Forty-Four Box Set, Books 1-10 (44) (49 page)

“It’s going to be hard for Ben to move past this,” she said. “He blames himself. He told me that he killed his own brother.”

Dr. Mortimer had been the one who had found Nathaniel in his bedroom, holding a gun. When Dr. Mortimer approached, trying to talk to him, they struggled and the gun went off. The bullet pierced Nathaniel’s heart and he died instantly.

“Once they release the body, he’s taking him back to Boston, to be buried next to his wife. I didn’t even know the creep had been married before. What would someone like that ever know about love?”

I hadn’t told Kate about Emma and I decided that I wouldn’t for a while. She needed time away from it, time to heal. She probably wouldn’t even believe it, the part about Nathaniel being in love and how it had ruined him in the end.

“I’m just grateful we made it to that island before he killed you, Abby. And I’m happy that he’s out of our lives forever, however that happened.”

I nodded.

“It was a miracle that we found you, you know. Claire really was the one who made all this happen. I thought you were somewhere on the East Coast. She was the one who told us about Puget Sound. She’s the one who really rescued you.”

I smiled.

“Claire is amazing,” I said.

“Yeah, she’s legit, that’s for sure. I still can’t believe she knew. When she told us that you were on an island with one house, that made all the difference. Then we were able to narrow it down. I’m so glad I remembered that you had told me about her. I was willing to try anything at that point.”

“I’ll have to call her and thank her,” I said.

“I sent her an email and told her we found you. She wrote back right away. She was really happy. She said she got some help, though. She said one of her spirit guides helped out. I don’t understand it, but that’s okay.”

I smiled. It had to have been Jesse. He must have gotten through, had found a way to communicate with her.

We leaned against the railing, watching the stars come out, bright and sparkling in the night sky.

“It’s really quite beautiful, here, isn’t it?” I said.

“Yes, it really is,” Kate said. “But it’s time to get home.”

I nodded.

“Can’t hardly wait.”

CHAPTER 55

It took a few weeks, but eventually I started settling back into my life.

I was working again at Back Street Coffee, listening to Mike and his stories about finding beans in exotic places as I served espressos and cappuccinos and lattes while Christmas music played in the background.

I watched the Barcelona games every chance I could.

I took long walks by the river, searching for Jesse.

I even talked Kate into going cross-country skiing with me one Saturday morning at Meissner Sno-Park. I wasn’t ready for going down the mountain yet, but I was confident that I could handle the flat terrain.

“Sure,” Kate had said when I asked her. “Why the hell not? It’ll be fun. We haven’t been out in the snow together in years.”

Kate was working back at
The Bugler
even though she had been offered that job in New York. Like I thought, she told me she wasn’t ready to move yet.

Dr. Mortimer hadn’t come back. He had sent Kate an email telling her that he had buried Nathaniel in a cemetery next to his wife, overlooking the ocean. And that he was taking an extended leave of absence from the hospital. She wasn’t sure if he’d ever come back.

I saw Ty nearly every night. He told me he wasn’t going to stop coming over until he knew I was safe. I made him watch old, black and white movies with me.

“It’s good for you,” I said.

But even though I was home, I didn’t feel the same. And I wasn’t sure if I would ever be the same, if I would ever feel normal. Maybe normal just wasn’t in the cards for me.

Kate had suggested that I talk to Dr. Krowe, the psychiatrist who helped me after my accident. I didn’t want to go at first. In a lot of ways, it felt like I was stepping back, not moving forward.

“He helped you once, Abby,” she said. “He can help you again.”

Maybe she was right.

Kate wanted to have a homecoming party, but I told her to wait. I wasn’t quite up to it yet. I was still having nightmares, still waking up in cold sweats and rushing to the window thinking I was surrounded by water.

I was still thinking about Nathaniel, wondering if I would ever lose that feeling that he was watching me.

“You will,” Ty told me, putting an arm around me as we walked in the fresh snow by the river on a cold December morning. The Christmas Parade had started and we were watching the first of the marching bands walk by on Riverside.

I knew it was completely goofy, watching the parade, but Ty was a good sport about it. Seeing it every year was something left over from my childhood, when Kate and I went with Mom all those years ago.

“Give it a little time, Abby,” he said, when I told him about my latest nightmare. Nathaniel was whispering something in my ear, but I couldn’t hear what he was saying.

“You’ve been through a lot, but you’ll come out of it. Just like last time,” Ty said.

I nodded, hoping he was right.

We held steaming cups of coffee as we watched the TV news station’s morning weatherman walk by, smiling and waving at the crowd with vacant eyes.

“Thanks for being here, Ty,” I said, leaning over and kissing him on the cheek.

I breathed in the sharp air, the scent of pine and juniper strong.

I was damaged, but happy.

It was good to be home.

CHAPTER 56

I pulled the Jeep into the icy lot and parked, leaving the stereo on and turning it up as Metallica did their best to blow out the speakers.

Jesse started playing air drums.

“There’s nobody like Lars, man,” he said as he rocked his solo.

“No argument here,” I said, starting a guitar riff.

“Hey, you could use a little practice there, Kirk,” he said, smiling. “Or are you trying to be James?”

I punched him in the arm.

“I’m glad you’re back home, Craigers,” he said. “Glad you’re safe.”

“Thanks for your help, Jesse.”

He nodded, watching a car pass by on the street.

