed her outside to her car.
She dug out her keys and inserted them into the driver’s side door.
“How is it possible that you heard me on that 911 call?” Colton murmured, more to himself than to her.
Gina stilled before slowly pivoting on her heel. Rubbing both of her arms, she scanned the parking lot in rapid succession. “I must be losing it.”
“You can hear me?” Colton dared not believe. He slowly reached up to touch her face.
A silent intake of breath told him she’d felt something.
She quickly spun around, jerked the car door open, and slid behind the wheel.
After several attempts to get her keys in the ignition, she started the engine and sped out of the parking lot.
Colton could only stand there with his mouth hanging open. No one had so much as sensed his presence since the day he’d died in that fire three years ago.
Not even the few people he’d been able to rescue since his death could remember how they had made it to safety. But Gina Collins had not only heard him, she’d felt his touch as well. He was sure of it.
He had to find her, to see her again. With the help of a local phone book, he would have her address in no time…
Chapter Three
Gina opened the door and stepped over the threshold of her parents’ home. The smell of food reached her nose, setting off a chain reaction of stomach growls that would rival a bear’s.
“Mom?”
“Honey,” her mother, Galilani crooned, wiping her hands on her apron as she rounded the corner. “I’m so glad you came. I made your favorite.”
“Meatloaf?”
“With mashed potatoes,” Galilani replied with a grin. “Yo He Waah is pleased with you, daughter. You glow from your eyes.”
Taking her daughter by the hand, Galilani led her to the kitchen.
Gina wrapped her mom in a hug, thinking how fortunate she was to have a mother to teach her the ways of her Native people. She couldn’t imagine what God could possibly be pleased with her about, but she would gladly take it.
She kissed her beautiful mother’s cheek. Galilani meant friend in Cherokee, and Gina couldn’t think of a more fitting name for someone as sweet as her mom.
“Ah, Lani,” Jack announced, using his wife’s nickname as he entered the room. “Something smells delicious.”
“Have a seat. It’ll be ready in a moment.” Lani raised her face for her husband’s traditional kiss on her cheek.
The stiff set of her mother’s shoulders told Gina what Lani had tried for years to ignore. Trouble had definitely taken up residence in paradise.
“I’m so glad you could make it, buttercup.” Jack meandered into the dining room and pulled out a chair for his daughter before taking a seat of his own.
“Thanks for the invite.” Gina followed suit, sat, and accepted a glass of tea that her mother had promptly placed in front of her.
“You are always welcome here, baby. No need to wait for an invitation,” Lani murmured, joining them at the table. “Now say grace and help yourself.”
After giving thanks for the meal, Gina spooned some of her favorite foods onto her plate and ate like a woman starved. “So, how is the election coming, Dad?”
Her stepfather looked up from the task of cutting up his meatloaf. “I’d rather talk about your work. Politics are as boring as ever.”
Gina had grown used to Jack’s evading over the years and decided not to press. “What would you like to know?”
“Tell me about the strange call you received last night involving a little girl and a structure fire.”
“Oh dear, I hope she wasn’t injured.” Genuine concern shown from Lani’s eyes. She studied her daughter’s face before taking another bite of her mashed potatoes.
Lani was the only surviving daughter of the late Chief Koatohee. She had her father’s dark brown eyes, coal-black hair, and calm temperament. The complete opposite of Gina.
Where Lani was tiny and petite, Gina was tall and curvy. Gina’s long dark hair boasted of highlights and a slight wave, and she had pale blue eyes that mirrored her biological father’s.
Gina met her mother’s ebony gaze. “The little girl was taken to the hospital for smoke inhalation and third-degree burns on her legs.”
Jack cleared his throat. “I heard she had a rescuer that ran off before identifying himself.”
“Yeah. And the strange thing is that I took the call from him, but the system didn’t log the call as it came in, nor did it record his voice.”
Lani lifted a hand to her throat. “Has that ever happened before?”
Gina hesitated. “A few months back, I took a similar call about the Shueller fire in DeFuniak. But I don’t think the caller could hear me. I only know that once I hung up, the computer recorded my voice and not his. And there was no record of his call ever coming in.”
“Strange.” Lani stared back at her long enough that Gina grew uncomfortable.
“Enough about that,” Jack muttered. “Or your mother will be burning sage and smoking a peace pipe before sunset to call forth ghosts.”
Silence descended over the table for a long moment.
“Please excuse me.” Lani rose gracefully from her chair and left the room.
