Page 20 of Brave Spirit (Bound Spirit #6)

“I heard my dad crying because he was so exhausted from working two full-time jobs.” She bows her head, her hair hiding her face. “That’s when I knew I had to stop being a coward. My parents worked so hard because of me. They were suffering because of me.”

Words of denial sit on my tongue, and I’m desperate to tell her she’s wrong.

The truth of it is that none of it was her fault or her responsibility, and her parents worked so hard because they loved her.

Even if I got through to her, though, it wouldn’t necessarily ease her misery.

It could possibly make things worse, because she can’t undo her final actions.

My job is to listen and help her find peace.

Absently, I rub the rough texture of the roof shingle beneath my hand as I search for the right response.

Platitudes won’t help. There are no easy words to make everything better, but connection might make her feel less alone.

My voice is rough when I finally say, “I get it. Not all of it, but… I’ve worked so hard to be perfect.

My parents’ hands were so full with Donovan that I wanted to be the easy kid they never have to worry about.

Now, I don’t know who I am. I don’t know how to stop. ”

“I wouldn’t recommend ending it all.” She looks over at me with a dark, humorless smile. “Doesn’t make the pain go away.”

“It wasn’t your fault,” I say, the words falling from my lips like warm rain. “You couldn’t control how you felt. Depression can’t be willed away. You loved your parents and felt this was the only way to protect them.”

Abby nods, a sense of relief taking over her features. “I did it for them. They are free now.”

It’s so hard to hear her think so little of herself, knowing her grieving parents don’t feel free at all.

They are crushed by the loss of their daughter and will wear that pain for the rest of their lives.

The best I can do for them now is to try to lighten their daughter’s burdens and give her a chance at peace.

“You did what you could for them,” I state, schooling my expression to convey understanding and compassion, burying the weight of her anguish inside me. “Now, you can let go. On the other side is a paradise without pain.”

She gently places one hand to her chest, and for the first time, there’s hope in her eyes. “It won’t hurt anymore? I’ll be free too?”

“Yes,” I assure her, fighting the emotions creeping up my throat. “You’ll be free, and after your parents have lived a long life, they’ll find you in paradise. You’ll be together again without the pain and burdens of mortal life.”

Her hands fall into her lap as the weight of her uncertainty seems to drop from her shoulders. “I want them to see me again when I’m happy and know that I really am in a better place.”

A shining gate appears next to us, an arch of golden light that appears to lead to a sunny meadow surrounded by a variety of trees. A welcoming path lined by flowers weaves its way through the forest.

Abby gazes toward the door with a wobbly smile. “It’s the woods. My paradise is the outdoors.”

“The pain hid your joy,” I comment, getting to my feet, “but it didn’t take away what you loved.”

She stands up, and I escort her toward the gate. The shining light washes over her, making her golden hued skin glow. Standing at the precipice of the afterlife, she requests, “Tell my parents that it wasn’t their fault. Tell them I’m safe, and we’ll see each other again.”

I really hope that’s true. This is only the beginning of her journey.

If she reaches the end with a light heart, she will stay in paradise.

If any part of her is weighed down and believes she’s unworthy, she will fall.

Hell is the punishment of the spirit’s own creation, and their internal demons will consume them until the demon is all that is left.

Before she walks through, I reach out, but my hand goes through her wrist. “Please be kind to yourself. You deserve to be happy again.”

“I will be,” Abby assures me, taking her first step inside. “How can I be anything else in paradise?” She touches the edge of the gate. “Thank you, not so perfect Kaleb. You’re a good person. I’m glad you were the one who helped me move on.”

“Glad I could help,” I reply, fighting to hide my concern. I hope I did enough, because the rest is up to her.

As she takes her final steps inside, she waves back at me. The last thing I see before the gate closes is her leaning down to smell the wildflowers.

Alone on the roof, I collapse to my knees, all of my feelings breaking free. As tears drip down my cheeks, I text Callie, “Are you still free today?”

Almost instantly, she replies, “Absolutely. Save me from weekend homework!”

A hint of a smile pulls at the corners of my mouth. “I thought Felix and Nolan were supposed to do that.”

My phone buzzes with her response. “Sadly, neither of them has any academic understanding of plants. Now, where are we going and when?”

