A Secret Fate (36 page)

“Right. I didn’t know at the time why I picked the spot to bring Finn, but I guess I must have had you on my mind.” He smiled and held her hands in his, feeling the hard bulge of the crystal between them. “Tell me about our time here.”

“You wanted to surprise me. You joked about taking me to a different beach than the cold Oregon Coast where we almost had our first sexual encounter.”

“I can understand why it was only ‘almost’ there and why this was a much better beach choice.”

“You said you had something to tell me. You were nervous, like tonight when you told me you loved me.” She looked around; the moon was full and brightened up the small island just enough to make little shadows under the bushes. The sand sparkled from the reflection of the moon. “It was daytime then, but like now, there wasn’t a soul around. It’s even quieter now, no birds calling from above like before.” She glanced at the water; just like before, small waves lapped and settled into soft-looking foam as they spilled onto the sand.

The turquoise waters she remembered from their previous visit seemed so dark at night, now they barely looked blue. She recalled how the water played off the deep blue color of Cael’s eyes. “We made love over there.” His eyes followed her finger that pointed to the old weathered palm tree backing up against the sand ridge where they’d strewn their clothes. “And afterward, we began communicating through our thoughts.” Now they stood on the moonlit sandy, palm-covered islet holding hands and swaying.

“I should have brought you here to ask you to marry me. Again.”

She smiled. “You brought me now.”

“So I did.”

“Cael, I’m going to use the crystal to help bring back that bond. I want you to concentrate on my thoughts. I’ll be thinking about how much I want you to hear my thoughts and … how much I love you.”

“I love you, too.” He smiled and placed his forehead against hers.

***

Addison closed her eyes and breathed deeply a few times before relaxing, but Cael kept his eyes open. He didn’t want to miss anything. He thought about her wanting to have what they had before and how much he wanted to give her that. She deserved to have the man she fell in love with back and he wanted so much to be that man. She pulled her hand out from his and held the crystal against his chest right where his heart was. The force of the power almost knocked them both over. He thought for sure his heart stopped beating and then sped up twice as fast as normal within only a few seconds. His breathing became rapid and the light from the crystal was blinding until she covered it with her hand.

He wanted to be closer to her, if that was possible. There wasn’t room between them for an ant to crawl through, but he still needed to be closer. He picked her up so her legs straddled his waist and held her there. The silky wetness between her legs felt slick and wonderful against his stomach and his pants became a little tight beneath the zipper.

He started to say something when all of a sudden he saw a truck, Addison’s truck and it came out of nowhere, heading straight for him. He jerked to get out of the way before he realized it was only a vision. He heard her calling and searching for someone she thought she hit. It was him, but he stayed hidden. He let her mind carry his as she showed him how he caught her in his arms the first time he looked into her eyes and knew at that moment he’d fallen for her. Then he saw how he saved her life when she’d been taking pictures and stepped too close to the edge of the cliff, falling, gripping on to roots as she hung helplessly, frantically, calling for help.

He just about swallowed his tongue when several bolts of lightning shot out from the crystal, sending tiny streams of electric current through his arms and legs. Then he visualized the two of them kissing, their first kiss in the beach house, he knew, because she gave him that knowledge. The emotions were strong then. She’d been a little scared but curious about him. The first time they’d made love he’d been in awe of her beauty. Nothing different about that now—he was still in awe of her, but for more than just her body. She showed him how they’d made love; each and every time since the first so he’d have that. He wanted to beat himself over the head when he saw how poorly he’d handled trying to break up with her—“for her own protection.” She chuckled against his neck when she showed him the punch from Gerry.

He watched the time they’d gone to see his mother and Addison learned about her own mother. He felt a tear flow down his cheek, but he couldn’t let go of her to wipe it away. He choked back the sob in his throat when the vision changed to her sitting on the bed, telling him how Eidolon had violated her the night of the fire while he had been saving the life of a little boy. His hands automatically fisted under her legs as he held her tightly against him. He smiled with pride as he watched Addison blow Eidolon up as if he were nothing more than a toothpick. Then she sighed into him as he watched himself take her and Gerry to Maia, who lay helpless along the jogging trail with a broken leg.

