Somewhere Over the Freaking Rainbow - By L.L. Muir Page 0,66
he’d go to the hospital and tell Granddad it was all right if he stopped fighting, that he shouldn’t suffer any longer just for a selfish grandson.
Wind combed steadily through the branches and rocked him to sleep, and he dreamt of plaid wool blankets and sweet warm scones. Like music in the background of his dreams he heard the rustling of dry cornstalks...
CHAPTER TWENTY-SEVEN
Skye donned her ceremonial garb, then looked at the clock on the wall. 2:45. Almost time.
Kenneth Jamison would never wake from his coma. He had the peace he’d prayed for. Her assignment was finished and she needed to get out of Flat Springs in the fastest bandaid-ripping mode available.
She’d made her choice. She’d stick to The Agreement. After all, if she couldn’t have a life with Jamison, no other life could tempt her to reach for the golden ring Lanny insisted was waiting for her. And she couldn’t very well face him again; not because she might be tempted to change her mind, but because she’d just proven to him that he’d never been the coward he’d believed himself to be. How could she possibly look him in the eye when, of her own free will, she was choosing the cowardly way out?
Coming home from the hospital she’d been happy to see the weight of so many guilty years lift from his shoulders as he forgave the thirteen-year-old he’d once been. He would also forgive his mother because he’d promised his granddad, and Jamison Shaw kept promises. He and Lori could help each other now.
Kenneth would be gone soon and young Jamison would need a real shoulder to cry on, not hers.
“Are you ready, Skye?” Jonathan poked his dark messy head around her bedroom door then walked in and closed it behind him. “It’s nearly three, but I wanted to speak to you just a moment.”
Skye smiled. She’d miss Jonathan, miss his quick readings of her thoughts. They could work side by side for hours and never need to speak. He was a comfortable soul to have about, unless you were trying to hide something. But she was done with all that.
Or was she? The look on her friend’s face told her otherwise.
“What is it, Skye? What happened that makes you hurry to leave here?” Jonathan took her shoulders in hand and made her face him.
“It’s been a difficult assignment, that’s all.”
“Wasn’t difficult until the boy moved in.”
“I thought you weren’t supposed to talk to me about it.”
“It’s over, isn’t it? You can’t interfere with the past, correct?” He let her go.
“Correct. To answer your question, I don’t know what happened. I suppose I fell in love with him. And I suppose you already knew it.”
“I did. Surprising, isn’t it? That you were able to do so?”
“Yes. Surprising.”
“And it pains you now to leave him.”
“Yes. But loving someone makes it easy to do what is best for them.” She folded her white scarf and laid it aside.
“You hope so. You are not so sure.”
“I’m counting on it.”
“What other alternative is there?”
Her smile faltered for only a second.
“Have you ever heard of a Somerled called Lanny?”
“I have. She is not far. We deal with a man named Buchanan from her ranch. One day I’d like to see it. He told us it is magnificent.”
“It is.”
Jonathan looked genuinely surprised.
“And yet you returned. I’ve been warned that many do not, though I’ve not been told why.”
“She is a Primary. She knows things I’d never been told.”
“A Primary. Interesting.”
“You should go there, Jonathan. When your duty is finished, of course. Go. Before you have your farewell. Everyone should. Her Place of Perfection is a sight to see.”
She hugged him before he could ask her any more, then she left her room for the final time.
One foot in front of the other. Heel, toe. Heel, toe.
She stepped out onto the back porch and looked up toward Kenneth’s windbreak. Jamison was in the tree house. Asleep. It was a lovely gift to have him so close, and just as nice to have him unaware.
Heel, toe. Heel, toe.
The air caressed her face and played with her hair, catching it on the cornstalks, tugging, teasing, reminded her of the sensations she’d recently wished for.
Moments away. Only moments now. Home.
Surely there would be someone there who would comfort her before she was expected to go on. Surely she would be allowed to rest, to remember, to understand.
Only steps away from Home.
The circle was none so wide as it had been for Marcus. The community was large