by Jo Leigh
“Six to twelve hours,” she said honestly.
His smile slipped, but then he nodded. “I’ll take what I can get.” Then he turned his attention back to Prissy. “I will help you see your parents again, okay?”
She nodded enthusiastically. “Okay.”
Celeste noted how at ease Dax was with the little ghost. He obviously knew that crouching to her level would make her more comfortable; he was the type of guy who would remember those kind of little things, the type of guy who paid attention to details. Celeste wondered if that trait carried over to other aspects of his life. Was he always that in tune with what people needed? Would he be that in tune to what his lover needed?
She swallowed. Yes, he would.
She could hardly wait.
Prissy, oblivious to the sensual tension filling the room, rattled, “My sister, Cassie, she went over already, you know, to see Granny. But I just want to see Mama and Daddy one more time, and maybe hug them, if I can. Can I?”
“Yes,” Dax said, his voice thick with emotion-for the little ghost, or for Celeste? Or both?
“Ms. Adeline said you can help me get back to them. I was scared to come down the dark path at first, but then Ms. Adeline found Celeste, and she kept me from being afraid.”
“I’m glad she did,” he said, then those hazel eyes focused on Celeste once more. “Very glad.” There was no denying that his words were spoken more to Celeste than to Prissy, and the desire in his tone was unmistakable.
“Do you know them? My daddy and mama? My daddy’s name is Stanton, and my mama’s name is Rebecca.” Prissy’s pigtails bobbed with every word.
She wore clothing similar to what her twin had been wearing, except where hot-pink bows had adorned Cassie’s head, bright yellow ones topped off Prissy’s brown hair. And where Cassie’s dress had been yellow trimmed in pink, Prissy’s was hot pink trimmed in yellow. Celeste imagined the twins together, in their matching dresses and identical angelic faces, and was sure that, in their parents’ minds, they were unique treasures.
Celeste wondered where they had been going when they died. They were dressed up, maybe for church?
She glanced down at the glowing white satin gown that covered her body. Last time she came to Dax, she’d had on the jeans and tank that she’d been wearing when the bus crashed. Why had she changed? And how?
Prissy continued talking, but Celeste wasn’t listening; she was surveying the way the young girl’s body glowed. A bright, almost golden-yellow light illuminated Prissy’s entire body; in contrast, Celeste’s body was cloaked in a pale, creamy luminance.
Was the difference because she was an adult, and Prissy a child? Or was there more to it?
Prissy’s sobs quickly yanked her away from her thoughts. “I miss them.”
Celeste’s heart ached for the little girl’s parents, specifically for her father, who Adeline had said was driving the car when it crashed.
“Can you see them now?” Dax leaned toward the girl, but didn’t reach out to touch her, Celeste noticed. She wondered if that was why she’d been called to help Prissy, and Chloe, with crossing. Right now, as Dax spoke to the little girl, her hand gripped Celeste’s, as though she was fearful to let go. It had to be scary for these young children to try to complete these tasks on their own. Even with a medium to help, they’d need someone who could hold their tiny hand, someone…like Celeste. She returned Prissy’s squeeze and smiled down at the little girl.
Prissy nodded at Dax. “I saw them as soon as we got here,” she said. “Right after Celeste and I left Ms. Adeline and then came here, I could see them. And I need to talk to them.”
“Where are they?” Dax asked, still at Prissy’s eye level.
“At the hospital,” she said, her black eyes glittering. “Ms. Adeline said to tell you it’s the one where your brother works. That’s where Daddy is.”
Dax nodded. “Where Gage works. That’s Ochsner, in New Orleans. Tell me something, Prissy. Can you still see them, right now? Because if you can see your parents now, you can go to them at the hospital. All you have to do is think about wanting to be with them, and you’ll go directly to that room. You can stay beside them and try to comfort them.”
“But they won’t know I’m there,” she said. “Not unless you come too, so you can tell them.”
