Bewitching You (29 page)

But he was Grayson. Not Hayes.

What was he doing here?

Slowly, Rachel walked the distance between them, cautious about where this would lead. She hadn’t imagined Grayson would ever want to see her again. Not after she’d told him about the night with Hayes.

Did he want to yell at her? Get some closure?

Find out more?

“Hi, Rachel,” he said, not looking happy, but not angry either. “This is Sofia, my girlfriend.”

Rachel nodded at the woman. Sofia appeared harmless. She had pretty eyes and a smile that was warm and welcoming. Her hair was up in a cute ponytail, and she looked at ease in her jeans and t-shirt. Rachel could easily see why Grayson would like her.

Good for him, she surprised herself by thinking.

“Why are you here?” she asked the both of them.

“We’d like to talk to you for a moment,” Sofia said. “It’s important and it won’t take long at all. I promise.”

“I don’t know. I’m really busy.”

“Packing?” Sofia asked.

“Yes.” How did she know?

“Going to the mountains somewhere?”

“Um, where are you getting all this? Grayson, what’s going on?”

“Can we come in for a minute?” he asked. “Sofia… She knows things. It’s important she get the chance to tell you.”

Knows things? If Rachel didn’t think Grayson was a decent man, she’d be slamming the door in his face. But he was a good man, and he’d never once hurt her.

She bypassed the couple and unlocked her door. “Just for a moment.”

~ * ~

Sofia
loved
Rachel’s cute little apartment. The living room was feminine and pink and cozy. The couch looked comfy, as did the matching chair next to it. Now this was a woman who knew how to live.

But she stifled the urge to ask her hostess where she’d found the cute flowered throw pillows, knowing darn well this wasn’t the time to ask for decorating tips. She bit her lips shut and took a seat next to Gray on the couch.

“Can I get you a cold beverage, Sofia? Grayson?” Rachel asked from the kitchenette.

Odd how she kept calling Gray “Grayson.” As if she were about to break out a ruler and threaten to smack his hand with it.

“What do you have?” Sofia asked right as Gray said, “No, thank you.” And then gave her a look.

Sofia shrugged. “I’m thirsty,” she whispered to him.

“Water, diet cola, and orange juice.”

“I’d love some water. It feels like we’ve been out in the sun all day.”

“Oh?” Rachel handed her a bottle of water. “That’s nice.” She handed one to Gray as well, and sat down in the chair with her hands placed neatly in her lap. She let out a small sigh and met Sofia’s gaze. “How can I help you?”

Here it goes.
This would be the very first time Sofia attempted to prevent tragedy in person. There was nothing anonymous about this interaction. Now, how to begin?

“Sofia dreams of the future,” Gray blurted out, and Sofia sucked in a breath.

Sheesh. The man knew how to get straight to the point.

“She what?”

“I’m able to foresee the future.” Sofia took over. “For whatever reason, I was given this gift and I’ve had it since puberty. Strong emotions trigger these visions of fear, love, grief, and so on.”

“That’s interesting,” Rachel said with no facial expression whatsoever. Her hands clasped tighter together.

“Psychic abilities run in my family,” Sofia added, wondering if Rachel believed a word she said. “Anyway, I’ll get to the point. Lately, I’ve been having visions of a plane flying through the air, but all of the passengers are, well, they’re not breathing. I’m thinking maybe the oxygen depleted from the cabin and the oxygen masks didn’t fall down in time to warn them. So they… well, they died.”

Rachel wiggled in her seat. “And?”

“And in the dream I had last night, you were on the plane.”

“Really? Deceased as well?”

“Yes.”

“Is this some kind of a joke?” Rachel rose out of her coma and set a fierce glare toward Gray. “Why did you bring her here? I never took you as the vengeful type. I guess I was wrong.”

“No, Rachel. It’s not like that. Sofia’s telling the truth. I know it’s a little hard to believe, but she’s the real deal.”

“Listen, I’m sorry I slept with Hayes. I was in love with him. I still am in love with him.”

“Hayes is dead,” Gray said rather gruffly. “This has nothing to do with him.”

“He may be dead to you, but not to me.”

Oh, boy. Sofia needed to get this back on track. “Sorry to interrupt, but did you recently
book that flight? Like yesterday?”

Rachel glanced away from them, ignoring Sofia.

“You took the last seat, did you not?”

“How do you know all this? Do you work for the airline?”

“I told you how I know. One seat was empty—number twenty-two—for the first few dreams I had, and then last night you were sitting there. Look, if you could just tell me the information off the ticket, then we’ll leave you alone.”

“Why don’t you already know that? I thought you were
psychic
?”

Sofia ignored the condescending tone. Obviously, the woman had been through a lot in the past year, and here Sofia was telling her she might die on an airplane that hadn’t even left the ground yet.

“What if, hypothetically, I’m right? What if this plane is going to kill everyone on board, including children, and ultimately crash into a mountain that may or may not have people on it? Wouldn’t you want to do everything in your power to prevent that tragedy from happening?”

“I don’t see what I could do.”

“You’d be doing a
great
thing if you’d only give me some details.”

“Great.” Rachel hung her head, took a breath and looked up at Sofia. “Fine. What do you need to know?”

