Whispering Hearts (20 page)

Their girls!

Rachel leaned back and gave him a fake-serious look. “We get to have boys too, right?”

He lifted her up and she wrapped her legs around his waist. The smile on his face matched hers. He seemed as enthralled at the notion as she was.

“We can have as many kids as you want.”

“Then what are we waiting for?”

They were going to do this right. Their children would be loved. So loved. Rachel's chest felt over-full, warmth and love washing away the pall of remembering such awful events.

“Okay,” he said. “But afterwards, we're going to talk jewelry. Including rings.”

Garrett grinned and carried her back to the bedroom.

Chapter Twenty-Three

“We're going to need a bigger house.” Garrett couldn't believe they were already talking about kids. Lots of kids. His heart beat faster just thinking about it.

Rachel was sprawled across his chest after yet another round of lovemaking. She made a soft cooing sound and shifted her legs closer to his.

“You should design it for us,” he said. “With plenty of bedrooms for the kids. Maybe one of those climbers like you see at playgrounds in the back.”

She laughed and tightened her grip around his waist. “How about a pool?”

“We can plan to put one in later, but not right away. Not until they all know how to swim.” The thought of a pool plus kids made his stomach sour. There were too many chances for them to get hurt. “Maybe not out in the country, either.”

She pushed herself up on her elbows to look at him, her brow furrowing. “I thought you loved living out in the country.”

“Too many wild animals.” More variables he couldn't control.

“Cities have too many people,” she said. “More people equals more ghosts.”

“Right, I forgot for a moment.”

He didn't want Rachel to be plagued by spirits. Or their girls, for that matter. His chest tightened at the thought of a flock of girls running around in the backyard in dresses, squealing in delight as they played.

“I like the look on your face right now,” Rachel said.

He glanced back at her and smiled. “I'm not surprised. I suppose we can live in the country.”

At least in the country the dangers were tangible. Rachel wouldn't be the only one who had to stand guard. He hated the thought that some ghost could be talking to his kids and he wouldn't know what they were saying or that they were even there.

“It went away,” Rachel said.

“What?”

“The look on your face.” She ran the backs of her fingers along his jaw. “It makes me wonder what I need to do to bring it back.”

That mischievous expression gave him some pretty good ideas about what she had in mind. He could think about their future later. Like she said, they would figure it out. For the moment, he wanted to focus on her.

She was already sliding down his stomach when the room darkened quickly enough for them both to notice. Rachel rose to her knees, staring at the window.

“The storm's late today,” she said.

“It rained a little earlier while you were sleeping. This must be another one.”

Florida's humidity didn't just come from the ocean. The afternoon summer rainstorms did their part. It didn't rain long, and usually at the peak of the afternoon heat. Garrett glanced at the clock. It was already past five.

Thunder boomed in the distance and rain started to pound on the roof. Rachel stared at the ceiling.

“That's really loud. Did you ever pull your car into the garage?”

“No.”

The noise above was rising, interspersed with pings and thuds that were unmistakably hail. Garrett jumped up and pulled on his pajama bottoms.

“I can bring it in for you,” she said.

He leaned over the bed and kissed her for longer than he'd intended. When he finally was able to pull himself away, he said, “Darlin', there's no way I'm letting you go out in this.”

She raised an eyebrow and smirked at him. “
Letting
me?”

“How about, ‘I'd really prefer if you stayed inside.'”

“Fine. But I'm coming along to watch and help if I can.”

She grabbed the T-shirt she had borrowed from him earlier and pulled it on. Garrett was mesmerized by the thin fabric floating down over her body, imagining the feel of it against her skin.

Rachel clapped her hands. “Let's go!”

Smiling, he trotted out of the room. His keys were on a table in the foyer. He picked them up as he opened the door to the garage and stepped through it. Rachel was right behind him.

“You don't have to come in with me.”

“I'm okay,” she said. Her smile was a bit strained. “I'm going to have to go into garages again eventually.”

“But not now if you don't want to. You're already doing enough. You don't have to go so fast.”

