“You have to end it. Now.” Ruby lifted Gemma’s chin forcing her eyes to meet hers.
“I can’t.” Her eyes began to fill as her two-month utopia shattered.
“You don’t have a choice. If Mom and Dad find out, they’re going to kill you and then they’ll probably kill him.”
The first tears descended.
“Please don’t tell them. Ruby, please.”
The gentle, yet firm hand of Dom lowered Ruby’s arm to her side. “We’re not going to say anything. That’s your responsibility. We just want you to be careful. You’re playing with fire here, slim. If he lets anything slip…”
“He won’t! He knows how important this is to our family. He would never betray us, ever.”
“I’m guessing that’s what Decimus said too.” Ruby scorched Gemma with a black look before walking away.
Gemma felt as though she’d been punched in the gut.
“Don’t worry, she’ll get over it.” Dom squeezed her shoulder.
“She’s never looked at me that way before.”
“She looks at me that way all the time, and she’s still my best friend.”
A smile wavered over Gemma’s lips.
“I’ll see if I can talk her ‘round for ya.”
She looked up at her brother, surprised. “So you don’t hate me then?”
He chuckled. “Hate you? Gem, that is an impossibility.”
Reaching to her tiptoes, she wrapped her arms around her brother and clung. He gave her a fierce hug before abruptly dropping her to the floor.
“I better go find her.”
“I’m sorry I let you guys down.”
He shrugged his shoulders. “You never asked for this life. Out of all of us, you’ve been the one who struggled with it the most. I’m glad you’ve found someone who makes you happy.”
“Thanks, Dom.”
His eyes swam with a reality she did not want to recognize. “He’s a good guy, Gem. Don’t string him along. I may be calmer about this than Rube, but she’s right. You’re going to have to end it eventually.”
Dom’s solid footsteps echoed off the corridor walls. Gemma waited until he was out of sight before burying her face in her hands and letting the tears flow unchecked.
It took her a good ten minutes to compose herself and the only thing that dragged her away from those metal lockers was the fact that Harrison was waiting for her.
Pulling herself tall, she walked into the sunshine, wiping the last tear from her face.
Harrison was leaning against the seat of her Ducati. His long legs were stretched in front of him and crossed at the ankles. His hands were stuffed into the pockets of his faded jeans. In spite of his patient posture, his face was marked with worry. He knew she could sometimes be late when she crossed over, but she had taken much longer than usual.
What’s the point of trying to hide this? He’s going to read you the second he looks into your eyes.
It didn’t even take that long; he saw her approaching and jumped from the seat, racing to her side.
“Gem! What is it?”
She shook her head, tears clogging her throat.
“Here.” Harrison led her to the nearest bench. “Sit down.” Squatting down in front of her, he brushed the hair back from her face. “Gem, look at me. Gemma. Look at me.” She flicked her tear stained eyes towards him before squeezing them shut. “What’s wrong? Talk to me.”
She brushed another tear aside and swallowed. “What are we doing, Harrison? This is never going to work.”
“What are you talking about?”
“You. Me. Us!”
He ran his hands over her thighs. “Where is this coming from?”
She drew in a shaky breath. “Dom and Ruby found out I told you today and they’re SO mad with me,” she hiccupped over the sentence. “Ruby said I had to break up with you. That this relationship was doomed from the start.”
“Aw, Gem.” Harrison slid his hand up the base of her neck, threading his fingers into her hair and rubbing his thumb gently over her earlobe. “Sweetie, I knew that getting involved with you was not going to be easy and I wasn’t fool enough to think that we weren’t going to be facing huge battles.” He tipped her head up so he could look into her eyes. “But I’m willing to fight for you.”
Her cracked heart let out a heavy thud before taking off like a galloping horse. She could feel her birthmark burning.
“Gem.” He released a heavy sigh and licked his lips. “This isn’t just about how much I love you and what I want, though. They’re your family and you need to be happy. I need you to be happy. So, the most important question here is what do you want?”
