Following Bliss (The Quest series) (11 page)

“You are
satisfied?”

Shelby was full
of questions, but too shell-shocked to respond. Her entire body was covered in
goosebumps as waves of energy rolled through her. She felt Daniel’s mother to
her left. Now she knew whose lives (as in plural, she suddenly realized!) his
mother was referring to being saved. And she felt certain of what she had to do
next.

# # #

Daniel closed
the condo door behind him and made his way into the main courtyard to meet up
with Kaley and the other publishers. He felt so good; it was as if every cell
in his body were vibrating at an abundant level. The walk along the beach had
calmed his masculine urgency cocktail into a feeling of peace and assuredness.
It had also allowed him to clear his mind of the fro-yo incident, along with
the confusing feeling that Shelby should be with him. He was a man on a mission,
a mission to make his mother proud and to really be something—a published
author.

Freshly shaven, wearing
light khaki pants paired with a light blue short-sleeve button down and
camel-colored flip-flops (it was Maui after all), Daniel was ready to set the
world on fire. He was also ready to pitch the hell out of
Shannon Town
to whomever Kaley put in front of him. He felt it down to his core—it was his
time to shine.

As Daniel neared
the courtyard, he immediately spotted Kaley. She was wearing a long white
sundress and appeared far more tan than Daniel remembered.
She must be able
to vacation a lot with all the high-level authors she represents
, Daniel
thought. She was surrounded by two other couples, in their late-to mid-forties,
all looking quite casual and relaxed with suntanned faces, as they sat in white
Adirondack chairs, chatting. A mobile tiki bar sat behind them, along with a
table of fresh fruits, skewered meats, and salads.

“Daniel!”

Kaley called after
Daniel as soon as he entered the courtyard. She rushed over to him, spreading
her arms wide for a hug, lightly kissing him on the cheek.

“We’re so glad
to have you join us, Daniel. It’s going to be a lovely two weeks. Do you love
the place already or what?” She smiled at Daniel and then at the others.

“Actually, I do love
it. It feels so…so….free. You definitely pick the right places to do business
Kaley.”

“Oh, Daniel.
We’re hardly doing business. I mean, look at us!”

Daniel looked
around and noticed that by now the other four guests with Kaley had cocktails
in hand and were smiling red-faced at both of them.

“Now Daniel, you
must meet Jonathan Richer and his wife, Emily. Jonathan works for Penguin
Publishing and his wife is an interior designer. She did my place—it’s quite
fabulous if I do say so myself. And over here is Richard Closterman and his
wife, Sarah. Sarah is an associate editor at Tonga Publishing, and her handsome
husband is a realtor—he’s actually the one who connected me to these magnificent
condos.”

Daniel shook the
couple’s hands, trying his best to put together what was happening.  

“It’s wonderful
to meet all of you. And thank you for the hospitality—these condos and the
grounds really feel like paradise.” Daniel turned to Kaley. “Kaley, can I speak
with you for a minute?”

“Oh, of course
dear. And Richard will you get Daniel a cocktail? You like Mai Tais right
Daniel? It really is the only thing to drink when you’re on the islands.”

Richard nodded,
his large Hawaiian button-up and khaki shorts hanging loosely on his broad 6’2”
frame, as he got up and made his way over to the mobile tiki bar to make more
cocktails.

Daniel walked to
the far corner of the courtyard with Kaley.

“Kaley, um,
where is Thomas Berring, your contact at Random House?”

“Oh Daniel. You
are all business, aren’t you?”

It occurred to
Daniel then that Kaley might be intoxicated.

“Well, I did
think that’s why you asked me over here. So, I’m a little confused, because it
seems like I might be merely joining you on vacation with some of your
friends.”

Kaley smiled.

“Sometimes it’s
okay to mix business with pleasure, Daniel.” She leaned in, touching the collar
of his shirt and stroking it lightly. “Besides, Thomas really isn’t that much
fun to do business or pleasure with,” Kaley winked. “So, you’re better off that
he had a family thing come up and couldn’t make it. All you have to do is relax
Daniel. We’ll work your book into our conversations with Sarah and Jonathan. I
already love it, so I know they will too.”