She crossed into the garage and stepped in close to him as she ran her hands up along his arms. “I like to go fast sometimes.”

Damn. He was starting to tent his pajamas. He leaned down to kiss her again, deep and wet. Maybe he could give her some better memories to drown out the others.

There was a table next to the washing machine at just the right height to set her on. She could wrap her thighs around his waist while he rocked into her.

He was already reaching down to lift her from the ground when a thunderclap brought him back to earth. They both jumped. It probably wasn't the safest time to be doing anything too adventurous.

She smiled at him as she pulled away. “We should get the car in the garage before it's covered in dings.”

“I suppose so.”

She hit the button to open the garage door and the sound of the rain instantly intensified. Her smile faltered along with his.

Water ran into the garage from what could only be described as a torrential downpour. They walked as close to the door as they dared. Mist floated in and stuck to his chest. He couldn't even see the car.

“You need to go inside,” he said.

“It's not that bad.”

He shook his head. “I'm going to have trouble seeing. I don't want you here when I pull the car in.”

“I guess that makes sense. I'll be waiting just inside the door, though.”

“Okay.”

She grabbed his hand and pulled him down for a quick kiss.

“For luck,” she said.

He smiled and watched her walk away, waiting to turn around till she was safely out of the garage. Unlocking the door with his key fob, he took a deep breath, then plunged into the water.

It was always colder than he expected. In the middle of the summer, when the air was oppressively hot, the rain should match. But it didn't. And this storm was colder than most. It took his breath away.

Hail bounced off his shoulders and stung his scalp. Running flat out for the twenty or so feet to his car, he was still soaked when he slid into the driver's seat. They were going to have to dry off the upholstery. At least the driveway kept him from getting sandspurs lodged in his feet.

The rain was even louder inside the car. Hailstones almost as big as golf balls pelted it. They seemed to be getting bigger. Nearby, a dark looming shape shook itself frantically back and forth—one of the palm trees in his front yard. The thing was practically bent in half.

“Jesus,” he murmured under his breath.

He started the car, eager to get back inside—back to Rachel. The wiper blades did almost nothing to improve his visibility. Luckily, he knew his drive well enough that he made it into the garage without scraping anything. His car was definitely going to have some dings.

As soon as he was in, he killed the engine and stepped out, then closed the driver's side door. Rachel was standing in the doorway to the house, holding some towels.

“I wanted you to know I stayed safely inside the whole time.”

“I appreciate that.” He smiled at her as he slicked his hair back from his face, water trailing down his back.

She hit the button to close the garage door, then walked over to him and handed him a towel. He wiped his chest and arms, then went to work on his hair.

“I'm sorry you're so wet.” She walked around behind him and started to work on his shoulders. “But I am really going to enjoy drying you off.”

His teeth were chattering. “I think I'll enjoy it a lot more when I'm warmer. We should take a shower later.”

She dabbed the water from his back with her towel. “What are you doing in five minutes?”

“You, I imagine.”

She laughed, and he turned around and grabbed her, pulling her against his chest and lifting her feet from the ground. Her laugh deepened—the sweetest sound he'd ever heard.

So what if his car was all wet. He had a gorgeous, brilliant, incredibly imaginative woman to bed. He turned back toward the house with her already nibbling on his neck.

After one step, he froze. His heart was pounding, and the chill on his skin shot right through to his bones.

“What's wrong?” She tightened her grip on his neck and looked around.

Garrett couldn't breathe. On the floor between them and the door to the house was a snake—a snake with black, red and yellow bands.

A coral snake.

His stomach churned and his muscles felt both electrified and paralyzed. He had to move. He had to get her to safety.

“Oh, look at that,” Rachel said. She sounded delighted. “It must have come in when the garage door was open to get out of the rain. Poor little guy.”

“Get on the car.”

“
On
the car or
in
the car?”

“Do it!”

