Victoria’s expression was one of expectation and Avery realized she was waiting for him to begin. He forced himself to take a deep breath, made his body appear to be relaxed, and carefully placed his tea cup on the table so that he wouldn’t be betrayed by his trembling hands. He took a deep breath then smiled at her.
“It must have been nearly two years ago when I noticed I was… changing, for want of a better word. In the beginning it was a bit unsettling when I would seem to black out. That was a term I learned from your TV. I would seem to wake up without ever having realized I was asleep. At first it was for short periods of time, mere minutes. These spells were to become longer in duration as the months passed.
“When I awoke I had a vague feeling that I had been speaking to someone I didn’t know, at times and in places I wasn’t familiar with. It began to happen with more and more frequency and with each episode the mist would lighten as if the sun were burning it away, and your image would come into focus. Then it became progressively clearer until not only could I plainly see the woman I was trying to speak to, but I could remember every detail of her face when I came back to my senses.
“I grew pallid, so much so that not only was my mother worried, even the villagers expressed concern. At times, I felt weak and out of touch with my body. Then I started fading, truly unable to see my own fingers, then my arms! I was terrified until I realized I could still utilize those extremities, though they were invisible. But it didn’t stop there. There were instances where half my body was translucent. I had to come up with reasons to be away from the village during those times. Had any of the townspeople seen me in that form, not only would it have terrorized them, they would have burned me at the stake!
“Only when you were out of this house could I go back to my land, my time. It was your presence that anchored me to you, to this world. And only when you were sleeping could I write the words that would bring you to me, through the shadows, into the mist, where I waited on the other side, wherever or whatever that place was.”
“Your life, your other relationships—none of that was real in your world?”
His handsome face took on a bright shade of pink. “Yes, Tori, they were real. At least to me they felt as real as I’m sure your life is to you. You’re a wonderful writer and your description of me, my family, my home—you made it all real.”
Tori clicked the ends of her thumb nails together. “The women…?”
“As I said, Victoria, I loathed the character you created for me. It’s why I changed it as soon as possible.”
“Is that why you began writing entire chapters in my book?”
“Certainly because of that but also because my beloved mother was dying and I wanted to ensure I would be by her side when it happened.”
Physical pain struck at Tori’s heart when she remembered the night before; the last time she saw her mother, Lydia, the wreck, the police officer standing there twisting his hat in his hand…
“I’m so sorry, Avery. O God, I’m so sorry I did that to you, hurt you that much!” She began to cry. Avery moved closer and put his arms around her.
“To everything there is a season, my love. Our mothers’ seasons have ended.”
Tori sighed deeply. “Ecclesiastes 3.”
Avery pulled back to look questioningly into her eyes. “No, The Byrds, 1965.”
Tori pulled out of his arms and bent at the waist, laughing so hard she nearly lost her breath. When she could again breathe normally, she wiped the tears, both sad and funny, from her cheeks.
“Now there’s something that I didn’t expect. That’s my favorite decade of music but how did you know that song?”
“I heard it on that box with the flashing lights that you kicked when I took away its power, to get your attention. I like that song.”
Even though she was still smiling, a crease between eyes illustrated her confusion.
“I wonder if you’re merely a visitor here from another realm, brought here by my longing and imagination. Could this be some sort of early onset of dementia?”
Avery reached out and slowly took her hand and placed her palm against his chest.
“Do you not feel a heartbeat? Can you not feel the rhythm of my breathing?” Removing her hand he titled his head and kissed the palm, then kept a firm, but nonthreatening grip, so that Tori could not pull away. “Did you not just feel my lips upon your skin?”
She could feel her own heartbeat picking up speed.
“Yes, all of that’s true, real, but it doesn’t explain what’s happened.”
“Victoria, does it not seem as if each time something hurts you, you’ve sensed me in the background?”
“Yes! All the more reason to believe I’m having some sort of breakdown. I mean, my world starts falling apart, piece by piece, and each time a chunk crumbles, you seemed to become more solid, more real.”
“It took a great deal of energy and thought to make that happen, Victoria. I just wanted you to realize you’re not alone, that someone who loves you above all others is here, just waiting for you to acknowledge that presence.”
“But… why?”
“Have you not loved me since the first novel?”
She knew the longing on her face gave her away and Tori did nothing to hide it.
Avery pulled her back into his arms.
