Haunted Love

by Jessica Frances

  As the boys begin to wind down their argument, I know I need to make an escape. I turn to get away, knowing I will need at least twenty minutes away from them for their annoyance at my childlessness to wear off. When Flynn reaches out and grabs my arm, I realize I tried to leave too late.

  “Where do you think you’re running off to? Is there a rerun of Murder She Wrote on TV that I don’t know about?”

  “Why, have you decided to give up the threesomes and move on to old women?” I snap back, watching his eyes narrow at my challenge.

  “Now, now, boys. We all know you both aren’t interested in older women, not since you went to Vegas to see naked men dancing,” Max teases.

  As he always does, Flynn goes bright red. “You told us to meet you in there! We didn’t know what it was!” Flynn protests. That was most definitely a time from his bachelor party we all wish we could forget.

  “Max is just sad he missed it since it would have reminded him of the old days when he was a stripper,” I hiss between my laughter. That is one I haven’t ever told Flynn about.

  “You bastard!” Max snaps, his arm looping around my neck as he pulls me down to his side, my beer falling out of my hand and tipping out over into the grass.

  “What? You were a stripper?” Flynn’s shocked voice carries over the backyard, and before I know it, we are all on the ground in a tangle of limbs.

  “I did it once, and I didn’t go all the way through with it!” Max argues, his elbow hitting me hard in the ribs.

  “I always had to lock my police uniform up after that.” I laugh, blocking his next hit, but Flynn isn’t so lucky, because he is laughing too hard to realize what is coming his way.

  “Max, what on earth are you all doing?” Abby’s voice screeches.

  We all freeze on the spot, all in awkward positions.

  “Oh, umm … Flynn lost his contact,” Max lies unconvincingly.

  “Flynn doesn’t wear contacts. Now get up! You’re setting a horrible example for the kids.”

  Suitably chastised, in our older age, we all painfully stand and attempt to act normal in our stances.

  Abby merely shakes her head at us yet then turns her attention on Max, her voice lowering. “I expect a performance of the stripping you used to do tonight.” Then she turns her back and leaves.

  Max grabs a fresh beer and drains it while Flynn and I laugh at him.

  The rest of the birthday is uneventful. Flynn, Max, and I manage to restrain ourselves from any further fighting.

  I slip Max the tickets I bought for him and Abby to take Callie to Disneyland. She has been begging her parents to go there since she found out the place existed, and I don’t have anything else to spend my money on, so I’m happy to make the little girl’s dream come true. Her actual birthday isn’t for three more days, though; as a result, I’m making her wait for her gift. The surprise should be fun to watch.

  After birthday songs are sung, cake is eaten, the kids are gone, and I have done my part with cleaning up, I head home.

  As I sit in my car out in front of Max’s house, I turn up the volume on my phone, go through my messages, see too many missed calls, and make the necessary callbacks. As captain, I’m not supposed to let my phone stay on silent. Although, for today, I ignored protocol.

  I have found being captain is never-ending. Though I love it, I made a promise to Thea I wouldn’t always put work first. My family deserves my time, too.

  I have the weekend off, but I am needed at a crime scene. I grab my jacket from my backseat and pull out my spare weapon from the hidden compartment under my car seat, placing it in the holster on my belt.

  I drive away from the house, the warm glow of a good day not quite leaving me yet. Knowing I’m going to be crashing soon if I don’t have anything, I stop off for coffee. As I step into the small shop, I realize immediately that something is wrong.

  The place is too still, too quiet.

  I glance around, and my eyes immediately land on a man with a baseball cap pulled low. He appears fidgety as he stands at the front by the cashier, who has tears running down her face and appears terrified.

  I am quick to realize exactly what is going on; however, before I can pull my weapon, before I can open my mouth to announce I am a police officer, a pregnant woman to my side screams, her legs springing her into action as she dives towards the door.

  I don’t have time to do anything useful, because the man at the front is instantly spooked by the woman’s actions. He turns the previously concealed gun on her, and I realize he is going to pull the trigger.

