Retribution (61 page)

“Not likely. It’d be fun to drop my drawers and watch your expression when all ya see is white ass. I bet you'd come out of that experience lookin' like a beet.”

Quin nodded, and Layla wrinkled her nose as she pinched his bicep. “You know I would, Trav, and I think you get too much pleasure out of embarrassing me.”

“But your blush is so lovely, sugar. Why would ya deny me such a purdy sight?”

Quin nodded again, and Layla smiled. “There are easier ways to find my blush,” she noted. “It's not hard.”

Travis laughed. “How hard is droppin' your drawers?”

“Good point. So if that awful idea for a tattoo isn't the reason your mom's tossing and turning, what is?”

“Oh yeah. Well, for as long as I can remember she's been bitchin' 'bout insurance companies, goin' on 'bout how they're always takin' and never givin', but today she was proven wrong. I just deposited the money from her life insurance policy, and she’d have herself a third heart attack if she knew an insurance company paid me $250,000.”

“Oh, Travis, that's fantastic news.”

“Tell me 'bout it. I almost pissed my pants when I heard it.”

“Did you know she had a policy that big?”

“No clue. She took it out years ago when we lost dad, and I've been writin' the checks for it since she got sick, but I never dug into the paperwork, and she never told me I should. She probably thought they wouldn't pay, so she didn't want me countin' on it, but they did pay, and now I can move anywhere I want without havin' to live on dehydrated noodles for the next five years.”

“I'm so happy for you, Travis. You deserve a break like this.”

“Well I’ll take it and count my blessings… repeatedly. But enough 'bout the money burnin' holes in my pockets. What's new with you?”

“I'm glad you asked, because I called for a reason.”

“Ya' mean ya' didn't just call to hear my sexy voice?”

She laughed as she fidgeted with Quin's fingers. “You got me, Trav. I can't get enough of that southern drawl. I'm suffering up here with all these people who enunciate their words.”

“I knew it. The ladies do dig my hillbilly accent.
Ya'll
can't get enough of my country charm.”

“You're a regular chick magnet. I can't deny it.”

“I'd know you were lyin' if ya' tried.”

“Are you going to keep feeding your outrageous ego, or are you going to listen to why I called?”

“I'm listenin'. Give me the run-down.”

“I'm going on a trip.”

“Where ya goin'?”

“Canada.”

“What? Why ya goin' there?”

“I have family there.”

“No kiddin'?”

“No kidding. I'm making the trip with my cousins Devlin and Edana. We're leaving tonight.”

“That should be fun.”

“Yeah. I'm excited about it. But we're going to be driving, so I'll probably be gone for a couple of weeks. I don't know how my cell reception will be, or if I'll have any coverage up there, so I don't know when I'll get to talk to you again.”

“Oh. Are ya gonna miss my sexy voice?”

She smiled, her throat swelling as moisture stung her eyes. “I am. I look forward to hearing it.”

“Good, cause I look forward to hearin' yours.”

“Mine's sexy?”

“The sweetest and sexiest I've ever heard.”

A tear rolled down her cheek as her bottom lip quivered, but Quin was quick to brush at them with his thumbs, drying the tear and calming her pout.
 

“Maybe I should become one of those 1-900 number girls,” she joked, trying to shift toward the bright side.

“I’d say go for it if they paid well enough,” Travis encouraged. “You’d be employee of the month every month.”

“Hmm... I think I'll look around a bit before choosing that for a career.”

“Good idea. Leave that job for someone who wasn't blessed with a gorgeous face. So a couple of weeks, huh?”

“Probably.”

“Well take notes so ya' have somethin' to brag 'bout when ya' find time to call.”

“Okay.” She paused and took a deep breath. Then she let it out with her next sentence. “You should come see me when I get back.”

“Are ya' finally invitin' me for a visit?”
 

“Yeah. I'll have plenty of time to help you blow your new found fortune. We’ll dress up, and I'll make you take me out to dinner at a fancy restaurant.”

“It's a date,” Travis agreed. “My calendar's clear, so just tell me when.”

“I'll let you know as soon as I know.”

“I look forward to it.”
 

“Me, too.”

“Well ya' probably got a million things to do before your trip, and I got boat loads of cash callin' my name, so I'll let ya' get on with it while I go buy some diamond cufflinks or somethin'.”

“I'm glad you got your priorities straight.”

“Yep, I know what's important in life.”

“I'll miss you while I’m gone, Trav.”

“I’ll miss you, too, sugar. Be careful, and call me when ya get a chance.”

“Okay.” She paused, gripping Quin's hand like a lifeline. Then she pulled it to her cheek and squeezed her eyes shut. “Travis?”
 

“Yeah?”

“I love you.”

There was a short moment of silence. Then he responded in a confused voice. “I love you, too, Layla. Is somethin' wrong?”

“No,” she quickly answered. “Nothing's wrong. I just wanted you to know.”

“I do.”
 

“Good.”

“Are ya' sure you’re okay?”

She answered with forced conviction. “Positive. I just felt like saying it.”

“You can say it anytime, ya' know? It feels good to hear somethin' like that, especially when it comes from someone unique as a snowflake and sweet as sugar.”

“Thanks, Trav.” She was barely containing tears and feared her voice would disappear any moment. “I'll call you soon, Okay?”

“Okay, hon. Be safe.”

“I'll try. Bye.”

And that was it. The line went dead.

She tossed the phone aside and buried her face in Quin's neck, letting her tears run their course while thinking about the friend who'd ultimately gotten her to that point. Without Travis, she wouldn't have Quin, because she’d still be a depressed bag of bones in Oklahoma.

