Page 7 of Hart's Redemption

My gaze instantly latched onto the older Josh I was intimately familiar with. He stood locked in battle with a wolf nearly twice his size and the color of midnight. Scratches and blood covered his body, while his opponent appeared unscathed. In a surge of strength, they flew apart, and each receded to their respective corner.

I quickly crossed the field and approached the battle-worn Josh.

“You shouldn’t be out here,” he panted, his gaze never leaving the wolf that paced across from him.

Shock flooded through me. None of the other Joshes had seen me at all. “Where should I be?”

His gaze flickered over his shoulder. There stood a massive door, and the only apparent source of light. “You should go back.” His hand tightened around a spotless dagger. “I’ll hold him off.”

I placed a hand on his shoulder, more than surprised to make actual contact. “Josh, you know those can’t hurt him.”

He sagged beneath the weight of the touch. “I know. But I have to try. I can’t… can’t let him destroy what’s in there. Now hurry, I don’t know how much longer I can last.” With that, he sprinted forward, already snarling to meet the wolf head-on.

Determined not to waste the opportunity he’d given me, I stepped through the door.

I blinked past the sudden flood of light. Nowhere else I’d been had there been half as much brightness; it was near blinding. When my vision finally adjusted enough to see, Josh was standing before me.MyJosh. We were in my cottage's kitchen.

His eyes danced with happiness while a smile played about his lips. He leaned forward and molded his mouth to mine. Another wave of surprise rolled through me, even as my hand found his waist and pulled him closer.

What’s happening here?

He arched into me, deepening the kiss and focusing my attention back on him.

I let out an involuntary moan and pressed him against the counter.

When he pulled back, his lips were a beautiful cherry.

“Hey, moonbeam.” The words flew out of my mouth as if by some predetermined script.

His smile broadened. “I love it when you call me that.” He wrapped his arms around my neck and pulled me back in for another sensual kiss while his fingers carded through my hair.

Red flags went up. Familiar as this was, thiswasn’ta memory. Josh had never said those words to me before.

If this isn’t a memory, then what is it?

Josh continued to kiss me like we had all the time in the world and remained oblivious to my freaking out. His tongue worked magic at pulling me into the fantasy I’d tried countless times to have.

Suddenly, there was a small, insistent tug on my pant leg. I broke the kiss and looked down. Whatever breath Josh hadn’t already stolen vacated my lungs in a rush.

Josh chuckled and pushed lightly against my chest. “I’ll get this one.” He stepped away, then scooped up a toddler witheyes as green as his. “Why do you look so upset, little one?” He brushed steel-gray hair back from the boy’s forehead and waited patiently for a response.

The child pouted, water pooling in his forest-colored eyes. “Sissy broke the lamp. It wasn’t me! I swear, I swear.”

Josh clucked his tongue. “Now, what have we said about lying?” The child’s bottom lip poked out as he tried and failed to avoid Josh’s gaze while he was held captive in his arms. “Need I remind you? It’s not nice to lie, especially when...”

The boy gave a tiny sniffle. “When Papa can’t.”

Josh smoothed the boy's hair again and rubbed his back. “Want to try again?”

Shame colored the boy’s cheeks, and he struggled to meet Josh’s gaze. “SissyandI broke the lamp.”

“Was it because you were doing something you weren’t supposed to?”

“Yes.” I’d never heard a more miserable confession.

Just then, a girl of equal age with the exact same eyes and hair skidded into the room. “It wasn’t just me!”

Josh chuckled and looked at me over his shoulder. The joy in his eyes was unmistakable, and I had no idea how he couldn’t see the alarm clearly written in mine. But he obviously didn’t, because he turned back to the two children. “I know it wasn’t just you.”