As he sat down on the bed beside her, she sighed and wiped at her glossy eyes. Christ, all of a sudden he felt like a heel. He should appreciate her honesty. It was stupid of him to ask. Addison was suffering and he was acting like a jealous dog. “I’m sorry that you’ve lost someone you cared so much about. I shouldn’t have insisted on knowing every detail.”
“No, you have a right to know. I would have told you sooner about … him, but when you found out Aiden and I weren’t a couple I didn’t want to give you something else to worry about.”
“Your fiancé wasn’t Aiden,” he stated, rubbing his hand over the nape of his neck, tilting his head from side to side to take out the kink that threatened to turn into a headache.
“No. I told you, Aiden and I are only friends. He’s been here helping me get through my loss. We’ve become good friends but there’s never been anything romantic between us, though I know he would like there to be. Please, Cael, please stay. Come back to bed and hold me.”
He wanted to give in, wanted to ignore the clothes in the closet, wanted to be with her more than any other place in the world. “I’d love to do that.” He knew he was opening himself up for a world of hurt if that asshole who’d left her ever came back into her life, but at the moment, he didn’t care. He slipped into bed beside her and pulled the covers up as she snuggled against him. His eyes quickly grew heavy and as he drifted off to sleep, he found himself back in the dream with the woman in flames. Only this time, she had a face.
Chapter 18
Addie barely registered Cael’s sweet voice in her ear. “Addison, your phone is vibrating.”
She rolled over and opened her eyes. “Huh?” The darkness in the room suggested it wasn’t morning, yet.
“Your cell phone is vibrating. This is the second time it’s gone off. It must be important.”
She sat up, swung her legs over the edge, tossed the covers off and hurried across the room where her phone hummed and vibrated against the hard walnut surface of the dresser. When she saw Maia’s name appear on the screen she thought she’d swallowed a troll. The lump in her throat was choking and her heart raced with fear. The only reason why Maia would be calling at four in the morning was if something was wrong with the twins. “Oh no.”
“What’s wrong, who is it?” Cael asked, now also on his feet and walking toward her.
“It’s Maia.” She pushed the answer button and held the phone to her ear. “Maia? What’s wrong? No. You didn’t disturb me.” She shot an apologetic look at Cael. “Okay. I’ll be there as quickly as I can.” She ended the call and turned to him. “I need to get to Maia’s. She’s bleeding.”
“Bleeding? Oh. The babies. They’re coming?”
“I hope not. She’s only about twenty-six weeks along, toward the end of the second trimester.”
“Only the second trimester?”
“Cael, are you going to stand there asking questions or are you going to get dressed and take me over there?”
“Sorry, of course I’ll take you. Is she going to lose the babies?”
“Not if I can help it. She’s having some cramping and light spotting. They’ve called Red but he can’t get there without your mother and he doesn’t know where she is.”
“That’s strange. Where could she be?”
“I don’t know, but if I can get there in time, maybe I can save the babies.”
Addison sounded so confident, so strong. So different from the woman he’d witnessed outside crying by the archway.
***
The room was dark even though the curtains were open. The sun had only just begun its ascent over the mountains but Addie could still make out Maia’s pale face as her aunt looked up when they materialized in the bedroom. Cael released his hold on Addie and she ran to her aunt’s side. Maia lay in the bed, knees propped up with a pillow under them.
“Addie, I’m so glad you’re here,” Maia cried, her voice weak and breathy, her body trembling.
“Shhhh,” Addie said. Maia gave her a small smile, but Addie thought it was forced. Maia would smile if for no other reason than to make Addie feel better. She wore a thin cotton nightgown and although Addie thought it rather cold in the room, perspiration beaded on Maia’s upper lip.
“I’m here.” Addie would not let Maia lose her children, not after everything Maia had already gone through with those babies—the way they’d helped her during that awful fiasco with Careen Faraday. If it hadn’t been for the twins’ abilities, helping Maia project her future self back in time, Maia might have been convicted of murdering Careen. Then there wouldn’t have been a wedding where Finn had gotten drunk and confessed to the murder. But if Finn hadn’t confessed and tried to take Maia hostage, Cael never would have disappeared and lost his memory. What a bittersweet and strange turn of events that had all been. Addie wasn’t too clear on the technicalities of it all. In the future—only one of many possible futures since the future is not set, as they’d all learned—the twins as young adults visit a much older Maia. With their help, Maia returned to the present in hopes of warning her younger self about what might happen. The twins accomplished the feat using the abilities they inherited from Gerry. An older Maia had come back in time and visited the present Maia several times with warnings and advice. She showed up first as an old woman, then as the twins grew in her womb and became stronger, a younger Maia appeared. Eventually the vision of Maia appeared on the day of the wedding as the same age and place in time as the bride herself, and things were resolved. With the help of the twins, Maia was cleared of all suspicion. It was very confusing and not something Addie would ever want to go through herself.
“Do you think you can do anything, Addie?” Gerry asked. His forehead wrinkled in worry as he sat alongside Maia, fingers intertwined with hers, his thumb rubbing across the back of her hand in what looked like a nervous and uncontrollable motion. He rubbed his other hand through his short crop of dark curls. He wore a dark green wool pullover sweater and dark blue sweatpants, an outfit attesting to the coldness in the room. But Maia was burning up.
