Lost Soul (28 page)

Zach covered his mouth to stifle his chuckles.

“You want some?
 
We’ve got plenty to share!” Michael replied with a gigantic smile.

“Is that rainbow sherbet?
 
It looks pretty good.
 
How’d you get that great big thing in here, anyway?”

“Special delivery,” Zach replied with a barely straight face.

As soon as the nurse left, Zach and Michael dug into the ice cream and congratulated Cody on his epic first try.
 
They had him practice with a few other items and before long Cody was able to conjure exactly what they asked for, as long as it was inanimate.
 
He wasn’t able to imbibe anything with life yet, but Michael didn’t think he should even try.
 
Cody hadn’t figured out how to make any of his creations disappear either, and they thought a lifeless body might be kind of hard to hide.

When the rest of the troop came back, they were surprised to see Zach and Michael eating ice cream, surrounded by items that weren’t there a few hours ago when the others said goodbye.

“What is all this?” Jessica exclaimed as she fingered the items that littered Michael room.
 
Besides the giant tub of ice cream there was a half-eaten pizza, some nice boots, a laptop computer, a pile of clothes, and a dead frog.
 
The frog was Cody’s one and only attempt at conjuring something living.

Michael had teased him that the only way for Cody to make the frog come alive was for his spirit to inhabit its body, but Cody wasn’t about to risk getting stuck inside an amphibian for the rest of his life.
 
When he finally tried to switch bodies, he wanted to make sure he got it right.
 
Just in case he couldn’t ever escape, he wanted to think long and hard about what kind of body he wanted before he even attempted body jumping.

When Michael explained to the others what they had been doing, their faces registered complete and utter shock, Paige and Rider especially.

“Do you think I could do this?” Rider asked, staring in amazement at the objects his brother had created.

“You’ll never know unless you try,” Michael replied.

Michael gave him a few pointers, but despite his best efforts Rider wasn’t able to conjure anything out of thin air.
 
He decided he would keep trying, but sometime when he was alone and not being watched by half a dozen sets of eyes.

“Does this mean you could conjure up your own body?” Paige asked quietly, sitting down next to Zach and taking his hand.

“Possibly.
 
He hasn’t tried,” Zach replied, staring into her eyes, trying to get a glimpse into her mind.
 
“How would you feel if he did?”

“You know how I feel about you, Cody,” Paige answered with a heartbroken smile.
 
“I don’t want to lose you.
 
I want you to be part of my life.
 
But I want you to have a chance to have your own life, too, so you’re going to have to decide.
 
It’s not my choice to make.”

“If I create my own body, I get to decide exactly who I want to be, Paige,” Zach spoke for Cody.
 
“That means we never have to say goodbye.”
 
Zach’s hands caressed her cheek.
 
“Heck, I’m so used to this body, maybe I’ll make one just like it!
 
That way you can be with both of us at the same time!”

Paige gave him a playful slug and then kissed her boyfriend to apologize, but an idea was brewing in her mind.

chapter twenty-five

Michael stood in front of the mirror, tying his tie for the hundredth time, trying to get the length right.
 
Why did guys wear these stupid things, anyway?
 
He wondered as he pulled the knot snug and did a little happy dance as he realized it finally looked acceptable.
 
Well, besides the fact that it was purple.
 
Blech.
 
But purple was Jessica’s favorite color, so that was the color of the day — purple ties, purple handkerchiefs, purple bouquets, purple boutonnières, pretty much everything except the outrageously expensive white dress that Jessica was wearing was purple.

Michael shuddered at the thought of how much Jessica’s dress had cost.
 
The biggest thing he missed about being an angel was the complete lack of financial cares.
 
He never even looked at a price tag before, but now he found himself doing complicated mathematical equations in his head every time he even thought about buying something.
 
It was stressful to say the least.

But despite his current financial struggles, money wouldn’t be a problem for long.
 
He had managed to land a great job as regional sales manager for Covington Electronics thanks to his uncanny ability to schmooze the boss, Maxwell Covington.
 
Maxwell had taken a liking to Michael immediately, probably because Michael had spent 30 years watching his every move and knew just what to do and say to make him happy.
 
Maxwell was thoroughly impressed by Michael’s sales technique (because it was exactly like Maxwell’s) and Michael’s ability to stroke Maxwell’s ego so subtly he didn’t even know it was happening.

Michael was only feeling the money pinch right now because weddings were God-awful expensive and, of course, he wanted Jessica to have the very best.
 
She hadn’t planned anything too lavish, but just the thought of spending thousands of dollars on a one-day event made Michael kind of nauseous.
 
Cody could easily conjure up the money to pay for the wedding, but he hadn’t thought to offer and Michael’s pride kept him from asking.
 
Of course, Falla could conjure it too, but Michael knew Falla would rather watch him suffer.
 
His relationship with Jessica’s guardian had improved greatly since Michael had become human, mostly because Michael couldn’t see or hear him anymore, but he was pretty sure Falla’s opinion of him hadn’t changed.

Michael understood that jobs and money were an integral part of the human experience, though, and he didn’t want to miss out on anything.
 
Besides, working for Maxwell was a great way to stay involved in his life.
 
Michael still cared deeply for his former charge and he wanted to keep an eye on him so he would know that everything was okay.
 
Since Michael could no longer see the angels that guarded his loved ones, he just had to take it on faith that they were doing their jobs.
 
He didn’t know if he even had a guardian angel.
 
He assumed he did, now that he was fully human, but Emit had decided to keep that knowledge a secret, along with all the other happenings in the angelic realm.
 
Being in the dark about those things was kind of unnerving, but Michael was more interested in the human world now anyway.