“Some people don’t realize when a spirit is near, but most do, particularly if it’s someone they care about and love, the way your parents love you.”
“But I need you to come, so I’m sure that they know I’m there. I want them to know,” she said, her small face set with fierce determination.
“I’m going to leave right now to go to the hospital,” he assured. “But Ochsner is a good hour’s drive from here, so it’ll take me a little time to get there. If you want to come with me in my car, you can, or you can go on ahead and stay with them, until I get there. When I’m there, I’ll help you communicate with them.”
“Then I can talk to them, you mean?”
He smiled. “Yes.”
“Okay. Then I’d like to go to them now, please,” she said, and tilted her head toward Celeste. “You’ll come too, won’t you?”
“Of course I will. I won’t leave you,” Celeste said calmly, though her emotions were in turmoil. An hour’s drive. Another hour of her time with Dax.
Prissy turned back to Dax. “So we’ll see you in an hour, right?”
“I’ll see you in an hour.” He stood and looked pointedly at Celeste. “Six to twelve hours, right?”
“That’s what Adeline said.”
His smile faltered slightly. “Okay. Then we’ll make the most of them.”
“Yes.” She swallowed. “Dax, after we help Prissy…”
He waited. When she didn’t continue, he prompted, “After we help Prissy…”
“I need you-”
“Come on, I see them!” Prissy excitedly pulled on Celeste’s hand. The two of them instantly left the plantation, and Dax, and arrived at the hospital room.
Prissy ran to the man in the bed, and the woman sitting at his side, while Celeste’s head reeled from the rapid change in scenery. Her body suddenly felt as if she’d run a marathon. She moved to the opposite side of the room, found a chair and sat down. She was exhausted, already tired and drained from her brief time here, and she hadn’t even touched Dax yet.
She had an hour before he would arrive at the hospital, and she needed to rest while Prissy spent time with her parents. Otherwise, she might not have the strength to even talk to Dax again, much less anything else.
Dax. She’d been prepared to tell him that she needed him to help her, too, to show her how everything could be between a man and a woman, when they truly bonded, truly joined souls. Prissy’s exclamation had halted her midsentence. But really, she didn’t need any more words. Those three said it all.
I need you.
3
“CELESTE. CELESTE, wake up.” Dax’s voice echoed in her thoughts, and she opened her eyes to see him looking down at her. His hands were on the armrests of the hospital chair and he leaned above her, so close, but not nearly close enough.
“Is she okay? I just thought she was tired,” Prissy said, moving from her spot beside her father’s bed to stand by Celeste’s chair.
“You’re all right?” he asked Celeste, tilting his head as he looked into her eyes.
“Yes,” she said. “I guess I was more tired than I thought.”
“Who’s Celeste?” Prissy’s mother asked Dax. She looked past him to what must have appeared to her eyes to be an empty chair.
“Someone else is here?” Prissy’s father asked from the bed.
Dax’s dark brows furrowed. “I’ll be right back.” Then he moved away from Prissy and Celeste and briefly explained to the little girl’s parents about the spirit that had accompanied their daughter to this side.
Prissy scooted closer to Cele
ste and excitedly chatted nonstop while he was speaking. “Dax said he’d never seen a ghost sleep before. He tried to wake you up when he first got here, but you were so sound asleep that he decided to let you rest while he talked to my mama and daddy, because he said you must be tired. Guess what, they can feel me when I touch them. Did you know that? Isn’t that amazing? And now they know that I’m okay, and that Cassie’s okay.” She tilted her head. “You are just tired, right? You’re not sick or anything, are you? You’ve been asleep a long time.”
“No,” Celeste said. “I’m not sick.” Could ghosts even get sick? She didn’t know. If asked before now, she’d have said they couldn’t, but she’d also have wagered that ghosts didn’t sleep. And she’d been asleep…a long time? “How long? Prissy, how long did I sleep?” she asked, unable to control the tinge of panic in her tone.
How much time had she lost?
