Lost Wanderer Awakened - Book One of the Airendell Chronicles (9 page)

“Well, my case is a little different. My
uterus ruptured when Nora was born.” Deidra takes a deep breath and
rubs her face roughly to push back the darkness, and misses the
flash of pain on his face. “The ovaries were already a mess from
years of endometriosis, so they took it all out when they did
emergency surgery to save my baby.”

Lucian slides an arm around her shoulder and
gives her a little squeeze. “I am so sorry you had to endure all
that. Has it been hard, the physical adjustments I mean? The loss
of your female hormones at forty-three must have been tough.”

“I saw it as a fair trade, the fates got my
female parts and I got my little Nora. But yeah, physically it was
tough. I considered hormone replacement, but decided to ride it out
instead. But now, biologically speaking, I guess I am closer to
being post-menopausal, actually. God, this is so embarrassing
telling you this stuff,” Morna admits quietly.

She covers her face and shakes her head.
Yeah, this is so sexy Dee! Keep telling him that you are
post-menopausal. That will get him in the sack with you in no time
at all. Jeez, you are such a loser!

He kisses her cheek gently, and then softly
says, “You should never feel embarrassed to tell me anything,
love.” When she doesn’t respond he asks, “Do you still have
symptoms?”

She rolls her eyes and erupts in a snort of
laughter before saying, “Just non-stop hot flashes.”

Lucian chuckles; “I had wondered why you
never wear sweaters or jackets, even though the weather is frigid
this winter. Look at you right now. Look at how you dressed to come
out in 35 degree weather, without a coat.”

She looks down at her thin cotton pajama
pants and tee shirt, and bursts out laughing at herself. It’s not a
happy sound. “Oh my God. I am dressed like a bag lady and
conducting myself like an oversexed cougar. You are a good friend
to put up with me.”

He kisses the top of her head and murmurs
something in a language she thinks is Gaelic. He still has his arm
around her shoulders, and he gives her a little squeeze before he
moves his hand and starts rubbing lazy circles on her back. She
looks up at him searchingly and he gives her that lopsided grin she
adores. She smiles and says, “Seriously Lucian, you are very good
for me. I can’t imagine surviving my little lapse in judgment
earlier with another man…” She looks away and takes a deep breath,
“But the lapse wouldn’t have happened with another man,” she admits
honestly.

She laughs nervously as she scoots a few
inches away to settle in beside him on the couch. She kicks off her
house shoes and turns so that she’s facing him and her legs are
drawn up between them with her feet just hanging off the couch. To
the casual observer this move and posture would appear relaxed, but
Lucian knows she did it to put a little distance between them. To
keep herself away from temptation, so to speak.

After a short silence when neither seems to
know what to say, Lucian breaks the ice again. “I am pleased to
notice you haven’t gone outside to go get a cigarette. We have been
together for over three hours now. I am really impressed,” he
comments with a huge smile.

“I was thinking about it when you told me not
to go earlier,” Deidra admits.

“Oh, sorry, love. I thought you were thinking
about leaving,” he replied.

“I was, but knowing me, I would have lit a
cig before I could have unlocked the car. I usually go right to the
cigarettes when I am stressed or upset. I’m glad I didn’t, it’s
been three days. I am feeling pretty proud of myself,” she
admits.

“You should be pleased with yourself. I am
proud of you. I suspected it had been a while, because I couldn’t
smell smoke in your hair,” he says with a delighted smile.

“Yuck! I didn’t realize you could smell it on
me. I know you don’t like the way they smell. Wow, you really do
put up with a lot from me don’t you?” she asks.

“I am not putting up with anything, Morna.
It’s just part of who you are. Just like my freakishly cold hands,
pale skin, and my other quirks that you pretend you don’t notice.”
Rising from the couch he goes into the kitchen and returns with a
coke for her. “You need the ‘necessary’?”

She takes a deep breath and then shakes her
head, “No, I don’t.” She accepts the coke with a smile, and shivers
in secret delight when his fingers brush hers lightly as he hands
her the soda can. She always feels a nearly electrical surge of
pleasure when their flesh comes into contact. “But I promised to
tell you some about my childhood, didn’t I?” Lucian grins and nods.
Deidra takes a drink of the icy coke before asking, “Are you sure
you want to do this? I mean, we have had a pretty weird morning
already.”

