`What’s next, if not ice cream?´ `I have one more thing to show you today. I think you’ll like it better than the chili dog.Ánother short drive took them even farther out of town to where the single lane highway gave way to partially unpaved roads. Nick’s truck took the trip in stride, rumbling over hardening slush and packed ice to a sharp turn-off about twenty minutes away from the truck stop. The vehicle angled up a rutted lane amid a leafless apple orchard. At the top of a small rise, Nick pulled over and got out. He walked around the truck and helped Callie climb down to the unfinished gravel drive. `Close your eyes,´ he said. `Why?´ `Because I have a surprise for you.Śhe obeyed, and he led her in unsteady steps through virgin snow. It seemed like an awfully long way to Callie who clutched Nick’s arm more in anticipation than fear. When he finally stopped walking, she suppressed a shiver that had nothing to do with the cold. `Okay, you can look now.´ The house was white with royal blue shutters and a wide brick chimney at either end of a deeply sloping roof. The wraparound porch sported matching Adirondack chairs worn to a silvery finish with age. Between the house and the whitewashed front gate sat a tiny wishing well painted to match the shutters. A real estate sign on the snowy front lawn bore the words: UNDER CONTRACT emblazoned in bold red. Callie clapped her gloved hands. `What a pretty house. Who lives here?´ `I will soon. Burns and Wright bought it last year to renovate, and I convinced John to sell it to me since he can’t spare the manpower right now to work on it. The closing is next month.Ćallie’s heart thumped as she followed Nick up the cobblestone walk to the front door. `You bought a house?´ The question seemed silly. He’d just said as much, but Callie couldn’t believe the drifter was finally settling down in a place he loved, in a home that seemed to cry out for the loving attention of a big, noisy family. `It smells a little musty inside. No one’s been living here for a while. John gave me the key so I could start making some sketches and plan the renovations I want to do.Únmistakable pride laced Nick’s voice as he opened the front door and led Callie inside. `The floors need refinishing, and the hot water heater should be replaced, but it’s got a good foundation and sturdy walls,´ Nick explained while Callie wandered through the wide living room toward an old stone fireplace. Neatly cut logs sat in a wire basket beside the hearth, giving off the faint scent of fresh cedar.
The walls were dusty but solid, and old brass fixtures begged for polishing. In the formal dining room, Callie reached up to touch a small chandelier laced with cobwebs, and the dangling crystal drops tinkled like wind chimes. `There are three bedrooms and two bathrooms, but one needs to be remodeled. There’s a full basement I want to turn into a workshop.´ `It’s wonderful, Nick. It feels like a home already.´ He laughed as he switched on the light in the kitchen. Ancient appliances set haphazardly on cracked linoleum tiles filled the small space. `Home for a barn owl, maybe. Like I said, it needs a lot of work, but I love it.´ He caught her gaze. `I wanted to enjoy that feeling while I could.Á silvery ripple of sensation went through Callie at Nick’s words. She held his gaze for a moment then flew into his arms. He crushed her against him and captured her lips in a kiss that would have set her wings fluttering. `Be with me tonight, Callie,´ he whispered against her ear when he broke the desperate kiss. In that moment, Callie’s resolve failed her. She wanted Nick. She wanted to feel completely human and to revel in it before she lost it all. Either way, in the morning, she would be different. Nick might not remember this night, or even remember her presence in his life at all, and she might not remember she loved him with all her heart, Fae or human. She nodded, and she let him kiss her until the air around them warmed, and the snow started up again outside. `Let me show you something else.´ Nick led her through the house to the bedrooms. Two small ones toward the front and the large master bedroom in the back. This one boasted a fireplace similar to the one in the living room. Crisp sheets of powder blue linen covered an old brass bed. A cord of fire wood sat ready next to the hearth. Callie felt a blush creep up her cheeks. `You’ve been busy, haven’t you?´ Nick built a fire, and when small flames began to crackle in the freshly swept fireplace, he turned to her and smiled. `I really wasn’t expecting anything. I just want to be with you today.Ćallie reached out, and Nick took her hand. She pulled him toward the bed, and together they removed their coats and damp work boots and stretched out on the clean smelling sheets. The fire crackled, and Callie snuggled against Nick, seeking refuge from the cold emptiness that threatened to engulf her. `The apple trees will bloom in a few months, and the house won’t be visible at all from the road. There’s a long trail that leads down the hillside back to the skating pond, about half a mile, and the north end of the property borders a stream with a little waterfall,´ Nick said, wrapping his arms around Callie. `It sounds magical. It’ll be a beautiful place.´ `The kind of place I’ve always wanted. I guess I’ve been looking for this for a long time. I’d just been looking in the wrong places.´ `Tell me about your wings, Nick.