Dead To Me (Cold Case Psychic Book 5)

by Pandora Pine

  Ten snapped out of his trance and started to run along with Fitzgibbon and Kaye, who looked as thunderstruck as he felt.

  “Duck!” Kevin shouted, yanking Ten and Kaye toward the grass.

  Ten felt his entire body slam to the ground as something large passed over their heads. He didn’t even want to hazard a guess as to what it was. A second later, Kevin was pulling them back to their feet and running toward the cellar again. Kevin was yelling something at Tennyson, but he couldn’t make out the words over the deafening roar of the storm. He could see Ronan and Greeley pounding on the doors. Thankfully, one of them opened and Greeley started to climb down into the storm cellar. Ten pushed Kaye toward the opening and saw Greeley holding a hand up to her.

  “You’re next!” Ronan shouted at him, grabbing him by the arm. Rain water dripped down Ronan’s soaking wet face. Ten chanced one more look behind him at the tornado before climbing into the storm cellar. He could feel Ronan behind him. When he reached the bottom of the stairs, he could see Kevin climbing down and someone he didn’t recognize, securing the doors shut.

  When Kevin got to the bottom of the stairs he pulled Greeley into his arms and hugged him tight. Ronan did the same thing to Tennyson. Ronan was soaked to the bone, but was somehow still warm. Greeley reached out for Kaye who was looking a bit lost. He wrapped an arm around her and Fitzgibbon did the same thing. “Is everyone okay?” Kevin asked.

  Ten was feeling a bit sore from when Kevin yanked him down to the ground. He knew that Kaye had to be sore too, since he’d yanked her down in turn.

  Everyone nodded.

  “Okay, good. There’s an empty space over there.” Kevin pointed to a part of the storm cellar that wasn’t crowded with other people and led them over there. “Why don’t we all have a seat? I have a feeling shock is going to set in pretty soon.”

  “Shock?” Kaye asked. She was clinging to Greeley like a life raft in storm-tossed seas.

  “We just drove hell bent for leather through a tornado while being directed by the ghost of your dead husband. Yeah, Kaye, I’d say we’re all due for a dose of shock.” Kevin wrapped an arm around her shoulder and held her close.

  “Hi, Kaye,” Reverend Greene greeted. He was carrying a clipboard and writing down names. Following behind him was a young man with a stack of blankets. He passed one out to each of them. Greeley helped to wrap Kaye’s around her shoulders and back before they all sat down on the floor.

  “Is everyone really okay?” Fitzgibbon looked around at all of them.

  “My heart felt like it was going to explode.” Greeley shook his head. “When Uncle Ronan yanked me out of the car and I saw the tornado coming right at us. Oh, man I thought we were toast!” Kevin wrapped his arm around his son and held him close.

  Ten had a feeling Kevin had been thinking along similar lines. “My arm is a bit sore from when you yanked us to the ground, Cap, but other than that, I’m okay.” All Ten cared about was that he was alive. The arm would heal.

  “I’m sore too,” Kaye admitted.

  Tennyson turned to his mother. She was looking a bit more fragile now. Her face was streaked with mud, as was her blouse. She looked years older now than she had when they’d picked her up this morning for driving lessons. He set his hand on top of hers and gave a gentle squeeze.

  “Yeah, well, better to have sore arms and muddy faces than to have been hit by a flying tractor.” Kevin grinned at mother and son.

  “That’s what flew over our heads?” Christ, Ten knew it was big, but he had no idea it was that big. He took a deep breath and looked around at their bedraggled group. Everyone was soaked to the bone and Greeley was shivering. Fitzgibbon had both arms wrapped around his son.

  “How did you know about Tennyson’s garden?” Kaye asked. She sounded shaken by more than just the tornado.

  Ten took a deep breath. This was the opportunity he’d been waiting for this entire trip back to Kansas. A moment where he could have an honest discussion with his mother about his gift. “Dad told me to say those words to you. He knew they were something only he would know that would help you understand that my gift was real.” Ten looked at his mother and held her gaze for a moment. He wanted to add more about how being able to communicate with the dead was heaven sent, but knew he needed to let what he had said sink in first.

