Show Me the Danger: The Past Life - Book 2
Page 24
“I know, Mom,” I say. “I hear you.”
“We’re here for you,” she says. “We’re all here for you.”
I look around the room at the faces of my family members and even though this is the single worst day of my life, I’m grateful. I feel the love in my life. I have the best people to rely on. There will be time to find the bastards who did this to us and make them pay. For now, though, I feel a strange sense of peace. Like I can do this. I can move forward with the help of my extended family and friends. Ali would have wanted it that way.
When the nurse returns to check on the boys, she brings in a second recliner for me to sleep in and a few extra chairs and pillows for Liam, Mom, and Joe. We all want to be together right now. Luckily, the hospital staff understands and supports that. It would be torture to have to be separated. We settle in and try to get some rest. I don’t want to disturb Leo or Will, so I kiss their heads gently and tell them goodnight without waking them. Ethan situates himself beside me in the recliner and almost immediately falls asleep while leaning hard on my chest. It feels like heaven right now.
I feel safe for the moment, so I doze off, too. Ali crosses my mind as I drift to sleep and I think of her out there in the dark and the rain. But then I remember seeing her in my dream looking happy and well. That’s all I want for her.
Satisfied for the moment, I let myself fall into a deep sleep. At first, there’s a restful nothingness, which sorely I need right now. But then, someone is standing in front of me and urging me to pay attention. It’s Dad. He’s standing in the kitchen again, just like he was when I dreamed of him the night of the break-in. He’s leaning back against the counter and waiting for me to completely focus in on him.
“Hey, Kid!” he says. He called me Kid.
He seems glad to see me. I’m glad to see him, too. I feel comfortable after our last dream communication, so I approach my dad for a hug right away. We embrace and meld together in an unbreakable bond of love which transcends time and space. It feels so good. I’m starting to get the hang of this metaphysical stuff. The dreams and past-life memories don’t freak me out like they used to. I appreciate the opportunities.
Once we’ve reconnected, Dad motions with one hand as if to show me something. In a flash, I’m back in Ancient Greece. I recognize it immediately. I can feel Dad with me while scenes move quickly by as if they’re being fast forwarded. The speed intensifies until it becomes almost dizzying. Then, just as quickly, everything comes to a stop and I’m in the little house where Ali and Ethan lived after they were sent outside of the city. I’ve seen it before, during previous memories.
The old medicine man who lived with Ali and Ethan is here now. I can see him standing on the other side of the room. He’s turned away from me, so his face isn’t in view right away. I feel Dad’s presence beside me until suddenly, I feel him lurch forward and towards the old medicine man. It’s as if they become one. The medicine man turns around to show me his face. And… it’s Dad! It’s him! Alec Hartmann was the old medicine man in Ancient Greece who took Ali and Ethan in and sheltered them.
He grins at me through his Ancient Greek face as I become overwhelmed with emotion. I’m so happy to see him here in my memory. And I’m very happy to know that he watched over my love and our child. To know that he was there and was dedicated to helping protect them is a tremendous comfort to me. Even though things didn’t turn out as we all wished, then or now, at least we were all together. At least we were trying to take care of each other as best we knew how.
In another flash, I see Dad’s face close in front of mine. He tells me, emphatically, “It’s time to wake up, George. Be ready.”
I do wake up abruptly, and am instantly alert. My pillow is wet with tears. I wipe my eyes and shake my head as if to shake off the haze which surrounded me in my dream. It’s the middle of the night. All is quiet except the gentle hum of the IV machines that my two youngest sons and I are hooked up to. I can see soft raindrops falling outside the window in our hospital room through the slats of the wooden blinds. It makes for a serene scene. But something’s happening. I can feel it.
A few seconds later, Duke bursts into our hospital room without knocking and rushes over to where I’m resting in the recliner. He’s wearing a South Lake Tahoe Police Department t-shirt.
“George!” he exclaims. “I just interviewed a pair of motorists who were flagged down by a man and directed to an accident scene in the woods near Route Twelve.”
“What?” I ask, trying to make sense of what Duke is telling me.
“It happened less than an hour ago. It was dark outside and still raining. They were driving along when a man appeared in front of their headlights and motioned for them to follow him down an embankment. They followed him and came upon a crashed Honda Odyssey minivan which had apparently slid off the road and landed in a ravine,” he continues. “As they returned to their vehicle in an attempt to find a place with cell phone reception to report their find, the man who flagged them down was nowhere to be found. They say it was like he vanished into thin air.”
