Loving You (Remembrance Series, Book 2) (18 page)

I knew we both craved one another, but we both agreed to wait until our wedding night to ensure the specialness of our union and uphold one of the few lines I could remember from our prophecy,
“United as one the pure couple be.”

Gregory’s hands were feeling down my sides and grabbing my hips. I needed to get control of the situation and get him to snap out of his fixated state. I put all the power I could muster into a command. “Stop!”

To my surprise he froze. I moved from the bed and shook his shoulders gently to try and dispel his dreams. “It is time to wake up, NOW. Gregory!”

He started to blink and his mouth yawned as he sat kneeling on his knees in bed and shook his head. “What the heck happened? Last thing I remember is holding you in my arms, while we fell asleep.” He looked in deep thought for a minute, then realization hit. “Oh my gosh; that dream. Did I just try to…?”

I nodded, blushing. “Are you okay? I kept trying to wake you up, but you were as fanatical as I must have been when I came out of my dream about Angeline and Daniel in the river. I just wanted you so badly then, to be reassured that you were still alive.”

“That must be it. I saw us start to die. Then, when I woke up, you were here in my arms; but I kept seeing you as Hannah.” He swallowed hard. “I’m sorry I let my mind get away from me, Jordan.”

“Don’t worry about it, we’ve both gotten through this twice, now.” I stopped for a moment, thinking of the prophecy and had to laugh. “I wonder if this is the dark spirits way of trying to ruin our chance at the prophecy—trying to prevent us from being pure.”

We both shrugged our shoulders and decided to get up for a while and raid the refrigerator for some popsicles and hot cocoa. They were our favorite mood foods, to soothe our souls.

Somehow we managed to fall asleep, leaning up against one another on the sofa in the great room, watching something on Nick at Nite. This time, I was the one guiding our dreams toward our time at the beach, our wedding and any other happy occasion I could think of.

I could hear the gentle rumbling of a snore and the steady beat of a heart close to my ear, as my head bobbed up and down with the gentle rise and fall of Gregory’s chest. I cracked my eyes to see a slight amount of sunlight slipping in through the cracks of the venetian blinds.

I carefully un-wrapped my arms from around his waist and rose slowly from the sofa, so not to jostle him awake. I had always loved to watch the stunning sunsets over the ocean on the western beaches of Florida, having vacationed often on Estero Island, near Ft. Myers. I was curious to see if the sunrises were just as amazing over the Atlantic as the sunsets over the Gulf of Mexico.

Gregory shifted on the sofa but remained asleep, as I tiptoed to our bedroom and slowly opened the blinds, so I could walk out onto the balcony without disturbing him. The sound of the waves instantly calmed my nerves. I stared out over the changing color of the water, as the sun gradually lifted over the horizon, changing the darkened blue hues of the sky to radiant pinks, oranges, yellows and reds.

The sight of the sunrise was inspirational, bringing forth a new day bathed in new light, saying goodbye to yesterday and offering a fresh canvas to plan new adventures, both present and future. It reminded me of the past lives we knew about. We had many a yesterday, or yesteryear, in our case, where our paths strayed from our intended purpose and ended by unknown means. However, our today is allowing us to learn and grow from our past mistakes and hopefully live the present and future we are destined to create.
I don’t know how long we have, but we can enjoy the adventure while we’re on it and can try to block past mistakes from reoccurring.

I was deep in thought when I heard Ray’s voice off to the side. “You’re right in your thinking, Jordan. This journey is for you to prevent the same mistakes from repeating themselves; but, more importantly, you need to find out who the enemy is and who is out to get you. I know you think you have some of the answers figured out; but just remember, appearances are sometimes deceiving and evil can take on many forms. Trust your heart and the love you have for each other, let it guide you both.”

“Should we be thinking about our past life and trying to uncover more information? I feel so guilty being here at the beach.”

He shook his head and smiled. “Take the next couple of days and enjoy yourselves. You need the rest because you’re pushing yourself too hard. I’ll make sure you have some familiar guidance when you reach Philadelphia. We are determined to see this prophecy to fruition. Know that I’m only a whisper away.” And with that, he vanished as the sun fully breached the horizon.

The next couple of days were spent relaxing, but moved too quickly. Gregory took me to an early breakfast one morning at a restaurant located at the end of the pier, overlooking the Atlantic Ocean. We watched the sun come up, together. Afterward, we walked along the beach hand in hand, before returning to the condo to swim.

When I was tired and napped, he sat close; keeping watch over me while he worked on the project for his father and grandfather. To our surprise, the dark spirits left us alone for the remainder of our respite and we were able to enjoy one another’s company and the relaxation that only the sea can bring.

By the third day, I felt rejuvenated. The trip brought back wonderful memories of time I’d spent at the beach with my parents. My father and I would either wake early or go out around sunset and walk the beach, letting the waves crash over our feet in the sand. Several times Gregory would draw our initials with a heart around them in the sand with the words “Forever, Loving You.” I would sometimes add, “Always.”

We were expecting Grandpa Frederick to stop by that evening to discuss Gregory’s project and finalize our plans to head to Philadelphia the following day. Just when everything seemed right in the world, a sense of overwhelming dread came over me at the same moment as the condo phone rang.

Gregory and I each looked at each other with confusion as he picked up the land line.

“Hello?” The female person on the other end started talking in a rather loud voice. Gregory’s facial features swiftly changed from happiness to dread.

