The unique color—a shade of red and a beauty that defied all earthly description—matched the one she had pressed between the pages of a book at home. The one she had taken with her on the day they released her from the hospital, in fact. No one could tell her who sent the rose or any of the other roses that had appeared in her room each day. Not a soul had ever seen them arrive. They were always just there. Carol said she and the other nurses decided they were a gift from a kindhearted alien in another realm altogether. Perhaps they weren’t far wrong.
She leaned down and picked it up. As she closed her eyes, she inhaled the rich, fragrant scent she knew so well. Somewhere in the back of her mind “Unchained Melody” played. This version of one of her most favorite songs came through loud and clear. So clear, in fact, she halfway expected the appearance of Inka Gold right there in the cemetery with pan flute and guitar in hand. She hadn’t heard that song since—
Katie gasped as the sweet melody called up a precious memory she didn’t even know she had until this very minute. A memory surely created in her unconscious state while in the hospital. One she now recalled with absolute clarity. Either that or her insanity had just intensified.
She needn’t look at the name on the cross because all of a sudden, she knew it, though she couldn’t say how. The grave belonged to Sergeant William Malloy Griffin. After taking in a much needed breath, she slowly opened her eyes and blinked. In fact, she blinked several times. Nothing in her line of sight changed when she did.
The ethereal companion she had known all her life, but never glimpsed, stood not ten feet away from her. How she knew that, she couldn’t say. She just did. The interesting thing? He looked just as solid and real as anyone else wandering through the cemetery. Except none of the visitors she could see wore World War II combat fatigues. Not a single man out there could possibly be as fun to look at either. His dark, russet-colored hair framed the most compelling steel gray eyes she’d ever seen. Eyes she could get lost in if she wasn’t careful. When he offered a flirty grin, the beat of her heart doubled its pace and shimmied up her throat. In addition, the kaleidoscope of butterflies took flight without knowing where in the world they were going. In fact, they kept bashing into each other.
Despite the ruckus, she returned his smile. “Good morning, William.”
Could a ghost speak aloud?
He dipped his head forward and slightly to the left. “Morning, Katie.”
They could.
“Thank you for the help. I’m not sure I could’ve found you without it.” Is that the best she could do as she spoke to him for the first time? Really? He must think me a complete idiot.
“My pleasure.” He didn’t say anything else or even move for several seconds. She had the distinct impression he did that so as not to frighten her. His eyes danced with amusement as she looked him over from the top of his six-foot frame, past the broad shoulders, and all the way down to his combat boots. “Now that you’ve had a good look and you know I won’t disappear, mind if I get a little bit closer?”
A breath of laughter accompanied the slight shake of her head. “Not at all. I’m not the least bit afraid if that’s what you’re worried about.”
“Well, you never know.” He closed the distance between them. “To at least some degree, most people are.”
She knew what he meant. Ghosts, even the thought of ghosts, terrified the vast majority of mortals. Still, she couldn’t resist a playful tease. “Well I can see why. You are kind of scary looking.”
He grinned. “Think so, do you?”
In response, she merely lifted a shoulder and broadened her smile. All the while a question nagged, well, hundreds of questions actually. How to phrase it without sounding like a dork? “So now that we’ve been formally introduced, at least after a fashion, where do we go from here?”
His gaze swept over the park. “Good question. Care to take a walk with me so we can discuss that?”
Katie glanced at the cross that bore his name as the last strains of the music faded from her mind. Perhaps the marker carried with it some unpleasant memories from the battle he would have to have participated in on Omaha Beach? “I would love to take a walk with you.”
He placed his hand on the small of her back as they strolled away from the cemetery. The slight pressure of it surprised her. How did he do that?
“Where we go from here is all up to you, Katie. If I make you uncomfortable, I can stay away from here on out. On the other hand, if you wish, I can become a bigger part of your life.”
“Become? If you are who I think you are, then you’ve always been a big part of my life. I am right about that, am I not?”
The comment brought another smile to his face. “I’ve made an appearance from time to time.”
“A little more than that, I’d say. I mean you’ve always been right by my side whenever I’ve needed a shoulder to cry on—if even a ghostly one.”
He nodded. “If that’s all you want, then that’s the way it can stay. However, if you’d like to see me a little more often—get to know me better—I’ll be more than happy to oblige. If not, with a heavy heart, I’ll stay out of your life.”
That’s not at all what she wanted. She’d relied on him too much over the years. If he left, there would be a hole that nothing else could fill. She didn’t want that. Not ever. “So how does this work? I mean now that you’ve introduced yourself in all your splendid glory, could you just drop by whenever I want you to? Or—would you still only visit me as you have in the past?”
He bobbed his head from side to side. “Probably for the most part I could come if you called out my name. At such times I might only be able to stay for a short while though.”
“I need only call your name and you’ll respond?”
“Yep, for the most part that should pretty much do it—you’d have to give me a reasonable amount of time to comply, of course.”
“Even if I called your name every day?”
He halted their walk and turned to face her. A small crooked grin appeared as he gazed into her eyes.
