Whispering Hearts (19 page)

Chapter Twenty-Two

After the incredible afternoon she had spent in bed with Garrett, Rachel didn't expect to wake up from a nightmare. She shot up in bed, glancing around the room frantically. For a few moments, she was disoriented, trying to figure out where she was and what was going on.

Garrett sat up and wrapped his arms around her. “What's wrong?”

“Nothing.” She shook her head. “Just another nightmare.”

“Do you want to talk about it?”

“I don't know. It felt so real.”

He shrugged. “It might help.”

What a novel concept. Talking openly about something she had been keeping secret for decades. The chill of the dream receded at the thought of sharing this with Garrett—something she hadn't told anyone about.

“It isn't just from recent events. I've had nightmares for about as long as I can remember. Not every night, but more often than I'd like.”

“That sounds awful.”

“It used to be standard ghost stuff. I had actually acclimated to it. But since what happened with Michael, they've changed. Now there are two men reaching for me. One of them feels cold and…twisted. Like Michael. But the other one is warm and loving.”

“Maybe that one's me.” Garrett nuzzled her neck and she leaned into him.

“No. There's definitely a different feel to this one. More…familial.” She shook her head. “It's strange, even for me. It felt like the warm energy was trying to find me, but couldn't because of Michael. Like Michael was keeping the other one away.”

“Is it possible your powers are trying to tell you something?”

“I hope not.”

Garrett leaned far enough to the side that she could see his quizzical expression.

“There's an urgency to the dreams that has been building. And this last one…” She shivered at the memory. “Whoever was trying to find me, the warm energy, it was grabbed by Michael's energy and…absorbed or something. It was awful.”

She leaned into Garrett's chest to calm herself down. The fear from her nightmares usually faded quickly. This one left her with a lingering sense of anxiety.

“I hate to keep asking this, but—”

“Michael is gone. He has to be. Spirits need a corporeal connection. I have it from people in-the-know.”

“Don't ghosts ever lie?”

“Of course they do.” She thought of Misha and her suspicions. This didn't seem the best time to bring up the topic. “Hiram isn't the only one I talked to about it.”

“Another ghost?”

“I keep telling you, it isn't always about ghosts.”

“Who then?”

“The woman who owns Bookwyrm is a medium named Chloe. She does readings in the store sometimes. She's into the showmanship of the whole divination thing and really dresses for the part.” Rachel laughed and said, “You should have seen my mother's face when Chloe showed up at the house the first time.”

“Sounds like you should have sold tickets.”

“Yeah. Chloe's the one who taught me about poppets and how to use a witch's ball. She still sometimes sends me books, but we have to be careful.”

“Why?”

“For one, my mother threatened to sue her. I didn't take that threat lightly. Lillian would have found a way to ruin Chloe. And Chloe and I were trying to keep the ghosts from figuring out I could hear them so they would stop bothering me. Hanging out with her would raise their suspicions.”

“She doesn't have your problem with ghosts?”

“Chloe isn't clairsentient. Not like me, anyway. She has to do all sorts of ritual preparations to contact the other side.”

Chloe had always told Rachel what a gift her powers were. Now that things had changed, maybe Rachel could go to Chloe and learn more. For the first time since Rachel was a child, she was actually excited about what she could do.

“Can she help us with Michael's victims?” Garrett asked.

“I was just thinking something along those lines. I think she can. She'll be very happy I'm away from my mom.”

“We're all happy about that. Especially me.” He kissed the side of her neck—a small nip, but then he nuzzled her ear and moved to her lips.

This was much better than talk of nightmares and dysfunctional families. Rachel wrapped her arms around Garrett's neck and kissed him back. She was about to push him flat on the bed when her stomach growled loudly.

Garrett broke off the kiss.

“Sorry,” she said. “I think we forgot to eat.”

“We should take care of that.”

He slid to the edge of the bed, holding on to her hand as she followed. He didn't let go while they walked to the kitchen. She stood on her tiptoes to kiss him, and finally dropped his hand so she could open the fridge.

“Sandwiches?”

He laughed and retrieved some plates from the cabinets. “What is it with you and turkey sandwiches?”

“They're nature's perfect food.”

Rachel rooted around in the fridge for what she needed, then set everything on the counter. They worked in silence, exchanging a few sidelong glances and smiles. Garrett filled a pair of glasses with a sports drink and his grin turned wicked.

“We need to keep ourselves hydrated after that afternoon,” Garrett said.

“And for tonight.”

Rachel ran her hand down his chest, trailing her fingers almost all the way down the dark river of hair that bisected his torso. If she went too far, it would be a while before they ate.

“Maybe we should have put some clothes on…”

She hadn't even thought about the fact that they were standing naked in his kitchen. She was that comfortable with him. And he must be that comfortable with her. The thought delighted her and she giggled.

“When a man's body starts to get ready to please his woman, he's not looking for giggles.”

Her gaze dropped past his waist and a different kind of hunger altogether stirred in her.

“Stop. Stop looking at me like that.” He turned her around and playfully swatted her backside as she walked toward the living room. Then he slid the plates and glasses across the counter.

“Hand me a couple of towels, will you?”

He didn't ask why she wanted them—just opened a drawer and grabbed a pair, then handed them to her. She draped them over the barstools.

“They look cold,” she said.

“Good thinking.”

He joined her on the other side of the counter and they started eating, sitting so their knees touched.

When they were about done, Garrett said, “I have to ask. Did you ever tell your parents about what you can do?”

Rachel snorted. “My dad—no. And I didn't have to tell my mom. She already knew.”

“How?”

“Because she can do the same thing.”

Garrett choked on his last bite of sandwich. Rachel reached out and patted him on the back. He took a long sip from his glass when he'd cleared his throat.

