Part 22 (1/2)

”Looks like I got home just in time.” A s.e.xy, familiar voice said. I couldn't believe my ears.

I pulled Ken back and out of the way. There stood Caleb. He wore a black robe with a red scarf tied around his waist. His hair was pulled back into a long braid. He looked marvelous, he looked alive! I pushed the screen door open and hit him with it on accident. I threw my whole body onto him. He was real, he was alive! I kissed his cheeks, his lips, eyes, nose, and whatever I could get my lips on. He held me up and laughed.

”Caleb, you're...” I want to say alive, but he cut me off.

”Home--that's right, I'm home,” he said loudly. He turned, and I saw Mitch.e.l.l slowly getting into his tiny red hatchback. He looked at us like we were a daytime soap. In truth, he wasn't too far off base. As the faerie finds a mate, it could be a hit.

I looked into Caleb's dark green eyes and wanted to make absolutely sure it was him. He let them s.h.i.+ft and start to glow. I squealed with delight. It was him! He put me down and I took a good look at his outfit. The black robes looked very much like the ones I had seen my father wear all the time.

”Kerrigan,” I said softly.

Caleb nodded and smiled. ”I guess you were right about seeing him.”

I stared at the gift my father had gotten me, Caleb. He had saved his life and knew he was still alive when we were talking at the river. He had heard me say how much he meant to me, and he made sure that he found his way back to me. No present had ever been better.

Ken coughed again. I turned and looked at him. I was at a loss for words. Caleb took over. ”Hi, I'm Caleb, the umm, husband. And you are?”

Ken's eyes narrowed. I didn't want him to hate Caleb. I wanted him to be as happy as I was to see him. I pulled Caleb by his arm into the house. I had to push Ken backwards to get in. He did some sort of macho, 'this is my turf thing'. Whatever it was, I didn't have time for it. I pulled Caleb past him into the living room. I jumped up and down, squealing with delight.

He had to bear hug me to get me to quit. I stopped, and he put me down. He ran his hand down over my lower stomach. It was flat and smooth. He looked at me, disappointed. A typical male would have been relieved that he didn't get someone knocked up. Caleb looked sad.

I put my hand on his and smiled. It was so good to see him. I didn't want to spoil it with sour moods. As if on cue, Ken poked his head around the corner. He saw Caleb with his hand on my abdomen and looked at me shocked.

”Gwen, you didn't. You're not, you can't be.”

I took Caleb's hand off of me slowly and wrapped my fingers in his. ”I did, and I'm not. But I did.”

Ken walked away. The front door slammed shut. I didn't want him out there wandering around, but I didn't want to leave Caleb. I looked at Caleb for help.

”I'm going to go change. I noticed my truck out front. Are my bags still in the back?” he asked.

”Yeah, sorry about taking it, but I didn't think you were going to be ba--I didn't think you'd mind,” I said to him. I had no intention of saying I thought he was dead so I drove his truck around.

He kissed me on the lips gently, and sent a rush of blood to my head instantly. ”Whatever I have is yours, always and forever.”

Chapter 23.

I watched Caleb head out the door and followed behind him. He went to the back of his truck, I went to find Ken. I called his name a few times before he answered me. He was back behind the house, in one of the three barns. He had parked his black Lexus in it. He kicked the tires over and over again. I walked up to him. He stopped.

”Gwen, what the h.e.l.l are you doing? What the h.e.l.l's gotten into you? You're sleeping with half the d.a.m.n city now.” He bit his lip to keep from saying more.

The time had come. I had to tell him about my past life sometime, better now than never. We climbed into his car and sat. He rolled the window down and I started at the only place I could, the night he sent me to Pallo's. This time around, I left nothing out. I told him about the way I felt around them. I told him about sleeping with them. I told him about meeting my real father, about being promised to Caleb. And, I told him about making the deal with Giovanni to free Pallo. He sat very still and looked out the window. I sat there with him. I figured he would say something when he was ready.

What he said surprised me. ”Marry me, Gwen.”

I looked at him like he was on crack. ”Ken, have you listened to a word I've said? I am in love with two other people.”

”Yeah, I heard you, but I also heard you say you loved me too. Now, the way I see it, if you marry me, it solves your problem with them, doesn't it?”

I let out a long sigh. ”I'm not going to marry any of you. Okay?”