  “What do those words mean, Kaye?” Greeley asked.

  God bless that boy, Ten couldn’t help thinking. He was probably the only one of them who could have asked the question.

  Kaye sighed. Tears shimmered in her dark eyes. She twirled her gold wedding band around her finger. “When David proposed to me, he used a line from Alfred Lord Tennyson. He said, ‘If I had a flower for every time I thought of you... I could walk through my garden forever.’ After I said yes, I remembered thinking that if I was ever blessed with a son, I’d name him Tennyson.” Kaye dabbed at her eyes with the edge of her blanket. A ghost of a smile crossed her lips. “And here you are. There’s no way you could have known about that. I never told anyone that David quoted Tennyson to me. I kept that close to my heart all of these years. The only way you could have known about that is if he told you.”

  Ten nodded, but stayed silent. He wanted his mother to work this out for herself.

  “My dead husband was really in the car with us? He really told you about that quote? He guided us safely through the storm? He sent you from Boston to me in Kansas?” Kaye’s voice was filled awe. She held Tennyson’s eyes.

  “Yes, to all of those questions.” Ten managed a small smile. “Does your right hand feel a bit warmer?”

  “I guess, why?” Kaye gave him a curious look before looking back down at her hand.

  “Dad’s holding it,” Ten had been trying to figure out how to tell Kaye that David was with them. This seemed like the best way.

  “Tennyson, I…” Kaye’s voice faltered and her head dropped to her chest.

  Greeley took her other hand. “It’s all right, Kaye. It really is. David is here because he loves you and wants you to be okay.”

  “But this is wrong. The Bible says it’s wrong.” She shook her head.

  “I’ve seen you eat bacon, Kaye. The Bible says that’s wrong too.” Greeley grinned at her. “If you’re gonna cherry pick things from the good book not to obey, maybe this one is okay too, especially if it brings your son back into your life and lets you say goodbye to a husband you obviously adored.”

  “He never would have left you if he had the choice, Mom,” Ten said.

  Kaye stared at her right hand as if she were expecting to see David’s disembodied hand somehow. “Some nights, I wake up and I swear he’s there with me. Like his side of the bed is warm.”

  “Is that you, Dad?” Ten asked.

  David grinned sheepishly. “I know I should be moving on, but I can’t bear to leave her, when I see how badly she’s struggling without me.”

  “Dad says that’s him in bed with you. He says he knows it’s his time to move on, but he’s having a hard time leaving when you aren’t settled yet.”

  “It’s my fault for not getting you ready, Kaye. I liked being your chauffeur. I liked buying you things and being the one who made all the money, but I was selfish. I kept you from having a life of your own and you’re paying a steep price now.”

  Ten swiped at the tears forming in his own eyes. He had no idea what his parents’ relationship had been like once he’d left the house.

  “What’s he saying, babe?” Ronan wrapped an arm around his shoulders.

  “Dad is saying that he loved driving you around and being the one to earn all the money, but that it was also selfish of him too.”

  Kaye tilted her head. “I would have liked the freedom to have driven a car before I was in my fifties.”

  “I hope you saw her today, David. She kicked ass at it.” Greeley was all smiles.

  “I don’t know that I’d say it like that, Greeley, but it was a lot of fun.” Kaye managed a smile.

  “Tell her I was
watching, but from a safe distance away. I didn’t want to find out if it was possible to die twice.” David snickered at his own joke.

  Tennyson barked out a rough laugh. He didn’t remember his father having a sense of humor. “He said he was watching, but from a safe distance. He wasn’t sure if he could die twice, but didn’t want to find out.”

  Kaye started to laugh. “David, that’s not funny. I wasn’t that bad.”

  “Bullshit!” Kevin said under his breath.

  “Come on, Dad. It’s like flying a plane. Any landing you can walk away from is a good one.” Greeley hugged Kaye tighter and started to laugh.

  “Everyone is a comedian.” Kaye was laughing too.

  “Ask her if she’s going to make it without me. I can’t move on if she’s going to struggle.” David had turned serious again.

  “Mom, Dad wants to know if you’re going to be okay without him.”

