Where One Goes(80)

I reach around her and firmly take hold of her bottom. “Wrap your legs around me, Charlotte,” I whisper against her neck. Immediately doing as I asked, our bodies meld together in want and need.

Tangling my fingers in her hair, I bring her head back and kiss my way down to her jaw, and then her shoulder. When I bite softly across her flesh, she squirms against me.

“George, please,” she whimpers, her tone begging. I bring my mouth over hers, needing to taste her. She suckles my tongue, and I let out a groan, sucking her bottom lip between my teeth.

“Are you ready?” I pant, and she nods, her desire prevalent in her eyes. I walk us back to my bedroom, her chest pressed eagerly against mine the entire way.

Making love to Charlotte, her giving herself to me like she’s never given herself to anyone is the most beautiful gift I’ll ever receive. We spend hours exploring each other, tasting the other, and now, I lie awake as she rests peacefully curled up beside me.

I’m mesmerized by her beautiful soul, and I’m losing what little control I have left. She’s a part of me now. Since the day we found out Ike died, I’ve felt adrift; like I was simply floating through life, unable to anchor myself. But here, right now, with Charlotte in my arms, I feel grounded. There will always be a part of me that feels empty. Ike was my twin, and his absence is palpable. I feel it with every breath I take. But I know now I can survive it. And instead of letting the memory of him and the loss of him hinder me, I’ll let it strengthen me. My brother saved me. My brother gave me her; the woman he loved.

She’s never told me what went on between them, the feelings they shared for one another, but I know deep down they loved each other. The way she speaks about him tells me so. And if I’m honest, I’m a little jealous of that, but I know she loves me too. And if she were to share her heart with another man, my brother is the first and only man I’d allow.

After all the grief and pain I’ve caused her, she’s still here.

And she wants me.

“She loves me, Ike,” I murmur. I stare at her slumbering form and smile. I’m so damn happy. There are questions I want to ask, things I want to know about their time together, but I won’t. All that matters is she’s here in my arms and she loves me.

“I’ll love her for both of us, Ike,” I whisper.

Pressing a soft kiss on her forehead, I take in her sweet scent. Inhaling the soft fragrance of perfume, I let out a sigh of contentment. She is my forever. And I close my eyes with a sense of peace I haven’t felt in a long time.





“They’ll be here in five minutes,” George calls from our bedroom where he’s dressing.

“I know, babe,” I laugh. “I think you’re more nervous than I am.”

When he enters the living room, I bite my lip. He’s gorgeous, dressed in a black T-shirt and jeans. God, I love him. “Don’t look at me like that, you,” he says. “Or they’ll be outside waiting a while when they get here.”

“Do you think this was a good idea?” I ask for the hundredth time.

Pulling me to him, he kisses my forehead. “I think using your gift for such a good cause is beautiful, Charlotte. We only signed for one season. If it doesn’t go well, we won’t sign again.”

After Casey Purcells’ trial and her murderer was brought to justice, word spread like wild fire about me. It wasn’t long until I was contacted by Lifetime and they offered me a television show. After much thought, George and I decided to give it a shot. Lifetime will send us state-to-state with cameras following us everywhere and capture me using my gift. With most of the money we make, we’re going to donate it to Virginia colleges to provide free transportation for students at night. While this will be offered to male students as well, my true hope is female students will take full advantage of this. Maybe we can stop what happened to Casey from happening to someone else. We’re calling it, Casey’s Ride. The Purcells were truly touched and even agreed to do an interview for the show telling the world about how I was a huge help in bringing Casey’s murderer to justice.

Looking up into George’s dark eyes, I tell him, “I love you. Thank you for doing this with me.”

He kisses my mouth gently and smiles. “Thank you for loving me.”

My life with George has been wonderful. After so much time in the dark, I can’t explain what it is to live in the light. My gift, which was once a curse, something I hated, is now treasured. It brought me to Warm Springs. It led me to Ike McDermott. It introduced me to George, my husband.

We have dinner with the Mercers once a week. They keep asking when George and I will have children; they want to babysit. I could never replace their daughter Maggie, but I think, in a way, we help fill a void for each other. I’m like a daughter to them; they’re like the mother and father I’ve needed.

I still visit ‘our spot’ as Ike called it, often. And when I do, I talk to him. I imagine him in the water with a fly rod and that stellar smile of his on his face. And I pray his hopes came true; that it’s a place just like it that he went to.

I tell him about George and how well he’s doing, and I try to let him know how well I’m doing, too. And I thank him. For his love, for saving me, and for George.

George and I love so fiercely. Because when Ike went, he not only took a part of me with him, he took a part of George, too. In this way, among many ways, we are bonded. And I know, one day, we’ll all be together again, and George and I will be whole. But for now, George and I live every day to the fullest, loving and laughing.