The Keepers Book Two of the Holding Kate Series (6 page)

Dirk cleared his throat and rammed his brows together. “Okay, okay, let’s try to control ourselves, ladies.”

It still took several minutes of soft croons from Trip and Donnie to peel them off of me. Kate stood with her palms twisting together, fighting back her own tears at seeing her friends in so much anguish. I understood, right there with her. These two were like sisters to me.

Trip, though obviously upset about Tara, couldn’t stop staring at my wife’s sheer gown. His lustful leer kept sliding over her form, and I wanted to punch him. When he finally accepted Tara out of my arms, I took off my shirt and wrapped it around Kate.

This sent Tara into another fit of wailing. I had never in two hundred plus years seen her shed one tear, much less act like this. I shifted, not eager to hear what possibly could drive her to this behavior.

“Let’s get out of here. I’ve had all of our things taken to First Cabin.” Dirk directed us up the stone steps into the night. The stars sprinkled on the surface of the lake like the teardrops on the girl’s faces as we paddled to shore.

We piled into a waiting golf cart and Dirk drove us to First Cabin. I caught a whiff of jasmine on the breeze as the cart hummed over the dew damp grass. The calm of the village at night and soft buzz of crickets spoke peace to our cart mates, and by the time we turned into the driveway the soughs and snivels had dried up.

Our tires crunched up the gravel drive. We took in our first gander at our assigned cabin, the home of the scientist who developed quantum sphere technology. The original cabin on the village property. It stood, steadfast and ancient, a testament to the creator of sphere travel.

First Cabin’s wide front porch opened to a green lawn that swooped down to a magical pond reflecting the rippling moon. The scientist’s wife had been taken into a jump from the center of the pond. Then years after her return, their granddaughter had crossed into a jump and had come back within hours.

Her disappearance gave her grandfather the impetus to develop the original sphere matrix. It had taken 40 years to actually put the algorithm into practice. Long in his grave by the time the first shaky sphere transported a living being, he would’ve been impressed to see the advancements in technology since then.

I felt a strange connection to the cabin as I stared at the picture perfect place. Memories of summers here, as a young child, flitted through my mind. They were the last good memories with my mom and dad. I could live here for the rest of my life. Kate and I could raise our children in this home.

I glanced at Kate. She appeared struck by the beauty of the cabin, mouth agape as she took it all in. The tiny pond mirrored the stars, as still as glass except where dragonflies lighted from budding circles. Silver misted the edges and cattails.

The boathouse hovered over the mystic mirror, and I remembered that Mel and Donnie were going to live there. I glanced around to find them head to head. The idea of a married couple being separated seemed repugnant to me suddenly. I leaned over to breathe in the scent of my wife. Desire convulsed through me, and she responded by touching my face and gazing into my eyes. We communed like that until the cart jolted to a stop.

We scuffled up the steps to the porch. Dirk flung open the doors and flipped on the lights. The cabin had undergone many changes over the years. A den had been added on and a private master suite in the back of the house that opened up to a pool and Jacuzzi. The kitchen had been expanded and updated several times, but the quaintness of the rustic design had been maintained.

I watched Kate as she took in the surroundings. She smiled brightly and said. “Now this is the way to camp.” She ran to the wall of windows in the back of the house and looked out at the glowing pool.

“Can we have our debriefing out there?” she smiled.

Dirk shrugged. “Why not?”

Our baggage waited for us in the corner of the living room, so we claimed our own, then turned to look at Dirk.

He scratched his head and sighed. “Okay, first we have to make some decisions about rooms.”

“We already know where we are staying.” Donnie and Mel headed to the front door. “We’ll be back in about thirty minutes.”

“Make it an hour,” Mel yelled from the porch.

Donnie grinned sheepishly and wrestled his luggage out of the screen door.

“So what’s the problem?” Trip asked.

Dirk pinned me with a stern gaze. “Do you intend to move forward from your experience or step back to the way things were?”

“There is no going back, Dirk,” I stated firmly. “We are one.”

Kate leaned into me.

Trip frowned. “What is this about?” His focus landed on the matching rings that Kate and I wore. “What the hell did you do, Corey?” Ire blistered through his expression as it landed on Kate.

“Kate and I are married,” I said firmly, with finality.

Tara jerked her head up and studied us. Then she let out a huge sigh, and her shoulders fell. A strange reaction, I thought she of all people would have been happy about Kate choosing me.

“Well you two take the master suite. Trip and I will take the upstairs and Tara you take the front room.” Dirk shook his head. “Meet in the pool in one hour. Don’t be late!”

Kate and I carried our luggage to our room. I had so much to tell her, I didn’t think an hour would be enough time. We entered the master suite and it hit me. Our room. Our home. Our bed.

Kate dropped her luggage on the settee in front of the bed and spun in a circle. “This is amazing. We get a real honeymoon, Corey.”

