Sea Haven 02 - Spirit Bound

pinpoints of white creating the effect of being in the middle of a beautiful galaxy.
    “Have you thought this through? Is spending time with him outside of the gallery a good idea?”
    “No, of course not. I don’t care though, Blythe.” She turned back to look at her chosen sister, willing her to understand. “I want to feel this. I want to be swept off my feet. I want to ache for him and cry for him and feel all twisted up inside. I need this.”
    Blythe studied her for a long time, and then slowly nodded. “I think you’re right, Judith. It’s been a long time coming and you deserve to be genuinely happy. I just want you to be careful with your heart. Don’t just give it away without thought. You’re an all-or-nothing person. Let’s at least do a little investigation.”
    “I did. As soon as Inez gave me his name, I looked him up on the Internet and he truly seems to be a decent guy. He’s got a good reputation in the business world. A few charity events had his picture. There were a couple of articles written about him. No hidden wife. No criminal history, no ugly divorces. He’s just a nice man who works far too much.”
    “And wants to come to Sea Haven and buy a failing art gallery.”
    Judith shrugged. “We came here to start a different way of life.”
    “We have pasts, Judith,” Blythe pointed out. “We aren’t the best examples. I’m just playing the devil’s advocate because you’re really jumping off the cliff and you aren’t even looking for a safety net.”
    “Maybe I don’t want one. Just this once I want to let myself feel something.”
    “You know you’re a spirit element, Judith. Nothing can change that,” Blythe stated the problem. “Is he reacting to you? Or you to him? Is what you’re feeling genuine?”
    “I’m away from him and I’m still feeling it,” Judith said with a small shrug. “It feels genuine. I’m so happy and I actually feel beautiful and so alive. ”
    “And you don’t mind if I call Jonas and ask him to do a little checking up on Thomas Vincent?” Blythe asked.
    Judith’s gaze jumped to hers. “You’re testing me, to see if I’m certain of him. I am, Blythe. I’ve steered clear of the bad-boy gene pool and I’m absolutely certain he’s the genuine deal. His aura is difficult for me to read, but that isn’t entirely unusual. Gifted people often have mixed auras.”
    “Gifted?” Blythe prompted, one eyebrow shooting up.
    Judith found herself blushing for no reason. She’d felt his spirit rising to meet hers. To be physically and intellectually attracted to someone was difficult enough, but to have her spirit reaching to embrace his, rushing to absorb and be absorbed—frankly it had never happened to her before, and she felt like a giddy teen with a crush on a rock star.
    She nodded. “He’s definitely gifted in some way.”
    Blythe shook her head. “That doesn’t worry you even a little bit?”
    “I refuse to be worried.” She threw herself onto the bed beside Blythe and caught her hands. “Be happy with me. Let me have this. More than likely tomorrow I’ll realize it was all me and he really was feeling my emotions amplified a million times over.”
    “And if that isn’t the case?”
    “I’ll cross that bridge when I come to it.”
    “I’m calling Jonas.”
    Judith shrugged. “I’m fine with that. He isn’t going to find anything.”
    “And you’ll have to tell Levi and Rikki,” Blythe cautioned.
    “Levi can make himself scarce,” Judith said. “It’s only for a couple of hours. I won’t take Thomas anywhere near their house or Lexi’s.”
    Blythe raised her eyebrow. “You don’t really understand Levi, do you, Judith? He isn’t the kind of man to make himself scarce. He’s going to worry about Rikki and you as well. He’ll be around and he’ll be watching, probably with a rifle on your Thomas the entire time.”
    Judith sighed. “Life certainly can get complicated fast. I just want to spend a little time with him, maybe feel like this a time or two more, even if it isn’t really reciprocated.” Her dark eyes met Blythe’s. “Wouldn’t you want to feel this way again? You had it once.”
    There was a small silence. Blythe turned away from her, pacing across the floor on long legs, her shoulders and back stiff. Shame washed over Judith. She followed her oldest sister across the room and laid a comforting hand on her shoulder.
    “I’m sorry, Blythe. I didn’t mean that the way it came out. I