Her breathing calmed and Cael saw them sitting in the bar and grill discussing their fate, how they were meant for each other, joking about it being “a secret fate” and his heart soared with a happiness he’d never known before. She showed him everything she experienced with him from the time she’d first encountered him to the moment he’d disappeared with Finn. Then the bolts of electricity stopped, the visions ceased, the warm air blew against his back and all he could think about was making love with the beautiful woman in his arms.

“It’s time to make a new memory,” Addison said, shoving his pants down to his ankles with her feet and probably helped a little with her mind. It seemed the zipper somehow came down while the electrical currents ran through their bodies. Before he could think, her lips were on his. There was no rushing, but there was no hesitation, just smooth soft motion as tongues glided and hands roamed over soft skin. She was still wet when he slipped inside with little effort or thought of position. There was no need; they fit perfectly. With her at his hips, he sank deep inside. She moaned with delight and somehow managed to force her body tightly into his so that he was so deep he almost came from the sensation. Up until that moment, he’d forgotten about her ability to manipulate objects, including herself. But as his feet left the ground and his pants fell into the sand, he remembered the vision he’d seen just a few minutes earlier. During their last lovemaking experience on this very same beach, they’d floated. He’d seen it, and here they were again, hovering two feet above the sand and still had all the force and rhythm as if they were grounded. She controlled this and it was amazing. His pace was fast and hard as he buried himself deep within her. Addison trembled against him. She screamed with pleasure and shuddered. “I love you, Cael,” she whispered into his ear and the soft vibes of her voice sent him over the edge as he erupted inside her.

***

They sat on the beach at the water’s edge in silence, mesmerized by the soft waves. Addie looked to her left. The sun was beginning its rise as the round bright orange edge peeked up from the horizon. “It’s beautiful.”

“Yes, it is. Thank you,” he said.

“You’re welcome.”

“A secret fate in Whisper Cape, huh?”

She smiled. “Yeah. It was during one of our cutesy moods.”

He nodded. “That was incredible. I can’t thank you enough.” He took her hand and held on.

“It was. You know, it wouldn’t have been possible without this.” She opened her hand to reveal the crystal and he fingered its smooth edge. It was back to its amber color now.

“We still can’t seem to communicate telepathically though.”

“We’ll have to work on that.” He gave her a sidelong glance. “You were going to tell
me
something, before I asked you to be my wife.”

“Right.” Addie placed a hand over her stomach. This wasn’t the place. She wanted to be home, just in case he freaked out. She had shown him their many conversations about babies, but still, this man with her now, the one who said he still felt twenty-five, might want to retain the carefree life-style he’d had. Yes, he loved her and wanted to marry her. She knew that, but wanting to spend your life with someone and wanting to raise a child together were two different things.

“Well?”

“Let’s go home first. I think I need something to eat.”

“Okay.”

***

“Do you want some breakfast?”

Addison placed her hand on her stomach. “Um … no. I’m not hungry.”

“But you said you needed something to eat.”

“Oh, God.” She covered her mouth and ran to the bathroom, he guessed to lose the steak she’d eaten several hours before.

He stood at the bathroom entrance, his arm propped on the doorframe. Something wasn’t right. She’d been hungry two minutes ago and now she was puking whatever was left from dinner the night before. Addison leaned over the sink, splashing water on her face and around the back of her neck.

“You’re pregnant, aren’t you?”

Drying her face with a towel, she straightened and faced him. Her eyes had dark circles under them and she looked extremely pale as she nodded.

“That’s what you wanted to tell me?”

She nodded again, as if the words were stuck in her throat or shoved aside by the stream of vomit she’d spewed into the toilet. Or was it something else?

“Come here.” He held out his arms and drew her in. She was shaking. Was she scared? Of course she was. She was afraid of how he’d react. Damn it. He hated to know he was the cause of so much anxiety for her. “Addison, I love you and I love this.” He splayed his fingers across her stomach and she began to sob against him. “Please don’t cry.”