“Why do you need to talk to her? You haven’t been anything but blunt and offensive with your letters and comments.” He went silent again, listening.

“Fine, you should apologize. But, if I hear one cross word come from your mouth, I’ll not only talk with my brother, but I’ll tell my entire family of your attitude.” He nodded, and then said, “Let me get her on the line.”

I looked up at him, quizzically. “It’s Gwen. She’s insisting on talking with you and apologizing for her recent letter.”

My stomach clenched and felt nauseous at the idea of talking to someone who was filled with so much contempt for others.

“This is Jordan.”

A bubbly, high pitched voice came across the line. “Jordan, sweetie, it is so nice to finally speak to you one-on-one.” I instantly got a bad vibe as to where this was headed– she sounded so fake.

“I’ve been meaning to call you for a couple of weeks now, but this stupid morning sickness has made me feel so ill, I can barely move or talk. I’m sorry if I was a bit cross with you in the letter I sent. I didn’t mean it to come out that way, but I blame it on the stupid pregnancy hormones.”

“Okay.” Gee, I didn’t know what to say.

She went on. “I hope you have taken my advice and decided to move the wedding back. Phillip and I would love to be in attendance. Unfortunately, the date you currently have would be right around the time I am supposed to deliver and I really don’t want to take all the attention away from you during that time.”

I just took in a deep breath and rolled my eyes, as Gregory start to pace. “We only want a small ceremony, Gwen. We would love it if you both could be there, but we really don’t want to push the date back any further than it already is. I think Lorraine has already booked a venue for that time and would hate for her to lose her money. Can’t we both share the spotlight?”

She laughed a bit. “Honey, you should know one thing about me, right now. I used to have to share everything with my family, as a kid. But once I got into this family, I decided to own the spotlight and make it my own. I’ll sweet talk my mother in-law into getting her to postpone or move the wedding to another time, where it suits all
our
needs.” Funny how she put an emphasis on the word “our”. I couldn’t help but wonder who all she was referring to.

I decided to challenge her. “Try if you like; but I don’t think you will get anywhere with either Lorraine or Gregory, for that matter.”

“I need to get going, soon. I don’t have much time left for this phone call before….” She trailed off and took in a few deep breaths. I heard her hand cradle the receiver and spout out a few words before returning to the line. “Now where was I? Oh, yes. We received your Engagement Party invitation. As you know, we will be unable to attend because I can’t fly at this time, with this being a difficult pregnancy and all.”

“I’m sorry to hear you’re having a difficult pregnancy. I wish you nothing but the best. We are all anxious to meet the new addition to the family.” I tried to be as cordial as I could.

“I’m concerned because if you are going to be moving the date of the wedding, you don’t need to have the party so quickly. You really need to get things in motion to cancel it, as soon as possible!” Her voice kicked up a notch.

Gregory came over to the sofa and sat beside me to listen into the call. I motioned to put it on speaker, but he shook his head and just held the receiver between us so he could hear her, knowing I could easily listen in with my recently acquired super sensitive hearing.

“One more thing. The engagement photos are nice; but where in the hell did you get that ring? It belongs to me!!! Grandpa was supposed to give it to Philip so I would have it. He’s the eldest son, he gets it. The ring is MINE! If I were you, I would take that ring off your gold digging finger and put it in the mail to me ASAP!”

The fury and anger coming out of her mouth caused me to hold my ears. Her voice was so loud and malicious that I felt she was in my head. I reached for the phone to counter her, but the phone felt burning hot to the touch to me. Something was definitely weird, but I didn’t know exactly what.

Gregory fielded the call. “Gwen, that ring is
my
grandfather’s to do with as he pleases. It was never promised to anyone specifically and if you want it, you will have to go through him and my family to get it. I gave Jordan a ring of her own, but Grandpa decided she needed a good luck charm and offered Grandma’s ring to us. We did not ask for it, demand it or carry on about it like you are. It was given to us, freely. You are not the center of attention in this family; you are merely an attachment, by way of marriage. Back off from attacking my fiancé. We do not need your permission to marry and you will not tell us when and if we can.” He slammed the phone down on its cradle, nearly cracking the handset.

I watched as he grabbed his cell phone and instantly dialed his mother. He retold everything that had happened. Apparently, promises were made to call his brother and get a handle on things. “Thanks, Mom. Remember to not let anyone know the true reason for the Engagement Party. Okay, good. I’ll let her know. We’ll see you in a few days. Bye.”

He came over to the sofa and pulled me into his lap, holding me close and giving me a gentle kiss on the lips. “Mom sends her love. She’s sorry for Gwen’s attitude. She’s going to call Grandpa and dad to enlighten them. Our wedding will take place as planned, with no interference from Gwen or any other family member.”

“Should I give the ring back to Grandpa?” I asked.

He shook his head. “Mom stated that the ring was never intended for anyone. Grandpa had always saved it with the idea of one day passing it down to a family member; but with no specifications as to who would receive it. He chose you for a reason and you will be the one to wear it.”

It was amazing how one phone call could change the whole mood of the day. It was our last day at the beach and my stomach was unsettled and I really didn’t feel like even going out. I decided while Gregory was putting the final touches on his presentation, I would peruse the information we had obtained on our past selves to see if I could find anything we missed; unfortunately, there was nothing.