Bewitching You(34)

Not until now did she allow herself one peek, only to notice Herbert held her daughter’s hand. He squeezed her palm and smiled. A warm, gentle smile.

Laura didn’t pull away. Tears welled in her beautiful eyes. “You were the first person who popped into my head to call.”

Penny did a mental cheer.

“I’m glad you thought of me,” Herbert replied. “I was convinced you didn’t like me.”

“I do like you.” Laura wiped a tear from her cheek. “I suppose that’s why I’ve treated you so poorly.”

“Oh.” Herbert bunched his forehead.

“But I’m sorry. I really am, and I promise I’ll try to be nicer from now on.”

He smiled again. “That would be wonderful. And I’m glad to help. If there’s anything you ever need or want, feel free to call me…or come over.”

“Thank you,” she said a fourth time. A blush colored Laura’s cheeks and she glanced Penny’s way, forcing Penny to shut her eyes.

Which was fine with her. She’d seen enough to allow herself some real sleep. Just for a bit. A mother’s work had to end sometime.

~ * ~

Sofia lurched up in bed and searched for the clock, taking a moment for her eyes to adjust.

Come on, come on. Okay, it was past eight in the morning. She’d slept in too late. Dang it. She threw a robe on and noticed for the first time that Gray wasn’t in bed with her.

“Gray,” she called out, probably a little hysterically. “Gray!”

What the heck. This was important, and she needed his help.

Quick footsteps padded down the narrow hallway, and he appeared at the bedroom door with a toothbrush in his mouth, wearing nothing but his boxer briefs. “What’s wrong?” he asked, wide-eyed, mouth full of toothpaste.

“You’re not going to believe this.” Sofia stuffed herself into a pair of panties and then jeans. “But humor me, if you can. We need to find Rachel. I dreamed she’s on the plane.”

Sofia didn’t bother looking at Gray’s expression, knowing this would shock him more than anything she’d shared with him yet. She dropped her robe, snapped on a bra, and tugged on a faded Indianapolis Colts t-shirt. Gray’s footsteps creaked back to the bathroom, and Sofia’s heart dropped into her stomach.

Undoubtedly, this was where he came to his senses and realized having a psychic girlfriend wasn’t the best idea. Maybe he finally understood that life would be much easier if he simply found a woman who didn’t have dreams that woke him in the middle of the night. Maybe the tramp would know how to make eggs without burning them too. Not fair at all.

She shoved her feet into a pair of tennies, grabbed Gray’s note, kissed it and stuffed the paper in her jeans pocket. She’d always have the memory of the last couple of days with him.

The hallway was empty and so was the bathroom. He must’ve high-tailed it out of here.

She stopped in at the bathroom to tie her hair back into a ponytail and freshened up some. Rachel wasn’t going to bother opening the door for a wild-haired waitress who reeked of morning breath, especially one who predicted death in the near future, perhaps as early as today.

This wasn’t going to be easy, but what other choice did Sofia have? She needed to find out the flight number and destination, at least. Then who knew what?

She bounded down the stairs, scaring Sam at the bottom. The cat shot into the kitchen and jumped onto the butcher block. Sofia followed.

Still no sign of Gray. Shoot. He could’ve at least said goodbye. Or… I’m sorry it won’t work out between us. Forget about the note I wrote you last night. I didn’t realize you were psychotic. Who knew her mom had been right all these years? When the going got crazy, men left. That’s what her dad had done anyway.

Tears stung her eyes as old memories surfaced.

Stop it, Sofe. Concentrate on the task at hand.

She sniffed back the tears, poured Sam some dry cat food, more water, and made her way to the front door. She strode outside…and ran into Gray who stood, fully dressed, on the porch.

He grabbed her shoulders and peered into her eyes. “Are you sure it was her?”

Sofia nodded and blew out a breath of relief. He hadn’t left her. Not yet.

“And she was dead? She was on the plane dead?”

