Seeker (Shadows) (27 page)

“Thank you.” I take a step back.

“Keep in touch.” He gives me the smallest of smiles.

Instead of reading a million disappointing and horrible things into his small gesture, I move away from Dad and decide to take it as a sign that he’s proud of me no matter what, because it’s better than anything else it could mean.

I’m relieved for Mom’s absence, knowing there would be no way to mistake the look in her eyes, and feeling better about my decision to leave all the time.

I rub my fingers over my phone, and hike my pack higher on my shoulder.

The small highway feels stifling until I hit the clay dirt road that’s supposed to take me to Ocean’s mother’s house. The Mercedes isn’t designed for this kind of trail-like road, and I’m forced to drive at about five miles an hour, making me want to turn back, but I don’t.

And then I see him. Ocean. Sitting underneath a rusted mailbox, like he was waiting for me. His blue eyes hit mine and I throw the car in park and stare at him through the dusty windshield.

Energy buzzes through me, but it has nothing to do with talents or anything but seeing him again. His smile is faint, hopeful, and he stands up but doesn’t come closer, like he’s waiting for me to make the first move.

My hand grasps the handle, and I clutch it, hoping for something else to propel me out of the car, but it doesn’t happen. It’s just me, waiting for the courage to… But I’m not even sure what so I push open the door and close it behind me before giving my brain any more chances to sabotage this.

“You look like you’re waiting,” I whisper.

“I was.” He does this odd faint nod, like he’s unsure or is maybe surprised I’m here. “Micah,” he explains.

“Right.” I’m not sure what else to say, and as I step closer to him there’s a part of me that wants to throw my arms around his neck,
but without my talent we won’t feel the same. He loved that. He wanted to know what it would be like to be together with so much pulling us together. And now that’s gone.

I’m not worried about whether or not I can forgive him, because I sort of get why everyth
ing happened the way it did. Now I’m worried that he won’t want me anymore. That he won’t feel the same. That it was just our energy pulling us together. Maybe I was stupid to come here.

“Why didn’t you come for me?” I ask, terrified of his answer.

“Micah called me every time I decided to get you so she could tell me not to. I’m sorry you had to be the one to make the first step.”

And I did. I made it, but I’m still not sure if this is where I’m supposed to be, or maybe there isn’t a “supposed to” and I’ll just float around.

“Why are you afraid?” he whispers, like too much sound will break the moment.

I’m about to ask him how he knows I’m afraid, but he’s probably just reading my wavelengths and knows me well enough. I hate that after being so sure of moving forward my whole life, that with the loss of one part of who I am, I’m losing other parts, too. Like with my talent being stripped away, I’m suddenly afraid of everything. I don’t want that.

He stands and starts my way. Slowly. “I trusted Micah. It’s been killing me. I haven’t slept. It’s hard to eat.”

I can’t reconcile right now the idea that I didn’t want my energy to dictate who I’m with, and at the same time, I’m terrified that there will be nothing left of what Ocean and I had without it. And now I’m frustrated because Micah’s gift is what kept him from me for so long.

“And you couldn’t call?” I stop about twenty feet away, but Ocean doesn’t stop.

“I’ve picked up my phone a million times a day. Every day.”

“Then…” But all my resolve to be angry is beginning to crackle as he slows and then stops a couple feet away.

“You weren’t ready, Kara. I’m hoping you are now. I’ve missed you like crazy, and if I hadn’t have been able to check in on you through Micah…”

“But I couldn’t check on you.” Doesn’t he see how unfair it is?

“Phone works both ways.”

Right.

I reach out and grasp his hand, pressing our palms together and wanting to feel him again. His eyes close as his fingers close more tightly. “I’ve missed this.”

I’m not sure what to say because my heart’s jumping around and my stomach’s all tense from touching him but the need that came with the energy popping between us is gone. No. Not gone. It’s not
gone
. It’s just different.

“You got your wish,” he says as his eyes open.

“What’s that?” I can’t see how anything that’s happened could be seen as me getting my way.

“You didn’t want your energy to dictate who you were with.” He leans in slightly and I stop breathing for a moment as I grasp the idea that I’m here. After all that we’ve been through, we’re both here.

Wait. “Do I… How different is it for you? Am I?”

“It’s good.” His hand squeezes mine. “It’s different.”

My gut folds over on itself as I think about what “different” might mean.

“It’s better, Kara. More real. Less crazy.” He steps closer. “But no less intense. Everyone has energy, Kara. Everyone. Yours is the same. It touches me the same. I love you the same.”

He’s right. Touching him is still intense, even for me and my lack of talent. When Ocean breathes out, we’re close enough that it brushes over my forehead and sends a wave of goose bumps across my skin.

He rests his lips on my forehead before speaking again.
“I’m so glad you’re here. I’ve been… I haven’t been good. Not without you. I don’t know how you became such a huge part of my life so fast, but you did, and then you reacted exactly like I was afraid you would—”

“But you did it anyway.” I
move back just enough to see his reaction.

“You know why.” He squeezes my hand. “You know it was the right thing.”

“I do.” And it’s the first time that I really mean it. “I just wish…” I can’t look at him now and stare down the road behind him instead.

He pulls me into him until my arms are around his waist, and his are around mine. “I’m about to sound like the worst, most selfish person in the world, but there’s a part of me that’s glad that you see all the things that are and that could be between us aren’t just because of what we could do.
Because of our energy.”

And maybe I should be offended, but I’m so relieved that this small part of my life feels okay that I hold him tighter.

“The group’s all here.”

“What?” My heart hammers as I pull away.

“Micah saw you coming, and they all came. We’ve got a proposition for you, if you think you might like to spend some time with the group on the boat.”

“And if I don’t?” I ask.