“I'm sorry, love,” Quin whispered. “I wish there was more I could do.”

“You do so much, Quin. Please know that. I’d hate to think I've made the same mistake with you that I made with Travis. I want you to know exactly how much you mean to me.”

“I do, and so does Travis.” He urged her from his neck and laid her back in his arm, sweeping her hair from her moist cheeks. “I look forward to meeting him. I'd like to shake the hand of the man who cares so much about you.”

She cracked a smile through the tears. “He'll think I won the lottery when he meets you.”

“He probably won’t trust me.”

“You think?”

“Yeah. If he cares about you, he’ll be suspicious of me.”

“Hmm… maybe, but we’ll worry about that later. Right now I’m ready for that visit to my parents’ memorial.”

Chapter 42

Slipping out through the kitchen door, Quin and Layla flew to her parents' memorial, landing on the outskirts of the small clearing. She took his hand and led him to the bare and lonely boulder in the middle. Then she urged him to touch it the same time she did. The epitaph etched into the rock beneath their palms, and she looked at the ground, smiling at the blossoming roses – dark-brown petals with emerald-green tips.
 

He sat, and she made herself comfortable on his lap. “I don’t know what I’m supposed to read into the flowers, but they make me feel good.”

“Me, too,” he agreed, laying his cheek on her head.

“Do you think my parents know what we're going through?” she asked. “What we're about to face?”

“Probably, at least some of it. Why don't you ask them? That got results last time.”

“I don’t think I want to. If they don't know, I don't want them to know.” She looked up, finding his eyes as moisture filled her own. “That way they might get the surprise of their afterlives later.”

He brushed a kiss across the tip of her nose while catching a tear. “And a bittersweet surprise it would be.”

She sighed as she looked at the beautiful words flawlessly chiseled into the boulder.
 

Forever In Our Hearts

Rhosewen Keely Donnelly

&

Aedan Dagda Donnelly

Perfect Daughter

Perfect Son

Perfect Love

“Perfect,” Layla whispered, fully comprehending the meaning.

She snuggled into Quin and fell silent, soaking up the peace while reflecting on her parents’ memories. Then she closed her eyes and recalled the past eighteen days – the most amazing of her life.

After mentally telling her parents she loved them, she pulled her hand from the memorial and looked at Quin. “We can go now.”
 

He picked one of the multicolored roses and tucked it in her curls. Then he tightened his hold on her and stood. As he looked to the sky, a cluster of auras and bonded lights drifted into the clearing, so he stayed put while watching his parents and Layla’s grandparents descend.

“You've been here a while,” Morrigan said, beaming at the roses.

“Yeah,” Quin confirmed. “We were just leaving.”

Daleen’s smile fell as she looked up. “Oh please don't. Kemble was about to mind search you and ask you to join us. Everyone’s coming – the rest of the coven and the blood relatives from out of town. We’d love for you to stay.”

“Sure,” Layla agreed. “But why are we gathering here?”

“We want to give Rhosewen and Aedan a group hug,” Morrigan answered, pulling Caitrin to the boulder. She laid her hand on it, once again bringing the inscription to light, and peach-colored roses cropped up amid the others.

Caitrin examined them. Then he touched his daughter's name, generating a burst of sea-blue roses. “We want them to know we're all together. They’d be thrilled to know that.”
 

Pale-green blooms flourished as Daleen rested her hand beside Morrigan's. Then Serafin lowered his hand next to his wife’s, doubling the emerald sprinkling the clearing.

Layla grinned as she scanned the unique rainbow of perennials. “I think that's a great idea.”

Quin sat back down and rested his hand next to Caitrin's. Then Kemble and Cordelia laid theirs next to their son's.

Everyone looked at the new additions to the garden. Then all eyes fell on Layla, who was the only one not touching the rock. She was still marveling at the sea of roses, but she soon flattened her palm over the words
perfect love
.

A light shock rippled up her arm, working its way straight to her heart before spreading heat through her veins, and she looked around with wide eyes, realizing everyone had felt the shock… and they were as stunned as she was.

“I'd say they're already thrilled,” Serafin noted, wiping away Daleen's tears.

“Yes,” Morrigan agreed, shedding unhampered rivers.

Caitrin smiled as he kissed Morrigan’s head. “I can't wait to see what happens when the others arrive.”

He didn't have to wait long. Within minutes the air was thick with witches and wizards, who remained hovering to preserve the temporary garden, which grew in size each time another hand made contact with the memorial.
 

Their coven was the first of the newcomers to work their way in, squeezing close, shoulder to shoulder, hip to hip, their bodies floating out away from the boulder as their hands found its surface. And once twenty-eight palms touched the stone, another tingling jolt shot from within, raising goose bumps while warming insides. Reverent sighs whispered through the air, mingling with the solace and love radiating from the memorial, and so many roses blanketed the ground, they were creeping up trees and slithering around the base of the boulder, which was casting a soft, golden glow on its visitors.

“They're so happy,” Layla whispered, and the rock brightened as the tingles strengthened.

Unable to wait any longer, the family members hovering above the crowd began squeezing around those already spiraling from the stone like water lily petals. Hand after hand worked its way in, and by the time every person in the clearing managed to claim a piece of Aedan and Rhosewen, the rock was almost too bright to look at and the atmosphere was dense with a sense of security.

Layla's legs were covered in a heavenly assortment of roses, and as she ran her fingertips across silky waves, she mind searched Quin. '
I want this.
If it's at all possible, I want this when we're gone. Right here, in this spot, with them. With all of them.
'

He gently squeezed as he lowered his lips to her ear. “I want that, too, love.”