“Lillian Montgomery is psychic?” he asked.

Rachel laughed again. “Please do not ever tell her that you know.”

“I wouldn't dare. She'd probably have me killed.”

Fear clawed at Rachel's heart suddenly. Her mother was capable of much more than hearing ghosts. Terrible things.

“Garrett, you really need to be careful with my mother. She's much more dangerous than you think.”

He laughed. “I think I can take her.”

“No,” Rachel shook her head. “You don't know what she's capable of.”

“You mean aside from hearing ghosts?”

“Listen to me. I told you that Hiram crossed over to protect me. Something happened… Something terrible.”

“This is that story you mentioned earlier. The one I won't like.”

She didn't want to have to tell him this, but it was a vital part of her past. He needed to know, both to understand the regular nightmares when they returned and so he knew the true horror that was Mrs. Lillian Montgomery.

“I talked about Hiram all the time when I was a kid. Even in front of strangers,” Rachel said. “When I was younger, my mother could explain it away as an imaginary friend. But when I grew older, people started giving me strange looks. Then they started giving
her
strange looks.”

Lillian Montgomery had found that unacceptable. Rachel felt her cheeks tingle with rage over what her mother had done to control her disobedient daughter.

“What did she do?” Garrett's voice was a low rumble. This wasn't going to go over well.

“My mother took me to a town a few hours away. She never paid much attention to me before that day. She had nannies for that. I was so excited.” Rachel shook her head. She refused to cry over this. Not anymore.

“We walked into this abandoned building on the outskirts of the town. It had burned down years before. I was scared, but she was with me and I thought she would keep me safe, because that's what mothers are supposed to do. We walked to this huge empty room and she said, ‘Playing with ghosts isn't all fun and games.' Then she stood there and smiled while they came for me.”

Rachel was shaking.
Dammit!
She shouldn't be shaking. She dared to look at Garrett. His jaw was working again, his lips so tight they were bloodless.

“It had been a maximum security prison before a riot that killed dozens of prisoners in addition to several of the guards. I was eight.”

“Jesus!” Garrett grabbed her hands and squeezed them.

She didn't let him pull her close. Didn't dare rest against his chest and cry. This was an old pain. She wanted him to know she could deal with it.

“After that, word spread about what I could do among ghosts that were not as kind as Hiram. That's why he brought Chloe to me. He contacted her during one of her rituals. He's the one who came up with the plan to pretend that I lost the ability after…”

Rachel shook her head, trying to turn her mind away from those horrible memories.

“Chloe taught me about poppets and helped me learn, and Hiram…” Rachel couldn't stop a few tears from rolling down her cheek at the thought of losing him. “Hiram crossed over as part of a ritual Chloe designed. He was able to grab a couple of the ghosts who had been especially…unpleasant…and take them with him.”

Garrett didn't need to know just how bad those spirits had been. Judging from his reaction so far, Rachel had better not tell him about the ones who were able to affect the physical plane. About the scratches and shoving and the light touches to her hair she could almost convince herself she imagined.

Chloe had assured Rachel that Hiram wouldn't be dragged to the same place as those spirits. Rachel wouldn't have let them try the ritual otherwise. She was sure those ghosts were headed for suffering.

“How could your mother just stand by and listen to that?” Garrett asked. “How could she subject you to it?”

“She wanted me to stop talking about ghosts. Her plan worked. And she didn't know exactly what they said. Have you ever noticed that she wears two sets of earrings?”

“That's kind of a non sequitur. You're going to have to build me a bridge.”

He would get it in a moment. “One set is always the same. Understated little moonstone studs. They block the voices. Apparently, they were passed down from generation to generation in my family. Hiram asked around and told me. All the women are clairsentient.”

“That is…a lot to process. I mean, I would never guess in a million years that your mom knew a thing about any of this, let alone that she could do something so awful to her own daughter.”

“She always told me, ‘Watch what you say—a proper lady is neither smart nor psychic.'”

Rachel felt her grimace as she said her mother's favorite bit of advice. How many thousands of times had Mrs. Montgomery whispered those words in Rachel's ear to keep her daughter in check?

The set line to Garrett's jaw made Rachel uncomfortable. He was planning something and she doubted she would like it.

“I'm getting you those earrings. One way or another.”

“You don't have to—”

“No, I
shouldn't
have to. She should have given them to you already.”

Rachel let out another scoff. Her mother doing something supportive like that was such an alien thought.

Chloe had said that families with powers like Rachel's usually gave the children whatever tools were available to help them until they could control their powers. Lillian must have skipped that lesson from the grandmother Rachel had never met.

“It's okay.”

“No, it's not okay! She's waltzing around like the Queen Bee while you're trapped in here behind poppets. She's your mother. She should have taken care of you, not…” He snapped his mouth shut, fuming.

Lillian had never taken care of Rachel. That was what the nannies were for.

Rachel kept the comment to herself. Garrett seemed ready to explode already.

“I'm okay,” Rachel said. “I'll figure something out.”

“What about our kids?”

Rachel's breath caught in her chest. Even though she had mentioned kids and he seemed on board, they hadn't actually talked about it. She had always wanted a big family, but didn't think it could happen for her because of her ability. With Garrett as her partner, anything seemed possible.

“Our kids?” she squeaked.

“What if we have three girls?”

She could see the wheels moving in his head. He wanted to take care of Rachel, and he was already worrying about kids they didn't have yet.

Yet… Yet!

The reality of her future was just hitting her. Rachel jumped up and threw her arms around his neck, kissing him long and deep.

As she trailed her kisses along his neck, he said, “I don't see how this is helping us find a solution.”

“We'll figure it out,” she whispered in his ear, then gave it a nip. “Someone made those earrings for her. I can make my own and sets for our girls.”