Mystical Xmas: Paranormal Romance Anthology Box Set Page 15

  Fiona slid into the other booth bench and grinned. "How are you today, Kate?"

  "Feeling pretty good," Kate managed a smile. "The doctor says it's a boy." She splayed her hand over her growing belly.

  "That's great! Do you have any names?"

  "No, but it won't be Jaxson Jr," Kate grumbled, sucking up the rest of the milkshake through her straw.

  "What about Michael? I have always loved that name." Fi reached over and patted Kate's hand. "Joshua is also nice."

  "No 'J's," Kate said with a grimace. "And one day you'll have a child and you should name him Michael."

  "I'd kind of need to have sex first," Fi admitted, her cheeks blushing as she glanced across the restaurant to Jace.

  Kate turned to where Fiona was looking. "Oh, I see," she grinned. "He is an attractive young man. I would like to tell you that sex isn't all it is cracked up to be, but I'd be lying."

  Fiona giggled and clasped her hand over her mouth when Jace looked her way. The door opened in the distance. "Can I get you anything else, Kate? I should seat those customers."

  "No, sweetie, just the check." Kate gave her a brief smile as Fiona rushed to help the new patrons.

  ~*~*~*~

  Stepping onto the first step of the house, Kate found a long white box. She squatted down using her knees since she could no longer touch her toes with the baby in the way. She picked up the box and took it inside, perching it on the arm of the couch as she pulled her coat, gloves, and boots off.

  She opened the flue and lit a fire, finally turning her attention to the box. She untied the red bow, and pulled the lid off. A dozen roses greeted her, their fragrance a welcome change from the bland smells of winter. There was a single red rose amongst all the white. She found a small card had a pretty script of 'Kaitlyn' written across the front of the envelope.

  She opened the envelope and slid out the card. "Motherfucker!" she yelled at the empty house. She never cursed, but it seemed appropriate given the name at the bottom of the card. Jaxson. Bastard! She almost ripped the card up to throw in the fire, but she was curious. After a deep breath, she read the words, knowing that someone at the flower shop had written it because it was legible.

  Dearest Kaitlyn, I am sorry. There were complications. I promise I will be there as soon as I can. I am yours, and you are mine. Forever, Jaxson.

  "This ain't Game of Thrones…I'm not your Khaleesi and you are definitely no Khal Drogo," she hissed. A flutter in her belly alarmed her. She'd never felt the baby move before. Was that good or bad? "Okay, they really said something about the moon and stars," she admitted, feeling calmer.

  "You think I should forgive and forget, baby?" Kate rubbed at her belly a moment. "Fine, I may forgive him, but there will be no forgetting. I have the memory of an elephant."

  Chapter Six

  Kate was busy stringing popcorn to make garland for the tree. She had not celebrated Christmas, or any other holiday since Charlie died. But with the baby on the way, she wanted to at least do a little something.

  The tree was small but fresh, so she would not have to deal with falling pine needles on the wooden floor. Since she had no idea where the decorations had been stored, and did not feel like climbing up to the second story of the shed, she used the ribbon from the box of traitor's roses as a topper to the tree, and the popcorn garland would be the only decoration. Better than nothing, she mused.

  The sudden thought that her baby would be crawling the next time this holiday rolled around was equally exciting and terrifying.

  The door burst open to her left and the traitor was suddenly standing there. "Get the fuck out of my house!" she snapped.

  "Bloody hell, love, I have missed you!" He began to stomp the snow off his boots, placing the spare key left under the doormat on the small entrance table to the left of the door.

  "Are you deaf? I said get out," she hissed in annoyance.

  "I'm back for good! Tell me you missed me."

  "Not on your life." She missed a kernel of popcorn and jabbed the needle into her skin, causing a drop of blood to bead up. She was on her way to sticking it in her mouth, when he got to her hand first.

  Jaxson licked the blood off, moaning his enjoyment of the taste of her. He got down on his knees in front of her and peered up. "You are so beautiful, Kaitlyn."

