Seeing Forever (2 page)

Jake kissed her on the cheek. “Thanks for the kind
gesture of the meals for Luc.”

“I know it can’t be easy, and I hope Willow will be
a big help to him.”

“Oh … a lifesaver, no doubt.”

“I’m going to miss you, you big silly thing,” said
Gen. She knelt in front of the dog and threw her arms around his throat and
hugged him. Jake had warned both her and Nicky about getting too attached to
the dogs he brought into their home for training, because they’d only be with them
three months and sometimes less. She’d listened, she’d understood what he meant,
but nevertheless it was still going to be tough saying goodbye. He’d promised
Nicky they’d get their own dog soon, but until then, or when Jake got the next
canine to train, the house wasn’t going to feel the same.

She wiped a tear away before Jake saw her getting
too emotional.

Mitchell saved her by choosing that moment to walk
back into the kitchen.

“Rachel okay?” she asked.

“Yep, she’s eating toast and crackers and feels a
lot better than when she first got up this morning.”

Gen had remembered morning sickness all too well and
she was sorry that Rachel couldn’t make the trip. It would have been fun to
spend time with her, especially while the guys were in Boise.

“Okay, are we all set? If so, I’ll put Willow in the
truck and we can head out.”

Gen, with Nicky in tow, walked behind the two men
and Willow as they made their way out to the driveway and began loading the
dog’s kennel, food, and supplies, followed by the bag with Gen’s homemade
goodies.

“Remember, one dish of cookies is for
Katey
. I remembered she liked the peanut butter ones when
she was here. And the chocolate chip ones are for Sadie. I know how she loves
them. And say hello to both of them for me,” said Gen.

“So you think Sadie will be working some of her
magic again this time?” asked Mitchell.

“She’ll have her work cut out for her with Luc, but
I don’t doubt she’ll pull it off somehow,” said Jake.

****

Sadie hung the picture frame on the wall. In it was
a photo of the first official Perfect Pairing baby, courtesy of
Evie
and Kyle. A beautiful little girl named Sophie
Elizabeth, who’d arrived just ten days ago in Los Angeles.
 
Sadie was heading there at the end of the week
to see her in person for the first time and she could hardly wait. And now
Mitchell and Rachel were expecting a baby, too––exciting times for everyone at
Perfect Pairing.

She stepped back admiring the photo one more time
before she had to be on her way to Boise to meet with her two new clients,
Katey
and Luc. Yes, she was bending the rules yet again,
but what the Department of Love didn’t know, couldn’t get Sadie in any trouble.
She picked up the two forms they’d sign, thinking it was connected to the
service dog that
Katey
would be working with, but
what they would be really signing was an agreement to be matched by the Perfect
Pairing agency.
 
Yes, the Department of
Love required signatures, with each and every
i
dotted and
t
crossed, and if they ever knew what she was really doing, well,
she’d be spending all eternity in some far-off part of the other realm.
 
Red tape, oh how she hated it, which reminded
her that later this week the Department was sending Ted Grimsby, the most
miserable warlock in the realm, but an ace accountant, to look over the books. And
as business was booming, they were also in the process of selecting an
assistant to work with her. It would probably be a witch doing penance for some
wrongdoing, just like Sadie. However, what had started out as punishment was
the best thing that had ever happened to her.

Sadie glanced at the clock. How had it gotten to be
this late in the day without her noticing? Now she wouldn’t have time to get to
Boise the conventional way, but what was another little case of her breaking
the rules? She put on her coat, made sure no one was looking, and snapped her
fingers.

Chapter
Two

Katey
took
off the sweater and picked up the one she’d been wearing just before she’d
tried on the one she’d just taken off.
 
She shook her head, not quite believing she
was being this indecisive.

 
She glanced
in the mirror. This was black, whereas the other one had been red. Didn’t
fashion experts say that dark colors were meant to be more slimming? In her
case that wasn’t true. Still, she’d stick with the black one and keep her jacket
on. It wasn’t as if she was going on a date or anything, and yes, she knew that
Luc Frasier had lost his sight but Jake would be there, along with his buddy
Mitchell, and also a lady named Sadie who Jake worked with, placing service
dogs with people who needed help.
 
Well, at
least that’s what Jake had told her when he’d called and asked her to meet them
at Luc’s house this afternoon.

She checked her watch. She was running late and
didn’t want to give a bad first impression. She knew military guys insisted on
punctuality. She headed downstairs where Ruth, her stepmother, was watching one
of the daytime talk shows.

“You know your father isn’t happy about you taking
this job,” she said as
Katey
reached for her car
keys.

That wasn’t exactly true. He’d been supportive until
Ruth had convinced him that
Katey
should retrain for
something with a more solid future, and one that would provide her with enough
money that she wouldn’t have to live under their roof forever.

Yeah, like she’d
really
wanted to return to the family home after she’d had her own place for two years.
Like she
really
enjoyed it, along with Ruth’s constant criticism of all things
Katey
.

She wanted to give her a sarcastic answer, but knew
she was walking a fine line.

“I’m sure he’ll come around to the idea, and he’s
always told me it’s good to help people out.”

“The disabled can be tough to deal with. I’m warning
you it won’t be easy.”

“He’s not disabled. He lost his sight serving his
country. I think that’s very brave and admirable, to put your life on the line
every day.”

“I’m not saying it isn’t, but I’m just forewarning
you, that’s all. What your father never wanted to do was give you kids a sense
of reality.”