“I don’t know,” Prissy looked up at Dax, who’d returned to stand beside her. “She wants to know how long she slept.”
“Just long enough for me to drive here and talk with Prissy’s folks. An hour and a half, I’d say. Celeste, are you okay?”
She nodded. She did feel better now, though she was disappointed that some of her precious time on this side had been wasted. Celeste glanced out the hospital window to see that it was now dark, definitely evening. When they’d arrived here, there had been some daylight outside; she was sure of it. “What time is it now, Dax? How much time do we have before I have to leave?”
“It’s just past eight. You and Prissy got to the plantation around six,” he said. “So, based on what you told me, midnight at the earliest, or six in the morning at the latest.”
“I hope it’s the latest,” she said and was rewarded with one of his sexy grins.
“Trust me, I do too.”
She straightened in the chair, and he backed away, giving her room to stand, being careful not to touch her while she did.
“You’re sure you’re okay?” he repeated.
“Yes, much better now.” She was telling the truth. That nap had given her more energy, and she was grateful for that, even if it did use up some of her time. Besides, Dax had been en route to the hospital, so that was the perfect opportunity to rest.
“You’ll grow weaker the longer you’re on that side, and with each interaction with one who’s living, you’ll grow weaker still. It all depends on how much strength your trip takes from your spirit, and how much you interact with the living.”
Was Celeste weak from the initial trip to this side, or was she weak from interacting with Dax? She prayed it was the trip. Because they’d barely interacted at all…yet.
“Are you leaving?” Prissy asked.
Dax nodded. “Yes, but you can stay with your folks until it’s time for you to cross.”
“Prissy’s staying with us a while?” her father asked. His face was bruised from the accident, and a line of stitches creased his right brow, but he still managed a smile at the thought of having one of his daughters with him a little longer, even if only in spirit.
“Prissy was given a day to visit with you, and at the end of that time, she’ll cross. But until then, she can stay with both of you here,” Dax said.
“Thank you. Thank you for letting us know that she and Cassie are okay, and will be okay until we see them again,” her mother said, her voice quivering as she spoke.
Prissy moved back by the bed and kissed her father’s cheek. He moved his hand to the very spot she’d touched. “I feel her.” Then the little girl turned to her mother and hugged her. The woman closed her eyes and whispered, “I do too.”
“We’ll leave you alone now.” Dax moved toward the door and Celeste followed.
They’d barely shut the door when he said, “Come on, I don’t want to waste any of our time.” He turned and started down the hallway, darting his attention from room to room, until finally, at the end of the hallway, he found what he was evidently looking for, an unoccupied hospital room. “In here.”
Celeste followed him inside, then watched him lock the door. Turning, he thoroughly inspected her, starting with her face, then down her glowing body.
“You’re really here.”
She could see the questions, the confusion, clearly in his eyes. He had no idea how she’d returned, or whether she’d be able to come back again, and unfortunately, neither did she. But Celeste didn’t want to waste time trying to figure it out. She didn’t want to return to the middle with regrets over not telling him what she so desperately wanted him to know. “Dax, I-”
“Wait.” He still leaned against the door, as if he suspected that somehow someone would come in and ruin this moment, this perfect moment, with the two of them together, and completely alone. Celeste felt the same way. She was finally with him, and it seemed, indeed was, too good to be true. Eventually, she’d be pulled away again. The impulse to simply grab him, kiss him, be with him, was so strong…but the impulse to tell him everything she was feeling, everything she’d felt for him since she’d left last time, was equally strong.
His voice was deep and urgent as he spoke. “I know you said you should be here for hours, but I don’t want to bank on anything. There’s something I’ve wanted to tell you, something I should have said the last time, before you left in the summer.”
Celeste knew it wasn’t possible, but she could swear that she felt her heart racing as he spoke.
