Page 38 of The Spirit Key
She didn’t hesitate this time. She reached for me, and the moment we made contact, she gasped.
“Burton?”
“Can you see him?”
“Yes.” She dropped to her knees, bringing Gavin down with her. “Oh, Burton.”
He let go of my hand and rushed for her, throwing his arms around her neck. “I’m sorry, Mommy. Please don’t hate me.”
“Oh, my love. I could never hate you. You’re my special boy, remember?”
“Burt?” Gavin’s voice cracked. “Sweetheart?” He wrapped his arm around Burton and crushed his son and wife to his chest.
I knelt there, doing my best to retain the connection. Without them touching me, it was a lot harder than I expected it would be. Still, their emotions swept through me and filled me with joy. This was what I was meant to do, I was certain. Bringing peace to families who needed it.
This was who I was meant to be.
Chapter Nine
I HELDBurton, Rachel, and Gavin together for a long time. Mother and father told their son repeatedly how much they loved and missed him. As time went by, Burton became less tangible, and though Rachel kept saying she needed just one more minute, when he vanished, she smiled. We stood, and she turned and hugged Gavin, who caressed the back of her head while she sobbed softly against his chest.
When we were all wrung out, she gazed at me, her eyes red, and held out a hand. I reached for it, surprised when she threw herself into my arms instead.
“Thank you. Oh my God, thank you so much.”
I put my arms around her and squeezed. Then Gavin came over and squashed us both in a bear hug, going so far as to kiss the top of my head.
“You will never know what you did for our family. For so long we thought we’d done something wrong, made Burt feel bad, and we blamed each other for what amounted to be an accident.” His voice rumbled, so many emotions in it. “Thanks to you, that weight is gone, and even though we’re still devastated by his loss, we can find a way to cope now.”
It was then that Tim cleared his throat. “Look, I know I don’t have any right to ask this of you, but please, don’t tell anyone about Scott’s part in this.”
They looked at him, and I could see the realization dawning in their eyes.
“Oh no. We won’t say anything to anyone. We know the truth, and that’s what’s important.” Rachel ran a hand over my back. “Besides, we owe him everything.”
Gavin stared down at me, a smile on his face. He winked. “I want to kiss you right now.”
Tim pushed his way in, actually going so far as to try to nudge Gavin back. That went over well. “No, you have someone to kiss. This one’s all mine.”
“Don’t worry, I got this.” Rachel grabbed my shoulders, pulled me down, and kissed me on the lips. When she drew back, her eyes were misty. “You’ve given me the greatest gift anyone could. There is no way I’ll be able to thank you enough.”
“You don’t need to, I promise.” I hugged her. “For so long I thought that this was a bad thing. That somehow I did something to deserve it. But after Burton? Seeing you all find some sense of peace? Right now, I wouldn’t… wouldn’t….”
Rachel’s face did this weird thing where it blurred around the edges and bright spots burst in front of her. Tim’s voice, usually so strong, was reminiscent of a cartoon character on helium. Hands clutched me, and I found myself not caring as I floated along, buoyed on clouds. Angelic voices spoke, and I had to wonder if I’d died again.
Man, that would suck.
Just when I thought things couldn’t get any weirder, everything went black.
And we’re not talking your standard black. Think black-and-white movies. More grayscale than anything else, with someone singing and dancing in the rain, telling me how glorious life was, and how much mine was about to change.
And why not? Why in the hell would I ever have a reason to be normal?
“IF YOUdon’t wake up, I’m going to have to rethink using that belt on your ass.”
The words were probably meant to be tough and growly, but came out soft and scared. A hand squeezed mine, giving me strength. In the background I could hear voices, and the scent that filled my lungs wasn’t unknown to me.
“Hospital?”
