Sara-Kate's Spirit

by Natalie-Nicole Bates

  Somehow, his lips managed to find hers. Momentarily, she allowed herself to indulge in their kiss, the feeling of his lips on hers, before gently, reluctantly, pulling away.

  “Sleep now, Reed, “she implored. “Sleep.”

  CHAPTER TWO

  Sara-Kate awoke to a completely new feeling. To be in the arms of a man. The soft curves of her body, hugged the strong, muscled body of Reed. In sleep, his hand tenderly held hers against the dark hairs on his chest.

  For an all too brief few moments, she savored the feeling, and let herself pretend that everything was as it should be. But all too soon, the events of the a few hours earlier, and the reality of the situation at hand, flooded back. Reed did not belong to her. He was a soul who lost his way, a situation she would most likely be forced to fix, and the outcome was uncertain.

  Gently, she eased herself out of bed in an attempt not to disturb him. She tip-toed from the bedroom, and quietly closed the door behind her. As she walked to the stairs with thoughts of a cup of coffee on her mind, the doorbell sounded.

  She hurried down the stairs, still dressed in her silk chemise nightwear. Through the peephole on the front door, she recognized the face of the Overnight Force courier, with her deliveries for the day.

  “Good morning,” she said brightly, after opening the door.

  “I’m glad your home. I was concerned when you didn’t open the door yesterday. I mean, you’re always home.” There was a certain relief in the tone of his voice.

  Sara-Kate’s eyebrows drew together in puzzlement. “Excuse me?”

  “I stacked all your deliveries in your greenhouse out back. There was nothing for me to pick up.” He paused and laughed lightly. “And you always have a lot of packages to pick up.”

  Sara-Kate absorbed his words, and tried to make sense of them. It was Monday. Why would the courier come to her house on a Sunday? Something was definitely off. Had Reed’s arrival triggered some kind of time issue?

  “What day is it?” she asked, even though she knew how her question was going to come across to the courier.

  “Day? Ah...it’s Tuesday.” He checked his watch. “Ten in the morning. Listen...are you okay?”

  She barely heard him. Instead, she stood with arms folded demurely over her exposed cleavage. She lost an entire day. Perhaps the answer was so simple. She expelled so much healing and comfort to Reed, she had flattened herself physically and mentally, and spent the extra day recovering from the trauma of it all.

  “Sara...are you okay?”

  The courier’s voice brought her back to reality. “Yes. I had a bit of a personal issue to attend to yesterday. Thank you for making sure the deliveries arrived.”

  “No problem. I already left today’s deliveries in the back, and I’ll be on my way with your outgoing packages.” He gestured toward the neatly stacked packages in the foyer.

  “Great, thank you so much,” Sara-Kate said with a smile, and waited for him to collect the stack of packages before closing and locking the door.

  An entire day gone, she thought to herself as she started a pot of coffee. Now wasn’t the time to dwell on it. She had more pressing things to look into. A little detective work needed to be done.

  She retrieved her laptop computer, placed it on the kitchen table, and hit the power switch. While it took its time powering up, she went to the living room where Reed’s suitcase sat. She placed it on a table, and opened it. It wasn’t snooping, she told herself. Reed asked her to find his wallet, and make a few phone calls for him. Of course, she doubted anyone waited for her call.

  Nothing looked out of place or odd in the suitcase. A few shirts, a pair of jeans neatly folded. A toiletry bag filled with ordinary items. A few blank notebooks and pens, and finally a black leather wallet.

  She opened the wallet and examined its contents. A few credit cards, a stack of neatly folded money, a few business cards. She looked at the driver’s license that bore his name and address. Reed Thayer, with an address in a city called Lockwood.

  Since she never left her home, she didn’t have a driver’s license. But she did know what one looked like. This license, although very authentic looking, was nothing like what she remembered.

  She closed the suitcase, and walked to the kitchen, and poured herself a cup of coffee before sitting down at the butcher block table. She tapped in the name “Reed Thayer” into the internet search engine, hit go, and waited.