“I can’t help it. So you’re okay with this?”

“I’m more than okay. I welcome it and I can’t wait until it’s born.”

“It’s a boy.”

“How do you know?”

“My dad told me. He knew before I did.”

Cael thought back to a few days ago when he’d witnessed Addison talking to thin air and the hand she placed on her stomach. “You’ve known about this for a week?”

She nodded again. “But not officially. I mean, he told me and I believed him when he did, but then I wasn’t completely sure if he meant now or in the future until a couple of days ago when I got sick at Maia’s. She let me use one of the pregnancy tests she’d had from before. I’m sorry, are you mad?”

“No, sweetness, I’m just sorry you’ve been dealing with this all week by yourself.” He stepped back and looked her up and down before his eyes settled on her stomach. “A boy.” If the grin on his face got any wider, his chin would fall off. “I’m going to be a daddy.”

Epilogue

“Dad?” Shane came rocketing through the front door of the beach house in well-worn high tops, his small three-foot, eight-inch frame leaping over Sadie, the sleeping, sprawled out dog in the middle of the room. 

“I’m in here!” Cael called out from the kitchen.

Shane hopped, skipped and jumped his way through the expanded living room Cael and Addison had reconstructed to support the three extra bedrooms upstairs for the family they were making together. The two-year-old white husky-shepherd mix jumped up and followed her best friend into the kitchen. “Dad, come on. Everybody’s here.”

“Okay. Hold your horses. Where’s your mother?”

“She’s outside with all the guests. Grampa and Gramma just got here … and Breena.” Shane’s cheeks flushed pink and his sapphire blue eyes that were so much like Cael’s own studied his shoes at the mention of Breena, now a pretty, sassy sixteen-year-old and quite the handful from what his mother told him. Shane was all boy, even at the tender age of six. Did boys that young get crushes on older girls? Cael scratched his chin reflectively, trying to remember his own childhood and shrugged.

“Everybody else is here too. What’s taking so long?”

“This!” Cael scooped Shane up in his arms so he could see what was on the counter. Shane’s eyes grew to the size of walnuts when he saw the cake shaped in an exact replica of a book. On the top right corner of the cake sat a little boy about the age of Shane and a smaller girl, both made out of fondant, holding hands. A lightning bolt shot from each of their free hands. Scribbled in the center with red frosting were the words, “Kid Power!” Real red roses from Maia’s garden surrounded the edge of the book.

“Wow! Aunt Maia made that? Mom is going to love it!”

Cael grinned. “Yep.”

“I’m glad Mommy decided to write a book.”

“Yeah? Why’s that?”

“‘Cause now we get to eat book cake!”

Cael laughed. “Well, Mommy’s been telling you this story since the day you were born. I’m glad she finally put it in writing so other kids can enjoy it too.”

“All the other kids will think it’s just fake pretend stuff.” Shane puffed up his arm to flex his muscle. “But we know better, huh, Dad.”

“That’s right. But it’s our secret.”

“I know. I know I can’t tell anybody ‘bout you and mommy because somebody might want to hurt you.”

“Right. And you, because,” he poked him in the stomach, “you are going to be special too.”

“And Maddi. I can’t wait until I can blow up somethin’.”

“Yeah.” Well, Cael could wait, that was for sure. “Where is your little sister anyway?”

“She’s with Mommy. She likes hanging around Reese and Quinn. She follows them around like she’s lost or somethin’.”

“Well, Quinn and Reese are pretty spectacular, don’t you think?”

Shane shrugged.

“Besides, she’s only four, so give her a break, will you pal?”

“Yeah, okay. Come on. Bring out that cake and let’s eat it.”

Shane held the door open as Cael carried Maia’s creation out to the table in the yard. It was a celebration of Addison’s first book. She’d taken up writing shortly after Maddi had been born. She’d been telling Shane and Maddi the story of a little boy and girl who had secret super powers since the day they were born, even before that when they were still in the womb, if Cael remembered correctly.