is that your being here is a dream come true for me. Literally.” She reached down to turn down the A/C as cold chills of apprehension raised goosebumps on her body.
“I’m sorry.”
His apology didn’t help anything. “Don’t be. I can understand how you feel uprooted.” She wet her lips. “I’ll go with you to the canyon.”
“No.” He blurted out the refusal. “You were with me last night and there was no passageway. I don’t know if your presence makes a difference or not, but I need to do this alone.”
Journey didn’t argue with him. What was the use? “I see.” The words were simple, but they held a wealth of emotions. She felt like crying. Screaming. She couldn’t force him to stay – not if he felt like he couldn’t.
Giving herself a mental shake, Journey’s lips formed a tight line. “Well, I think we should take advantage of the little time we have left.” Yes, she was greedy. If she never saw him again, she wanted to fill in all the gaps that the stories didn’t fill.
“By doing…what, exactly?” Clenching his hands into fists, Reno tried not to react to what she was saying.
“Talking. Asking questions. I want to know anything about you that you’re willing to tell me.” Her voice softened. “You’re precious to me.”
Reno closed his eyes. He felt like he’d been hit by a train. This woman was killing him. For a moment, he’d thought she wanted to take advantage of the little time left by spending it in bed with him. And God knows, he’d sell his soul for the opportunity to make love to her. But he wasn’t the kind of man to love a woman, then walk away from her. What she did want from him was even more unbelievable. To think she cared enough to want to know him, to know his soul, even if they couldn’t be together? Well, that almost did him in. “I feel the same way. I want to know you too.”
“Good.”
After their agreement, the silence went on longer than either expected. Finally, Journey spoke up. “I just had a terrible thought. What if you go back – and neither of us remember any of this?”
The thought pained him, but… “Well, at least we would have peace.” Even as he formulated the thought, his mind rebelled against it. “I didn’t mean that. I’d rather remember than forget.” Even if remembering would be the most painful of all.
Journey kept her eyes on the road and the passing scenery. “When I made this trip to come housesit for Aunt Myra…” She scoffed and tightened her hands on the wheel. “I would look out at the hills, rocks, and canyons – imagining you riding through them. Life is hard for you, isn’t it?”
“You mean without all the conveniences you have now?”
“Yea, I guess. You have to work so much harder for everything. There’s danger on every hand.”
He shrugged, reaching over to touch her arm, letting his fingers linger on her skin. “Well, we don’t know anything else.” He laughed ruefully. “Or I didn’t until now. And as for as danger is concerned – even after half listening to that news broadcast telling about landslides, earthquakes, mass shootings, and war in faraway lands – I don’t think you could say there is less danger now than in my time.”
“I guess you’re right about that.” She noticed a hawk flying high in the sky, swooping down to sit on a fence post. “Tell me your dreams. What do you want out of life?”
Reno cupped his chin, rubbing at the rough scruff he’d accumulated in the last few days. “That’s tough.” After meeting her, he found his dreams were changing. He’d always wanted a family someday – but now, he could see the face of the girl in his dreams. There was no way he could mention that, however. Hurting her any more than he already had – that was the last thing he wanted to do. “I want to build a cabin and have the Stanton kids move in with me. Ela Blue too, if she will. But first…I have to save my brother’s life.” When he saw her startled expression, he realized she didn’t know what he meant. Given everything she seemed to know, this surprised him. “Saul didn’t write about Cole in his journal?”
“Well, I know he mentioned your brother by name. He also said he was in prison, but he didn’t say why. There might be more information. We’ll have to