Not All Who Wander are Lost (13 page)

C
rimson lay on her back on Finn’s waterbed, staring at the ceiling. Her hand strayed to her belly, knowing it was too soon to feel stirrings of life, but still seeking the comfort of knowing it was there. She had never really thought about the reality of having a child of her own. But now, because of the love she shared with Finn, it was going to happen. Despite all of the worries and troubles she had, she felt a sort of calm happiness.

If she was very still, she could almost feel the changes going on in her body. She could feel the power that the baby had taken from Amiee concentrated in the center of her. It was a warm glow, different, but pleasant. She could also feel the increase in her own power that was due to her bonding with Finn. She felt strong and confident. Her body was tired, but her spirit was invigorated.

With all of the love for her baby that overwhelmed her, she tried to understand how her mother could have left her and then come back only to harm her. She desperately wanted to understand what could make a mother feel that way, afraid that it could happen to her. She vowed to herself that she would never be like her mother. Her baby would always come first. After awhile, she slept, dreaming of a beautiful baby girl with Finn’s eyes.

She awoke sometime later as Finn slid into the bed with her. His took her in his arms and kissed her awake. With a dreamy smile, she opened her eyes. “Hello, my love. Did you have a nice chat with my Dad?” she asked.

“Your Dad is a scary guy,” Finn said with just a hint of amusement in his voice. “He cares about you very much you know.”

“I guess I never really thought about it. I mean, it always seemed like he favored my sisters over me, but knowing what I know now, I have to give him credit. I’m not really his daughter, but he always wanted what was best for me, even when it was different from what he wanted for them. I’ve been thinking a lot about what it means to be a parent. I have to admit, I’m more afraid of being a bad mother than I have ever been of anything in my entire life.”

Finn caressed her cheek and looked deep into her eyes. “You will be an amazing mother. Don’t be afraid. I’ll always be here to help you. I promise.” He kissed her lips softly. “And speaking of promises, your Dad was very concerned about whether or not I was planning to make an honest woman of you.”

“Really,” Crimson said, her own curiosity piqued. “What did you tell him?

“I told him that we hadn’t really discussed it.”

“I suppose, given the circumstances, that we should talk about it at some point,” Crimson said carefully.

“I love you so much. And I want to marry you. But I don’t want to do it now with all that is happening right now. When I make you my wife I want to do it right. Does that make sense to you?”

“It does, and I agree. I already know I want to spend my life with you. I don’t need a ceremony to prove that.”

“Are you sure? Because if you need me to, I’ll put a ring on your finger right now, today.”

“I’m sure. When the time comes, I’ll gladly be your blushing bride, but I think right now, we need to deal with the troubles at hand. Did you talk to him about your uncle?”

“I did. He said he would look into the situation and get back to us. If Kieran decides to ally himself with Amiee, we could have a big problem on our hands. With my grandfather gone, and Kieran in control, we could be facing an army. Your Dad said he that the High Council will be behind us if it comes to that, but if we could find a way to avoid all out war, it would be better for everyone.”

“I just wish there was some way to reason with her,” Crimson said thoughtfully. “But I don’t suppose there is.”

“It doesn’t seem likely.” Finn replied. “He suggested we go to the other realm. It would be safer there. And we can work with the High Council to plan our next move.”

“I hate to leave here. But I can see that would probably be for the best. Did he say when?”

“We are probably safe for a couple of days, at least. Amiee is not likely to come after us on her own again. We also need to find Mariah, and take care of that. No matter what she did, she was still my sister. I can’t leave her lying in a ditch somewhere.”

“I know. I’m so sorry Finn. I know you wanted things to be better for her.”

“She made her choices long ago. I couldn’t fix her. Katie tried, but it was never going to happen. Something inside her was broken. It hurts so much, but I’m not surprised that it turned out this way.” Crimson felt a tear on her cheek. It hurt her heart to see him cry, so she didn’t look, just held him tighter to her. “I don’t want to think about it anymore. I just want to be here, now, with you. I want to forget the world outside and just love you.”

Crimson didn’t speak. No words were necessary. She kissed him urgently and pressed herself to him. It was so easy to lose herself in him, to push away everything else but the feel of his skin, the beat of his heart, his breath in her ear. She kissed his neck as he moved to cover her body with his. As he positioned himself between her legs, she let her hands stray down his chest to caress his nipples. Finn smiled, passion building in his eyes.

He entered her slowly, savoring her body surrounding him. She pushed against him, pulling him in deeper. Finn reached between them to where their bodies were joined and slowly circled her nub with his finger. Crimson groaned with need. He picked up the pace and she could feel her first release was near. Their eyes locked as she came. “Turn over,” Finn whispered. Crimson eagerly complied, getting up on her hands and knees, presenting herself to him.
“You have the most magnificent ass,” he growled. His hands squeezed her full cheeks. He bent his head and licked her slick center. Slipping two fingers inside her, he continued to taste her as she quivered in delight, so close to coming again.

Just before she exploded, he replaced the fingers with his cock, thrusting deep within her tight body. As she came, he felt her spasm around him. He thrust a few more times, and then he felt his release. Leaning back, he pulled her up onto his lap, caressing her breasts leisurely as he caught his breath. Crimson leaned her head back against him and he kissed her ear, and then her throat. He felt himself grow hard again as Crimson snuggled against him sensuously.