Gina turned to Jack. “Why do you always do that to her? You know how sensitive she is about her beliefs.”
“No one knows better than me how sensitive your mother is. And she grows worse with age. I think she may be going through the change.”
“What makes you think that?”
He paused to refill his drink. “She cries more than usual, and I’ve noticed her disappearing into the woods a lot lately. Not sure what that’s about.”
“Have you asked her about it?”
“Sure, I have. She claims to be praying.” He took a sip of his tea. “I don’t understand why she can’t worship at home or in church like everyone else does.”
“Come on, Dad. You know she has different beliefs than you. I think you should cut her some slack.”
<
br /> A deep chuckle ensued. “You definitely got your spunk from someone other than Lani.”
Gina didn’t return his smile. “Yeah well, in my line of work, it pays to have a certain amount of spunk; else the caller controls the call.”
“Speaking of callers—”
“I really don’t want to talk about that right now, if you don’t mind.” Truth was, Gina hadn’t been able to get the unknown caller’s voice out of her head. She’d even dreamed about him the night before.
“I’m sorry, honey. I just find it strange that there was no evidence of him calling.”
“You think I made it up?” Gina asked incredulously.
“Of course not. Now calm down and finish your lunch. I was merely pointing out the oddity of it.”
Gina didn’t buy his reasoning for a second. “I’m going to check on Mom and then head on to work.” She stood, rounded the table, and placed a kiss on his cheek. “Thank you again for the invite.”
“You’re welcome here anytime, buttercup. I’m sorry if I upset you.”
“You didn’t. I had trouble sleeping last night, and I’m fighting cramps.”
He lifted a hand. “I’ll pass on the feminine details. Have a good night at work.”
A laugh bubbled up. “Not a fan of PMS?”
Jack turned his head and made a shooing motion. “Get out of here, goofball.”
“Yes, sir,” she teased before breezing out of the room in search of her mother.
* * * *
Colton appeared in front of Gina’s modest, quaint house and entered her screened-in porch.
She loved plants, he noticed, taking in the greenery scattered around the small space.
Guilt rode close to the surface as he stood there, contemplating going inside.
Her car wasn’t in the driveway, which meant she wasn’t home. He closed his eyes and faded, appearing a second later inside her living room.
The power of her essence invaded his senses, leaving him weak in the knees.
Too bad he hadn’t met her before his demise, he thought as he moved around the room. He would have spent days inhaling her sweet flavor.
A low growl came from behind the couch, resembling more of a bumblebee buzzing than an actual dog growling.
Colton ambled over to the corner of the piece of furniture and dropped to his haunches.
“Hey there,” he crooned, slowly lifting a hand toward the animal. “It’s okay. I won’t hurt you.”
The smallest Chihuahua Colton had ever seen crawled out enough that only its face became visible.
“What’s your name, little one? Come on out. Come on,” he continued to whisper until he managed to coax the dog forward.
“That’s a good boy.”
The growling continued in a low rumble, letting Colton know how the little dog felt about trespassers.
A car door slamming brought Colton back to his feet. He rushed over to the window to peek outside. Gina’s car sat in the driveway with no one in sight.
Keys briefly rattled in the front door lock before the object of Colton’s fascination stepped inside.
“Peanut? Mama’s home,” Gina called out as she closed the door behind her.
Colton could only watch as the tiny dog disregarded him and scurried across the floor to jump around Gina’s feet.
She scooped the little pooch known as Peanut up into her arms and kissed his nose. “You’re such a good boy. Mama has to go to work, little man, but I’ll be back before you can miss me.”
After a few more hugs and kisses, she set the dog on the floor and trailed off down the hall.
Colton followed close behind, coming to a stop as she entered her bedroom and pulled her shirt over her head. He knew he should turn and leave before she bared anymore skin, but he couldn’t bring himself to do it.
He moved deeper into the room, close enough to feel the heat of her body warming his ice-cold skin.
Not even the fires he continued to run into warmed him, yet Gina’s very presence seemed to do just that.
She shimmied out of her jeans, and his stomach clenched.
Standing before him in a matching set of pink bra and panties was the most exquisite woman he’d ever seen.
She wasn’t skinny in the traditional sense, no; she had curves and an ass that would bring a man to his knees. The dark olive color of her skin only enhanced her beautiful body and made him want her more.
A soft intake of breath shattered the silence of the room as she spun and moved right through him.
Her arms lifted out to her sides, and she slowly backed toward her dresser.
Colton’s heart seized with the realization that she sensed his presence. “Gina?” he whispered, lifting a hand toward her.
