Between Darkness and Daylight (47 page)

"Well, are you just going to stand there, or are you going to give me a
hug?"

"Can I?"

"If you don't, I'm going to punch you."

Zane chuckled. Stepping closer, he pulled her into a firm embrace,
reveling in her warmth and softness, surprised he could feel her solid flesh
on this plane. Surprised he could feel anything. Even the spicy scent she
used to wear tickled his nostrils. "It feels so good to hold you," he
whispered.

"I know. Same here, but…" She pulled away to stare at him. "Don't get
used to it."

"Why not?"

"You can't stay."

"Why—?"

"You have to go back to Ransom and Nova."

"You know about Nova?"

"Of course I do." She playfully shoved him in the shoulder. "She's a
hottie."

Between Darkness and Daylight

333

"Now you sound like your son."

"I need to tell you something before I go."

His heart lurched at the word
go
. He knew it meant he wouldn't be
seeing her again, but he steeled himself enough to say, "Sure, shoot."

"You've been doing a great job with Ransom, Zane."

"You really think so?"

"You're a little rough around the edges with the discipline, but you're
getting there."

"Thanks, Sage."

"Hey, you needed to hear it." She shrugged. "And I know that handful I
left behind ain't been singing your praises very often since I left."

"He's a good kid."

"Make sure he stays that way."

"I will." She was sliding away from him; he could feel the electricity
and cold filling the air between them, forewarning of her departure.

Zane wanted to hold her so that she couldn't leave, wanted to follow
her so that he'd be with her forever, but he knew neither option was
feasible.

As if she'd read his thoughts, Sage murmured, "Ransom needs you."

He nodded as she turned and floated away, feeling as if his heart had
been ripped out, like he was watching her die all over again. Sage quickly
disappeared from sight but left an "I'll be around!" in her wake.

Then Sinny appeared before him holding the hand of a toddler.

Our son, if he had lived.

He still had trouble getting his head around Martinez's confession.

He'd already known, but the thought of so much waste, the loss of not only
his wife but his child, too, just boggled his mind.

The boy had Sinnead's chestnut hair—a rich riot of curls framing his
angelic face—and Ransom's amber eyes.

"Oh God," Zane blurted.

"Not quite."

He smiled and reached for her, closing his eyes as he took her hand
and rubbed the silky back of it against his cheek. She was real, as soft and
warm as Sage had been.

After a long moment, he reluctantly opened his eyes and held her at
arms' length, just staring at her. "You're beautiful."

334

Gracie C. McKeever

"You're not too bad yourself. But I know someone who's even prettier."

"Does everyone know about Nova?"

"Not yet. But soon."

Zane looked down at his little boy, then crouched in front of him and
smiled. "What's your name?"

"His name is Sage."

Zane stood and faced her. "Sage?"

Sinny shrugged. "It is a unisex name, and I've always liked its meaning
and sound."

"Nice choice." He nodded.

"You too."

He arched a brow, saw her smile and remembered the same impish
grin from the park, when she'd snatched his notebook and French-kissed
him.

"Your new girlfriend. She's quite the looker."

"She's not you."

"You don't need another me. You need someone who'll love you for
you."

"I still think about you, Sinny."

"I know. But don't feel guilty about loving
her
. Trust me, it's okay."

He nodded, reaching for her hand again, but she drifted back out of
his reach, wagging a finger at him in an ah-ah-ah gesture.

"We have to go now." She took little Sage's hand, then turned, and they
floated away.

"Will I see you again?"

"Whenever you need to!"

That sounded so cryptic. He wanted more. He needed more.

"Trust your instincts, Zane," Sinny's disembodied voice called.

"Everything's going to be all right. Just trust…"

* * * *

He opened his eyes and blinked several times. Nova was sitting in a chair at his bedside, her head resting on the mattress beside him. Even in sleep, she had a death grip on his hand, and he winced as he squeezed her fingers back to let her know he was awake.

Between Darkness and Daylight

335

Her head jerked up almost instantly and she blinked at him. "Zane?"

"In the flesh." He swallowed hard, his throat parched, and Nova quickly reached for a glass of ice water. She rubbed a cube across his mouth, smiling as he ravenously licked droplets from his lips. "How long have I been out?"

"Too long."

"Nova I…I felt it when they hit me with those paddles." He watched her flinch and then realized what he had said. He hadn't meant to worry her.

"I felt it too."

"What was it like when you…when you died?"

She shrugged, as if to downplay the most momentous occasion in her life.

Zane squeezed her hand again and smiled. "If you don't want to talk about it—"

"It's not that. I just wonder why you want to know. Are you even sure you believe it?"

"How can I not?"

She shrugged again, lowered her head and averted her eyes like a littler girl who'd been reprimanded one too many times for coloring outside the lines.

"I saw them," he murmured.

"Them?"

"My sister and wife."

"Did they say anything to you?"

He smiled. That was the great thing about being intimate with a psychic who'd had a near-death experience—nothing he said shocked her.

"They said they'd be around and to trust my instincts."

"You're not just saying that to make me feel better, are you?"

"I'm saying it because it's true."

She nodded and was silent for a long time before spearing him with an intense gaze. "I met Sinny during my near-death experience. It's why I came out here to New York. To—"

"Protect me."