Finn leaned back on the bed and Crimson lifted up and took him inside her again. His hands on her hips urged her on as she rode him. She threw her head back and his hand went from her hips to wind in her silken curls. She moved a few times and then lifted up and slid her body back over his chest, taking him in her mouth. Her silken lips caressed his length, her tongue flicking the sensitive underside of the head. He couldn’t ignore the feast in front of him and slid his fingers inside as he licked and suckled her soft folds. There was a rush of her sweetness as she came for him again, and he felt himself shudder and he finished in her mouth. Crimson rolled off him and curled up beside him, her head on his chest, satiated. Their breaths slowed, and they slept.

When she heard the phone ring, Kate steeled herself against what she might find. It had been a rough week, waiting for news of Mariah. Each time the phone had rang, she had felt the same lump in her throat. She tried hard to hold on to a slim thread of hope that Mariah was still alive, that it had all been a mistake, but when she recognized Sheriff Grimes’s voice, she knew it was over. The police had found Mariah’s body, her neck broken, at the rest area just outside of town. She didn’t wake Crimson and Finn, she knew she needed to do this alone. She dressed quietly and took her old jeep to the hospital to identify the body.

As the coroner pulled back the sheet that covered her. Kate could not control the tears running down her wrinkled cheeks. Mariah looked so young, so peaceful, almost as if she was sleeping and not really gone. The glamour that she had struggled with in life, held fast in death, hiding the beautiful butterfly like wings that she had been so proud of as a child. “Fly free little bird. You are free now. I love you, always,” Kate whispered and kissed her cold cheek one last time.

“I’m sorry for your loss, ma’am,” the young deputy said. “There will be an investigation. We will do everything we can to put away whoever did this.”

“Thank you,” Kate murmured.

“Is there a particular funeral home you would like her sent to when we are able to release the body?”

“No, she would want to be cremated and the ashes scattered at sea. I will make the arrangements. Thank you for your help, officer.”

Kate left the hospital and drove to her shop. She unlocked the back door and turned on the lights. She took a moment to write a note for the door, indicating that the shop would be closed for a few days due to personal reasons. She locked all of her most expensive pieces in the safe and covered the jewelry counter with a heavy velvet cloth. Finally, she took down all of the weapons from the wall and took them out to the jeep, locking the door behind her.

She went to Finn’s shop and secured it as well. She took a few minutes to check his log and call the people with appointments for repairs in the next few days. She didn’t mention Mariah, it was a small town and they would know soon enough. She packed him a few changes of clothes, pulled his truck into the bay, and locked the shop up tight.

Her next stop was Crimson’s cottage. She packed Crimson a few changes of clothes and her toiletries. She was annoyed at first, to find the Dragon skin boots still sitting in the closet, but she understood why Crimson had not burned them as she had instructed. They were a part of her, part she didn’t remember of course, but still a part of her. Kate packed the boots as well. She knew their magical properties would come in handy in the days to come. Taking one last look around to see if she’d forgotten anything, she spied the crystal on the dresser. She carefully wrapped it in a bath towel and put it in one of the bags she had packed. She closed the storm shutter over Crimson’s sliding glass door and locked up. She put the bags in the jeep and headed for her final destination of the night.

She pulled up to the aquarium around midnight. The beach was deserted and the night was dark. As a volunteer, she had her own set of keys. She slipped inside silently, not bothering to turn on any lights. She stepped inside the seal enclosure and put on her pelt. While most of the seals were just ordinary harbor seals, they were old friends. There were two, however that were family—her parents.

When they had grown too old to work for the Oak family, Kate had brought them with her to the Human world. They had chosen to give up their Human forms, and keep their pelts on. At their age, the sea was not safe for them, so Kate had brought them here, to live out the rest of their lives protected. They had been in their pelts for so long, they hardly remembered their former life, content to play and frolic with the harbor seals.

Kate knew that things were getting very dangerous. She knew there was a very real possibility that she might not return. She wanted to say goodbye to her old friends and her parents. She stayed and played with them until the sun came up, forgetting her hurts for just a little while.

When she finally made it home, Crimson and Finn were up and making breakfast. “The coroner called. They are ready to release Mariah’s body,” Finn said sadly. “Why didn’t you wake us? We would have gone with you.”

“I know. I wanted to do it alone. And I didn’t want you to have to see her like that.” Kate said, tearing up.

“Oh, Katie,” Finn said, enveloping her in a hug. “I miss her so much. I can’t believe she’s never coming home.”

“We need to call the funeral home and have her cremated, and then call Harry down at the marina to get the boat ready. Can you do that for me? I need a few hours sleep.”

“Of course. You should eat something first.” Finn made her a plate and set it on the table for her. “I’ll take care of all of that.”Finn gave Crimson a plate and then sat down at the table himself. They ate in silence. When they finished, Crimson cleared the table and started the dishes. Kate went up to bed. Finn dialed the phone and made the arrangements for Mariah to be cremated and then called the marina to have the boat prepared.

“I’d hoped to take you out on the boat under better circumstances. But we always said that if anything happened to us, we wanted to be scattered in the sea where Mom and Dad died. This isn’t right. She should have died an old lady in her bed surrounded by her grandkids.” Crimson put her arms around him as he cried. She didn’t know what to say to ease his grief, so she just held on.