Chapter 35 Ripples in Time
Desi barreled into Ethan so hard he stumbled backward, nearly dropping the stack of pamphlets in his hands. She threw her arms around him, squeezing with all her might. “You’re here! You’re alive!”
Startled, Ethan blinked down at her, his sun-bleached hair falling across furrowed brows. “Alive and well, yes,” he said slowly. “But… you just saw me yesterday.” His puzzled gaze searched hers. “You sure you’re feeling all right?”
“Yes, of course.” She forced a laugh, releasing him. “I’m just… really happy you’re my friend. And that you work here.”
He gave her that half-grin she’d missed more than she dared admit, then reached up to press the back of his hand against her forehead. “Hmm. No fever. But maybe we should get you checked anyway.”
Laughing, Desi brushed him off and circled behind the counter where Silvia perched on her stool. The elderly woman looked up, startled, as Desi grabbed her shoulders and hugged her tight. “Silvia, I’m giving you a raise!”
“You are?” The elderly woman’s eyes widened behind her cat eyeglasses. “My dear, that’s so kind of you!” She looked on the verge of falling off her seat from delight.
The bell above the door jingled.
Camila swept in, all sharp heels and sharper expression, her hair tumbling over her shoulders in a dark wave. She dropped her bag on the counter with a thud. “We’ve got a problem.”
Desi turned, her good mood faltering. “What’s up, Camila? You look like someone died.”
Camila’s lips pressed together. “I think someone did. Briar.”
A chill rippled through Desi.
Ethan muttered, “No loss there,” under his breath.
Camila shot him a venomous glare. “Don’t be heartless.” Her voice cracked. “He’s… gone.”
“Gone?” Desi’s pulse quickened.
“It’s like he vanished into thin air,” Camila said, throwing her hands up. “His number’s disconnected. I went to his apartment, and some stranger lives there, swears he’s been there for months. Nobody’s heard of him.”
The world tilted. For a heartbeat, Desi couldn’t breathe. A hundred pieces fell into place inside her mind, each one reshaping the puzzle of time. Something had shifted. Something big.
Briar was gone.
But Ethan was here. Silvia was here. The shop was restored.
And somehow, it felt… right.
Yet how? She hadn’t used the Ring. She hadn’t gone back. She hadn’t—
Camila sniffed and rubbed at her eyes. “All he had to do was break up with me. He didn’t have to vanish off the face of the Earth.” She gave a humorless laugh that dissolved into a sob. “Guess that means the deal’s off. I’m sorry, Desi.”
Desi reached out, wanting to tell her that she’d decided to never give the Ring to Briar, but what did it matter now?
Camila froze, her gaze locked on the staircase behind them.
Daria was descending the steps, hair tousled, wearing one of Desi’s T-shirts, yawning nonchalantly as if she hadn’t just risen from a deathbed. “Morning, everyone!” she chirped.
Camila’s jaw dropped. Silvia blinked once, then smiled politely. “Good morning, dear.”
Ethan’s grin broke wide. “Praise God. You’re well!”
Daria crossed the shop, radiant. “Yes, I am. Thanks to Jesus, and my sister’s prayer.”
Ethan turned to Desi, eyebrows raised. “Prayer, huh?”
Desi slipped her hand into Daria’s and grinned. “Yup. Finally gave my life to Jesus. Took me a while, I know, but… drastic times call for drastic measures.”
They laughed, everyone except Camila.
“You got a transplant?” Camila asked, confusion creasing her brow. “Why didn’t you tell me, Desi?”
“No transplant,” Daria said simply. “Just Jesus.”
Camila’s confusion morphed into disbelief. “Whatever.” She stepped forward and hugged Daria. “Good to see you well… however it happened.”
“Thank you,” Daria said warmly. “And thank you both for looking out for my sister while I was sick.”
Ethan winked. “Somebody had to.”
Desi laughed. Oh, how she’d missed him. “This calls for a celebration,” she said, brushing her hands together. “Let’s close up shop and grab some breakfast.”
Camila shook her head. “Not in the mood.”
“Come on,” Ethan teased. “He wasn’t that great a catch.”
“Seriously?” Camila snapped, slinging her bag over her shoulder. “Handsome, rich…and did you hear what he was paying us for the Ring? We’ll never get another offer like that again.”
Desi’s smile softened. “You worry too much, Camila. God will work things out.”
“God,” Camila muttered, rolling her eyes, and stormed out.
