Masquerade and Other Tales

by Amanda Ashley

  “I’ll be needing those documents before I leave.”

  “Very well,” Camden said. “Please, sit down. This will take a few minutes.”

  * * * * *

  “What’s this?” Sandy asked.

  “Open it.”

  She stared at the large envelope Rafe had given her, her insides turning to ice when she recognized Fred Camden’s handwriting on the front. Had he decided to foreclose early? Could he do that? It hit her suddenly, what it would mean if she had to leave the Rocking Double D. She had grown up here. Her father had taught her to rope and ride. Her mother had taught her how to cook and keep house. They had loved her, taught her right from wrong, instilled in her a sense of loyalty and honesty and a love for the land. Her parents were buried here. How could she leave?

  “Go on, open it,” Rafael urged.

  She couldn’t still the trembling in her fingers as she opened the envelope. It held several sheets of legal-looking documents, and a bankbook.

  She looked up, her brow furrowing as she met Rafe’s gaze. “I don’t understand. What is this?”

  “The ranch is yours.” He jerked his chin at the bankbook in her left hand. “There’s enough money in that account to pay your taxes for the next five years.”

  “But…how? Where did it come from?”

  “Don’t ask questions I can’t answer,” he said.

  “You did this? How?” Her eyes narrowed. “You didn’t do anything illegal, did you? Tell me you didn’t hold up a stage or rob the express office.”

  “No,” he replied solemnly. “Nothing like that.”

  “Rafe…” She threw her arms around his neck, unmindful of the documents in her hand. “Thank you! I don’t know how I can ever repay you.”

  “You already have.”

  Rafael, come home. Benjamin’s voice sounded loud and clear in his mind.

  So soon?

  Now.

  Can’t I at least say goodbye?

  Make it quick. Gabriel wants to see you. Immediately.

  Rafael felt a shiver of apprehension skate down his spine. If Gabriel wanted to see him, he was really in trouble.

  “Is something wrong?” Sandy asked. Stepping back, she gazed up at him. “You look worried. The sheriff isn’t going to come looking for you, is he?”

  “No.” An angry Gabriel was more frightening than a dozen lawmen. “Sandy, I’ve got to go.”

  “You are in trouble, aren’t you?”

  “Yes, but not the way you mean, and I can’t explain.” He stroked her cheek. “I’ve loved being here with you,” he said quietly. “I wish I didn’t have to go.”

  She stared at him, her eyes filling with tears.

  “Rafe…” Words failed her. He was leaving and nothing else mattered, not even the ranch. “Please don’t go. I don’t know how you did this.” She pushed the documents back in the envelope and thrust it at him. “I don’t want to know. Just undo whatever you did and stay here, with me.”

  “I can’t.” He dropped the envelope on the table, then drew her into his arms and held her close. “I love you,” he whispered. Cupping her face in his hands, he kissed her gently, his touch as soft as angel wings. “I will love you for all eternity.”

  She stood there, her heart breaking, as she watched him leave the house. A moment passed and then, crying his name, she ran out the door after him.

  But he was already gone.

  Chapter 8

  Rafael paced slowly back and forth outside Gabriel’s office, his tension growing with every step. Gabriel had kept him waiting for over an hour – as measured in Earth time – days and hours and minutes were calculated differently in the heavenly realms. It was an old trick, both in Heaven and on Earth, to make the guilty party wait for sentencing.

  Rafael raked a hand through his hair. He didn’t really care what Gabriel had to say, or what his punishment would be. He had lost Sandy and nothing else mattered.

  He moved to one of the large windows that offered a clear view of lofty celestial mountains, flowers in rainbow colors, towering trees, sparkling rivers and streams, and vast swathes of emerald green pastures. It was a beautiful sight. Still, it seemed odd to be back home, to walk streets that were paved with gold instead of mired in mud, to breathe air that was pure, with no hint of decay or smoke or sweat.

