Page 83 of When You Saved Me

I sat in one of the chairs on the dock, knowing that he’d make his way to me eventually. We were bound to one another. Wherever one went, the other would follow. Closing my eyes, I let the sounds of the water below me soothe the pain of his absence. I hated when he wasn’t with me.

For a few moments, I concentrated on the rushing rapids until there was a distant voice that called to me.

“…loved doing puzzles.”

Deacon.

My heart stampeded in my chest. I’d know his voice anywhere.

Whipping my head around, I looked to see where he was but couldn’t make much of anything out through the fog.

“Deacon!” I called to him, my voice coming out like astrangled whisper. I yelled his name again, but it didn’t go far.

“Looking back now, he hid how smart...” There he was again. Talking to me. He was trying to tell me something.

Straining my ears, I moved off the dock and away from the loud river.

“Where are you?” My words echoed this time, moving through the trees like rustling wind.

“Jackson…oh, Sunshine, you would have loved him. He was so quick-witted and a complete smart-ass. He got us in trouble more times than I can count, but seeing him get under our sergeants’ skin was worth every fucking push-up…”

My mind whirled as I spun around, trying to figure out where he was. Because… Because I knew exactly what he was doing.

Emotion swelled in my chest.

He was letting me in.

He was telling me about the friends he lost and the life they’d shared together. He was… Bringing my fingers to my trembling lips, I laughed out a cry. Not one of pain, but of happiness.

He was letting me in!

“Where are you, baby?” I started moving around the backyard of the tiny cabin, peering through the thick brush of the trees to the left and right. Then I ran up the steps to the back porch and jostled the door handle.

It was locked.

I peeked through the windows but couldn’t see through them.

That’s when I heard his voice again—bright as day. “Come back to me, Sunshine. Come share your light with me.”

The mist around me started to clear and I could feel the warmth of a beautiful blue light surrounding me—it wasourlight.

The thread that had bonded Deacon and I together from the start. The calling of our souls, forging us as one.

Slowly turning around, I gasped when I saw him. Radiating the purest light I’d ever seen, Deacon smiled at me. His lips pulled wide—completely unabandoned. The fullest version of himself was a sight to behold. Heavenly. Happy. With no more room for the sorrow that had haunted him for so long.

He was…magnificent.

One step forward. Two. I walked toward him until his chest nearly brushed mine.

The most piercing green eyes I’d ever seen gazed at me like I was the most precious thing in the world. His fingers moved to brush a strand of hair from my face.

So warm.

So gentle.

His touch felt like…

“It’s time to come home.” His deep voice was a soft blanket over my fragile nerves.

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