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SHE WAS IN THE FIELD again. Acres upon acres of knee-high, brilliant-green grass billowed around her as a crisp wind filled the air and lifted her waist-length copper hair gently off her shoulders. A few wavy wisps tickled the young woman’s lightly freckled face as she shielded her eyes from the setting sun. The sky was glorious. It entranced her as she gazed upon the purple clouds, moving briskly across the orange backdrop of splendor.
There on the desolate horizon, two silhouettes stood strong and unwavering against the winds, and her heartbeat increased. One was a beautiful tree, almost black against the setting sun. Its trunk twisted and disfigured, looking much like the body of a woman. Its gnarled branches seemed to reach towards some hidden secret. The second silhouette, all shadows and stealth, was a man. Her man.
She closed her eyes, feeling the bond boil through her blood, as she breathed out his name, “Colin,” the air carrying away the sound.
She closed her eyes and suddenly felt the heat of him directly in front of her. Her eyes snapped open. Silver flecks danced like sparkles on the surface of his mossy-green gaze.
“Teagan, my love, I need to know where you are. I need to keep you safe.” Colin’s whisper against her ear was so real it tickled the tiny hairs and sent heat radiating through her body, but the magical sound of his voice was almost lost as the tree groaned loudly in the wind, distracting her.
Suddenly, she blinked, and she was standing on the other side of the bridge. The field was several yards away from her now. Colin’s figure shimmered in and out of existence.
“I’m coming, Colin.” She tried to yell. Wanted to yell. But the words seemed caught in her throat. Her mouth opened, but no sound came out. She tried to take a step, but she was stuck to the ground by a rash of gnarled roots that had sprung up from the ground. Her hands reached out in a pleading gesture, and she waited for her Colin to come back.
“He’s not the one you should follow.”
“Leave me alone,” Teagan said, pushing her shoulder back as if to push the voice in her head away.
“I won’t, you know. I’ll never leave you alone, not until you take me home.”
“Shut up. The things you speak of don’t exist. You don’t exist!” Teagan was furious now. “Just stop!”
And the voice was gone. Teagan stone alone in the mist, her vision fading.
***
TEAGAN’S HEAD LOLLED back and startled her awake from the disturbing dream. Her eyes scanned the room, and she cracked her kinked neck, attempting to clear the sleep-induced fog from her brain and the pain that radiated down into her shoulders. After almost a year of dreaming of him, this was the first time he’d ever faded away. It was as if he couldn’t reach her. She knew all logic dictated that her dreams weren’t real, but she would bet her life that the one called Colin was real, and they shared some type of telepathic link. Right, right, she almost rolled her eyes but caught herself.
The sitting area by the terminal at the airport was loud, not doing much to help clear her fuzzy mind. She stared down at the blue and black checked carpet at a faded spot under her right foot, and she played with it with the toe of her shoe. Teagan tried to imagine the people who had sat in this chair before her to distract herself, but her eyes welled up with tears anyway. She leaned her head back and closed them again, trying to block out the hustle and bustle of the noisy sitting area and thought about the day that had thrown her plan into action.
Leaving the country without telling anyone was a big step for her. She’d send her step-mother a postcard from somewhere, so she wouldn’t worry, but Teagan doubted she would anyway. She’d probably think good riddance, the crazy girl is finally out of my life for good. As long as she could remember, Teagan had fought with her step-mom about things that “were not of this world and didn’t need mentioning.” Eventually, she’d gotten tired of the stories and sent Teagan to a few shrinks. Then one day, Dr. Camden had just shown up at their front door. He’d insisted a fellow shrink had sent him. Linda had been so grateful to have another doctor actually willing to speak with her, that she hadn’t questioned him at all, and neither had Teagan, at first.
Now, she questioned everything. Dr. Cam had been the first person to take her from her home, sometimes his training sessions would last for weeks at a time. Those she barely remembered. His big “thing” was hypnosis. She’d been letting him invade her mind for at least seven years without questioning him. But no one, and she meant no one, could convince her that her friend Cali hadn’t been real.