  He had known he would miss Sandy; he hadn’t expected to miss Earth itself. Or working with his hands. The long white robe he wore was soft and flowed with every movement he made; he was surprised to discover he preferred faded jeans, chambray shirts, and scuffed leather boots.

  But mostly, he missed Sandy – the sweetness of her smile, the carefree sound of her laughter, the warm womanly scent of her hair and skin, the way she had melted in his arms when he kissed her.

  Some thought angels were sexless creatures, but he had learned firsthand it wasn’t so. To his chagrin, he had also learned that he was capable of love, of surrendering to a primal need he had heard about but never truly understood until he had taken Sandy into his arms and held her body close to his. At first, he had thought it merely the lust of the flesh that enflamed him, but it was far more. It was as if he had found a missing part of his soul he had never realized was missing.

  And now she was lost to him forever. It saddened him almost beyond bearing, and yet he wasn’t sorry for breaking one of the celestial laws by conjuring the money she so desperately needed. He had saved what was most precious to her, and he considered the cost – whatever it might be – well worth the price.

  He nodded to a pair of angels, noting their solemn expressions. No doubt everyone knew what he had done.

  He ceased his restless pacing, stood aside as a cluster of young spirits sailed past, laughing and smiling as they hurried toward the teaching center where they would learn what to expect during their sojourn on Earth.

  He knew there were other, older spirits who would be gathering at the deportation center, waiting to be sent to Earth to inhabit bodies of flesh and blood. It was an exciting time, yet one filled with anxiety as they prepared to leave all that was familiar and enter a strange new world where all memory of their heavenly existence would be erased. Not all would return in triumph. Many would succumb to Satan’s snares and be forever lost.

  For all that Heaven was a place of endless peace and serenity, it was also extremely busy. Female angels labored night and day, sewing robes for those who had completed their earthly lives and were returning to the celestial realm. Righteous souls waited in Paradise. Freed from all earthly cares, they reunited with friends and family, while the unrepentant souls of those who had done evil while on Earth languished in the dark bowels of spirit prison, dreading the day of final judgment.

  Angels traveled daily from Heaven to Earth in answer to urgent prayers…as he had done, and done so badly.

  Glancing over his shoulder, he saw Benjamin floating toward him.

  “You’re back,” Ben exclaimed, clapping Rafael on the shoulder. “I didn’t expect you so soon.” He frowned when he saw Rafael’s glum expression. “Did something go wrong?”

  “You could say that.”

  “Uh-oh. What did you do?”

  As briefly as possible, Rafael related his happenings during his sojourn on Earth.

  “You fell in love with a mortal woman?” Benjamin exclaimed, aghast at the very idea. “And you granted her riches?” He blew out a sigh that spoke volumes. “What do you think your punishment will be? A millennium in outer darkness? Endless banishment to Pluto? An eon chasing the hounds of hell?”

  “I don’t know,” Rafael replied curtly. “I don’t care. Nothing matters anymore.”

  Benjamin’s brow furrowed in thought. “You were only supposed to go down there to learn about life on Earth. You weren’t supposed to embrace it.” He smothered a grin. “But embrace it you did, didn’t you?” He lowered his voice, even though there was no one else to hear them. “What was it like, being intimate with a mortal woman?”

  “We weren’t ‘inti
mate’,” Rafael said.

  “But you wanted to be?”

  Rafael nodded, remembering the nights he had dreamed of making love to Sandy. He wished now that he had. What was one more broken commandment among so many?

  Benjamin vanished when the door to Gabriel’s office swung open.

  Rafael took a deep breath. He could endure outer darkness. He could abide a millennium on the barren wasteland of Pluto. But chasing the hounds of hell across the dark side of heaven? Surely he had done nothing bad enough to deserve that.

  “Rafael,” Gabriel said, his voice cool. “Come in.”

  Rafael stepped into Gabriel’s office, took the seat he was offered, and waited.