“What are you saying?” I ask.
“I asked them to describe the man, and they did,” he says enthusiastically. “They said he was about 5’ 11” with dark hair and a distinctive eighties vibe about him, probably due to the thick, wide mustache he had which they remember having been in style back then. So get this... I took a notion to pull up a photo of your dad that I’d seen on one of your social media accounts. I figured he’d be a good frame of reference due to that eighties mustache he used to sport and so might help jog the couple’s memory and give us more details about our mystery hero.”
“Yeah?” I say eagerly, sitting up in my chair.
“They took one look at the picture of your dad and said that was the man who flagged them down. Not that your dad looked like the man or reminded them of the man they saw. Both motorists, a husband and a wife, were adamant that your dad was the very man they saw. I wouldn’t have believed it if I hadn’t heard it myself.”
“Oh, my God!” I say, pushing Ethan to the side and standing up quickly. “Does this mean?”
“Yes, my friend, it does,” Duke says with a gigantic smile. “Thanks to the motorists and the man who flagged them down, a rescue crew found Ali… alive. She’s in critical condition, but she’s alive! They’re bringing her into the emergency room right now. Come with me. I’ll take you to see her.”
THE END.
* * *
Get the next book in the series to find out what else happens to George and his family:
Keep Them From Harm
The Past Life - Book 3
* * *
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The Past Life Series Short Story
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Wait For Our Turn
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The Boy on Sunset and Main
Enjoy this book?
A note from Author Kelly Utt
Did you enjoy this book? You can make a big difference.
Reviews are the most powerful tools in my arsenal when it comes to getting attention for my books. As much as I’d like to, I don’t have the financial muscle of a New York publisher. I can’t take out full page ads in the newspaper or put posters on the subway.
(Not yet, anyway.)
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Also by Kelly Utt
Have you read them all?
* * *
In The Past Life Series
The Past Life Series chronicles the Hartmann and Davies families across time and space. This life-affirming story, anchored by the deep affection between George and Alessandra, reveals how the connections we share can ground us during even the most difficult times as we endeavor to learn what we're made of.
Join the family you'll feel like you already know as, together, they explore the meaning of life beyond what lies on the surface and fight to keep each other safe.
Short Story Prequel - Wait For Our Turn
Download it Free at Kelly’s website
Book 1 - Tell Me I’m Safe
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Book 2 - Show Me the Danger
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Book 3 - Keep Them From Harm
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Book 4 - Take Me to Fight
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Book 5 - Pick Up the Pieces
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In The Summer Isle Series
It’s paradise on the sparkling tropical shores of Hideaway Isle, Florida. But despite postcard-worthy appearances, there’s trouble lurking just beyond the sun, sand, and sea that promises to wreak havoc in this seemingly idyllic utopia.
With riveting turns that will leave you breathless, each Summer Isle novel features a deep dive into a different islander’s story.
Short Story Prequel - The Boy on Sunset and Main
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Book 1 - The Sisters of Kestrel Cay
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Book 2 - The Girl in Hideaway Park
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Book 3 - The Man at Nimbus Marina
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In the Rosemary Run Series
In the charming Northern California town of Rosemary Run, there's trouble brewing below the picture-perfect surface. Don't let the manicured lawns and stylish place settings fool you. Nothing is exactly as it seems. Secrets and lies threaten to upend the status quo and destroy lives when— not if— they're revealed.
Short Story Prequel - Her Troubled Mind
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Book 1 - Her Deepest Fear
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Book 2 - Her Hidden Past
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Book 3 - Her Boldest Lie
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Book 4 - Her Darkest Hour
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Book 5 - Her Buried Secret
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Book 6 - Her Worst Mistake
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Book 7 - Her Silent Misery
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About the Author
Standards of Starlight Books
Kelly Utt
Kelly Utt writes emotional novels for readers who enjoy both suspense and sentimentality. She was born in Youngstown, Ohio in 1976.
Kelly grew up with a dad who would read a book on a weighty topic, ask her to read it, too, and then insist they discuss it together, igniting her passion for life's big questions. That passion is often reflected inKelly's novels, giving them a depth which leaves readers wanting more and thinking about her stories long after the last lines are read.
Kelly holds a Bachelor’s degree in psychology from the University of Tennessee, Knoxville and she studied graduate-level interactive media at Quinnipiac University.
She lives in the Nashville suburb of Franklin,Tennessee with her husband and sons.
www.kellyutt.com