She pushed away from him and he set her down. The car doors were unlocked. Maybe once she was safe, he'd be able to move again and could deal with this intruder. But instead of heading for the car, she took a step forward, between him and the snake.

“Rachel!”

“Stop shouting at me!”

The sharpness of her tone was enough to make him glance at her. The look she gave him then made him wonder what was the deadliest force in the garage.

She took a deep breath and let it out. “That is a scarlet snake. They're completely harmless.”

“You don't know that.”

“I do. I recognize the band pattern.”

“Since when are you an expert?”

“I grew up here too. Knowing there's dangerous wildlife, I researched them. I can tell the difference between a scarlet snake and a coral.”

His skin started to buzz when she said the word. His ears were ringing.

Shit—he had let it out of his sight. He looked back at it, infinitesimally relieved that it was in the same spot.

If she knew about coral snakes, she knew how deadly they were. She knew you did not fuck around with snakes in Florida. Any snakes—even if you thought you knew for sure they were harmless.

“We can throw one of the towels over it and help it outside.”

“No! We are not going near that thing.”

He kept watching the snake, making sure it wasn't moving. It was coiled and seemed placid. But that could change in an instant. Especially with some asshole ghost prodding it.

Her voice was gentle when she spoke again. “Okay. You are obviously phobic about snakes. I didn't know. But don't worry. I've got this.”

The blood rushed from his head and the room spun a little.

“That's the same thing…”

“What ‘same thing'?”

“The same thing Dylan said. Right before he got bit.”

“Dylan?”

“My brother.”

“Your… Oh God, Garrett. I'm so sorry. I didn't—”

“He was sure it was a scarlet too.” Garrett could barely force out the words. “He was wrong.”

She gently touched his arm. “Listen to me. We need to get the snake out of the house. One way or the other. We can try to call a service, but the snake might move and find a hiding spot in the house before someone gets here.”

What a nightmare. A snake hiding somewhere in his house?

If it made it inside… He'd have to burn the place down. They could stay at a hotel. They should move to Alaska before they had kids.

No, Alaska had bears.

Dammit!

“Can you trust me?” Rachel asked. “Trust me that I know what I'm doing here and can keep myself safe.”

She didn't know what she was asking. Or maybe she did. He risked a glance at her and the earnest look on her face—the caring, the love—it melted some of the icy fear.

“I won't go near it,” she said. “I'll treat it as if it's…dangerous. I promise. Please, Garrett. This is my chance to help you.”

She had said she wanted to be his partner. He wanted to be hers too. That meant taking care of each other.

God help him. He nodded.

She took him by the arm and pushed him back a few feet closer to the car. He was tall enough that he could still see the thing, but if it went for his car, it could easily slither out of sight. Then again, if it went for his car, he could run the damn thing over.

Instead of going for a towel, Rachel walked toward the side door that led to the yard. As she opened it she said, “We don't have the means to capture it and relocate it. Is it okay if I get it out into the yard?”

“I just want it out of the house.”

“Okay.”

The rain had stopped, thankfully. The patchy grass beyond glistened in the dim light. More rain might be on the way, but the snake didn't have to know that. Maybe it would go out on its own.

Rachel wasn't waiting around. She picked up the broom that was tucked behind the washing machine, then walked slowly toward the snake, giving it as wide a berth as she could.

It angled its head toward her. Garrett felt that tiny motion in his heart, a lurching tug of fear.

She was totally focused on the snake. Sliding the broom between the snake and the door to the house, she moved closer, but kept herself at least six feet back, her arms outstretched and her body arched away from it. What was the strike radius on that thing?

He would surely have a heart attack any moment. His chest was too tight to breathe.

The snake uncoiled and started toward him, but Rachel was right there, placing the broom sideways between them and herding it so it made a bee-line for the door.

Or the space underneath the washer and dryer.

Please please please…
He willed the thing to keep going straight, to head outside.

It did.

He let out a huge breath as he watched it disappear into the grass. Finally, he could move. He jumped forward and slammed the door shut. He knew it was ridiculous, but he locked it, too, for good measure.