She placed her hand over his and closed her eyes, letting the tears descend.
She knew the answer immediately. It rushed through her spirit like a tornado.
Opening her eyes, she gazed into his brown orbs and whispered, “You. I want to be with you.”
His lips rose with a smile as he sighed out his relief. Pulling her face toward him, he placed a warm kiss on her lips. She sunk into the comfort and let the fire of promise sear her brain.
He broke the bond too soon and she felt a cold chill sweep through her.
“You need to tell your parents.”
She bit the inside of her cheek and shuddered. “I know.” She nodded, ignoring the bile in her throat. “I know, but can we just enjoy the weekend first and then we’ll tell them on Sunday night?”
“Delaying things won’t change the truth, Gem.”
“I know, but if they do decide to ground me for all eternity at least I’ll still get to see you the next day at school.”
He chuckled as he rose and extended his hand. “Fair enough. Now come on, Miss Gem, take me for a cruise on your Ducati before I kiss you goodbye for the night.”
His smile was delicious. She grabbed his hand and let him lead her to the bike. She didn’t have the courage to tell him that come Sunday she would probably take the chicken’s way out. The idea of fighting with him over it was hideous, but she didn’t think she could get the words to come out of her mouth. He’d never met her parents. He had no idea.
Swinging her leg over the seat she decided that the hands of doom could just shut up. She still had the evening and all of the next day to pretend that she was a normal girl with a gorgeous boyfriend who was going to take her to the mall tomorrow for a little shopping. She would forget that her sister currently hated her. She would forget that, if Harrison put his foot down, her parents would no doubt be committing murder on Sunday night. And she would forget, for once, that she had no control over her life.
Chapter Nineteen
St. Augustine, Florida - 2011 AD
The mall seemed ridiculously busy. Gemma, being unused to such crowds, had clung to Harrison’s hand throughout the morning. He’d had fun teasing her, watching her face as she blushed over his comments about being strong enough to annihilate half the crowd yet flinching if someone brushed her shoulder.
“I tend to avoid crowds. It’s fine when I’m with my parents, because I know we won’t be going anywhere, but when they’re not around… I just never know when he’ll…”
Her justification had trailed off as she’d reached the taboo subject of the day.
Upon her request they were trying to be as normal as possible. He wasn’t allowed to mention anything about time travel or her family. It hadn’t been as challenging as he’d thought it would be. They had spent the morning chatting about his family while they hunted for a birthday present for his mother.
“What about a book of poetry or something?” Gemma suggested.
His initial idea to buy an antique broach had flown out the window when the one he could afford had been sold two days earlier. He had kicked himself for not spending the money when he had spotted it the first time, but he had wanted to keep it a surprise and didn’t think his mother would buy the line that Gemma loved antique jewelry.
Harrison squeezed his girlfriend’s
hand with a smile. “That’s a great idea.” Turning on the spot, he led them back toward the bookstore.
“I just thought, since she was a librarian, she’d probably be into books. But didn’t you say she was into old documents and stuff?”
Harrison nodded.
“Why don’t we check out the secondhand book store then. They might have some old edition of something really cool.”
Gemma’s eyes sparkled with the idea, making Harrison smile. He stopped on the spot, wrapped his arm around her waist and drew her in for a kiss.
“Harrison.” She pushed at his chest. “People are watching.”
“Let them.” He grinned. “I’m kissing the most beautiful girl in the mall. I relish their jealousy.”
Her expression broke with laughter as she lightly slapped his chest. “You are such a fool.”
“Happy to be.” He wrapped his arm back around her waist as they began walking again. “Actually, I’m also a hungry fool. Do you want to stop for food and then we’ll take off, pass the bookstore on the way to the beach?”
“Good idea.”
“I could kill a plate of chili fries right now.”
“Harrison.” She grimaced. “They are so bad for you.”