She blushes again and Luca has a hard time
resisting the urge to take her into his arms. But he knows after
the earlier episode that they both will probably get carried away…
again.

“Stop hedging, Sweetheart. You owe me a
story…” He counters with the lopsided grin she loves and then sits
on the coffee table in front of her. He reaches out to caress her
cheek, before resting both hands on her knees and saying, “You know
that I want to know you better. You are important to me, Morna. I
want to know everything about you. So, start talking.” He gives her
a reassuring smile and waits for her begin.

CHAPTER 4 – FLASHES OF THE PAST?

Deidra turns and puts her feet back on the
floor in front of her, between his feet. She leans forward and
meets his eyes. “Where should I start?” She asks uncertainly. She
tells him about her parents coming from Minnesota. Her father being
in the army. Her mother was a timid woman who took very little
interest in her daughter. Her father was abusive, a drunkard and
womanizer. When she was a teenager she tried to intervene when her
father was beating her mother. He ended up putting them both in the
hospital. Unfortunately, her mother didn’t appreciate the
interference. So Deidra took off. She went to a friend’s house.

“You have to understand, Mom just took
whatever Dad dished out. She never seemed to believe she deserved
any better. And I think Mom was angry with me because she knows
that I was really trying to hurt Dad for the way he always treated
us, especially Mom.” Deidra sighs sadly and stares off into
nothingness, and Lucian wonders what she is seeing in her mind’s
eye.

“I felt so betrayed by Mom‘s reaction that I
just went AWOL from the hospital and walked to Tracy’s house. She
was the friend I mentioned earlier. Anyway, I told her folks what
it was like living with Duh and how Mom had reacted to my
interference. And I asked if I could live with them until I
graduated high school. Tracy’s dad was base commander and a really
good man. They welcomed me into their family.”

“Tracy’s dad, or Pop as we called him,
convinced me to go to college. Between his help and my grades, I
received a pretty decent scholarship to the local university when I
graduated high school. I got my teaching degree. I ended up in
Sherman, Texas teaching third grade. That’s where I became
interested in Special Education. I took extra classes at
Southeastern in Durant, Oklahoma. I finally got my certificate in
Special Education. I worked in the field there in Texas for a while
before I moved up here to Oklahoma. I have been doing the same
thing ever since. Nothing very exciting about me or my life, I am
afraid.”

Lucian picks up one of her hands to place an
chilly kiss in the palm then asks gently, “Morna, why don’t you
want to work directly with the special needs children anymore?”

Deidra meets his gaze, then shrugs, looks
away and hands him the standard line she’s been using with everyone
else, “Well, right now it’s just too demanding physically.” She
meets his gaze again, and she knows he’s not buying it. “Honestly?”
He nods. She closes her eyes and utters a single word, “Aiden.”

“I thought as much.” said Lucian. He kisses
the top of her head, then asks, “So that’s why you limit your
involvement to testing, classroom observation, and the
paperwork?”

“Yes, I really used to detest testing and
paperwork when I was working in the classroom. But now they serve
as a lifeline for me. I can still contribute and help these kids,
but I don’t have to get attached or get so involved that I see
Aiden in them. Does that make any sense at all?” she asks.

“It makes perfect sense, Morna. Sorry I
interrupted your train of thought. Do you want to continue?”

Deidra shrugs her shoulders. “Sure, why not?
Better to get it over with I guess. Do you remember what I said
last? I sure don’t.”

“You had just gotten your special education
certification,” he supplied.

“Yes that’s right. Let’s see… Well, I’d been
working in special education for three years when Duh tracked me
down to tell me that mom had passed away. Tracy and Pop met me in
El Paso when I went back for the funeral. Duh had been dishonorably
discharged from the army when he nearly killed Mom that time, but
they were still living in El Paso. I guess Duh worked as a border
inspector until the day he died. At least, I assume he’s probably
dead by now.”

“Why do you call your father Duh?”