“Yes, as I have loved you all this time. You were worth fighting for, Victoria.”
She sank to the floor, tears coursing down her cheeks. Avery knelt, put his hands on her shoulders and helped her to stand. He then wrapped her in his arms and they both swayed from the emotions juggernauting through their bodies. He put a finger beneath her chin to lift her tear-stained face and began to kiss the tears away. With each contact his lips made with her skin, the more ardent his embrace became. When he could stand no more, he leaned down, tilted his head, and placed his lips over hers.
At first gentle, the kiss grew in both temperament and pressure until it took on a life of its own. Avery tightened his lips just enough to pull Tori’s mouth further into his, then he gently ran his tongue across her puckered lips. With a deep, quivering sigh, Tori opened her lips and they were both consumed.
Tori, who had lost her husband, mother, and agent who had been her best friend, who felt as if her life had hit rock bottom, was at long last home.
Chapter Eighteen
Tori disentangled herself from the sheets so she could look into Avery’s eyes. She had a question she dreaded to ask, but she had to have an answer. It would determine how she lived the rest of her life.
“Avery?”
His slow, sensual smile and half-closed eyelids nearly derailed her, making her want to throw the sheets on the floor and leave the worry about the future for later. She took a deep breath and Avery’s eyes widened in appreciation at the way her chest lifted the sheet. He turned enough to lean on an elbow and moved his face closer, closer…
“No wait! If you do that I’ll never be able to think and get this out. I have a very important question and I want you to consider all the possible angles before you answer me. Okay? We got a deal?” She stuck out her right hand.
Avery gently took her hand in both of his and began to run his tongue down the length of her lifeline.
“Avery!” She pulled her hand free. “You have got to stop doing that or we’ll never get anything done.”
He sat up more, the sheet sliding down to his hips, barely covering his obvious burgeoning desire. At the moment, all Tori could think about was how happy she was she’d created him to be so… manly.
“We could get much done, my Beloved, if you’d just drop the sheet, lie back and…”
“Avery, I am warning you!”
He pulled on a good impression of a chastised little boy, tugged the sheet up to his neck, and leaned against the headboard, as if awaiting further orders.
“Yes, Miss Stanfield?”
Tori fought to hide the grin but he saw it and returned it sevenfold.
“Ave
ry, what are you going to do?”
“Do? Do about what?”
Tori steeled her nerves, forced herself to smile, and asked her question:
“Are you going to stay here, in this era, with me—or are you going to go back?”
He brushed the back of his fingers across her cheek and looked into her eyes.
“I have nothing to go back to. My mother is gone and the villagers believe me to be dead. All I would truly miss would be Mankala. When I began to feel that there would be a day I would fade from that world into this, I found someone to love and care for Mankala as well as I did, so I know he is in kind hands.”
Tori grabbed his face in both her hands and began to kiss him, smiling into his eyes.
Chapter Nineteen
Victoria sat beside the huge stone fireplace, a red shawl wrapped around her shoulders. Beside her some of the women from town had gathered to discuss their latest book club selection. The room was bathed in a soft glow from the fire and the friendship.
Tori was grateful that Avery had convinced her to make this a working farm with everything that entailed. There were chickens, cows, a few pigs, and horses. Lots of horses. The year before she had bought her husband a gift that he treasured; a beautiful chestnut Arabian horse he immediately name Mankala. And with the money her mother and agent left her, along with the steady stream of income from the books, they could afford a lot of help. Tori loved the animals although milking cows wasn’t her strong suit.
She also appreciated that Avery had gently, slowly but surely, insinuated her into the life of the nearby town. As a loner, she’d never felt the need to be in the company of others but Avery was an extrovert, filled with kindness and love that he had to share or explode. Not even Tori had the capacity to hold all the love her husband had to offer. The thought made her smile.
The door was flung open and Avery’s presence filled the silence his entrance created. She could feel the blush covering her face at her body’s immediate reaction to this handsome, virile man. Every woman in the room was as enamored by him as she was, but he only had love for her.
He crossed the room and knelt beside her rocking chair. He gazed into her eyes and took her hand. He smiled as he slowly brought her palm to meet his lips and grinned mischievously at the sighs from the other women witnessing his devotion to his lovely young wife. He leaned close enough to whisper in her ear.
“See my love? You are truly a lucky woman! Even the old ones envy your good fortune at sharing my bed.”
