Redemption Series Boxed Set, Books 1-4

by Sandi Lynn

  The moment my head hit the pillow, I was out.

  I opened my eyes as the sun poured through the large window. Looking around the room, I had forgotten for a moment where I was. Letting out a long yawn, I picked up my phone from the nightstand and saw that it was nine a.m. I hadn’t a clue what time Carter planned on leaving for the Grand Canyon, so I took a shower, got dressed, and ventured into the kitchen area for some coffee. I wasn’t sure if he was up yet, and to be honest, I really wasn’t ready to see him after last night.

  I popped a k-cup into the Keurig machine that was sitting in the corner on the granite countertop. Looking around the suite, I didn’t see or hear any sign of him. I was sure he was still asleep. I took my coffee out to the wooden deck and sat down in one of the chairs that faced the canyon. There was something about this place that filled me with peace.

  I had just finished my coffee when I heard the sliding door open. I turned around and saw a very sweaty Carter Grayson standing on the deck.

  “Morning,” he spoke as he wiped his face with a small white towel.

  “I thought you were still asleep.”

  “Nah. I was up at the crack of dawn, so I decided to go for a run.”

  “How was it?” I asked as my eyes stared straight ahead.

  He took the seat beside me and chugged a bottle of water he was holding.

  “Good. It’s beautiful here. I would have asked you to come, but—”

  “I wouldn’t have gone anyway,” I interrupted him. “You couldn’t have gotten much sleep.”

  “I didn’t. The bed was a little too comfortable.” He smirked. “Go figure. Anyway, I brought you something back. It’s inside on the counter. Maybe you should go take a look.”

  I narrowed my eye at him for a moment before getting up from my seat and stepping back inside. Over on the counter sat a white square medium-sized box.

  “What’s in here?” I asked him.

  “Open the lid and find out.”

  I slowly lifted the cardboard lid with my fingers and inside the box sat a huge, probably the biggest I’d ever seen, round donut with white icing and the words “I’m sorry” written in pink on it.

  “I don’t think I’d ever seen a donut this big before. Where did you get this?” I looked at him with a smile on my lips.

  “The bakery in the hotel had them. I remember you telling Nora that your favorite donuts were the ones with the white frosting.”

  “And you had them put this writing on it?” I asked.

  “Yeah. I’m sorry for what I said to you yesterday, Zoey. I was out of line. There are just some things you don’t understand.”

  “I know you don’t believe me, Carter, but I do understand. In fact, I’m probably the only person in the world who does.”

  “There’s no way you could,” he spoke. “We have a long trip ahead of us still and I don’t want there to be any tension. So, I’m extending an olive branch, or donut.” He smiled.

  I couldn’t help but smile back.

  “Okay. I accept your apology. How about we cut this donut in half and eat it?”

  “Sounds good to me.”

  He walked over to the drawer, opened it and pulled out a knife.

  “Shall I do the honor?” He held the knife up.

  “Be my guest.” I nodded with a smile.

  He cut the donut in half and it was still too big, so he cut it into fours.

  Chapter 28

  Carter

  Even though I was dead tired, I was up all night replaying the shouting match Zoey and I had in the car. She was right about me living in my own world of pain and anger and how I refused to see any type of good in anyone or anything. Most of that was true, but I did see good in her, too much good and that was what frightened me so much. She told me that I wasn’t the only one whose life was affected by tragedy, insinuating that she too had suffered some in her life. I kept going back to when we were at the gas station and she let it slip about her mother. But why the hell would she keep that from me? After tossing and turning, I decided to go for a run because it always helped clear my head. But this time, it didn’t. It only made me have more questions about her. There was a mystery surrounding Zoey Benson and there was something she didn’t want me to know. The words “I don’t want to talk about what I see all the time, every day, and every minute of my life” circled around in my head. I had a feeling she wasn’t talking about her terminally ill patients, and I was going to find out exactly what she meant, whether I wanted to know the truth or not. I needed to find out what kind of person I was dealing with.

