a Touch of the Past (An Everly Gray Adventure)

by Charles, L. j.

  I scanned the room, giving my full attention to the heavenly fragrance of coffee and cinnamon. A single green and white cup remained in the cardboard take-out container. I grabbed it and inhaled the rich scent, then sipped, wallowing in the life-giving warmth spreading over my tongue. Whoever bought them had gone the high-calorie route, so I knew it wasn’t Jayne. That left Sean.

  "Thanks," I said, saluting him with my cup.

  Mitch patted the chair next to him with his right hand, his face still puffy with sleep. His left hand had a death grip on his coffee, and the glint in his eyes suggested no one better try to take it away.

  I sat, scooting close enough to him that I could soak up the warmth from his body, hoping it would help me stop shivering. Nerves, or air conditioning, I wondered, vaguely aware that my brain had shifted into idle thought.

  How could I explain what happened? Of course they wanted to know. Damn it all to perdition, I wanted to know, and offense was way better than defense, so I peppered them with a couple questions. "What happened after I passed out? I did pass out, right?"

  They filled me in, the three of them, taking turns with the explanation. The gist: Annie and Parker were stable, but still in serious condition. They were sedated because the doctors didn’t have a clue how best to help them continue recuperating from their near brush with death. Unexplainable cures weren’t an everyday occurrence, so they were being monitored for any sign of relapse. And there was a lot of head-shaking going among the medical types.

  No surprise there.

  Sean asked the first question. "So, what happened that caused you to pass out?"

  I took a fortifying gulp of my latte.

  "Exhaustion, probably." That was definitely true.

  "And there was a lot of energy in the room, so maybe I had a major case of overload." Also true.

  I shrugged, hoping to appear nonchalant and innocent. "I’m not sure what happened. I touched Annie and thought about destroying the poison, chasing it out of her body. I guess I love her so much that it worked. Maybe it had something to do with my ESP fingers. I honestly don’t know exactly what happened, but the bottom line is that Annie and Parker were supposed to live. Parker…" I smiled at Jayne. "You’ve only been married a few months, so he had to get better. And it simply wasn’t time for either of them to die." My words sounded rusty. And they quivered.

  Mitch hadn’t said a word. He’d been the only one who really paid much attention to me during the healing, and he probably didn’t want to know the details. Besides, no way in hell was I ever going to try to explain what happened in that room—not until I had a chance to talk with my grandfather, and then think about it for a few hundred years. At least.

  I swallowed the last of my latte, waiting for the next question. The silence grated on me. It wasn’t like they could come up with questions that were too difficult. Heck, even I wouldn’t know what to ask, and I knew about my meeting with Kahuna Aukele. It made it easy and practical to shift credit for the miraculous recovery into God’s hands. It was the right place, anyway.

  I hadn’t done anything but stand there and sweat. Literally. That was my story, and I was sticking to it.

  A nurse stepped into the room. "Parker is restless, Mrs. Steele. I think it would help if you sat with him again."

  Jayne was on her feet in a nanosecond, tossing her empty cup in the trash and following the nurse out of the waiting room.

  Sean took my hand, and didn’t even try to avoid my fingertips. Images flashed on my monitor. Annie barely breathing, me hovering over her, his despair, and finally his joy as color flooded her cheeks and her eyelashes fluttered.

  It was humbling to watch the scene through Sean’s eyes.

  My breath stumbled. I’d been allowed to participate in a miracle, and it had rocked my world. I didn’t have words for what happened because I didn’t understand it, but I had to say something. "Whatever happened, I’m calling it Divine intervention. She’s not awake yet?"

  "Not yet," Sean said. "But her vital signs are strong and they expect her to be active within a few days. No one knows how this poison works…" He let the sentence dangle.

  I didn’t fill the gap. I knew it had left her body and wouldn’t be returning, but it was knowledge that had no explanation, scientific or spiritual. And if I tried to describe what I thought happened, it wouldn’t make any sense. And there was the other thing. What if I slipped up and spilled the news about Annie and Sean’s daughter? It was really the little one’s choice when to let her parents know about her existence. She was barely an embryo, near as I could tell, although her energy was strong and serene. A twinge of longing settled around my heart. Years ago I’d decided not to have children, not with my genetic issues, and so this child was doubly precious to me.

