CHAPTER FIFTY-FOUR

After the fabulous lunch, Amanda and Jake walked around the mini–French Quarter awhile and then returned to the car.

Once she slipped inside and put on her seat belt, a voice from the backseat said, “I hear you want to ask me something?”

She spun around, her pulse racing. Whew. “Declan, yes. You scared me.”

He shrugged. “I do that to the living sometimes.”

Jake opened the door and got into the driver’s seat.

“Hon, wait just a minute before starting the car.”

“What’s up?”

“Remember when I said I wanted to ask Declan something?”

“Yeah…”

How could she say this? Oh, to hell with it. He already knew her ability, whether he believed or not. He wasn’t dumping her. May as well come out with it.

“Declan’s in the backseat of the car.”

Slowly, Jake turned around. “I don’t see anyone.”

Declan shook his head. “Nonbelievers, I tell ya.”

“Whether you see him or not doesn’t matter,” Amanda explained. “Let me just try to do this for you.”

“Okay.” Jake plopped the keys up on the dash and rolled down his window to enjoy the air.

Amanda leaned toward the backseat. “Did you get everyone crossed over?”

“I did. Thanks to you, and thanks for asking.”

“Were your bosses angry?”

“You could say that.”

Amanda felt a pang of guilt. If she had helped or done something else sooner, could things have been better for everyone?

“What happened?” she asked, unsure whether she wanted the answer.

“Nothing as terrible as what might have occurred had I failed completely,” Declan said. “But the powers that be have mandated I have to work with a partner from now on. Everyone does. No more solo jobs. Guess they figure having a partner will make the job get done twice as fast.”

“I hope it works out for you,” she said.

“Thanks.” Declan leaned forward, placing his arms over the top of the seat in front of him. “I know you didn’t need to talk to me just to ask me about the Zephyr Land ghosts. What’s really on your mind?”

She looked at Jake. At the man she loved, cared for. She wanted to heal those wounds he had from his mother’s death. But how to say that to Declan? How to phrase it?

“Oh, I think I understand,” Declan said, to her complete surprise. “You want Jake to talk to his mother or someone else who’s crossed over.”

“Yes. Can you do that?”

“No.”

Amanda waited a long moment as she looked into Declan’s green-eyed stare. “No?”

“What’s he saying?” Jake asked.

“Just give me a few minutes,” she said. Returning her attention to the backseat, she asked, “Why not?”

“Family contact is complicated. For one, his mother has already crossed over. Finding her if she isn’t an afterdeath consultant like me will prove almost impossible. Second, there are rules about humans and deceased family. Rules I barely squeaked by for my own sake in Savannah so I could see my sister. I doubt my boss will look too fondly on another favor request.”

She frowned. “Is there anything you can do? Tell me where she is? How she’s doing?”

“I can assure you she’s in a good place. Safe, healthy—the dead lose all the mental issues they have on Earth once they’ve crossed—so his mother is truly in a better place. Ministers all over the world aren’t lying when they say that.”

“Good to know.”

“I wish I could be more help—”

“No, I completely understand.” Amanda gave him a kind smile. “Just a few days ago, we were having this exact conversation, only reversed.”

Declan laughed. “That’s true.”

“Anything else I can tell him before you go?”

He thought a long moment. “I can’t speak for his mother specifically, but having been in my position for decades and helping souls cross from their lives into the next realm, I can say that most souls just want the humans they left behind to be happy. They don’t want their children, parents, friends, worrying about them. So if you can convince Jake that his mom is in a good place, not to worry about her, I think that would make her happy.”

“I like that explanation,” Amanda whispered.

“What did he say?” Jake asked.

Amanda retold the things Declan had mentioned.

“Thought-provoking points,” Jake said.

“Yep.” She turned to thank Declan, but when she looked in the backseat, he’d already disappeared.

* * *

Later that evening, after a long nap in a local Fairhope hotel, Amanda woke up to her cell phone chirping. Who would be calling her now? She scrambled to reach it, but the call went to voicemail.

Seconds later, she dialed the two digits to access her messages.

“Hi, this message is for Amanda Moss. This is Lena Cole with the carousel restoration project. I wanted to say congratulations. We received your submission, and your talent is exactly what we’ve been seeking. Give me a call back when you can, but we hope you can start on Monday. Thank you.”

Amanda grinned wide, shaking her hands in a happy dance as best she could without waking Jake up. This career opportunity was her chance to pursue the artistic work she yearned to do. Not only could she and Jake have a fresh start upon returning to Georgia, but her career would get a new beginning too.

Ten minutes passed. She couldn’t hold in the news any longer. Shaking Jake’s arm, she woke him up and told him the news.

“That’s fantastic, hon! Congratulations.”

“I know! So we definitely need to return to Georgia tomorrow, but as far as tonight—”

“Tonight, you’re mine,” he said with a wink. “Come on. I want to take you out to that stargazing place. Fairhope is supposed to have one of the best views of the night sky in the South.”

“Sounds wonderful, as long as I’m with you.”

“Aww, how romantic,” he said with a smile.

Thirty minutes later, Jake spread out a blanket in the open meadow. The air had cooled down and cicadas chirped a symphony in the trees surrounding this patch of flat land.

She and Jake lay on their backs, looking up at what had to be the most beautiful night she’d ever seen. Too many city lights back in Georgia drowned out the stars. Even out in the woods, only a few stars bothered to show up in the night sky.

But here in this pocket of Fairhope woods? Every cluster of stars in the galaxy and beyond had travelled to this very spot. Picked this meadow to shine down upon, to send twinkling lights and a smile to her and Jake. A blessing for them starting their life together—with full acceptance.

“I love you, Jake Mercer.”

He rolled onto his side, leaned in, and kissed her. “I love you more, Amanda Moss. Here’s to a great future together.”

THE END