Loving You (Remembrance Series, Book 2) (29 page)
Read Loving You (Remembrance Series, Book 2) Online
Authors: Cynthia P. O'Neill
“I don’t want to leave you. Are you sure you’ll be okay for the time it will take me to drive it back?” His hand came up to caress my face, as he placed gentle kisses along my nose, cheeks and forehead.
“I’ll be fine. I should probably call Mom and tell her what happened. I’m afraid the news channels might get wind of the story and she might see it on TV. I might as well tell her now, rather than her finding out from some other source.”
How on earth was I supposed to tell her, without giving away certain things?
He slowly stood. “I’ll be back soon.” He leaned down, kissed me lightly on the lips and then he was gone, before I opened my eyes.
I grabbed a glass of water to help cool down my overheated skin, thanks to Gregory, and quench my parched throat. Then I called Mom and gave her the barest descriptions possible of what happened. The next five minutes were spent reassuring her that we were fine and that both Angela and Pamela were now being held at the police station awaiting bond hearing, sometime tomorrow. “According to the police, given their charges and their lists of prior violations, it will likely be impossible for them to make bond. Even if they are eligible, it’s expected that bail would be set so high that no bondsman would cover it.”
I paused for a moment when I heard the lock on the door click. I ran to the kitchen and grabbed one of the frying pans in Gregory’s cupboard and held it up, readying myself for an intruder.
To my surprise, it was Gregory, back already, and with takeout for dinner. “Mom, I’ll call you in the morning. I’m feeling pretty wiped out given the time and all the events, today.”
I hung up the phone. “You were only gone ten minutes. Your drive is at least twenty, if not more.”
He closed the door behind him, locking it. “I know. I was curious that since I was able to transport you with me, if I could do the same thing with the car. I drove it out of the parking lot and stopped at the Market Grill to pick up some food. Then, on the drive here, I imagined I was already at the entrance to my complex, and suddenly I found myself here. Pretty cool, huh?” He grinned.
I noticed he had another bag in his hand. “What else do you have there?”
“I don’t know. I found it on the Welcome mat at the front door.” He sat the food on the kitchen counter and we both looked into the bag, which contained a small cardboard box.
We pulled out the box and noted the package was addressed to both of us, from a Ray M. Iel. “Do you want to look at it now or after we eat?” he asked.
“I don’t know if I can handle looking at it, now. I know; it’s late and we need some food in our systems. We experienced a big scare, today; and while we seem okay, we could go into shock later if we don’t eat and get some nourishment for our bodies.”
He started unloading the meal he had picked up, while I grabbed two sugary sodas from the refrigerator. He looked at me puzzled a bit, when I explained, “The sugar will help. Just trust me, it’s a medical thing.”
To my surprise, he had managed to grab some of my favorite soup, creamy chicken and wild rice, turkey sandwiches and a container of fresh fruit. I didn’t think I would be able to eat much, but once the food hit my palate I was ravenous. I noticed Gregory was the same way, eating everything in sight and downing his drink in no time.
When we were done, we both kept staring at the package until he finally got up and opened it. Inside was a note from Ray:
I reached in and found an old book with a light suede cover. I turned it over in my hands and read the title, “Witches, Dark Spirits and Possessions – A Guide to the Dark Unknown”. I detested the title, but we did need to know what we were up against.
I looked over to Gregory, who seemed to be transfixed on whatever items remained inside. He reached in a pulled out a pair of black, wingtip shoes. I did the same and pulled out a rounded, burgundy hat with a gold fabric bow wrapped around it and a rosette formed where the ends met.
What is the name of this hat?
Then I remembered a themed party in high school where we all dressed from the past and, for some reason, I honed in on the 1930’s, dressing in a vintage dress and headwear. But, I was told by a classmate that I had the wrong era headwear, having picked up a flapper headband from the 1920’s, rather than the clouche hat I was supposed to be wearing to accessorize my dress.
Gregory reached over and touched my hand and we were instantly transported to the steps of a building in a large town, where Studebakers, DeSotos, as well as Pontiacs and old Buicks were passing in front of us, and police sirens were wailing in the distance. I looked over to see we were sitting in front of a library, with large lions at each side of the steps.
I’ve seen these lions before! I know I have.
I suddenly realized a guy was talking to me and holding my hand. “Are you okay, my love?”
I looked into his eyes and saw my Gregory. “Yes, I’m fine.”
I felt his hand release me and I was suddenly catapulted back to the present, dropping the hat into the box, as Gregory let his shoes fall, too. We looked at one another in a questioning manner.
He finally spoke. “Courtney?”
I nodded. “Nathaniel?”
We both smiled and said, in unison, “I remember loving you always…”
Our journey was not over, we knew a new one was about to unfold. We could only hope that we could solve this one quickly, as our Wedding was now only a little over a month away. Looks like I’ll be adding a new journal entry soon, about our new adventure in the ‘30’s.
Would this last task give us the rest of our answers? We had some suspicions as to who we needed to watch out for; but would they be confirmed? Would we finally have our happily ever after? Or would the darkness defeat us again, in the present? We would soon find out….
The next installment of the
Remembrance Series
, “Always,” coming in 2014.
To my wonderful husband, son, and mother: Thank you for you continued encouragement to follow my dreams. I couldn’t do this without you!
To the memory of my father, who taught me to go after anything I put my mind too. I miss you dearly, but will forever hold you close in my heart. You have a special place in this book.
To my mother and father in-law: The support you give means everything to me.
To Stacy, (It Started with A Book Blog), my beta reader, book blogger, and good friend. Your belief in my writing means more than you will ever know. I am so glad our paths crossed!
To Mia, my beta reader, mommy friend and fellow book lover. Your continued encouragement and wonderful words speak volumes to me. I appreciate you!
To Jessi, Julie, Kimberly, Stephanie, and Audrey: Your words of wisdom and guidance continue to help me find my way along the path of writing.
To all my Facebook and Twitter followers, who have wished me well during the whole process of writing. You guys rock!
And above all, Special thanks to God for guiding me in life and giving me the opportunity to put my thoughts and words onto paper.
Cynthia P. O’Neill grew up in Clewiston, Florida and moved to Central Florida to attend college. There, she married her friend, love, and soul mate and still resides there with their amazing son and a feisty, four-legged little boy.
In her books, Cynthia draws on her background in healthcare and business, along with her husband’s engineering knowledge.
Several years after she got married, she started dreaming about the characters in
I Remember
. It took eight years before she decided that the story needed to be told. With the encouragement of family and friends, she decided to bring Jordan and Gregory to life in a series of Young Adult, Paranormal Romances with a Historical bent.
Loving You
is the second book in the Remembrance Series.
Her second series, the Learning Series, debuted in August 2013 and is a steamier romance. The first book,
Learning to Trust
. The follow-up,
Learning to Let Go
, will release early 2014.
Cynthia’s writing is very personal and close to her heart. “Real life” is the inspiration for her books, but her imagination takes them to new heights, opening up possibilities that would normally not exist.
To learn more about the author, please visit Cynthia’s website at:
Current titles by Cynthia:
REMEMBRANCE SERIES:
I Remember
Loving You
Always (Coming 2014)
LEARNING SERIES:
Learning to Trust
Learning to Let Go (Early 2014)
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