Like a silly schoolgirl, her heart fluttered as a blush lit up her cheeks. Why does he affect me like this now?
“You’d want to see me every day?” he asked.
“Why would that surprise you? I mean, how else am I going get to all of my questions answered?”
Chapter Six
William laughed outright. He couldn’t help himself. “You have some questions, do you?”
She stared at him as if he had quite lost his mind. “Don’t be ridiculous. Of course I have questions and not just some. I have lots and lots of them. Wouldn’t you if our situations were reversed?”
“I suppose you have a point. All right then, we may as well get started. Fire away.”
“Okay.” She traced the bottom of her lip with the tip of her tongue. “Are you one of those scary ghosts that stick around and haunt people or places? You know the ones I mean.”
“Um, I’m afraid I don’t.”
“Ghosts that haunt for no other reason than it gives them a twisted sense of pleasure to see their terrified victims scream and run for cover. You aren’t one of those, are you?”
It took everything he had not to laugh again. “No, I don’t think so. I’ve never frightened you, have I?”
“No, I guess not.” She narrowed her eyes as she turned her head to the side. “Do you have unfinished business? Business in which you need a mortal’s help so you can bring it to some kind of conclusion then?”
“None that I can think of.”
“You do know you’re dead, right?”
“If you’re speaking of the demise of my mortal body, then yes. But come on, Katie, I think you already know all of this.”
She shrugged. “Even so, it doesn’t hurt to get the confirmation.”
From all appearances, his answers satisfied her well enough. “Now we have all of that business out of the way, is there anything else you’d like to ask?”
She
studied him for a minute. “If none of the above, why are you here?”
“That’s obvious isn’t it? This is where you are right now.”
“That’s not what I meant, but—” She took a half step back as she again looked him over from head to toe. “Wait a minute. Does that mean you followed me here?”
“Are you speaking of here in this particular cemetery, or here as in Europe?”
“Well, both, I guess.”
“Then yes, I did, but not in the way you probably mean.”
“Care to explain that?”
“Let’s just say I knew your plans well before you boarded that plane in New Mexico. After you cooperated with the idea of checking out the military memorials, I’d thought I’d make my appearance here in Normandy.”
“Why?”
“As you might suspect, there’s an emotional connection to me in this location that far surpasses all others. Because of the intensity of it, I believed I’d have my best chance of finally getting all the way through to you here. I’ve tried many times before, you know. Obviously without the success I would like to have had.”
“No, that’s not right. I’ve seen you more times than I can count.” She stopped short. “Well, not like I see you now, of course. Even so, I’ve always known when you were with me. I could feel your presence.”
“Not good enough, Katie. Not only did I want you to see my spirit, I also wanted you to hear me speak. I want you to know who I am, what you are to me, and what I am to you.”
“What I…I mean to…I don’t—”
Her heartbeat accelerated even as a touch of color splashed across her cheeks. “Don’t be afraid, Katie. You can say anything you want, or ask me any question you might have.”
“I’m not afraid. It’s just that—” She dropped her gaze as she nibbled at a nail.
He tilted her chin upward and gazed into her eyes. “Just ask it. I promise you it’s all right.”
“Okay. I think I remember something. A memory from the weeks I spent in the hospital. Well, either that or I’ve lost my mind, which is very possible. In fact, I may be delusional right this minute,” she muttered.
He chuckled. “Is it a memory you’d like to share? Because if it is, I’m all ears.”
“I believe you read me a letter—a letter from you to me, or did I make that up.”
“If you’re asking, rather than telling, then yes, I read you a letter and no, you didn’t make it up.”
“I have to know.” She lifted a hand to her brow as she gazed into his eyes. “For the sake of my sanity, would you mind sharing it with me again?”
“I’ll need a little bit more to go on than just that. I read countless letters to you while you slept.”
“You did? I mean, you wrote more than one?”
“I have written hundreds of them, though some not as long or elaborate as others. As you already know and have so stated, I checked in on you from time to time. This is something I did from the early days of your childhood. So I kept a journal of my impressions, my thoughts, and feelings of those visits.”
“Why?”
“Because it gave me a little of the comfort I needed at the time.” The reply made her uncomfortable. William could see it in her eyes. He gave her a wink and hoped it put her at ease. “Now, about that specific letter you remember?”
“Yes. Okay, here goes. You spoke of a man named Isaiah and something about how he said you’d know when you found the woman destined to claim your heart?” Against another blush, her words tumbled out in a breathless sort of rush. “Do you know which one I’m talking about?”
He nodded. “Yes, I think so, but it probably needs a bit of an explanation.”
“Okay.”
“Isaiah is not only a great and noble man, he’s also my great-grandfather. I’ll also tell you he met me at the end of my mortal existence and acted as my guide as I stepped through the portal. He answered all of my questions. More important, he helped me adjust to a world far different than the one I left behind. As time went on, he became my confidant—someone to whom I could bare my soul, if you’ll pardon the expression. Quite by chance, or so he said, he paid me a visit that coincided with a bout of self-pity. When he asked for the cause, I lamented over my solitary state. You see, everywhere I looked, I could see happy couples facing eternity hand-in-hand. That’s something I desperately wanted, but didn’t have. Indeed, I didn’t think I’d ever have it since the opportunity passed me by during my mortal existence.”
