A Secret Fate (5 page)

Darcy came by yesterday around dinnertime, doing her best to coax Addie out to the bar and grill for something to eat. Addie assured her friend that she was okay and promised Darcy that she would come out in a few days. “I only need another week,” she told her, more to convince herself than Darcy. Addie would probably cave by then and go, mostly because Darcy threatened with the old “if you don’t, I’ll drag your butt out whether you want to go or not” approach.

The knock at the door shouldn’t have startled Addie, but it did. She didn’t want to be bothered today, but knew if she didn’t answer and it was Maia, her aunt would only continue to knock until Addie responded. Sure enough when she opened the door, Maia stood complete with a sweet smiling face and very pregnant stomach, clutching a round plastic container. Addie caught a whiff of chicken tortilla soup—Maia’s specialty.

“Hi, sweetie.”

“Hi,” Addie mumbled back.

When Addie didn’t say anything else, Maia added, “Are you going to let me in? It’s a little chilly out here.”

“Oh. Sure. Come on in.” Addie opened the door wide and shivered a little as the cool air swept over her arms and bare legs. “You really don’t need to keep bringing me things to eat. I can fend for myself, you know.”

“Yes, I know you can, but I also know you’re not.” Maia stepped closer, her hand brushing away the dirty strand of hair hanging over Addie’s eyes, studying them as if she’d find the key to all Addie’s emotions. “Addie, you can’t keep this up. Hibernating here in Cael’s underwear is not going to make him come back.”

Addie shot her an indignant glare. Outrage poured through her veins. Unable to look at Maia any longer for fear of saying something she’d regret, she crossed her arms over her chest and stared at the floor. How dare Maia talk to her that way after everything she’d been through?

“Don’t give me that look. You know it’s true.” Maia shoved the plastic bowl at her. “Here.”

Stunned a little, Addie held the bowl and stared at it. “Thanks.” Forcing her eyes back up to Maia’s she managed to add in a soft, shaky voice, “I’m sorry. I’m just feeling a bit lost. I’m sad, so, so sad, Maia.”

Maia placed her arm around Addie as they walked into the kitchen. “I know, honey. We are all sad right along with you, but you can’t keep hiding here. You need to start taking care of yourself a little bit better.”

“I will. I just need more time.”

Maia removed her arm from Addie, stepped back and narrowed her eyes into a glare, crossing both arms over her chest and causing them to rest on top of her pregnant stomach where twin baby girls grew.
“How much time, Addison?” Her voice stern, her lips thinned into a straight line, she continued, “How much time do you need to waste away so far that you can’t come back?”

Addie blinked. Maia never called her Addison, ever. At least not that she could remember.

“I don’t know!” she shouted back. “I’m sorry. I am doing the best I can right now. I’ve never been in love before. I didn’t know it could hurt so much.”

Maia sighed. “You can’t keep this up. I won’t let you.”

“I’m not going to apologize for missing and loving Cael. It … it just isn’t fair.”

“Nobody said life was fair and God knows you’ve had your share of heartbreak. No one is arguing that.”

“We were …” she stole a blurry-eyed glance at Maia. “You said it was fate, remember? You said Cael and I were meant to be together and that it must be fate. Only, how could that be true when we didn’t have much time?”

“I know, honey, but you can’t go on moping around like this. Listen. Breena’s birthday party is this weekend. You are coming, right?”

Addie shrugged. She didn’t want to go, didn’t want to see Breena or Cael’s mother. It would only be another reminder of Cael. She sighed heavily and put her face into her hands. Everything was a reminder of Cael.

“You promised Breena you would be there. It’s her tenth birthday and Cael won’t be there for her. You have to go.”

Addie nodded, barely looking at Maia. “I know.”

“Okay. Gerry and I will pick you up at noon. Siana will be coming to get us at twelve-thirty to go to the Sectory. What did you get Breena?”

Addie stared blankly at Maia. “Oh no! I haven’t gotten her anything, yet.”

“Well, you have all week, but don’t worry. I took the liberty and bought something for you to give her. It’s a heart pendant and I had it engraved. Here.” Maia shoved a small box into Addie’s hands. “I figured you would have forgotten since you are consumed with grief, which I’m not negating, but you really need to snap out of it. Cael wouldn’t want you doing this to yourself.”

The words were harsh, but Addie knew Maia loved her and only wanted the best for her so she let them slide. “I will. I mean … I’ll try.” Addie sighed, watching Maia place her hand over the twins inside her womb. “I’m sorry. How are you feeling? Are they giving you any pain?”

