As though Gerry could sense her thoughts—and maybe he could—he encircled her hand with his fingers and gently squeezed. She forced a smile at him. Her heart ached for Addie, knowing there was nothing she could do for her.
As they pulled into the driveway of the cottage, landscape lights illuminated their path, brightening the yard and plants as well as an unfamiliar car in the driveway. “Who could be visiting at this time of night?” As Gerry helped her out of the jeep, she noticed the flood light from the entryway shining down on what looked like a brand new Lexus SUV, complete with a gigantic red bow on the car’s midnight black roof.
“Oh my God, Gerry! Did you …?”
“Your wedding present, darlin’.”
Maia stared in Gerry’s green eyes as he pulled her against him. She glanced over his shoulder at the new car. “Thank you, Gerry. I love it. How did you know I wanted a new car? With everything going on, I kept forgetting to tell you.”
“I couldn’t have my wife riding around town in that old beat-up jeep, now could I? What would people say?”
She laughed. “It wouldn’t be the first time the people of Whisper Cape ever talked about me.”
Gerry smirked. “Aye. But this time it would have been about me and the way I provide for my wife. Couldn’t have that.”
Maia scoffed. “So this is all about you?”
“No. You should know better than that. Everything I do is for you, Maia.”
“I love you,” she said.
“Good, because you married me and this is our wedding night.” He scooped her up in his arms and headed for the cottage. “So, without further ado, we need to consummate this marriage.”
Maia giggled and pressed her face into his neck, inhaling his wonderful musky scent. She placed her hand over her womb. “I think we’ve already done that.”
“Nope. In my eyes, tonight, this is our first time.”
“That would be a miracle.”
He carried her all the way up stairs and set her down on the bed. “We can pretend.” He kissed her and it was like the very first time. Touching him, kissing him, she damn near melted in his arms. It was as if he’d never kissed her before. The unfamiliar feel of his lips against hers startled her at first and she had to open her eyes to make sure it was Gerry. Within seconds, her body was yielding to the passion as heat soared through her with that thrill of a first kiss and all Maia could do was submit. How did he do that? When he finally stopped kissing her, she had to catch her breath. “I thought you promised never to use your compulsion on me?”
“I didn’t do anything.”
“But it was like the first time you ever kissed me.”
Gerry smiled and raised his brow. “Must be the power of suggestion, darlin’.”
Chapter 29
Please Remember
Addie walked from room to room, not really expecting to see Cael, but a thin thread of hope still had a hold on her. She stood in front of the fireplace, held out her hand and flames sprouted forth, instantly igniting the cold logs. She wished she had the power to turn back time instead of starting fires. What was fire good for? Nothing. Except killing. Well, heating the place up too, she scoffed. She’d finally met a man she felt comfortable with. Comfortable with? That was an understatement. They could read each other’s minds. How much closer could you get to another human being than being able to know their thoughts? She remembered the day in Bora Bora they first discovered they could do that. Afterwards they’d gone to Maia’s for dinner. Maia and Addie discussed how everything about Addie’s ability had been kept secret and Maia said something about fate. Later, Cael had joked about having a secret fate in Whisper Cape. Addie almost laughed now the way she had then. Oh Cael.
Cael made her feel like a woman, he cherished her and she knew he wanted her more than he wanted his own life. Why did she give him such a hard time about having a baby? He wanted a child with her. With her! She did want a baby. His baby, but she let fear cloud her desires and now ... now it was too late. Her knees buckled under her as the cry bubbled in her throat. She sank to the floor, sobbing uncontrollably into her hands. Unable to hold her body up any longer, she lay down and cried into the crook of her arm.
She woke up on the cold floor in front of a fizzled out fire, freezing … but sweating. She’d fallen asleep, dreaming of Cael. She kept seeing him, calling his name, but he would never turn in her direction. She ran after him, chasing after him for what seemed like miles, but not once did he turn to her. When she finally caught up to him, she touched his arm to get his attention. His deep blue eyes stared blankly back at her. He had no clue who she was.
Addie rubbed her hands up and down her arms and made herself get up. The sun beamed in through the large picture window as though nothing could be wrong in the world. She moped her way upstairs, sank into the bed, hugged Cael’s pillow and inhaled his scent. There was nothing pressing she needed to do, so sleep seemed the most likely solution for the moment. Maybe if she fell back to sleep she’d wake up again and it all would have been just another bad dream.
She stayed in bed for two days, drifting in and out of sleep, only getting up to go to the bathroom. Streaks of sunlight filtered in through the window, warming the vacant side of the bed, Cael’s side. Addie rolled onto his pillow and stretched out on her back. She stared at the ceiling when she heard knocking on the door. She pulled the other pillow over her head and ignored it. Seconds later, the rapping turned into pounding. Whoever the unwanted visitor was, he or she was not going away. She forced herself to get up and walk down the stairs to see who wanted in so badly; most likely Maia, checking up on her since she hadn’t bothered to charge her cell phone and the battery was no doubt dead.
