The Space Beyond (The Book of Phoenix) (13 page)

I let out a slow breath of relief and moved to sit on the futon covered in pillows, the place I’d slept the first night at a lake in Georgia that felt worlds away now. I grabbed Leni’s hand on the way and pulled her over with me. Once I sat down, she fell onto the futon next to me with her legs over my lap. She picked up the Book that was always nearby. She studied it at every opportunity, but still hadn’t figured out any clues we might have left ourselves. I began to suspect she was wrong for thinking we had. I think she was beginning to doubt the idea herself.

“She’s not quite the open book you expected?” I asked as I flipped her shoes off and massaged her feet.

She didn’t open the Book yet, instead dropping her head back and sighing with pleasure, immediately turning me on. “Yes and no. She talks about just enough where you feel like she’s friendly, but she doesn’t really open up. Everyone knows her mama’s dying, her sister’s taking care of her, and Bex is working like a dog to support them all. There are rumors her mama was a drug addict and abandoned them, but I don’t know how true that is. I think she and her sister grew up in this trailer park, though. And I’ve also heard that after Ty left her for the military, she got a reputation as a slut because she hooked up with so many guys. Beyond that … she’s really good at covering up what’s going on inside.”

“Like someone else I know,” I said pointedly as I squeezed her foot.

“Mmm,” she moaned. “Yeah, I guess. But I think she’s better than I ever was.”

“And you still think she’s Rebethannah?”

Leni sighed and laid her head back on an oversized pillow she used as a backrest. “I don’t know. Every once in a while, I see this look in her eyes, when she thinks no one is watching and she can let her guard down, and I
feel
it. I feel a connection to her. My soul recognizes hers. But it’s so quick, I can’t be sure of the feeling. I’m almost positive she was Jacey’s Bex—there are too many similarities and too many times I want to say, ‘Hey remember that time …’ But she’d think I was whacked out.”

I chuckled. “I’m pretty sure she already thinks that.”

“Yeah, well, that’s why I don’t know what to do. I don’t know if my soul recognizes her only from Jacey’s life, or if the connection is deeper than that. There are so many things that add up to her being Rebethannah, like how she remembered us when the rest of the world forgot us, and maybe it’s because we have one of those eternal connections. And then there’s her name both times, the fact that my soul met up with hers both times like it was drawn to her, and if she and Nathayden were Broken, then her history with guys makes sense, too—she’s always looking for love.
Both
times.”

“It does start to add up,” I conceded as I dropped her foot and picked up the other.

“I know, right? I want so badly to try to trigger her past memories, but what if it’s not her? And even if it is, or if she’s another dyad half we might have known before, she hasn’t reconnected with her Twin Flame, so there may be nothing I can do to make her remember. So, yeah, then I look like a bigger ass than I already do.”

I’d convinced myself before that Leni had been trying too hard to fit the Bex peg into the Rebethannah hole, but as she got to know the girl more and made these points, I could almost believe we’d found her. I needed more proof, though.

“Maybe this party will be your chance to find out more about her,” I said.

“Maybe.”

I grabbed her chin playfully and turned her face toward me. “Come on, admit it was a good idea. Saying that we’ll go.”

She rolled her eyes. “I will do no such thing until we’re there. For all I know, you’ll end up wasted and we’ll have accomplished nothing.”

“You could just as easily be the one wasted.”

She giggled. “If so, I’ll warn you now that I’ll probably end up dancing on the picnic table.”

I cocked my head and narrowed my eyes. “As long as you keep your clothes on. At least until we get home.”

“Yeah, well, I don’t think it’s me we really need to worry about. I seem to recall you being drunk, or at least buzzed, four of the first five nights we were together. Or was it all five? I don’t remember seeing you without a bottle of Jack nearby.”

