A Rocky Path (21 page)

Patrick then gathered her into his arms,
murmuring softly against her hair. “I’m so sorry, Emily. I didn’t
mean to. I would be devastated if I hurt you. But we keep doing
this!”

She pulled away slightly and looked up at
him. She could see tears glinting in his eyes.

“It’s as much my fault as yours,” she said
softly. “I know the consequences as well as you do.”

“Emily, I can’t live like this.” He laughed
ruefully. “What am I saying? I’m not
living
at all!”

“I can’t live like this, either,” she
admitted. “It’s just too hard. I know that we can never get married
and have a relationship like other couples do. I know that we have
no future. And I know that we have to find a way to send you back.
I have to be resigned to that. I’ll feel like my world is ending if
you go, but I know there’s no way we can really be together if you
stay. So the best thing is for us to get you home.”

“I know, Emily. I will be glad to go to
Heaven after roaming the earth for 150 years. You are the only
thing worth staying for. But I know, like you do, that being
together would be impossible. Sooner or later, I would kill
you.”

“So, are you ready to hear my idea?”

“No, not yet. Let’s just spend some fun time
together. Forget what’s going to happen. Let’s have that picnic
lunch, then just go play. We can pretend that we have all the time
in the world to be together. We can be just like children without a
care in the world for just a few hours. Are you willing to do
that?”

Emily smiled. “Yes, I think that’s the best
idea I’ve heard for awhile. Let’s just have fun for awhile.”

And that’s exactly what they did.

Chapter Thirty Two

Late afternoon brought colder temperatures,
and the two lovers retreated to the cave. They built a fire and
Patrick heated some water in a metal teapot on a makeshift rack
over the blaze.

“What are you doing?” she asked
curiously.

“Making tea, of course,” he said with a
grin.

“Making tea? That’s awfully domestic of you.
What is that you’re setting the pot on?”

“It’s a piece of grating I found.”

“You are so resourceful,” she teased. “What
kind of tea do you have? And where do you get all this stuff?”

“Earl Grey. And I told you before, I have my
ways.”

They sat down on the blanket and enjoyed the
warmth of the tea. The whole scene was almost like a dream that she
never wanted to awaken from. But she knew cold reality would
encroach upon them.

“Patrick, we need to talk about what I want
to do.”

“Your idea? I guess it’s time to find out
what you’re talking about.”

“One day when I was visiting Sarah Stone, she
told me about an encounter she had with a ghost. She had fallen in
love with him. He was also roaming the earth like you are. He
didn’t know who his killer was and couldn’t go home until he
discovered the killer’s identity. This ghost was able to take
Sarah’s hand and show her the past. When she saw everything that
had happened when he was killed, she was able to see the killer
that had come up behind John and stabbed him. So then she read
about it and found out who the killer was. It was actually a case
of mistaken identity. The wrong person was murdered. But after he
had knowledge of the killer, he was able to let go of this world
and go on. I was hoping that you would be able to show me what
happened at that time of your death.”

Patrick looked at her incredulously. “I had
no idea something like that would work. Are you sure that she was
telling you the truth?”

“Now what reason would she possibly have to
lie to me? Patrick, I think it’s worth a try.”

“I’m willing to try if you want to do this.
Are you sure this is something that you want?”

“Don’t you want to?”

“Of course I do. Just don’t be disappointed
if it doesn’t work. Promise?”

“Sure. I’ve already resigned myself to that
possibility.”

“Then let’s do it!” he said.

He took her hand and kissed it softly. Then
he turned her hand over and ran his tongue slowly across her palm.
Then he squeezed her hand lightly.

“Are you ready?” he asked.

“Yes,” she whispered.

She was trembling slightly, a little afraid
of what they were going to do. She looked up at him and he smiled
at her.

“Here we go.”

* * *

Suddenly, she felt like she was tumbling into
a vortex, and it took her breath away. It seemed that the earth had
disappeared from beneath her feet and there was nothing to stop her
from falling forever. Then she was standing in the hallway of a
house that was very familiar. Although the décor had changed, she
could tell it was Rebecca’s house. Patrick’s house.

