Taryn pushed up on his elbows. “She’s gone?”
Kellum had waited as long as he could to break the bad news to his brother. “I’m afraid so.”
“Why didn’t she say good-bye?”
“There wasn’t time.”
“Why did you let her go?”
His brother fell back onto the pillow. Kellum switched to sending mental images because it took less energy for Taryn to receive.
She wanted to leave.
You have to go after her
.
He expected that request.
She begged me to let her go.
You still shouldn’t have let her leave.
Taryn rolled over and planted his face in the pillow.
I loved her.
He knew that Taryn did. Hell, he loved Lara, too, but this was the first time he’d heard his brother express those words.
Me, too, but we have to understand that she didn’t fit in here.
Taryn got up and came toward him as if he wanted to fight. “Don’t ever say that again. She did fit in here.”
“You heard her explanation as to why she had to leave. Maybe if she talks to her two friends and comforts her parents, she’ll want to come back.”
“She has a movie job.”
They’d been over this before. “Her passion for the possible dig really excited her.”
Taryn dropped back on to the bed and covered his eyes. “You still should have stopped her. I don’t care what she said.”
Kellum held up his hands. They never thought anything of punching each other, but Taryn was too weak right now to get in a battle. “She might have fit in if we’d shown her how to work the elevator and the television. We did a crappy job of explaining our lifestyle.”
“I’m not talking about that. I saw the snickers of the other women, but once they got to know her, they’d have accepted her.”
“I know.” Taryn got out of bed, and Kellum motioned that he remain there.
“I’m too upset to rest.” With that, he changed into a lion. The slices and scabs clearly showed on his skin.
You are too weak.
Fuck weak.
Taryn headed out the door. Maybe a good run would get Lara out of his brother’s system, but his strength wasn’t where it should be. Hell, he needed do the same. Worried about Taryn, he raced after him. The elevator was already on the way down. As soon as it returned he got on. At the bottom he shifted and sped after him.
He didn’t have to see which direction Taryn was headed. Though the alignment point wouldn’t be in the same spot, it wouldn’t have gone far. Since it was in lion territory, Taryn would be safe.
Kellum arrived less than sixty seconds after Taryn had stopped.
Don’t go there
.
I need to bring her back
.
Kellum sensed the alignment point was higher now and he blocked Taryn’s path. “If you really love her you’ll let her go.”
That stopped his brother.
Why would I do that? As I was lying in bed, I realized that the best thing in our life is gone. I loved her laugh and her passion for all things.
“She needs her freedom.” He, too, knew that he’d learned to really love for the first time.
She needs us.
He hated to feel the pain. Not only were the words translated, but so were the emotions. “I love her, too, but if you drag her back here, she’ll never really be ours. She has to come back on her own.”
Taryn turned around and dropped to the ground as if standing exhausted him. “How can she return?”
He had worried that once she stepped through the alignment point, Lara might never find her way back. “She’ll find a way. I’ll know when she’s trying to contact us.”
Like hell you will. You two can’t telepath with each other.
“You have to have faith.” He waited for his brother to get up, but he didn’t. “You going to wait here for her?”
Maybe
. He looked up.
What makes you sure she’ll want to come back? If she loved us, she never would have left.
“There are a lot of reasons. The big one was that I was a jerk after the fight. I wasn’t ready to deal with your injuries and console Lara. However, if she can’t handle what we do for the Anterrans, then perhaps she isn’t the one for us.”
You aren’t helping
.
He could have lied to Taryn and waited until he healed to be honest, but this seemed right. “I’m going back.”
I’m staying
.
“Suit yourself.”
All the way back home he kept telling himself that if she loved them enough she’d find a way back to them.
* * * *
After Lara took her shower she opened her suitcase full of clothes. She pulled them out and placed them on the bed to decide what to put on. After being in Anterra she realized the men didn’t care what she wore. Hell, the women only seemed to own what was necessary. Her excess seemed just that—excessive. She pulled on jeans and a simple white T-shirt. She didn’t put on any makeup or jewelry. Now that she’d gone without any for a week, she knew she could survive with cream alone.
Her next order of business was to contact Krista. As much as she wanted to call her best friend, she dreaded going through the whole story again. Maybe she needed to tell her the same story she told the police, but this time add in the fact that she’d picked a fairly poisonous mushroom and eaten it.
“Hello?” From the tentative way Krista answered, she didn’t want to believe that Lara could really be on the other end.
“It’s me. I’m fine.”
What came after that was a bunch of yelling and shouting. She thought Amy was going to call her first.
Guess not
. By the time she got Krista to calm down, she didn’t have the heart to lie. She told her the whole truth.
“You’re making that shit up, right?”
“Part of me wishes it wasn’t true, but it is, I swear. Listen, until I saw them shift with my own eyes, I didn’t believe them. Trust me, I’ve asked myself a million times if what happened to me was real or if I’d hallucinated everything. But the bloodstains on my clothes are real. I was with the men.”
“If they were so wonderful, why did you leave?”
That seemed to be the prevailing question. Each time she answered it, her conviction diminished.
“So what you’re telling me is that despite the fact that these men could be the loves of your life, you are too damn lazy to put clothes on the line and pick a few vegetables?”
Her words hurt. “You know I love my luxuries.”
“How good is your convertible in bed? Do your clothes kiss you good-night?”
