“Go where?”
“To The Bookstore to call Imelda. Let’s see what she says.”
“Suppose she says she can contact her spirits who in turn can talk to the men. Is that what I want?”
Krista planted her hands on her hips. “Do you or do you not love them more than you’ve ever loved anything?”
This was the moment of truth. “Yes.”
“And do you believe that despite their shitty attitude after Taryn was injured that they did indeed love you?”
“Yes, again.”
“Then what is stopping you?”
She looked around the room. She had a closet full of clothes, but they wouldn’t wipe away her tears or hold her tight. She had a new car and new possessions, but that was all. The fame she’d get from the movie would be fleeting, but love endured. A bold smile captured her face. “Nothing!”
Krista jumped up and down. “Yay! Let’s go do this.” She held up a finger. “But you have to promise one thing.”
Uh-oh.
“What?”
“Once a year, say on your birthday, you and your two men have to come to Spirit and celebrate with me and Amy. You can even call your parents. No one really needs to know where you live the other days of the year.”
The thought that she didn’t have to give up her best friend really boosted her spirits. “It’s a deal.”
“Then let’s see if Imelda can help.”
Her stomach churned. “Now that I’ve decided to go back, what if she can’t help me?”
“Then we’ll find another way.”
She hugged Krista. “You are the best.”
* * * *
“I can try to contact my spirit guides, but I’ve never known them to be able to contact anyone in an alternate reality.” Imelda wove her fingers together.
“Can you try at least?”
“I’ll try. Tell me their names again.”
“Taryn and Kellum.” What did it say about their relationship that she never asked the men’s last name?
While she and Krista sat silently on the screened porch, Imelda went into some kind of trance. She spoke to her guides.
“They are showing me blood and a turbulent sea.”
There was that damned sea again. She hoped that meant the men were missing her, but the blood had her troubled. “What else?”
She shook her head. “I’m sorry.”
Lara glanced over at Krista. “We tried.”
Krista shook her head. “How about if we go to where Lara stumbled into this other reality. If what she says is true that Anterra is full of psychic energy, perhaps some will leak out and you’ll be able to contact them yourself.”
Imelda’s mouth opened then closed. Her lips pressed together as if she was trying to figure out what to do. “There are times when I think I’m able to use telepathy with another person, but I’m not sure.”
“I’ll pay you by the hour to come with me and try. If you’re successful, money won’t mean much to me.”
Imelda help up her hand. “I don’t want your money. I’d love to be able to help. If I could use my mind to talk directly with another human, or life form, I would be so thrilled.” She glanced at their attire. “If you give me a minute to change, we can go now.”
Her pulse spiked. “I’m nervous.”
“Don’t be.” Krista squeezed her hand. “It might take a while for the men to be able to come get you, right?”
“Yes, the alignment point moves all over the place. If it’s in wolf territory they wouldn’t chance it again.”
“I’m so excited.”
“To meet my two men?”
“Yes, and to see what’s on the other side. If there are alternate realities, then the concept of there being a heaven might be true, too.”
“I hadn’t thought of that.”
Imelda returned a few minutes later, looking no more than thirty. In her hiking pants and boots, she looked just like them. “I’m ready.”
They took the chairlift to the top of the mountain and hiked into the forest.
Krista trotted next to her. “What if the men are able to communicate with Imelda and make an appearance today? Are you ready to leave earth yet?”
She scrunched up her shorts. “No.” Her mind reeled. “Why hadn’t I thought of that? When I find out if they can communicate, then I’ll get ready.”
“You need to be ready in case the men come looking for you.”
She didn’t think Kellum would agree to such a thing, but she’d always believed in the motto that luck came to the prepared. “You’re right.”
When they reached the three-pronged fork, they took the left one. Less than ten minutes later, she spotted the tree she’d leaned against. “This is where I found the first alignment point. This one led straight into wolf territory. We need to go a bit further to find where I emerged. The psychic energy should be fresher.”
They arrived at the spot in less than a mile. She hadn’t realized the two territories were situated so close to each other.
“I’m ready. If you two could remain quiet, I’ll try my best.”
Lara clasped Krista’s hand and dragged her down to the ground. She figured this could take a while. This time Imelda said nothing. Given she was trying to talk to someone using only her mind, it made sense.
While Imelda might have been standing there for perhaps fifteen minutes, it seemed like hours. The bugs buzzed around her face, and they were pissing her off. From here, the sound of running water was quite loud. Ironically, it took this adventure for them to find the falls.
Imelda let out a breath and looked over at them. “I think I did it.”
Lara and Krista jumped up. “What do you mean? Did you talk to Taryn or Kellum?”
“I’m not sure who I was speaking with, but I heard voices at first. I said your name and the voices got louder.”
“What did they say?”
“Something about to come back later.”
Joy infused every cell of her body. She jumped up and down and hugged not only Krista but Imelda, too. “They have to wait until the alignment point is on the ground again. Then they can come through and take me back. Thank you, thank you.”
“I’m not sure that’s exactly what they said.”
She sobered. “What do you mean?”
“It’s not bad, it’s just that the communication wasn’t like I was talking on a phone. It was more sporadic.”
“That’s okay. I know what to do.”
Together the three of them hiked back. They said their good-byes to Imelda.
“I need to get a storage unit,” Lara said.
“Why, pray tell?”
“You said it. I need to come back at least once a year and connect with my friends and family. I’ll need clothes and money, as will Taryn and Kellum.”