I dropped the luggage and rushed to take her into my arms. I carried her to the bed. “I didn’t get to carry you over the threshold, this is the least I can do.” I kissed her, spread her out beneath me and made love to my beautiful wife again. Time flew by and still we had not been able to talk.

As we changed into our swimsuits, I hinted. “I have so much to tell you, Kate. We need some time to be alone. We have some decisions to make, together.”

She turned her head toward me curiously. “It sounds important. Tie me up?” She backed into me and held the strings of her bikini top for me. A monumental moment for me, this was our first “married” couple mundane moment. I didn’t want it to pass us by without commemorating it.

I dropped the strings of her bikini and wrapped my hands around her rib cage, drew her toward me and kissed her shoulders in an impulsive act. Kate gasped, turned around and threw herself in my arms. We were late to the meeting.

Meetings should always be held at 2 AM in private swimming pools with beautiful girls in bikinis, especially when one of them belongs to you. We splashed around for a bit until Dirk called us all to the deep end. We rode on noodles and floats, bobbing through the debriefing.

“The parents will arrive first thing in the morning for Family Week.” Dirk kicked his feet back and forth, a silhouette against the underwater spotlight. “This is the last chance we will have this week to share our Scriptorium experiences.”

A moot point for me, I knew my family wouldn’t be coming. I looked forward to meeting the families of my teammates, though. I caught Donnie’s eye. He wouldn’t be having any family visitors either. He had grown up in the foster care system.

“You and me,” I mouthed. “White water rafting.”

He brightened and nodded. It had been one of our favorite activities in Jewel City. We had scored several white water camping trips in our time there. A trip down the New River would get us away from the family drama and give our friends some time alone with theirs.

I looked forward to it. I actually thought of Donnie more like an older brother than just a friend.

Kate touched my arm. I leaned over to her. “Not the whole time, okay?” She raised her eyebrows in a plea. “I want you to meet my family.”

I guided her noodle closer and whispered in her ear. “I wouldn’t miss that for the world. We’ll just go the last half of the week.”

She floated backward into my chest and turned her cheek up to meet mine. “Good.”

Ah! Kate! What you do to me!
I closed my eyes and nuzzled her ear.

“So, I think Kate and Corey should start the debriefing before we lose them,” Dirk said, pointedly.

Donnie snorted. Trip glared at me. Mel and Tara cut worried expressions to each other.

“You want to tell it?” I offered.

“Okay.” Kate shivered slightly as she took in the strange expressions.

KEEPERS FILES INITIATED

“With the Quantum Quandary Source device, we can now detect, record, and playback the moments surrounding every major decision of mankind. These junctions,
Quantum Perspective Sources
, prove the Multiverse Theory of Quantum Mechanics.” ~ Dr. G.W. Mattovdzky April 2025

QUANTUM PERSPECTIVE SOURCE (QPS): KATE WILSON

Heat burned Kate’s cheeks as she considered how embarrassing her story would be spoken aloud. Pressing her palms together to stop the trembling, she took a breath, glanced at Trip, then at Corey and started.

“Well, you know how Corey locked us together?” They all nodded and bobbed in the warm pool. “When we got there we weren’t even together. I landed in a beautiful streambed. The water gleamed silver in the sunlight. The Beautiful One sang a new song to me.”

She cleared her throat and began to softly sing the song that led to the most intimate moment in her life. Singing such personal words made her vulnerable, but these people were more like family. They would never reject her.

“I call you into my presence.

Invite you into my heart.

I whisper draw closer.

I call you to come.

I call you into my chambers

Invite you into my arms.

I whisper, darling I love you.

I call you. Come.”

The song ended in a mere whisper, again her face burned. No one made a noise, lost deep in thought. Donnie smiled, so she continued her story.

“Then the Beautiful One told me he had a rich and rare treasure that he wanted me to own always. He told me I would have to learn to cherish it, hold fast to it, and drink freely of it. He told me to drink from the stream. I bent down and scooped up the water and drank from my hands. He said ‘Behold your great treasure. Embrace him.’ I looked up from the water straight into the face of Corey, and I knew Corey was my treasure.” Kate chanced a shy glance up into Corey’s eyes, those deep blues that held such love and affection. She lost track of everyone else, as though they were the only two in the pool. Corey touched her face and smiled. She drew a shaky breath and continued her story.

“I held my arms open to him and saw him start toward me. Then suddenly we were standing together in this beautiful field of grain, wheat I think.” She cocked her head at Corey for confirmation. He nodded, entranced by her version of their story.

“The voice sang over us and performed the marriage ceremony. We spoke holy vows and made…um…love.” She flushed, desire once again washed over her at the memory of her sweet treasure, her husband, Corey.

He drew her close and kissed her with enough fire she thought the pool would start boiling.