On her 21st birthday, McKenna walked into Mosquito Lake without looking back. She hoped Dane would be waiting for her on the other side, and he wouldn’t be angry. This decision belonged to her, and it was what she wanted. There was no life without him, and to live a life without him would be too cruel.

Just like before, she walked in slowly, letting the cold water rise above her ankles, then her waist, then her chest. She was not afraid but apprehensive. She was frightened of the panic she would feel once she started to drown. She was afraid once the panic started, she would not be able to go through with it.

She already knew what to expect from the previous times she had drowned. She knew it would not be pleasant. But thinking about the past three years without him kept her feet moving. The water was now up to her neck. She thought she should take a deep breath then laughed at the idea. A deep breath would not be required.

Falling to her knees, she let the water cover her completely. She kept her eyes closed and inhaled deeply. She started to choke at once but swallowed more water when she tried to breathe. Only her thoughts of the last three years kept her going. Only the memories of Dane and the last time she saw him compelled her onward.

The day her parents took her to the cemetery, Dane had waved at her from the cabin door. It became the final goodbye she had feared. She would never forget him standing in the doorway of the cabin, his blond hair shining in the sun, his blue eyes glistening with what she now knew were unshed tears. He knew where her parents were taking her. He knew it was the end.

After her parents took her Dane's grave, she tried to move on. She went back to the institute and to her career. She grew close with Dr. Olsen (she was to call him Liam now). When she turned twenty, Liam asked her to marry him.

She did love him, but she was never in love with him. He was kind, honest, and caring, but he wasn’t what she wanted, and she could never marry him. She would be cheating him out of genuine love, a happy life with someone else. And he deserved that kind of happiness.

She loved her career at the institute and took her job seriously. She studied hard and became a counselor, helping those with paranormal abilities cope with their lives.

She never saw her parents again.

Her friends moved on with their lives. Kelly married an attorney and moved to Oregon.

Raven was a manager at the McDonalds in town.

Layla found a career in real estate.

McKenna spent the next three years trying to accept that she would never see Dane again, but he would come to her in dreams. He would kiss her, hold her, and make love to her. The dreams were so real that she woke up almost every morning begging for him to return.

She spent every idle hour at the cemetery. She would sit for hours at his grave and wait. She would cry and beg and plead for him to come back to her. But Dane never came.

Now, she was going to see him again. She was going to kiss him and feel his arms around her. She would make love with him without anyone coming between them. She felt the peace settle over her as the darkness took her life away. She welcomed it. It was almost over.

***

McKenna opened her eyes and found herself peering into the deep blue eyes that saved her so many years ago. Dane cradled her head in his arms, and she half lay in his lap. He gazed intently at her and was aware when she became conscious. His lips brushed her forehead.

"Not again, McKenna," he whispered, shaking his head in defeat.

"Dane! Why did you save me again?" she cried, her voice cracking from the saltwater swallowed. "I've been trying to find you. I've called for you, but you never came. I've searched for you, but you were never there. Why, Dane, why?"

"You know why, McKenna." He shifted his position. "We live in two different worlds."

She forced herself up on her elbows. "I don't care. I want to live in your world with you. I have to do something so we can be together. It's the only thing I can think of."

"It doesn't work that way, McKenna."

"Then how does it work, Dane? Help me to understand. I can't make it any longer being without you."

"I don't know how it works. I just know it doesn't work that way. You don't get to pick and choose where and when you die. Do you think I wanted to drown at the age of twenty? Do you think I wanted for my life to end just when it was getting started?"

"But, Dane..." she started to say.

He held up a hand to silence her. "What I'm saying, McKenna, is that the only good thing that came out of my death was an existence with you in it, and that only happened because you died, too. But it wasn't your time."

"But we did the handfasting thing," she said, confusion and fear clouding her thoughts. "You said you loved me. You said you wanted me to be your wife."

"Oh, McKenna," he murmured. He reached out and pulled her close. "I did, and I still do. I love you beyond anything in life or death. When I first saw you, or when you first could see me, I was ecstatic. And when you told me about the time you drowned and ended up on the beach, I knew that I was the one that saved you. I just didn't know how I saved a three-year-old and then fell in love with her years later. It made no sense.

"Before you, I rattled around this beach, talking to people and wondering why they wouldn't talk to me. I didn't understand what happened to me. I had losses of time. I would be walking down the path in the woods and suddenly be at the cabin. I had no idea that I—had passed on."

McKenna shivered at the word.

"Once we met, things started to click into place, and I told you about my father drowning in the lake. I went back to the cemetery.”

“Oh no, Dane…”

"Oh yes, McKenna. I found the grave with my name next to my father's on the tombstone. And then I wondered how you could see me, how I could hold you and kiss you. How we could make love."

"I know how. My grandfather told me."

"Go on," he urged.

"I asked him why I could hug and kiss him if he was dead. He told me that I crossed a threshold when I died. He said that's why I could see him and Grandma even though I'd never met them in life. I remember being so angry because I asked him how I would know the difference between the living and the dead, and he said that would come with time. I wasn't pleased with that answer, but that's all he could tell me."

"Your grandparents are very wise."

"They were," she agreed. "I would love for you to meet them...but…"

The laughter at her suggestion bubbled out of both of them. It all seemed so ridiculous.

When their laughter faded, she turned to him. "I guess that's why I didn't know you were-- you know."

"Dead?"

"Yeah, that. I wasn't able to tell the difference." She leaned back against his chest, feeling the warmth of him through her shirt. How could he be dead yet feel so vibrant?  "What happens now?”

Dane shook his head and pulled her closer. He sighed deeply. "I don't know, McKenna. But you're not going to try taking your life anymore. Please, promise me that."

"I promise," she said softly. "And I'm sorry."

"Pinky swear," he held up his little finger.

"You remembered!" she laughed, wrapping her little finger around his. "I pinky swear, Dane."

"Maybe we should go to the cabin, McKenna. I can build a fire and get you warmed up, dry your clothes."

She nodded hesitantly. She suddenly felt timid. It had been a long time since they had been together.

Dane rose to his feet and took her hands, pulling her up. She lost her footing and leaned up against him for balance. His arms enveloped her. Suddenly his lips were on hers, and it was as if they had never been apart.

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