residence in her. As if she'd been here before with J.T. But how could that be?
Dipping her hands into the creek, the water sparkled from the sun as it rippled away from her and over the smooth rocks. Glancing downstream, she saw places where the creek was shallow, where a person could easily walk across, and other areas too deep to detect anything but a bottomless, black pit. A chill swept through her, despite the pleasant warmth of the spring day, and she straightened, backing away from the swirling water. In her mind's eyes she saw the water churning and a little girl struggling to keep her head above the surface and slowly losing the battle.
Heart pounding, Caitlan turned away from the creek and banished the oppressive image. Where had that vision come from? she wondered, still a little shaken, as if she'd been the little girl on the verge of drowning.
Dismissing her unease, she started back toward J.T., smiling at his relaxed pose. He lay on his back, hands stacked beneath his head, eyes closed. His chest rose and fell in slow, even breaths. She stole a few moments to admire his lean form, and the way denim and flannel fit his muscular build to perfection.
Not wanting to disturb him, she strolled to the base of the tree, compelled by forces she didn't understand. A familiarity ribboned around her, like invisible strings pulling her closer to a precipice. A deeply etched carving in the trunk of the tree caught Caitlan's attention: a heart with an inscription of some sort, she noticed. She smiled at the sweet sentiment, until she stood close enough to recognize the names engraved in the center of the heart.
Tentatively touching her finger to the smooth engraving, Caitlan traced the letters, feeling as though this was somehow a part of her. Deeply and widely sculpted, the declaration would remain for decades in the tree. Warmth rushed through her veins, and images flashed in her mind.
'Amanda,' Caitlan whispered, the name thick in her throat. Amanda, the girl in her visions with J.T. Caitlan frowned. Why did she share such a strong and powerful link to these two people, that she could tap into their past and see it so clearly? Heaven help her, what was the significance of these visions?
She glanced over her shoulder at J.T. Eyes open, he regarded her pensively, as if he too was remembering the day he'd shown Amanda the carved heart.
'Is she the one who died?' Caitlan knew before he answered that Amanda was the woman he'd loved and lost: his eternal soulmate.
'Yes.' A sad smile brushed his mouth. 'This was our special place. I think we christened it our meadow the day she fell into the creek.'
'What happened?'
He hesitated, as if debating whether or not to share the memories with her. After a moment he propped himself up on his side, a reminiscent smile curving his mouth. 'Amanda was seven, and she and my sister had come here to play with their dolls. I just happened to ride by on my mare, with the intention of antagonizing them, as all good brothers do to their little sisters and their friends. I saw Amanda slip and fall into one of the deepest parts of the creek. She couldn't swim, so I dove in and saved her from drowning.'
That explained her earlier vision of the little girl struggling in the creek, Caitlan thought, but it didn't unravel the mystery of why she had experienced those momentary flashes of fear, as if she was the one drowning.
She went back to the blanket and sat cross-legged a few feet away from J.T. 'I take it you became her hero?' she prompted, wanting to know more about this illusive child-woman who'd captured his heart.
'Yeah. After that day she was a complete nuisance, always following me around like a devoted puppy. We played together, but I remember wondering if Amanda would always be my shadow.' Shaking his head, he chuckled softly. His eyes sparkled with a mischievous light. 'Then I grew up and discovered why boys like girls so much. I started looking at Amanda differently, started noticing she had nice breasts and long legs. And whenever I got too close to her or she'd accidentally brush up against me, I'd feel warm and anxious…and aroused. Typical male hormones running rampant,' he said with a grin. Then his humor fled, his expression touched with melancholy. 'It only took a kiss, a very reluctant kiss from her,' he admitted, 'to know we were made for each other.'
'Childhood sweethearts.' Caitlan pulled up her knees and wrapped her arms around her legs.
'Yeah.' His finger drew lazy patterns on the red-and-black-checkered squares on the blanket. 'We grew up together. Our families had been neighbors all our lives, so it seemed only natural that the two of us get together. I don't think either of our parents expected it to last, but I knew Amanda was the only one for me. I knew we'd get married someday… ' His voice trailed off, his eyes filling with a tangible pain.
Caitlan watched him struggle with an internal anguish, his torment becoming her own. His loss and pain weighed heavily on her, making her heart ache. Unexplainable emotions crowded her throat, and she resisted the urge to touch him and chase away his misery.
He took a deep breath and forged on, as if wanting to purge himself of all his haunting memories. 'Remember in the line shack when I was dreaming?'
'Yes.'
'I was dreaming of Amanda, and when I started to wake up I thought you were her.' An abrupt, harsh laugh escaped him. 'I actually thought Amanda hadn't died, and I was so disappointed to find it was all just a dream. She was my life, Caitlan.'
He stared at her for long moments, then reached up and ran the back of his knuckles down Caitlan's cheek, a feather touch so gentle it made her breath catch. A distinct tingle shot through her as their gazes locked. Very softly he said, 'You remind me a lot of her.'
An illusion of intimacy shimmered around Caitlan, and something else, a nagging familiarity that tugged at the edges of her consciousness.
'Do I… look like her?' Caitlan asked, needing to find answers to all the confusing emotions and visions plaguing her on this mission.
A lazy smile eased up the corner of his mouth. 'She had eyes like yours, the same deep violet color. And she had a dimple too, like yours.' His finger brushed over the crease in her cheek before falling away. 'But that's where the physical similarities end. She had blond hair.'
Frustration coiled through her. Why couldn't she remember any of her own memories of her past? Determined to learn more about this woman who seemed such an integral part of her visions, Caitlan asked, 'What happened to Amanda?' When J.T. glanced at her questioningly she clarified, 'I mean, how and when did she die?'
His mouth tightened with grief, and his eyes flashed with old, harbored anger. Immediately Caitlan knew she'd barged past the boundaries J.T. had constructed around his heart and those painful memories. 'I'm sorry, J.T. I didn't mean-'
'No, it's okay.' Heaving a heavy sigh, he pulled a blade of grass from the edge of the blanket and began shredding it. 'I've never really talked about that night, but… I want to now.'
Caitlan propped her chin on her knees and listened attentively as J.T. recited the events of his last night with Amanda: how he'd taken her to the line shack and proposed to her for her eighteenth birthday. He told Caitlan of their hopes and dreams for the future, painting a beautiful picture of two people so deeply in love that their devotion and passion for one another wove through Caitlan like intrinsic ribbons to her soul.
Then the darker side of the story came, the ending to the beginning of J.T. and Amanda's life together.
'We were on our way to tell her parents about our engagement when a drunk driver hit us head on.' J.T.'s voice vibrated with gut-wrenching loss. 'Amanda was killed instantly.'
At that moment Caitlan was thrust into a maelstrom of visions and emotions that echoed through her body and brought on a splitting headache that made her gasp.