The last person she expected to see standing on the other side was Aiden. She blinked at the man standing in front of her holding a white bag in one hand and a carton with two to-go cups that smelled like coffee in another.
“What …” Addie had to shield her eyes from the glare of the sun. “What are you doing here?”
“Well, nobody’s seen or heard from you and your phone seems to be off, so I volunteered to come and check on you.” He held up the bag and smiled. “I brought donuts—glazed—and coffee.”
Addie stepped back and he walked in. “You look like hell,” he said.
“Thank you.” She turned and walked to the sofa and sat.
“I mean ... you always look good, but you’ve lost weight. You’re not eating?”
She shrugged. Food was the last thing on her mind.
“Mind if I sit?”
“Suit yourself.”
He placed the coffee on the table and opened the bag, handing her a donut. She decided to take it. Maybe if she ate it he would go away and leave her alone.
“Look at your hair, love. When’s the last time you showered?”
She glanced at him now, realizing she must really look awful. No wonder he told her she looked like hell. She probably did and suddenly didn’t want to be sitting there with him.
“Look, I appreciate you coming over and checking up on me. You can go back and tell everyone that I’m fine.” She ate the last of the donut and stood.
He took the hint, got up and walked to the door. “Okay. If you need anything, call Maia or Gerry ... or me,” he added softly and smiled.
“Thanks. I’ll be okay. I just need some time.”
***
Addie sank down on her knees in the dirt, staring at the site where Cael disappeared with Finn, not a speck of evidence left to suggest anyone had ever been there. Wet leaves covered the dirt where they’d wrestled. “Cael, I love you,” she whispered into the cool crisp afternoon air. As she clutched the pendant hanging around her neck, she thought of her dad. “Daddy, you said you were always with me and to put my trust in Cael. Why didn’t you tell me it would only be for a short while?”
Sweetheart, I am with you.
“Dad?” Addie glanced around. The shock of hearing his voice in her head always startled her.
“I need you, Dad. Cael has disappeared. Please tell me if he is okay.”
You must trust what’s in your heart, Addison.
“What’s that supposed to mean?” Her head hurt from crying and she rubbed her puffy eyes. When he didn’t respond, she sighed and fingered the pendant again. The crystal it housed had powers that gave her the strength to defeat a monster. Maybe it would give her the ability to locate Cael. Grasping it tightly in her hand and using the special bond she and Cael shared, she concentrated with every ounce of brain cells she could muster. The crystal’s brilliance illuminated the dark, dense forest. Addie closed her eyes and spoke to Cael through her mind. Cael, where are you? Please come back. You can’t leave me forever. You can’t. I love you too much.
Opening her eyes, she rubbed her hand over the spot on the ground, hoping to be able to pick up something of him, a thought, a memory. Nothing. Every sense of his being was gone from her mind. The thought of him not returning to her, not remembering her at all was simply too much to bear and although she thought she didn’t have any more tears left, she sobbed into her hands again.
As she knelt in wet leaves and dirt crying, she felt the sudden warmth of a body materializing beside her. Siana sat quietly and pulled Addie against her. Addie whimpered on Siana’s shoulder. “I don’t know what to do.”
“I’m so sorry, Addison. I know this is difficult. Gerry said Cael’s memory was probably wiped for five years at the most. He’ll come home to me and when he does, I’ll bring him to you.”
“What if he’s hurt? What if Finn shot him? What if …” Dare she say the word? “What if he’s dead?”
“I know in my heart that he is alive. We have to keep faith. You have to trust that he’s alive.”
“Our bond—it’s gone. I can’t sense him anywhere and even if he does come back, he won’t remember me. He won’t remember what we had together.”
“He fell in love with you once. He’ll fall in love with you again.”
Could Siana be right? She’d try to believe that Cael was out there somewhere. But if he was okay, if he was unharmed, why hadn’t he come back to Siana yet? Oh God, please let him be okay. Cael, please remember me. Please remember you loved me and come home.
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Coming 2013
Keep reading for a sneak peak of …
Allusive Aftershock
Chapter 1
~~ Adela ~~
An enormous amount of shaking jerked me awake.
My freaking bed was bouncing underneath me. A deep growl from somewhere below rose to a violent rumbling, rocking me and everything else around in my bedroom. I bolted up in my bed not really fully awake enough to comprehend exactly what was going on. My eyes darted to the swaying floor lamp in the corner, threatening to tumble over. For a moment I sat frozen, unable to move as I watched the little silver jewelry box slide off my dresser and crash to the floor. Bracelets, earrings, and necklaces scattered over the hardwood surface.
Shoving the covers aside, I jumped out of bed and tripped over the blankets hanging from the side of the mattress, falling on my hands and knees in my haste to get to my parents’ room. I picked my wobbly self up and took off toward their doorway, colliding into my dad and we held on to one another to steady ourselves from the swaying movement of the rumbling house.
My little sister screeched from down the hall, “What’s happening, what’s happening!?” I glanced toward the sound of her piercing squeal, which only fueled the deafening roar with more hysteria.
