Grounded: Michaela

by Leanne Karella

  "Yet to what?"

  "You have not yet eaten of the forbidden fruit."

  Michaela squeezed her eyes shut, more confused than ever. "Ty does not have any fruit trees."

  Gabriel was silent for so long, Michaela opened her eyes. His brow was puckered in a frown. She'd never seen Gabriel frown before. Then again, she'd never seen him in mortal form, either.

  "Think back to your earliest lessons, Michaela. Do you remember why Adam and Eve were cast out of the Garden?"

  Michaela thought and thought. The ancient texts were required reading for all angels, a lesson in the way mortals viewed Heaven and Earth. "The tree of knowledge?" she asked, her eyes going wide. "You mean…oh, my goodness. You mean that was what the scrolls were talking about? Sex?"

  Gabriel nodded once, then frowned again. "Do you wish to return Home?"

  Michaela's heart tightened in her chest. "I don't know." She didn't want to leave Ty. She loved him. But he obviously didn't love her. Was there something she could do to make him love her? Joining him in the shower hadn't done it. Making him a pretty dinner with a candle and flowers hadn't done it.

  Gabriel gave Stryker one more good scratch before standing up. "Whenever you decide, Michaela, I'll be listening." He began to fade away.

  "Wait!"

  His body solidified. "What is it?"

  "I want to tell him the truth about me. It's the one thing he keeps asking. He wants to know where I'm from. You told us not to tell because no one would believe us, but I have to tell him. I have to be honest with him."

  Gabriel's dark blue eyes looked sad. "He won't believe you." He reached out and touched her cheek with cool, soft fingers. "I know you have fallen in love with this mortal, Michaela, and for that I am sorry. Raphael and I did not see foresee this."

  "I have to try, Gabriel. Can you understand? I like the mortal world. I like living on earth. I…I do love Ty Brock, and I'd like to have the kind of life I've read about, with children and family. Since I'm here, I want to experience it all. But Ty will never accept me unless he knows who I am, why I'm the way I am."

  Gabriel gave a slight nod. "Very well, Michaela. You may tell him. I will be here when you need me."

  She clasped his hand between hers. She'd never touched the archangel before. In human form, he was…beautiful, his voice gentle. "Thank you."

  His smile was sad. "Farewell for now." And then he faded into a soft mist.

  * * * *

  "Okay," Benny said from across the booth, his craggy face splitting in a huge grin. "You're telling me this woman ruined half of your appliances and your clothes. She talks to the cattle…and they seem to understand her?"

  "Yes."

  "So instead of kicking her out, you let her live with you for two weeks." He took a swig of coffee. "And in that time, she's cooked you a candlelight dinner, asked you to make love to her, and tried seducing you in the shower?"

  Ty nodded. It sounded so ridiculous when laid out like that.

  "Is she really ugly or something?"

  "Christ, no." Ty scrubbed his hand down his face. "She's stunning."

  "Then what the hell is your problem? You gone monk or something?" He laughed at his own joke.

  "You know what I've done." Ty had told Benny of his past escapades with women. He leaned over the table and whispered, "She's a virgin."

  Benny's squinty eyes widened. "You said she's over thirty!"

  Ty nodded.

  "And she's offering? I really don't get it, man. You'll never have that kind of offer on the table again."

  Ty sat back and lifted his mug to his lips. How could he make Benny understand? "That's just it. I'm trying to do the right thing here. She's special. She deserves to have a good life with someone better than a gambling ex-con. But selfish bastard that I am, all I can think about is why I want to keep her. I don't want her to go, but I've got to. If she stays, what kind of life is that?"

  "You got it bad, man."

  Ty frowned. "I know. I've got to let her go, but I don't want to hurt her just to get her to leave. You should see her when she cries. Tears your heart to shreds."

  Benny sat back in the booth and toyed with his spoon.

  "What?" Ty asked, hating it when Benny got that serious look on his face.

  "You want my opinion?"

  "Shit, Ben, why the hell do you think I'm here?"

  Benny chuckled. "Ever been in love before, my boy?"