She stepped in
even closer to Daniel, reaching up to smooth his hair. Daniel could smell the
alcohol on her breath—she was clearly drunk. He wasn’t quite sure what to do.
Perhaps this was how things worked in the publishing industry and if he could
keep his cool and go with the flow, maybe things would turn out all right. Or,
even worse—perhaps Shelby had been right and Kaley’s whole plan for him had
nothing to do with his book. Daniel couldn’t stand the thought of that, and a
huge lump formed in his throat.

“So, to be clear
Kaley, we’re just going to be hanging out for two weeks in the hopes that a
casual mention about my book might catch their attention?”

“They’re on
vacation Daniel—it’s not like we want to barrage them with book talk. They get
enough of that back east. And anyway, it gives us a good opportunity to get to
know each other better.” She was still stroking the collar of his button-down
shirt.

Daniel was
speechless. It appeared that this incredibly successful agent, who worked with
authors all over the world—primarily male authors, he now realized—was making a
play for him. Kaley had told him to come to Maui to meet with an “intimate” group
of folks from the publishing world to discuss his book
Shannon Town.
In
truth, he was now on vacation with Kaley and two couples who were close friends
of hers. He had taken out a huge chunk of cash to fly to Maui, all in the hopes
that this might be his big break. He felt like an idiot. Shelby
was
right.
What would he tell people back home when he returned?

“Daniel, don’t
worry,” Kaley turned serious. “Your book will get picked up. Just have some
fun, okay?”

Daniel took a
step back, unhinging Kaley from his clothes and personal space.

“Kaley, I’m
having trouble understanding what is going on here. So, I will do my best to
relax and spend time with your friends, but we’re going to talk more about my
book—you and me anyway—tomorrow when you’re…” Daniel’s voice trailed off.
“Tomorrow when it’s a fresh, new day.”

“Oh, a man who
tells me what to do. I like that!” Kaley cooed and began walking back to join
the others.

Daniel shook his
head as he walked back behind her. What had he gotten himself into? A small
voice whispered Shelby’s name and he looked up suddenly. Shelby was not going
to be impressed with this situation at all, in addition to knowing that she had
been right. He didn’t want to admit how naïve he had been. The whole situation
made a Mai Tai sound really, really good. Maybe a few of those would make it
easier for him to admit that he was so eager to make his dreams comes true that
he was willing to believe just about anything anyone in the industry
said—including a highly successful and attractive literary agent.

Richard handed
Daniel a cocktail as he sat down in one of the open chairs.

“Thanks
Richard—I really need this right about now.”

“I hear that,
and fortunately you’ve come to the right place. Kihei is the ideal place to get
away from it all.”

“I second that!”
cheered Sarah sitting casually in one of the chairs, her dark black hair pulled
back into a ponytail, comfortably dressed in white gaucho pants with a
turquoise top.

“So Daniel, if
you’re here with Kaley, we can only assume you too are in the writing biz,”
said Jonathan with a slight British accent. “What project are you working on
these days?” Jonathan seemed the most grounded of the group so far to Daniel,
as he sat with an air of confidence—his bald head shining in the dusk of the
evening—next to his wife Emily (who, by the way, Daniel noticed could have
easily passed as a model, her caramel locks perfectly blown out to match her
caramel skin, wearing a pink tank and denim short-shorts. She looked to be
about 10 years Jonathan’s junior.).

Daniel caught
Kaley out of the corner of his eye smiling broadly.

“Well, Jonathan,
it’s funny you should ask, as Kaley and I were only minutes earlier discussing
this very topic. In fact, Kaley invited me down here so I could connect with
you all more about my novel,
Shannon Town.”

“Kaley, you did
not!” Sarah squealed. “We’re on vacation!”

Daniel thought
he saw Kaley frown, but she quickly smiled. “Now, you know I would never
interfere with our vacation unless it was for a very good cause.”

The others
laughed.

“Daniel has
written an incredible historical fiction novel that has a slight western edge
to it. And of course, I think every one of you should read it—that means Emily
and Richard, too.” 

Richard and
Emily rolled their eyes, obviously familiar with Kaley’s habit of bringing work
into their social gatherings.