“Ouch.”
“I’m not saying that you really did find two men who shifted into lions, but from the way you talk about them, they were hot and you love them.”
Could that be true?
“For the sake of argument, say it is true. The truth is they’re gone. I couldn’t get to them even if I wanted to. I need to move on.”
“I’ve known you forever. You never gave up on anything in your life.”
Everyone had called her a bulldog. How else would she have gotten the best movie role of a lifetime? “True.”
“Do I need to come down there and talk some sense into you?”
Right now she could use a hug. “It’s a long drive.”
“When did that ever stop me?”
Just thinking about having someone care about her that much made her eyes water. “You are the best friend I’ve ever had, but if I do go to Anterra—that’s what it’s called—it might be a while before I can come back.”
“If I know you’re happy, I’ll be happy.”
Her throat clogged up. “Okay.”
Lara and Amy had dinner at The Happy Buck, one of Spirit’s vegan restaurants, but the food somehow tasted so processed that she didn’t enjoy it. The fresh garden in Anterra had spoiled her.
At least Amy seemed to believe portions of her story this time. Retelling all of the things that had happened made her realize that her time with Taryn and Kellum had been special.
“You’re going to miss them, aren’t you?”
“More than I’d realized.”
A lot more
.
“Are you going to try to contact them?”
She leaned her elbows on the table. “You weren’t listening. I can’t even if I wanted to.”
“Nonsense. Nothing is impossible. Why don’t you ask Imelda for help?”
“I have a movie contract, remember?” She listed all of the talk and radio shows the agent had lined up for her in the next two weeks. “A lot of money is riding on this movie.”
“I know, but you love these men. If you don’t try to go, you’ll always wonder if you gave up the best thing in your life.”
She hated that Amy was right. “Do you really think Imelda could help?”
When she’d first arrived in Spirit, she was a diehard skeptic about everything paranormal. She didn’t believe in ghosts, and still didn’t, thought psychics told the client what she wanted to hear, and knew with her whole heart that shape-shifters were a figment of the writers’ imaginations. In hindsight, Imelda had gotten so much right, especially the part about her being with two men and one of the man’s name began with a
T,
that she believed in her powers.
“It can’t hurt.”
She wanted to believe that. “I guess I could try, but why add to my heartbreak when she fails?”
Amy sipped her drink and leaned back. “You really need to figure out your life. I know that the movie experience will be fantastic, but are you ready to have people shove cameras in your face when you go to the grocery store?”
“It won’t be like that.”
Amy rolled her eyes. Lara had wondered how much of her life would change. Would she have good friends like she did now, or would they always want something from her?
“Just saying, chickie. Love doesn’t come that often.”
Fortunately, she was able to steer the conversation away from the men for the rest of the evening. Around nine, she was ready to crash. “Sorry to poop out on you, but crossing the alignment point really took a toll on my body.”
“Get some sleep, but think about what I said.”
As they walked the two blocks back to the hotel, two teenage girls stopped her. They both giggled. “Can you settle a bet?” They looked right at her.
“Sure.”
“Were you in the movie
Forever Tomorrow
?”
That came out two years ago and while it did well at the Cannes Film Festival, it never made it big in the US. “Yes.”
They both squealed and pulled out a piece of paper. “Can we have your autograph?”
“Sure.” She asked their names, and then signed their paper.
They girls thanked her and raced off. Amy turned to her. “That’s only the beginning.”
“I know. I need to sleep on this to see if I want to ask Imelda for help.”
She hugged Amy and went straight up to her room. After a long soak in the tub, she fell into a fitful sleep. She kept rolling over and reaching for her men. When she awoke to see where they might be, she realized she’d never see them again. Around 7:00 a.m., she gave up trying to sleep and ordered breakfast from room service. While she ate, she studied her script.
While she’d been so excited to do this part with the most engaging man in Hollywood, the scenes seemed more vapid and sappy than sensual and romantic.
Damn
.
She needed to get Taryn and Kellum out of her mind, or she’d never enjoy her life here. Alone in her room, she practiced her dialogue. A little after noon, a knock sounded on her door. She jumped up and answered it.
Krista stood on the other side with her arms open wide. She got the best hug in the world as they both cried.
“I thought I’d lost you.”
“Come in.” Krista had her suitcase with her, which meant she planned to stay for a while.
Once her friend was comfortable on the bed, she crossed her arms. “Start from the beginning and tell me again what happened.”
Lara groaned. She’d told the story too many times already. Krista peppered her with questions, but after an hour, she seemed to get what happened.
“We need to find Imelda and tell her to have her spirit guides talk to the men. If they know you want to return, they’ll come for you.”
Lara leaned back and dragged an arm over her eyes. “Is that what I want?”
“Hell yes. And I agree life will be hard, but when did a little hard work ever bother you?”
“It’s not hard work, but why take the low road when you can take the high road?” She’d always done things to make her life’s path smoother. “I got my degree so I wouldn’t end up a bag lady.”
“From what you describe, the tree house is modern and comfy. Besides, you can spend your day digging up the cave floors trying to learn all about the ancient Anterrans.”
“There is that. But what about friends and partying?”
“You just didn’t get to mix with the locals. You know what it’s like when you move to a new town. It takes time to make friends and learn what the place has to offer. Come on, let’s go.” Krista got off the bed.