The Calling (38 page)

He wrapped her into a tight hug and buried his head in her hair. She clung to him as if afraid he’d disappear, as if she were his again.

“I don’t want to be apart ever again,” she said through choked sobs.

“Me, neither,” he whispered into her neck. He filled his lungs with her scent—jasmine and vanilla. He was aware the passersby were staring at them, but refused to let her go. He had his Mandy back. That was more than he’d expected and, holding her again when he’d thought their relationship was over, warmed him from the tip of his head to the soles of his feet. “I love you so much.”

She pulled back, cupping his cheeks in her hands. “Ty’s death wasn’t your fault.” She gazed into his eyes as if she could will him to believe her words.

“It was my fault.” The guilt that had been eating away at him rose again. “I should have been able to stop myself.”

“He drove you to that much rage. It had nothing to do with your control.” She shook her head. “Without a doubt, I know Ty’s to blame.”

He didn’t see it that way, but maybe he would in time. “Let’s put him behind us for now.” He wrapped her in his arms again and, as he held her tightly, a pulse of energy migrated down his body, the power shaking his very core. Hugging Mandy so close, with her body pulsing as well, the force doubled. Even the air around them seemed to vibrate.

She pulled away, her eyes darkening. “That one felt stronger, like it was coming from you, too.”

Justin swallowed hard. “It was.”

She inhaled sharply. “But you said the Calling started early this morning.”

“It did.”

Her shoulders straightened, and she pushed away from him, her eyes wide with fright. “You haven’t been counted?”

He shook his head slowly. “We’re fine. The flight’s on time. We’ll be in Miami by eleven-thirty, so we have hours to spare.” He wrapped his arm around her waist and squeezed her tightly, not wanting her to worry.

She sank into his chest, but the tension in her shoulders never eased. “Plenty of time,” she whispered.

He kissed the top of her head, breathing her scent in deeply. “Plenty of time.”

As they clung to each other in the middle of the airport, he couldn’t help but smile at the irony of their situation. While the Calling had broken up one family, it was without a doubt healing another.

* * *

Mandy sat in her assigned seat next to Justin and rested her cheek against his shoulder. Though the soft cotton of his T-shirt was comforting, and the warmth of his body relaxing, she couldn’t sleep. She wiped her eyes with her palms and yawned, then snuggled close to him again. He smelled so good, like the ocean on a warm summer day. How had she thought she could leave him?

“I can’t believe I ran off to Colorado,” she said for the tenth time since their reunion in the airport. “That wasn’t very nice of me.”

He threaded his fingers through hers. “No, it wasn’t.” Based on his goofy grin, he didn’t hold it against her.

She tried to push away the worry gnawing at her stomach. They were going to be fine. The beach was only a few hours away, but the angst still ate at her. Justin didn’t seem too worried, so why should she be? Unless he was a better actor than she realized, and underneath his cool façade was a man panicking.

“You’re not worried?” she asked.

“No. We’ll be fine.”

She trembled, her stomach twisting into a tight knot. A pulse? Justin tensed, too. Yes, definitely a Calling vibration. “Why are they verging on painful now?”

“The closer we get to the end of the Calling, the stronger they get. It’s Triton’s way of making sure everyone gets to the water.”

She squirmed in her seat, trying to find a comfortable position. “Will it get worse?”

“A little.” The lines on his forehead deepened, but he patted her knee reassuringly. “Just think of it as preparation for childbirth.”

She elbowed him in the ribs. “Not funny.”

He chuckled. “We’re only an hour away from Miami. We’ll never feel the most painful pulses.”

She glanced at her watch.
Fifteen ‘til eleven
. She couldn’t wait to dip her toes in the water, find a hotel room, and sleep until noon the next day. And the best part of it all was that she would get to fall asleep in Justin’s arms.

As she imagined their bodies intertwined beneath sheets, she ran her finger across the sea serpent tattoo peeking out of his sleeve. The familiar corals and sharks outlined in its scales made her smile. Her grin widened when she noticed a mother dolphin with a calf by her side. “In less than nine months, I’m going to have a baby.”

Justin leaned over and kissed her cheek. “
We’re
going to have a baby.” His eyes sparkled.

With her finger tracing the serpent’s tail, she said, “I was scared I couldn’t get pregnant.”

“I knew that.”

“How?” She couldn’t remember ever telling anyone.

“After your Say Ta Ta to the Tata party, we were walking on the beach, collecting shells, and you told me you were scared about the surgery and about never being able to have kids.”

She shook her head in wonder. Even knowing she might be infertile, he’d still wanted her. In her eyes, the man was worthy of sainthood. “I love you.”

He smiled sweetly at her. She was always amazed at how someone as masculine as he, with his strong jaw and deep-set eyes, could seem so soft when he grinned.

She nestled closer, closed her eyes, and with thoughts of nurseries and mobiles dancing in her head, she finally fell asleep.

A little boy with pudgy arms and legs and a round belly sat between her legs on a warm sand beach. The toddler had Justin’s dark hair and her blue eyes. Waves washed over their legs, the child giggling with each flow of the water and cooing his disappointment when the ocean ebbed.

A pulse of energy shook the child, and he gazed up at her with confusion and worry in his innocent eyes. Mandy pulled the boy to her chest, hugging him tightly until the vibrations disappeared. The toddler regained his confidence once the pulses had eased, and he squirmed out of her hold. With a wet plop, he sat back down in the surf, giggling as a wave washed over his chubby thighs.

Justin kneeled beside them, wrapping one arm around Mandy’s shoulder. With his free hand, he raised the water like an incoming tide into a shallow pool that surrounded them. The toddler lifted his blue eyes to his father and babbled his appreciation. Then, the child lifted his hand in the air. The ocean refused to release him, lifting, touching his tiny fingers though they were a foot above the water’s surface. Justin let go of Mandy and, with both hands, he mimicked the baby’s power. Together, they formed a wall of ocean that surrounded Mandy on all sides until she could no longer see them through the rippling water.

