Silent Whisper (30 page)

“Really?” I asked. “Twin beds, huh?”

She blushed a little bit and then smiled. “You feel free to move those beds together if you want. They make a nice king-sized bed that way.”

The twin beds had antique brass headboards, and pink-flowered matching bedspreads. There was a large dresser between them, and a matching desk and chair against the other wall.

“It’s really lovely, Sheila,” I said, turning to her. “Thank you so much for making me feel at home here.”

“It’s my pleasure, honey,” she said. “Your father has been so excited about this visit. You let me know if there’s anything you need, okay? And I want to say that I think Ryan is a lovely person. I know your dad seems to like him a lot.”

“Yes,” I agreed, “They do seem to have that male-bonding thing goin’ on right now.”

As if on cue, Ryan trudged into the room with our luggage, a smile creeping over his face as the sight of the twin beds registered in his brain.

“I’ll just leave you two to get settled,” Sheila said, blushing again, as she hurried out, closing the door behind her.

“Guess it won’t hurt us to sleep apart for a few days. It’s not like we don’t do it all of the time anyway,” he said with a shrug, setting my suitcase on one of the beds.

“Not when we’re in the same zip code,” I pointed out. “You’ll never guess who picked out the furniture for my ‘Pretty in Pink’ room.”

Ryan chuckled. “Come on Parrish, every dad wants to think his daughter’s a virgin. I’m sure I’ll be the same way when we have one of our own.”

And it totally warmed my heart when Ryan said things like that to me, because it meant he thought of us as being a family, complete with a home and two point five children.

“Is that a proposal?” I teased.

“We’ve talked about it, babe. Maybe it’s time we do more than talk.”

He pulled me up against him, wrapping his strong arms around me and buried his face into my hair the way that he loved to do. His hand moved my hair away from my neck as his lips softly kissed that sweet spot just below my ear.

“Mmm,” I moaned softly, rubbing his back. “We’re moving these beds together tonight.”

We spent the afternoon on the slopes, Ryan leaving me in a whoosh of powdery snow being that he knew what to do on a pair of skis and I was totally clueless.

My father spent most of his time with me on the bunny slope, patiently teaching me the basics of downhill skiing. My ass was fairly bruised up by the time we decided to call it a day.

Sheila had a wonderful dinner prepared for us, complete with a fine selection of wine. By eight-thirty, I could barely keep my eyes opened. I wished everyone a goodnight, and climbed the stairs to the loft.

By the time I came out of the shower, Ryan was upstairs getting his stuff ready for the shower.

“Night babe,” he said, giving me a kiss. “I fully expect you’ll be crashed by the time I’m outta the shower.”

“Night,” I yawned, pulling the bedspread down and crawling between the sheets. As soon as my head hit the pillow, a strange bolt of energy came over me.

“Ah hell to the no,” I said aloud to no one in particular, as I tossed the covers back and got out of bed.

By the time Ryan returned to our room, I had scooted the dresser over to the other wall, and moved the two beds together. I lifted the sheets, showing him I was naked and ready.

“Someone got her second wind,” he chuckled, climbing into the bed. “But really, babe, in your father’s house?”

“I’m horny,” I said, bringing myself to my knees and then straddling him. I pushed him back against the pillows and began a slow, sensual trip down the length of his body with my fingers, lips and tongue. Ryan responded with the same vigor that I was feeling, and it served to energize me all that much more.

“Must be the mountain air,” he whispered, his tongue teasing my lobe as I lowered myself down onto his erection.

“Ummhmm,” I said, as I started to move my hips slowly at first, and then my hands gripped the iron spindles of the headboard as we increased the momentum of our thrusting, to a faster and deeper rhythm. The headboard smacked loudly against the wall, over and over again as our passion heated to a wild frenzy like no other. I wasn’t sure what the hell was going on, but I was so totally involved in it at the moment, I wasn’t concerned about the noise or damage being done to my freshly painted pink wall.

Ryan and I climaxed together and were left quite literally panting when we finished. I rolled over off of him, my arm smacking against my chest.

“God, I’m sweaty,” I murmured, totally exhausted.

“Shit baby, I thought we were gonna break the bed,” Ryan said with a soft chuckle. “What the hell got into you?”

“Me?” I asked, “What about you? Have you been holding back?”

