Charon's Crossing (A Paranormal Romantic Suspense Novel) (53 page)

"Lady?" one called. "Lady, hey, watch your step, okay?"

Kathryn didn't hear him. She couldn't see anything but the terrible ruin of what had once been a proud house where love had flourished.

"Matthew," she whispered, "my love, how could I have doubted? How could I have abandoned..."

Her breath caught in her throat.

A man emerged from the fog. He was tall and broad-shouldered, and the sea breeze blew his shoulder-length fair hair back from his sculpted face. He was wearing... "Oh God!"...he was wearing a T-shirt with a sailboat emblazoned across the chest, faded Levi's and, incongruously enough, a pair of knee-high black leather boots.

"Matthew?" Kathryn's sobs turned to laughter. "Matthew?"

He smiled and opened his arms, and she cried out his name again and flew to him.

He held her for long, long moments, his heart thudding against hers, his tears mingling with her tears, and then he kissed her.

"Kathryn," he whispered, "Kathryn, my beloved."

She drew back in his embrace, clasped his face in her hands and searched his eyes with hers.

"Are you really here?"

He laughed. "Aye, sweetheart. I am really here, and so are you."

"But I thought... the house burned..."

He nodded. "It did, yes."

"Then, how did you escape?"

"It is beyond me to explain. I know only that I awakened in a cold, dark place, more alone than I had ever been, and longing for your arms. And then, one day or perhaps one night, for there was no meaning to time, I heard your sweet voice calling to me."

He drew her close and kissed her again. When the kiss ended, he cupped her face in his hands.

"You must know that I caused the explosion, Kathryn."

"I know." She shuddered. "You should never have done it. We might have lost each other forever."

"Aye." He put his arm around her waist and they began walking away from the ruins of the mansion. "But it was the only way I knew to set you free."

Kathryn leaned her head against his shoulder. "You stubborn man," she said gently, "didn't I tell you that men couldn't make decisions for women anymore?"

He smiled and kissed the top of her head. "I suspect it will take you years to change me, sweetheart."

Suddenly, she stopped and turned towards him.

"I just realized... if Charon's Crossing is gone and you're here, what does it—?"

The blast of a horn drowned out her words. A pickup truck filled with construction workers was trying to edge past the Jeep Kathryn had abandoned in the driveway. The driver leaned out his window and pointed at Matthew.

"Hey, mister," he yelled, "you want to move this thing?"

Kathryn looked at Matthew. "Did you hear what he said?" she whispered.

"Come on, pal. Do us a favor, okay?"

"Hey," Kathryn yelled, "can you really see this man?"

The men in the truck grinned slyly at each other. "Why?" said the driver. "Is he supposed to be a ghost?"

Kathryn laughed. "Is he supposed to be a ghost..." She laughed harder, and Matthew began laughing, too. "Is he supposed..." Tears rose in her eyes. "Matthew, did you hear what he said?"

"Aye, love. I did."

It was difficult for him to speak. Kathryn was weeping as well as laughing but she wasn't the only one. Matthew's eyes were wet, too, and the lump in his throat felt large enough to choke him. Tenderly, he gathered her into his arms and stroked her hair.

"I was afraid to believe it," he murmured, "but now I know it is true. I cannot walk through walls, Kathryn, though I have tried. And now this man sees me." He laughed and whirled her in a circle. "Sweetheart, I am real!"

"He's real," Kathryn sang, "he can't walk through walls and he's real." She threw back her head as they came to a dizzying stop. "Oh, isn't that wonderful news, world?"

The truck driver looked at the man seated beside him and tapped his forehead with his forefinger.

"Nuts," he mouthed, "the broad and the guy, too."

"Matthew? I almost forgot... What about Waring?"

"Gone, and without a trace."

"You're sure?"

"I would sense his presence, sweetheart, if he had survived."

Kathryn sighed and laid her palms flat against Matthew's chest. The beat of his heart was as solid and real as the rest of him.

"I have to admit, I don't understand any of this," she said softly.

"Nor do I, except to know that it was your love that freed me."

"No. No, it wasn't me. You freed yourself, Matthew. By believing in love, by giving your life for mine, you removed the curse."

"You gave me a love worth believing in, Kathryn."

He kissed her again and they clung to each other until another horn blast brought them back to reality.

"Listen, buddy," the truck driver said, "we just love seeing you havin' all this fun, you know what I mean? But maybe you and the lady could save the rest until you get that Jeep out of the way."

Kathryn laughed, dried her eyes, and clasped Matthew's hand in hers.

"How would you like to take your very first driving lesson, Captain? And then, maybe, how'd you like to take a ride in an airplane?"

Matthew laughed, too, but then his laughter failed and he looked deep into her eyes.

"I will love you forever, Kathryn," he said.

She rose on her toes and kissed him.

"Forever," she said softly.

Somebody in the pickup truck applauded. Kathryn grinned, waved her hand, and led Matthew to the Jeep.

He got behind the wheel and she scooted in beside him. She leaned towards him, her dark head nestled against his fair one. The men in the truck rolled their eyes as she pointed to the dashboard, then to the gear shift, then down towards his feet.

"This guy's somethin' else," one of the men said. "Doesn't he know how to drive a stick shift?" His voice rose. "Hey, lady, where's your boyfriend been all his life?"

Kathryn laughed, but her answer was for Matthew alone.

"He's been right here," she said softly, "right here, waiting for me."

Matthew caught a handful of her hair in his hand, drew her close and kissed her soundly. Then, to a chorus of cheers, applause and whistles, he turned on the engine and coaxed the Jeep into a wobbling U-turn.

"Ready?" he said to Kathryn.

"Ready," she said.

The Jeep lurched down the drive. Then Matthew stepped hard on the gas and it shot out the gates of Charon's Crossing, carrying Kathryn and Matthew into a bright, new world.

The End

Page forward for a note from Sandra Marton

followed by an excerpt from

UNTIL YOU

A Romantic Suspense Novel

Dear Reader,

Now that you've come to the end of
Charon's Crossing,
do you feel as I did, when I finished writing this book?

It was so hard for me to let go of Kathryn and Matthew. I'm sure you know that leaving characters behind is always difficult for an author but in this case, it was especially painful.

I spent months with Kathryn and Matthew. They were as real to me as if they were flesh and blood.

The characters I create usually come to life slowly inside my head. Not this time. Matthew was there the instant I saw the house that became Charon's Crossing in my story. I could feel his anger and pain. Kathryn appeared just as quickly. She was so real that I could almost reach out and touch her.

As for Charon's Crossing... the abandoned mansion that inspired me was only a shell of its former self. Interior walls were missing and there was no furniture. Even the grounds were shapeless and completely overgrown.

But I could see the setting for
Charon's Crossing
as clearly as if it really existed. The peeling walls. The tumble of pink roses. The rusted gate. And the attic, where immortal evil waited in foul darkness to separate Matthew from the only woman he would ever love, the only woman who could save him...

But for those who truly love, there will always be a tomorrow.

With all my very warmest wishes,

Sandra Marton

Continue your journey with an excerpt from

Sandra Marton's

UNTIL YOU

A Romantic Suspense Novel