“Yes. She sat in the seat that had been empty in all the other dreams.”

“I need to know for sure because I can’t take my new girlfriend to my ex-fiancée’s apartment and throw this all in her face if there’s any possibility it’s not true. You can understand that, right?”

His new girlfriend. The words warmed Sofia from the inside out. “I’m positive it was her, Gray.”

He wiped at a tear Sofia hadn’t realized had trailed down her cheek. “Okay,” he said. “Let’s find a way out of here.”

~ * ~

Rachel woke up with Hayes’s heavy arm wrapped around her waist. She didn’t bother trying to find him with her eyes, knowing he most likely wasn’t visible. The mere thought of it left her feeling empty and alone.

“Morning,” he said, and held her close. “Are you better today?”

“Than yesterday? Yes, much better than yesterday.” She’d been at her lowest the day before and never wanted to go there again.

Although her heart still ached. She knew she’d lose Hayes soon, at any moment. “What if?” A thought sprang to mind and began to rush out of her mouth, but she stopped it.

“What are you thinking, Rache?”

“What if…what if I were to die? Could I be with you then?”

“No.” He reeled away, deserting her.

Rachel turned onto her back and winced at the angry look in his eyes. “It was just an idea.”

“Don’t think that way. You need to live, baby. Your life is important to many people, and soon it’ll be important to you again. You can’t give up.”

She sat up. “But what about you? Won’t you miss me?”

“Of course I will, but I have to move on. I can’t stay in this limbo forever.”

“Move on where? Where will you go? Why can’t we do it together?”

“Rachel, please don’t say that anymore. You have to live. I can’t tell you how essential that is.”

“But—”

“You won’t be able to find me if you end your life. I’ll have crossed over, and you’ll be stuck.”

“Where, Hayes?” His riddles were beginning to frustrate her.

“I can’t say. I don’t even know myself. All I know is I’m driven to help Gray, and now I understand why I’ve come to help you too. It’s so clear to me. You have to live. You have a journey ahead of you. You’re going to go on and do great things.” His dark eyes gleamed with intensity.

“Like what?” Rachel couldn’t imagine. She’d thought herself powerless to do anything great since the day she was born. She was simply Rachel Spencer, eternal student, loving sister and obedient daughter of Tim and Nora Spencer. That was all.

“Live and love yourself for as long as this world will allow you, okay? Tell me that you’ll do this for me. Make me proud.”

“You’ll be watching?”

“Yes. But I don’t know what passage lies in front of me.”

“Heaven? Does heaven exist?” Rachel reached out to touch him, but he began to fade.

“I love you, Rachel. Be strong and live.”

“Hayes? Don’t go yet.” She grabbed at his arm, but there was nothing tangible to grasp. She fell forward onto her bed.

~ * ~

Gray kicked the hatchback’s bumper, causing half of it to fall to the ground.

“Gray!” Sofia swatted his arm.

“Sorry. I’ll pay to have that fixed,” he muttered. The damn thing still wouldn’t start, and it irked the hell out of him.

“Fine. Just don’t kick my baby anymore. This car is practically a part of the family. I’ve had it since I was sixteen.”

“Maybe it’s time for an upgrade.”

“Don’t get grouchy with me, Grayson. Your stupid car is probably sitting in a junkyard right now.”

Gray clenched his jaw at the thought of that. He’d paid a shitload of money for that BMW only a year ago. That car better not have a scratch on it.

“Let’s go find out.” He grabbed her hand, and they started up the lane to the road.

She didn’t resist like he thought she might. Instead, she kept a steady pace at his side. “You think the car might still be there?”

He shrugged.

“Why are you mad at me?”

“I’m not.” He was frustrated. His mini-vacation in the country with Sofia was ending. Time to get back to the real world. Well, as soon as they found Rachel. Not that his ex-fiancée was going to believe a word Sofia said. He imagined her reaction would be somewhere between appalled and annoyed. All directed at Gray, of course, for bringing his new woman into her home.