  I took our large pieces of donuts and sat down at the table while Zoey made us each a coffee.

  “What time do you want to head out for the Grand Canyon?” she asked as she set our coffee cups down on the table.

  “After I shower,” I spoke as I picked up my coffee and took a sip. “I have a question for you, Zoey.”

  “Sure. What is it?” she asked as she took a bite of her donut.

  “Right before Nora passed away, you told her you could see my parents like she said she did. Was that really true or were you just saying that for her sake?”

  I could see the hesitation on her face and silence crossed her lips. I reached over and lightly placed my hand on hers.

  “It’s okay. You can tell me the truth and I promise not to judge you or say anything out of line.”

  “As much as I want to believe you, Carter, I’m not going to answer your question.”

  She pulled her hand out from under mine and picked up her coffee cup.

  “And why not?” I narrowed my eye at her.

  “Because you aren’t ready to hear the truth.”

  “Who are you to decide if I’m ready or not?” I spoke with irritation.

  “You already think I’m crazy as it is. I’m not about to add anything else to that.”

  I sat there, eating my donut and sipping my coffee while staring at her. If she was mentally ill by some means, then I wouldn’t have to worry about wanting to be with her. She was complicated and that was something I didn’t need in my life.

  “Are you on any kind of medication?” I asked her.

  Her brow arched as her eyes stared into mine.

  “Have you ever seen me take any medication?”

  “No, but I don’t know if you take something right before you go to bed or not.”

  “Mr. Grayson, what exactly are you insinuating?”

  “I know you’re adopted, so maybe mental illness runs in your family.”

  She threw her head back and a roar of laughter escaped her.

  “You think I have a mental illness? Wow. Okay, we’re going to settle this once and for all because, honestly, I’m tired of you and your accusations.” She got up from her seat and took her plate and coffee cup over to the sink. “I can see dead people, aka, ghosts, spirits, or whatever you want to call them. Plain and simple. I’m not crazy. They’re real and I can’t help it. So, to answer your question from earlier, yes, I did see your parents standing by Nora’s bed and she saw them too. And by the way, I see Nora every now and again. She was with us while we were scattering her ashes in Lake Tahoe. And the man at the hotel, yes, he was standing behind me because he needed me to give a message to his wife. Now, if you’ll excuse me, I’m going to take my crazy ass to the bedroom. Just let me know when you’re ready to leave. Or, if you’d prefer, I can catch a plane home and you can handle the rest of this by yourself. I wouldn’t want you to be freaked out or have to deal with my craziness any more. I know Nora wanted me to help you, but frankly, it’s not worth it anymore. You’re beyond help, Mr. Grayson.” She began to walk away and then stopped and turned around. “My parents were killed in a plane crash when I was five years old. So yeah, my life has been affected by tragedies as well.” She stormed off and into the bedroom where she slammed the door shut.

  I sat there, slowly closed my eyes for a moment, and tried to process everything she just told me. I didn’t want to believe her. She had
lied to me about her parents from the beginning and she was lying about everything else. I’d had enough, so I got up from the table, went to her room, and opened the door in a fit of rage.

  “You are a liar!” I pointed at her. “You lied about your parents and you’re lying about everything else. Did you just make up that bullshit about them being killed in a plane crash to make yourself feel better from being abandoned?” I shouted. “I’m calling the airlines and sending you home. I can’t deal with you anymore.”

  She sat on the edge of the bed and stared at me while I yelled. She didn’t move and she didn’t speak a word. In fact, she didn’t do a goddamn thing. She didn’t even flinch. Just as I was about to shut the door, she spoke.

  “Year 1997. New York. Flight 4211. Kenneth and Margo Anderson.”

  I slowly shook my head at her, shut the door, and went to my room. Pulling my phone from my pocket, I called the airlines to book her a flight back to New York.

  “What the hell do you mean no flights are going into New York?”

