Fairytale Come Alive (Ghosts and Reincarnation #4)(50)
Author: Kristen Ashley

Then she surprised herself by replying coolly, completely in control and without a shred of fear (something Carver Austin taught her well, just not how to do it with him), “Well, when you’re dead, and they’ve named that wing after you, I’ll be sure not to visit. Until that time, you be sure not to contact or come near me again.”

Then she’d turned on her hideously expensive, high-heeled pump which, regardless of her losing her father’s legacy, she still could afford since her mother was loaded too and she willed every penny to Isabella.

She also remembered making the harebrained, insane decision that she might never be going back to that village and she might never see Prentice or Jason or Sally again but that didn’t mean she couldn’t send Sally a box of American candy.

So she did.

She bought every kind of candy and chocolate you could get in America that you couldn’t get in Scotland (and some that you could, just so Sally could make a taste-testing comparison) and she Fed Ex’ed it to Sally.

Then she worried that giving Sally a box of candy would make Jason feel left out, so she Fed Ex’ed him a book on how to teach yourself to play guitar.

Then she walked by a store where in the window she saw a little girl’s magic wand that had all sorts of glittery ribbons trailing from it and a big, puffy, lilac satin star at the tip. She walked in and found the store had all sorts of magic-oriented little girl stuff that Sally would love. So she filled another box and Fed Ex’ed it.

Then, to even things out, she bought Jason a Bears jersey and a Cubs baseball hat and Fed Ex’ed that.

Further, she remembered spending a lot of time remembering every minute she spent with Sally and Jason.

And every minute she spent falling right back in love with Prentice (not that she ever fell out of love with him).

And she remembered a lot about that.

She remembered Prentice winking at his son.

She remembered the warm looks he gave his daughter.

She remembered him offering her the pancake on his very own plate.

She remembered when he told her she was not easy to forget.

She remembered how he guided her to bed, took off her shoes and held her drunken body, giving her a tight squeeze when they shared a moment of happiness for Annie and Dougal.

She remembered him laughing at her but taking care of her when she was hung over.

She remembered his hands on her, his mouth on her and the incredibly beautiful feel of him inside her.

She remembered how sweet it was when he called her “baby”.

She remembered him telling her, “I just want you.”

She remembered that he remembered the words he said to her, twenty years ago, the same words that were seared into her brain.

She remembered how much she loved it when he called her “Elle” because the Elle he knew was who she had always wanted to be.

She remembered swaying in his arms to a sad song and letting herself believe, if only for three minutes, that she might get her fairytale too.

And, lastly, she remembered the look on his face in her rearview mirror when she drove away.

But other than that, she was in a fog, mostly because she was trying not to remember.

* * * * *

It was the dead of night and Isabella was dozing, still unable to sleep, when she heard the phone ring.

She reached for it, put it to her ear and said, “Hello.”

“Bella?”

Isabella came up to an elbow and her heart thumped painfully in her chest when she heard Annie’s tone.

“Annie? What is it? Are you back from Greece? Is everything okay?” Isabella’s questions came out in a rush and her mind was racing.

God, she hoped Dougal was all right, they’d only just come back from their honeymoon.

And Fergus, he beat cancer, but Isabella heard that comes back all the time.

And Clarissa, she could be crazy, just like her daughter, anything could happen when you were always doing crazy things!

And Prentice… but Isabella didn’t go there.

Those questions were greeted with silence.

Isabella waited.

“Annie?” she prompted.

“Yes, Dougal and I are back from Greece.”

Annie stopped talking.

Isabella waited.

Then she pressed, “And?”

Another pause then, “It’s Sally,” Annie answered softly and Isabella’s thumping heart stopped dead. “She’s been knocked over by a car.”

Isabella lay still in her bed, her eyes unfocused, her mind filled with images of Sally.

Isabella hadn’t thought to worry about Sally. In her mind, Sally was invincible, protected by her youth and her shield of impenetrable cheerfulness.

Nothing could happen to Sally.

Especially not something so horrific as being hit by a car.

“Bella? Are you there?”

Isabella’s voice was a croak when she asked, “Is she okay?”

“Broken bones and –” Annie stopped.

“And what?” Isabella pushed.

“They’ve induced a coma because of the head injuries.”

Isabella threw the covers off the bed and jumped out.

“Bella, I know something went wrong with Prentice,” Annie was talking as Isabella ran from her room, down the hall to where she stowed her luggage. “He’s not talking to Dougal and Dad told me to leave you alone, you needed time and then you’d call me. I know you probably don’t want to come all the way back here but –”

Isabella cut her off. “I’ll be on the next flight.”

A moment of silence then, “What?”

“I’ll be on the next flight,” Isabella repeated as she lugged out one of her bags and carried it down the hall.

“You’re… coming?” Annie sounded astounded.

“I’ll call you back when I have details.”

“You’ll… call?” Annie still sounded astounded.

Isabella didn’t have time for Annie’s astonishment.

“Annie,” Isabella said evenly, using everything she had to calm her breathing, her heart and her mind and not scream with fear, anger and impatience, “I need to get off the phone and call the airlines. I’ll ring you when I know when I’m arriving.”

Another moment of silence then, “Okay.”

Isabella nodded and was about to take the phone from her ear and hit the off button when Annie spoke again.

“Bella, honey, it’s going to be all right.”

Isabella was no nurse (no matter what Mikey told the children) but she knew inducing comas because of head injuries made the chances of everything being “all right” pretty dismal.