“That’s a great idea.”
The thought of organizing her future energized her. “I need to get to the bank and get cash.”
“So you’ll have money when you return. That’s smart.”
“We passed Martins Sporting Goods store. I’ll pick up jeans, heavy jackets, boots, and stuff for the men.” She winked. “They run around in loincloths all day.”
“Can you invite me sometime?”
That would be so cool. She and Amy could come over for a week. “I’ll have to see about that. It might take a month to cross over and return. Those pesky alignment points don’t just appear when you want them to.”
“That’s okay. If I can have Internet access, I could work from Anterra.”
She laughed. “I don’t think we can communicate like that.”
Krista shrugged. “I’ll figure something out.”
For the next nine days, Lara, Krista, and Imelda traipsed out to the forest hoping to contact the men.
“I feel as if I’m getting clearer signals,” Imelda said.
As they had every night, Krista and Lara settled back to rest. She’d purchased some camping chairs so the wait would be more comfortable.
Krista grabbed her hand. “You know I have to get back to Denver soon. I can’t come out here every night.”
Lara knew at some point she’d have to hang it up. “I know. I figure if Imelda truly believes she’s made contact, I have to give it my best shot.”
“What about the movie?”
“I already called my agent and told him I wasn’t going to do it.”
Krista’s mouth dropped open. “What did he say?”
“I’d rather not repeat his words in polite company, but in the end he understood, I think.” She held up a hand. “No, I didn’t mention anything about lion shifters. Heavens forbid. I’d be front page news and the laughingstock of Hollywood if I said that.”
“What if you never can get back?”
“I realized that just landing the role was all I really wanted. The fame and fortune wasn’t my goal. If Anterra has a University, perhaps I’ll go to school and work on my PhD.”
“Wow. You have come full circle. In the meantime, you’ll be a digging fool, right?”
She laughed. “I guess so.” She shrugged. “In the end, I get to be who I really am. I’m someone who wants to find answers to life’s mysteries.”
Krista hugged her. “Good for you.”
She’d just been about to tell Imelda that they should call it quits for the day when two flashes of light appeared. When Kellum and Taryn stepped from behind a tree, she couldn’t get out of her chair fast enough.
“Oh, my, oh, my. You’re here!” She jumped up, raced to them, and threw herself in their arms.
“I can’t believe we found you again.” Taryn kissed her eyes, her nose, and finally her lips.
Kellum pried his brother off her. “It’s my turn, kitten.”
She moved from one brother to the other.
“Lara?” Krista said.
She turned around and laughed. “Ah, this is Taryn and Kellum.” She faced her men. “This is Krista, and I think you’ve been speaking with Imelda.”
They spent no more than ten minutes on good-byes. She of all people understood how fast the damned alignment point could move.
“We need to go, kitten.”
She gave Krista one more hug. “On my birthday then. You have the combination to the lock on the storage unit in case I don’t come back, and take good care of the convertible.”
She hoped she’d tied up her loose ends.
“I’ll see about selling your condo, and I’ll transfer the funds to your bank.”
“Remember to send two thousand to Mom and Dad every month.”
“Will do, now go.”
After one more mega hug, she followed the men down the path. They changed into their lion form in order to lead her through the point. She didn’t even realize that she’d gone through until a viselike grip squeezed her head.
“Not again.”
Kellum and Taryn changed again. From Kellum’s loincloth, he pulled a bag. “I gathered a lot of the
diltha
should you need it. It’s a bit wilted. Sorry.”
She chewed the dry leaves the best she could. “It’s perfect.”
“We need to hurry.”
She looked around. “Aw, shit. Are we in wolf territory?”
“No, we’re just hornier than hell. We’ve missed you.”
She burst out laughing. “I can say the same about you two.”
Together they headed back to the tree house. Her head hurt, but not as much as the last time she’d come through. Perhaps her body was getting used to living in a psychic energy field. As they traveled back, she studied their bodies. Taryn’s wounds had healed remarkably well. If she hadn’t seen the cuts and gouges firsthand, she never would have believed he’d been so close to death.
Taryn wrapped an arm around her waist and hugged her close. “Ever since Imelda contacted us, we’ve practically been camped out by the point, willing it to get close enough to the ground so we could bring you back.”
“Did you try to come through before?”
Kellum looked toward the ground. “Taryn wanted to, but I told him you needed time to figure out what you wanted. We didn’t want to take you by force.”
She laughed. “You were right to wait. I spent days debating, but in the end realized what was important in life. Though there are some luxuries I will miss, I figured I’d rather live in your world with you than in mine without you.”
Kellum winked. “I think you stole that line.”
Her mouth dropped open. “How did you know?”
“TV. Remember? How about, ‘Hasta la vista, baby!’ and ‘I’ll be back.’ Sound familiar?”
She groaned. Even if she wanted to get away from some of the humans’ worst moments, she couldn’t.
When the tree house came into view, she truly thought she’d come home. “Okay, you both need to teach me how to use this elevator thing.”
They glanced at each other. Taryn smiled. “I think we want to keep you from escaping a little bit longer.”
As soon as they reached the top, both her men plied her with kisses. Taryn nudged Kellum back. “As much as we want to make love to you, you need to rest. Even we’re not quite up to speed. The coming and going in such a short period of time zaps our energy.”
Her stomach wasn’t quite right and her headache had yet to abate. “I can do that. I’ll take a nap, and then I’d like some fresh cooked vegetables.”