Star People Legacy by Smith, T.L. (feel good books to read .txt) 📕

finger to his lips when he saw me. “Great. Thank you.” He hung up.

“Who were you talking to?”

“Your CO. You and Lutz are officially off duty for the next week in observance of a religious ceremony you’ve been ordered to attend.” He removed his utility belt and ripped open the Velcro straps of his boots, kicking them off.

“Really? Where’d you come up with that story?”

“Daniel.”

“You called my commander, at this hour?”

“No, I called the duty officer, who just happened to be the CO taking the shift.”

“You told him Lutz was going to a religious ceremony with me. He’s dead. That’s hard to fake, you know.”

“We need time and refusing you religious time off is discriminatory.” Casey stripped off his shirt and Kevlar, hanging them over the back of a chair. “He didn’t ask anything more than how many days you needed.”

“Seriously, out of the blue I start claiming religious privileges?”

“I told them there was some upheaval in the Nation and because of your family’s ranking, your presence was demanded. Something to do with the NCT-whatever. When you start throwing religion and as string of government agencies around, people prefer to cooperate then get drawn into it.”

He went to the table, sorting through several grocery bags. “You need to eat something. Frank went to the quick mart down on the corner.”

Hunger hadn’t even vaguely crossed my mind. I looked over the array. A couple microwave burritos, a reasonably fresh looking ham sandwich, a hoagie, cheese sticks, bags of chips, sodas and a handful of mixed condiments. A mini-buffet of junk food. I took the sandwich, chips and a soda, then crawled onto the bed.

“Really!” Casey rolled his eyes at me, taking the hoagie and grabbing a handful of the packets. “We have a table.”

“If I sit down I might not get up again.”

“I’d have taken care of that.” He moved my backpack off the arm chair and sat down, dropping the packets on the nightstand. “You look better. Your leg is… healing.”

“Yeah, go figure.” I poked it gently, getting nothing of the glow this time. I turned my arm a bit as I reached for mustard. “Back to normal, I guess. I think it happens when I get emotional. Twice it was in dreams.”

“And the other times?”

“When I saw Lutz at the bottom…” I took a breath, making sure I didn’t lose it again. “…at the bottom of the cliff. I was upset and scared, and angry. Then the coyotes started to show up. They protected him.”

I shook my head as those minutes replayed in my head. “It wasn’t just the coyotes. It sounds crazy to say it out loud, but the animal Spirits came out to protect me too. I had to crawl into a hole to hide, only to find out it was a nest full of rattlers. They left me alone, but threatened the men. Then the coyotes...”

Using the food as a moment to remember it all, I took a bite of my sandwich, holding a finger up as I chewed. A few chips made it taste better. Another bite and drink. “I didn’t glow with the snakes. Not until the coyotes came out. I was afraid they’d attack him and that’s when it happened. They all laid down around him and started to… to sing.”

I choked up again. “Not howling. It was so mournful. The pack leader was looking right at me and I was glowing again. He was telling me they’d protect him until I returned. Then another pack showed up to lead me down the mountain. When the enemy helicopter came looking for me, they used their bodies to hide me.”

Casey was squinting.

“I know it sounds insane, but that’s what happened.”

He rolled his eyes away from me. “If I hadn’t seen you light up like a nuclear reactor, I’d be checking you into the loony bin.”

“Did you look at the video?” I looked around and saw the camera next to the phones. “That’s crazy. It’s monsters and zombies right out of some damned D-rated movie.”

“I haven’t watched it yet. It will wait until we download it and show it to everyone.”

He lingered through a bite of his sandwich, still not looking at me.

“Is something wrong? Other than everything?”

“No...” He wrapped up what was left of his sandwich and put it on the nightstand. He leaned forward, his elbows propped on his knees, looking at his hands. “Except for something your brothers said.”

“They were teasing. You know they only do that because they like you.”

“Not that. About us.” Closing my eyes I replayed those few minutes. It hit me. He lifted his eyes to meet mine. “Is it even possible now for us to have a future together?”

“Oh, Casey…” I crawled across the bed, going to him. His arms wrapped around me as I climbed onto his lap. “It has to be.”

CHAPTER

17

His arms held me tight, his face pressed against my neck. “Whatever’s happening, I don’t want to lose you.”

I combed my fingers through his hair. “You won’t. And when this is done…” I pulled my shoulders back enough to look up at him. His dark brown eyes were so clear, so open, pulling me into them. “…I’m going to marry you.”

His hands caught my face. “I already knew it. The first day you came marching up to my truck, I said, ‘that’s her. I’m going to marry her’. Nothing’s going to stop me. Not even some freaky monster out to destroy the world.” He pulled my face to his, kissing me as his arms grabbed me up. I clung to his neck as he took the two steps to the bed. He lowered me down, still kissing me as he knelt over me. I tugged at his t-shirt as he got his pants off.

My heart thudded as his body crushed down on mine. The passion of the night before was nothing compared to the look in his eyes now. I clutched at the sheets as he pushed deep inside me, all at once.