  “Greeley thinks I should volunteer at the animal shelter. Maybe get a dog of my own.” Kaye didn’t make eye contact with Tennyson.

  “You always were such an animal lover. I was such an ass for not letting you have one.” David shook his head.

  “Dad says he was an ass for not letting you have an animal when you were such an animal lover.”

  Kaye nodded. “If the tornado didn’t sweep the shelter away,then I’m going down there to volunteer. If the tornado did sweep the shelter away then I’m going down there to help rebuild.”

  “That’s my girl!” David pressed a kiss to Kaye’s cheek.

  Her hand came up to touch the side of her face. “Tennyson, did David just...” She trailed off, shaking her head.

  “Did David just what, Mom?” Ten was smiling at her. She was so close to accepting all of this, his gift and him. He could almost taste it.

  “It felt like he kissed me, but that couldn’t possibly be.” She looked shocked by her own admission.

  Kevin pulled open the collar of his shirt, revealing the puckered skin of his gunshot scar. “Do you see this, Kaye? It’s where I was shot a few months back. The bullet missed my heart by half an inch. It missed me by that much because the spirit of my dead lover managed to push me out of the way just in the nick of time. I’m here today with you and with my son because of something that couldn’t possibly be. Tiny miracles like this happen every day. Who are we to question them?”

  “But, the Bible says...” Kaye trailed off.

  “Our free will gives us the ability to believe in whatever we want to believe in. Your husband saved all of us today. Do you really think that was the work of the devil?” Kevin’s green eyes blazed with intensity. “I don’t. I think that was the work of God. I know I’m meant for something greater and so is my son. Ten and Ronan are getting married and I know there are babies in their future that need them. More tiny miracles, Kaye.” Kevin leaned closer, his voice softened, “All you have to do is open your heart to them. Who cares if they’re both men? They’re your family.” Kevin pressed a kiss to the side of Greeley’s head.

  Kaye nodded. She swiped at tears building in her eyes which darted quickly to Tennyson and Ronan.

  “Tell Kaye I met her,” David said.

  “Met who, Dad?” Ten shivered. He had a feeling he knew exactly who David was talking about.

  “Our future granddaughter. Tell Kaye I met her. She isn’t going to want to miss out on this little angel.”

  “Dad, I can’t use her as leverage.” It wouldn’t be right.

  “Use who as leverage? What’s David saying?” Ronan asked. His eyes narrowed.

  Ten leaned over to Ronan. He whispered to Ronan what David was suggesting he tell Kaye.

  “Everyone has met her but us. Have you met her too?” Ronan asked. His blue eyes looked misty in the dim light.

  “No.” Ten shook his head. “I could meet her, but I haven’t. I’m saving that for when you meet her too.” He couldn’t possibly do that to Ronan. It wouldn’t be fair to meet their daughter’s soul before Ronan.

  “Meet who? Tennyson, what is going on?” Kaye looked back and forth between them.

  Ten took a deep breath. “Do you remember watching a Shirley Temple movie with me when I was little about angels in heaven and how they turn into babies here on earth?”

  Kaye gave him a look like Ten had lost his mind. “Oh!” She gasped. “I remember now. It was called The Blue Bird.”

  Ten nodded. “You’re not going to believe this, but there really is a soul nursery in heaven. We’ve told you that we plan to have children in the future. Dad wants you to know that he’s met our future daughter. Ronan’s mother and another dear friend of ours has too. They visit her all the time actually. She even has a name.” Ten felt tears pricking his eyes. It happened every time he thought about that little girl. “Dad says you’re not going to want to miss out on her. I was reluctant to say anything because...” Tears slipped down Ten’s cheeks. He rested his head on Ronan’s shoulder.

  “You should want to be in our lives because you love us, not because we’re going to make you a grandmother,” Ronan said.

  Kevin reached over and squeezed Ronan’s shoulder.

  Tennyson knew full well that grandchildren were often the great equalizer. They had the power to reunite families and heal old wounds. He wanted so very much for his mother to love him again and want to be a part of his family because of him, not because of his and Ronan’s little miss.

  “I can see how much love there is between the two of you,” Kaye said. “I don’t know what I was expecting.” She shrugged.