“Flying over now,” I type quickly, desperate to see her and feel her arms around me.

“See you soon!” The text is followed by three red hearts.

After tugging my shirt off, I send out another text. This one is to my mother, letting her know Abby passed on. Without waiting for a response, I call forth my wings and shoot into the sky.

∞∞∞

Having no real destination in mind, I fly Callie to the overlook that has started to feel more and more like our private place, the sentiment taking over the childhood memories that once infused the area.

When we land, I put her down on her feet, but I don’t let go.

Instead, I pull her against me and wrap my wings around us.

For a few minutes, we stand in silence, Callie holding me as tight as I hold her.

In her arms, cocooned in my wings, I finally feel like I can breathe.

Her hands shift from squeezing me to making long strokes up and down my bare back, delicately kneading any stiff muscles she finds. I shiver when she brushes against the soft, downy feathers near the joints of my wings.

“Sorry,” she murmurs, her hands traversing back down my spine.

“It’s okay,” I reply, my voice rough with all the emotions locked inside me.

With one arm still wrapped around her waist, I pull back far enough to cup her face with my other hand, my thumb brushing gently over her lips.

“I like the feeling of your hands on my wings.” I lean down, replacing my thumb with my lips. “I always want your hands on me.”

I kiss her like salvation rests on her lips—tender, reverent, and with singular focus. I worship at the altar of her mouth, and every moan from her is a hallelujah. She is the calm center of my storm, and I want to live an eternity in this moment with her.

She welcomes me, wrapping her arms around my neck to pull me closer, and opens her mouth so I may taste her.

There’s a natural sweetness to her that I can never seem to get enough of. A low groan vibrates in my throat as I explore the recesses of her mouth with my tongue. My hand shifts into her hair, her wavy strands tangling between my fingers.

We break apart only long enough to catch a breath before I’m once again feasting on her lips. A molten heat burns through my veins, and I crave her more than oxygen. All the pain of this morning melts away, lost in the sea of my desire for her.

Reaching down, I pick her up by her thighs and guide her legs around my waist. Blindly, I seek out the shade and privacy of a nearby tree. Spreading my wings wide enough for Callie’s back to be pressed against the thick trunk, I lean into her, not wanting any space between us.

Using the support of the tree, I let my hands explore her perfect curves, while my mouth travels from her sweet lips to her neck. My kisses turn to love bites, eliciting surprised gasps of pleasure from Callie.

Her fingers dig into my shoulders as her head drops back. Between pants for breath, her words develop a husky tone filled with distraction. “As good as this feels—and I’m in no way complaining… Should we…” Her sentence fades into a moan as I suck hard on where her neck and shoulder meet.

After running my tongue up her throat, I nip her earlobe and drop my voice to a low rumble. “What did you want to say?”

“Never mind,” she rasps, arching her back as her fingers drag along my scalp. “Kiss now. Talk after.”

“Good girl,” I purr against her ear and smile when she shivers with a breathy moan.

I return to her lips, consuming and commanding. In this moment, she’s mine to please, and I want to lavish her with pleasure until she grows hoarse from moaning my name. Sheltered within my wings under a canopy of branches, all that exists is Callie and the things I want to do to her.

With one hand gripping her hip, I slip my other hand beneath her tank top.

Looking into her pleasure drunk eyes, I instruct, “You say stop, and this ends.” My touch climbs up her ribs until my thumb lightly brushes the underside of her breast. Pressing my lips to her throat, I whisper, “Do you want me to stop?”

Callie shivers, digging her fingers into my shoulders, as she shakes her head. “Don’t stop.”

Keeping her pinned to the tree with my hips, I lift her top over her chest with both hands, and then I cup her breasts over her silky bra.

While kissing her deeply and thoroughly, my thumbs circle her hardening nipples, teasing them through the soft, thin fabric.

It’s only when she’s squirming and pressing her breasts more firmly into my hands that I reach around to unhook her bra.

She moans when flesh finally touches flesh, her naked breasts filling my hands.

While rolling her nipples between my thumbs and forefingers, I press my lips to the underside of her jaw. “You are so beautiful, so soft and warm and perfect in my hands.”

“By the goddess,” she moans when I replace one of my hands on her breast with my mouth, sucking the hardened peak then flicking it with my tongue. “Don’t stop.”