“No.” Maia laughed. “Though I’m sure they will later. They’re just active this morning, which is good.” She strolled to the door. “Eat the soup, Addie, and come to the bar tonight. Everybody misses you.” As Maia strolled toward the door she called over her shoulder, “Oh, and if you don’t like the pendant, I got it at Sheila’s on the beach. She said you can still return it and get something else, even though it’s engraved.”

The door closed, leaving Addie alone with her sorrow once again. She opened the box, pulled out the necklace and read the inscription on the back of the gold heart. “Forever Friends.” Addie smiled. She couldn’t have picked a better gift. Breena was going to love this. Yeah, she’d go to the party, but she honestly didn’t know how she would muster the courage to face them without breaking down, sobbing. She hadn’t seen Breena since Maia’s wedding. One of the last things Breena said to her before leaving was, “Please don’t cry,” and that’s really all Addie had been doing for the past two weeks, on and off. When she’d given Breena a hug goodbye, knowing full well that through the little girl’s empathy gift Breena would receive all the sorrow Addie felt for Cael’s disappearance, Addie let the grief flow into the child. She closed her eyes at the vision. “I am such a horrible person. Poor Breena.” All she’d wanted was to help. Breena blamed herself for Cael’s disappearance because she didn’t catch the bullet Finn shot into Gerry’s shoulder.
My God, catch a bullet? Who can do that?
Breena could and had managed to stop
one of the bullets with her hand, deflecting it into a large limb in a nearby oak tree. The branch split with a thundering snap that reverberated through the forest as part of the tree hit the ground, sending splinters, leaves and dirt into the air. Yeah, Breena had some extraordinary powers.
Oh, God. And then I gave her all my sadness on top of her own guilt.

Addie placed her face in her hands.

“I’m a mess, Cael,” she whispered into the stillness of the room, a room so ghostly still since he’d been gone. Her mind and soul possessed a similar emptiness now that she couldn’t hear his thoughts or feel him in her head. “I miss you so, so much. Why can’t you hear me? Why can’t we communicate anymore? I know you’re not … gone from this world. That I know. I do feel that … here.” She placed her hand over her heart as the single tear dripped down her cheek. Tired of crying, tired of the stabbing pain in her heart, she wanted to feel something else, anything else, but the only thing she had was her powers. She held out her hands and felt the heat generate through them and up her arms. She closed her eyes, willing the fire to take control.

Chapter 4

Cael tossed and turned, kicking the thin sheet from his legs before jolting awake. He bolted upright and gasped. He’d never seen anything like that before in a dream. A quick scan of the room reminded him of where he was. At least he remembered that. He hoped he hadn’t screamed aloud. The last thing he needed was Finn barging in to find him squealing like a girl from a damn dream. Sinking back down against the pillow with his arm draped across his forehead, his entire body clammy and dripping with sweat. Cael squeezed his eyes shut. He quickly blinked them back open as he realized he had a hard-on.

The erection pulsing on top of his stomach wasn’t all that abnormal, but the dream that got it that way was. There was a woman, a beautiful woman with long gorgeous brown hair. She wore a sheer white gown that clung to curves in all the right places. Except … except she was on fire. Or was she? Her face had been blurry, unrecognizable … but the fire wasn’t burning her. It was almost as if she controlled the flames.

“Jesus.” What the hell did it mean? Was she someone he was supposed to remember? He didn’t know anyone who could withstand burning when covered in flames. Not even Ristéard could do that.

***

Over the past two weeks, Cael and Finn spent almost every waking hour together. Their lack of passports kept Finn from leaving the island but Cael still wanted to stick close to him, if for no other reason than the fact that he was the only familiar person around and he was in the same predicament. He thought maybe Finn was feeling a little out-of-sorts, insecure, and baffled like he was. Finn had to be bewildered about how they’d arrived in that piece of paradise, while Cael was just perplexed as to why. Every day of the entire past week, Cael had woken up with that same damn dream too. So, the idea of sticking together seemed right; there was nothing else about this strange and awkward quandary that did.