  “Were you expecting them to be making out the whole time and to be doing it in your living room like a couple of feral cats?” Kevin asked.

  Ronan’s eyes bugged out of his head before he burst out laughing.

  “Well, it’s true, isn’t it? Stereotypes are stereotypes for a reason.” Kevin’s look was serious.

  “I might have thought something along those lines. I’m not proud to admit it.” Kaye’s blush rose quickly.

  “That’s a pretty big step right there,” Ten said.

  “You have to understand that these beliefs are something that have been drilled into me since I was a child. It’s not something I can just get over in a week.”

  “I understand that. When I first met Ten, I thought his gift was absolute bullshit.” Ronan winked at his future husband.

  Kaye’s eyes popped out of her head. She managed a strangled laugh.

  “It’s true,” Ten agreed. “But that didn’t stop him from asking for my help.”

  Ronan nodded. “I was working on a cold case involving a missing five-year-old boy and there were no leads. It was as if the boy had vanished into thin air. Ten had been on television because he’d helped local police find another missing boy, so I figured I’d contact him and see if he could help me.”

  “You asked for his help even though you were skeptical about his powers? That wasn’t a put-up job for the reality show?” Kaye asked. She sounded skeptical herself.

  Ronan shook his head. “Everything you saw on that show was the real deal.”

  “I didn’t really believe in Tennyson either, Kaye, but I figured with that boy already having been missing for seven years, we didn’t have anything to lose,” Kevin added.

  “So, you’re saying you came to believe in my son over time?” Kaye dropped her head, seeming like she wasn’t really looking for an answer.

  “You’ve got less than a month to try this gay wedding thing on for size Kaye,” Ronan said. “We’ll send you an invitation, and if you come to Boston, we’ll be thrilled to see you. If you don’t, we’ll understand.”

  Tennyson couldn’t have said it better himself.

  “I can’t make any promises.” Kaye looked Tennyson in the eye.

  “That’s okay. That’s mine and Ronan’s job.” Ten smiled at his mother for the first time in the ten days that they’d been in Kansas.

  Kaye wasn’t welcoming them into her family with open arms, but she was promising to think abo
ut the future and that was the best possible outcome, all things considered.

  38

  Ronan

  For as terrifying as the tornado had looked when Ronan had been running toward the church’s storm cellar, it had only been an EF2. Maximum winds were 135 MPH which compared to a category 4 hurricane.

  According to the National Weather Center, the twister had been on the ground for a total of twenty-seven minutes and had mostly torn through rural farmland in Severance and Union Chapel.

  There had been considerable damage done to several farms and farmhouses, as well as to the church. Thankfully, everyone had heeded the sirens and no lives were lost. There had been a sundry of broken bones and a few concussions, but all in all, it was a good outcome.

  Kaye’s house looked exactly like it had when they’d left it earlier that morning. Instead of going out for lunch, Fitzgibbon had made a big spaghetti dinner with a huge pot of sauce. He’d frozen the leftover marinara into single-serving sized containers so that Kaye would be able to make herself dinners in the weeks to come.

  After a tearful goodbye, they’d all headed back to the hotel for the night.

  While Tennyson was in the shower, Ronan booked their flight back to Boston. It was two days from today. That would give Kevin and Greeley time to give Kaye a few more driving lessons and a chance for her to take the test for her license.

  “I can’t believe you’re still awake and working on the computer,” Ten said. He was dressed in cotton sleep pants, but his chest was bare. “I think I fell asleep in the shower twice.”

  “I was booking our tickets home.” Ronan shut the laptop lid and stood up to pull Tennyson into his arms. His lover’s skin was damp and still warm from the shower.

  “Home,” Ten sighed against Ronan’s shoulder.

  “Come on, let’s get into bed before we fall asleep standing up.” Ronan tugged Ten into the bedroom and toward the king-sized bed. He pushed his lover down onto his side of the bed and tucked the covers around him before shutting off the light and climbing into bed beside him.

  Ten rolled over into Ronan’s arms, resting his head on Ronan’s shoulder. “I can’t believe the day we had. Not just the tornado, but all the progress that Kaye made with my gift and our relationship.”