She nodded. "Initially I just came to stop the dreams I was having, figuring once I found you, they'd go away. But Sinny had other ideas."

336

Gracie C. McKeever

"She's pretty forceful."

"You realize you're speaking about her in the present tense?"

"Am I? Probably because our meeting is so fresh."

"Your meeting? Sounds formal." She grinned.

"Anything but." He wanted to tell her so much, to share the bittersweet joy at seeing his sister again, at holding his wife and meeting his son.

Would she be able to digest that part, even with her history?

"So, what are your instincts telling you about…about us?"

"Can't you tell?" He reached for her lapels and pulled her forward.

Nova braced her weight against the bed, both palms on the mattress on each side of his head, as she leaned in to kiss him.

She pulled up for air after several long seconds, panting and gawking at Zane as if a man in his condition shouldn't be able to take her breath away with a kiss. "We shouldn't be doing this."

"My instincts tell me we should do this and more…" He reached for her mouth and she bent her head. "As much as possible, any chance we get."

Nova giggled as her lips met his once more, sealing a fiery kiss.

Between Darkness and Daylight

337

Epilogue

Newburgh, New York - Eight Months Later

"I think he looks like me," Ransom said, as if daring anyone to dispute his contention.

Nova laughed as Zane bent over her, mesmerized by his new son and gently ruffling the infant's curly mass of chestnut hair.

"No wonder you had such severe indigestion while you were carrying him," Zane said.

"Pa-shaw." She waved. "That's an old wives' tale."

"And of course you don't believe any of those."

She looked at him long and hard before they both burst out laughing.

He leaned in to rub his forehead against hers before kissing her full on the mouth.

"Okay, that's it. You guys have got your room, so I'm splitting."

"Where to, Ran-man?"

"Going down to the vending machine. Want anything?"

"Nah," Zane and Nova chorused.

Zane glanced over his shoulder and tip-toed to the door to close it.

Then he tip-toed back to her and the baby. "Kid's a bottomless pit."

"He's your son."

"Oh, disown him when he's a garbage disposal, and claim him only when he aces all the difficult geometry and science tests."

"You got it."

He stared down at the baby, smiling. "It's Ran's first real chance to be a big brother," he said, tone full of awe.

Nova silently nodded, remembering that Sage had miscarried her second child.

338

Gracie C. McKeever

She cradled her infant close now, thankful and just as fascinated as Zane had been, examining fingers and toes. She could barely believe little Sage was theirs.

There was something so familiar about this baby, an intimacy born of more than just having housed him and shared a circulatory system for nine months.

He had an old soul, as if he'd been here before.

Or as if he'd
almost
been here before.

That was silly and such a cliché but…

Nova stared down into his big variegated eyes. It was difficult to tell what color they would finally be. She gasped, surprised by their intensity, and by the recognition that pounded in her heart.

"What's up?"

"Nothing, just…" She couldn't think how to describe the feeling that had just flowed through her—electric, warm knowledge. "He just doesn't seem like an infant. I keep expecting him to say 'Hi Mommy and Daddy'

any second."

Zane chuckled before he suddenly turned serious. "You knew Sinny was pregnant," he whispered.

"I suspected it, but I wasn't sure until I met you and touched her scarf."

He nodded, contemplative as he stared at the baby.

Smiling, Nova reached up and palmed his cheek, reveling in the slight stubble, evidence of his recent long vigils. He'd sat through several false alarms with her and had some particularly rough days at the school, to boot.

They all needed a vacation soon, and she had just the place in mind.

She'd been promising Ransom since December that they'd make it out to the 'gunks this spring.

"What are you scheming?" he asked.

"Not scheming, just planning a family vacation."

"Ready to fit the baby with infant rock climbing shoes?"

Damn, he knew her too well. Was it because he'd experienced near-death too? She'd have to ask her mother more about this whole psychic, life-after-death, mental linking matter.

Between Darkness and Daylight

339

Glancing down at the baby, she got that same intense look, as if Sage were trying to tell her something. She looked from the baby to Zane and back again, smiling in the warm comfort of sudden realization.

Sage was their baby—hers, Zane's… and Sinnead's.

BETWEEN DARKNESS AND DAYLIGHT

THE END

www.GracieCMcKeever.com

AUTHOR’S BIO

Gracie McKeever is an author from the Bronx, and aside from several side trips along the way, has lived and worked her entire life in the New York City area. She has been writing since the ripe old age of seven when two younger brothers were among her earliest, captive audience for various short story readings and performances.

An eclectic and voracious reader whose audience has grown outside of the supportive family members, she's had the great fortune of being able to incorporate two of her favorite passions and talents—reading and writing—as a book reviewer for several online e-zines, both as a regular staff member and freelancer.

Her short stories, novellas and poetry have seen exposure in various lit and art magazines and other venues—online and in print. Of particular note, heard over the airwaves on KFJC’s morning show, Dancing In The Fast Lane With Ann Arbor (Unbedtime Stories) out of Los Altos Hills, CA (
New Life Incognita
was the story of the month for March 2000). She's also proud to be a member of the ("Worlds' Oldest Active Homeless Paper") Street News family and has seen numerous articles, poems and novel excerpts published within its pages as well as having had a poetry reading on Pseudo On-line Network (Street News Review).