  Kate rolled her eyes, doing her best to ignore him. She did notice he'd cute his hair short, though he had a few days' worth of stubble on his face.

  "I closed my bank accounts and credit cards. I sold the houses. The property in Wales took the longest. The economy isn't what it used to be." He rubbed his hands along her legs, ignoring the giant bowl of popcorn in her lap, his eyes never leaving her face.

  "Houses? Plural?" She could not help but raise a brow, then silently chided herself that she'd even spoken to him again.

  "Yes, I had three. But it's all taken care of, and what's left of my possessions is on the porch. I can't wait to begin our life together, love!" He stood, rushed outside, and began to carry in boxes and suitcases. "Shall I put these in the guest bedroom for now?"

  "I never said you could move in!" she exclaimed.

  "Where else would I live, Kaitlyn? My life is here with you now." Jaxson gave her that twinkling eyed look of his before leaning in for a kiss.

  Kate turned her face away before his lips touched hers. "If you stay, you're sleeping on the couch."

  He chuckled. "I can't even sleep in the guest bedroom, love?"

  "It's no longer a guest bedroom."

  "Really? What is it?" His brows drew together in thought.

  "See for yourself." When he walked away to the bedroom, she pushed herself off the couch.

  "Kaitlyn, there are children's things in here." He walked back into the living room and paused at seeing her.

  "Wow, you're smarter than you act," she said, placing a hand on her belly. She had been thin all her life, and the second the baby started growing, he took up more and more space so that she looked further along than she actually was. At four months, she looked at least six months or more. Stretch marks were going to be a bitch!

  "You…" he trailed off, his mouth left hanging open.

  "Didn't I tell you? Oh, that's right, you knocked me up and then ran off in the middle of the night. No way to contact you, no way to know where you were. Anyway, this baby is mine. I will raise him, and nurture him, and you will never see him. This is the part where you disappear and I never see you again." She pointed to the door.

  "We're having a son?" he whispered. He ran across the room and dropped to his knees in front of her, splaying his hands over the swell, kissing her belly.

  "No, no," she tsk'd at him. "My son. You don't have a son…or maybe you do, but it isn't this one." Kate put her hands on his forehead and attempted to push him away.

  "Kaitlyn, please," he begged. "I didn't run away from you. I was just preparing to move here full time. You don't have a phone. And I knew if I tried to tell you in person I had to go away for a bit, that my resolve would crumble and I would wind up staying, delaying the start of our lives together."

  "Yeah, sure. You think I will ever trust anything you say? Never again, Mr. Barnes." She managed to pull out of his hold and backed up, though he kept following her on his hands and knees. It seemed eerily like when he had followed her home the day they'd met, except he was on his feet that day. She backed against a wall, and his hands returned to her belly.

  "I will spend the rest of our lives making this up to you and our son. I swear." He kissed her belly once more. He grabbed her left hand, fished the ring out of his pocket, and slid it on. "Marry me, Kaitlyn."

  Kate looked down in utter shock at the large sapphire surrounded by diamonds. "N-"

  He stood up and kissed her before she could say no.

  She whimpered into his mouth, the addictive taste she had craved for so long was better than she remembered. Her inner horse whinnied, and she could swear she heard a soft purr too, inside her head. Our son.


  Jaxson picked her up and carried her to their bed. "Merry Christmas, my love."

  "And Happy New Year." Kate tugged him down on top of her.

  ~*~*~*~

  Every day since Christmas, Kate always woke thinking that today would be the day her mate disappeared on her and the baby. Every day, she was pleasantly surprised to see that Jaxson was still there.

  The addictive mating bond they shared, along with her rapidly expanding belly where their son grew, cemented their love.

  Ian Jaxson Barnes was born on May 18th.

  Kaitlyn Kalei became Mrs. Barnes on June 5th.

  About the Author

  C.A. Tibbitts lives in Oklahoma with her husband and parakeet.