  Gabriel stood behind a desk made of luminous crystal, his arms folded over his broad chest. The bright yellow sunlight shining through the windows turned his long blond hair to gold. “So, what do you have to say for yourself?”

  “I make no excuses for what I’ve done,” Rafael replied quietly. “I am guilty on all counts.”

  “I see.”

  Gabriel had a voice that could make lesser angels quake but it no longer had any power over Rafael. He had lost Sandy. No punishment Gabriel could inflict on him could be any worse than that.

  “I wanted to hear you admit your guilt in your own words,” Gabriel said. “You have done so. I will advise you when we have decided what the penalty for your disobedience will be. That is all.”

  With a nod, Rafael rose and left Gabriel’s office without a backward glance. As he closed the door, he thought he heard the hounds of hell barking at his heels.

  Chapter 9

  Sandy sat on the swing on the front porch, an untouched glass of lemonade in one hand, her other hand lightly stroking Heidi’s head.

  Thanks to Rafe’s generosity, the loan at the bank had been paid in full. The deed to the ranch was in her name, safely tucked away in an iron box under her bed, along with her father’s old pistol and the silver dollar he had carried for luck. There was enough money in the bank to pay the taxes for the next five years, with a little left over for emergencies.

  With the loan paid off, she had used the few dollars she had managed to save to repair not only the roof on the barn, but the one on the bunkhouse, as well. She had hired one of the blacksmith’s sons to paint the house. One of the cowhands had fixed the gate on the corral.

  She should have been happy. The ranch was flourishing. The herd was growing.

  But she would gladly have given up the ranch and everything on it to spend one more night with Rafe.

  She wished they had made love.

  She wished she had told him that she loved him.

  “I do, you know,” she whispered to the night wind. “I didn’t know love could happen so fast, or hurt so much.”

  Heidi wagged her tail, then licked Sandy’s hand.

  “You miss him, too, don’t you, girl?”

  Setting her glass on the low table beside the swing, Sandy stared up at the sky. It had been on a cloudy night just like this when she had found Rafe lying in the middle of the road. Had it only been eight months ago? It seemed like forever.

  She was about to go back into the house and get ready for bed when a flaming comet streaked across the sky and landed amidst a burst of colorful sparks beside the barn.

  Sandy was on her feet before she realized she was moving, running down the porch steps with Heidi barking at her heels.

  Heart pounding with excitement, Sandy rounded the corner of the barn. And skidded to a dead stop when she saw the man lying face down in the dry grass.

  Could it be?

  She took a hopeful step forward, shushing Heidi, who was barking loud enough to wake everyone on the place.

  Sandy pressed a hand to her racing heart as the man rolled over and sat up. “Rafe!”

  He held out his arms, a smile lighting his face as she hurried toward him, then fell on her knees beside him.

  “You’re here,” she murmured. “Are you all right?” Her gaze moved over him, noting that he was again wearing nothing but that odd green covering he had been wearing the first night she had seen him. “Why did you leave us? Where have you been?”

  His gaze moved over her. “All in good time.”

  She shook her head. “No, tell me now.”

  Draping his arm around her waist, he pulled her close. “You’re never going to believe me,” he said ruefully.

  * * * * *

  An angel. Sandy shook her head as Rafe finished the most incredible story she had ever heard. He was an angel, or he had been, until he broke some divine rule to keep her from losing the ranch. And now he was back, condemned to spend a mortal lifetime on Earth.

  “With you,” he said quietly. “If you’ll have me.”

  “What do you think?”

  “I hope you will.” He took her hands in his. “If you refuse me, I’ll have to spend the rest of eternity chasing the hounds of hell.”

  “Well, I can’t let that happen,” Sandy said. “Not after what you’ve already been through.”

  Rafael breathed an exaggerated sigh of relief. “So, you’ll be mine, for better or worse, as long as we live?”

  “That sounds like a marriage proposal,” she mused, smiling.

  “Definitely.” Rafael glanced upward, his expression wary. “I don’t dare break any more rules.”

