The Prophecy (Daughters of the People Series Book 1) (21 page)

When Maya woke
again, James was still gone. She snuggled into his pillow, breathing in the clean,
woodsy scent of his shampoo. Something tender shifted and slid through her,
filling her with an aching need.

Her stomach
clenched into a knot. She hadn’t been able to tell him about the Daughters or
herself, about the long, lonely years she’d waited to find someone, and now it
might be too late. Her heart was on the precipice, ready to make the fall into
love. Would he despise her when he found out the truth or would he forgive her
for holding back so long?

No more fear.

She inhaled his
scent one more time, making it part of herself, then got out of bed and readied
for the long day ahead.

He came in an
hour later while she was on the phone with Director Upton, several hours after
he’d left their warm bed. His grin was triumphant and a tad smug. She eyed that
grin as the director issued instructions. What had he been up to?

He wrapped his
arms around her waist and drew her tightly against him, her back to his
stomach. Her eyes widened and she clutched the phone to her ear.

Paper rattled on
the other end of the line. “Will tomorrow morning be too soon?” Rebecca asked.

“Ah, mmm-hmm,”
Maya murmured.

James pushed
aside her hair and scraped his teeth along the side of her neck, and she gasped.

“Maya,” Rebecca
said. “Are you still there?”

Maya cleared her
throat. “Ah, yes, Director. Sorry. I’m a little…distracted.”

James tugged her
more firmly against him, rubbing his erection against her bottom through the
thin layers of their clothing. “Hurry up,” he whispered. “I need you.”

“Tomorrow’s
fine, then,” Rebecca said.

James yanked
Maya’s shirt up and cupped her stomach, skimming his fingers along her skin,
teasing her with his light strokes. Her eyes slid shut. “Of course, Director.
We’ll be there.”

“I’ll see you
then.” Rebecca’s voice took on a sly edge of humor. “Oh, and Maya? Tell James I
said hello, would you?”

“I’ll do that.”
Maya hung up the phone and clucked her tongue. “That was naughty.”

His breath
feathered over the side of her neck. “You liked it.”

“Well, yes, but
that’s not the point.”

He tugged her
around and captured her mouth with his, and every coherent thought drained out
of her head, everything but him. He seduced her slowly, pushing her a little
higher with his mouth and his hands, and made love to her there in the kitchen,
in the bright light shining through the windows into the heart of her home.

Later, after her
breaths calmed and her heart found a sane rhythm, she said, “The director
called.”

They were still
leaning against the wall, his body holding hers upright, his hands circling in
lazy strokes along her sides. He buried his face in her throat and nipped at
her pulse. “I gathered.”

“She wants to
see us tomorrow as soon as you get back from taking Amelia to the airport.”

“Any idea why?”

“Something
important came up and she wants to brief us on it. She didn’t say what.”

“Tomorrow’s
fine.” He eased away and smoothed her hair back. “How much longer do we have?”

She glanced at
her watch. “Maybe an hour. Why?”

“Shower,” he
said, and the low flame burning within her jumped and writhed and ached.

An little before
lunch, they dressed and drove out to the trailhead. A few minutes after they
arrived, the group straggled into the parking area, Dierdre and Amelia near the
rear. The girls pushed their way through the crowd, Johnny Linton close on
their heels, and stowed their gear in the trunk of James’ car, chattering in
excited bursts about the weekend’s events.

Johnny kissed
them both on the cheek before heading off, and James frowned. “That boy just
kissed my daughter.”

Maya pursed her
lips, hiding a smile. “He’s been known to do that.”

“You don’t say.”
James narrowed his gaze on the departing teenager. “I think it might be time
for the
you’re not old enough to have a boyfriend
talk.”

Maya snorted.
“Good luck with that.”

“Hey, Amelia
listens to me.” The frown softened and a small smile tugged at his mouth.
“Sometimes, when she wants something.”