They’d explored the island and done some snorkeling in the beautiful shallow waters around their over-the-water bungalow fit for honeymooners. Cael had to laugh at that. There he was in an elegant cottage in one of the most romantic spots on earth with another guy. Figured. They’d managed to make the best of their situation, windsurfing and even taking some scuba lessons. Cael figured it had to be the most beautiful underwater experience anyone could have. In the evenings, they hit the bars and talked to women, but found that most of the attractive ones were there with someone or worse yet, newlyweds. They must have tried just about every kind of restaurant from the little holes-in-the wall to the fancy schmancy big and expensive ones. Cael liked the small family-owned ones the best. The complex they stayed in had a few nights of events with fire dancers and tons of seafood. Cael sat on the edge of the bed thinking about the guys dancing around throwing fire sticks in the air and remembered the girl in his dream who had been on fire. He’d had that dream five times now. It had to mean something. Being secluded on this island didn’t help in figuring things out, and he’d had about as much seafood and looking for love in all the wrong places that he could handle. He still hadn’t learned much about Finn either. Sure, they talked about their childhoods. Finn told him about his time in the Scots Guards, which he found rather fascinating, but no red flags popped up in his head suggesting the guy had done anything to prompt the scene involving them wrestling for a gun.

Cael wanted this to be over. Could he possibly be getting tired of paradise? No, not really. The island, the ocean, and the sunsets were sensational, the best he’d ever seen. The calm of the tranquil waters in the lagoon and the soothing sound they made as they gently lapped under the bungalow he slept in had trickled into his soul, solacing the shock of his friend’s sudden death. But there was something missing, something nagging at the back of his mind that he couldn’t quite put his finger on. Could it be the woman in his dream? The woman on fire but not burning?

Standing in front of the mirror, Cael studied the new tattoo on his arm. Finn and he had gotten a little drunk the other night and Finn came up with the bright idea of getting tattoos. As stupid as it had been, he rather liked it. The woman in his dream haunted him. When he described her to the tattoo artist, the guy actually got it, which surprised the hell out of Cael that he’d been able to articulate and recreate the woman from his dream, considering how inebriated he’d been. He carefully fingered the flames shooting up from her arm. It was still a little sore. She was lovely. She didn’t have a face in his dream, but the one the artist inked was beautiful.

He loved the peaceful nature of the local people but he was just fed up with the hunt for beautiful women Finn insisted on engaging in every night. He shook his head; never in his entire life would he have thought he’d tire of that scene. Finn on the other hand, wanted to explore every bar and restaurant the small island had to offer, claiming this was his only chance to be in a place like this with all the right ingredients for romance, or better stated, hot sex. Shit, Cael couldn’t argue with that but just for one night he wouldn’t mind staying in, relaxing and simply reading a great mystery.

“Get a move on, lad,” Finn yelled before strolling into Cael’s room. “What’s this?” Finn asked when he noticed Cael sitting on the bed in nothing but his swim trunks. “Why aren’t you ready yet?”

“Tired. Tired of the bar scene, I guess. I don’t feel much like cruising again. Most of the women here are already involved. Nobody in their right mind comes to a place like this by themselves, looking to find a perfect mate.”

“You sound like a middle-aged old fogey instead of the twenty-five year old lad you claim to be. Come on, it’s Saturday night. We gotta check out this place I heard about today from some locals. Supposed to have a live band and dancing. Think about it, holding a slender young female in your arms. There’s gotta be some bonny young ladies just waiting for a good-looking guy like you to walk into their lives and sweep them away from …” he splayed his hand through the air around him, laughing, “all this gorgeous paradise.”

Cael laughed, then flipped the guy off as he stood and walked to the bathroom. “Okay, okay, I’ll get ready.”

Finn closed the door behind him and Cael yanked a T-shirt over his head, rolling up the sleeves so the material wouldn’t irritate the tat. Deciding that looked a little too much like showing off, he unrolled it enough so that only the mystery woman’s legs showed. Then he moved. “Shit! Not such a good idea.” He pulled the light cotton shirt over his head and grabbed a sleeveless tank instead. He’d just have to go with the muscle shirt for a while until his arm healed. At least the tank didn’t appear to be a calculated sleeve roll-up just to show off a tattoo. Finn had been wearing a sleeveless tank also, which made it even worse because now they looked like the fucking Bobbsey Twins. He shook his head and chuckled to himself. It wasn’t like they’d ever see any of these people again anyway. Besides, he was learning that Finn had a way of taking any situation and turning it into something positive and amusing. He wished he could find something about Finn he didn’t like. The guy was growing on him. Over the past week, they’d become … well, friends, he guessed. Finn was funny, a definite lady’s man, charming them with his deep, rhythmic Scottish lilt, not that any of them ever took him up on his wild offers of sexual ecstasy. Not for the lack of trying, but Finn, like Cael, always returned to the bungalow alone. Cael supposed he hadn’t seriously tried to smooth-talk his way into one of the island’s hot babes’ beds. That was what gnawed at his mind. It just wasn’t like him, but for some reason his stubborn subconscious kept shoving that haunting dream back into his vision. Damn it, he was stuck on the fire woman. Well, he chuckled again, now she was stuck on him.