  Mitch tipped his cup up, draining the last of his coffee. "You know, when Parker responded to the antitoxin back before his relapse, it took a while for him to come back. He was still weak at their wedding, and that was a couple weeks after he got out of the hospital. This was different. He grabbed my hand just before the nurse injected him with the sedative, and his grip was strong. I think he tried to say something to Jayne, but with all the confusion—"

  Sean nodded, closing his eyes. "Yeah," he said, and then focused on Mitch. "It was chaos when the nurses realized the monitors were registering normal vital signs for both Annie and Parker. And then when they noticed El had passed out—"

  "And thought she’d been contaminated with the poison. Yeah, it was a touchy few minutes there."

  "Hey, I’m right here. They thought I’d been poisoned?" I couldn’t decide if I should laugh or cry. "There’s no telling what they might have done to me. Holy Mamma Mia, I’m so glad I didn’t know what was going on."

  I flashed a quick glance at Sean, then back to Mitch. "How did you get me up here? If they thought I’d been poisoned, did they put me on a gurney? That might have been an interesting ride."

  They both stared at me, eyes squinty, probably assessing my mental health and wondering how much to tell me. "I moved you in a wheelchair," Mitch said.

  Time for a change of subject. "Has anyone talked to Adam?"

  "Nope. Haven't talked to him, but both Sean and I sent him messages, so he should get them as soon as he lands."

  Sean stood, swallowed, his eyes too bright. "Annie and I should be getting married tomorrow."

  There were no words, so I didn’t bother to try and find any. "I was out, what, twelve hours?" My voice hiked up a titch with each word. What had I missed?

  "Almost to the minute," Mitch confirmed. "I’ve been watching you. Sean has been with Annie, Jayne with Parker. You know the rule, one visitor at time. I had to bully Sean to let me take his place for a couple of minutes so I could see them, reassure myself they were okay."

  Sean leaned over, punched Mitch in the arm. "How would you like it if I peeled you away from Everly if she’d almost…"

  Mitch cleared his throat. "Yeah. Point taken. When do think we’ll hear from Adam?"

  We all glanced at the wall clock as though it had the answer, and then Sean shrugged. "A few hours. I wasn’t paying much attention, with Annie and Parker being…"

  Again, no words.

  I stood, brushing my hands over my dress. It was wrinkled beyond redemption. And I smelled of tired sweat, but I’d finally gathered the courage to face Annie and Parker. "I want to go in and see them, then Mitch and I can hustle to the Ma Kai, freshen up, and collect Adam."

  Sean nodded. "Ten minutes. They don’t let visitors hang out or I’d still be in there."

  "Come get me in ten, then you can take over." Why was my voice wobbling?

  The nurse escorted me into the last curtained cubicle in a long row. My fingers trembled when I grabbed the fabric and pulled it back. It took me a minute before I could raise my gaze from the floor, up to the bottom of the bed, and then to Annie’s feet. They were so small, such a tiny lump under the covers.

  Why had Kahuna Aukele passed responsibility
for her healing to me? I wasn’t ready, didn’t understand how or why, and to be entrusted with Annie and Parker’s lives. It was either stupid or courageous on his part. And he’d completely trusted the Universe, with a capital U, to back me up, to allow me to hold the miracle of their healing in my hands. The awesomeness of it overwhelmed me. Scared me. But then maybe it should scare me. This wasn’t something to be taken lightly.

  I let my gaze rove toward Annie's head, stopping briefly around her abdomen where I knew her daughter was safely tucked, and waiting for the right moment to make her presence known.

  With a shaky breath, I finally looked at her. My best friend. My soul sister.

  A nurse slid her hand around the curtain, handing me a box of tissues. I took it, not realizing I’d been sobbing. I plopped into the chair next to Annie’s bed, holding her hand between mine, letting my fingers assess her condition. Life flowed strongly through her veins. Her heart beat in a steady rhythm, and there was still an array of colors surrounding her. Like they were on sentry duty. Joy exploded, bringing the release of happy tears.