“And that’s exactly why they taste so good. Aw, come on, Gem, admit it. You totally want some!”
Her smile said it all. Squeezing her waist with a chuckle, he propelled her to the food court.
The fries were piping hot. Harrison jiggled his mouthful with his tongue, trying not to scald himself. Gemma giggled.
“You okay?” She pushed the large glass of soda toward him.
He grabbed it up with a grateful nod and doused his fiery mouth with the cool fizz.
“So, you’re not doing your assignment on Coyote Granger anymore?” Gemma got back to their earlier conversation.
“Well, I was thinking about it, but I like Mary’s story better.”
“Okay.” Gemma leaned forward in her seat, a fry perched between her fingers. He loved the way her eyes danced with excitement as they talked history, particularly his history. “So this Coyote guy robs the bank then takes off to the next town and beds this woman as a victory dance, shall we say? Then what happened?”
Harrison laughed then downed another mouthful of soda before continuing the story. “Well, Mary finds out she’s pregnant and knows that she either has to get rid of it or leave her…job.”
“Thankfully she chose to leave.”
“That’s right, but where would she go? She barely had a dime to her name, she was homeless, and if she was anything like my mother, puking her guts out with morning sickness.”
“I love the way you describe things so delicately, Harrison.”
The look on her face made him laugh. He paused in his train of thought to consider how much fun he was having. The idea of Sunday night bit at the corners of his brain, but he gave it a solid boot. Nothing was going to ruin today.
“Anyway.” He cleared his throat to continue. “She decided to go after the guy who knocked her up in the first place. By the time she found him, she was as round as a beach ball and apparently he just couldn’t turn her away. So he begrudgingly let her stay, ‘but only until the kid’s born!’” Harrison put on a gruff voice.
“But…” Gemma smiled.
“But he ended up falling in love with her. She made an honest man out of him.”
“Did he give the money back?”
“Well…” Harrison tipped his head. “Not so much, but he didn’t rob anymore banks after that.”
Gemma grinned before popping another fry into her mouth. “How many did he rob altogether?”
“I’m not sure, probably a dozen or so. After Mary came along they kind of went into hiding and the law eventually forgot about him. He dropped the Coyote part and ended up purchasing a ranch in Montana.”
“That’s such a cool story. It just goes to show that good things can come out of bad situations.” Gemma’s eyes grew distant and he knew she was considering the implications of her family’s work. She shook her head. “So what about your dad’s history? Did you find anything on that?”
Harrison picked at the fries with a frown. “No.”
“You didn’t ask your mom, did you?”
“I can’t!” He dropped the fry and leaned back in his seat. “She won’t talk about him and I don’t want go there again.” He took a swig of drink then perched his elbows on the edge of the table. “When I was little she caught me going through the files stashed under her bed. I was looking for my birth certificate. I just wanted to know his name.” He shrugged. “I’ve never seen her so mad. It took her a whole day to talk to me again.
“I’ve tried raising it a few times, but she just gets all depressed and then we move. I don’t want to risk that right now.”
“What about your grandparents? Would they know anything?”
“I’ve never met them. I think Mom fell out with her mother over something because she never talks about her, but she talks about her dad. He passed away when she was fifteen, but everything she’s told me is total magic.”
Gemma smiled, probably relieved that he was too. He didn’t want to get so agitated over the whole father thing. Bryan was an awesome substitute, but he wasn’t blood. He just wanted to know where he came from.
“My parents never really talk about family either. It’s always been the five of us and I’m too scared to ask. I don’t think I actually want to know.”
Harrison’s laughter sounded sad. “I wish I was like that.”
Gemma squeezed his hand with a sympathetic smile. Clearing his throat, he straightened his shoulders and shook off his blue mood. Today was supposed to be a good one.
“You done?” He balled up his napkin and chucked it while she wasn’t looking.