Chapter Seventeen

Rachel opened the door for them. She was more than ready to have Grayson out of her sight. He looked so much like Hayes. More than ever, with his hair tousled and his clothes wrinkled and imperfect. These two must’ve had quite a journey.

But was this for real? Or did Grayson’s new girlfriend simply have a vivid imagination and a contact that worked for the airline? Sofia seemed like a sincere and genuine person, though sometimes looks were deceiving. What motive did she have for concocting this story? Rachel already knew why Grayson believed it. He was angry and still a mess from losing his brother.

“Thank you for this, Rachel,” Sofia said, waving the paper. “I’m going to do what I can to keep this plane from going up. I hope you’ll seriously consider changing your flight.”

Rachel nodded. She didn’t intend to change anything. If the pair of them could stop this plane from flying, she’d find alternate transportation from Denver to Aspen. Maybe she’d take a different flight or rent an SUV and drive. Or if the plane went up, and Sofia was right…well, then so be it. Fate would lead her to Hayes. Right?

“Take care, Rachel,” Grayson said, but he didn’t meet her eyes. He wrapped his arm around Sofia and led her down the hall. She whispered something to him, and he leaned down to kiss her.

Hayes had certainly done his job. Grayson was happy. But did that mean Hayes had crossed over? Would she never see him again?

She shut the door and pressed her forehead against it. “Hayes, come to me,” she whispered. Calling him had worked before. It had to work again. “Hayes, please come see me. Please.”

~ * ~

Sofia read over the information Gray had written down when Rachel finally caved. The day after tomorrow, the flight was scheduled to depart. Saturday. They had forty-eight hours to stop it somehow.

“What can I do?” she muttered, while staring out the car window. “Call and tell them their plane is broken and to fix it?” She snorted. “Yeah, they’ll believe some wacko woman from Indianapolis who hasn’t even laid eyes on it. What about a bomb threat? That might work.”

Gray shook his head and tightened his grip on the steering wheel. “They tend to investigate those. We want to avoid anything that’s going to put us in prison.”

Sofia liked how he was saying “we” instead of “you.” He was in this for the long haul. Her new partner in solving crimes and tragedies.

“Can you read the itinerary back to me again?” He’d gone into detective mode. So serious and analytical.

“DashAir Airlines, flight 221. Leaves at a quarter to five. Saturday from Denver to Aspen, Colorado.” She swerved her finger over the way he wrote
Aspen
, and realized this handwriting didn’t match the love note at all.

This confirmed he’d been telling the truth. Not that she hadn’t believed him. But who had written it then?

“DashAir,” he said. “Huh. I think I know somebody who knows somebody who owns that airline.”

“Really?”

“A neighbor of mine. He told me his dad owns it.”

“You’re kidding?”

“I kid you not. We should see if he’ll put in a call to daddy.”

“That would be fantastic, Gray.”

He smiled at her and winked. “Am I still your hero?”

“We’ll see later tonight.” She slid a hand up his muscular thigh.

How had she gotten this lucky? She only hoped her luck would continue, considering their blooming relationship had so many discrepancies compared to her visions. Different locations, different emotions, everything was altered in some way. She shifted in her seat as an irritating weight of doubt settled heavy in her chest.

Ignore it, Sofe
.

This would work. They loved each other. It
had
to work.

~ * ~

Penny ambled downstairs to get a bite to eat. She couldn’t stand being cooped up in that bed any longer. Besides, Sofia could be home any minute. It was time for Penny to think about leaving before she was caught in her web of lies.

“Mom?” Laura called from the kitchen table. A garden salad sat in front of her. “You okay to be up and about?”

“I’m fine, dear.” Penny poked her head in the refrigerator, but didn’t see anything good.

“Where’s Herbert?” She turned around to see the blush on Laura’s face.

“He had to go into work for a few hours.”

“Oh? Will he be back later? He’s such a nice gentleman.”

Laura finished chewing and swallowed. “You really are the devil in disguise, aren’t you, Mother?”

“I prefer the name Cupid, but I won’t be picky.” Penny sat down opposite her daughter and eyed the salad. “What do you have there, dear? Trying to stay trim for a reason?”

“Mother, stop it. Herbert’s a nice man, I agree. But I want to take it slow and see where it goes.”

“I highly recommend the bedroom.”

They both broke out in laughter.

Laura put her hand over her heart. “It’s been a while, that’s for sure.”

Penny loved seeing Laura in such good spirits. She couldn’t remember the last time they’d laughed together. It had been years. Not since before Michael, her ex-husband and Sofia’s father, had up and left. The weasel. He never did understand or appreciate the gifts Laura had been given.

Laura’s smile faded as she sipped her tea. “Have you talked to that spirit?”

“You mean Hayes?”

“Mm hmm.”

“I talked to him this morning, actually.” Penny picked up Laura’s fork and scooped a cucumber with extra dressing into her mouth.

“Are you going to leave me hanging, Mother? Or are you going to tell me if my daughter’s all right?”

“Of course she’s all right. The spell is complete, and they’ve admitted their love for each other.”

Laura clenched her eyes shut and opened them again. “Lovely. Now we wait for the
heartbreak?”