Spirit of the Revolution (41 page)
Somewhere along the way she fell fast asleep on the sofa, the morning sun streaming into the windows woke her. She sat upright. The house still felt empty. She could hear Lacy as she continued calling for Beadurinc and her other ghostly companions.
“Mathias?” she called out. Funny, she could hear the desperation in her voice. Jo toyed with the idea of riding back to the forest. She couldn’t compel herself to do it, because without doubt, she’d find the woodland empty. The day passed at a snail’s pace, despite intense rehearsals at the concert hall and so did the night that followed. She found she couldn’t concentrate on any one thing for any amount of time. Come the dawn she wanted to release the torrent of tears she’d held inward and just as she gave in to despair, Carolyn burst through her front door and called out to her.
“Come on, Jo. You have to come with me, right now. We have an emergency.” She skidded to a halt and looked her over. “Good heavens, girl, you look awful. What happened? What’s wrong? Wait—never mind that right now. We’ll talk later. Have you had a shower yet this morning? Never mind answering that, either. Get upstairs and get yourself cleaned up. And for heaven’s sake, hurry!” she commanded.
“Why? What’s going on?” asked Jo as she wiped away the tears and stood to her feet.
“We don’t have time for explanations, just hurry. Make yourself beautiful and put on something nice, I don’t want you to embarrass me,” she said as she dragged her up the stairs.
About an hour later, they were in the car and heading toward the freeway. The shower did make her feel better and this unexpected outing gave her the diversion she needed. Hopefully when she returned home, Mathias would be there waiting—
hopefully
.
“Where are we going?” she asked.
“New Jersey,” Carolyn said as she shot a glance in her rear-view mirror.
“Why?” she asked.
Carolyn put a trembling hand to her mouth, squeezed her eyes shut, and shook her head. “I can’t talk about it right now. Please. Can we talk about something else? Anything else?”
Carolyn looked terribly upset. She could only hope something hadn’t happened to Ray. Two hours later, they turned into the Brennan’s driveway. Jo’s heart dropped into her stomach. Parked cars filled both sides of the road. Had something happened to one of Ray’s parents?
Carolyn flew out of the car and Jo followed suit. They walked up the sidewalk and into the house in silence. Jo just didn’t know what to say. Carolyn led her into the kitchen and opened the sliding glass door.
“I’m sorry for all of the drama.” She sniffed as she dabbed the corner of her eye. “I need to gather a few things. I’ll meet you outside in a few minutes and explain everything. Could you wait for me by the beach? You know the one.”
Jo took a deep breath, kicked off her shoes, left them on the patio, and headed for the ocean. A gentle breeze caressed her face, and the scent of the brine filled her lungs. The gulls chattered above her as they played with the windy currents high above her. The day seemed so perfect, she found herself dreading what Carolyn might say that would surely ruin it.
And then as she rounded the bend, she cast her gaze on Mathias. She stopped dead in her tracks. He looked so handsome and somehow, different in a way she couldn’t quite pinpoint. He wore a pair of black jeans and a white, long-sleeved dress shirt rolled to the elbows, with the first two buttons left undone. His hair blew freely in the wind. He gave her a smile as he extended his arms toward her. She forgot to question his knowledge as to her whereabouts since she didn’t know about the trip herself. The answer didn’t matter. Not right now, anyway.
All that mattered is that he stood not thirty feet in front of her and he wanted to hold her. Her exuberance propelled her forward. Once close enough, he drew her into a crushing embrace. Her eyes widened in shocked surprise as she gazed into his eyes. She could feel the warmth of his hard muscled chest beneath her fingers as well as the beating of his heart.
“Mathias!” she breathed out. “What—how did—I don’t—”
Mathias didn’t want to answer questions. Not right now. He just wanted to kiss her—really kiss her for the first time as a mortal man, and he wasted no time in giving in to that desire.
Jolena melted into his arms and returned each of his very thorough kisses with some of her own. Her kisses released a tidal wave of emotion and feelings he had held in check far too long. A thousand questions needed answering. Yet, they could all wait for a better time—a much better time.
Mathias shook his head as he finally forced himself to put a little distance between them. He locked his gaze with hers and said, “I believe you once said something about eloping? You did mean that, did you not?” he whispered in one ragged breath.
Jo started laughing. “Are you asking me to marry you, Mathias McGregor?”
“If you’ll have me,” he whispered and as his lips grazed across hers, he added, “and the sooner the better, for both our sakes.”
Chapter 32
“Oh, for crying out loud,” griped Carolyn as she happened upon the scene. “Can’t the two of you wait until the ‘I dos’ have been said?”
Jo blushed as she looked over at Carolyn and the entourage, which followed. Ray, his parents, a minister and Sam. He looked just as mortal as Mathias did. Tagging along behind the group, strolled several of their friends. Her lips parted as she gazed into each of their smiling faces and finally understood the reason for their presence. She looked down at her clothes, suddenly grateful she had chosen her brand-new white eyelet summer dress, trimmed in organza lace.
No, wait a minute. Carolyn chose it. She laid it out on the bed while she showered and along with the dress, she selected her diamond earrings and dressy white sandals. She raised a brow as she turned to face her.
“I presume this is the emergency you had me so worried about, Kay-Kay?” she quizzed.
“Of course, that much should now be obvious. Mathias would surely have had a coronary if I didn’t get you out here right away. So, an emergency it was. And by the way, you have some explaining to do yourself, missy. You could’ve knocked me over with a feather when he showed up at my lab with all his requests, which sounded more like demands if you ask me—
“Nevertheless, I don’t think your guy here knows what it takes to get a wedding together, even a very simple one. The favors I had to call in and the strings I had to pull to get you a marriage license on the sly, which you can’t forget to sign or it will be my head. You know, it’s a darn good thing I know all the right people or—”
“I’m sorry—” Mathias cut in. “Do you think this conversation and all your complaints and explanations can wait until I’ve made this woman mine?”
