The McEllis Boys

Chapter Seventeen

Chapter Seventeen

"Mary?" Evelyn whispered as she walked across the cloudy expanse around her. "Mary, I need to talk to you."

"Well that would be why I brought your spirit here," Mary replied, as she stepped out of the clouds and came to stand beside Evelyn. Mary's dirty, knotted hair and stained clothes contrasted sharply with their snow white, pristine surroundings.

"I'm worried about my boys," Evelyn stated, wasting no time in getting to the point.

Mary sighed and crossed her thin arms over her concave chest, "You are supposed to simply have faith that I know what I am doing," she scolded.

Evelyn glared at the woman and pointed down in the general direction she suspected the world to be, "Jamison is back home now but you have him chasing after murderers that could very likely end with him killed! Andrew is drinking himself into stupors, Ian is throwing himself at everything in a skirt and doesn't show any signs of wanting to gain responsibility and Cavanaugh?" Evelyn sighed. "Cavanaugh is still refusing to let himself move on."

"Things will work fine, Evelyn. Jamison has to take his journey to heal the sins of his past. Your three sons still in the future will find or have already found the women they need that will teach them all they need to know about life. And the women they meet or have met need help just as badly as they do. All of this is written and shall happen in time."

"So what happens when my boys fall in love and then have to leave their women and go back to their own time?" Evelyn asked skeptically. Mary shook her head, "Time means nothing. Perhaps the women they meet were not meant to live in the time they are in."

"So you're saying they'll go back to 1875 with my sons?" Evelyn asked with a raise of her graying brow.

Mary shrugged, "Perhaps, yes. Perhaps, no. It is not my duty to explain my plans to you. I promised you that I would help your children and that is what I am doing. Now let your mind be at peace, Evelyn, and you will see everything you've hoped for your sons come true in time."

"I have never been good at giving up control," Evelyn stated flatly. Mary smiled, "You have no choice in this." she assured the other woman.

Evelyn didn't like this and yet Mary was right. All she could do was sit back and watch the future unfold in whatever way was destined, "When you see them again, make sure you tell my boys I love them." she stated with a sigh and Mary nodded and then faded back into the clouds.

***

Nicole had never felt so warm or safe in her life as she felt curled up against the warm, hard body holding her close. She snuggled deeper into the cocoon of warmth and heard a deep, rumbling moan as the arms shifted and pulled her closer.

Reality fought its way through the groggy, dream fog she was in and suddenly she realized she was lying on her couch in the arms of a man. What man?

She opened her eyes just a crack and found herself staring at a plain black cotton tee shirt, stretched smooth over an impressive expanse of chest. She felt her body heat and instantly the long neglected parts of her body came to life once again and began to burn with desire. Wasn't it only men that were supposed to get so hot in the mornings? The proof of that fact was pressed against her leg right now.

She bit her lip but didn't have to look up to know who this was. There was only one man that had ever made her body throb like this and that was Cavanaugh. But how had they ended up curled up together on the couch? And just how angry was he going to be when he woke up?