Ćallie looked up, waved away his quizzical expression. `You told me that someone took away your wings, but that didn’t stop you from flying away.´ `I didn’t fly away. I ran. Not much to talk about. My ambitions weren’t enough for my father. He thought I was lazy, spent too much time daydreaming about places I wanted to see and things I wanted to do. He felt a man should be grounded. A good education, a decent job with room for advancement, then a proper wife and lots of money socked away for retirement. That’s how he did it. I couldn’t argue against stability and security. He wasn’t wrong for wanting those things.´ `But you didn’t?´ `I didn’t want to spend four years studying how to put numbers into little boxes, and then spend thirty years doing a job that bored me to drink. I didn’t want to marry a girl who’d get tired of watching me leave the house every day wearing the same gray suit and the same red tie and be waiting for me at the end of the day with the same sad expression on her face.´ `Your mother?Ćallie put her head on Nick’s chest. She felt the tightness as he drew in a slow breath before answering. `They stopped having anything to say to each other. Nothing new ever happened.´ `So you left to find something different?´ `I left thinking I’d never want to tie myself to one job, one house, one woman.´ Nick looked down at her, brushed her hair from her eyes. `I don’t know if I’ve finally learned my lesson or caved in, but now I want someplace to go home to at night and someone to be there for me.´ `You’ll find someone.Ćallie’s voice broke. `I found her.´ `Not me, Nick. It can’t be me.´ `For tonight, it’s you.´ He kissed her again, gentle at first, then with an urgency that arrowed to Callie’s center. She felt it, too. This was goodbye and one way or another, it didn’t matter what tomorrow brought. She needed to feel everything for the first time and the last time with Nick tonight.
Chapter Twenty-seven
Nick felt Callie surrender, her resistance fading beneath his kiss. She became pliant in his arms. By the comforting glow of the fire he’d built, he wrapped himself around her and reveled in the sensation as she yielded to him. She met his urgent kisses eagerly and led his hands down her body. Every inch of her felt real, and he wanted to remember each soft curve. He took his time exploring, peeling off her sweater and lacy bra she wore beneath it. He filled his hands with her and swallowed her moan of pleasure when he ventured lower to help her slip out of her jeans.
He did the same and the room warmed as their bodies fused. He covered her, lacing his fingers in hers and guiding her hands above her head so that she arched under him. He slid his fingers under the pale pink panties she wore, and met her questioning gaze. He hadn’t thought of protection. He’d thought only that tomorrow she would be gone and he might not even have the privilege of remembering her. `It’s all right,śhe breathed with her lips against the skin of his shoulder. She kissed him there and nipped gently, and he shuddered at the sensation and the finality of her words. `None of this will matter tomorrow.´ The words would have broken him had he not been so close to the edge of reason. He ignored the black cloud of despair that threatened to obliterate him. Of course nothing would
matter tomorrow. Without Calliope, nothing would matter ever again. He whispered her name, and she opened to him, warm skin against skin. Joined with her finally, he held her for a moment, still and silent, listening to the flames crackle and her breath quicken. In the amber light, her eyes were gold and green and her hair shone with burnished highlights. `You are beautiful.´ He sighed the words as he moved in her and kissed away her gasps of pleasure. She surrounded him, held him deep and, with a subtle tilt of her hips, urged him to begin. He’d never loved like this, gentle and deliberate. Each thrust meant the world and he’d give her everything he had, confident she’d accept him willingly. Her pupils dilated, and her lips parted as he worked his way to the top of a wave of sensation. She clutched him, her fingers kneading his shoulders, her legs twined with his. The crest of the wave was close. With any other woman he might have teased her, played her out until she begged for him to take them both over the edge, but this time was forever with Callie and he didn’t want to play. He slowed his movements and kissed her hard as he brought them both home. She sighed beneath him, then cried his name as the wave took them both and blended them together. When they lay spent, the firelight glinted off the sheen of sweat on her limbs as he stroked her hair. `I’ll miss you, Tink. Even if I can’t remember ever having met you, I think I’ll miss you for the rest of my life.Á bright glow seeped past Callie’s eyelids, drawing her reluctantly from a contented sleep. At first she thought they’d slept until daylight. She’d been so sleepy in the aftermath of making love to Nick twice by the light of the fire. Now the room had cooled. Surely the flames had died after all this time. She shivered and huddled under the thin sheet, searching for Nick’s warmth beside her, but the bright light distracted her. This wasn’t daylight, or moonlight, or firelight. She sat up, her spine rigid with reluctant anticipation. She didn’t fear the goddess, for Freya was love and light. But she feared the cold void next to her, the place where Nick had been was now empty.
