Can she just pick up a relationship exactly where death stole it away from her so long ago?
Richard and Nicole. Their everlasting love survived many lifetimes but not without sacrifice and heartache. Their relationship is never easy. After their meeting at the serene place, Blue Lake, it seems in every new lifetime fate keeps them apart until they’re ready to find each other.
When small-town Ohio art teacher Misha Lockhart answered a knock at the door, she instantly recognized her beloved husband from a previous lifetime. Richard MacKenzie traveled from London on a whim to find her. Richard, now known as Mick Kiley, a mild-mannered historian, wants to whisk her away to London. The memories of their everlasting love ignited, and her passion flared, but could she simply leave everything behind? Job. Friends. Husband?
Can she dismiss everything in her present lifetime, no matter how boring and mediocre, for the promise of a dazzling love from the past?
What Others Are Saying:
“Another charming story by Carol Ann Kauffman. This is book is part of the successful series Time After Time. If you are familiar with the lovers ‘saga you know the endearing details, I have to say that some of the characters are more enjoyable than ever. And the m&m made me smile. This is a clean, romantic, and suspenseful tale. Don’t miss it.“
Buy Link: https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0876HD6QF
Read an excerpt here:
Chapter One
Love Comes Knocking at the Door
“WHAT? You’ re married? No! You…you didn’t wait for me? Why?” he asked. “You knew I was coming for you. You heard me
calling to you, telling you to come to me, to find me. Didn’t you?”
“No, I…I,” she stammered.
“America is a huge place. I got to New York and didn’t know where to go next. I didn’t know where to find you. Compared to all this, London is… compact.
“I love you. I’ve always loved you. You know it. You feel it. And you love me, you love me like no other. And yet you married him?” He pointed to the man in the wedding picture on the wall.
“Well, guess what? I’m not going anywhere,” he continued, folding his arms and sticking his chin out. “I’m staying right here with you. I’ll not let you out of my sight. You’ll have to tell him to get lost.
“You don’t want me to talk to him, do you? Hmm? Because I will. I’ll tell him. I’ll tell him the whole unbridled truth, the whole, long, convoluted story of how we simply cannot be kept apart. How many countless others have tried? But we always find our way back to each other, back together. Always.
“I’ll tell him we belong together. We’ve been together before, time after time. We are lovers in a cosmic sense. We have this undeniable connection. And nothing, no one, can ever come between us,” he said.
“Calm down, sweetie,” she said. “I’ll make you a reservation at the Hilton for the night. I’ll come to you in the morning as soon as Steve leaves, or more likely, zones out on the couch. We’ll discuss this like civilized human beings.”
“No.. I’ve traveled thousands of miles across the ocean to find you and I’m staying right here. When it comes to you, I’m not a civilized human being. I’m nothing but a love-crazed maniac. Make him a reservation at the Hilton.”
He composed himself a bit and softened. “Or better yet,” he smiled at her, “come to the Hilton with me. I will not be without you tonight. I need to be with you. Here, there, anywhere. I don’t care.”
“Please be reasonable, you gorgeous, love-crazed maniac, you,” she giggled. “Give me some time to think this through and figure out what the hell we’re going to do next.”
“Oh, really? Just see how well you’ve done on your own without me so far at being reasonable and thinking things through.. No.”
“Richard, he’ll never understand. He’ll think I’ve lost my mind.”
“The only way I’m leaving here is with you. I don’t care where we go. And I don’t care if he thinks we’re crazy. Could care less.”
“Okay, okay. We’ll go to the Hilton. Together. I’ll pack a quick overnight bag.”
She went to the closet in the master bedroom. Richard followed. She retrieved her red leather bag from the top shelf and began throwing items of clothing and bottles into the bag: a robe, cologne, tee shirt, panties, bra, just enough to get through the night and tomorrow. Deodorant, moisturizer, make up bag, comb, toothbrush, dental floss, toothpaste. Mmmm. Massage lotion.
“Love, you won’t regret it. You know we belong together. You know it, don’t you?”
“Yes, I know.”
“Do you love this… other man, this Steve character? More than you love me?” He almost pouted.
“Oh, of course not,” she laughed.