Carolyn rolled her eyes. “If you insist. But one would think you’d allow me just a little more time after you ran me so ragged these last couple of days,” she grumbled as she dug around inside her large bag. She withdrew an exquisite band of flowers, made up of pink and white rose buds mixed with baby’s breath. She weaved them through Jolena’s hair. Once she finished the task, she adjusted the lacy cap sleeves of her dress, drawing them a little off her shoulders, then handed her a bridal bouquet that matched the flowers in her hair. With a critical eye, she stood back to survey the results. All the while Ray took pictures of the unfolding scene.
“Oh no, Jo! You kicked your shoes off again? You can’t get married bare foot,” wailed Carolyn.
“Oh yes, she can,” Mathias asserted, as he tugged her toward the decorated arbor. Once they stood in front of it, he looked at the minister and said, “Now, if you’d be so kind as to make this woman my wife, sir?”
Tears slid down Jo’s cheeks as she listened to the words that bound her to Mathias. He refused to allow the minister to use the words, “until death do us part,” instead asked him to say “for all time,” and those were the words to which they agreed. To seal the deal, Sam, acting as best man handed Mathias a ring. He slipped on her finger, an intricately etched platinum ring with small sapphires and diamonds adorning the band. The ring was a perfect match for her pendant. She looked over at Carolyn who smiled knowingly, and she in turn, handed her a matching band for Mathias, minus the gems.
When told to kiss the bride, Mathias hastened to comply. Jo’s toes curled into the sand as he gave a singular kiss that promised forever.
Then, an exaggerated clearing of the throat, provided by Sam, ended the lengthy kiss. Everyone rushed forward to congratulate them. Sam just about crushed the breath right out of her once he took his turn.
Jo shook her head as tears formed and just as she opened her mouth, Sam held a finger to her lips. “The long version will have to wait. Suffice it to say we took a quick trip back in time since we were halfway there already, collected our bodies before the English had a chance to ruin them beyond repair, and then visited a fountain of water before our return. I believe you are aware of such a fountain?”
“Oh, yes, I am. And Sam? Thank you so very much for staying,” she whispered.
Sam winked. “Not to worry. I’d not have it any other way. Mathias and I entered this world almost simultaneously, and I daresay we’ll
all
leave it the same way.”
“The horses?” she asked.
“They’re all in the barn. We couldn’t very well leave them behind, now could we? Now if you’ll excuse me, I promised to act as escort for that lovely little lass over there,” he said, cocking his head a little to the right.
Jo glanced at the woman in question. She returned his smile, kissed him lightly on the cheek, and whispered, “You know, Emily would be a good match for you, Sam.”
“Think so?”
“Most definitely.”
Sam merely laughed in return.
Carolyn waited until last to offer her congratulations. She hugged her close and whispered. “You look absolutely beautiful, my dear. And we’re going to lunch very soon, so you can tell me all about how you and Mathias found each other. I mean, that man is drop-dead gorgeous.”
Jo laughed and briefly lowered her gaze. “Yes, I know—”
“All right, everybody,” Carolyn yelled out when she turned around to face the small group. “We’ve got mounds of food in the kitchen and a cake that needs slicing by a groom and his bride.”
Several hours later, as the celebration of their wedding finally wound down, Mathias withdrew a very old pocket watch and looked pointedly at the time. Carolyn sighed and tossed him a key from off the shelf. The scene made Jo laugh.
“There’s a little beach house just down the way from where you said your vows,” Kay said. “If you keep walking, you’ll see it. There’s a wedding wreath on the door. Enjoy. I’ll pick you both up at ten a.m. tomorrow to take you to the airport. Don’t worry, Jo, you’re already packed.” She ushered them to the sliding glass door in the kitchen.
Once she shut the door and they were a good distance away, Jo gazed at Mathias and said, “Airport?”
He grinned as he took her hand and strolled past the arbor. “In continuation of the many miracles which have transpired, I finagled a couple of tickets to Scotland. The Galbraiths seemed exceptionally pleased to allow us the use of their cottage for our honeymoon.”
Jo released a sigh and smiled. “Well, as I recall, you’re supposed to take me to a certain waterfall, hidden away in an enchanted forest, not far from a fairytale castle.”
“We’ve a promise to keep inside that very forest, you, and me.” Mathias winked as he turned her around and gathered her into his arms. They stopped just shy of the beach house door. “However, I’m not about to take you anywhere near MacNaughton’s castle or Sir Cailen again. I’m afraid we’d find ourselves engaged in an eternal duel for your affections, if I were so daft as to take you back there.”
“Oh, Mathias,” Jo whispered as she brushed her fingers through his hair and grazed her lips tantalizingly against his. “I promise—I absolutely promise, I’m going to
love
you every minute of every day, always and forever—”
Mathias flashed a wicked smile. A pretty blush followed. “Is that right?” Once he unlocked and opened the door, he swept up her into his arms and as his lips played against her own, he whispered, “Then come, my love, let’s not keep forever waiting—”
A word about the author...
Debbie has a soft spot for fairy tales, the joy of falling in love, and happily-ever-after endings. She incorporates these aspects into all of the paranormal stories she writes.
When she is not busy conjuring her latest novel, she spends time with the beloved members of her very large family. She also pursues her interests in family history and all things ancient and historic.
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