The four of them
stopped by Maya’s house so Dierdre and Amelia could clean up. After, they
wandered through Tellowee, eating lunch at the café, walking the streets with
the other residents, enjoying the mid-day parade. Johnny Linton tracked them
down and draped a casual arm around Dierdre and Amelia’s shoulders.

James stuffed
his hands in his shorts and scowled. “Does he have to do that?”

Maya tucked her
arm through his elbow. “Do you really want an answer or are you just grumping
because your daughter has male friends?”

“He’s not
looking at her like he wants to be friends, exactly.”

“Relax, James.”
Maya rested her head on his shoulder and skimmed her hand up and down his arm.
“He won’t do anything she doesn’t want him to.”

“That’s what I’m
afraid of,” he muttered, and Maya laughed, tickled by the gruff honesty.

At suppertime, James
cornered Johnny at the grill while Amelia and Dierdre helped Maya prepare side
dishes. She listened with one ear while the girls gossiped and giggled. They’d
become such fast friends and seemed so close, no doubt thanks to Dierdre’s
meddling. Maya couldn’t complain. It had eased Amelia’s path toward accepting
her father’s relationship with a woman other than the teen’s mother, hadn’t it?
And maybe everything would work out there, if Maya could find the courage to
tell him the truth about herself.

If he could
accept that truth without coming to hate her for it.

They watched the
annual Labor Day fireworks from Maya’s backyard, Johnny sitting on a blanket
between Dierdre and Amelia, Maya and James behind them in folding lawn chairs.
She threaded her fingers through his, enjoying his warmth, giving him her own
in return.

The fireworks
ended in a dazzling display of light and sound. Johnny said his goodbyes and,
much to James’ disgust, kissed both of the girls goodbye before shaking James’
hand and dropping a kiss to Maya’s cheek.

“Affectionate
booger, isn’t he?” James asked.

“It’s our way,”
Maya said gently.

Dierdre skidded
to a stop in front of them, Amelia not far behind. “So, like, me and Meely had
an idea.”

Maya huffed out
a laugh. “Oh, you did, did you?”

Amelia nodded,
her gray-green eyes wide in her pretty face. “We don’t have to leave until in
the morning, you know?”

“I did know,”
Maya said, matching the teen’s solemn tone. “And?”

“Well, see.”
Dierdre pursed her lips and rocked back on her heels. “We kinda wanted to stay
together tonight.”

James shook his
head. “We really need to get back to the apartment so Amelia can pack and rest
for the trip.”

“Come on, Dad,”
Amelia said, her expression melting into a plea. “It’ll be months before I can
come back. I bet Maya will let us both stay the night. Please?”

“You can use the
spare bedroom, James,” Maya offered. “The girls can bunk together in Dierdre’s
room. There’s plenty of room for both of you here.”

Dierdre clasped
her hands together under her chin, her expression a twin to Amelia’s. “You
wouldn’t want to deprive your only daughter of friendship, would you, Dr. T.?”

He laughed. “All
right, all right. I guess it won’t hurt, as long as it’s ok with Maya.”

His gaze slid to
hers, and the hot gleam burning there sparked an answering call within her. They
wouldn’t spend the night together, not with Dierdre and Amelia in the house,
but there was nothing keeping him from sneaking into her bed after the girls
were safely asleep, and back into his own after making love to her one last
time.

And that’s
exactly what he did. As he moved over her, rocking them both into sweet oblivion,
Maya clung to him, desire tangling with a bone deep fear that it would be the
last time she’d ever hold him that way.

* * *

James and Amelia
left for the airport early the next morning, not long after the sun peeked over
the hills.

Maya rose and
showered, dressed in casual work clothes, then stripped and remade her bed. It
would be a long, long time before he made an appearance there again, if ever,
once he learned what she was. Better to make a clean break of it rather than
wallowing in what might’ve been.