  There was a Reid Thayer, with the name Reed spelled differently, but she quickly dismissed it when she saw it was a man in his sixties. The Reed Thayer upstairs was clearly in his thirties. There was a Renee Thayer, a Richard, a Ryan. Others as well. As she expected, no Reed.

  She then typed in the word “author” next to his name. Again, a few names popped up on the screen, but not the name she was looking for. She paused, and took a sip of the smooth tasting black coffee and savored the rich taste on her tongue, as she contemplated her next search.

  With a sigh, she typed in, “Reed Thayer, automobile accident, and Fallen Oak” with Sunday’s date, and hit go. Nothing. She pressed her lips together. Her assumption was correct. Reed Thayer didn’t exist before Sunday night. He existed at one time elsewhere, but not on this plane of existence, not in her dimension.

  To realize you don’t exist was enough to make anyone lose their mind, she was sure of it. Just how was Reed going to react when he found out, and when was she going to tell him the truth?

  ***

  Sara-Kate spent several hours pacing the confines of her home, trying to figure out her next move. She needed to get back to work. From this ordeal, she was now already woefully behind on fulfilling customer orders. Products needed to be produced and packaged.

  Upstairs was Reed. The last time she checked on him was only an hour before, and he didn’t as much as stir when she touched his cheek.

  What if he never woke up again? Instead, languishing hour after hour, day after day, lost in some never-ending dream?

  Maybe, she considered, she should call the police and let them handle it. Of course there would be a lot of questions, and not a lot of answers on her part. They would look at his identification in his wallet. When none of it was verifiable, they would label him a fraud.

  Perhaps Reed would tell them what he told her. He was a successful author who was on his way to a sort of sabbatical. The police would find no such reservation, no car, and most importantly, no one named Reed Thayer who fit his description.

  Sara-Kate stopped her incessant pacing, and shook her head. After the police, the next step was the mental health facility. When she was alive, they only whispered about the sort of person institutionalized in such a place. Back then, they called it the asylum, and when you went there, your life might as well be over. You may walk in on your own two feet, but you left in a wooden box.

  No, she would not subject Reed to that kind of possibility. He trusted her, and she would never betray that trust.

  Reed still had a chance, if she could figure out how to save him.

  Again, she thought of how cruel the Fates were, not only to Reed, but to her as well. She did nothing to deserve this predicament she now found herself. She kept to herself, she made trouble for no one. She baked cookies for the assisted living center every week, and bestowed her healing gift onto every cookie. She handcrafted healing infused candles, oils, soaps and lotions for her happy customers.

  No, she did not deserve this.

  The Fates.

  In some audience they sat, invisible to her eyes, but watching her with amusement.

  She closed her eyes, and rubbed her temples in small circles. It was then she needed to see Reed again—just to make sure he was okay.

  She went to the kitchen and prepared a cup of peach scented tea, and added in an ice cube to quickly cool the liquid. Perhaps just the amazing smell of the tea would be enough to stir him from his sleep.

  She hoped so. Yet a small voice in the back of her mind reminded her that as long as he stayed uncon
scious, she didn’t have to force him to face the truth. She quickly shook off the intrusive thought, lifted the tea cup, and made her way upstairs.

  Reed was still asleep. Just the way he was when she last checked on him.

  It had been two days. Why wasn’t he waking up?

  She placed the tea on the bedside table, sat at the edge of the bed, and surveyed Reed’s features. His dark facial hair was now more full. Long lashes lay across pale skin. Beneath closed lids she knew his eyes were the color of espresso.

  “Reed,” she called out as she stroked his cheek.

  There wasn’t as much as a flinch.

  “Come on, Reed,” she implored, this time more sharply. “It’s time to wake up now. You’ve been asleep for far too long.”

  She was about to leave him in peace when his eyelids fluttered, and his fingers flexed.

  “Reed, open your eyes.”

  After a few moments, he blinked a few times, before his eyes locked on the ceiling. Finally, his eyes moved around the room, and settled on her face.