She dared to open her eyes and saw him standing by the hearth. He’d put his jeans on and held a fireplace poker in one hand. He’d risen to stir the embers and when he did, Freya appeared. Her brilliant light began as a ball of luminescence in the center of the room. By the silvery glow, Nick’s features looked cast in stone. The poker dropped from his grasp and his gaze shifted to Callie, who moved to kneel on the bed, the rumpled sheet clutched against her chest. Why would Freya choose to show herself to Nick? Callie thought as she raised her hand in a reassuring gesture.
In the next instant, a form took shape in the center of the luminescent ball, and Freya stepped through the veil of light into the human realm. Callie raised her face to bask in the goddess’s presence. Showered in beauty and peace, she felt whole and free and for the first time in so many weeks, she didn’t fear the outcome of her trial. `Calliope.´ Freya’s voice flowed over her, soothing and sweet like a mother’s caress. `I’ve missed you, little one.´ `My Lady.Ćallie steeled herself for a moment, but her curious nature won out over propriety. `Have we succeeded?´ Freya turned to encompass Nick in her benevolent gaze. He stood utterly still, seeming barely to breathe. `You tell me, Calliope. Name the lovers you have united.´ `R-Ria and Catfish«Ćallie bowed her head again. `I’m sorry, but I don’t know Catfish’s real name.´ Freya smiled. `A true love, indeed.Śhe waved her hand and an image of Catfish and Ria filled the room. They sat by the edge of a moonlit pond. He played a melody on his harmonica, and Ria beamed with pride at the man who had restored her faith in herself and helped her put a painful past behind her. His joy and exuberance had given her the courage to face her own numerous fears and insecurities and conquer them. Callie’s Fae intuition told her this. She thought of her wings, wishing Freya had restored them as well, but so far, she remained human, or mostly so. There still remained a chance of failure. `And the next?´ Freya asked. Callie glanced at Nick. She still wasn’t sure, though her instincts now pointed with more certainty to one couple above the others. `Teresa and John.´ Freya nodded and showed them John, sitting on Teresa’s couch, her injured ankle in his lap. A plump orange cat rested under his arm, purring. `Still obstacles to overcome, but they have the strength to persevere. A good choice. Your last?Ágain Callie glanced at Nick. `Diane and Farley,´ he said, his voice strong despite the paleness of his features. Freya made no comment. She waved her hand and Farley came into view. He stood behind the bar, scowling. After a moment, Andrew walked into the image. He thumped his brother on the back. `Go talk to her. Make it work if you love her.Ćallie’s spirits fell. Diane and Farley were still having problems. The issue was trust. She’d been alone too long to believe in anyone but herself. Diane was afraid to give fully, and Farley didn’t understand her hesitation to change her entire world for him. They’d fought and made up so many times that they’d both begun to wonder if the outcome would be worth the effort. `True perhaps in time,´ Freya said. `But not yet. You cannot claim them to your credit.Ćallie seemed to deflate, and Nick’s heart slammed into his stomach. They couldn’t have failed after all this. He stepped forward, willing his feet to move him into the blinding sphere of light that still encased the goddess. He’d never seen anything like her outside of a dream or in one, for that matter. She glowed from within, like living light. In her presence, he felt humbled but somehow protected. He sensed this ancient being had the power to do exactly as Callie claimed she did, yet he felt no fear, even though he should have. He tried to focus on her face, angelic, perfect and he wondered if a mere mortal were allowed to look directly at her. Her beauty was flawless, indescribable. Her eyes were crystalline and seemed to pour forth wisdom and compassion when he met her curious gaze. `What about Andrew and Hayden?