“I thought it would give the room a little character, you know, make it look more like yours and less like Dinah’s,” I murmured because she still hadn’t said anything and I was starting to worry.
“Charlie,” she said, turning that wonderstruck expression on me. “No one’s ever made nothing for me before, let alone two things. You must’ve worked on this all day. It’s…” Esmer shook her head. “It’s incredible. Thank you.” She held out her hand.
I squeezed her fingers. She’d done so much for me; she was worthy of more than just my time. I couldn’t bring myself to tell her yet, but maybe I could keep showing her.
“Glad you like it,” I managed.
May 30th, 1966
The last three years have been hard and grueling on my mind. But I am grateful. I feel powerful. Something I have never felt before.
I have a power to diagnose ailments, to know the proper treatment and to heal a person before they die.
Dymeka is far better skilled with his hands and enjoys the physical part of healing. He is excellent in many different surgeries but is not as talented at remembering things as I am.
No surprise: we are a perfect pair. I think, he acts. Together, we have only felt Death twice at our hands. And, because of that, we feel truly powerful. Thwarting Death brings the most wonderful sense of justice.
But more importantly, I feel the most overwhelming sense of joy to see people whole, lovers whole, families whole by the work of our minds and hands. Dymeka feels confident enough to travel back to Mexico and hopefully redeem ourselves to the people we failed in the past.
There is still a small part of me that wishes to communicate with Death, but for now I am complete. I am fulfilled.
Chapter 29
Esmeralda
There was something deliciously sweet about the way Charles Campbell kissed me. Like I was a new video game he’d recently discovered and was obsessed with unpacking all its secrets, earning every trophy. But he wasn’t interested in rushing through it. Nope. He was going to take his time.
Even after I finally got him horizontal, his hands didn’t stray anywhere too inappropriate. I mean, they did slip under my shirt but they just grazed my back, drawing little streaks of fire all over my skin. His wandering fingers moved slowly, deliberately, as if he wanted to memorize the location of every mole and every crease. He was hyper aware of my bad knee. With every shift of our bodies, he broke our kiss to be sure I was still okay.
I was the one who pulled him on top but he still interrupted our make out sesh to be sure he wasn’t crushing my knee. For a person who claimed not to care about other people, he seemed to care a hell of a lot about me. It made me so stinkin’ happy.
“I’m fine,” I said with a laugh. “Trust me, you’ll know when you’ve hurt me.”
“Sorry, but it’s kind of hard not to freak out every time I touch the brace,” he said in his usual grumpy voice, but the concern in his eyes gave him away.
I’d taken off his hat a while ago. His hair was messy, his face flushed. The shirt he wore hung loosely over his torso; from this angle, I could see clear down his sternum and the light dusting of hair he had there. His jeans were a little rough when they rubbed against my legs but I didn’t mind. How could I? For the first time in my life, I was high without the slightest bit of help from any substances. Charlie was nothing like Marty.
The smile slipped from my face. Because as true and amazing as that thought was, it brought a tangled mass of dark feelings and ugly memories with it.
Charlie sat up, putting more distance between us. “You okay?”
“Yeah. I, uh, was just thinking I should probably call my mom.” I reached across the bed to get my phone, which had just enough of a charge to make a call. “She might panic if she doesn’t hear back from me soon.” Smiling impishly, I hit the speed dial and settled back into the mattress. “Wouldn’t want her calling Aunt Dinah and sending her up here to check on me again.”
“Good idea.” He started climbing off of me but I grabbed a handful of his shirt to stop him. What? he mouthed because by then I’d put the phone to my ear and I guess he didn’t want my mom accidentally overhearing him.
I tugged gently, communicating that I wanted him to come closer. Charlie eased down over me and leaned his elbows against the mattress. Those eyebrows stayed up until I nodded reassuringly. I wanted him to stay exactly where he was. He relaxed against me, brushing a thumb against my cheek.
“Esmer?”
The little kid inside me perked up at the sound of my mom’s voice. I still remembered the woman who’d laughed and played with me in the years before my dad died. I guess a part of me still hoped to see her whenever she said my name. But all I had to do was listen a little harder to know my mom couldn’t be that same woman. The theme song from Law & Order was playing in the background. That damn show never played in our house before Hunter came along. He was a lawyer. He liked to compare the cases on the show to his cases and explain why his life should be televised.
“Hey, Mom. Sorry I missed your call. My phone died.”
“I know. Dinah told