A vibration racked her body, the pulse clenching her gut, wringing her stomach. The wall of water crashed to the beach in a rush that startled her. She jumped to her feet. The water receded, the shallow pool Justin had created disappearing.

She was completely alone.

Her eyes darted along the shore and into the surf, but both her loves were gone, no trace of them left. She cupped her face in her hands and wept, sure she’d never see them again.

With a start, she awoke.

Justin nudged her arm. “Mandy? Wake up, honey.”

She cracked an eye, then thrust her hand to her side and grabbed Justin’s arm.
Here
. Justin was here. It was just a dream. The strain drained from her body, puddling at her feet where she flexed her toes, banishing the last remnants of the nightmare.

As she stretched and yawned, her ears popped. “We’re in Miami?” The noise of the cabin sounded muffled, and she knew the plane was descending.

“No.” His voice cracked.

Her eyes opened wide. She glanced up and saw the lit seatbelt light. “Why are we landing if we’re not in Miami?” Mandy looked at Justin and froze. The worry etching his face sent a jolt of terror through her heart. “What’s going on?”

“The communications system malfunctioned. We’re being diverted to Little Rock.”

“That’s nowhere near the ocean!”

“Let’s just stay calm. We have three or four hours until the Calling ends. When we land, we can see what we’re dealing with.”

She nodded, but her stomach flopped around like a fish out of water. A plane malfunction could kill her baby. Oh, God! The baby wouldn’t be the only lost soul. She grabbed Justin’s forearm and squeezed so hard she could feel the veins beneath his skin.

He grimaced. “Mandy, you’re hurting me.”

She had to stop squeezing him, but the panic gave her hand a mind of its own, rendering her incapable of loosening its grip.

One by one, Justin pried her fingers from his arm, his grimace easing. “We might be able to get another flight. Relax.”

Stay calm. Stay calm. Stay calm.

“This is bullshit,” a man on the other side of the aisle grumbled.

To hell with staying calm. She was about to lose the man she loved and her baby in one go. The angry passenger across from her had it right—this was complete bullshit!

Justin took both of her trembling hands in his. “Breathe.” She sucked in a deep breath, not realizing she’d been holding it. “Again,” he said.

She obeyed, taking steadying breath after breath as she concentrated on his chocolate eyes. They were going to be okay. They had to be. Fate wouldn’t give her everything she’d ever wanted, then take it away in the same day.

By the time the plane landed, she was practically in tears. Every pulse that racked her body made her want to scream, but she followed Justin, her fingernails digging into his waist as they exited the plane. She was sure if she let go, he’d disappear into a puddle of water at her feet.

When they walked into the terminal, a Delta employee handed them each a hotel voucher. Mandy stared at the paper in her hand, horrified. “Can’t they fix the plane or put us on another one?”

“Not tonight,” the employee said with a smile. “I’m sorry for your inconvenience but, tomorrow morning, we’ll put you on the first flight we can.”

Hot tears streamed down her face.
No. No. No
. This was not happening. For a moment, she was paralyzed, too lost in her future to move. Dead baby. Dead boyfriend. Alone. Inconsolable. No one to mourn with her but Justin’s dad, an old salty sea dog who’d rather chew his own arm off than talk about his feelings.

She vaguely became aware that a line was forming behind her since she blocked the exit, but she still couldn’t move.

Justin pulled her aside and pushed her gently into a seat. “You okay?”

She stared straight ahead, her bleak glimpse of the future terrorizing the words from her mouth.

“I’ll be right back,” he said.

She shook her head and jumped to her feet, swiping at her tears. Sitting on a bench waiting for Justin to fix things wasn’t going to help their situation. She grabbed his hand, squared her shoulders, and together they headed to the service counter.

“What flights leave tonight?” Justin asked the young brunette behind the counter.

“I’m sorry, sir. The next flight departs at five A.M.”

“Charter flights?” Mandy asked, trying to keep her voice from shaking.

The woman’s blue eyes widened. “This late?”

“We’re desperate,” Justin said.

“I wish there was some way I could help.” She looked down at her computer and typed in ‘Miami.’ After sifting through a few screens, she said, “The next flight to Miami leaves at six-twenty a.m.”

“Not soon enough,” Justin said, rubbing his hands down his face. His shoulders bunched when a pulse of energy coursed through their bodies.

Mandy clutched her stomach. “There has to be a way.”

“Hertz is open until midnight,” the brunette said. “You could rent a car, but I’m not sure that would put you there any faster.”

Justin nodded, the defeat on his face as vivid as the fear. “Thanks for your time.” The woman stepped away from the counter, leaving them alone.

Tears trailed down Mandy’s cheeks again. “What now?”

“We get a rental car,” he said, in a voice so tight, she could have strummed it with a guitar pick.

She scrubbed at her tears. “But we’re nowhere near the ocean.”

“It’s our only chance.”

The desperation in his eyes made every nerve in her body twinge at exactly the same time. She could barely breathe through the pain. When he turned to leave, she followed him, without a doubt in her mind that, in three hours, she was going to lose everything.

Chapter 31

Justin’s headlights pierced the inky darkness ahead, leaving only the black shadows of trees in his peripheral vision. He concentrated on the yellow dashes dividing the road, passing in perfectly timed intervals as he sped down I-530.

Mandy hummed a haunted tune in the passenger seat the way she always did when she was nervous or afraid. With her palm, she rubbed circles over her stomach, her face pallid. In two hours, she was going to be completely alone, a wet seat the only trace that he’d ever existed.