  “I’m sorry, sir, but both LaGuardia and JFK have experienced severe power outages and we aren’t sure when it will be restored. Electric crews are telling us maybe sometime tomorrow.”

  “You have got to be fucking kidding me.”

  “I wish I was, sir. Thousands of passengers are stranded at the moment and a ton of flights have been canceled. My advice would be to check back tomorrow.”

  “Thank you.”

  In a fit of anger, I threw my phone on the bed and climbed into the shower. When I was finished and got dressed, I picked up my phone and called my private investigator.

  “Carter, how are you, my friend?”

  “Hey, Charlie. I need a favor.”

  “Sure, man, what’s up?”

  “Can you see what you can dig up on a plane crash back in 1997? Apparently, there was one in New York, Flight 4211.”

  “I think I remember that. Give me a few hours and I’ll call you back.”

  “Thanks, Charlie.”

  After ending the call, I went back to Zoey’s room and opened the door.

  “Don’t you know it’s rude to enter someone’s room without knocking?” she spoke.

  “I paid for the room, so technically, I can do whatever the fuck I want. I called the airlines and apparently there are no flights going in or out of New York right now due to some major power outage at both airports. So we better get on the road to the Grand Canyon and I’ll call again in the morning.”

  “I don’t want to go with you.” She folded her arms.

  “I don’t care. You’re not staying here by yourself. Nora wanted you to come on the trip and since you’re here and can’t go anywhere else, you’re going to help me scatter her ashes over the fucking Grand Canyon!” I sternly spoke. “So let’s go!”

  Chapter 29

  Zoey

  He walked away and I looked around the room.

  “Really? Power outages in both airports? Come on. Why the hell are you doing this to me?”

  I took in a deep breath, grabbed my purse, and followed him outside to the SUV. The drive to the Grand Canyon was probably the longest drive of my life. Even though it was only supposed to be an hour and a half drive, the GPS took us a different way, which extended our time by forty-five minutes. Needless to say, Carter was not happy.

  We drove along Desert View Drive and stopped at Grandview Point. It was terribly crowded.

  “What the hell,” Carter spoke.

  “Keep driving to Moran Point. It’s a few miles down the road.”

  “And you think there will be any less people there?” he spoke with an irritated tone.

  “It doesn’t matter about the people. It’s where we have to go.”

  “Let me guess, Nora told you to go there?” he spoke with sarcasm.

  I didn’t reply. I just rolled my eyes and stared out the window. When we reached Moran Point, Carter immediately found a spot to park the SUV. We both climbed out, grabbed one of the urns, and walked the trail up to the point where we were lucky enough to find a spot where nobody was. Once we reached the top, I stood there and looked out into the picturesque wonder that sat before me.

  “Wow. This is like something out of a painting,” Carter spoke as he held the urn against his chest.

  “It’s beautiful. No wonder Nora wanted this to be one of her resting places,” I said.

  Carter removed the lid from the urn and held it over the edge for a moment before slowly tipping it forward and letting the ashes fall over the depth of the canyon.

  “Rest in peace, Nora,” he spoke.

  I looked over at Carter, and standing next to him was his sister, smiling as she watched her ashes scatter. She lightly placed her hand on his shoulder. He looked over and then at me.

  “What?” I asked.

  “Nothing,” he spoke with a bit of panic.

  He placed the lid back on the urn and took a seat on the ground. We both sat there in silence for about thirty minutes, taking in the beauty that nature had formed.

  “I think we should grab something to eat and head back to Sedona,” Carter spoke.

  We drove for about an hour and pulled into a restaurant called The Steak House. After we were seated, Carter’s phone rang.

  “Excuse me, I need to take this,” he spoke as he got up from his seat and walked away. A few moments later, he returned, sat down in his chair, and stared at me with a weird look on his face.

  “Is everything okay?” I asked.

  “Yeah. It was just business,” he spoke as he placed his napkin on his lap.

  I could tell something was wrong by his tone of voice.