“Celeste, I haven’t stopped thinking of you. I’ve wanted to kick myself for not taking advantage of the days we had together. That week with you and Chloe, well, it meant more to me than any other assignment I’ve had, not only because we helped Chloe cross over, but because I spent those days with you, getting to know you, being around you, watching you with Chloe…and feeling you with me.” Dax swallowed, and his jaw tensed before he spoke again. “The last two months, since you left, I’ve been a real ass to be around.” He gave her that crooked grin. “Just ask my cousins. Hell, I thought you were gone, crossed over, completely. And I didn’t think you could come back after you crossed.”
“I don’t think I could have come back, if I had crossed over. But I didn’t.”
“Why not?” he asked, then smiled again, and again, she sensed her pulse racing. “And just so you know, I’m asking so we can try to keep it from happening. I don’t want you to cross Celeste. We haven’t had enough time together, not nearly enough.”
She looked down to verify that she was, indeed, still glowing, still a spirit instead of living, breathing flesh and bones. To her dismay, the glow was definitely still there, and even a little brighter than before, more pale yellow than creamy white. She frowned.
“What is it?” Dax asked. “Tell me.”
“For a moment, I thought that maybe-maybe I was alive again.” She looked back up and was touched by the heartfelt emotion in those hazel eyes. “But that isn’t possible, is it?”
“If it is, I’ll find a way to make it happen. I swear it. And trust me, I’m a firm believer, especially now, that you can’t rule out anything about the other side.” He stepped away from the door and moved closer to Celeste, so close that she could feel his breath against her lips.
“How can I keep you here, or how can I help you come back again? Just tell me, before you have to go. I don’t want to lose you again.”
“Dax,” she whispered. “I-I don’t know why I didn’t cross. Part of me feels like it’s because my spirit simply wasn’t ready to head to the light, but another part thinks that…”
“What?” he asked, so close now that she could see his pulse throbbing solidly at his throat.
She licked her lips and thought of how that pulse would feel against her mouth. “Part of me feels like I didn’t cross because I couldn’t leave you.”
The pulse at his throat grew quicker still, and Celeste couldn’t hold back anymore. She longed for him to move even closer, for that sexy mouth to touch hers,
and then for his body to touch her, truly touch her, from head to toe, so that no part of her wasn’t completely engulfed by Dax. She burned to feel even more, to have him inside of her, filling her, making her complete just once before she had to cross again.
“Dax, I know you can’t touch me,” she whispered, “but those rules don’t apply to me. And I’ve been aching for this.” Her hand trembled as she tenderly brought her fingertips to his cheek.
Heat, powerful scorching heat seared through her body the moment she touched him, warming her, filling her, exciting her. She eased her hand along his face and reveled in the coarse stubble against the pads of her fingertips. Each and every sensation fueled her desire. She didn’t know what was happening, didn’t understand how merely touching him caused her to gasp, made her chest clench tight, and created an intense spiraling need deep within her core…but it did. And she didn’t want to stop.
“Celeste.” His voice was a low, guttural growl. Whatever was happening wasn’t one-sided, and the knowledge that she was having the same effect on him added even more fuel to the flame.
“I want you,” she said, moving her hands to the buttons on his shirt. She fumbled with the first one, and then the second, while Dax’s hands fisted at his sides.
“I want-I need to touch you, Celeste,” he said, and she saw his hands open, then reach toward her.
She swallowed, shook her head. “No, Dax, please. Don’t. Don’t do anything that could cause them to make me leave. I can touch you. Just let me touch you, just once.” Her hands continued to move down the buttons on his shirt, while his clenched into tight fists again.
“Hell, Celeste, I want you too.”
She pulled the two sides of his shirt apart and slid her palms against his solid chest, then she leaned toward him, rested her head against his warmth and watched the way her glowing hair shimmered beside his muscled flesh. His heart pounded fiercely, and she took pleasure in the steady vibration that emphasized the life still bristling within him. She wanted to feel that way again, wanted to feel alive again, and she believed she knew how to make that happen. “I want to make love to you, Dax, before I go.” She turned her head and kissed the pulse in his neck, and felt the hardness of his erection against her stomach.