“Leni,” I said, dropping my voice and leaning my head against hers so our mouths nearly touched. I lifted my hand to the side of her face and rubbed my thumb over the soft, smooth skin of her cheek. “When will you understand I don’t need that shit anymore? I don’t want to be numb. As long as you’re with me, I want to feel it all. Everything. I don’t want to miss a single moment or a single word or a single touch from you. I want to feel every bit of every moment. I want to feel
you
. Fully and completely.”

Without closing her eyes so she could look directly into mine, she parted her lips and nipped my bottom one. “I want to feel you, too,” she whispered, her breath hot against my lips. “All of you, in me, right now.”

She didn’t have to ask me twice.

Afterward, our souls drifted together outside of our bodies in that perfect place of just her and me.

Except it wasn’t so perfect.

“They always ruin the mood,” Leni’s soul murmured into mine. I didn’t have to ask who she meant. The Lakari’s Darkness was tangible and heavy, like swamp muck trying to suffocate from above and suck from below until it swallowed you.

“Let’s take care of them,” I said with a mental groan.

After enjoying another moment of peace, we pushed our souls through the roof of her camper to do our nightly job. As usual, several Dark spirits hovered over the trailer side of the park, covering the entire area. Their black shadows were like gauze, allowing the moonlight to pass through them like a sheer curtain, so they were spreading themselves thin. If there were more and the Darkness deeper, the people in their homes below would have been miserable. All of their souls would have been at risk. Was Enyxa after everyone here? Or was she simply not showing her hand yet?

“Let’s get rid of them and get back,” Leni said, not wanting to contemplate Enyxa or her Lakari’s intents while out of our bodies.

Staying together as one brightly lit soul, we swooshed and soared through the trailer park, a streak of Light forcing the Darkness away. There weren’t enough Lakari to fight us, so they flew off like cowards, knowing our Light could permanently destroy them. When we returned to the roof of Leni’s camper, we hovered for a bit, enjoying this special time together that was much more fun and relaxing than any party or bottle of Jack Daniels could ever be, and also ensuring the Darkness didn’t return. At least not tonight.

Chapter 12

“I have to admit I’m glad you have to work today,” Mason said, and although I couldn’t see him, I could imagine the twinkle in his light-green eyes.

“That’s not nice,” I said as I squeezed the phone between my ear and shoulder and shuffled through the registration cards for each of the RVs and campers in the park. Grams, God rest her soul, had done everything the old-fashioned pen and paper way, and Uncle Troy and I were slowly beginning to computerize things since she passed. Camper registrations hadn’t quite made it there yet. “You’re always telling me I work too much, and now you’re glad that I am?”

“If it means you can’t go to a big party without me, yeah, I kind of am. I want to be the one who lets you relax and have fun. I want to be with you when you do. Did I mention I’m a selfish bastard like that?”

I sighed, even though my insides flipped with joy. “For that to happen, we both have to have the day off at the same time.”

Mason, it turned out, worked about as many hours as I did. His shifts at the hospital were long, and he rarely took a day off. He said he would for me, but, of course, that was nearly impossible to make happen.

“Take off next weekend, and I promise I will, too,” he said.

“Weekends are impossible. Uncle Troy races on Saturdays and is always going out of town for them.”

“Friday night, too?”

“I work at Sullivan’s then.”

“Take it off.”

I laughed. “I make more money in tips on Friday nights than I do the rest of the week!”

He groaned. “I’ll make it up to you. Whatever you’d make, I’ll give you.”

My spine pricked. “I am
not
a charity case, Dr. Mason Hayes.”

“You’re killing me. I swear, you are going to be the death of me.”

“We’ll figure something out,” I promised as movement in the office window caught my eye. Uncle Troy was outside, probably getting ready to load up his stock car for tonight’s race somewhere far off from here. Although we had a racetrack right outside town, they only had stock car races twice a year, one for the Fourth of July and one in early August. The rest of the season, Uncle Troy spent weekends traveling around Florida.

“Let’s call in sick tomorrow,” Mason said. “I’ll drive up there tonight, and we can spend the whole day together. Nobody will have to know.”

