?
Ivy counted six circles. Then six more, and six more again.
?
The planchette moved to the letter G.
Ivy held her breath. Guy or Gregory?
The plastic slid sideways and down to the letter R.
Ivy watched, nerves tingling.
E…G…O…R…Y…
?Gregory,? Ivy mouthed.
I…S…
?Is,? she said softly, but Beth, deep in a trance, didn?t hear.
H…
?Stop it!? Ivy cried out.
E…
?Stop it, Beth!?
R…
?Stop it now!??
Before the planchette touched the final E, Ivy leaned down and swept it toward GOOD BYE, then off the board.
Beth?s head jerked back as if Ivy had slapped her. ?Beth, what are you doing??
Ivy demanded. ?I can?t believe you?d try to—?
?He?s here? Beth said in a faraway voice. ?There?s no stopping him now.?
A loud knock made Ivy jump. She glanced toward the stairway — someone was at the cottage door. Beth leaned forward and calmly blew out each candle. Before she reached the last Ivy ran down the steps. Taking a deep breath, she opened the front door.
?Oh, thank God!? she said. ?Ivy, are you okay?? Guy asked and quickly stepped inside. ?You?re trembling. What?s wrong??
?I?m just — just spooked.? It was too dark to see his eyes, but Ivy could feel Guy studying her. ?Spooked by me?? he asked. She laughed shakily. ?No. Beth—?
How could she explain? ?It?s a long story.?
?So let?s take a long walk,? he said.
?One half of the world is the stars,? he replied. Ivy turned to him. Tristan, she thought do you remember? Do you remember kissing me in a cathedral of stars?
Guy gazed upward, his head back, taking in the stars. ?They?re so bright when you?re away from town lights. They look closer.?
?Close enough to touch,? Ivy said. ?There?s Orion, the hunter.” Guy pointed. ?I recognize his sword.? They walked down the steps together, removed their shoes, and followed the path through the dunes. ?Want to walk by the water?s edge?? Guy asked. ?Now that I know how to float,” he added with a smile, ?I?m not afraid of drowning in an inch of ocean.?
Ivy reached for Guy?s hand and they walked toward the water. The tide was receding, leaving behind a cache of silver pebbles and shells. After they had walked a distance, Ivy turned to look at their footprints, his close to hers, matching strides. Guy turned too, then smiled and put his arm around her as they continued to walk.
?So tell me what spooked you,?. Guy said, ?Something about Beth?? Ivy nodded.
?Beth is psychic.? Guy slowed midstride. ?She is??
?Yes, she truly has the gift. But it?s a curse, too. What Beth sees, what she senses, often frightens her.?
?You said she helped you last year. Did she figure out that Gregory was the killer??
?She figured out an important part of it.? ?What did Beth see tonight?? he asked.
Ivy shrugged off his question. ?It doesn?t matter. I overreacted. Sometimes I think that Beth mixes up what she sees and what she imagines. She?s got a very fertile imagination.?
With one hand, Guy turned Ivy?s face toward him and gazed at her steadily. ?I think it does matter, because it upset you. But you?ll tell me when you?re ready.?
Then he dropped his arm from her shoulder, and said, ?Watch this!?
He dashed into the water, up to his thighs, then turned to grin at her, letting a wave race past him. ?Are you impressed?? he asked. ?Tell me you?re impressed.?
?Very!?
She ran toward him, kicking up the frothy surf. They held hands facing each other, as wave after wave rushed at them. Each time a wave receded, she felt him gripping her hand harder. ?You don?t like the undertow.?
?It scares me more than a breaking wave,? he admitted. ?It feels like the ocean wants to pull me back into the darkness.?
?I won?t let the ocean have you,? she said. ?Nothing can make me let go.?
?How did I ever get this lucky? I must have done something really good in my life.? ?You did many good things.? He laughed. ?No, I know it!? she insisted.
Laughing still, he lifted her left hand and kissed her on the knuckle.
?And I believe in something much more than luck,? she said.
?Your angels,? he guessed. ?You?ve nearly made a believer out of me… Nearly.?
They waded back to shore and followed their own footprints, returning to the path through the dimes. Halfway up the wooden steps, at the landing with the facing benches, Guy reached up and caught Ivy by the elbow. ?Can we stop? I want to take a look,? he said.
Together they gazed out at the sea and sky, a black and silver eternity.
?I feel like we?re floating in midair,? he said. ?Halfway between heaven and earth,? Ivy replied.
Guy turned to her. Holding her face with both hands, he tilted it up to him, then bent down to kiss her low, in the tender notch of her collarbone. His mouth moved up to her throat, softly pressing against it. ?I love you. Ivy.?
She rested against him. ?And I love you.?
?I thought I?d lost all that a person can,? Guy said. ?But I told myself that things couldn?t get worse — without an identity, there was nothing left to lose. I was wrong. I?m terrified now that I will lose you. If I lose you, Ivy—?
?Hush!? She stroked his cheek with her hand. ?If I lose you, it would have been better to drown.?
?You?re not going to lose me.? He shook his head. ?But if something should come between us—?
?Nothing can,? she said. ?I promise you, nothing in heaven or earth can come between us.? They turned to climb the rest of the steps and walked slowly around the inn, his arm around her waist, her arm around his. There was no need to speak, no desire to.
Ivy didn?t want to think about what had occurred in the past or what lay in the future. Tristan had come back to her. To live in the present forever was all that she wanted. All that she had ever wanted was here and now. ?Luke McKenna??
Startled by the deep voice, Ivy looked up and was surprised to see two police officers. Guy?s head jerked around and his arm let go of her.
?You?re under arrest,” the man said. ?You have the right to remain—?
Guy took off, racing for the trees. The officers spun around, flashlights on, but he slipped between the pines and melted into the darkness. The younger officer, a woman, set off in pursuit. The heavyset man stayed with Ivy, arms folded, studying her.
Her mind was reeling. Luke, she thought. His name is Luke. And he had known it — she had felt him react
