Haunted Legacy: The Windhaven Witches Series, Carissa Andrews [classic english novels .TXT] 📗

Release washes over me, followed immediately by Wade. For the longest time, we don’t move. We just stay there, entangled with each other, allowing the moment of bliss to ride. When our breathing returns to normal, Wade drops to the bed, pulling me close.

Resting my head on his bare chest, I close my eyes in contentment. His scent tickles my nose and I can’t help but smile. Of all the times and places…of all the circumstances, this may not have been ideal timing. But it was still perfect, nonetheless.

With each rise and fall of his chest, I’m lulled into a sense of peace and tranquility I didn’t have even hours before. Yet…slowly, the anxiety snakes its way back in.

Visions of my father trapped in the rubble of the house invade my mind. I see him hurt and bloodied. Or crying out for help… Then, they morph into Wade being taken from me—forced into a life as an Angel of Death because his earthly life came to an early, abrupt end. All because he was close to me. Because I let him back in.

My heartbeat begins to race again, but this time, for all the wrong reasons.

Chapter 13

Paranormal Activity

My eyes fly open to the sound of Wade’s ringtone. Somewhere between my anxiety and bliss, I must have drifted off to sleep.

Mid-morning light peeks through the horizontal slats from the window blinds, casting strange shadows across Wade’s torso as he sits up in bed.

“Hello?” he says gruffly, shifting his gaze to me and smiling. His eyes take on a distant quality as he concentrates on the conversation from the other end. As he listens, he reaches out, stroking the side of my arm. After a few moments, he nods and says, “Okay, thank you. I appreciate it, Sheriff.”

Wade ends the call, setting his phone on the nightstand and sliding himself under the covers beside me.

“What did Sheriff Gordon have to say?” I ask, unable to take my eyes off him.

Reaching out, Wade gently pushes a strand of my hair behind my ear. “No one came to the door last night when they checked in on your dad. But a unit went out again this morning.”

My heart constricts and I say, “And?”

“Good news. James was there this morning and let the officers in. From the sounds of things, your dad is fine and there’s already a crew in there working on cleanup,” Wade says, smiling. “They said it just looked like ordinary remodeling work from what they could tell. So maybe the supernatural stuff wasn’t as bad as it seemed when we were in the middle of it.”

“Maybe?” I say, shuddering back the memories from last night’s haunting.

Wade’s hand trails down my shoulder, and rests on my forearm.

I exhale slowly, allowing the sense of relief to cleanse away some of my worry. “Did they talk to my dad, then?”

Wade shakes his head. “No, they only spoke with James.”

My eyebrows tug in as some of the panic returns. “How do they know my dad’s okay?”

“Evidently, James was given the order to call in the construction team by your dad,” Wade says. “We can go to the manor and ask him some questions if you want.”

I nod. “That might be a good idea.”

Raising my right hand, I trail my fingertips across Wade’s broad chest. The past twenty-four hours have been a bizarre jumble of emotions. None of which are easily discernible.

“What are you thinking about?” Wade asks, his piercing eyes seeing right through me.

“Nothing…” my voice trails off, but my words don’t really reflect my truth. I shake my head and sigh. “No, that’s not true. It’s just… Does it seem odd to you how often my dad has been gone? He leaves James in charge a lot,” I say, running my fingertips through the curls of hair on Wade’s chest.

His forehead creases. “A little. But I figure…” His expression tightens as he chooses his words. Then, with a soft smile, he continues, “I mean, and please don’t take this the wrong way, but…maybe he’s found someone? A woman he really likes and he’s scared to tell you about her. I mean, you grew up with your Mom, so maybe he thinks you’ll have a problem with it. Could that be possible?”

My eyebrows flicker upward as I consider this new possibility. I hadn’t even thought about my dad as someone who would want to date, let alone someone who’s already found a new girlfriend. Mom never really dated when I was a kid and if she did, she hid it from me pretty well. But perhaps that explains my dad’s bizarre reaction to meeting Wade. Maybe he wants to tell me the truth and meeting Wade triggers his own guilt or worry?

“Should I confront him about it then? You know, let him know that he can tell me…” I say, biting my lower lip.

“I don’t know. Honestly, based on what you’ve told me, he seems pretty set in his ways. I suppose it’s bound to happen when you mostly live alone like that. It’s probably best to get him to open up a little slower. Maybe drop some hints, but let him come to you when he’s ready,” Wade offers.

Taking a deep breath, I nod. There’s a lot of sense to that. In all fairness, I don’t know my dad all that well. We’ve never had much of an opportunity to grow very close, even in the past year.

Rolling over, I slide my legs over the edge of the bed, letting the blanket drop to my waist. Wade pushes forward, sitting up right behind me. He shifts my hair to the side, gently kissing the place where my neck meets my shoulder.

A shiver courses through my body and I lean into him, sighing contently. Things are crazy and messed up. And absolutely none of the serious problems with our relationship have changed between us. He’s still an angel in waiting and I’m still me… But I’m just not strong enough