Dierdre loped
downstairs just as Maya took her first sip of coffee. The teenager rubbed her
flat stomach under the sweatshirt she’d pulled on over ragged shorts, stretching
and yawning her way to the refrigerator. “Mornin’, Mom.”

“Morning,
Squiggles. Did you and Amelia have fun last night?”

“Yeah. She’s
coming back for Thanksgiving. We’re kinda making plans to hang out together
then.” Dierdre sat down at the kitchen table and bit into a strawberry, chewing
it slowly. Her gaze dropped to the plate of fruit and cheese she’d scrounged.
“Johnny’s got a crush on her.”

Maya set her mug
on the table. “I thought he had a crush on you.”

“He did, but
that was ages ago. He wasn’t for me ‘cause, you know.” Dierdre hunched her
shoulders and her lips trembled once, then firmed. “I just knew.”

Maya reached
across the table and squeezed Dierdre’s hand with her own, inwardly cursing the
fate awaiting any immortal Daughter. To search forever hoping to find love,
only for it to crumble under the weight of the passing years and the fickle
nature of the human heart. “I’m sorry.”

“No biggie. We
were too young anyhow, but now that Amelia’s gonna be coming down, it’d be cool
if they hooked up.”

“I wouldn’t
count on her coming down again, honey.”

Dierdre glanced
sharply up. “You didn’t tell him.”

Maya sighed and
skimmed a finger around the top of her mug. “I couldn’t, not yet. I just wanted
some time with him as a normal couple before all that got in the way.”

They sat in
silence, Dierdre picking at the food on her plate, Maya running her fingers
over the ceramic mug.

Dierdre screwed
her face into a frown and pushed her plate away. “D’you think he’s the one?”

“I don’t know.
He might be.”

“You love him?”

Maya sipped her
coffee, grimacing as the lukewarm liquid hit her tongue. “Yes, I think so.”

“But you don’t
trust him.”

“We’ve not been
together very long, but maybe, in time.”

“You didn’t
trust my Dad.”

“Oh, honey.”

A helpless fury
rose in Maya. Dierdre’s father had been so special, so warm and loving, and
Maya had hoped he’d be the one. She’d clung to that hope for years, right up
until a Marine chaplain had shown up on her doorstep the week before Dierdre’s
fourth birthday with the news that Eddie had been killed by friendly fire. He’d
died a long time before Dierdre should’ve formed an attachment to him, but
she’d always missed him, and it tore at Maya every single day.

“I loved your
father very much, Squiggles, but he just wasn’t the one. I’d change that if I
could.”

Dierdre nodded,
her expression glum, so different from her normal demeanor. “Sometimes I hate
being a Daughter.”

“I know.”

“It sucks having
this stupid curse hanging over you.” Dierdre’s eyes filled with tears. She
blinked up at the ceiling and swiped the cuff of her sweatshirt across her face.
“I liked Johnny, too.”

“Me, too. I’m
sorry he’s not the one.”

“Yeah. But if I
can’t have him, I guess Amelia going out with him’s the next best thing.” Dierdre’s
eyes dropped, meeting Maya’s, and her lips twitched. “That sounded horrible.”

Maya bit her
lip, trying to contain her humor. “Maybe just a little.”

“No, a lot. I
can’t believe I said that.”

Dierdre she
snorted out a laugh. Maya’s own laughter escaped, and they burst into giggles,
laughing hard in the early morning sunlight, accompanied by the occasional car
whizzing along the street outside.

Dierdre sighed
out her last laugh and swiped her face again. “Sorry, Mom. I guess the whole
thing bothered me more than I thought.”

“It’s ok,
Squiggles. Love is hard no matter how old you are.”

“Yeah, I guess.
I’m glad Johnny’s still my friend, though, and if he had to fall for another
girl, at least Amelia’s, you know, sweet and everything.”

“That she is,”
Maya agreed, and she breathed a silent prayer to the Lady Ki, thanking Her for
giving her daughter a resilient spirit.

* * *