”Gwen, I refuse to accept this. Screw fate, or destiny, or whatever. I didn't get a shot at you two hundred or three hundred years ago. They did, and they blew it. I won't accept the fact that I'm out of the race. I love you too much to do that,” he said.

”Christ, Ken. I'm so screwed up, what the h.e.l.l do you want with me? You make me sound like a trophy to be won. I'm far from a trophy. Whoever I end up with has their work cut out for them, and at least ten years worth of trips to the therapist with me.”

I wanted to try to help him see that he needed to move on, but part of me was being selfish, part of me wanted all of them. That would never happen and I knew it. I did manage to convince him to try to be civil to Caleb. He reluctantly agreed, and we made our way back into the house.

Caleb was in the kitchen setting the table when we walked in. He had on a white tee s.h.i.+rt and a pair of blue jeans. He was barefoot. He looked like himself again. We all gathered around the white table and ate. No one really spoke. Ken kept shooting mean looks at Caleb, and Caleb kept pretending like Ken was insignificant. I had had enough of their c.r.a.p and headed upstairs to get ready for bed.

I stopped in the upstairs bathroom and drew a bath. The tub in there was an old claw-foot one, the kind that has no stand shower to them. My adoptive father put another bathroom in on the downstairs level with a tub/shower combo. It was nice, but out of the way. I had always loved soaking in the large, old tub. The upstairs bath was tiny but comfortable. Its bottom half was done in white and a chair rail ran around the room at a little above center, separating the top from the bottom. The top half was painted baby blue. It was cozy.

I made the water extra warm and climbed in. I sunk under the water and watched my hair float all around me. I stayed under as long as I could, beneath the surface of the tub water, then I came up and washed my body clean. I got out, grabbed my robe, and headed to my bedroom.

My bed was a welcome sight. I climbed in and pulled the covers up around me. I let my eyes close. I could feel my mind trying to communicate to me through my dreams. It wanted to reveal more about my past to me. I didn't want to know. I refused to open the doors that appeared around me. I didn't want to explore my past anymore than I already had. All I wanted to do was rest.

Chapter 24.

The morning had gone by quietly, without any major arguments between Caleb and Ken. That was a relief. I was tired of conflict. I wanted to have everyone hold hands and sing happy songs together. That, I knew, would never happen. When I had gotten up this morning, I found them both sleeping on my bedroom floor. It was hardwood and couldn't possibly have been comfortable.

I had sent a very stubborn Ken to town to with a list. If I was to have guests for a while, I needed to have a stocked kitchen. It took me almost an hour of nagging to get Ken to go. He didn't want to leave Caleb alone with me. His car was barely out of the driveway when Caleb came running to me and picked me up. He spun me round and round. It felt so good to be in his arms.

He set me down gently and kept me pulled close to him. ”So, tell me about what happened while I was gone.”

I got a sinking, uneasy feeling. I didn't want to tell him that I slept with Pallo. I wasn't sorry that I did, I just didn't want to hurt him. I was so happy to have him with me. I managed to dodge the subject by kissing him.

He pulled me tight to him as our tongues caressed one another. He moaned slightly. I laughed and pulled away from him slowly.

”I'm so happy to see you. You have no idea how worried I was that you would be with...” He stopped there. I knew that he was going to Pallo. He didn't have to tell me. I couldn't tell him how Pallo had betrayed me. Doing so would mean admitting that I'd made love to him. I understood his fears.

”It's different now, Caleb. I can't explain it, but it's different.”

He looked at me, suspicious. ”Are you telling me that you can remember...?” He didn't know what to call it. h.e.l.l, I didn't know what to call it.

”No, just a few things here and there. But I remember how I felt about you.”

”And, what has changed now?” he asked.

”This time around, I made the decision to be with you. No one promised me to you. I wanted to be with you.”

He let out a deep breath. He pulled me close to him and held me tight. I could feel his chin on top of my head while his arms wrapped around me snugly. I wanted to take him upstairs to my room and show him just how much I cared for him. I pushed off his chest slightly, then took his hand in mine as I led him into the house. We made it as far as the living room before we were tearing at each others clothes. I lay on the floor with only my bra, kissing Caleb, when I heard a car pulling up the stone driveway.

”Ken,” I said, as I pushed Caleb off of me and got to my feet. I scrambled around the living room to find the rest of my clothes.

”Can't you just ask him to leave?”