I laughed again. “
Everybody
will know in this town. And I can’t lie like that, especially to my own uncle.”

“Wait. You’ve never called in sick?”

“Only once, years ago. Because I
was
sick.”

“Huh.” He paused. “I didn’t take you for being such a good girl.”

Now the sound that came out was more like a snort than a laugh. “Don’t you worry. I can be bad. Very bad. Just not when it comes to my work. I thought you liked a girl with a strong work ethic.”

He sighed. “Yeah, I do. But I don’t like when that work ethic gets in the way of me being able to spend time with a beautiful girl.”

“Oh, I’m sure there are plenty of beautiful girls you can spend time with,” I teased. Sort of. I still didn’t get why he was chasing after me when there were a number of gorgeous nurses and lovely doctors falling over their feet for his attention. I knew because I’d seen it firsthand.

“There’s only one I’m interested in spending time with,” he said flatly.

More movement in the window made me look up. Uncle Troy was headed this way.

“One day. I promise,” I said. “But I gotta go.”

“When are you coming to see your mother?”

“I don’t know, Mason. I have to look at my schedules again.” The knob on the door turned. “Seriously, I need to go. Now.”

“Call me later,” he said, his voice distant because I was already hanging up.

Uncle Troy eyed the phone in my hand before looking up at me. “Talkin’ to that damn doctor again?”

“Sure was,” I said cheerfully. “Mama’s still the same, if you care.”

“Not really,” he muttered. “Ty Daniels is waiting outside for you.”

My eyes flitted toward the window and back to my uncle’s face.

“He’s at his house,” Uncle Troy clarified.

“Well, what’s he need that he can’t come in here and ask?”

“He needs to show you somethin’, and I said that was fine.”

I stared at him blankly, not understanding.

He waved his hand at me. “Go on. Take the day off. I’m not sayin’ it twice, though.”

“Don’t you have to go?”

He moved around to my side of the desk. “Nah. No races this weekend.” His big hands grabbed the back of my chair and tilted it forward. “Now go, girl, before I change my damn mind.”

I stood before I fell out of the seat and moved slowly around the desk, still hesitant. “Ty—”

“Ty Daniels is a good man who fought for his country and would do even more for
you
,” Uncle Troy said as he stared me down with brown eyes like Mama’s. His round face had softened, though, for once showing concern. “You deserve a good man like him, and you deserve a day off. Today you get both. Ya’ll can thank me later.”

He shooed his hands at me again. Baffled, I grabbed my purse and went outside, the door banging behind me. Ty’s big, black truck sat in front of his house, and he stood on the far side of it, his forearms leaning on the walls of the bed. He wore a white tank undershirt and a red ball cap and even though I couldn’t see his lower half, I knew it was clad in jeans and cowboy boots. He also wore the biggest smile I’d seen on his face since he’d come back from the Middle East.

“Told ya,” he said as I approached.

“Told me what?”

“That Troy would do this for me.”

I sighed and looked down at myself. “I’m not dressed for a party.”

“You look fine to me, but you can change if you want.” He walked over to this side of the truck, and I was right: jeans and his old worn cowboy boots. “But we don’t have to go to the party. I wanna show you somethin’ first, then we can do whatever you feel like.”

“You seriously got the day off for me?”

“Troy likes me. He likes us. Together. The man is smart.”

I raised a brow.

He laughed, his smile sending a blast of warmth through me. “Maybe smart’s pushin’ it, but I ain’t gonna argue with him about this.”

“I don’t get why he cares so much.” Not like he ever did before.

“Probably because he knows you been talkin’ to that doctor, and if you go off with him, Troy’s left to run this place by himself.”

“Ah.” I nodded. “Now
that
makes sense. Always lookin’ after himself.”

“I don’t care who he’s lookin’ after right now because you get a day off. Finally. So do you plan on changing or are you gonna get that pretty ass into my truck as it is? I can’t wait a minute longer to show you my surprise.”

“Surprise?”