“Because it would piss him off.” Deidra
chuckles, and blushes a little. “I guess it was my not so subtle
way of standing up to a bully. But he never really pushed me after
I stood up to him that day. I really had very little contact with
him or Mom after I moved in with Tracy and her folks.”

Lucian chuckles, “You know I have seen you do
that at The Shack. You used to make Mike pretty nervous the way you
treated the thugs with utter disdain that would come to the bar
trying to push people around.”

“I can’t stand a damned bully. Never have
been able to.”

Lucian chuckles. He knows that probably
better than she does. She devoted herself as a Spell Weaver and a
Warrior to defending human kind from immortals that would take
advantage. But he has to admit he worried about her when she worked
at The Shack, she never seemed to know any fear. And some of people
who came into that backwoods biker bar, well they were outright
dangerous.

One night she caught one of the patrons, a
biker from OKC trying to rape one of the girls who hung around the
bar. The girl’s name is Monica. She was just a local kid with a bad
home life so she hung around the bar sometimes. Lucian almost
dropped his hiding spell and revealed what he was when he saw his
beloved mate, jump on that man with her wrecked leg and arm. But
she didn’t let that slow her down one little bit. She hit the
would-be rapist with her cane to distract him from the girl and
then she used it to choke him down. For a moment, Lucian was afraid
she was going to kill him. But she didn’t. She sent the girl inside
to have Mike call the sheriff once the would-be rapist was
unconscious.

He decides he should shift the focus back to
their conversation. “Did you keep up with Tracy and her family?”
asks Lucian, changing gears on her a little.

“Oh yes! They were well and truly my family
from the day I moved in with them until they all passed away.
Tracy’s Mom, Bea, had a heart condition and passed away while we
were in college. Pop passed away from prostate cancer three years
after my Mom. And I lost Tracy last year, to breast cancer. All
three of them are buried in El Paso. Each passing was devastating,
but I thank God for bringing them into my life. They were the best
family any girl could ever ask for. I just hope I made a good
daughter and sister to them, because they sure deserved the best.”
Deidra looks very melancholy as she speaks of her adopted family
passing.

“You have suffered a great deal of loss
haven’t you in this life time?” Lucian asks.

“I guess,” she shrugs. “We all suffer loss,
don’t we? There is nothing special about my losses… just that they
are mine.” Her words sound detached, but she’s shaking pretty hard
and looks utterly exhausted. Lucian is afraid he may have pushed
her too far today. Her mind and body have already overcome such
incredible odds and he chides himself for pushing her so hard today
to tell him about her life.

Deidra looks at the clock for the first time
since arriving at Lucian‘s home. “Oh crap! I am supposed to be at
PT in 45 minutes! I can’t believe it’s already 2:15.”

“Morna, are you really up for PT today?”
Lucian asks gently.

“No, not really, but you are always chiding
me for missing appointments,” she reminds him as she tries to stand
up. Her right leg is asleep from the way she had been sitting.

Lucian takes her hands into his own and helps
her to her feet. “Well I think today might be an exception. You are
shaking too much to drive, and I can’t leave this afternoon to
drive you. I have a client coming at 3:00. Let me call Seth’s
clinic and reschedule. Maybe I could schedule an early appointment
for tomorrow? I would be happy to pick you up and drive you there.
How does that sound?” he asks gently.

“That would be great Lucian. Let me go to the
necessary and then I can clear out of your way so you can get ready
for your appointment. I am truly sorry that I stayed so long.” She
frees one hand and reaches up to stroke his beautiful face. “I am
sure you are sick of the very sight of me by now,” she chuckles
with a wry smile on her face.

Lucian holds her hand against his cheek, and
then turns his face so that he can kiss her palm. She gets lost
staring into his eyes and it’s all she can do not to stand up on
tip toes and kiss him again. “Nonsense my love, you have to know
that isn‘t true! Go to my room and rest. I will make you a cup of
herbal tea, and then you can nap if you would like. When you get
up, I hope that you will stay for dinner and then you can go home,
if you wish,” he insists gently and kisses her palm again. “I meant
it when I said you were too shaky to drive.”