“I’ll try.”
Maia looked at her with glassy eyes. “It worked before when you helped soothe the babies after that tumble I took. I’m sure you can help now,” Maia managed to say with a shaky voice. She closed her eyes and appeared to relax some as Addie touched her forehead.
***
Cael stood in the room unsure of what he should do as he watched the three on the bed. He was glad he’d been with Addison when she’d gotten the call. Though he hardly knew Maia, the worried look on her face tugged hard at his heart. He wondered how strong Addison’s healing ability was. Could it be as powerful as her father’s had been? For the babies’ sake, he hoped so.
Keeping the sheet over the lower half of Maia, Addison lifted the cotton gown her aunt wore, revealing her stomach. She laid the palms of her hands over the top of the mound. The woman’s stomach looked huge, and Cael thought maybe they all had their calculations wrong and it really was time for the twins to be born.
Gerry turned to him. “Cael, come over here and place your hands on Addie’s shoulders.”
“What? Why?” he asked, frowning to hide the surprised look on his face. He didn’t have any healing powers and didn’t know how putting his hands on Addison’s shoulders would help her.
“Just do it. Maybe combining your strength will help the healing.”
Addison glanced at Cael and nodded.
“Okay.” He did as instructed but didn’t think his abilities would help, considering they had nothing to do with healing. If anyone should be here, it needed to be Red.
He watched as a soft glow surrounded Addison’s hands. He imagined it was warm. Addison mumbled something and he realized it was the healing chant in Latin. He recognized the words although he didn’t remember hearing them spoken before.
“Vis curatio vox secundum arts, vis curatio vox secundum arts, vis curatio secundum arts.” She repeated the phrase aloud several times and then conti
nued silently, her lips moving with each syllable.
Cael’s own fingers tingled as he held onto Addison’s shoulders. He’d never felt anything so amazing and surreal before. He never dreamed his own abilities would ever be a contributor in a healing. The paleness of Maia’s face began to turn a nice shade of pink as her body eventually stopped trembling. He could see her shoulders relaxing with each word Addison uttered.
The tingling in his fingers stopped and the glow from Addison’s hands subsided. He kept his hands on her shoulders, afraid that if he let go it would reverse any healing that had taken place. A proud and powerful feeling swept through his veins when he thought about being a part of the healing process, though he had no idea how he’d helped.
“I think they are going to be fine now,” Addison said as she reached up and, placed her hand over the top of Cael’s still on her shoulder. Her gentle touch warmed and soothed all of the doubts he’d had about his part in the healing. She was remarkable. “Let’s take a look on the monitor,” Addison said.
“That’s a great idea, but I still think Dr. Flynn should come to check everything. Cael? Would you be willing to go get him?” Gerry asked.
“Sure.”
“Hold on,” Maia said. “It’s barely five in the morning. I’m feeling much better. The cramping has stopped. I think we can allow Red a couple more hours of sleep.”
“I doubt Red went back to sleep. Knowing him, he probably sat up in my mom’s room waiting for her to come back.” Cael rubbed his chin and added under his breath, “I wonder where she is?”
As though on cue, Red and Siana appeared in the room. “Everything okay?” Red asked, heading toward Maia.
“I think so. Addie performed some of her magic. I think the three of us are going to be fine now.”
“Let me check.” Red placed the wand of the handheld machine on Maia’s stomach. They all breathed a sigh of relief as two tiny heartbeats danced through the air. “Sounds good. Let’s check on the monitor and see how they look.”
“I’ll get some breakfast started. You two up for some bacon and eggs?” Gerry asked.
“Sure, but Gerry, stay here with Maia. Go look at the babies on the monitor. Cael and I can get breakfast ready. Siana, would you like to join us?”
“No. No, thank you. I’d better get back. Breena will be waking up soon and I like to be there when she gets up.” Siana looked flustered, but glowed with a sort of attractive radiance, as though she’d just had a very romantic encounter. Cael didn’t like to think about those things when it came to his mom, but he wasn’t sure if he should be concerned or not. He considered questioning her about her whereabouts at four in the morning, but decided she was entitled to a life as much as he was. If she was happy, he was happy for her. He wondered, though, who the man might be.
Chapter 19
Cael never did ask Addison about what had transpired between Aiden and her the night he came to the door. He decided to trust her. Whatever she’d told the guy must have worked, because Aiden hadn’t come around her house since that time, at least not to his knowledge. Cael had been spending a lot of time there, practically every night for, he didn’t know, maybe a couple of months. It sure beat sleeping in that tiny bed at Bart’s. Sometimes Cael thought maybe his uncle kept it that way so people wouldn’t be inclined to stay for too long. Maybe it was time Cael found a place of his own. He wouldn’t mind living with Addison. There was no way he’d move in with her until he was certain she was over her ex-fiancé, though. As long as that guy’s clothes still hung in the closet, he’d keep his distance; well, as best he could. If the fiancé ever came back, Cael hoped he’d have won over Addison by then so the guy wouldn’t matter to her anymore. He’d brought up the subject of the clothes just the one time when he first saw them in the closet. He wasn’t going to push her or make a big deal about it. But damn it, he wished she would get rid of them. Having a relationship with a woman whose ex-fiancé’s ghost still lurked around the house grated on his nerves. Why was she keeping his clothing?