  I dive, managing to get in front of the woman before he shoots. I don’t think about the consequences of my actions for myself. All I see is the face of the scared woman and her arms that remain wrapped around her stomach, trying to protect her unborn child.

  I feel the jolt of the bullet as it enters my body. Thrown backwards, I know this isn’t a gunshot I will be coming away from alive. Blood spurts from my mouth, and breathing is almost impossible.

  Running footsteps race towards me, and I see the person who shot me—just a young kid— before he jumps over my prone body and slams into the door, causing the bell to ring. I feel the collective sigh as soon as he is gone.

  There is yelling, someone is pressing napkins to my wound, but I don’t feel pain. I don’t feel fear or regret. I only feel a sense of peace as I accept what is happening to me. I should probably feel angry or upset for the life that has just been stolen from me.

  I am deeply saddened to know I won’t see Flynn, Max, or their families ever again. However, after waiting years for this moment, I just know Thea is waiting for me. I am finally going to be able to hold her in my arms, hear her voice, and taste her sweet lips again.

  I close my eyes one last time, closing out the panicked scene around me, and then open them to pure whiteness.

  I’m alone where I stand, my body no longer appearing bloodied or injured.

  “Hello, my name is Barry. I am here to guide you to the next stage.” A man’s gravelly voice echoes from behind me.

  I turn to see a man who is large, white bearded, and giving off major Christmas vibes.

  “Santa Claus?” I stare at the man who is clearly Santa Claus reincarnate, and something at the back of my mind rattles. Didn’t Thea mention talking to Santa back when I thought she was crazy?

  “A lot of people call me that, but I’m just Barry.”

  I nod, looking over his shoulder, hoping to see Thea, but there is no one.

  “So, I’d like to welcome you to—”

  “I want to see Thea.”

  He smiles, his face giving off a jolly look that makes it even harder to believe this isn’t really Santa.

  “Well, then, that makes things much easier. I can take you to her, but first, there is a perk to being here.”

  “Which is what?” I try not to sound impatient.

  “You get to choose one day, from anytime in your life, and your body will be transformed back to that age, where you will stay forever. Many people like to become young again.”

  I think back to my last day with Thea, the day at the beach. I know that, even though that is the day I lost her, the day I lost my grandma, it is still one of my favorite days of my life. I felt connected to Thea in a different way, and that feeling hasn’t ever left me, not even all these years later.

  “Good.” Santa nods.

  I glance down, finding my body has changed so I no longer have the gut that I have carried around for the last ten years, and my body is leaner and fitter. I lift up my T-shirt to see my scar appears more prominent over my chest, and if I had a mirror, I know I would be looking at a man over twenty years younger than what I saw this morning when I woke up.

  “Now, I believe there is someone you want to see.”

  He leads me towards what appears to me as just more white walls, but suddenly, the scenery shifts, and I’m looking out over a wide and unending ocean. I turn back, finding myself alone, but then I hear my
name being called out.

  I turn and watch as Thea races up from the beach, her body the same as I remember on our last day together. I run to meet her, unable to be apart from her another second longer.

  We crash into each other, her legs wrapping around my hips and her arms linking over my neck. My lips find hers immediately as I grip her ass, keeping her upright and enjoying having them there at the same time. Never have I felt more at home than I am right now in her arms.

  I drop to my knees, my skin scratching against the grains of sand, but I don’t care. I lay her down below me and gaze over her before I kiss her again, deeply.

  I settle myself against her, ready to stay here for all eternity, but eventually, I feel tugging at my hair and pull away, smiling at the satisfied smile over Thea’s lips.

  “You’re here.” She sounds breathless.

  Unable to stop kissing her, I move to her neck as I suck and nibble at her skin, desperate to hear her moans and my name on her lips.

  “I am,” I finally answer, not releasing her for a moment longer than it takes to say that.

  “What happened? How long has it been?”

  “Too long,” I tell her, moving to the front of her neck where I work my way down her chest, hovering over her breasts, finding both nipples erect under her clothing.

