Page 58 of A Ghost of a Chance

She touched his arm. He covered it with his hand.

“Meditation, searching my heart, my soul. As a result, my conscience is clear and I’m at peace. Although, I’m still uncertain as to whether I’m truly pure of heart.” Doubt clouded his eyes.

“I don’t think the term pure in heart requires perfection.”

“Peter said the same. But I don’t want my unworthiness to affect your chances.”

“You are a good man, Rafe. That’s all anyone can ask. I wouldn’t love you as much as I do if you were as flawed as you seem to think.”

They shared one last, lingering kiss, expressing all the love in their hearts. As they stood in the circle, holding each other, the church bell chimed, counting down their time together.

“It’s time.” She stepped back, but Rafe took her hand, holding her. She tightened her fingers around his.

A tremor ran through him. Then, in a clear, commanding voice, he chanted in an unfamiliar language. Gaelic, perhaps?

A shaft of light speared the darkness. It broadened, opening to form a large archway filled with brilliance. Rafe shielded his eyes. Osanne, not limited by mortal eyesight, peered into it. This shaft of light differed from the one that had appeared to her so many times before. It was wider, and pulsed.

She smiled at Rafe for perhaps the last time. “I love you, Rafe.”

Tears shone in Rafe’s eyes. “I will always love you, Osanne.”

Faith. She must have faith. And really, she did this for Rafe, to free him. If she truly loved him, she could do this. She must.

Osanne let go of his hand and turned toward the light. But she couldn’t walk into it. Some bond held her fast, making motion impossible. Rafe.

She turned back to him. He stood with fists clenched, breath held, and posture poised to spring into action.

Gently, she asked, “Can you let me go?”

He swallowed. Drew a breath.

At first, she had believed her existence only on All Hallows’ Eve had been punishment for her failure to keep watch over her brother, possibly resulting in his death. Then she wondered if it rested on her unfinished tasks—trying to learn of her brother’s fate, her desire to keep Madding Hollow safe from other wandering souls, her incomplete music. Later, she suspected her own fear had prevented her from stepping into the light and moving on.

Could it have all been for Rafe? Had she needed to help him heal, help him find himself and ultimately find peace?

If so, then, despite his words and his intent to let her go, his love for her and his unwillingness to lose her bound her to him. If he could never let her go, would she ever move on?

Chapter Eighteen

Rafe stood in the center of the henge surrounded by white candles, cold down to his soul. Osanne hovered within the archway of light between worlds, straining as if invisible ropes held her back.

She smiled, with love and longing. Gently, she said, “I cannot cross over the threshold unless you let me go.”

Let her go!

He had spent the last two months preparing for this moment. Could he do it? He had supposed that all the preparation and the ceremony itself would allow her to leave—either for Heaven or for a return to mortality. It should have been enough. That was the sacrifice. Or so he had supposed.

Could he truly let her go in his heart and accept it if she never returned?

He had lost so many around him. Benjamin. His fellow soldiers, friends, even a commanding officer who had been a mentor and friend. The blow of their loss, his grief, related directly to how much they meant to him. He had fallen into a habit of keeping people at a distance to protect himself from deeper heartache if he lost them, too. The less he cared about their lives, the less their deaths wounded him.

He had vowed never to be responsible for another person’s fate. As he grew to care about his friendships with the villagers, with Peter and his family, and especially about Osanne, he had rested safe in the belief that he bore no burden of responsibility for their lives.

Until now. He had made the sacrifice of choosing to perform the ceremony. But now, he must do more. He must truly let her go.

His heart cracked. Then cracked again. She would come back. She must. But if not, he loved her enough to free her.

He swallowed. Drew a breath. Nodded. “Go to the light, Osanne. I’m letting you go.”