An hour later, at a corner booth in a seaside diner, laughter rose over the clatter of dishes and the hiss of brewing coffee. Ethan was telling some ridiculous story about a charter gone wrong, Silvia was scolding him affectionately, and Daria glowed, alive and happy.
And yet Desi paid them little notice.
The Ring pulsed like a living heartbeat in her pocket, warm, insistent, whispering to her across the noise and sunlight. Every thrum of its power seemed to echo Caleb’s name, along with his last words to her….
Come back to me, Desiree Starr.
Her gaze drifted out the window toward the ocean glinting beyond the marina, its blue waves beckoning her…calling her to sail back to where the Sentinel sank, cast the Ring into the sea, and fulfill Caleb’s promise to his father.
She owed him that much.
But… what if there was another possibility?
Her fingers closed around the Ring.
What if the story wasn’t over?
What if there was still a way back—to him?
?
Desi steadied herself on the rocking edge of the Sea Starr as foamy spray showered over her.
The morning shimmered with deceptive peace, yet her soul pitched like the sea, adrift between two worlds, uncertain which one would claim her.
Fear warred with longing, love with duty.
The bottle containing the Ring pressed against her side through the thin neoprene of her wetsuit, growing warmer as they neared the portal’s unseen veil.
Ethan killed the engine and raised the dive flag while Camila wrestled Desi’s tanks from the locker.
To starboard, Daria tilted her face toward the sun, eyes closed, lips curved in a faint smile as the wind teased her hair.
For the first time in years, color flushed her cheeks, proof that strength had returned to her frail body.
How precious each breath must feel to her now.
How fiercely she must savor the gift of health.
The sea stretched around them in endless splendor—blue upon blue, the faintest line of land to the west. Sunlight spilled across the water like molten gold, and the air smelled of salt and promise.
Desi bent to tug on her dive booties, her thoughts tossing like the waves.
Was she mad to do this again? She could hurl the Ring into the deep and end its curse forever.
Yet something—someone—called to her from beyond time.
She had to know if the Sentinel still slept beneath these waters.
She had to know if Caleb’s fate had changed.
Or if, despite all her striving, God had sealed his course beyond her reach.
“You must return to him, you know.” Daria’s gentle voice cut through her turmoil.
“I don’t even know if I can.” Rising, Desi fastened her weight belt, feeling its tug around her hips.
Daria opened her eyes, their green depths luminous. “From what you told me, this is God’s plan for you. Caleb is God’s plan.”
Desi sank back down, shifting her gaze between her sister’s eyes, wondering how she could ever leave her now. “Maybe so, but even if I can return to him, he has to destroy the Ring. And that would mean I will never see you again.” She shoved down the pain gripping her throat.
“Not true.” Daria took her hand, her smile serene. “We’ll have eternity together.”
Camila set the BCD and tanks beside her with a thud. “I still don’t get this, Desi. You already have the Ring. Why risk your life again? We should find a buyer, some collector who pays top dollar.”
Desi bit back a reply. How could she explain that the relic was never meant to be sold. That it throbbed with a dark power that could devour any soul who used it?
“Ethan,” she called, gesturing for him to come over. He vaulted over a cooler, landing before her with that easy grin that had steadied her through so many storms.
Desi looked from him to the horizon. “If I don’t come back, I’ve put Daria in charge of Ocean’s Echo. She’s already co-owner in the trust. It’s all legal.”
Camila laughed. “Nonsense. The sea’s flat as glass. You’ll be back before lunch.” She waved a hand as if brushing off a stray thought and went to rinse Desi’s mask.
But Ethan’s smile faded. For an instant, a shadow of knowing crossed his eyes, a quiet sorrow touched with faith. “Whatever God’s will is, Desi. We’ll see each other again, either later today or in heaven.”
She threw her arms around him, breathing in the mingled scents of salt and aftershave. Once she’d thought that life here on Earth was all there was. Now she knew better. This was merely the prologue to eternity.
Camila snorted. “You two need to stop talking like you’re in some church movie.”
Desi ignored her. Sunlight gleamed off the cross around Ethan’s neck, nearly blinding her.
All these years, she’d never seen him without it, but honestly, she’d never given it much attention.
Until now. The sway of the boat sent bright rays back and forth over the gleaming silver.
luring her with its familiarity. Without asking, she flipped it over.
His Kingdom will Never End was engraved on the back. Her heart seized and she stumbled. This was Caleb’s cross!
“Where did you get this?”
“From my father.” Ethan gave her a curious look. “And he got it from his and so forth and so on. I hear it goes back in our family hundreds of years.” He fingered it, grinning.