Ty moved over to the passenger door and grasped the handle. “Better make up your mind quick or I’ll pick you up and throw you in.”

“Okay, okay. One minute.” I laughed as I jogged over to my house and hurried inside to change.

I quickly yanked off my t-shirt and replaced it with a button-down halter, then changed from my work jean shorts into my favorite cut-off Daisy Dukes and exchanged my flip-flops for cowboy boots. I pulled the brush through my hair and twisted the dark red locks up in a clip. I put on a little eyeliner and mascara since I hadn’t this morning because I thought I’d be working in the office by myself. For a moment, I admittedly thought about blowing off Ty and calling Mason back. But I couldn’t do that to my friend. Or to Uncle Troy, who may never give me a day off again if I did. Besides, I was a little intrigued by Ty’s surprise.

“Time’s up,” Ty said as he barreled into my trailer. He found me in the bathroom with a blush brush in my hand. “Oh, for shit’s sake. You don’t need that crap.”

He wrapped his muscular arms around my waist and lifted me off the ground.

“Ty Daniels, put me down!” I squealed as he threw me over his shoulder, but I couldn’t suppress the laughter that bubbled up. I couldn’t remember the last time I felt like laughing like this. When he began moving, I tossed the brush toward the bathroom counter. It clattered to the floor, but there was nothing I could do as Ty strode outside and dumped me in the passenger seat of his pickup.

“Where we goin’?” I yelled over the music blasting from the speakers after he turned onto the highway, headed into town. Some of my hair loosened from the clip and blew against my cheeks from the wind through the open window. “What’s your surprise?”

“If I told you, it wouldn’t be a surprise, now would it?” He looked over at me and grinned mischievously. Damn him for being so cute. Did I ever tell him about my thing for guys in ball caps? Must have, because he seemed to use it against me every chance he got. Or maybe it was because he always looked so good in one that started my thing in the first place. I didn’t know anymore. At least he wasn’t wearing scrubs, too, or I would have been a lost cause.

That thought made me think of Mason, and then I felt guilty because I’d turned him down so many times to work, and here I was, off with another man. Ty and I might have had this friend thing going on right now, but it once had been more than that. I knew he wanted more again. He’d been doing everything right since he arrived home, finagled this day off for me even. Now I felt guilty for thinking of Mason when Ty deserved my undivided attention. At least for today.

“Almost there,” Ty said, and I refocused on my surroundings as my arm rode the air current outside the window.

My brows came together when I saw we were on the two-lane road heading north out of town. “I thought you said we weren’t going to the party.”

“We’re not. Not right now anyway. If you want to after this, we can, though.”

He slowed down and turned right into a driveway that ended at a little wood-sided cabin nestled among several live oaks dripping with Spanish moss. Back behind the house were some woods and, I knew, beyond that were open fields and a lake.

“But this is Mr. K’s place,” I said.

“Not anymore.” Ty threw the gearshift into park and turned the ignition off before hopping out of the truck. He ducked his head down and smiled at me. “This is my surprise.”

I narrowed my eyes as I looked at him, then at our surroundings. I didn’t understand.

“Are you comin’ or what?” he asked.

I turned for my door and had barely touched the handle when he was already on my side, yanking it open. He grabbed my hand and helped me out, grinning like a four-year-old on Christmas morning. At least, how they showed it on TV, even though I had no experience like that of my own. Ty led me up toward the dark brown house, but stopped several yards in front of it. He stepped behind me and placed his hands over my eyes, then gently pushed me forward a few more steps with his chest and hips.

“Surprise,” he whispered, his mouth so close to my ear that goose bumps rose when he spoke, and he lifted his hands.

We still stood in front of the cabin. Nothing had changed.

I tilted my head up and back to look at him.

“It’s mine now,” he murmured, and his face broke out in the biggest grin of all. My traitor heart fluttered. “All of it.”

“What do you mean?”

“I bought Mr. K’s place.”

I gasped and spun on my heel to face him. “How on earth did you do that?”