Tori chuckled and stroked the back of his silky hair.
“Yes, it’s true, sweet Avery, but have you not noticed the admiring looks I’ve gotten from men around town?”
Avery’s eyes flashed with jealousy momentarily, just until he caught himself and realized she was merely teasing him. He shared her quiet laughter, then his gaze grew more serious as he stared into her face with a look that promised he would show her just how well he could love her, later, when the house was quiet and the only sounds were those of passion.
He stood, smiled at the women assembled around Victoria, then walked to the outside of the circle. Max stood and stretched his compact body and waited for his master to rub him behind his pointed ears, just the way he liked it. Avery kindly obliged the pooch then stepped past the small canine guard.
His chest puffed with pride as he stood next to an ornate crib covered with white eyelet lace. Mindless to Max’s steady gaze and the women admonishing him to leave well enough alone, he reached into the crib and picked up his sleeping son.
Avery walked back to Tori and sat on a small stood at her side. He held the baby and leaned close so his shoulder touched hers, the family circle complete. He gazed with wonder at the tiny face, soft in sleep, the long black lashes covering his cherub cheeks. Joshua’s pink mouth make suckling motions as if he were nursing his mother’s breast and Avery chuckled at the sight. As if in disgust at his father’s apparent lack of good sense, Joshua sighed loudly, eliciting a joyful, hearty laugh from his father.
Tori’s mocking glare was directed toward her husband.
“Avery, you’re going to have the child spoiled rotten if you don’t stop holding him all the time and laughing continuously. Joshua’s going to grow up thinking the world was only created for his amusement.”
“No, my sweet Victoria, with a mother like you, Joshua will grow to be strong, intelligent and loving.”
Avery turned his face to look deeply into her eyes.
“How could I have been so lucky? I have the most beautiful woman alive who loves me, the world’s most handsome, brilliant son, a faithful dog, and a happy home. Yes, God has truly blessed me and I never forget to thank Him every day. And I give thanks to you and your heart, Victoria, for creating the wondrous dream which became a reality.”
More books by
Gloria Teague
Saturday Night Cocoa Fudge is the coming-of-age story in an era of bobby socks, poodle skirts and the freckled-faced girl that wore them. It's also about the Deep South and sweetly flawed women who taught her what she was meant to be and what she was not meant to be. Their corner of the world was filled with folklore, superstition, and mystical ideas. Her grandmother believed and practiced most of these, passing them onto the next generation. The little girl's life was populated with strange relatives, quirky neighbors and mysterious bible verses that could stop the flow of blood. Being a member of this bizarre family made life worth living. These people were so fiercely loyal in their love for her, for each other, she felt they deserved to have their story told.
http://www.awocbooks.com/book.cfm?b=56
Beyond the Surgeon's Touch: One Miracle Away from Death — Ami was three years old when her mother’s killer attempted to murder her, too. The battle to save her life was fought by doctors and nurses, but it was only through a miraculous intervention that Ami is alive today. Beyond the Surgeon's Touch is filled with stories based on actual events that have been witnessed and recorded by the staff of emergency rooms and surgical suites, even in their own lives. These accounts prove that medical personnel are, after all, just human and they pray for divine assistance when trying to save a life. Sometimes those pleas are answered. These stories illustrate that miracles can, and do, happen to average people more often than you may realize.
http://www.awocbooks.com/book.cfm?b=67
Safe in the Heart of a Miracle: More True Stories of Medical Miracles — Just when it seems all is lost, that hope is gone and death is a certainty, when doctors tell a dying patient’s family to make funeral arrangements, God steps in to prove he is still in charge. Wrapping his arms around a broken body, he saves what others would have lost.
Here is the sequel to Beyond the Surgeon’s Touch. These are actual medical cases that defy logical explanation. But God’s miracles have always defied man’s logic and we are blessed because of it.
http://www.awocbooks.com/book.cfm?b=101
Table of Contents
Chapter One
Chapter Two
Chapter Three
Chapter Four
Chapter Five
Chapter Six
Chapter Seven
Chapter Eight
Chapter Nine
Chapter Ten
Chapter Eleven
Chapter Twelve
Chapter Thirteen
Chapter Fourteen
Chapter Fifteen
Chapter Sixteen
Chapter Seventeen
Chapter Eighteen
Chapter Nineteen
e
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