She had an hour before he would arrive at the hospital, and she needed to rest while Prissy spent time with her parents. Otherwise, she might not have the strength to even talk to Dax again, much less anything else.
Dax. She’d been prepared to tell him that she needed him to help her, too, to show her how everything could be between a man and a woman, when they truly bonded, truly joined souls. Prissy’s exclamation had halted her midsentence. But really, she didn’t need any more words. Those three said it all.
I need you.
3
“CELESTE. CELESTE, wake up.” Dax’s voice echoed in her thoughts, and she opened her eyes to see him looking down at her. His hands were on the armrests of the hospital chair and he leaned above her, so close, but not nearly close enough.
“Is she okay? I just thought she was tired,” Prissy said, moving from her spot beside her father’s bed to stand by Celeste’s chair.
“You’re all right?” he asked Celeste, tilting his head as he looked into her eyes.
“Yes,” she said. “I guess I was more tired than I thought.”
“Who’s Celeste?” Prissy’s mother asked Dax. She looked past him to what must have appeared to her eyes to be an empty chair.
“Someone else is here?” Prissy’s father asked from the bed.
Dax’s dark brows furrowed. “I’ll be right back.” Then he moved away from Prissy and Celeste and briefly explained to the little girl’s parents about the spirit that had accompanied their daughter to this side.
Prissy scooted closer to Celeste and excitedly chatted nonstop while he was speaking. “Dax said he’d never seen a ghost sleep before. He tried to wake you up when he first got here, but you were so sound asleep that he decided to let you rest while he talked to my mama and daddy, because he said you must be tired. Guess what, they can feel me when I touch them. Did you know that? Isn’t that amazing? And now they know that I’m okay, and that Cassie’s okay.” She tilted her head. “You are just tired, right? You’re not sick or anything, are you? You’ve been asleep a long time.”
“No,” Celeste said. “I’m not sick.” Could ghosts even get sick? She didn’t know. If asked before now, she’d have said they couldn’t, but she’d also have wagered that ghosts didn’t sleep. And she’d been asleep…a long time? “How long? Prissy, how long did I sleep?” she asked, unable to control the tinge of panic in her tone.
How much time had she lost?
“I don’t know,” Prissy looked up at Dax, who’d returned to stand beside her. “She wants to know how long she slept.”
“Just long enough for me to drive here and talk with Prissy’s folks. An hour and a half, I’d say. Celeste, are you okay?”
She nodded. She did feel better now, though she was disappointed that some of her precious time on this side had been wasted. Celeste glanced out the hospital window to see that it was now dark, definitely evening. When they’d arrived here, there had been some daylight outside; she was sure of it. “What time is it now, Dax? How much time do we have before I have to leave?”
“It’s just past eight. You and Prissy got to the plantation around six,” he said. “So, based on what you told me, midnight at the earliest, or six in the morning at the latest.”
“I hope it’s the latest,” she said and was rewarded with one of his sexy grins.
“Trust me, I do too.”
She straightened in the chair, and he backed away, giving her room to stand, being careful not to touch her while she did.
“You’re sure you’re okay?” he repeated.
“Yes, much better now.” She was telling the truth. That nap had given her more energy, and she was grateful for that, even if it did use up some of her time. Besides, Dax had been en route to the hospital, so that was the perfect opportunity to rest.
“You’ll grow weaker the longer you’re on that side, and with each interaction with one who’s living, you’ll grow weaker still. It all depends on how much strength your trip takes from your spirit, and how much you interact with the living.”
Was Celeste weak from the initial trip to this side, or was she weak from interacting with Dax? She prayed it was the trip. Because they’d barely interacted at all…yet.
“Are you leaving?” Prissy asked.
Dax nodded. “Yes, but you can stay with your folks until it’s time for you to cross.”
“Prissy’s staying with us a while?” her father asked. His face was bruised from the accident, and a line of stitches creased his right brow, but he still managed a smile at the thought of having one of his daughters with him a little longer, even if only in spirit.
“Prissy was given a day to visit with you, and at the end of that time, she’ll cross. But until then, she can stay with both of you here,” Dax said.
“Thank you. Thank you for letting us know that she and Cassie are okay, and will be okay until we see them again,” her mother said, her voice quivering as she spoke.
Prissy moved back by the bed and kissed her father’s cheek. He moved his hand to the very spot she’d touched. “I feel her.” Then the little girl turned to her mother and hugged her. The woman closed her eyes and whispered, “I do too.”
“We’ll leave you alone now.” Dax moved toward the door and Celeste followed.
They’d barely shut the door when he said, “Come on, I don’t want to waste any of our time.” He turned and started down the hallway, darting his attention from room to room, until finally, at the end of the hallway, he found what he was evidently looking for, an unoccupied hospital room. “In here.”
Celeste followed him inside, then watched him lock the door. Turning, he thoroughly inspected her, starting with her face, then down her glowing body.
“You’re really here.”
She could see the questions, the confusion, clearly in his eyes. He had no idea how she’d returned, or whether she’d be able to come back again, and unfortunately, neither did she. But Celeste didn’t want to waste time trying to figure it out. She didn’t want to return to the middle with regrets over not telling him what she so desperately wanted him to know. “Dax, I-”
“Wait.” He still leaned against the door, as if he suspected that somehow someone would come in and ruin this moment, this perfect moment, with the two of them together, and completely alone. Celeste felt the same way. She was finally with him, and it seemed, indeed was, too good to be true. Eventually, she’d be pulled away again. The impulse to simply grab him, kiss him, be with him, was so strong…but the impulse to tell him everything she was feeling, everything she’d felt for him since she’d left last time, was equally strong.
His voice was deep and urgent as he spoke. “I know you said you should be here for hours, but I don’t want to bank on anything. There’s something I’ve wanted to tell you, something I should have said the last time, before you left in the summer.”
Celeste knew it wasn’t possible, but she could swear that she felt her heart racing as he spoke.
“Celeste, I haven’t stopped thinking of you. I’ve wanted to kick myself for not taking advantage of the days we had together. That week with you and Chloe, well, it meant more to me than any other assignment I’ve had, not only because we helped Chloe cross over, but because I spent those days with you, getting to know you, being around you, watching you with Chloe…and feeling you with me.” Dax swallowed, and his jaw tensed before he spoke again. “The last two months, since you left, I’ve been a real ass to be around.” He gave her that crooked grin. “Just ask my cousins. Hell, I thought you were gone, crossed over, completely. And I didn’t think you could come back after you crossed.”
“I don’t think I could have come back, if I had crossed over. But I didn’t.”