  "I know you can’t hear me, probably don’t know I’m here, or if you do, you won’t remember. Something happened yesterday between us. I didn’t believe it until just now, was afraid to believe it, but seeing you alive and well, it’s…so…beautiful. Anyway, it’s okay if you don’t remember, but there’s something else, and I have to tell someone. You’re the only one…well, you’re it. You have to live. There’s no going back from this healing, because you have a new life to care for. It’s not just you anymore. Not even just you and Sean. There’s a baby, Annie. A precious little girl who’s chosen you for a mom. So, promise me you won’t ever flirt with death again. No more government work."

  The slip-slap of Sean’s footsteps sounded from the other side of the curtain. I'd been whispering, but he was coming closer.

  "Time for me to go, Annie." I stood, leaned over and kissed he forehead. "Take care of you."

  Sean wrapped me in a hug, holding tightly. "Whatever you did, I’ll never forget it."

  He let go of me as quickly as he’d grabbed me, the moment passing into a shared history that I hoped would never be mentioned again. Or at least not until I had a clue about what had happened to me.

  I made a stop in the bathroom to wash the tears off my face and to blow my nose. Then Mitch and I walked out of Tripler Army Medical Center and into the shimmering heat of a Hawaiian afternoon. There were dancing rainbows everywhere I looked. Sparkling in prisms where the sunlight hit windshields, and where it bounced off the miniscule particles of glass in the pavement. My world had turned into a rainbow, and I wanted it to stop. I craved normalcy. Ordinary sunlight. Gray pavement. No blasts of color from the metallic paint on automobiles.

  I closed my eyes and dragged in a couple breaths. Surely I could make this go away.

  Mitch tugged on my hand. "You okay?"

  My eyes snapped open. "Yeah. Fine." The rainbows had faded some. "I probably need to eat. And I want a shower. A long, hot, shower. And maybe a swim in the ocean, followed by another shower. I’d better ask the maid for an extra bottle of that plumeria body wash."

  The shower beat down on my sore neck and shoulders, washing away the tension, but not the many, many questions I had for my grandfather. I’d lathered three times with the plumeria shower gel, and my skin tingled. I’d be shipping a case of the stuff home.

  Mitch twitched the shower curtain open a couple inches, his eyes warm with love and dilated with lust. "You about ready to come out of there?"

  I turned the water off, confused, trying not to show it. His hair was damp, and he was wearing a robe. Had he showered in Pierce’s bathroom instead of joining me?

  "Yeah. Ready."

  He slid the curtain open, then began drying me with a thick, warm towel. The terrycloth was plush and soft, gentle against my skin. Arousing.

  "Beautiful. You are so very beautiful." Mitch’s voice was rough.

  My body throbbed with need. And doubt. Why hadn’t he showered with me? I started to ask, but couldn’t get the words past the lump blocking my throat. Did he want to end our relationship? Was it too much for him, watching my weird behavior with Annie and Parker?

  He nuzzled my neck, trailing quiet kisses across my collarbone. "Mitch, I…"

  "Sshh. Let me appreciate you, Sunshine."

  Yes. That was exactly what he was doing. This wasn’t about sex. It was about...

  He draped the towel over a rack and helped me into one of the Ma Kai bathrobes. "There’s fruit, cheese, and champagne on the lanai."

  Taking my hand, he led me outside. "I checked on Adam’s flight. Delayed. We have a couple hours before we have to pick him up."

  I faltered at the slider. Couldn’t take another step. The lanai was lined with candles, blazing bright in rainbow colors, blending with the sunlight that was sparkling on the waves like a million tiny diamonds.

  Diamonds. Rainbows. I squeezed my eyes shut. "Is the rest of my life going to be diamonds and rainbows?"

  "I sincerely hope so." There was a ripple of laughter under Mitch’s words.

  I slapped my hand over my mouth. "It was rhetorical. I didn’t mean to say that. Must have been a hangover from last night."

  Mitch wrapped his arm around my waist and guided me outside. With a tender kiss, he sat me in one of the cushy deck chairs, poured two glasses of champagne, and then he took my hands. "Whatever happened last night is part of you, and I love you."