“Then I hope you’ll let me do something else with you, because right now, you’re the part of my future I’m most worried about securing.”

“And they’re all here?” I ask.

“They’re all here because we need you. Dean, Addison, Micah and Landon. His boat’s in a port in New Orleans, and we’ve been waiting until you were ready to come, or until my decision to go to you didn’t end in disaster.” He smirks. “I wanted to come to you, but every time I decided to go, Micah would call me and tell me that it wasn’t going to go well. Waiting’s been torture.”

“You want me,” I blurt.

He takes in a deep breath and runs his hands along my jawline until they rest on the back of my neck. “Yes.” His lips press against my forehead. “More than anything.”

I tilt my face toward him until our lips come together, and energy zips through me. Not the magic kind, the regular kind, and it’s even better.

“This is some crazy ending,” I whisper as I tighten my arms around him.

“One crazy beginning.” He gives me another kiss just before he starts leading me up his driveway, and the rest of the group. “Just you wait.”

EPILOGUE

Kara

The anchor drops after I give Landon the OK on location. Moments later Dean and Addison do their shout of “pool’s open” and drop off the side of the boat.

“Come swim, Kara!” Addison waves. ‘The water’s always warm!”

I wave back as Dean gives her a splash, which ends her begging.

I have too much to do to be screwing around in the water. Kent Prince bought all sorts of electronics no one but me knows how to use and I’m trying to get everything installed and working together, but it hasn’t been easy with everyone poking around in the boxes of new stuff.

“Wait for it…” Ocean whispers, but I barely register what he’s saying.

Landon has state of the art navigational equipment, laptops, communications gear, and everything he thinks we’ll need to start The Middle Men over. Of course he’d deny that’s what he’s doing, and there’s no official name for us or anything. Right now we’re just a group of people on a boat who want to do good deeds. A really, really nice boat. And we all realize that if we want to continue doing our good deeds that the boat isn’t a forever thing, so we’re taking advantage while we can.

He whispers again. “Wait…”

The final bit of software installs on the laptop and the navigational screen pops up from the boat. I jump in immediately to synchronize the date I’ve been collecting in both places. It all begins to align, and my laptop shows the final radar registering recognition of the two other Garmin navigation aids I’ve plugged in. This is perfect, just one more—

“Zap!” Ocean slaps his hands together and I jump a foot off the seat.

“What!” I snap, as I grab my chest, but I can’t help but smile at the way he’s grinning.

“That’s beautiful. The energy that just… zaps… when someone’s in a state of total focus. Gorgeous.” His fingers touch my face and I bat him away, still smiling.

“Glad I amuse you,” I say dryly and go back to my work.

“Come swim with me,” he whispers as he scoots closer.

“I’ve been working on this stuff for two days,” I explain. “And I almost have it.”

“But look.” He points to the long, out-stretched bow where Landon’s reading, absently playing with Micah’s hair as she uses his chest for a pillow. I love them together.

“So?” I slide the boxes out that have our new communication devices. They’re just high-tech cell phones this time. Not stupid watches.

“Oh, no.” He takes my hands and pulls me toward him. “You are not starting a
new
project.”

His lips find mine and I’m almost lost in him before I push away. “And what are you besides a new project?” I tease.

“Your man? The guy of your dreams? Your other half?” He starts to pepper kisses all over my face. “Come play.”

Just then the phone we’re all sharing rings, and I snatch it up giving Ocean a face. “Moonshadow Two, this is Kara.”

“Kara. Kent.”

“Hi, Mr. Prince.” I’m wondering if he has an idea for us yet.

“Gather everyone around, I think I have it figured out.”

My heart starts jumping just like it did when I got a new assignment from The Middle Men as Ocean calls the group up. And in this second I get that I have it all. I’m with Ocean, with friends, I have something like the job I loved. It just didn’t come to me in the way I expected, but the happiness and excitement over being part of this tingles through me and I scoot closer to Ocean to make room for the group. For the people who want me here. Because we’re tight. Closer than friends and better than any family I’ve ever had.

“You excited?” Ocean whispers as we assemble ourselves around the phone.

“Very.” And excited doesn’t even begin to cover it.

THE END

Ending a series is a strange feeling. No one’s story actually just stops. These six characters will have many more adventures – I’m just not sure that I’ll write them.

To Nyrae and her support of Insight, and to Wendy Higgins and her incredible notes on all three books, and Allie Brennan and Morgan Shamy and Kyra Lennon who all helped more than I can express. Thank you girls.

For my husband who listened to me work through the plot of this book about a dozen times.
And to my children who put up with a lot of Mommy asking for five more minutes…

A FEW WORDS ABOUT THE SHADOW SERIES

INSIGHT
was “born” when I was helping my good friend, Nyrae Dawn, brainstorm on a contemporary idea she was playing around with. I ended up with this idea of a girl who was afraid to touch people because she got “visions” when she did. She saw and felt things she couldn’t control, and that’s how Insight started. Nyrae told me to have fun with it, but she needed a contemp, not a paranormal. I planned for it to be a stand-alone, and didn’t know it wasn’t until I got to mid-point of my first draft of …

MANIPULATION,
which took a rather dramatic turn when Dean and Addison go “on the run.” This was the moment I knew I wanted Micah and Landon, and Dean and Addie to meet up. At first, I simply wanted to write stories of people with different odd “talents.” The Middle Men and the legend from The Bahamas came later, and had to be threaded through the two stories. The reason I did it this way is that I wanted to see the back-story of how a group like the Cullens began. Or the movie, Unbreakable, where the MC slowly discovers his “superhero” ablities. The shadow series hopefully shows how a powerful group like that comes into their own. OR… since this is book two and not book three… how a group might fail to come together. Or how two opposing sides have the ability to ruin each other. Which brought me to…