Garda - Welcome to the Realm (13 page)

I turned to him, “How?”

“That I don’t know, but you need to think of something, and quickly. With the way she is remembering and the way she is able to phase so quickly, I am concerned that she will come amongst her other abilities quickly, and then we might have a very serious problem.”

“Do you think she has the ability to walk among them mortally yet?”

“I’m afraid that if she can’t already, she will be able to soon.” He turned to face the now dark water.

A shiver raced down my spine, “That is what I am afraid of, too.”

~ Mitchell ~

For the rest of the day, I sat quietly on the front porch and thought about what had happened. Beth sat with me for a while, and I finally explained to her what had exactly transpired with the incident. I figured I at least owed her that.

She left me alone when I was done, bringing me food and only interrupting my thoughts when she handed me the phone. Joe had been calling relentlessly.

“How you doing, man?” he asked after I said hello.

“Numb,” I mumbled.

“Yeah, I’m sure you are,” he answered, and I heard music playing in the background, sounded like a Led Zeppelin tune.

“I just left the station; the funeral is arranged for Friday. Did Beth tell you I called earlier about it?”

“Yeah, she told me they wanted me to carry.” I watched a squirrel run across the road and up a tree.

“You going to? They asked me to carry also.”

“I don’t know if I can, Joe.”

“Oh, come on! You were having an affair with the woman! It’s the least you can do.”

I sat up straight, tensing, and turned toward the screen door to see if Beth was there. “I was not, Joe, and you need to keep that shit to yourself and not go starting rumors.”

“Aw, come on, don’t you know everyone knows you two were meeting all the time? Someone even saw you two kissing in the park.”

This was exactly what I didn’t need. I had never wanted to tarnish her reputation. “Joe, let it go. No one saw anything, and people need to find something else to talk about.”

“Whatever, Mitch, you gonna do it or what?” he snapped back at me.

“What the hell is your problem? Ever since Corey died you have been a total asshole.”

He was quiet for a moment, “You’re not the only one who is sorry she’s dead.”

His words were cold, and I wondered why. Was Corey more important to him than I knew? Was he jealous of what I had with her?

“Fine, I’ll do it.”

He acknowledged my answer and then said he’d call later with the other arrangements.

I set the cordless phone next to me and leaned back on the cushion. Beth walked out the door, watching me closely. Had she heard anything? Had I said anything? I didn’t think so, but my head wasn't on exactly straight anymore.

“Your cell phone has been beeping all afternoon. I figured maybe you might want to see who has been trying to get in touch with you.” She held out my iPhone, and I took it from her. Had I erased Corey’s last messages?

She smiled softly and turned to go back inside. I turned on my screen to find fifteen missed calls, six voice messages, and twenty-nine text messages. Scrolling through the messages, I found that I had not deleted our last conversation. I glanced up at the door, had Beth read it? Damn.

My finger rested over the delete button, but I just couldn’t manage to remove it from the device. I knew I would have to, but I just couldn’t do it yet.

I skimmed through the rest of the text messages, and sent back a few replies. I wasn’t ready to listen to the voicemails yet, they could wait another day.

 I lay my head back against the cushion and stared at a tree in the yard. Once again Corey’s face came to mind, blocking the view of the foliage. I couldn’t believe she was really gone.

~ Corey ~

When everyone finally left me alone, I phased back to my room and giggled as I realized how easy and fun phasing was. I embraced the quiet that filled my room and wandered around the kitchen checking in the cabinets and fridge. A bottle of my favorite wine stood on the top shelf, I snagged it.

After the day I had just had—I stopped suddenly. Had it only been a day? Time was strange here, I couldn’t be sure.

Inside a drawer, I found an opener and then pulled a glass from one of the cabinets. With the crystal filled almost to the rim, I stepped out onto the balcony again.

I sat down in a cushioned glider and allowed my feet to slowly push me back and forth, a gently swaying rhythm that kept time with the sound of the waves lapping the shore below.

The wine tasted heavenly, and I relished the cold liquid as it slid down my throat.

Memories of my life were ticking through my mind: learning to ride a bike, dinners with my parents, graduation from high school, my first kiss with a boy named Steve in fourth grade, and my last kiss—with Mitch.