“Then come here and give this man who’s crazy about you and crossed the ocean to find you a proper welcome.” He reached for her and pulled her to him. He held her tightly, on the verge of tears. “Oh, it feels so good to just hold you in my arms again.”
They were both lost in the moment, in a warm, beautiful, hypnotic moment, a true emotional embrace, remembering each other, and their wonderful connection. Remembering long-dormant sensations, so intense and familiar. Yes, an undeniable connection.
The door opened. Richard turned to face the door. There was a flash. A shot was fired.
Misha screamed.
“Steve, what the hell did you just do? You shot him!” She grabbed her cell phone and called for help.
“Yes, my name is Misha Lockhart. I need an ambulance at 329 Sunshine Lane in Bowmont. My husband’s just been shot.”
“He was attacking you, Meesh. I saw the whole thing. I saw him grabbing you.”
“No, you idiot, we were hugging. That was a hug.An Embrace. A true emotional embrace. It was so wonderful, it was like….” she sighed. She turned her attention back to the man on the floor.
“Richard, sweetheart, the ambulance is on its way. You’re going to be okay, honey. I’m right here.”
She grabbed the first thing she could reach, something white on the bed, and began applying pressure to his shoulder wound to lessen the amount of blood he was losing. She cradled him in her other arm, rocking him and kissing his forehead.
“Who is this guy, Meesh? And what’s he doing in our bedroom?”
“This is my husband, Richard MacKenzie. And since when do you carry a gun?”
“The gun? Oh, I don’t carry it around. It’s too heavy. I keep it in the entryway closet.”
“Since when?”
“Since…yesterday. In case of house invasion, which this is. He invaded my house. He invaded my bedroom. And it sure looked like he was just about to invade my wife. And, Meesh, I’M your husband.”
“My OTHER husband! God, Steve, you couldn’t ask questions first and shoot later?”
“Nicole? Nicole,” called Richard.
“I’m right here. Don’t worry, darling, you’re going to be okay. The ambulance is on its way. Calm down. Just keep breathing, you incredible man, and we’ll get through this. Together."
“Together,” Richard repeated. He held her hand tightly. “Stay with me, Nicole.”
“Of course, I will, love. I’ll stay with you.”
“Forever. Promise it.”
“I promise. Forever.”
“Who in the hell is Nicole?” said Steve, scratching his head.
“Me. I’m Nicole.”
“What? No, you’re not. You’re Misha Margaret Lockhart. My wife.. My little round green m&m. Remember?”
The paramedics came in the door and got Richard ready for transport to the hospital.
“Hospital preference? Where’s his doctor on staff?”
“He’s here visiting me from London. He doesn’t have a doctor in this country. Take him to St. Ann’s and I’ll call my doctor, Dr. Westerbrook, to treat him.”
“Dr. Westerbrook? Our doctor, Meesh? You want our doctor to treat your new other husband?”
“Steve, back off.” She grabbed her purse and her red leather overnight bag, followed Richard to the ambulance,, and jumped in with him.
***
The ambulance took off for St. Ann’s, siren blaring.
Steve phoned Misha’s best friend.
“Coco, it’s Steve. I need your help. Can you meet me at St. Ann’s Hospital emergency room as soon as possible? Please, Coco? It’s important.” His voice was shaking.
“Oh, my God, what’s happened to Misha? I’ll be right there.”
Steve looked at the bloodstains on the white carpet. And what used to be his favorite white polo shirt that he had thrown on the bed. If it wasn’t his favorite shirt, he would have simply walked away and let someone else worry about the mess. He went into the kitchen and got the carpet cleaner from the bottom of the sink. He soaked a towel in carpet cleaner and laid it over the stain and stomped on it a while, pretending it was Richard, the otherhusband. He soaked his polo shirt in the sink with more carpet cleaner.
Then he got in the car and went to the hospital. When he got to the emergency room, Coco was already there.
“What happened, Steve?”
“Did you know Misha was married before? To some guy named Richard? From London?”
“Steve, calm down. Where is Misha?” Coco spoke slowly and cautiously.
“She’s in there,” he pointed to emergency triage, “with her other husband, Richard.” Steve was very pale and still shaking.
“Is Misha… hurt, Steve?”
Steve shook his head no.
“Okay, so Misha’s not hurt. That’s good. That’s real good. Now just relax, Steve. What’s the matter with the other, um, husband?”