  All she could wonder was what Reed must be thinking at that moment. To wake up after two days in a stranger’s bed, with a stranger looking at him. It had to be an unsettling feeling, to say the least.

  “How are you doing, Reed?”

  His lips twitched in response to her question, but not a sound passed his lips.

  “Can you sit up a bit? I’ll help you.” She reached across the bed over him, and grabbed a fluffy pillow. “Just try to put your arms around me, and I’ll pull you up the best I can,” she instructed.

  He lifted one hand from the top of the blanket before it flopped back down.

  This was going to be a lot harder than she thought.

  “Okay,” she spoke gently, and laid the pillow aside. She leaned over the top of him, her breasts pressed against his bare chest, and slid one arm under his, and the other around his shoulders. A warm scent rose from his skin, and caused her to pause momentarily and marvel at the uniqueness.

  “Ready, Reed?” She couldn’t see his face from the acrobatic angle of her body. “On three, one...two...three!” She focused all her strength into her upper body, and pulled him toward her. When he was sufficiently high enough, she slid her arm out from under his, grabbed the pillow, and stuffed it behind his back.

  She exhaled sharply from the effort. What a terrible nurse she would be! Was her next thought, as she looked at Reed haphazardly propped up against the pillow. To her relief, he wiggled around a bit until he was in a fairly normal position on the pillow.

  “Good job,” she praised.

  She reached for the peach scented tea, and held it to his lips. The cup was barely warm, she knew it wouldn’t burn him. He automatically sipped, and swallowed the liquid before closing his eyes again.

  Sara-Kate’s face lengthened with a frown. He was going to fall back into sleep again. But he was conscious enough to have a few sips of the tea, at least this was progress.

  “Okay, Reed, you sleep then,” she said running a hand through his dark hair. Impulsively, she pressed a lingering kiss against his forehead. Before she left his bedside, she added, “You’re safe here, try to remember that.”

  ***

  Flame colored ponytails!

  Reed Thayer woke to the most beautiful memory come-to-life right before his eyes. The beautiful flame haired woman. The child-like long pony tails seemed to belie the sexy woman wearing them. Straight from his dreams.

  “How are you doing, Reed?” she asked. Her face, her lips, mere inches from his. Even through his foggy brain, he wanted to kiss those perfect pink lips. She had dark eyes, like his own. Hers had an intenseness within them he knew he could easily become mesmerized by. He tried to lift a hand to touch her cheek, to be sure she was real, and not just another dream, but his arms were leaden at his side.

  She knew him, but how did he know her? He searched his memory in vain for a clue of how he came to be where he was, but nothing made sense.

  She help a cup to his lips, and he allowed the warm, delicate taste wash over his tongue. A faint smell of roses registered. He closed his eyes, prepared to let sleep overtake him once again.

  “Please, Reed, try to stay awake. You’ve been asleep for far too long. You need to eat.”

  He opened his eyes once again, at the sound of her voice. A lovely, lilting voice he could listen to for hours on end. Maybe if she would keep speaking, things would start to make sense.

  “How...long?” He was shocked that his voice was nothing more than a raspy whisper.

  “How long have you been a sleep?” She anticipated his question. “Three days, Reed.”

  He wondered if he heard her correctly. Three days! Who slept that long?

  “You had an accident, Reed. A car accident. You arrived on my doorstep. Do you remember any of that?”

  He searched his memory, but nothing jumped out about an accident.

  “You said you were on your way to a bed and breakfast. To be in peace, and to write.”

  It sounded familiar, like a distant, hazy memory. “I remember...something.” As he said the words, his throat ached.

  Without hesitation, she lifted a cup to his lips. Almost like she read his mind, somehow anticipated his need without his saying a word about it. He sipped and swallowed, and the pain eased.

  She placed the cup on a bedside table, and smiled. Immediately, a warm wave of comfort blanketed him. It was inexplicable. It was just her presence that brought him peace.

  “I’m going to go down to the kitchen, and make you something to eat. Is that okay?”