  She has an associates degree as a Paralegal. Writing has always been her passion, and she hopes to continue writing for many years to come in the paranormal romance genre, as well as other romance genres.

  Hobbies include swimming, cooking, reading, tv watching, and social networking websites.

  She loves to hear from her readers, and deeply appreciates honest reviews.

  https://www.facebook.com/C.A.Tibbitts

  authorcatibbitts@gmail.com

  Twitter @catibbitts

  https://catibbitts.wordpress.com/

  Savannah’s Christmas Miracle

  By Tasha T

  Copyright © 2014 Tasha T.

  All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, or by any information storage and retrieval system, without permission in writing from the copyright owner.

  This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places and incidents either are the product of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously, and any resemblance to any actual persons, living or dead, events, or locales is entirely coincidental.

  This book was printed in the United States of America.

  One

  “Who is that man? He looks so familiar. His eyes are just beautiful…whenever he actually looks at me. I see him all the time around town, but I have never spoken to him. He just seems, I don’t know, so lonely,” Savannah says to her friend, Esme. They are downtown, trying to finish their Christmas shopping and order all the groceries they’ll be needing for the crowd they are expecting. It is, after all, two weeks before Christmas and there is so much left to do before their families get here in ten days. They love nothing more than to entertain around the holidays. Their favorite guests are always their families, and this year both families can come. Savannah and Esme are so excited they can hardly contain themselves.

  Savannah’s mood suddenly changes, as she remembers what she’s doing.

  “We’ll have ham, turkey, dressing, gravy, mashed potatoes, sweet potatoes, cranberry sauce, biscuits, cakes, pies, green beans, salads, fruit salad. Oh, my goodness! Have we forgotten anything?” asks Savannah, in a frenzy. “I feel like I am forgetting something. Do we have gifts for everyone? Do we have enough for everyone to do? We need more garland for the staircase banisters and the mantels and the doorways and the porch railings, and the…”

  “Slow down, Savannah,” Esme says, as she giggles at her friend. “Breathe. We’ve been planning for weeks. It’s unlikely we’ve forgotten anything. However, we still have enough time. So, just calm down. It’ll be fine!”

  Savannah releases a breath she hasn’t realized she’s been holding. “Oh, I know. We should be ready for anything. But, it’s Josh and Sarah’s first Christmas since they got married and it needs to be special. Jack and Lara’s baby is due soon, and everyone is so excited over it. Our moms and dads are getting older and ready to retire. They may not want to travel much longer. This Christmas just has to be perfect!”

  Savannah looks over at the man, again. She has been seeing him near the shopping center for weeks, but has never spoken to him. He never really acknowledges her presence except to stare at her as she walks past him. He seems to look right into her soul, at times. Other times, it is as though he does not see her at all. It just seems a little strange.

  Sometimes after she has seen him, she dreams of a man who comes to her. She doesn’t even know his name. She just thinks of him as Gray, because of the beautiful silver-gray of his eyes. To her, his eyes are hypnotic, mesmerizing. She often looks into his eyes when he comes to protect her from harm, from THEM. He fights alongside her until the danger is past. She feels so safe, so cared for, whenever he’s around. Then, like the ghost of her dream, he is gone, too. He never stays around once the battle is over.

  No one knows about THEM. No one can see THEM. Savannah has not even told Esme about THEM. Esme will think she’s finally lost it, if she knows. No, this is something best kept to herself. But she can almost always feel them nearby. It often feels as though she is being watched. Sometimes, THEY touch her, like a whisper of a breeze. Other times, she hears their voices in her head. There are bits and pieces of thoughts, but never a coherent thought. She hasn’t decided if THEY are evil, but the touches give her chills. She feels danger whenever THEY make themselves known. Bad things happen whenever THEY are around.

  Whenever Savannah sees this man that she calls Gray, she somehow seems to become calm. The thought of having him nearby, even though she doesn’t know him, makes her feel peaceful. She wants to be able to get closer to him, to get to know him. Just to find out if this man could possibly be “her” Gray.