´ he dared to ask. Freya tilted her head and her golden tresses glimmered. She swept her arm before her and Hayden appeared, surrounded by a visible cloud of conflicting emotions. Nick didn’t need to ask. Callie had been right early on. Hayden was too young not that others her age hadn’t found true love but she specifically wasn’t ready. Her feelings for Andrew burned hot, but the fuel was waning. `Love indeed. But not strong enough to stand through time. You have another offering?´ `We’ve been introducing couples for three weeks. Surely one of them has the potential for true love.´ Nick tried not to sound argumentative. They’d matched half a dozen couples personally. Freya shook her head. Her smile was sad, yet still perfectly beautiful. `The potential is there in many, but none of those seeds have blossomed yet. Are there any others?´ Nick hung his head, unable to continue to look at Freya. `No. But it’s my fault there aren’t. I didn’t work hard enough. Partly because I didn’t believe in it.´ He shifted his gaze to Callie and wondered how her beauty could surpass that of a goddess. His heart clenched, and a tight band of defeat wound around his chest. `Don’t blame her for my failure. She tried. She did everything she could, and I wasted time. I was too busy not believing. If you have to punish someone, just punish me. She doesn’t deserve to lose love forever because of me.´ Freya dipped her head, and it seemed as if a faint smile curled her perfect lips. `Alone, either of you would have failed. The term of the trial specified that both or neither suffered punishment. To have the fate of another rest in your hands makes victory or defeat more valuable.´ `Then give us another chance. A little more time. Please.´ `Nick, we can’t bargain. We failed. We have to accept it. And it wasn’t all your fault.Ćallie’s voice broke. She bowed her head again to Freya who reached out one perfect hand and laid long, supple fingers on the crown of Callie’s head. `I cannot fault you for failing. But I must question how neither of you realize that you did not.Ćallie looked up as Freya’s fingers trailed off her hair. She’d certainly heard wrong. `Did not what?´ `You did not fail. You have joined three couples in true love. It confounds me that you cannot name them all.´ Freya’s smile was faint but mischievous. Callie sought Nick’s gaze. Who could they have missed? He stepped forward and reached his hand out to her. `Us. Callie told me she loves me. And I love her. It doesn’t matter what you do to us. I’ll always love her.Ćallie’s heart fille
d, paralyzing her lungs. She held her breath and gazed at Nick, who looked almost as perfect as Freya, bathed in the goddess’s silvery glow. `A third couple. A love that is true. This is much more than I’d hoped for when I matched you.Á grin split Nick’s face as he twined his fingers with Callie’s. `We surprised you?´ `Indeed.´ Freya smiled now, and the light of it dazzled them. Tears stung Callie’s eyes, and for once, she didn’t mind the human frailty. Nick loved her! She would have known instantly with her Fae intuition in place. Now it seemed elementary. Freya waved her hand, and the image of Nick dressed in his tuxedo filled the space before the bedroom hearth. Callie shimmered in front of him, her wings aglow. When the light faded and she swayed, he caught her before she crumpled to the floor. `It was in that moment,´ Freya said. `A moment I took from you that I now return.´ Her perfect fingers danced over Nick’s heart. `So you do have wings,´ he said. When he turned his gaze back to Callie, he saw them again, fluttering behind her. Two triangles of gossamer light competed with the goddess for brilliance.
The Matchmakers Page 19
