Once a Gypsy Read online

  The woman nodded. “Absolutely.”

  “As long as I’m welcome here… I will use my gift to help people like me.”

  “If this is what you want. We need you.”

  She smiled nervously. “We’re going to have a lot of work to do.”

  Helena moved to Danny’s bed and bowed her head as she mouthed a silent prayer. Danny’s cheeks were gaunt and pale, and his chest rose and fell as he slept.

  Her hands trembled as she reached out and placed one on Danny’s forehead and the other over his heart. Helena hovered over Graham’s silver-haired brother.

  Her aura glowed as a rainbow light streamed from her head and between her fingers. Tiny atoms filled the air and buzzed as they moved toward Danny, just as they had done with Mary.

  For a moment, nothing happened. She looked up, and shook her head. “I don’t know if it’s going to work. I’m sorry, Graham.”

  “Keep trying… It has to work.” He stepped closer and ran his fingers through her hair. “I love you. I know you can do this. I believe in you.” As he spoke, her aura brightened. “Please, love… Try… Try hard.”

  She nodded. Closing her eyes, she mouthed what he assumed was a spell. The air around her buzzed with electricity, and her aura flexed under the force of her will.

  Danny shifted, and his fingers trembled.

  A bead of sweat trickled down Helena’s temple.

  Danny’s chest rose and fell with a deep breath. His blue eyes opened.

  “Danny? Danny?” Graham said, rushing to his brother’s bedside.

  His dry pink lips pulled into a weak smile. “Graham?”

  “Aye, boy.” Graham smiled wildly and pulled Danny’s hand across the sheets. “How’re you feeling?”

  “Tired…” Danny looked around the room. His gaze wandered to his body.

  “I’m so sorry, Danny,” Graham said, breaking down. “I’m so sorry for ever making you go through this. I’ll make it up to you.”

  “This… isn’t your fault,” Danny said, his voice weak after years of silence.

  “Aye. It was, Danny. I should have never let them use you. I should have taken you away from this place.”

  Danny reached up and took Graham’s hand and gave it a light squeeze. “Graham, no…”

  Helena weakly dropped her hands from his brother and slumped down on the bed beside him and Danny.

  “Helena, are you okay?”

  She nodded, but her face was pale.

  “Oh, love, thank you…” he said. “Thank you.”

  He leaned over and kissed her lips. In that moment he had it all—family, life, love—and none of it would have been possible without his gypsy girl.

  Epilogue

  Two weeks later, Lydia stood at the front of the Holy Trinity Abbey Church. The red and white crystals that adorned her princess-like wedding dress glimmered in the bright lights. Flowers lined the aisle, and red rose petals dotted the runner that ran between the pews. Lydia’s mam and da sat at the front of the church, dabbing their eyes and nodding as the vicar spoke.

  “Ye are blood of my blood, and bone of my bone…” The vicar continued on, but Helena’s mind had wandered to Rionna and her mam. They would have enjoyed the wedding, but no one had been able to reach them after they disappeared from the hospital.

  At the end of the pew sat Gavin, Angel, and Liam, who stared at the bride and groom. At the far end was Da. His face was drawn, and his wrinkles deeper.

  Helena felt guilty, but she was secretly relieved Mam and Rionna had disappeared—along with their cutting words and the fights that came on their heels.

  In Lydia and Jimmy, and in Graham, Rose, Danny, and John, two families had come together while another, hers, had fallen apart.

  Further down the bench sat Danny. His cheeks were pink and had filled in over the last few weeks.

  The Travellers around Helena and Graham turned and whispered, undoubtedly condemning her for bringing a country man into their world. Yet Helena remained strong. She loved this man. She would protect him.

  Sitting there, looking at the people who were watching her, Helena realized that maybe at one point in her life she had seen things as they did—those who went against tradition were strange, weird, and deserved being exiled. Yet she had found a home and a future beyond the limits set by the traditions of her culture.

  They could judge her, but she would not cower. She wasn’t ashamed. She had made a promise to herself and, with Graham’s help, she would continue to fulfill her dreams.

  The vicar stopped, and Helena looked to the couple at the altar.

  Jimmy swayed a bit as he held onto Lydia’s hands. “I vow you the first cut of my meat, the first sip of my wine, from this day it shall only your name I cry out in the night and into your eyes that I smile each morning. I shall be a shield for your back as you are for mine, nor shall a grievous word be spoken about us, for our marriage is sacred between us and no stranger shall hear my grievance. Above and beyond this, I will cherish and honor you through this life and into the next.”

  Graham’s hand tightened around hers. He leaned close. “Don’t you want me to say that to you?”

  Helena ran her thumb over his skin. The warmth of his touch reminded her of why she had fallen for such a man. Their love was a sacred love, but a bright future waited—a future that didn’t depend on her being married. “Maybe someday, my love.”

  Graham let go of her hand and pulled her against him. She looked into his eyes. “I love you, my Helena,” he whispered, his breath brushing against her skin like a lover’s hand.

  Helena took his free hand and lifted it to her lips. “I love you too, my Graham.”

  She thought back to the moment she had stood behind the spiked bars of Limerick Prison. Just like those gates had opened for Da, the gates to a new future had been opened—she was no longer limited by the thoughts and judgment of those around her. For the first time in her life, she was truly free.

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