Read The Shoes Come First: A Jennifer Cloud Novel Page 43

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  Brodie and I sat in the barn on a bale of hay. He told me stories of Australia and his family’s farm. He worked there in between time travels, and I was glad to finally meet a partner who also had to earn his living by working the old-fashioned way instead of through trust funds and family money. I told him about my boss getting arrested and about my new job at the chiropractic office. In the middle of our stories, we would pause and listen for any noises outside the barn.

  A little later Mrs. Hobbs brought us some stew and corn bread. She hadn’t heard of any trouble, yet. Brodie assured me Caiyan would summon him when he was ready for help. I kept wondering, What if he can’t? How long do we wait? But Brodie’s cool exterior had me curling up in a ball, covered with a handmade quilt, and falling into a restless sleep on the hay in a barn, once again.

  I was jostled awake by Brodie the next morning. “OK, let’s go, mate.”

  “Where to?” I asked.

  “We are going after Caiyan.”

  “Did he summon you?” I asked, rubbing the sleep out of my eyes.

  “No, and it’s been too long. I don’t want to risk Villa or his Villistas coming after the Hobbs family. They have had enough loss. Caiyan gave me orders to have Ace transport you back, but I may need your help if Caiyan was caught. I can’t have Ace walking around like that in this time.”

  We led Gypsy out of the barn, leaving the wagon behind. She didn’t look too happy about departing the nice digs for another crazy ride. Brodie climbed on, avoiding the bite we both knew was coming. He motioned for me to climb up on a stack of hay. I did as he suggested, and he pulled Gypsy up next to me so I could get on easier. We rode down the dirt road past the longhorn, who I think was sleeping, but since he was still standing, it was hard to tell. We galloped back to the road, and Brodie got off and looked at the ground.

  “He came through here all right but headed toward the town. He was being followed by about eight horses, maybe more.”

  “Why doesn’t he just call his vessel?”

  “It doesn’t look like he had the time. When you summon your vessel, you have to make absolutely sure you have about ten minutes of safe time. If you don’t, you may not make it back to where you came from.”

  “Where do you go?”

  “I dunno, maybe lost in time.”

  I stored this information for future reference, because I didn’t want to be lost in time.

  “Damn, this is Villa’s horse. He must have stopped the train to get his horse off.”

  “Why would he come back when he got what he came for?” I asked.

  “I don’t know.”

  “Maybe one of his Villistas is riding his horse,” I suggested.

  Brodie looked at me, doubtful. “Let’s ride toward the town.”