He gave an easy shrug. “Saved most of my money while I was in the Army. Made the last part of what I needed the other night in the fight, just in time, too. I closed on it yesterday.”

“You bought a house.” As the reality of it hit me, I squealed and threw my arms around his neck. “You bought a house, Ty! A real house!”

“Told you I’d get out of that trailer park one of these days,” he said as he took my hug for all it was worth. Then he pulled back and stared down into my face, his all serious now. “I’ve always said I’d get us both out. And I meant it, Bex. I still do.”

Something passed across his hazel eyes—something I didn’t want to label. But I couldn’t deny that he was about to kiss me. So I stepped back and dropped my arms from his neck.

“Can you show me around?” I asked with a heavy dose of enthusiasm. “Can we go inside yet? How much land is it anyway? When do you move in?”

He chuckled at the questions and began answering them as he walked up the front porch and stuck a key in the door. Wow. Ty had bought a house. He was seriously moving out of the trailer park. He was right now throwing open the door to his very own place that wasn’t a six-second walk from mine. He’d no longer feel trapped in that rundown shit-hole his daddy had left him with the horrible memories it held, and I’d no longer have to feel guilty when we finished our beers on my front steps after work and I went inside without inviting him in.

So why did I feel like crying? Why did tears leak down my cheeks?

“You okay?” he asked as he stood at the open door, waiting for me.

I gave a breathy laugh and wiped at my face, thankful for waterproof mascara. “Yeah.” I walked up the steps and gave him a smile. “I’m just so happy for you.”

And that was it, right? That’s what it should have been. But if I were being honest with myself, I knew there was more to what I was feeling than that. Nostalgia for our crappy childhoods. Envy that he was getting out. And sadness that he would no longer be sitting on my steps, waiting for me with a cold beer when I came home after a long day and night of double and triple shifts. Even though he wouldn’t be far and he’d probably come over the minute I called, I had this weird mix of feelings going on that my best friend was moving away and my childhood sweetheart was moving on. Both had happened years ago when he’d chosen to break up with me before leaving for the Army, but the anger had overwhelmed the bittersweetness of what I felt now.

“Bex,” Ty said softly from behind me, very close, so close, I could feel his presence against my back even though no parts of us touched. When he shifted, though, we touched completely, his chest against my back, his arms sliding around me, his chin on my shoulder. “I’m only five minutes away. I told you—I’m not leaving you again. And whenever you’re ready, this place can be yours, too.”

And suddenly, I wanted that. This. The house. The life. Ty. The two of us together. But the feeling was temporary. It
had
to be.

I knew that’s what he meant, but I chuckled and stepped away from him. Again. “If Uncle Troy ever kicks me out, I’m sure we’d make great roommates.”

He sighed, and I tried to ignore the hurt in it, even when it made my own heart squeeze with the ache for what could have been. I walked across the living room to the door that led out back, onto a wooden deck overlooking the backyard.

“It’s beautiful,” I whispered.

“It is nice, isn’t it?” he asked as he leaned against the railing next to me. “I see lots of beer drinkin’ on this porch. Maybe a few bar-b-ques in the backyard. I just need to dig a roasting pit.”

“It’s so peaceful. Except …” I listened closely, hearing music in the far distance, and laughed. “Sounds like your first party’s already started.” I threw a hand over my mouth. “Ohmagosh, Ty, the K-bombs are on your property now! Are you gonna throw them off?”

“Hell, no! I just made sure I never have to bring my own beer again.”

I laughed, then nudged him with my shoulder. “You wanna go?”

“To the party?”

I shrugged. “Why not? I haven’t been to one in forever, and you deserve to celebrate.”

“I do! I won my first fight, and that’s only the beginning. This is only the beginning.”

I turned to stare at him, tilting my head as I really studied his face. He’d mentioned the fight earlier, but I’d been so preoccupied with the house, I hadn’t really tuned into his meaning. Now that he mentioned it again … I lifted his hat, removing the shadow over his eyes.