Satisfied with his appearance, Michael peeked out into the little chapel to see what was going on.
 
There weren’t a lot of people in attendance, mainly because Michael didn’t have any family other than his sons and Jessica wasn’t very close to hers.
 
The kids were all there, of course, and Jessica’s parents, and a few of her coworkers.
 
He had invited Maxwell but he wasn’t sure he would make an appearance, so it took him by surprise to see him walking down the aisle.
 
His latest girlfriend, Rosalyn, was draped across his arm and Michael was glad to see they looked happy.

An even bigger surprise was the Conrad family, taking up an entire row.
 
In anticipation of the wedding, Jessica had encouraged her mother to look up the family on Facebook and update their acquaintance.
 
Karen and Calvin had been thrilled to hear from Sarah and the two had spent hours on the phone catching up on each other’s lives.
 
When Karen learned that Jessica was getting married, she immediately rounded up her whole family and traveled back to Michigan.
 
They didn’t know Michael, of course, but the sight of his old family happy and well brought tears to his eyes.
 
The boys had all found lovely wives, and although they hadn’t brought all their children to the wedding, Michael was thrilled when he learned they were plentiful.
 
He hoped he would get a chance to visit with the Conrads and maybe hear a few stories about the years he had missed.

His memory drifted back to the vision Emit had given him so many years ago of what Jessica’s future was supposed to have been.
 
If he hadn’t intervened she would be marrying Colby today instead of him.
 
Actually, she probably would already be married and have a couple kids.
 
He tried to imagine what his life would be like if he had followed the original plan.
 
He could have prevented a lot of heartache if he had just obeyed in the first place, but then he wouldn’t be with Jessica now and he wouldn’t have Rider and Cody.
 
He felt guilty for the pain he had caused, but he couldn’t bring himself to regret the outcome.
 
Besides, a wedding was certainly no place for regrets.

He scanned the crowd, noticing Rachel and Paige in their lovely purple dresses.
 
Paige was happy to reuse her prom gown, claiming it hadn’t gotten enough use that day, and Rachel and Jessica had enjoyed a little shopping to find something complimentary for Rachel to wear.
 
Paige had brought her sister Emily with her to the wedding and Michael was surprised to see how much they looked alike.
 
Emily was a few years older, fresh out of college, but she looked and acted so much like Paige that Michael wondered if people had trouble telling them apart.

Michael enjoyed the glimpse of all his party guests, including Dominion Emit who looked completely out of sorts trying to mingle with the humans, but who he was really curious to see was Zach and Cody.
 
They had been MIA for the last several days, working on a surprise wedding gift they claimed, and even though the start of the ceremony was just a few minutes away they were still nowhere to be seen.

A tap on his shoulder caught Michael by surprise and he whirled around, only to find himself holding onto the door for support as he gaped.
 
Three handsome young men stood before him — Rider, Zach, and a boy who looked incredibly like a younger version of himself.
 
His dark hair had been slicked back from his tan, chiseled face and large muscles bulged beneath the seams of his trim, black suit.
 
Coffee-colored eyes that mimicked his own shone bright as the boy smiled.

“Meet your son — Cody,” Zach announced with a grin and the mysterious boy held out a hand.

Michael gasped as he took Cody outstretched hand and the boy pulled him in for an embrace instead.

“Cody, is it really you?
 
Did you conjure this body?” Michael asked.

“I did.”
 
Cody nodded.
 
“What do you think?
 
Jessica gave me the idea.”

Tears began to pour from Michael’s eyes.
 
“You did this for me?”

Cody shrugged nonchalantly, but his smile gave away his pride.
 
“I thought you might like a little family resemblance.”

“You guys!” Michael cried, unable to express all the feelings inside.

Just then, the music began and Michael knew it was time to take his place.
 
He couldn’t wait till later when he could introduce Cody as his son.
 
Of course, he thought of Rider as his child too, but since Rider had inherited another boy’s family, Michael could only claim him in private.
 
But for now, his thoughts turned to Jessica and he hurried to the altar to await his bride.

The boys made their way to the front row where the other teens were saving them seats.
 
Rider sat next to Rachel and Zach sat next to Paige, but another girl was already sitting on Paige’s other side.
 
Cody’s eyes did a double take as he glanced at the surprisingly familiar face.
 
She looked almost exactly like Paige!

“Cody, this is my sister Emily.
 
I thought you might like a date,” Paige whispered, a mischievous look in her sparking eyes.

“Pleased to make your acquaintance,” Cody replied with a grin and held his hand out to the girl next to Paige.
 
Emily returned his stare with an interested gleam and took his hand in a firm shake.

Cody took the seat next to Emily and tried to keep his eyes from straying her way, but he found the similarities between her and Paige fascinating, even the way she swung her feet when she crossed her legs, and he couldn’t keep himself from staring every time he looked her direction.
 
Emily didn’t seem to mind, though, and Cody thought he saw her smile when he was checking out her legs.
 
When the Wedding March began, all eyes turned towards the aisle, and Zach took the opportunity to get a good look at his first real date.

At the altar, Michael’s eyes stood at attention as Jessica appeared at the back of the church.
 
As she floated down the aisle, Michael drank her in from head to toe, like a man gulping from the fountain of life.
 
Her hair was piled high under a gauzy white veil that did little to hide her enormous smile.
 
The fluffy white dress sparkled in the sunshine pouring in the windows and still managed to hug her curves in all the right places, despite the miles of satin fabric.
 
It swished on the floor as she walked, her hips swaying in a hypnotic dance.
 
As she neared the altar, Michael’s gaze settled on her eyes, shining with joy and life, and he knew he’d never see anything more beautiful for the rest of his life.