  Ty snorted. "Hell, no."

  "You sure about that?"

  Chapter Eleven

  Stryker's cold, wet nose nudging against Michaela's neck brought her awake. Squinting against the sun filtering in through the window blinds, she rolled over and glanced at the clock. Nine a.m. She'd been awake until nearly five when exhaustion won over her worry that Ty hadn't returned.

  Stryker let out a pitiful whine and jumped off the bed, did a little dance, then barked once.

  Michaela sat up. "Need to go outside, Stryk?"

  He barked again and spun in a circle, then nudged her bare leg with that cold nose. Michaela laughed and scratched his ears. "Okay, boy." She picked up her robe and slipped it on.

  Stryker barked again and dashed to the door.

  Michaela opened the bedroom door, and he made a run for the front door. Once she let him out, she took a quick trip to the bathroom, then peeked in Ty's open bedroom door. The room was empty. She wandered into the kitchen. Nothing had been moved since she'd washed the dishes sometime around midnight. Peering out the window, she saw that Ty's truck wasn't in the driveway.

  She nibbled on her lower lip for a moment, trying to decide what to do. She knew worrying was silly. He didn't need her to look after him, but she couldn't help it. What if something had happened to him? What would she do? What should she do?

  "Make coffee," she told herself, pulling away from the window and moving to the counter. He'd want some coffee when he returned. If he returned. "Don't be silly, Michaela. Of course he'll return."

  But where was he?

  She filled the coffee pot and poured it into the maker then scooped in the coffee stuff and turned it on. Now what?

  She sat down at the table and gazed at the wilted clover, the candle still sitting in the center of the table. Sadness swamped her and she felt the tears forming behind her eyes.

  Jumping up, she grabbed the candle and flung it back into the drawer where she'd found it. The flowers went into the garbage under the sink. She was not going to be some weepy little woman like on television. Nope, she needed to be like the women in the romance manuals. They were strong. They didn't start crying just because the men they loved didn't appreciate a nice dinner.

  She'd get dressed, check on the horses to make sure they had enough food and water, and then she'd go into Unegi and talk to Electra, get some more advice from her about dealing with Ty Brock.

  She slumped into the chair. How was she going to get to Unegi? She couldn't drive. Even though Ty had showed her the basics, she feared trying to do it by herself. Besides, Ty had the truck.

  Didn't Trent Godfrey say to call if she needed something? Going into her bedroom, she found the little paper card he'd given her that first day. Somehow, the numbers on the card must be used with the telephone thing in the kitchen she'd seen Ty use. With a triumphant smile, she headed for Ty's closet to find another shirt to wear. She hadn't felt like doing laundry last night.

  Just as she was buttoning the light blue shirt she'd pilfered from Ty's closet, she heard Stryker set up a barking frenzy outside. She rushed to the kitchen window and peeked out. Ty was home. She grinned with relief that he was all right.

  Her smile faded as she remembered her goal for this morning. She was going to sit him down and tell him all about where she was from. Her stomach instantly knotted into a tight ball. This wasn't going to be easy. How could she make a mortal believe her? Especially when Gabriel had warned her that he wouldn't?

  She poured a cup of coffee for Ty and set it on the table, then went to the fridge an
d pulled out eggs and bacon. Maybe if he was eating, he wouldn't have time to argue with her and would listen.

  The front door opened, and Ty's boots thumped on the wooden floors. "Michaela!"

  "In the kitchen," she called.

  He rounded the corner, his arms piled with paper bags. "Hi baby." He smiled at her. Not just any smile, a big, face-splitting grin. And his eyes seemed to sparkle.

  "Hi," she said, uneasily. What had happened to him? After the way he'd left last night, she expected angry Ty, or hurt Ty. Not happy Ty.

  He dumped the bunch of bags on the table, almost upsetting the coffee cup she'd set there. "I got you some things." He turned toward her, took the one big step separating them, cupped her face between his hands, and kissed her.