“This place looks exactly the same from when I was a kid,” he said, staring at the garage. “He hasn’t even lifted a paint brush or changed the sign. It could use a little updating, don’t you think?”

I smiled.

“I don’t know, Jesse. It’s a motorcycle garage. I don’t think anyone really cares how pretty it looks.”

Jesse turned around again and looked at the street.

“I’m glad we’re here,” I said, touching his hand.

He nodded.

“Hey, I have a question,” I said.

He gave me a weird look as I reached over and turned down the radio.

“Always with the questions,” he said. “Okay, shoot.”

“So, do you ever see my mom?” I asked. “I’ve been meaning to ask for a while. It’s just that, well, I’ve never seen her. I see you and I’ve seen some other ghosts. But I’ve never seen her. I’m not sure why.”

It was a heavy question, but it had been on my mind a lot lately.

“She’s always around you, Craigers,” he said. “You just don’t hear her. You doubt yourself too much.”

I nodded, even though I didn’t completely understand it.

“Is your sister doing okay?” he asked. “Now that Dr. Mort has left town?”

“Yeah,” I said. “He quit his job at the hospital and is traveling, trying to sort things out. But I think he’ll come back. He loves her.”

“He might stay away
because
he loves her, Craigers,” Jesse said. “Things aren’t always so clear cut.”

The Def Leppard song suddenly cut out and an opera started playing.

I gasped.

“Hey, what the—” Jesse said.

A moment later we were back listening to Joe Elliott singing about sugar.

“What was that about?” Jesse said. “You’ve got to get that fixed, Craigers. Your stereo be ailin’.”

“Too much rocking, I guess,” I said, wondering if that was really it.

We sat quiet for a few minutes listening, my heart still pounding hard in my chest.

“So what about you? Are you planning on staying around for a while or what?”

He looked at me for a second too long, then turned away quickly.

“Yeah, I’ll be around for a little while longer. As long as I can. I need to be sure that you’re safe.”

“I can take care of myself now, Jesse. I’ll be okay. I don’t want to keep you here anymore. It’s not the right thing. I see that now.”

“Look, I’m sticking around for a little longer. But I promise to stay out of your way.”

I hadn’t asked him about Nathaniel, if he had seen his ghost or spirit, if they walked in the same worlds. I didn’t want to know. But Jesse saying he was staying around told me something.

He smiled, but I could see it in his face.

“For as long as I can, anyway,” he said. “I’m just not able to get back here like I used to. I’m not really sure what’s going on.”

I squeezed his hand.

“I’m glad you’re here now,” I said.

He looked back at the street again.

 “Where the hell is that old man?” he said. “I guess I forgot about those six-hour lunches he likes to take.”

He pushed up his hat.

“Relax,” I said. “He’ll be here soon. The sign on the door says that he opens again at two. He’s only a few minutes late.”

Jesse let out a long sigh.

“Just know that I’m not expecting anything to come out of this, Craigers. I’m doing this for you mostly. If it works, that’s great, but don’t get your hopes up.”

“I’m just happy that you’re willing to give it a try.”

Jesse opened up the Jeep door and slid out, walking to the front and sitting up on the hood. 

In another minute, I heard the roar behind us and watched as the Harley pulled in.

It was Jesse’s dad, his gray beard blowing in the wind, the sun bright on his face. He killed the engine and got off his bike. He turned around and looked over at me as I got out of the car.

“Abby Craig,” he said, smiling and walking slowly toward us. “What a wonderful surprise. So good to see you.”

“Hey, Mr. Stone,” I said as I reached in the back seat grabbing the package. “I baked you some cookies.”

He gave me a hug. Jesse stood close by, watching with large, sad eyes.

“Well, that was awfully sweet of you,” he said.

“So, do you have a few minutes?” I asked, shoving my hands in my pockets. “There’s something I want to talk to you about.”

“Of course,” he said. “Give me a minute to open up and then I’m all ears. We’ll catch up. Hey, I got some new tools since the last time you were here.”

“I’ll be right in,” I said. “Let me just grab something from the Jeep.”

We watched as he slowly limped to the door of the shop.

I took Jesse’s hand.

“Let’s go,” I whispered.

Jesse smiled, his face catching bits of the winter sun, as we walked together and followed his dad inside.

THE END

Forty-Four Book Four

by

Jools Sinclair

Copyright © 2012 Jools Sinclair

You Come Too Publishing

All rights reserved, including the right to reproduce this book, or portions thereof, in any form. No part of this text may be reproduced, transmitted, downloaded, decompiled, reverse engineered, or stored in, or introduced into any information storage and retrieval system, in any form or by any means, whether electronic or mechanical without the express written permission of the author. The scanning, uploading, and distribution of this book via the Internet or via any other means without the permission of the publisher is illegal and punishable by law. Please purchase only authorized electronic editions, and do not participate in or encourage electronic piracy of copyrighted materials.

This book is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, and incidents are either the product of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, or to actual events or locales is entirely coincidental.

For Buddy...

Forty-Four Book Four

by

Jools Sinclair

CHAPTER 1

The wind pushed through the trees as I stood in the darkness of my bedroom watching the black branches sway back and forth, touching the moon and the stars and the clouds that raced across the sky, disappearing in the distance.

“I’m okay,” I whispered, trying to slow my pounding heart. “I’m home.”

A train howled in the distance, filling the night with loneliness. I opened the window and a gust of icy wind ate at my face, drying the sweat that was dripping down my forehead.