  “Was Nora there with us at the Grand Canyon?” he asked.

  “I don’t know,” I lied.

  “I swear I felt a hand on my shoulder while we were standing there. You said she was with us in Lake Tahoe. So, if you were telling the truth, then you would have seen her at the Grand Canyon. So, please, Zoey, tell me the truth.”

  “I don’t know, Carter. I didn’t see anyone.”

  There was no way I was going to tell him in the middle of the restaurant. This man was a ticking time bomb and I wasn’t about to set him off.

  “Okay.” He took a sip of his water. “Is there anything you want to talk about?” he asked.

  “No.”

  “Why not?”

  I looked at him in disbelief. Just a few hours ago, he was believing I had a mental illness, called me a liar, and tried to send me home. So why the hell would I want to talk to him about anything? He had some nerve asking me that and going about as if he did nothing wrong. He’d said a lot of things to me since the first day we’d met and I had chosen to overlook ninety-nine percent of them, but what he said about me lying about my parents to make myself feel better for being abandoned crossed the line and that was something I couldn’t overlook or forgive him for.

  “I have nothing to say to you, Mr. Grayson.”

  He took in a sharp breath and sat back in his chair.

  “This is because of earlier, isn’t it? I’m sorry.”

  “You’re always sorry, but it doesn’t change things. You can say you’re sorry a million times over, yet you continue to say things that hurt me over and over again. You don’t want me on this trip and I don’t want to be here. So, tomorrow morning, I’m calling the airlines and getting a flight back home to Connecticut. I’ll pick up the rest of my things in a couple of days.”

  “Fine.” He nodded. “If that’s what you want.”

  “It is.”

  “Fine,” he spoke with an attitude.

  We finished our dinner in silence and then climbed into the SUV and headed back to the Enchantment Resort.

  “That call I took earlier at dinner. It was my private investigator, Charlie. I had him do some digging on that plane crash you told me about,” he spoke.

  “Good for you.” I sighed.

  “Everyone on that flight was killed, except for one survivor. A child. A five-year-old
girl. But her name was kept out of the papers to protect her identity, and then shortly after the crash, she disappeared. That little girl was you, wasn’t it?”

  I looked at him as tears filled my eyes, but I couldn’t speak. I turned away and looked out the passenger window.

  “Zoey, I’m so sorry. I can’t even imagine.”

  He reached his hand over and softly placed it on mine, which was resting on my lap. I pulled away.

  “Please talk to me,” he spoke in a tender voice.

  “Yes. I was the little girl who survived the crash of Flight 4211. The only survivor out of 525 passengers, including my parents.” A single tear fell from my eye.

  “I don’t know what to say to you except how sorry I am.”

  “Don’t be. That was twenty years ago.”

  He pulled up to the valet at the Enchantment Resort and we climbed out and went to our suite. The moment he opened the door and I stepped inside, I started to go straight to my room, but felt his hand grab my arm and stop me. I looked at his hand and then at him. He pulled me into a tight embrace and I didn’t know what to do. He didn’t speak a word. He only held me in the middle of the living area.

  After a few moments, he broke our embrace and our eyes locked on each other’s. He brought his hand up and lightly cupped my chin.

  “I don’t want you to go home tomorrow. I want you to stay and finish this trip with me. To be honest, I don’t think I can do it alone. Please,” he spoke in a begging voice.

  “You can do this alone, Carter. In fact, I think you need to.”

  “That’s your decision, then?” he asked.

  “Yes. I’m sorry.” I looked away.

  He swallowed hard and walked over to the sliding glass door. Placing his hands in his pockets as he stared out at the beautiful view of the canyon, he spoke, “I understand and there’s no need for you to be sorry.”

  “Thank you,” I quietly spoke and went to my room.

  Taking my phone from my purse, I called the airport and was able to get on a flight back to Connecticut at eight a.m., which meant I would have to leave the hotel around four thirty, since it was a two-hour drive to the airport.