  Her breath stopped. His lips were so very warm and moist, his tongue swept into her mouth and she had to grab on to his arms to steady herself. Her heart thudded, as it always did when he kissed her like this. Tingles raced down her arms, her breasts began to ache.

  "Damn, you taste good," he muttered against her lips, then captured her mouth in another deep, hard kiss.

  When he broke the kiss, he grinned at her again, his cinnamon gaze moving over her face as if he were memorizing her. "And you're so beautiful. So beautiful," he whispered.

  "Ty, I need to tell—"

  "Hold that thought." He let go of her so fast she had to grab hold of the edge of the counter to keep from falling over. "I want you to see what I got you." He went to the bags and started pulling things from them. "First, I got you some vegetarian cookbooks." He turned toward her and handed her a stack of big, colorful, hard covered books. "They're international. I don't know what you really like, so I got you regular, Mexican, Italian, I think there's even a German one in there. I hate how you only eat vegetables. That can't be healthy. Beans." He turned to the bags and pulled out some cans. "Beans are a protein, and I think you should eat more. Protein, I mean."

  Michaela could only stare. He was talking so fast, not really making any sense. As he pulled more things from the bags, his words seem to get even faster. She began to wonder if something bad had happened to him. Should she call Trent Godfrey now and ask him to come over and check on Ty?

  He held out another stack of books to her. She had to put the cookbooks on the counter before taking the others. They were more romance manuals. Oh dear, oh dear, oh dear. Was he trying to tell her she needed to read more because she was doing it all wrong?

  "I don't know what kind you like," he was saying as he turned back to the bags, "so I got you one of everything. Well, one of everything on those racks by the counter at the store. I hope they're all right. You could probably exchange them for others if they're not what you want to read. Here they are." In his hands he held a variety of brightly wrapped…something. Blue and orange and red paper with words she couldn't read because his hands were in the way. "Chocolate," he announced. "I know how much you love it, and I should have thought of it before. Again, I didn't know which ones you'd like, so I kind of got you all of them." He dumped them in a smaller sack and set the bag on top of the books she still held. "There's clothes too. I got you clothes. I hope they fit. I'm such an idiot. I should have taken you shopping sooner. See." He pulled folded clothing from another bag. "Pink and blue, red and purple. I don't know much about women's clothing, but I think all these bright colors will look stunning on you." He turned to her then and kissed her quickly. "Be right back." Then he disappeared out the door.

  Michaela let out a slow breath and set the romance manuals on the counter. She reached into the sack of chocolate and pulled out a flat package wrapped in blue. Turning it over in her hands a few times, she decided to open it. She did like chocolate.

  She broke off a piece of the dark brown bar and slipped it into her mouth. "Ohh, my goodness," she whispered as it melted on her tongue. So good.

  Now, she needed to understand what was happening with Ty. Why was he giving her all these things? She understood the cookbooks. Kind of. Maybe he didn't really like what she'd cooked for him the past few days. He wanted something different. And the romance manuals, well, that was obvious. He wasn't happy with the attempts she'd made to show him she loved him. But the clothes? She shook her head. She'd asked him to take her shopping with the money in her bag.

  She went to the table and peeked into the other bags. Lots of clothing.

  Ty burst through the doorway. "Here." He grinned and held out a bunch of red flowers. Roses, she thought they were called. "I'm so sorry about last night. And…and for everything I've done to make you sad. I'm a stupid man. I should have paid more attention when I came in. I didn't realize… I was just so damn hungry and the food smelled so good, I didn't notice the flowers and the candle and the fancy napkins."

  He did notice! She smiled at him and took the flowers from his hand. A lovely sweet scent wafted to her nose and she stuck her face against them and inhaled. "Thank you," she whispered. "They're nice."

  "Nice," he said, his tone dropping.

  She glanced up at him. Some of the sparkle had left his eyes.

  "Very nice," she added. "Thank you." She didn't know what else to say. They were nice. "I made some coffee. Why don't you sit down and I'll make you breakfast."