“I shot him.”
“How bad did you shoot him, Steve?”
“Bad enough for him to bleed all over the beautiful white bedroom carpet. You know how much I like that carpet. I feel like a rock star when I roll around on that carpet and play my air guitar. And he ruined my favorite white polo shirt, too.”
“Your polo shirt? So he was hiding in your closet?
“No. I threw it on the bed.”
“OMG! He was on the bed? Horizontal? Alone?”
“No, no. He was standing. He was hugging Misha. And they were rocking and humming or moaning or some weird thing. Misha grabbed my shirt from the bed and held it on his shoulder when he went down and started squirting blood all over the place.
“Steve, that’s what happens when you shoot someone. And that might teach you to put your clothes away like a grown-up,” Coco whispered.
“What? Huh?”
Coco shook her head. None of this made any sense. She had known Misha since kindergarten. Misha had been engaged a few times, but always chickened out before any actual marriage took place. She married Steve last December, six months ago, just a few months after they met.
“Okay, Steve, you go get yourself a coffee, maybe a decaf because you’re already wired up, and sit down in here and read this nice germy little newspaper hanging around here in the ER. I’m going to go in there and find Misha.”
“Don’t tell her I’m here. She might call the cops on me. She seems to really like this new other husband. Calling him ‘sweetheart’ and ‘darling’ and hugging him and all that crap. She never calls me ‘sweetheart’. She calls me ‘bonehead’.”
“Okay, I won’t tell her. Go. Sit. Chill,” she pointed to the chairs.
***
Coco went to the desk and talked her way into to find Misha.
“Misha? It’s Coco. Where are you? Meesh?”
Misha poked her head out of one of the curtained-off rooms.
“Oh, Coco, I’m so glad to see you.” They hugged and rocked a while. “What a mess I’ve got going on here.”
“Okay, spill it. Stevie is out there in the waiting room ready to soil his underoos. He said he shot your…”
Misha pointed to the tall, slim, good-looking man with a gunshot wound to the upper right shoulder, lying sedated on the gurney.
“Holy Mother of God, where did he come from? Must be heaven above because he is just plain gorgeous. Is he real?”
“Yes, he’s real. He’s him. Richard. The one. My one true love.”
“And just where did you find this one true love of yours?”
“I answered a knock at the door.”
“You answered a knock at the door…and found this? How nice. How sweet. How perfectly wonderful. When I answer the door, it’s somebody wanting a donation or that guy who lost Jesus and is wondering if I found him. Is… is he going to be all right?”
“Yes.”
“Stevie shot him when he told Steve he was your husband?”
“Nope. Before.”
“Good God, girl, I can’t find me one and you’re floating around here with two husbands. Which one you want to keep? I’ll gladly take the other one off your hands. Hmm, this one is very nicely equipped, the deluxe model, I see,” she said peaking under the sheet.
“Coco, stop that,” she pulled the sheet down. “Richard is very modest.”
“So, when did you run off to London and marry Big Boy Richard here and forget to tell me, your best friend, about it?”
“Did you come here to play twenty questions or to help me?”
“Help you. Absolutely. Of course. You know it. You just tell me what you need Coco do to, Baby!”
“Okay, here’s the plan. Tell me what you think. One, we’ve got to get Steve out of here. Two, if you would go outside, call the Hilton, and make me a reservation under my maiden name. They’re releasing him soon and I have nowhere to take him. Tell them to hold the room until we get there. Use this credit card.” She handed it to Coco. “Okay so far?”
“Yeah,” nodded Coco. “Then what?”
“Third, go to the Liquor Store and buy me a bottle of Scotch. I need a drink so bad! Then, come back here and pick us up and take us to the Hilton. How does that sound? Okay?”
“Yeah, that’ll work.”
“You are fabulous. You’re the best friend a girl could have in the whole wide world. I truly appreciate you. You are Wonder Woman.”
“Yeah, yeah, well Wonder Woman just better be getting one of these leftover husbands, girlfriend. Okay, I’ll be back in fifteen minutes. I’ll wait for you outside. You stay in here just in case Lil’ Stevie’s still packin’ heat.”
“I love you, Coco.”
“Yeah, I know, I know you do. I’m damn lovable, that’s why.”
Coco left.
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