  I bent, pressing my face against our joined hands. "I can’t talk about it. It’s so new and strange. I don’t know what to do with it."

  It was scaring me, him being so gentle, treating me like I might break.

  "Whatever it is, Sunshine, we’ll face it together. I hope." He slipped his finger under my chin, lifting my face to his. "I want to share your life, protect you, care for you…"

  My heart fluttered, the butterflies stealing my fear. My doubts.

  "…to love you for the rest of our lives. Will you marry, me Everly?"

  I needed to touch him. I brushed my fingers over his forehead, along his cheek, his lips. The images my fingertips picked up were soft and full of love. Seeing how I looked through his eyes always humbled me, only this time the love was so deep, so true, it touched my soul.

  "I love you, Mitchell Hunt and—"

  My cell rang. I didn’t want to grab for it, but with Annie and Parker still so ill…doubt crashed into me. I ran inside, snatched it off the dresser, and thumbed it on.

  Adam. He was supposed to be on an airplane that was landing here in one hour.

  Twenty-seven

  My ears filled with a dull roar that knocked the words that were forming in my mind into a meaningless pile of garbled letters. Fortunately, they didn’t escape, since Mitch’s expectant expression had shifted to a blank mask, his eyes shadowed with doubt.

  Leaving him, running away, had put the doubt there, and I needed to take it away.

  But a tiny voice in the corner of my mind niggled me to call Adam back. He should have been in mid-air over the Pacific. Warning vibrations shimmied along my spine. Something was off, but it would have to wait. For once I needed, wanted, to put Mitch first.

  I shut out the neon green number staring at me, tucked the phone in my pocket, and smiled at Mitch, bringing all of my attention and love right back where it belonged. I took his wrist and led him back outside.

  "And," I said, sitting across from him, holding both of his hands in mine, and pausing until his brown eyes warmed to melted chocolate. "There is nothing that would keep me from spending the rest of my life with you. Will you, Mitchell Hunt accept me, with my quirks and ESP fingers, as a permanent part of your life?"

  "Yes." His answer was soft, but sure, and it held the promise of tomorrow. He leaned forward, pulling me into his arms and kissed me. I didn’t hesitate, slipped my hands inside his robe and ran my palms over his chest. "Mine."

  "Yours." He caught my hands. "This part of our future ne
eds to be moved inside."

  He backed me into the room, my fingers busy untying the belt on his robe. I pushed it from his shoulders, and did an involuntary lip lick. Every inch of him, every irresistible nook and cranny called to me, demanded my touch. My palms skimmed his body. "You’re so warm. I want to—"

  He slipped a finger under my chin and tipped my face up, his mouth stopping my words with a slow kiss. When he stepped back, my robe was on the floor and his gaze explored my body, the dimple in his cheek popping out when he caught me fidgeting. "We have at least an hour."

  A flash of need burned through the core of my body, and I smoothed my palms along the sides of his torso, his back, seeking something deeper than touch. Something eternal. "I need to be one with you, to feel you in every fiber of my being."

  I reveled in the shudder that rippled through him, the muscles that tightened under my hands. His physical response to my touch was so honest and real. "You’re my touchstone with reality, Mitchell Hunt."

  "And you’re my magic, Sunshine."

  His words caught me, twisted around my heart. I didn’t want to be magic. I wanted to be normal—and then I met his gaze and saw the magic—golden light mixed with the warm brown in his eyes. Reality and magic. Us. Together. My gifts might be difficult, but he respected them. And I couldn’t, wouldn’t, deny them. Not ever again. They were a part of me and were meant to be shared. Starting now.

  I ran my fingertips over his cheek. "The real magic is that you accept me, gifts and all, and that helps me to accept them. And the certainty you feel about what we share. It chases my doubt away. Not about us, but about myself. I never really believed I could love someone, share who I am with anyone because of my gift. Because I’ve always seen what guys wanted to hide, how they wanted to use me for quick sex and then move on. Love looks pink to me, and the depth of the color surrounding your heart is almost red it’s so intense. I promise, Mitchell Hunt, to respect what I see when I touch you, to treat it as the gift it is, and to honor your boundaries."