I heaved a sigh and leaned my head back.

“Pretty heavy sigh, Coralenna.”

I whipped my head to the side where Brock stood. I raised my eyebrows. “I thought I was going to get some peace.”

He smiled roguishly. “Mind if I join you?” his voice was low and husky. I wanted to say no, but just maybe I could find out more about this daunting man standing before me.

“Would you like a glass of wine?” I allowed my visual exploration to travel over the powerful legs that filled his jeans to perfection.

“Sure, white Merlot, right?” He took a seat next to me in another glider.

I watched him fill the seat before I spoke again, “I assume you know that is my favorite?”

“Who do you think put the bottle in your fridge and the other items in your quarters?” The grin he shared was playful and just a touch seductive.

I fought a shiver and stood to get his wine. As I poured his glass, I wondered why there was such an intense chemistry between us. Did people in the Realm have relations like living people did?

I frowned as I carried his glass outside. The answer didn’t matter; I had no intentions of getting involved with him.

Once seated back in my glider, we lapsed into a comfortable silence. The moon shone down on us, and the stars were brighter than I had ever imagined.

“How long have you been here, Brock?” I finally broke the silence.

“Several years. I am one of the newer Gardaí.” He sipped his wine.

“Do you like what you do here?”

He turned to me, the brightness of the moon reflecting off of his face, throwing dark shadows over the sharp planes of his cheek. The darkness hid the color of his eyes, but I realized I already had that detail memorized.

“What’s not to like? You get to guide people to be better, to make the right choices. You give them an afterlife.” His voice was silky and raspy at the same time and it vibrated through my ear canals, down my neck, and right into my chest.

“I guess that’s good.” I filled my mouth with another taste of wine and swallowed slowly. Brock watched me.

“How long have you been watching over me?” I turned and surveyed the darkened land before me.

“From the moment I finished my training. You were the first one they assigned me to,” he laughed. “You were pretty easy to watch over,” his voice grew lower, “until recently.”

I turned to him, “What do you mean, ‘Until recently’?”

I saw him frown as he contemplated my words and waited to see if he would answer the question.

His shoulders dropped slightly, as if a decision had been made that he did not want to make.

“I know your memory is coming back, Coralenna. I can feel it, feel the changes inside your mind. I know you well.” He cast a quick glance my way. “You always made the best decisions, always thought before you did anything, until—”

I could have denied remembering, but Brock was right, I should not lie. “Until Mitch?”

He leaned forward, resting his arms on his thighs, and gently twirled his wineglass between his knees with his right hand. His face turned my way, “Yes, until Mitch.”

I stood up and tipped my glass back to finish my drink in two unladylike gulps. After setting my glass down on the table between us, I walked to the railing and leaned on it.

“I know that I made bad decisions, but I couldn’t help myself. There was this crazy chemistry between us.” Kind of like the zings I feel from you, I thought but did not add out loud. I didn’t hear him move up behind me.

“Kind of like what runs between us?” The sound of his voice was so close it resonated. I allowed it to wash over me.

“What chemistry?” I whispered into the air.

“Coralenna, look at me.” While his voice was soft, the power of his command was obvious, and I turned despite myself.

“What did I say about lying?”

I hung my head, knowing he was right.

“You might not want to admit it, but it’s there.” The sound of his voice swelled around me, tugging me closer, and I stepped forward, meeting his stare, drawn to him.

“Yes, I feel it, but I don’t understand it.” We were less than a foot apart. He stood four inches taller than I did, and I wanted to run my fingers through his dark hair and pull his face to mine. The thought lasted until Mitch’s face flashed through my mind.

I turned from him, suddenly feeling guilty. “But I love Mitch.”

He grunted. “If you haven’t noticed, he’s alive and you’re dead.”

I spun on him, “So just because I’m not alive anymore, I should forget the way I feel about another man?”

His jaw locked, and the muscle on the right side of his cheek twitched. “Yeah, he’s not part of your life anymore. You need to let him go.” He contemplated for a moment, “Let him go and find out what we have here.” His head turned and his face came back to mine almost pleadingly.

