by Sahara Kelly
Eventually, Ned’s work came to the attention of a highly regarded research institute in Virginia and he accepted their offer to come and work for them, regretting only the fact that he had to leave Gina’s place and find them a new Italian restaurant. Gina wasn’t willing to deliver quite that far.
He and Gaia married not long afterward and were happy to have Dr. Jake Corvo and his wife Renny attend the little ceremony.
Renny, who was close to eight months pregnant, announced that this would be her last public function. Henceforth, she was going to go hide in a cave someplace, lest she shoot the next person to tell her she was glowing, when in fact she was fat, uncomfortable and had lost her ankles several months before.
Jake just grinned.
And we shall give Jake and Renny the last words, since their story began this whole train of events…
“Birds, huh?”
“It’s a theory. Just a theory.” Jake was rubbing his wife’s ankles as she breathed rhythmically.
“Okay. Tell me about it.”
“Now?” Jake blinked. “Shouldn’t you be focusing on finding your happy place or something?”
“Fuck you, Jake Corvo.” Renny’s lips peeled from her teeth in a grimace as another contraction contorted her belly.
“We did already. That’s what got us to this point in the first place.”
“Jaaaaaake…”
“Okay, okay.” He glanced at the clock, trying to remember when the last one hit her. Shit, this delivery stuff was damned hard on everybody. “Birds.” He dragged his last functioning brain cell back on track, letting the others run around with their mouths open, screaming loudly. “The key to these folks and their dreams seems to lie in birds or with birds. For us, it was the ravens. For Marianne, a nightingale. And now Gaia, Ned and the Heron clan.”
“Your point?” Renny tried to sound interested through clenched teeth.
“Don’t really know that I have one, yet, but it’s more than a coincidence. Perhaps there’s some resonance in a bird that can contain some memory, some electromagnetic disturbance that only occurs during passion to which the avian brain is receptive.”
“That is the most far-fetched thing I think I’ve ever heard you say.” She bit back a cry.
“Easy, sweetheart. Just relax.”
Renny’s gaze carved him up one side and down the other. “Okay. The most far-fetched thing you’ve ever said—until you said that.”
He sighed. “I love you.”
His wife summoned up a little answering smile. “I love you too.” She winced again. “But we are not naming this kid Raven. Okay?”
Jake Corvo smiled and touched the little alabaster charm that matched the one his wife wore around her neck. They were symbols of a soul-deep passion that had traveled in strange and wonderful ways to arrive here—now—moments before a new life would enter the world.
He wondered if there were other people out there struggling with dreams.
Most probably. Perhaps a few might find him, let him help them as he’d helped Ned and Gaia, and before them Marianne Donovan. He enjoyed it, feeling it was part of his duty to pay back the debt he owed somebody-up-there for uniting him with Renny, the other half of his soul.
But his meditation on the subject was short lived, since a few minutes later, amidst all the usual pandemonium surrounding such an event, a new voice made itself heard, a brand new pair of lungs filled with the first breaths of life—and Jake Corvo was stunned to find himself holding his son in his arms. He stared into sleepily blinking blue eyes and his heart flowered strangely, a blend of confusion, pain and an emotion that was too rich, too new to grasp fully, but would become fatherhood.
Yes, the Universe pretty much had things under control.
Love will always find a way.
THE END
About the Author
Sahara Kelly is always happy to explain to editors that her spelling errors aren’t really errors, since she was born and raised in England, where an extra “u” is quite in order. She likes to think it adds colour to her writing. Sadly, it’s not a widely held belief in the United States, so she’d like you to know she still retains a lot from her English childhood even though you won’t see much of it in her spelling.
Arriving in America with her almost-complete collection of Leslie Charteris’ Saint novels and a passion for Monty Python, Sahara’s new life eventually expanded to include a husband, offspring, citizenship, and a certain amount of acclimation to her new surroundings. (She still cherishes that extra ”u” though.)
After more than three decades of writing, Sahara is now enjoying the greater freedom offered to authors by the rapidly expanding self-publishing scene and looking forward to many more such experiences. Being freed of restraints has opened doors—for Sahara and many other writers. There are now no impediments; no obstructions barring the path from writer to reader. Which is, in many ways, exactly as originally intended when that first storyteller sat on a rock outside her cave, tugged her bearskin around her shoulders and smiled at her kids across the open fire with the words “Once upon a time…” (or however it sounded several million years ago.)
To find out more about Sahara Kelly and her writing, please drop by her website and visit her at:
Sahara Kelly (Website – http://www.saharakelly.com)
This is where Sahara shares none of the intimate details of her life, but will present you with a list of books she’d like you to buy so that she can go do research on a beach in Aruba and be pampered with massages accompanied by drinks with umbrellas in them. She’ll send you a postcard. Thank you.
When not dreaming of lazing on tropical beaches, Sahara has a relatively active social presence on the Internet. The best way to keep up with her is to subscribe to her Newsletter. But there are a few other places she might be hanging out. Take a look:
Follow Sahara on Twitter
Friend her on Facebook
See what she’s blogging about
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Get her latest release info from Amazon
Also By Sahara Kelly
(*- co-written with S.L. Carpenter)
The Landlocked Baron
Book 1 in the Six Pearls of Baron Ridlington series
St. Simon’s Sin
Book 2 in the Six Pearls of Baron Ridlington series
Word of a Lady
Book 3 in the Six Pearls of Baron Ridlington series
The Mistress Wager
Book 4 in the Six Pearls of Baron Ridlington series
~
The Mistletoe Marquess
Outrageous Ladies
~
Honor and Secrets
Book 1 in the Gypsy Gentlemen Series
Control and Compassion
Book 2 in the Gypsy Gentlemen Series
Endings and Beginnings
Book 3 in the Gypsy Gentlemen Series
~
Consent
Sword Play
~
Oh My Laird!
Book 4 in the Regency Rascals Series
Deverell’s Obsession
Book 3 in the Regency Rascals Series
The Fifth Wife
Book 2 in the Regency Rascals Series
Julia and the Devil
Book 1 in the Regency Rascals Series
~
Discreet Madness
The Viscount and the Witch
Feels So Right*
~
Whole Lotta Love Series
Love in the Cards*
Love on the Road*
Love Under the Lights*
A Whole Lotta Love*
(the boxed set)
~
Happy Endings*
With a Little Help from my Friends
(with Ciana Stone)
Letting Off Steam
Winding Her Up
Stripping Her Gears
My Renaissance Romance
Hired Help*
Open House
So
Into You*
Faerieland needs YOU
My Wish
My Prize
My Hero
Showing Off*
And many more…
*~~*~~*
Sahara would like to mention that she and S.L. Carpenter co-own a small business, and have been up and running for over five years. They have blended another of their shared passions — art — and formed an online graphics business focusing on the complicated world of writers. If you’re interested in seeing what they get up to when they’re not writing something twistedly hot and sexy, they’d like to invite you to come visit their company at the link below and check out some of the amazing cover art they’re creating. No wonder they have no time to be bored!
P and N Graphics
www.pandngraphics.com
Happy Reading.