  But, how could he be hers? He was a stranger. Wasn’t he?

  Savannah and Esme have known each other since they were in college. They were enrolled in the same junior English and Math classes and became fast friends. Esme knows that there is something different about Savannah, but isn’t quite sure what that difference is. Savannah just seems to know things. More than once, Savannah has warned Esme about a “feeling”, and saved her from harm.

  There was this one time during their senior year, when the friends had been planning to go into town to see a movie after classes. As they were getting into the car, Savanna suddenly said, “No! Not happening. We can’t go.” She just stood by the car, shaking her head and repeating “We can’t go.” Esme had looked at her as if she had lost her mind, but had already learned to trust whenever Savannah said no to something. When they heard the next day that the theater had caught fire and burned to the ground, Esme had nearly had a panic attack. Fortunately, the movie was over when the fire started and almost everyone was already out. No one was seriously harmed.

  This is different. Savannah doesn’t feel anything wrong around this man. She just can’t figure him out at all.

  Savannah and Esme are roommates. They live in an old house, which was a former Bed and Breakfast, overlooking the beach. While it was new, it really must have been a beauty. The girls are working to return it to its former splendor. Both families are going to help with some of the upgrades to the house.

  Savannah is downtown on a Friday afternoon when it happens. That feeling she’d been having all day was worse than she could remember ever feeling it. The sense of doom was strong on this day.

  She steps outside of the restaurant where she’d stopped to pick up dinner. Standing on the sidewalk, she’s waiting for traffic to slow so she can cross the street. Suddenly, a young man comes out of nowhere and rushes past her, straight into the path of a cab that is rushing by. Savannah doesn’t even stop to think. She screams at the man, throws down her dinner, and rushes to push him out of the path of the cab. She doesn’t quite manage to save him. In the process, she is also hurt. That’s when THEY swoop in, thinking THEY can grab her while she is weak and hurt. THEY haven’t counted on her strength, or her protector. Like a flash, Gray appears out of nowhere and wraps her in his arms. He sweeps her away from the crowds, and goes to work healing the worst of her injuries. As she begins to come around, and realizes what is happening, she becomes frightened. He calms her fears with just a look. Those gray eyes of his calm her completely.

  He speaks to her, for the first time ever. �
�Savannah, are you okay now?”

  “Uh, yeah. I think so. What happened? OMG! Is that man hurt? He stepped right out in front of the cab!” Savannah again becomes frantic with worry.

  Gray knows that he has to tell her the truth, so he just goes right to it.

  “I’m sorry, sweetheart, but he was badly hurt. You managed to save him, but it will take a while for him to recover. THEY got to him before his guardian realized THEY were nearby. I don’t know how THEY got past the guardian. THEY have caused the entire street to erupt into utter chaos. I managed to whisk you out of all the confusion. You should be fine in just a little while.”

  Savannah still has not realized that Gray healed her. She doesn’t quite hear everything Gray says to her. She doesn’t realize how badly she was hurt. She just knows that now that she has met Gray, she doesn’t want him to leave her.

  “Savannah, we’ve got to get you checked out at the hospital. You may have internal injuries.”

  “No, Gray. I’m fine. I have to find out about that young man!”

  “Sweetheart, if you let me take you to the hospital, I promise to find out whatever I can about him. Please, let’s go to the hospital.”

  “Ok, I’ll go. But you just have to find out about him. I need to know if he’s going to be alright!” Savannah, in tears by now, doesn’t realize that she has been clinging to Gray. But, he’s noticed. So he pulls her closer to his side as he gets a cab to take her to the hospital. He holds her close to his chest for the entire ride. He has felt how her heart beats faster when she cuddles closer to him. She hasn’t realized that his heart speeds up too.

  She stirs as they pulled up to the Emergency Entrance at the hospital. He gets her inside quickly, calling for help as she passes out again in his arms. Gray worries, Did I miss something when I was healing her? Does she have worse injuries than I could read earlier? Now, he’s the one getting panicky!