She started down the hallway, moving as if
she was in a dream. Her feet seemed to carry her forward of their
own accord. She stopped at the door of a room where she heard
sounds coming from inside. The door opened slowly, and she could
see two bodies intertwined on the bed. She stood watching,
fascinated. The man was an older version of Patrick, still
handsome, but more refined. His hair was cut shorter and he looked
a little more aristocratic. She recognized the blond from the
painting. It was Bridgett. The two people on the bed were kissing
and touching as only lovers do. Finally, Emily turned away. She
couldn’t watch anymore.

She was then transported to another scene. It
must have been right after Patrick had walked in on the two lovers,
because Bridgett was facing Patrick, the buttons on her dress
crooked as if she had buttoned it hastily. The two were in the
library, and Patrick was pouring himself a drink. It looked like
maybe it wasn’t the first one he had downed since walking out of
Bridgett’s room.

“Please, Patrick, at least look at me,” she
was pleading.

He slammed his hand down on a desk hard
enough to rattle a glass paperweight that was resting there.

“If I look at you, I might kill you!” he said
contemptuously. “I can’t stand the sight of you.”

“You don’t understand!” she cried.

“Understand? I don’t understand? That’s
right, I don’t. It would have been bad enough if it had been just
another man. But my own father? Do you see how perverted that
is?”

“Patrick, I couldn’t help myself. The first
time he came to me, I was shocked. But the things he did to me, the
things he made me feel….”

“I don’t want to hear this! It’s disgusting
and unnatural. My father!”

“I tried to stop. I really did. But I
couldn’t. We couldn’t stay away from each other. I love you,
Patrick, I never stopped. But I love him too. I didn’t want to give
up either one of you. I couldn’t choose!”

She was sobbing now, pleading with him to
understand. His face was stony, and there was no way he was giving
in to her pleading. His hands trembled as he took a drink. Emily
couldn’t tell if it was from grief or barely controlled anger.

“Get out of my sight!” he shouted.

She ran from the room, weeping
uncontrollably. Emily watched Patrick as he threw the glass across
the room. It shattered against the stone fireplace.

Next, Emily found herself down by the rocks
where she and Patrick had spent so much time. She felt her stomach
clinch up, knowing that, more than likely, she was about to witness
Patrick’s death. She didn’t know if she could handle that or
not.

Patrick was looking out toward the water.
Bridgett came slowly and tentatively down the steps toward him. He
turned as he heard her coming, and then turned back away.

She stood beside him. “Please, Patrick, we
need to talk about this. I love you and I don’t want to lose
you!”

He looked at her with contempt. “It’s too
late for that. I don’t want anything else to do with you, Bridgett.
Now you need to leave.”

“No,” she shouted. “You are going to listen
to me!”

He turned to her. “I’m warning you, Bridgett.
You need to get out of my sight before I lose my temper.”

“I’m not going anywhere until you listen to
me!”

She grabbed his arm and he shook her off,
sending her sprawling onto the ground. She jumped up and rushed
toward him, slapping him in the face. He pushed her and she fell
again. A little afraid now, she turned toward the higher rocks and
climbed up them.

“Now, please listen to me. I’ll stay right
here and you stay down there and we will talk.”

Paying no attention to what she was saying,
he hurried up the rocks after her. He grabbed her by the shoulders
and shook her slightly, and she slapped him again. She had
apparently pushed him too far because he hit her in the face with
the back of his hand. She started losing her balance, so she
grabbed for him, trying to stop her fall. As she clutched at his
arm, it threw him off balance and he started to fall. She let go of
him and jumped back, but it was too late for Patrick. He balanced
precariously for a moment, and then he fell off the rock, hitting
his head on the side before he tumbled into the water. Bridgett
screamed as he went down, but there was nothing she could do. She
looked at him in the water, blood pouring from his head wound. She
sank to her knees sobbing. Then there were people everywhere, some
pulling Patrick from the water, some trying to help Bridgett. But
Emily knew the outcome of this scene. She knew Patrick was
dead.