“He’s the one that spurred your search even though he couldn’t tell you how you’d recognize this mystery woman amidst the masses? Do I have that right?”
“Yep. That about sums it up, I guess.”
“I see. Well, how did you know—or how do you know now—that you’ve found the right woman in me? You could be wrong, you know. The desperate desire to find someone could’ve clouded your judgment.”
“No, I’m not wrong. This is very difficult for me to explain in a way you’ll understand while still in your mortal state. Suffice it to say the unique light within your soul called out to me in a definitive way the first time we crossed paths. To this very day, it still does. Once attuned to that distinctive light of yours, I knew—and will always know—when you need me or when you call for me. Does that make any sense?”
“Some, I guess. If you don’t mind my asking, where and when did this grand event happen? Finding me, I mean.”
The simple question made him smile. “On a whim, a friend of mine and I visited the area of his childhood.”
“Another ghost?”
“Yes, if that’s the term you want to use. Personally, I prefer spirit. Nonetheless, keep in mind he lived out his mortality a century or so before I was born. Anyway, he wanted me to see some of the places he held a fondness for. Along the way, he showed me a place along the Rio Grande where he and his friends had spent countless hours. He said they fished, swam, dreamed of girls, and what their future might bring them. You know—that sort of thing. While we were there, you showed up with your extended family for a picnic. You were just a little girl at the time, perhaps three or four years of age. Your state of being didn’t matter though. In that moment, the light of your soul interlocked perfectly with mine. I knew then as well as I know now, we are two halves of a perfect whole. To cowboy it up a bit for you, we are two peas in the very same pod.”
A wistful smile touched her lips. “I wish I could remember the specific incident.”
“One day, I’m sure you will.”
“Really? What makes you so sure?”
“Because shortly after I found you, I remembered a few things I hadn’t remembered before.”
“Like what?”
“Sweet memories of things that happened between you and me. Moments that brought to light the powerful love we shared a long time ago. I’ll just leave it at that for now if you don’t mind.”
“That’s what you meant when you said I’ve loved you far longer than I could ever imagine?”
“Yes, it is.” It perplexed him that she seemed more than a little uncomfortable with what he aid, “Are you all right with that? You aren’t going to bolt on me, are you?”
“No, I, uh…”
The mix of pain and sorrow that filled her eyes pierced his soul.
“Please don’t take this wrong. I just don’t know if I believe it.”
He nodded as he gazed toward the ocean. This wasn’t what he expected or hoped for once he broke through the barrier that kept them apart. He at least wanted a chance. “Well, I can see where you might. I know I’m not any woman’s vision of Sir Galahad or—”
She interrupted with a lift of her hand. A trace of dewy liquid filled her eyes. “No, William. You have that all wrong. What I find hard to believe…is that a man like you…could want anything to do with…with someone like me. I mean, look at you! You’re perfect, while I’m so…so very flawed.”
Relief filled him in the instant. That, he could work with. “I think one of t
he saddest truths mortals face is the ease at which they can be broken inside. One shouldn’t let the actions of one reprehensible person, such as Chad McCrae, destroy all that is good and beautiful inside someone like you. Besides, you have that backward.” He took hold of her waist and turned her toward him. He would’ve laughed over her look of wonder, if not for the serious tone of their conversation. “In my eyes you are the most beautiful, most perfect person ever created. My intention—indeed my very goal since I know you’ve forgotten your feelings for me—is to get you to fall in love with me all over again. Of that, you have no say in the matter. You can, however, choose to reject me once I’ve given it my best shot. Fair warning though, if you should do such a terrible thing, my heart will be irreparably broken. I’m afraid you’ll have to accept the eternal consequences for that. I can testify the results won’t be anywhere near pretty.”
She widened her eyes and gulped. “Well, I don’t think I—”
“Nah, I’m only kidding.” He touched the tip of her nose. “I’m shamelessly playing on your fears and sympathies. Don’t pay me any mind. I never do. However, I am dead serious about my goal.”
“I see.” Katie rubbed her lips together. “If you don’t mind my asking, how will you set about accomplishing this lofty objective?”
He shrugged away the question. “The usual. Flowers, chocolate, and—let’s see, what did that enchanted clock say in the cartoon you were so fond of? The part that always made you and your brothers roll on the floor with laughter when you were kids. Oh, yeah, something about not keeping promises. Except I do intend to keep all of mine, I so swear.”
She gazed down on the flower she held in her hand. “Well, if the flowers you’ll bring me in the future are anything close to this one, then I’d say you’re off to a good start. Where do you get them?”
“From my garden.”
She considered that for a moment. “I suppose that shouldn’t surprise me. I’ve never seen anything on earth that could equal it.”
Love Letters from Heaven Page 6