“Go to your mother.” My dad shoved me in the direction of their king-sized bed as he took off toward the room my four-year old sister and brother shared.
I jumped into my mom’s out stretched arms and we huddled together in the center of the bed. For a split second I thought, are we at war? It may have been a stupid notion, but you’d be surprised at what flips through your mind in the middle of a disaster. I didn’t know what war felt like, but I was positive it had to be something this frightening.
My mom’s arms wrapped tighter around my shoulders as the bed bounced and rocked beneath us and I tried to think who might be bombing us. Because, if we were being bombed, surely that big blast of light would come at any minute and it would all be over. Somehow through my fear I wracked my brain trying to remember which countries possessed nuclear weapons. North Korea came to mind, a topic we’d discussed at length in history class only last week.
The bedroom windows shook and rattled and I thought they would explode any second. A crashing sound came from somewhere else in the house and the earsplitting crackle of glass rang in my ears. As my mom and I huddled together, I stared out the large sliding glass door leading to the swimming pool. Traces of the early morning sun made things barely visible as water sloshed around, spilling over the edge. The surrounding pavement rippled in waves.
The bedside lamp toppled over and I almost jumped out of my skin when the bulb exploded as it hit the hardwood floor. This is it, I was sure my life was over.
My father shouted from down the hall, “They’re okay!”
My mom sighed, squeezing her arms around my body even tighter and whispered close to my ear, “It’s an earthquake.”
“An earthquake?” I wasn’t quite sure which was worse, being blown to smithereens or swallowed by the earth as it cracked wide open. Maybe the roof would cave in and crush us to death. Not that it mattered. Dead is dead.
An eternity of seconds later, the shaking stopped.
The roaring and rumbling ceased and quiet settled around us except for my sister’s whimpering and my dad’s soothing voice.
The sudden stillness seemed eerie, as if it was only temporary and the shaking and rumbling would start up again any second.
My mom cupped my face in her hands and made me look in her eyes. “Are you okay, Adela?” Her voice had the uncanny ability to soothe me even in a nerve-wracking situation like this. Maybe that’s why my dad called her Angel, aside from the fact that it was short for Angelica. Angelica Castielle … sort of had a solacing ring to it, I always thought.
I nodded and swiped away the uncontrollable tears rolling down my cheeks.
“Come on, let’s go see the twins.” We got up from the bed and walked down the hall to the twins’ room. Aaron, my little brother and Ambrosia, my little sister sat on the bottom bunk; our dad between them, his big hand fluffing Aaron’s hair. His broad smile lightened the situation as he glanced up at my mom and me. Aaron studied his fingers, twisting them in his red Superman blanket and Ambrosia sniffled against Dad’s broad chest.
“There, it’s all over now,” he cooed softly and squeezed them close.
My mom took a step toward them and they jumped into her arms. I hung back, leaning against the door, too devastated at the sight of the toys and decorations that had fallen off the shelves and now lay strewn about on the floor. A picture of me and the twins my mom had made us pose for last Christmas lay face up on the floor, the glass of the frame broken into a million tiny pieces. I tried to swallow the lump in my throat. The last thing the twins needed was to see me cry.
“Look, Mommy, my fire truck ladder.” Aaron’s bottom lip protruded slightly, but he managed to keep his tough boyish bravado in check as he held two halves of a white plastic ladder in his hands.
“Give it here, pal. I think I can glue it.” Aaron handed the two pieces of the ladder to my dad and sat back down beside him on the bed.
My dad patted Aaron on the head and stood, approached me, and placed his fingers under my chin as I lifted my eyes to his. “Okay, Deli?”
Words stuck in my throat and a sob threaten
ed, so I only nodded.
He smiled but his eyes stayed firm and serious as he walked out of the room. I turned and ran after him. “Dad, what about the horses?” I asked, struggling to clear the sob from my voice.
“I’m gonna get dressed and check on them now.”
“I want to come.”
“I think your mother needs you here.”
“Dad, please? Big Blue needs me. The earthquake had to scare him. He’ll be so frightened. Please.”
This time, his dark eyes smiled along with his mouth. “Okay, Deli. But once we see he’s okay, you’re back here, helping your mother.”
“Okay, I promise.” I sprinted to my room and stopped in the doorway, taking in the horrible sight. My favorite picture lay on the floor. I picked it up and turned it over before placing it back on the dresser. Luckily, there wasn’t a scratch on it. My mom had taken it two years ago at my fifteenth birthday party. Max and I had just had a cake fight, and we smiled for the camera with our heads close together, faces smudged with chocolate frosting. I loved that picture, it represented one of the happiest times in my life. I turned to grab the pants I’d left draped over the back of the glider in the corner of my room, a habit that always invoked a threat of donation to Goodwill by my mother. On my way, I tripped over the jewelry box still sitting in the middle of the floor. I sighed at the sight, all my jewelry tangled and scattered around the floor, including the delicate heart pendant my mom had given me on my seventeenth birthday four months ago. I picked it up and put it on, stared at the other stuff on the floor, and I sighed. I’ll worry about the rest of the mess later.
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