Familiar Strangers (17 page)

“What do you mean?”

Caprice’s eyes were intense. “You want love, true love, a love that transcends all boundaries and overcomes any obstacle. What are you willing to do for such a miracle? Can you believe in the impossible? Believe in something you can’t touch or prove, but must accept within your heart instead?”

“What would I have to do? I thought love was meeting someone, spending time together, and being in love. Isn’t that the way it happens with people?” The conversation wasn’t making any sense. They had begun talking about the hurricane and now she was being questioned about the mysteries of love.

“No, Cher, if it were so simple, you would be in love with your wealthy handsome young friend and, as hard as you try, you are not, no?”

Regin shook her head. How did she know these things? Damon had said something very similar to her before when she questioned their friendship.

“Besides, bébé, you are not most people. You have desires and dreams others can’t even conceive of. You are meant to and have had a great love, but only if you are willing to face the demons holding you from it.”

Regin jumped from the window seat, not willing to hear what Caprice said sitting down. Things were getting too serious and deep for a sunny afternoon. Too close to the emotions she’d suppressed since making love to Galen. “Whoa wait a minute. What do you know about me and my emotions?”

Caprice’s dark eyes twinkled as if she knew some secret joke. “I know many things about who you were, are, and what you will be. If only you’d give up the boundaries of what you believe possible. The world is so much more than the tiny and dangerous place you envision it to be.”

Let go of her boundaries? She didn’t have any to let go of. Regin always thought of herself as an open-minded person, willing to explore what others laughed at and dismissed. She wasn’t foolish enough to believe in UFO’s and four headed chickens, but she liked to think of herself as enlightened enough to accept what others wouldn’t.

“There are boundaries and then there are boundaries. You must decide which is which and then you will see what is to come next. All of us have some path to walk or road to tread, but most don’t realize they have walked the same path many times. You, my dear, are one of the few who know.”

“Do you mean am I willing to die for love?”

“If only it were something so simple.” Caprice held her hand out for Regin to clasp. She didn’t want to. She wanted to run screaming from the room and, most especially, run from the woman reading her thoughts and emotions. Something even stronger than her fear propelled her feet across the wooden floor, her hand outstretched, grasping the offered hand before she could stop herself.

“Sit, Cher, I will talk and you shall listen.” She patted the cushion beside her and Regin felt her body move as if in a dream. “I say you are not like most people, but don’t take offense because that is not the way I intended it. Most people want love, this is true. They date, marry, and are sometimes happy for the rest of their current life. Then there are a select few that know what love is and what it feels like. They know the highs and lows. They know love is the most indescribable feeling in the world, but they also know the pain it brings.

“This type of love I speak of is the truest form of God’s love we can ever hope to experience on this plane. The type of love I speak of is nothing like those silly greeting cards or movies. True love or soul-to-soul love is more binding and deeper than most ever imagine. You open yourself up to another person and they see your soul. They see the things you like about yourself and the things you detest, but beyond that they see you as God created you in your truest form.

“Love sees your soul and everything you are capable of. This type of love, if properly nurtured and shared, is the most beautiful experience you can think of. However...” She darted a quick look to see if her audience was still listening and seemed pleased to find Regin leaning forward as if not to miss a word.

“If not trusted, it can lead to the most horrible pain imaginable, and when such an event occurs others feed off its misery and thrive on it. When you fail in love, evil grows in power for the only thing stronger than the insecurities of our minds is the love in our souls.

“Evil can never and will never conquer God’s perfect gift—love. But it takes a special blend of two people to appreciate what such a gift could mean. That is why I ask you again...what are you willing to do for love?”

She raised a hand before Regin’s mouth opened. “Before you speak and say you would do anything, think about what anything could mean. You are not the type of person to give someone complete access to your mind or body. Think of what you would be giving if you let that person into your soul? Your darkest secrets? Your deepest fears? Your desire for love must be stronger than your fear of losing what you might never gain. You will have to find the answer not for me, Cheri’, but for yourself. The battle is coming and I hope you find the courage you need before it’s too late.”

She stood gracefully, patting Regin’s dark hair in an attempt to give comfort. “Let me offer one additional piece of advice as a woman.”

Caprice placed a warm gentle finger under Regin’s chin, forcing her to meet her eyes. “The missing piece you search for, you can find. The hole you feel deep inside can be filled. The dream can become your reality. There is nothing you cannot do if you let yourself believe. He will give you everything if you promise the same in return. There is a time to trust with your mind and a time to trust with your soul. Learn the difference between the two. The greatest joy you will ever know is to be loved as you are, not how someone wishes you to be.”

For once in her life, Regin didn’t have a snappy comeback or sarcastic word to say. She watched Caprice walk out of the room and a few minutes later heard the front door softly close. The sound echoed though her head, forcing her back to her feet.

There were too many words and emotions floating in her mind to sit in the brightly lit kitchen. She wanted the soothing comfort of darkness to ease her mind before she got dressed for her first night on the town.
She should have said no to Galen’s invitation, but Regin couldn’t resist a fun night on the town. An old fashion fair sounded like heaven. It would break the tension and give them both relief from the pressures of their inner demons.

By instinct alone she wandered into the sun porch, finding the dark hole she longed to lose herself in. The sun beamed down in an unending symphony coaxing her to sit on the glider and let her soul find rest.

After the endless days of rain, she should be tired of it, but now she wanted it back. It was somehow comforting and familiar. She knew this type of rain and could seek solace in it. Not like the other night. The night she’d seen his face staring back at her though Galen’s window.

What if he was out? Could he have found her? After this morning’s fright with Galen, she would have to be more alert. He swore he would someday break out of prison and find her. Once he found her, he promised to make her pay for everyday he was locked away. Could it have happened?