  “Aiden, stop. I want to hear this.” She places both hands over my face, forcing me to look up at her.

  I give in to her request for now as I move back over her so our lips are only inches apart, and I feel her warm breath stroking my face.

  “It’s been just over twenty years.”

  “Wow … What has happened? I haven’t seen anyone else come through. Are you still friends with Flynn? Is he okay?”

  “Flynn is great. He became part of our family. He is happily married with three kids. Two girls, one named Thea after you.” I pause, watching tears spill down from her eyes. My heart strings pull, wanting me to stop making her cry, but I know these are happy tears, so I keep going. “And the middle child is named Joan after your mother. His youngest is a son, Jeremy Eric, and he is just like Flynn—a complete handful.”

  Thea laughs, her smile so bright it is blinding, before something crosses her mind, and it appears more forced. “How about you? Did you marry? Did you have any children? Twenty years is a long time.”

  “No, I lived a full life like you wanted, and I had fun. I laughed, and I spent more time with my family than I ever had before. You never left me, though, Thea. I was content to wait for you, just like I knew you were waiting for me.”

  “But I told you to meet someone new. In my letter I left you, I—”

  “I know, but I ignored it.” I grin at her and am relieved when her smile finally brightens again.

  “Good, because I was lying. I never wanted you to meet someone new, and I’m glad you didn’t.”

  I lean forward, kissing her more gently this time.

  “So what is this place?”

  “This is our home. I wanted somewhere close to the water. I hope you don’t mind.”

  “As long as you are here with me, I will live wherever you want.”

  “Your grandma and grandpa are close to us, so are my parents and grandparents. We all have our own private areas, but when we choose to, we can be with the others. Do you want to see your grandparents?”

  “Later. Right now, I want to know how good the shower is in the house you chose for us.”

  She laughs, her legs wrapping tightly back around me, and I laugh along with her, feeling completely happy and at ease.

  I stand and carry her with me as I walk us through the sand, up the stairs, and into the house I will call home for eternity with Thea. I give myself a moment to take in the area inside, seeing a long dining table and imagining for a second the large dinners we will have here with both of our families.

  I’m sad to no longer be part of Max’s life, to know I won’t see his children or Flynn’s grow any longer, but one day, they will all be here, and we will be back together. Knowing that puts me at peace.

  In the meantime, I will enjoy every second I have with Thea.

  I carry her through the house, distracted by her wandering hands. She doesn’t help me to navigate where I need to go, either. The house is far too big, and already think we need to put several more showers throughout the place, a change I will need to implement later. For now, I see the beautiful sight of cream tiles and then enter the bathroom to see a huge shower.

  “You like?” Thea pants, her hands working on ripping off the shirt I’m wearing.

  “I love,” I respond, setting her down to rip off her own clothes and start making up for twenty years of lost time.

  The End

  ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

  Thank you to my family and friends who have supported me and this book. A very special thank you to my wonderful parents, grandparents, Amy, Greg, Mel, Carley, Meg, and Amara for your constant love and support.

  Thank you to my editors, Kristin and Alizon, at C&D Editing. I hand them my stories and they help make sense of them and turn them into something readable. I would be lost without them and their support.

  Thank you to Meli at MGBookcovers who has designed every single one of my covers. This one is my favorite, and I look forward to more collaborations in the future.

  Thank you to all the blogs that have given up their time to help promote my books. I appreciate every single one of you. All Indie authors would be lost without you.

  Lastly, thank you to every single one of you who has supported me. Every book purchased, every review written, every recommendation you have passed on for me and other authors keeps us motivated. I appreciate everything you have done and said. Thank you! Thank you! Thank you!

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  Looking for a New Adult Paranormal series?

  Check out Jessica Frances’s Taken Trilogy:

  Taken By Surprise

  Taken By Force

  Taken By Choice

  Looking for a New Adult Sci-Fi Romance series?

  Check out Jessica Frances’s Invasion Trilogy:

  Earth

  Roth

  Oden

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