Her thoughts were conflicted. Teagan looked down at her old phone one last time. She thumbed through it. Second name down on the caller id was Cali. She clicked the phone off. The sound of crunching glass and metal has several people looking in her direction as she crushed the phone and then tossed it in the trashcan right next to her hard plastic seat. She shrugged at the woman next to her and her curious stare.
“Bad breakup. Cutting ties before I head overseas. You?” She gave the woman a nod.
“I booked one of those senior tours. It’s always been my dream to go to Ireland.”
“Yeah, mine too.” Teagan said, but she was no longer thinking of the woman as she gazed out the window to the crowded runway below.
“Now boarding flight 213, now boarding flight 213.” The voice over the loud speaker crackled.
The announcement snapped her out of her thoughts. She was nervous. This was her first flight over an ocean. She clutched at the bag with renewed determination, straightened up in the chair, and waited. Teagan knew the drill. Airlines always boarded elderly and families with young children first. She took a deep breath trying to calm her nerves, blaming it on preflight jitters.
“All reserved seating passengers, now boarding flight 213,” was the next announcement. “Please have your tickets ready for confirmation of your assigned seat.”
Teagan stood up and moved forward toward the pleasant woman as if she were automated. She felt numb.
“Ma’am, may I have your ticket and your passport, please?” The blond gatekeeper behind the ticket kiosk asked.
“Right, here you go,” Teagan said as she handed over the ticket.
The lady smiled at Teagan. “Have a nice flight,” she said, and Teagan nodded in response.
***
TEAGAN’S MOOD STARTED to lighten as she sat down in her seat on the crowded plane, although she still felt queasy. Get-away jitters? A cold chill settled over her and ran up the length of her spine, sending tingles through the base of her hairline.
“Shake it off, Teagan,” she whispered to herself, “You just hate flying, that’s all. They have no idea where you are, or they would have already stopped you.”
She busied herself with watching the hodgepodge of people awkwardly bumping along the tiny aisle of the plane, wishing she could have afforded first class. She probably could’ve, the stack of money Cali had stashed was huge, but she didn’t want to overspend and run out in a different country.
Teagan snickered under her breath as a very robust woman, wearing an excessive amount of perfume, stepped on her partner’s foot. The woman, clueless that she was standing on his foot, continued to direct him where to stow her carry-on baggage in the overhead compartment, but he couldn’t move. Teagan covered her mouth with her hand, trying to stifle her laughter, as the poor man’s face distorted into a grimace of pain, and his mouth puckered up like a fish out of water, gasping for air.
Minutes later, a very pregnant woman, overloaded with a huge duffle bag, jolted Teagan’s arm. Teagan smiled at her and received an apologetic nod in response. Teagan took a moment to examine her. She was pretty, but not beautiful. She had long curly blonde hair and wore a fashionable, although probably not expensive, blouse and slacks. She looked exhausted. Feeling sorry for her, Teagan stood and was about to offer some assistance when her attention was suddenly diverted towards the entrance of the plane.
Teagan sucked in a breath. “Hello Mr. Eye-Candy,” she whispered, spewing words that could have come straight form Cali’s mouth and would have made her friend proud. It wasn’t often Teagan showed interest in anyone. But handsome didn’t even begin to describe this man. His large frame barely fit in the plane, causing him to stand with slightly crooked, and the top of his hat hit the top of the plane. She could see his muscles as they rippled under his suit. The sophisticated attire and clean-cut appearance seemed to prove he was a man of wealth, but did so in an unobtrusive, un-pompous way. With hair the deepest shade of black she’d ever seen, it waved back into a neat queue at the back of his neck. His eyes, mesmerizing. Intense. She couldn’t look away. He scanned the crowded plane, as if searching for something or someone.
