AllFreeNovel
Share Us
Amalie stilled, her eyes widening, and with everything he began saying, she was seeing it play out before her.
“When you disappeared without a trace, it broke his heart. He died never knowing what had happened to you. His name was Brendan Pope. You’ve been mixing him and me up in your head for weeks and I said nothing. But now, after what I just saw, what we’ve been shown… I think he’s been trying to tell you and me…to remind us of who we were…and who we are.”
“Oh my God, oh my God,” Amalie said. “What do I do? What do we do?”
“What they did,” he said. He rolled her over onto her back, slid between her knees, and in a single thrust, they were one, sealing a bond long since broken and healing the souls once lost.
The madness grew with every thrust, with every kiss—with every fervent whisper. The need for more was an addiction, chasing that ever-growing blood rush to the end. One minute rolled into another, into another. Rain began hammering the roof and then the windows, as if pounding to be let in.
The climax happened without warning. Jolting them out of rhythm and into a sensation of falling, falling, forever falling into each other’s arms.
The shock wave passed, leaving them stunned and breathless, but so at peace in a way neither had ever known. The voices were gone now. The message had been received and accepted. Balance had been restored.
Sean rolled over and took her with him, pulling the covers up over their shoulders as he did.
“The wordloveis not enough, but it’s there for you, and so am I, Amalie. Forever.”
He didn’t know that she was crying until he felt the tears on his chest, and then he drew back in a panic, needing to see her face.
“Are you all right? Did I hurt you? What’s wrong, love?”
“I’m so good…so perfect it’s hard to explain. It is a strange world for me to be accepted. To be loved without boundaries. To have been broken time and time again, shunned and shamed for things not of my doing, and then be given everything that has been missing in my life—all at once. Forever has been a long time coming, but I will always be on your side. I will always have your back.”
“Amalie…sweetheart…come here to me,” he whispered. “You’re safe now. The war for us is over.” He pulled her close, and then they slept.
Parting ways the next morning was hard for both of them, but life and work were upon them, and the future still beckoned.
“I’ll call you,” he said, as she was helping him on with his coat.
She nodded. “And I’ll answer, and we’ll talk about stuff.”
“And be thinking about ‘other’ stuff in between,” he said, and watched her eyes twinkle.
“Exactly. Be careful going home. Love you.”
He kissed her square on the lips.Love you more, and then he was gone.
Amalie watched until he drove out of sight and then went back inside to finish getting ready.
Later, as she was leaving her house, she saw more trucks pulling up at the school. She caught a red light at the main intersection and, as she was waiting, saw a big truck roll through with the logo Winslow’s Custom Windows—likely also school related.
When the light changed, she headed for the bakery. Neither she nor Sean had taken time to feed themselves this morning. He was going home to Shirley’s cooking. She was taking some of Annie’s to work with her, keeping it all in the family.
Julio Ruiz was on the run. He knew someone from Outen Industries had been at the refinery site since the fire was out because his brother-in-law told him. He knew Wolf would be on his tail because he hadn’t answered Wolf’s calls. He also knew running had been a mistake and was trying to think of a story that would fit the situation. His wife thought he had run off with another woman. His children were distraught. And all because he chose to skim a little off the top of Outen’s profits. Men weredead. Men he had called friends. There were nights when he wished he had died with them and thought about ending his life. Then he’d wake up the next day and remember that in his faith, suicide was a sin. And in the end, it was the Church and a village priest that brought him to a halt.
“Forgive me, Father, for I have sinned,” Julio said.
“I am listening,” the old priest said, and Julio began to recount what he had done, and ended sobbing, praying for absolution, praying for his soul to be at peace.
The priest listened, and then he did and said what he always said and did for everyone sitting in his confessional, but then something moved within his heart that led him to add one thing.
“God will forgive you, my son, but will you ever forgive yourself? You cannot run away from your past. Be a man. Go home. Face and accept your truth as you have accepted God’s love and forgiveness.”
Julio staggered out of the church in a daze. He was afraid. He would be in prison for years. His family would suffer his shame. But then he remembered. They were already suffering for what he’d done.
He walked back down the street to thepousadawhere he’d been staying, packed up his clothes, and got in the car. If he was to make amends, they began with Wolf Outen. After that, he would let fate have its way.
Wolf was in his limo, being driven to a meeting, when his cell phone rang. He was on his laptop checking notes and almost let it go to voicemail, then remembered he had a daughter now and checked caller ID. When he saw the name, he was shocked.