Tired of lying awake staring at the ceiling, he got up, thinking a new view might help clear his head. The coolness of the night air nipped at his collar as he stood outside the house while Addison slept peacefully upstairs. He’d lain awake for several hours, unable to stop thinking about the mystery man’s clothes, and then he’d thought of his dad and the way he’d left. Addison’s fiancé probably left her the same way his dad left his mom. Why had Eric Sheridan come to Whisper Cape after all these years, saying he needed to talk? Cael hadn’t even given him a chance to explain anything. He had no interest in what the man had to say. He hated him and hoped he never came back.
He walked across the plush green carpet of grass to the archway where he’d found Addison a few weeks ago crying and trying to speak to her father. He stood staring at the odd-shaped rocks that formed the angel—though ghost would be more appropriate to the legend, he thought—and wondered again just what his father wanted. “A little late, shit-head,” he muttered to himself.
He picked up a rock and turned it repeatedly in his hand before chucking it over the edge of the cliff and into the soft foaming waves that gently touched the outer tips of the jetted rocks. The tide was out, which meant he could search the sand for the crystal again. Chances of it being there were slim, especially since it has been a couple of months since Addison had been attacked. He dematerialized from the archway and re-appeared on the moist sand that just a few hours ago had been under water. He didn’t have a flashlight, so he took out his cell phone. He’d been particularly impressed with all the new gadgets or “apps” he supposed they were called, and remembered the new one he’d downloaded a few weeks ago thinking it was cool and might come in handy someday. Well, now was the day, he mused. Pointing the light down and walking slowly around the area where he’d found Addison, he searched, kicking up bits of sand with his toes in case the necklace was buried.
He knew he wouldn’t find it, but just being down on the beach and smelling the salt in the air comforted him. He supposed his efforts were useless and started to dematerialize.
“You won’t find it.” The familiar voice behind him was soft and low, almost a whisper.
“I thought you were sleeping.”
“I was,” Addison said, “but when I reached over for you in my sleep the bed was empty and I got worried. I saw the light from the edge of the cliff so I came down to keep you company. I figured you were here more for fresh air because you couldn’t sleep than the idea that you might find the crystal.”
“You’re right.”
“Something’s bothering you. Is it something I’ve done?”
She looked beautiful in the soft light cast by the moon. He stepped to her. “No, nothing you’ve done.” He placed his hands on her shoulders and tilted his forehead to touch hers. “You’ve made me extremely happy over the past couple of months. In fact, I think I must have done something very right in my life to have met you.” He wished he knew how she felt about him and why she kept hanging on to clothes belonging to a man she claimed would never come back. Or perhaps it was just something she couldn’t face and chose to ignore. How was it that she was able to block her thoughts and desires from him, an ability not many people other than his mother had? Something etched itself into the back of his mind, the acknowledgement of an emotion he’d never felt before. He was beginning to fall in love with her and he wanted that so much.
“Are you cold?” he asked as she locked her arms around his waist and he wrapped his around her shoulders.
“Not when I’m with you.”
He kissed her, then picked her up in his arms and dematerialized.
When they materialized back in the bedroom of the house, Addison was laughing. “Wow. Either you’re not interested in having your way with me or you’ve overcome the teleporting and sexual arousal problem.”
“Oh, I definitely want to make love with you,” he said. Placing her on the bed, he straddled her. “How did you know about that? I do
n’t remember mentioning that it was an issue.”
“Oh. Are you sure? I thought you had. I must have just assumed it was a problem since you’ve always walked while holding me before.”
“Ah. That’s very perceptive of you. I did have a little problem, but it was easy to overcome once I figured it out.”
He bent down and kissed her.
***
She’d almost slipped with that little secret about his ability. Putting all those thoughts to rest in some far corner of her mind, she kissed Cael back. The guilt of not telling him about their past vanished as the kiss deepened. She let the sensual softness of his lips against hers take her far, far away to a place where only the two of them existed. She was making love to the man she loved with all her heart. Things were finally getting back to normal. Her breath hitched when his hands gently slid down her sides then back up to her breasts, as her body responded with a tingle. He teased one of her nipples between his finger and thumb the way he’d always done before tasting it with his tongue and sucking gently. His fingers tickled their way down her stomach and played between her legs, slipping slowly inside, first one, then another, making her cry out with pleasure.
As his fingers danced inside her, Addie couldn’t control the impulse to move and her hips rose and circled involuntarily with the movement of his talented fingers. Sliding the tip of his tongue down the center of her stomach, she groaned with anticipation when he reached her most sensitive spot. She shuddered as his hands held her bottom and his tongue … that magnificent tongue … did that little swirly thing, making her tremble from deep inside. Some things were never forgotten, thank God.
A Secret Fate Page 17
