Dead Girl Running (Cape Charade #1)(13)
No. She hadn’t come to Yearning Sands to exchange confidences. That left her with no good choices, and one more reason to dislike Mara Philippi.
Like a waif from below, Xander appeared.
ALEXANDER RISCHARD:
MALE, WHITE, 41 (LOOKS 30), THIN, SHAVED HEAD, PALE BLUE EYES, BROAD PALMS, LONG FINGERS, BIG KNUCKLES. YOGA, MEDITATION, MASSAGE. REIKI SPECIALIST. VEGETARIAN, ALL ORGANIC.
Yet—Kellen liked him.
Like an East Indian guru, he put his palms together and bowed. “I regret to report the universe has presented us with a challenge.” He picked up a pair of binoculars from the windowsill and handed them to Kellen.
Through the veil of rain, in the distance, two coyotes fought over a bone while vultures dived and scolded. Kellen texted Temo. “Someone in maintenance will go out and pick up the skeleton.”
Mara took the binoculars and looked, too. “Do you know how upset guests get when they see scavengers cleaning up a dead deer or a raccoon or whatever?”
“Some people are not meant to appreciate the fullness of an outdoor life.” Xander spread his fingers above Kellen’s shoulder and let them hover there. “You’re in pain. I have time on my schedule for a massage.”
“Thank you, Xander, but I’ve got another couple of appointments, then I need to see where we are on orders and bookings.”
“You will have time later for a run, won’t you?” Mara asked. “Not far—we’ll race each other back to our cottages.”
“You’ll win,” Kellen said. “My cottage is the last one.”
Mara smiled brightly. “I know!”
Xander’s hands settled over Kellen’s SC joint and massaged. “Something long denied is fighting to erupt from your spiritual center and to ignore it would have dire results on not only your well-being, but the well-being of the resort, which you now lead.”
Kellen questioned Mara with wide eyes and a pursed mouth.
“Better go for a quick massage,” Mara said. “Last time he said something like that, Destiny spilled a bottle of lavender massage oil on the rug and we had to have it cleaned twice before it stopped exuding inappropriate amounts of serenity into the air.”
Kellen stared at them both. “Inappropriate amounts of serenity?”
“The scent of lavender creates a tranquility of the spirit,” Xander explained.
Kellen realized again why she needed to succeed as the resort’s assistant manager. Mara might be a competent spa manager, but she knew nothing of real life and real combat. And a woman like Kellen, who didn’t realize lavender could exude inappropriate amounts of serenity, needed to stay on the practical side of the business.
Kellen followed Xander, eased herself onto his massage chair and put her face into the cradle. “I’ve got fifteen minutes. No more.”
“Time has no meaning in the boundless eternity of the universe.”
By which she guessed he meant she should set an alarm. So she did.
He applied a heating wrapping on her neck and worked his fingers into the rigid muscles of her shoulder. In that calm, soothing tone, he said, “Dismiss those thoughts that disturb you, and breathe with me.”
Thoughts that disturbed her… All of us out here are running away from something.
What did Mara mean by that? It was not like she knew Kellen had been running for the past seven years, from a past corroded by guilt and a year that had vanished from her mind.
“Breathe with me,” he said again. “In… Out… In…”
She concentrated on the slow breaths, blanking her mind as she relaxed…and dreamed.
*
Through the darkness, she could hear him calling her. “Ceecee. Ceecee. Where are you? Come back to me…”
She loved his voice. Unlike Gregory’s, this voice was deep and warm, loving and despairing.
“Ceecee, I love you. Come back.”
Who was he? Memory came in flashes, like a night sky split by lightning. Deep brown eyes surrounded by long dark lashes. Tall, over six foot. Fast, smooth, physical, accomplished.
“Ceecee…” His voice grew fainter, like a spirit’s fading into the gray lands.
She strained to open her eyes, but the darkness would not yield. The lightning was moving away, over the horizon.
She was alone in the night. Alone…
*
Kellen woke and sat straight up on the massage chair.
Her pocket was vibrating, her alarm going off.
She pulled out her phone and silenced it, then placed a hand over her racing heart. The dream. The man. The dark. Again.
On a stool across the room, Xander sat balanced in the lotus position.
“Did I say anything?” she demanded.
“You were silent, but your soul walked in a far, dark place where combat rages and death holds sway.” His large, sad eyes watched her as if he could see her pain. “You’ve returned from war to find your own battlefield still waits.”
“The war is over. Only the shadows remain.” Enough of that. If she hung around Xander much longer, she would start talking like a guru, too.
“Every hour, do one thing. Take a moment to stop and breathe.” He lifted a hand and breathed in, lowered his hand and breathed out.
“I do know how to inhale and exhale,” she snapped.
He looked a reproof.