The sudden trill of a phone ricocheted off the walls of the room, triggering them both to jump back.
Gina was visibly shaken as she scrambled for her discarded jeans and fished out her cell. “Hello?”
There was a pause before she continued. “Yes, I can come in early. I’ll be there in twenty minutes.”
Pressing the End key, she tossed the phone onto the bed and rushed to her closet.
After donning her uniform, shoes, and nametag, she pocketed her phone, grabbed her keys, and breezed right through Colton without a backward glance, leaving him to stand there in awe once again.
Chapter Four
Gina arrived at work half an hour early only to be greeted by chaos. Several deputies and a couple of suits were hovering around her workstation while Marsha scrolled through her CAD.
After clocking in, Gina approached the group. “What’s going on?”
One of the suits stepped forward. “Are you Gina Collins?”
“I am. Why are you going through my computer?”
The man moved even closer. “It’s protocol. Nothing more.”
“Ah. This is about the call I took last night that didn’t record in the CAD.”
“Tell me exactly what the man said, and don’t leave anything out. It could be important.”
Gina recited the call word for word, ending with, “What did the guy do? I mean, he saved that little girl’s life, didn’t he?”
“It would appear so, yes.”
“Then why all this?” She threw her hand out, indicating the group surrounding her workstation. “The man’s a hero in my book.”
“No one has said otherwise, Miss Collins. We are merely trying to figure out why neither call appears in the CAD.”
“But—”
“Look. Terrorists develop new ways to infiltrate us on a daily basis. For all we know, they may have a device that’s undetectable to our systems. If that is the case, then we need to know.”
“Be that as it may,” Gina responded, “it doesn’t explain why his voice wasn’t recorded. Seems to me it was a computer glitch.”
The man gave a short nod. “Could be, but it seems rather strange that there would be a computer glitch both times that he’s called. If, in fact, he is the one who called in the Shueller fire several months ago.”
“I think it was him,” Gina confessed. “Although, I can’t be certain.”
Nodding, the guy continued. “We must cover all bases to be sure. I hope you understand that you are in no way implicated in anything as of yet.”
Gina’s heart stuttered. “As of yet?”
An older gentleman with snow-white hair stepped forward. “What he meant to say was that you are not being investigated here, Miss Collins, only your computer. And we will be finished with it shortly so you can have it back.”
“Thank you, Mr…?”
“Kenyon. NSA Special Agent Matt Kenyon, and the man you were speaking with is SA Mason,” he replied, extending his hand.
Gina slid her palm in his. “SA? They called the National Security Agency in on a computer glitch?”
“As Mason has already advised you, Miss Collins, it’s a matter of national security. When y
ou take into account the unrecorded calls and someone slipping into a burning home without being seen, it’s definitely going to raise red flags.”
“Wow. Just wow.” She withdrew her hand from his hold. “So, I could have been conversing with a terrorist testing out our security measures by planting the little girl there and calling it in to see if our systems would record it?”
Kenyon didn’t blink. “It’s a possibility. We have to check all suspicious activities. And what happened here last night definitely falls into the suspicious category.”
“Your CAD is freed up. You can go to work now,” Marsha announced, getting to her feet.
Gina waded through the throng of people and took a seat at her console. After logging on to the 911 system, she pulled up the notes of the calls in progress to catch up with the current emergencies.
Chest pains, a broken leg, and a motor vehicle accident on the interstate were all being dispatched by others, so she picked up the landline and called animal control about pending complaints.
The crowd eventually made their way to Marsha’s office, and Gina took her first deep breath since arriving at work.
Finishing up her call, she rested her face in her hands, relaxed her shoulders, and let her mind drift back an hour.
It had been years since she’d felt an unknown presence near her, but there had definitely been one in her bedroom. She’d walked through its chilly essence.
The hair stood up on her arms as she remembered the feeling of coming in contact with its energy, smelling its scent.
“Are you all right?” someone was saying from close behind her. A hand touched her back. “Gina?”
“I’m fine, Lisa, thank you,” Gina assured her coworker before reaching for her headset and adjusting it to fit her head. “I just didn’t get much sleep last night.”
“Okay then. As long as you’re okay.”
“I am. You are sweet for asking.” The red light suddenly lit up, saving Gina from further explanation. “Walton County 911. Do you need police, fire, or ambulance?”
* * * *
The rest of the evening progressed without anyone dying, and for that, Gina was grateful. She hated when they lost someone, although sometimes it couldn’t be helped.