  He sat down in his normal chair. "No more coffee. My nerves are wiggling all over the place. I drank coffee all night waiting for the stores to open." He grabbed her hand and pulled her between his knees. "I spent all night thinking about you. About us. I've been such a blasted fool, Michaela. I hope you can forgive me." He pulled her down to sit on his lap. "I talked to my friend, Benny. He's…" Ty sighed. "I have some problems I'm still working on. I have an addiction to gambling and Benny's my sponsor. He helps me out when I get an urge to gamble."

  Michaela had no idea what gambling was, or what a sponsor was, but she understood that he felt whatever he was telling her was very important. His arms slid around her and pulled her snug against him.

  "I'm telling you this because you need to know what you're getting yourself into. I'm not a good man. I've done terrible, terrible things—"

  "No, Ty."

  "—in my life. I've hurt so many people. And I realized I was hurting you, too. I wanted you to leave so I couldn't hurt you anymore, but I don't want you to leave because I…I…" He puffed out a harsh breath. "I think I need you."

  Michaela's heart went all soft. Kind of like it had when she held baby Crystal…but different. He hadn't said it like he had before, like the kind of need that came from sexual attraction. He said it softly, like he really wanted her, maybe even for the rest of her mortal life.

  "Ty, I have something to tell you." She smiled as she met his eyes. They held such warmth today, not the cold anger she'd seen yesterday. Surely now he'd understand and accept the truth. Now that he didn't want her to leave.

  He gave her a short nod, then kissed her softly. "Tell me, sweetheart. Say the words. I need to hear them."

  "I was an angel."

  He kissed her again. "God, don't I know it." Another tender kiss. "You put up with so much shit from me." Another kiss, longer, even more gentle. "My angel. Come to save me from myself. To change my life in so many ways."

  She threw her arms around his neck and hugged him tight. "I knew you'd understand!"

  "What?"

  "You understand that I was an angel." She sat back and smiled at him. "I did things I wasn't supposed to do, too. I got sent down here to Earth as punishment, but it hasn't been punishment. It's been wonderful because I met you."

  His arms went slack around her. The happy smile slowly left his mouth. His eyes—oh no, oh no, oh no—his eyes weren't sparkling any longer.

  * * * *

  The agony of betrayal wrenched Ty's insides. How could she do this to him? "What the hell are you talking about, Michaela?"

  She scooted off his lap and stood up. Twisting the tails of her shirt—no, his shirt—between her fingers she glanced at the table, the floor, then back at him. "You said…" She mov
ed around the table and sat down, as if her legs wouldn't hold her up. "You said you believed that I was an angel."

  Ty licked his lips. His body hummed from way too much caffeine. He wasn't thinking straight. He'd come home to tell Michaela he'd been an idiot and had overlooked the fact that he was falling in love with her and just maybe he'd been wrong and maybe she loved him too. He'd talked this over with Benny until the early hours of the morning. Then he'd driven into Tucson and sat in another all-night diner waiting for the stores to open.

  When he'd thought for sure she'd tell him she loved him, she goes and lays this on him.

  He rubbed his eyes. "Michaela. Where did you live before you came to Unegi? And don't try to tell me Iceland, I don't believe that."

  "In Heaven."

  "Fuck." He came to his feet and paced the kitchen. "You're impossible, you know that?" Angels. Angels, for crying out loud! "Why are you doing this? I thought—" He flung his hands in the air. "It doesn't matter what I thought. But this is downright stupid. How long did it take you to concoct this story?" He shoved his hands in his pockets and glared at her. "If this is some sick joke, you better come clean right now."

  "Joke?" She looked up at him with innocent wide eyes.

  Innocent my ass! "Yes. Joke." He stormed out of the kitchen and into her room, grabbed that damned white book out of her bag and brought it to her. "Joke. Look it up, sweetheart."

  Michaela took her book and began flipping through it. Damn she was good. She played it all real swell, didn't she? He grabbed the book from her hands. "What is this? What language is this?"

  Michaela's voice was soft, her eyes cast to the floor when she answered. "I told you before. It's called the Greater Language."

  "Who taught you to understand it? You told me you could read and write all languages. That's impossible. There's hundreds of languages, possibly thousands."