At that moment, I wanted to know what we had, but I couldn’t keep the memories of what I had shared with Mitch from invading my mind.

I shook my head, “I can’t, Brock.”

Anger mixed with hurt as the emotions crossed over his features, “Why?”

“Because I don’t know you and because I love him.”

He snorted an angry laugh, “You love him? You love a married man who is alive and walking among the living; the same one who was about to cheat on the wife that he vowed to love forever?” He turned away, but his words were like a slap in the face.

“He was going to leave his wife.” I immediately cringed as the words left my mouth. I realized how horrible they sounded.

“Yeah, so breaking up a happy family was worth it to you?”

“He wasn’t happy with her!” my voice rose. Why was I trying to explain it to him?

“If you had stayed out of it, he would have gotten over it. Now you just made it harder for him to forgive her.”

“I did not!”

“What? You think that almost making love to him by the stream didn’t make things worse? Or telling him that you love him? Dammit, Corey, you have confused the hell out of him! It’s going to take years for him to get over all of this and to forgive himself for what he did.”

My jaw hung open, “You were there? By the stream?” The words barely left my mouth, but I already knew the answer.

“Of course I was there! I was the one that guided you to stop.” He put his hands on his hips, staring down at the ground.

My face burned at the thought of him watching such an intimate moment. The memory of why I had stopped, feeling that I could not engage in this type of a relationship when he had a wife. He had planted that thought.

“I was also the one that comforted you when you knew you needed to let him go, and I stood beside you when you saw his family. Who do you think eased your pain at night so you could sleep?”

I blinked at him, not knowing what to say.

“You have to let him go, Coralenna. You can’t be a part of his life anymore. You have to find a way to give him the peace to move forward and forget you.”

“How am I supposed to do that? How can I ease his pain when I feel it so intensely and mirror it in my own soul?” I cried out to him.

“You will have to find a way, or you will be joining the Os Malos.”

I jerked back. “What?”

He shook his head and stepped away from me.

“You can’t just say that and not answer me.” I watched him pace for a moment.

“Coralenna, I can say no more. I should not have said that, but you need to know you walk a very thin line right now. Let him go and come to me.” He held his hand out in front of him. “You might not know me as well as I know you, but you will.”

 His palm was turned up, beckoning me to step closer. My fingers twitched at my side with the urge to reach out.

“No.” I stepped back until I felt the railing behind me and crossed my arms over my chest. His hand dropped slowly to his side.

“Bad decision, Coralenna.” Emotion tainted his voice.

“I’ll take my chances.” I lifted my chin higher and squared my shoulders.

“So be it.” With those words, he phased away.

My shoulders fell, and my body trembled. How could I let Mitch go when every fiber of my being felt attached to him? I knew the feeling was wrong, and somehow I knew that Brock spoke the truth. My decision could change the course of my afterlife.

Was I prepared for that?

~ Mitchell ~

I finished buttoning the shirt of my neatly tailored and pressed class A uniform with shaky fingers. I stood before the mirror over Beth’s dresser and carefully clipped my tie into my collar.

I watched Chase walk slowly into the room through the reflection, “Hey, Dad, can I ask you a question?”

With my tie now straight, I picked up the silver clip to hold it neatly in place, “Sure, son, what’s on your mind?”

He climbed onto the bed and studied my duty belt for a moment, “What happens when you die?” His expression was sad as it met mine in the reflection. I turned from the mirror to him and sat down.

“You go to heaven,” I responded as his large green eyes looked up at me forlornly.

“Do you ever get to see your family again?”

I cleared my throat, not sure how to respond, “Well, you get to watch over them from heaven, and when the family members die they join you there.”

Chase threw his arms around me, “I don’t want you to die like your friend did.”

“Chase, I’m not going to die, son.” I held him tightly.

“But your friend did, and you could, too. I hear you talk about all the bad people you have to deal with, and what if you get hit by a car or someone shoots you?”

“Chase, we can’t worry about when we will die. We have to live our lives to the fullest that we can. No one knows when their time is up, but I swear I have no plans of leaving you anytime soon.”

Chase pulled back and his eyes were watery. “You promise?”