Lost and Found by Trish Marie Dawson Read Free Book Online

and I peered up nervously from my knees.
    "Connor?" I asked the empty night.
    "Stay with me…please stay…"
    The voice was closer and coming from the trees behind me. A twig snapped nearby and
     I scrambled to my feet, facing the darkness of the woods. The moon couldn't touch
     the forest floor, not with the tree canopy as full as it was but I peered into the
     trees anyway, hoping to see something - anything. Eventually I did.
    The leaves rustled at the base of a pine and as I watched, a dark mist formed into
     the shape of a body. I gaped at the shadow as it continued quickly to change until
     it had morphed into that of a man. I had barely registered what my eyes had seen when
     it flew across the forest floor and slammed into me. It passed right through me, filling my body momentarily with added energy. My flesh broke out in goose bumps
     and the force knocked me ungraciously backwards, onto my ass.
    I sat on the ground struggling to catch my breath in the cool air, clamping onto my
     lower lip with my teeth to keep myself from screaming out loud. Fin. I had felt him,
     tasted him even. I sensed every part of him as he passed through me. With my hands
     splayed out in the weeds on either side of my hips, my body shook with fear and something
     else, something worse - longing.
     
    ***
     
    I didn't walk, I ran back to the cabin. Once inside I bolted the door and washed my face and hands in
     the kitchen sink. I had to get the dirt off, as if that would wash Fin from me. I
     could still taste him in my mouth - still feel his hands on my skin. It wasn't the
     shock of having Fin's ghost pass through my body and soul that had me rattled, it
     was the fact that I finally knew up on the hill how much I missed him. How much he
     missed me.
    With my hands gripping the edge of the sink, I stared out at the calm lake through
     the kitchen window until the shakes were gone. Until my breath no longer hitched and
     my heart rate returned to its normal beat. Only then could I make the short journey
     up the stairs to the man that was sleeping in my bed. The living and breathing man
     that loved me.
     
    ***
     
    She sat with one leg tucked under her while the other dangled over the edge of the
     pier, her perfect toes hovering just inches above the water. Connor stood on the dirt
     trail and listened to her laugh. It was a loud, carefree and honest sound. He only
     heard this laugh from her when she thought they were alone…her and Fin.
    He shoved his hands deep into his pockets and watched from a distance as Fin stretched
     out beside her, resting his palms on the wooden planks of the dock behind him as he
     leaned toward Riley, saying something that made her face the sky and laugh again.
     She shoved him, playfully. Fin retaliated by tickling her side until she squealed.
     They were flirting. With Connor right there. As if, he didn't exist at all.
    When Fin bumped shoulders with Riley so he could whisper into her ear, he couldn't
     take it anymore. He yanked his fists from his jeans and stomped toward the pier with
     every intention of punching the shit out of Fin's face. He'd show that asshole who
     Riley belonged to, even if meant breaking every bone in his hands.
    They must have heard him coming but they ignored him and he made it halfway down the
     pier before it happened. A pain ripped through his chest as the air left his lungs,
     almost as if he had been kicked in the gut. He skidded to a stop, flailing wildly
     at the railing to his right until the worn wood found his fingertips. He could almost
     feel the splinters digging into his skin as he gripped it for support while his mouth
     hung open in shock. He couldn't take his eyes off of her. She was kissing Fin. Actually kissing the bastard!
    When his breath returned, he yelled out a string of curses with so much force that
     his voice cracked. This infuriated him further so he screamed even louder at them. Damn bastard! Fucker! I'm going to beat every ounce of life out of