her.
“Why the hell would I be mad at you, Kat? It can’t be my brother. I mean, why would you dream about him? He doesn’t even know you? Or he didn’t even know you. And...this whole thing is just crazy.”
Katherine cut her off, “I don’t know. But I promise you that the guy in this picture with you right here is the guy I’ve been dreaming about.”
Taylor breathed in deeply and slowly exhaled, “I believe you. But I’m a little weirded out right now. It’s a lot to take in and I just don’t understand.”
“Is there anything I can do?” Kat asked.
“I don’t think so,” Taylor looked away and stared at the wall.
“Do you hate me?”
“Why would I hate you? Stop it.” Taylor fell silent. “I’m just trying to make sense out of something that makes no sense at all.”
Katherine knew she couldn’t do anything but wait for the shock and disbelief to wear off. But what if it never did? What if Taylor was weirded out forever? She didn’t realize it yet, but amid all of her confusion, there was a small spark of happiness.
She finally knew his name.
They sat in silence for a long time. “I just don’t understand,” Taylor grabbed at her head. “My head hurts. My heart hurts. My brain hurts,” she rubbed her temples. “I think we should just call it a night. Maybe if you see my brother you can ask him just what the hell is going on?”
“I’m really sorry, Taylor. I feel like this is all my fault.” Katherine didn’t want to cause Taylor pain.
“You didn’t do anything, Kat. Let’s just go to sleep.”
****
Katherine did her best to think of the beach and the bench as she drifted off to sleep. She saw Austen’s shadow in the distance. She stayed on the bench and watched as the shadow grew closer. Brody bounced up to her and wagged his tail. She planted kisses on the top of his nose. She heard Austen’s footsteps as he approached, but she was too nervous to look.
“I should have told you,” he sat down next to her.
“Why would you do that to me? To Taylor?” One look into those eyes and she knew she couldn’t stay mad at him.
“I’m really sorry. Let me try to explain.” He took her hands in his and looked deeply into her eyes.
“I’m listening.” It was pointless to try to fight his requests. Everything about him compelled her.
“Obviously, I watch over my family. I keep an eye out for them. I wasn’t ready to leave when I died, but I had no choice. I went to visit Taylor and I saw you there. I couldn’t believe it was you.”
“What do you mean?”
“I recognized you instantly. All of our lives flashed inside my mind in a split second. I felt a pull so strongly toward you that I almost couldn’t stop it.”
“Wait. Lives? What do you mean our lives?” She searched for answers as to why he called to her with such intensity.
“We’ve lived many other lifetimes together, Katherine. Think about it.” He urged her to explore a concept that her mind could barely wrap itself around.
“Other lifetimes? You mean, like reincarnation? Past lives and stuff?” She wanted to understand what he meant, so she listened to every word he spoke as if she’d never get the chance to hear it again.
“Exactly. If you really think about it, it makes perfect sense. Why our feelings are so intense. How we’re drawn to each other in ways we can’t explain. Why we know certain things about one other without them being said. Our souls are connected,” he tried to explain.
“I want you to understand all of this, but I know I’m probably only confusing you,” he added with a hint of desperation in his voice.
“I’ve never really thought about it before,” Katherine admitted. “Past lives I mean.”
“Before this life—the one we’re living right now, there was a different life. It was years ago and in another state, but we were together. And before that life, there was a previous one. You and I have spent many of our lifetimes together,
C. J. Cherryh
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