She caught it before it hit her face, making him balk. She was so fast sometimes. Her eyes twinkled as she threw the napkin onto the tray.
“A small perk,” she muttered before clearing up the rest of the table and walking to the trash.
He came up behind her, gliding a smooth hand over her back and keeping it there as they wove their way out of the food area and into the crowd.
“So off to the bookstore then?” He began steering her toward the parking lot when he felt her frame go stiff.
She looked up at him with huge eyes before desperately scanning her surroundings for a bathroom.
“I’m not gonna make it,” she whispered with panic.
“It’s okay.” He grabbed her hand and began pulling her toward the exit sign he spotted.
“People are going to see me!”
“No they won’t. Come on, Gem.”
Pulling her through the crowd, he quickly led her to the emergency exit.
“It’s nearly time.”
Pushing the solid bar of the door, he heaved it open and dragged her through, hoping no security had seen him. The corridor he led her into was stark white and thankfully empty. He placed his finger over her lips as they both listened to make sure no one was coming.
“This should be safe.” He looked into her eyes. “Take care of yourself.” He placed his lips lightly on hers then felt his body shatter into a thousand pieces.
Chapter Twenty
Warwick, England - 1393 AD
It felt like pins and needles were massacring his entire body. Harrison’s head pounded as he came to terms with the pain. Squeezing his eyes shut, he rolled onto his side and hoped it would all be over soon.
What the hell just happened to me?
His body was being stitched back together one atom at a time. As the intense tingling ebbed, voices broke through the ringing in his ears.
“What is going on?”
“Who is that?
“How the hell did he get here?”
“I don’t believe it.”
Gemma’s erratic breathing beside him had his eyes squinting open.
“Are you okay?” Her shaking hand smoothed the hair off his fa
ce and he managed a smile.
“Gemma!”
Her concerned gaze was suddenly hauled out of view.
“Who is this?”
It was a shrill female voice. He looked past Gemma’s smooth legs and up at the sharp face and burning eyes of Mrs. Hart. He quickly averted his gaze.
“This is m-my friend, Harrison.”
“Your friend?” Her voice was thin. “You told me it was a girl.”
“I don’t get it, how did he even get here?”
Harrison recognized Dom’s voice then another followed that he had not heard before.
“They must have been touching when she transitioned.” A swift expletive followed. “Go find him some clothes, Dominic.”
Suddenly aware of his naked vulnerability, Harrison rolled onto his side to cover himself.
“Touching?” The question came from Gemma’s mother. “You were touching? Gemma, what exactly were you doing with this friend?”
He glanced up to see Gemma’s face burn red as it popped through the coarse woolen tunic. “Mother! Not that!”
“Well, what then? Were you holding hands?”
“No,” she mumbled as she tied a leather belt around her waist.
He tried not to notice how good her legs looked in those tights.
“He was just giving me a goodbye kiss.” He could sense her forced casualness as she began to braid her long hair.
“A goodbye kiss, as in he knew you were about to turn into dust?”
Gemma’s nimble fingers froze. Harrison felt her panic. This was not going down at all how they had planned. Sure, tell the parents her boyfriend was a normal human. Tell the parents he knew everything about her? Not so much.
“Gemma, what have you DONE?”
Gemma flinched.
“Okay, Penelope.” A calm voice forestalled any further outbursts. “We’ll discuss this when we get home.”
Harrison watched the feet approach then noted the hand being extended his way. His fingerbones crunched against each other as he was hauled to his feet. Mr. Hart’s eyes were filled with loathing. Dropping his gaze, Harrison focused on the dirt beneath his feet. Gemma’s father was not the kind of man you enjoyed meeting when taking a girl out on her first date, let alone landing her in a bunch of trouble by inconveniently following her through time.
Okay, this is just too weird.
“Gemma! Avert your eyes!”
Mrs. Hart’s shrill voice grabbed his attention. Glancing up, he watched his red-faced girlfriend mutter an apology and look to the sky.