His eyes reminded her of a crystal-clear mountain stream, not of the water itself but of the bottom of the stream, on a sunny day when the light makes the sandy bottom glitter with flecks of silver and gold and makes it appear closer than it really is. Still, there was something so familiar about him. She couldn’t place the sun-kissed face, strong jawline, or slightly crooked nose that added to his rakish charm.
Teagan was still staring when one of the flight attendants addressed him in a high-pitched, sickly sweet voice.
“Mr. McInnis, welcome aboard. It’s always a pleasure having you fly with us. We hope you enjoy your flight. Your seat is ready in first class. Right this way, please.” The attendant batted her eyelashes at him as she spoke, and Teagan rolled her eyes at the blatant flirtation.
He didn’t respond at first.
Then, his roaming eyes suddenly settled on Teagan. Like a deer caught in headlights, she froze. She couldn’t sit back down, afraid it would give away her gawking, so she cocked her head slightly at him, as if to say, “what are you looking at?” and turned nonchalantly towards the pregnant woman she’d been about to help before he’d distracted her. The pregnant woman was now trying in vain to hoist a very heavy duffle bag into the overhead compartment. Teagan huffed, annoyed that no one was helping her, but before she could shuffle into the aisle to help, Mr. Serious Eye-Candy brushed past and took the bag from the pregnant woman.
“Ma’am, I’m sure you would be much more comfortable in first class, these seats are hard and small. Unbearable for a pregnant lady to have to sit on for twelve hours. I would be pleased if you would take my seat.” He spoke in a voice laced with accent and smoothness, but softly so as not to be overheard by the other passengers. Teagan heard him.
What was his game? She wondered but kept quiet. Something about his voice made her uneasy, though she couldn’t put her finger on it. It was kind of like that feeling you got in a haunted house as you round a corner and just know something is about to jump out at you, but you have to go forward because the press of screaming people behind you allows no other option. She shivered but couldn’t look away from the exchange.
He held the woman’s duffle bag hostage as he said, “Really, I insist.”
The pregnant woman stuttered, obviously unsure of what to say, “Sir, I couldn’t possibly...”
“Sure, you can.” His accent strong, the words spoken more firmly this time. “I insist; Stewardess, help this woman to my seat please. I’ll be remaining here.”
The flight attendant hurried past Teagan to do what he asked of her.
“Yes, Mr. McInnis.” She said with an incline of her head.
Puzzled, Teagan wondered why the attendant had jumped to do his bidding. Airlines usually had a strict code of not allowing people into first class that weren’t, well for lack of a better word, first class. Teagan was still staring at the gorgeous man when he turned ever so casually towards her and winked. The breath slammed from her body as he smiled and sat down in his newly established seat.
Teagan turned around and slid slowly down the back of her seat, trying to remember the almost impossible task of how to breathe.
Inhale. Exhale. I think.
Brushing her bangs from her face, she imagined different ways she could catch a glimpse of the mystery man co-passenger without it being obvious throughout the flight and then blushed at her boldness. She could probably touch him on accident if she tried. Her face burned with color. What had come over her? Cali? Had her friend finally made an impact with all her dating advice over the years? Reaching out to touch a stranger — even if he was drop dead gorgeous — was not something Teagan McKenna would ever do.
Trying to focus on anything but him, she popped her iPod earphones into her ears and thumbed through her phone, trying not to think of how he had winked at her. Cali would be so jealous. If her friend were here, she would’ve been in his lap already, leaving Teagan on the sidelines like always. Teagan never minded, but this time she just might have something to say about it. Teagan switched to her favorite song and leaned her head back against the seat. Closing her eyes, she tried to think of Ireland and not the disarmingly handsome man sitting a distracting arm’s length away from her. Just a few more minutes and she’d be free of this place. Free of the demons that haunted her here. Just shut the doors, she thought. There was no way Dr. Cam would find her if they would just shut the doors.