  He was transfixed on her beautiful face, and her question floated away.

  She laughed just then. Not a mean or mocking laugh, but a wonderful sound unlike anything he ever heard before. Maybe Sara-Kate really was an angel.

  “Okay, Reed,” she reached over and patted his hand. “I’ll be back in a few minutes. Please try to stay awake.”

  When she left the room, an acute sense of loneliness seized him, and caught him off guard. Why was he panicking? He was used to being alone. Hell, he preferred to be alone. So he had a little accident, nothing major. He flexed his fingers. Nothing seemed broken, or even bruised. He was just tired, that was all.

  But Sara-Kate, she was...unreal. This beautiful angel took him into her home, into her bed. Who would do that for a stranger? Before he could consider it too deeply, she was back.

  Sara-Kate with her sassy red ponytails. She was petite, but curvy in all the right places, dressed in jeans and a white top with tiny straps. She was beyond perfect.

  She set the tray she carried onto the bed, and lifted a linen napkin and placed it over his chest, then took the time to smooth out the wrinkles. She took a bowl and spoon into her hands, and sat on the edge of the bed. Without a word, she carefully scooped the unknown concoction, and brought the spoon to his lips.

  The warm, velvety texture of porridge passed his lips, and he recognized the taste as coconut. Coconut, and something sweet and chewy he couldn’t place.

  “It’s dates,” she said as though she read his mind again. “From my tree in the yard.”

  He detested the taste of coconut and dates equally. As she spoon fed him, he could swear he ate both every day of his life. Maybe he was starved, or maybe it was the fact this amazing stranger was kind enough to nurse him. Nothing made sense. It was like everything changed in one night. Even the air felt different around him.

  “The tree takes a lot of care. The squirrels just won’t leave it alone!” She exclaimed as she wiped his lips with the napkin.

  The sound of her voice broke up his thoughts. “The tree?”

  “The date tree in the back yard.” She set the bowl and spoon aside. “Never mind. You must still be tired. You just rest now, and I’ll check in on you later.” She went about rearranging the blanket over him. “If there is anything else you need, just call for me, okay?”

  Her smile lit up her entire face, and as he gazed at her beauty, the only thing
that continued to come to his mind was, please don’t leave me. But the words stuck in his throat.

  With a gentle stroke of his cheek, she was gone.

  ***

  Reed awoke sometime later to a darkened bedroom. There was a distinct change in him. He felt more alive than he had since arriving at Sara-Kate’s home. His senses sharpened, and some of his strength returned.

  Sara-Kate.

  He wondered where his angel was. He thought about how lucky he was after his accident—an accident he still had no real memory of—to somehow stubble into her home, and into her life.

  It was strange though, he didn’t know Sara-Kate, at least he didn’t think so. Yet he could clearly remember the feeling of her in bed beside him, the softness of her skin, his hand wrapped around hers. Her lips on his.

  It had to be imagination.

  It felt so real...it felt so right, like she belonged with him, and that he belonged with her. It was ludicrous. Still, he couldn’t shake the feeling.

  Then a voice whispered in the deepest recess of his mind not to get too comfortable here with Sara-Kate, that she was just a kind, generous soul who would pass through his life as so many others over the years. Soon, he would need to be on his way.

  He sat up in bed, cleared his throat, and surveyed the room. In reality, it was just a lovely bedroom, but to Reed, even the room radiated love and safety. He rubbed his head searching for any bumps or cracks that might be responsible for his altered thinking.

  “I’ll be up in a minute, Reed.”

  He jumped at the sound of the disembodied voice, and then he spotted a monitor on the bedside table, and his frantically beating heart slowed. Sara-Kate had been listening for him.

  She must truly care.

  But why?

  Before he could delve any more on his good luck for stumbling into Sara-Kate’s home, and her life, she appeared in the doorway of the bedroom.

  “How are you, Reed?”

  All it took was one look at this lovely lady to cause desire to pulsate within him. It wasn’t even a sexual desire, more of a need to be in her presence, to bask in the aura she projected.