“I also thought
it would be really good for Daniel to get out of rainy Portland for inspiration,
and also so that he and I could discuss more seriously what our working
relationship will be.” Kaley smiled seductively over at Daniel. “Either way,
everyone wins. We’re in Maui, we’ve got a neverending stream of Mai Tais coming
our way and we’re surrounded by lovely, gifted people. Who could want anything
more?”

Everyone raised
their glasses to toast. Daniel joined in, shrugging his shoulders. Kaley was
good, he had to hand it to her. It seemed as though she could make just about
any situation work in her favor.

# # #

After three Mai
Tais, Daniel was feeling so good and having such a great time that he forgot
that Kaley had essentially tricked him into coming to Maui. He was getting
along great with Richard and Sarah, who also had a strong love of the Pacific
Northwest (they had a house in Seattle’s trendy Capitol Hill area), good coffee,
and great reads.

Daniel stumbled
up to his room around 1 a.m., bidding the others goodnight and ignoring Kaley’s
lengthy stares his way. He thought for a second that he saw something move in
his room as he put the key in the door, but forgot all about it as he lay down
on his comfy bed.

# # #

Daniel,
Daniel.
A woman’s voice was whispering in Daniel’s ear.

Daniel, can
you hear me?

He opened his
eyes slowly, and saw a sprinkle of lights above his head.

Over here
Daniel.
 
The woman’s voice was closer in his ear now. And she was holding his hand.

Daniel looked
over and bolted upright in his bed.

“Jesus Christ!”

Daniel,
listen to me, I have something to tell you—

“Jesus Fucking
Christ! What are you doing here? What is going on? I can’t see this, what are
you doing?”

Daniel,
please calm down
, she said, this time a bit louder.
This is important
.

“This cannot be
happening. This is not you. You’re—you’re—dead!”

Daniel’s mother
smiled, although her face was more blurred than the rest of her. Daniel could
feel her soft skin holding his hand gently. He could smell her smell, the smell
only she had. It was a mixture of ivory with moth balls. He wasn’t sure why
moth balls, but it just was—it was how his mom smelled.

Daniel, I am
no longer in physical form, yes—

“This is
not
happening. Do you hear me? This is not happening. I can’t see you like this, I
can’t, I’m sorry, I can’t. I can’t handle this.”

Daniel was 100
percent freaked out. He couldn’t breathe. His mind was racing trying to make
sense of what he was seeing. She was standing right beside him. It was her and
he couldn’t believe that it was her. It didn’t make sense. She had to leave. He
needed her to leave. She could not stay.

“You have to go
mom, you have to go! Please go. I’m sorry,” Tears now streamed down Daniel’s
face. “I can’t, I can’t do this. Please go. Please go.” Daniel put his hands to
his face and sobbed.

Shhh…love.
It’s going to be all right.
He felt her hand softly rub his back.

Then, he felt a
slight breeze of cold air at the foot of the bed. His tears stopped and he
looked over to the right where she had been standing. Only she was gone.

For some reason,
Daniel now felt calm and sleepy. He laid back down, his mind somehow detaching
from what had only moments before occurred, his body heavy, aching for the
support of the bed. Immediately, he drifted off into a deep sleep. And there,
he saw his mother. This time he did not feel afraid. It was only a dream and he
couldn’t feel or smell her the way he had before. He was safe now.

“Daniel, there’s
something you must know.” This time, his mother wasn’t whispering. They were
sitting in the living room where he had grown up, and it felt like the most
natural thing in the world that they were talking.

“Yes, mom, what
is it?”

“Shelby is the
girl you’re meant to spend your life with.” She looked at him pointedly,
neither smiling nor frowning. She had always been good like that—able to
deliver any news with such grace.

Daniel simply
nodded.

“I want you to
fly her over here to be with you. Call her tomorrow and tell her about my
visit. She will understand and she will come to you. It’s time now, Daniel. I
didn’t want to get overly involved before, and thought giving you both little
hints would be enough. But, you’re both far too stubborn and independent. So,
here I am. You cut yourself off from me energetically by blaming yourself for
my physical transition. I couldn’t reach you, your energy was so heavy and so
filled with self-loathing and grief. Shelby was the opening, so I could connect
with you again. The fact is Daniel, you have an important destiny to fulfill
here in this lifetime and Shelby is a big part of that. You two need each
other.“