Chapter 127: The Tarnished Ring

When Shayne opened her eyes, it was already morning. The sun was peeking out from behind the curtains as she realized she was in her own bed. She stretched and felt Jeffrey sleeping behind her. He was shirtless and sexy as always. He was wrapped around her tightly as he spooned behind her. His arm was around his waist and his hand was splayed out across her stomach over Baby Bean.

Shayne rolled over and slid from the bed. She checked the time and realized it was about ten minutes before Jeffrey’s alarm would go off. As she passed the dresser on her way to brush her teeth, the locket gleamed up at her. She picked it up and as it contacted her skin, it began to glow purple.

Shayne slipped into the bathroom and studied the locket closely. It looked exactly as it always had, with a large pear-shaped purple stone in the center. At the top there was a round orange stone that reminded her of the sun above the purple stone. At the bottom of the locket were two round raspberry round stones set on each side of a pink oval gem. The locket was set in a silver filigree with an oversized bail. She opened it and ran her fingers over the photo of her original wedding. Tears filled her eyes she noticed a second photo had been added across from it while she had been unconscious.

She ran her hands over the tiny picture of the second ceremony. Jeremy looked so happy with his arms wrapped around her. As she touched it, she could feel the magic coursing through it. She knew it was a gift from her grandmother, and it warmed her heart to know that she was still looking after her, even if it was from a distance.

Shayne clasped the locket to her chest and felt the power of it flowing through her. She could feel that it had been completely repaired. She knew that if she placed it on Jeffrey now, it would certainly whisk him away. Sadly, it broke her heart because she had no idea where he would end up.

Shayne heard Jeffrey’s alarm from the bedside table and returned to the bed. He groaned and began to wake up. As soon as his eyes opened, he gathered her into his arms carefully. “Are you okay?” he asked her. She could feel his concern.

“I’m okay. I over did it with the magic,” she explained. She felt better that she could at least be honest with him about that part.

“I’m feeling a lot more than that. I can feel how upset you are.” He said with a raised eyebrow. Shayne slammed her emotion wall back into place so he wouldn’t be able to see how upset she was.

“I dreamed about my grandma last night.” She admitted. ‘I’ll tell you about it tonight. We can all have dinner together.” She promised him. “I know you have to get ready for work.”

“Okay,” he said. “But if you want to talk before that, I’m here.” He said as he gave her a kiss on the forehead before crawling out of bed.

Brian and Kevin were waiting for Shayne when she went downstairs. They were already at the dining room table, dressed for work, as if they were awaiting her marching orders. As soon as they saw her, they both opened their mouths to speak, but she held up her hands to stop them.

“I’m okay.” She assured them. She opened her hand and let the locket drop down so she was holding it by the chain and the pendant was swinging freely. “It just took a lot out of me to repair the locket.”

“So, it’s time” Kevin said looking away. His expression was sad and worried.

“Not yet,” Shayne said. She took a deep breath and refused to let herself cry. “I’ll do it tonight. I want you to have a chance to say good-bye properly. Not to mention that I want to tell him the truth. I owe him that.”

“Tonight?” Brian said. “Of course it would be tonight.” He looked frustrated and blew out hard.

“What’s tonight?” Kevin asked. He winked at him.

Brian shrugged. “I had a date.”

Shayne’s eyes lit up. “With the lifeguard?” She clapped her hands happily.

Brian nodded and shrugged again. “I guess I’ll call and cancel.”

Shayne reached out and her hand brushed against his arm. Her vision instantly narrowed, and the vignette of a premonition began. She held onto the table and his arm as the world fell away.

A very pregnant Shayne opened an envelope and reached for what was inside. She pulled out the enclosed photo and examined it closely. The photo was of Brian’s back sitting on a beach, shirtless in the sand next to another man also in swimming trunks. They were staring out at the waves. Shayne flipped the photo over. On the back he had written. “You were right, see you soon.”

Shayne’s head spun as she tried to wrap her head what she had seen. Shayne released the death grip she had on Brian’s arm. “Don’t cancel that date.” She insisted.

Brian looked over at Shayne, “What did you see?”

Shayne shook her head, “I can’t tell you, but you need to go while you have the courage to do so, and you need to have your date pick you up here. It’s important.”

“Are you sure about this?” Brian asked with a raised eyebrow and an unsure look on his face.

“I look forward to that I told you so,” Shayne told him with a smirk. She winked at him as she pulled away and headed to the kitchen. “I’ll make dinner tonight at 6. Brian you can always just snack. I would like us all to be together, just one last time.”

Shayne laid her head on the table while she tried to keep from crying. Brian and Kevin both rubbed their hands across her back.

“It’s going to be okay, I promise.” Kevin whispered.