“No,” she consoled herself. “If Shawn Townsend had broken out of jail, someone would have contacted me. They would have let me know the minute it happened. Even if the authorities didn’t, Tatum or Damon would have.”

Then there was the letter. She hadn’t received it yet, which meant she had time. Precious little of it, but little was better than none.

“I’m safe on this island. Nothing bad is going to reach me here,” she assured herself. Though she hated to admit it, Galen had been acting stranger than normal since that night.

“He probably thinks he’s stuck with a raving nutcase,” she muttered, thinking he might not be half wrong. Poor man. He’ll probably be grateful when she left. Any sane person would if they knew the truth.

Instead he had attached himself to her like glue, making her doubt his sanity. Never letting her out of his sight for more than a minute. He even followed her to the restroom, though he made bad attempts to hide it.

What did he think she was going to do? Fall apart screaming and weeping for the big strong man to take care of her? “Well, if that’s what’s running around in his head then he doesn’t know me very well.”

It didn’t matter, she’d be off the island in a matter of hours and would never see the man again. Regin ignored the shaft of pain that stabbed her heart when she thought about leaving this haven she’d grown to love—hurricane and all. She had a life to live and Galen did too. They were no more than two ships passing on the bayou so to speak. She laughed at her own joke and let her thoughts drift to Caprice’s latest mystic conversation.

What had made Caprice spout off that nonsense about souls and love? How could the woman possibly know what was in her heart, when she herself didn’t have a clue? Love was something she knew. She loved Damon and Tatum. She felt great affection for many of the people she’d met over the years. Who was this woman to come into her life and say she was so different from others? Saying she needed more than the average person.

Being average was all Regin could remember wanting. For the first half of her life, her IQ had set her apart from the other kids and, after Townsend’s attack, she’d been looked upon as more of a freak than victim.

She longed for normal and boring. For the life she saw Tatum and her husband share. She craved some normal man, marrying and having a few normal kids. She didn’t want to be singled out for some grand passion that probably wouldn’t even happen. If it did, it would be her luck the man in question would already be married, in jail, or gay.

Regin’s eyes strayed out the sun-dappled windows and she let the soothing warmth relax her as she pushed the conversation with Caprice out of her mind. It wouldn’t do any good to dwell on it. She wasn’t about to go on some search for grand passion. So why let it bother her? If she didn’t seek it then it couldn’t find her!

Her eyelids felt heavy and she gave in to the compulsion to rest for a few minutes before heading back to the kitchen to clear up the breakfast mess. She didn’t want to give Galen any excuse to break the fragile truce between them. Not when they had been getting along so well, considering the circumstances and the blood- pounding passion they’d shared and left her aching for more. She wanted to keep the easy friendship budding between them.

Galen wasn’t a man to take lightly and Regin wasn’t a woman for a quick fling. It was better they both forget that night and this morning ever happened and, judging by Galen’s attitude, it seemed already forgotten in his mind.

She needed to think about what Caprice had said and why. “Love? What’s the point? Love was a commodity to be bought or traded.” Regin muttered to Annie as the dog slept by her feet.

She’d never seen it in action. She certainly didn’t believe in it. But what was the last thing the other woman had said? Something about forgiveness allowing freedom. Who needed to forgive? But more important, who needed forgiveness?

She was fast asleep within minutes. Her thoughts were lost on the man seeping into her heart, she wasn’t aware of the hideous evil penetrating her mind until it was too late and the nightmare sucked her back into its black depths.

****


Galen found her several hours later, feet tucked underneath her legs and hand cupping one soft smooth cheek. New and old memories firmly entrenched in his head. He knew why another woman never touched his heart. Why he kept a distance between himself and anyone that would care. The reason he chose the brashest women in his life. Everything was a result of his love for Regin. Or who she had been.

The devastation her death caused him and the impact it had on the rest of his life scarred his soul forever. He knew almost everything now. The dreams were memories when they had first fallen in love before she believed he’d betrayed her.

He wanted so badly to walk over and touch her, to ease himself down beside her. To kiss her awake gently. But most of all, he wanted to hold her to ensure them both she was safe and would be as long as she remained in his arms.

He ran a frustrated hand through his rain soaked hair, too afraid that if he did, his actions would soon follow his thoughts. Touching Regin wasn’t a good idea under any circumstance, but it was an even worse idea touching her while she slept. While she was soft and vulnerable, her eyes empty of suspicion and distrust.

The memories of their one night were never far from his mind. He walked around semi-hard all the time. When he did manage to sleep, he knew he would wake sweating, hard as stone, and reaching for her.
She didn’t remember him, their love, or their previous life. It would take time to form that special bond again, to tangle both their hearts and souls together. He knew she would fall in love with him, given enough time and trust, but he was running short of both.

He took a few minutes to memorize her face, knowing it would be the only time he would be allowed to watch her unnoticed. He would never have this chance to drink in her innocence and admire her courage again. Once she found out who he really was and what he was doing here, she would likely never speak to him again. She would see it as lies and betrayal. Then she would run as far and as fast as she could. Probably right into Townsend’s arms, he thought with a grimace. But nothing would matter if he couldn’t keep her alive long enough to discover the truth.

Galen remembered with haunting clarity the night they were to meet in the woods. Why he had these memories now he didn’t know. Maybe the memories were from a long time ago though that didn’t make much sense to him, but he knew Regin. She was part of him, his memories and conscience. The night a strange woman had offered him her body then flung herself into his arms, kissing him with more desperation than passion. Too late, he knew he’d been set up and Norah/Regin had seen the woman kissing him, but not the way he’d pushed her from his arms wiping his mouth of her foul taste.