But
you’ve more than made up for that.

“I need to get going or I’ll be late. Don’t keep any
supper for me, because I don’t know how long I’ll be.”

Katey
walked out to the driveway and got into her car. Maybe she should think about
retraining for a career with a solid future, like nursing or at least something
in the medical field so she could get out from under Ruth’s roof. She backed out
and headed down the road. That all made perfect sense, but somehow she got the
feeling that she was going to love working with dogs and people who needed to
get back on their feet.

She turned on the radio and started to sing. That
had always helped her deal with all things Ruth.

****

So there really was an afterlife, and you felt just
like you had in life.

Luc sat up.

And, shit … in the afterlife, he was still without
his sight.

Son
of a bitch.
Who
would have thought as much?

He felt around to see what he was lying on. Fuck, he
hoped it wasn’t a stainless steel table in the mortuary, or even worse, the
medical examiner’s office. Would they cut him open to see what he’d actually
died from? He hadn’t thought about that.

 
Everything
seemed strangely familiar. If he wasn’t mistaken it was the quilt on his bed,
the one his mother had made before she got sick. He knew it was that exact same
one because it had a few loose threads at the top. He felt around some more.
His pillows…the bedside table…the bottle of water that he’d just knocked onto
the floor. Maybe he was a ghost floating around where he’d died until he went
to his final resting spot.

And then the smell of perfume drifted his way. Only
one woman wore that fragrance, and it was Josie. She had to be here too––either
that, or afterlife smelled exactly like his sister.

“Yes, I’m here.”

Luc jumped when his sister spoke to him. One side of
the bed tipped slightly lower and the perfume smell suddenly grew more intense.
He’d hazard a guess she’d just parked her butt right beside him.

“Where am I, and what happened?” asked Luc. He
pushed his hand around the bed and came in contact with a leg, which was
probably Josie’s.

She grabbed his hand. “If you’re wondering if you’re
dead? Sorry. No, you’re not.”

Luc guessed the nurse had gotten to him in time.
Damn, he couldn’t even get something as simple as killing himself right. Had
they pumped his stomach? He didn’t feel sore. He thought it would have hurt
like hell, but maybe these days they had non-invasive ways. Wait a minute––if
they hadn’t pumped his stomach, maybe they’d resorted to giving him an enema.

Josie took his hand between her own.

“If you’re wondering why you didn’t die, it’s
because you downed a bunch of vitamin C tablets.”

Holy
crap.

And had he heard her almost laughing when she’d told
him that?

“Lucky thing I took all the other pills away,
thinking you might accidentally take the wrong ones before you were taught how
to tell one bottle from the other. Did you know that while overdosing on
vitamin C isn’t recommended, it’s not deadly because it’s water-soluble and you
pee it out of your system. Well, that’s according to the nurse.”

Luc fell back flat on the bed. Feeling like more a
loser than he had before, he’d tried to end it all. At least the upside was he
probably wouldn’t come down with a cold.

“I read the letter,” said Josie, squeezing his hand.

Oh,
shit … the letter.

He hadn’t expected to be around when his sister read
it. For the first time in his life, he’d spilled his heart out about everything:
their mother’s death, the explosion that took his sight, and how he felt about
Josie.

“It was touching, and yes, I cried. I would have
cried even more had those not been vitamin C pills.”

She kissed him on the forehead. “Do you know how
much I’d miss you if you weren’t around?”

“I know it was selfish, but I don’t think I can live
the rest of my life like this.”

“Luc, you can have surgery.”

“I can’t have my full eyesight back, and that’s all
I want.”

“Maybe not, but you’ll see more than you can now.
That’s a step in the right direction.”

“Didn’t you hear what the doctor said? There’s a
risk that the operation could make things worse. And you know how hospitals
scare me.”

“We take a risk every time we get out of bed, each
time we cross the road. The bottom line is life’s a risk, Luc.”

He put his hand on his forehead. How did his life
get to be so messed up and complicated? He’d been in the wrong place at the
wrong time and been hit by shrapnel. The two other soldiers who’d been with him
had lost their lives. At the time he’d thought he was the lucky one, but lately
he’d been thinking they’d been blessed not to have to live with the injuries.

“Don’t tell anyone else about this?” he said.

“What, that my brother’s an idiot and tried to kill
himself with vitamins?”

Luc thought Josie made it sound worse than it
actually was.

“This is just between the two of us, but if you ever
try something like this again I’ll have you committed.”

If he tried this again, next time he’d make sure it
was foolproof.

“Now, Mitchell and Jake phoned and said they should
be here with your dog in about twenty minutes, so let’s get you downstairs, and
don’t be grumpy.”

“To them or the dog?”

Luc sat up. He knew his army buddies were only
trying to help, but a dog was the last thing he needed right now. He could
hardly take care of himself, let alone a canine.

“And the dog trainer will be arriving too, along
with the lady who handles all the paperwork.”

Luc’s head buzzed with everything his sister was
telling him. No one had told him about a dog trainer. He’d basically been
living as a recluse since he’d left the army hospital. He barely ventured
outside because he didn’t want people staring, asking questions, or worse yet,
taking pity on him. Josie had been his only connection to the outside world.
And now four people, and a dog, would all be descending upon him in one shot.

“Let’s get you tidied up and we’ll go downstairs,
make some coffee, and then wait for everyone to arrive.”