“I was about to ask you the same thing,” he said, smiling, and pulling my face down so that he could plant warm, soft kisses all over it.

And as I fell asleep, enveloped in his arms, my head on his chest, I heard him whisper, “I love you, Parrish.”

“Ditto,” I replied.

That night was the first night my mother came to me in my dreams. It was so weird, yet so real. There was no mistaking it for a typical dream at all.

“So, Parrish, what do you think of my new look?” she asked, smiling and twirling around so that I could see her new ‘do.

She had definitely gotten with the times, as I looked at her newly styled hair that was a bit darker now, and flat-ironed straight, falling just a bit past her shoulders. She was wearing skinny jeans, and a tank top.

“You look awesome, Ma,” I said, so happy to see how happy she seemed to be. “I love it.”

“Guess what age I picked?”

She did look a tad bit older, but I wasn’t certain if that had to do with the new hairstyle she was rocking.

“I give up,” I replied.

“Twenty-eight,” she replied. “So we’re about the same age now. And oh, guess what? I can change my age as often as I like so isn’t that a great perk? I mean I can see the benefit in having that option when say, Dominic gets here, you know?”

“Sure, Ma.”

“How is he?” she asked.

“Well he’s good. You do know that I’m at his home now, right?”

“Oh sure,” she replied, “And is his new wife nice to you?”

“Yeah, she’s been fine. I actually think you’d like her. She’s not pretentious or anything. She never had children so she is trying really hard to give Dad and me our space. Dad is great with Ryan—my boyfriend—as well.”

“I know who Ryan is, sweetheart,” she said, rolling her eyes. “And I totally approve.”

“I’m so glad you showed up,” I continued. “I was wondering why it was taking so long to see you again.”

“Well you remember what I told you that day, right?”

I nodded. “I’m needed, aren’t I?”

“Yes baby girl. And the reason I popped in while you’re in Utah, is because you’re in close proximity to the final resting place of this stalled soul.”

“Which is?” I asked.

“Evanston, Wyoming. It’s about an hour’s drive from your current location. Just a little ways north of Evanston, on Route 189 you’ll come to a cemetery called Serenity Gardens. Find the grave of Cecily Adams, she’ll do the rest.”

“So at least it’s a female,” I mumbled. “But Ma, how long do these ‘episodes’ last? I mean I have places to be, things to do.”

She laughed her magical laugh. “Sweetie, the ‘episodes’ as you prefer to call them, don’t burn up any
real
time—in your world. The only reason it took three days for you to awaken during your first
‘episode’
was because of the accident. You were unconscious. It won’t be like that in the future. What will take time is getting the resolution, and that is totally in your hands. So work fast, my darling daughter.”

“But how will I know what to do?” I asked, starting to feel panicked. This was going to be a totally different situation than it was when Ma was in the driver’s seat. This was a total stranger to me, and a situation where I was without even the most basic of information.

“That’s where your natural intellect comes into play. Not to worry. I have a feeling you’re gonna love the seventies!”

And with a wink and a kiss on my cheek she was gone. Her parting words echoed in my ears. “I’ll be checking in on you, sweetie. Mommy loves you!”

My dream ended. She was gone.

For now.

I knew when tomorrow arrived I would be taking a trip to Evanston, Wyoming to find a grave. I’d pull my father in since he knew the score, but Ryan was a different story. It wasn’t that he was a non-believer; but I just didn’t think he’d be real keen on my participation in this sort of thing…on-going.

We’d see.

The seventies, huh?

I’m hip.

About the Author

Andrea Smith has been self-publishing fiction since September of 2012. Her first series, the Baby Series, has now been released as an e-copy boxed set titled, “Past Tense, Future Perfect.”

Her second series, the G-Man Series, are stand-alone books, but most enjoyable when read in order:

1) Diamond Girl

2) Love Plus One

3) Night Moves

3.5) G-Men Holiday Wrap

Ms. Smith’s most recent work prior to starting the “Limbo Series” is the novel, “These Men” which was originally released as part of the Bend Anthology earning USA Today Best-Selling status. “These Men” can now be purchased separately as an e-book and paperback.

A sequel to ‘These Men” is expected to be released late 2014.

Ms. Smith will also be releasing a novella titled, “Jaded” as part of a multi-author Christmas anthology late December.