  * * * * *

  It didn’t take long to plan the wedding. Sandy ordered a gown from Boston, Rafe bought a dark blue suit and a new pair of boots, Nina prepared a lavish feast, and they were all set.

  The guest list was small – just the ranch hands, Nina and Ralph, who had recently announced their engagement, and a few of Sandy’s friends and neighbors.

  The wedding took place in the Methodist Church on a Saturday afternoon. Standing in front of the minister, her hand clasped in Rafe’s, Sandy repeated the vows that joined her life with that of the man she loved. It was a simple ceremony, yet she listened spellbound to each word that bound her life to Rafe’s – for better or worse, in sickness and health, for as long as she lived.

  There was a reception at the ranch following the wedding. Sandy couldn’t stop smiling. It all seemed like a dream, somehow, too good to be true. There were presents and warm wishes, handshakes and toasts to the bride and groom and then, at last, she and Rafe were alone, just the two of them, in her bedroom. Their bedroom, she amended.

  “Happy?” Rafe asked.

  She nodded, her heart too full for words as he removed her veil and carefully laid it aside.

  “I want to see you. All of you,” he said, his voice thick. “Touch you.”

  She stepped out of her shoes; then, holding his gaze with her own, she began to undress. Her fingers shook a little as she removed her undergarments, her stockings. She had never undressed in front of a man before.

  Rafe could scarcely breathe as Sandy bared herself to his gaze. He had seen the wonders of the universe, celestial beings, and miracles beyond compare, but never had he seen anything as lovely, or as desirable, as the woman standing before him. Her cheeks were slightly flushed, her skin like smooth cream, her breasts high and proud, her legs long and shapely. Her hair flowed over her shoulders like a waterfall of crimson silk.

  “Now you,” she said.

  He undressed quickly, too eager to touch her, to feel her body against his, to be embarrassed. Taking her by the hand, he swung her into his arms and carried her to bed, then stretched out beside her. He had never made love to a woman, never known desire, or how powerful it could be, until he came to Earth. But his body knew what to do.

  Gathering Sandy into his arms, he held her close, reveling in the feel of her breasts against his chest, of her legs tangling with his as he kissed her, gently at first, and then with greater urgency, a need he didn’t fully understand driving him.

  She moaned softly, her hands exploring his back and shoulders, her shyness gradually fading, her hands growing more confident, more bold, as the passion between them grew hotter, stronger.<
br />
  When he rose over her, she was ready for him.

  Rafael knew the story of Adam and Eve, how they had become one flesh. In the Book of Corinthians, Paul had declared, “neither is the man without the woman, neither the woman without the man, in the Lord.”

  Rafael had never fully understood what that meant, until now.

  Their joining was magical, a moment out of time. If he lived to be a hundred, Rafael knew he would never forget the wonder of this night.

  She sighed beneath him, and Rafael couldn’t help smiling to himself. Gabriel had banished him to Earth, considering it a just punishment for the celestial laws Rafe had broken during his earlier sojourn here.

  “Ah, Gabriel,” Rafe murmured as he rolled onto his side, carrying Sandy with him. “Please punish me forever.”

  “What did you say?” Sandy asked, frowning at him.

  “I said I love you.”

  “And I love you, more than you can imagine.” She glanced at the ring he had slipped on her finger. It was solid gold, without beginning or end, strong enough to last a lifetime and beyond, like their love for one another.

  Sandy had often wondered if there was truly a Heaven, and now she knew, because she had her very own angel, right here on Earth.

  The End

  About the Author:

  Amanda Ashley enjoys writing, particularly in the genre of Historical Romance and delves into the world of the paranormal and romantic fantasy. She resides in California, where she was born and raised.

  Also writing as Madeline Baker, she is one of the most popular authors of Native American romance and has written numerous bestsellers. For more information about all her wonderful books, please visit her website at http://www.madelinebaker.net/