Chapter Eleven
She should probably be in shock. Gia figured she should be crying or shuddering or having some sort of breakdown as she stood in the snow outside of her apartment and watched the body of Darren Emmanuel get wheeled outside. Snow fell on her, and it was cold, but she didn’t so much as quiver.
Her nightmare was over. In those last terrible moments, she’d seen her own death staring back at her from Darren’s glowing eyes. She hadn’t wanted to shoot. But she had wanted to keep living. She’d wanted to have a life with Oliver. To have a home and a family and a chance to be happy once more.
Dying because of Darren’s twisted obsession hadn’t been on her agenda.
“Here, Gia. Take my coat.” She turned at the voice. She hadn’t even heard someone approach, but there was a blond man, a few inches shorter than her own height, standing beside her. He held a white coat out to her.
“Oh, no, I couldn’t.” She shook her head. “It’s cold. You need it. I’ll be going back inside soon.”
He smiled at her. “You didn’t have to let him in, you know.”
“Excuse me?”
“When he knocked at your door, you could have slammed that door shut on Oliver. He’d hurt you. You didn’t have to let him back into your heart.”
Goosebumps rose, but they had nothing to do with the cold. “Who are you?”
“Cael.”
Cael. “You…sent the cops to us?”
A nod. “Thought you could use someone who understood.” He hummed. Then he just…dropped onto the ground.
She frowned down at him. “What are you doing?”
“Making a snow angel. Bet you did that as a child, didn’t you? Got in the snow, spread your arms, and made beautiful wings.”
A man had died that night. He was being loaded into the back of some kind of coroner’s van or something. Making wings didn’t seem like the wisest choice at the moment, but she didn’t tell him that. The last thing she wanted to do was hurt his feelings.
“I always wanted wings. Waited and waited for them…” His tongue poked through his lips as he moved his arms rapidly. “Sometimes, you need a bit of patience.” He jumped to his feet. Snow fell off him. “What do you think?”
She looked at the misshapen angel, then back at his beaming face. “It’s beautiful.”
He touched her shoulder. “You have a kind heart.”
Not always, she didn’t.
“You didn’t have to answer the door,” he said again. “When Oliver came knocking, you could have ignored him. But you let him in. He’d hurt you, but you were willing to try to forgive him.” He searched her gaze. “Why?”
“Because I love him.”
“That’s a good answer.” But he’d lost his smile. “I’m really glad you opened the door. I can help push, but I can’t control. No one can control what others do.”
There was something about him that nagged at her. “We’ve met before.”
He turned away. “Have we?”
“I…” Gia struggled to remember. “When I first came to town, didn’t I see you at the gas station?
Weren’t you the one who told me that this was a nice town to call home?
” The memory was there, teasing her. A half-forgotten conversation at a gas pump.
She’d thought he was just being friendly. She’d been tired and distracted. But…
He whistled. “It is a nice town, isn’t it?”
It had been him at the gas station.
“You have a good night, Gia. Maybe you can get around to putting up that star.”
Her mouth dropped open. The snow seemed to thicken and a flurry of flakes hit her.
“Gia?” Oliver brushed against her. “Baby, you don’t have a coat.
” He shouldered out of his. Put it around her and wrapped her in his arms. “I know tonight was hard, terrifying, but we can go forward from here. You’re safe now.
The cops are working to help you. They’ve got lots of evidence on Darren.
Turns out, another woman had been stalked by him, too.
They’re putting more pieces together, but the important thing is that you’re protected.
He won’t hurt you or anyone else again, and—”
She was struggling to see through the snow. Craning her neck.
“Gia?”
She licked her lips. Tasted the snowflakes. “Is there a snow angel on the ground beside me?”
“Uh, yes.”
Right. “And your guardian angel is named Cael?”
“Yes.”
“The same Cael the cops mentioned?”
“I would imagine so. Probably only one Cael running around town getting into all the paranormal business.”
She fell back against him.
“Sweetheart?”
“I think your angel just visited me.”
“He’s actually not quite an angel, not yet. He didn’t have his wings.”
She looked down at the snow. At that beautiful angel. “Something tells me he’s going to get them.”
***
They went to the rundown bar. It was long after midnight. Christmas had come. The town was quiet, everyone sleeping, and the door of the bar? Unlocked.
It was empty inside. Oliver stared in wonder because it looked as if the place had been abandoned for years.
No furniture. Just dust. No alcohol lining the shelves behind the bar.
Instead, they were empty. The place was cold and dark, and Gia was using the light from her phone to shine it around the interior.
Oliver could see perfectly in the dark, but he knew she needed that bit of illumination.
“He was here,” Oliver assured her. “He was trying whiskey. Chugging it down and coughing up a lung when he swallowed too much.” He walked to the bar. Put his hands on the old, scarred surface. “He wanted me to make a wish.”
Gia’s light danced over the empty shelves once more. “I believe you.”
She always had. She’d believed in him.
He turned back to her.
“But he’s not here now.” She looked up, tilting her head back as she gazed at the ceiling. “Maybe he went home. It is Christmas, after all.”
Yes. It was.
“I…I don’t want to go back to my place tonight.” She lowered her voice. “If it’s okay with you, could I spend the night—”
“Yes.” She didn’t need to finish her sentence.
“Always, yes. And guess what? I even have a tree because you see, I fell in love with this amazing lady once. I met her at a tree lot, and she loved Christmas. So when the holiday season came around, I had to put up the tree because…because she would have wanted me to do that. Because having the tree reminded me of her.” He brushed a kiss over her lips.
“Because maybe some miracle would happen, and I’d see her, and if she came to my home, I wanted it to be ready for her.
” Even if the rest of the house was cold and stark, he’d needed the tree for her.
Her hand rose to caress his cheek. “You’re all I want for Christmas.”
“And you’re my wish.” It was the truth. He cleared his throat. “You hear that, Cael? You gave me my Christmas wish. A second chance at life with Gia. You did that. So thank you.”
The words seemed to echo around him.
But there was no response. No Cael.
He was probably long gone.
Oliver’s fingers wrapped with Gia’s, and they headed for the door. She pulled it open, and a happy, light peal sounded as the bell above the door rang.
It hadn’t jingled when they’d entered the bar.
But it was clear and beautiful right then.
A wide smile split his face. “Gia, do you know what is supposed to happen when a bell rings?”
She laughed. “I’m pretty sure something magical happens to an angel or, rather, to an angel intern.”
“Yeah, it does.” He had to kiss her once more. “And something magical happens to a werewolf, too.”
“Oh, really? What?”
“A werewolf gets his wish.” His wish was right by his side. He would cherish her, protect her, and love her…forever.
Merry Christmas, Cael, and thank you.
The End