Chapter Thirty Three

Emily came back to the present more quickly
than she had left it. She looked at Patrick, and he was looking
back at her expectantly.

“Well?” he asked.

She hesitated. “Could you not see any of
it?”

“No, I didn’t see anything.”

She said, “Patrick, I don’t know how to tell
you this. It was an accident, but it was partly your fault.”

She related to him everything she had seen.
She didn’t leave anything out, believing that he had a right to
know the whole truth. When she was finished, Patrick’s face was
white and he was shaking.

“I hit her? I can’t believe I did that. Why
can’t I remember? That’s not the person I was. I might have been a
hot head, but I would never have hit a woman.”

“Patrick, I saw it all. I know that’s what
happened. But you can’t blame yourself completely. She slapped you
twice. After what you had been through, it’s a wonder you didn’t
completely snap and push
her
off the rocks!”

“Emily, why are you standing so far away from
me? Are you afraid of me now?”

She looked at him and said, “I’m sorry. I
shouldn’t feel that way. It’s just that you were so angry, it
scared me a little to see that side of you. That’s the same side of
you that tore apart this cave.”

“Emily, I would never hurt you. I still can’t
believe I hit Bridgett. But I’m not that man anymore, either. I
have matured a lot in the last 150 years, even if I haven’t grown
any older.”

Emily only hesitated a moment, then she
rushed into Patrick’s arms and buried her head against his
chest.

“I know you would never hurt me. And I think
Bridgett deserved anything she got! But she didn’t mean for you to
fall. She was just acting on instinct, trying to keep herself from
falling. It was all an accident. It was a very sad situation for
both of you and it ended in a tragedy. But I don’t think either of
you meant to hurt each other. It just all got out of hand.”

“So now that I know everything, nothing is
chaining me to this world. Except you. I don’t know if I can leave
you, Emily.”

She looked up at him. “Patrick, we talked
about this. You need to go home. We could never be happy together.
We couldn’t get married and have a normal relationship. No sex, no
kids, no growing old together. So, you see, we have no future
together. And you will find ultimate happiness going home to
Heaven.”

“How can there be a happy place without you
there?”

“It’s a different kind of happiness, Patrick.
I promise you that you will find true happiness.”

He said, “What about you, Emily? What about
your happiness?”

“I’ll survive. I’m strong. I won’t stand here
and tell you that I’ll get over you, but some day it won’t hurt as
much as it does right now.”

“You’ll find someone else. It will take time,
but that person will be there for you some day. Then you will
forget about me.”

Emily touched his face gently. “Never. You
will be with me forever. I’ll always feel you right there beside
me. I know you’ll be watching over me.”

Emily was still in his arms and he held her
even tighter, resting his face against the top of her head. Then he
looked down at her, his sapphire eyes glistening with unshed tears.
He kissed her gently on the forehead, the tip of her nose, her
cheek, her chin, and then her lips. He ran his hands over her back,
then up until he took her face into both of his hands. He kissed
her tenderly over and over, almost as if he was afraid to stop for
fear of disappearing.

“Patrick, I love you so much,” she
whispered.

“I love you, too, Emily. More than I’ve ever
loved a woman.”

He kept kissing her and holding her,
desperate not to let her go. Both of them were crying now, knowing
the time was near that they would be parted.

“Patrick, I want to go with you,” she said
suddenly. “Take me with you.”

He pulled away from her. “Emily! You know I
can’t do that. What are you saying?”

“Kill me, Patrick. Please. Just kill me, or
let me kill myself so I can go with you.”

“Emily, you don’t know what you’re saying.
We’re both grieving right now and you aren’t thinking straight.
Please don’t say it again. It’s not right.”

Emily sighed. “I know you’re right. I don’t
know what got into me. It was a crazy thing to say. I don’t really
want to die. I just want to be with you.”