Dreamwalker (Stormwalker #5) - Allyson James Page 0,16

why worry? I was with Mick, in that golden time when I’d been falling in love with him, when he’d protected me and cared for me, before any trouble had started between us. In this place and in this moment, I’d felt happy and safe.

I lifted my hands. “Forget it. I just had that weird feeling you get, you know? When you think you’ve done something twice? I bet I saw an ad for this place on the road.”

“Mmm.” Mick gave me a nod, then sent a grateful look to the waitress who poured coffee into his cup.

Mick began asking her if the omelets really were all different from one another and ended up ordering twelve. Just as I remembered ...

***

We rode out that day, heading westward through South Dakota toward its border with Wyoming. As we flowed down the road I remembered more and more about this time, not only the beautiful sights of the West, but the feelings I’d experienced at that point in my life.

I followed Mick, he on his large Harley modified to accommodate his bulk, me on the Sportster that, while it vibrated me to pieces, I’d loved. It had been wrecked forever when it had fallen into a sinkhole near Flat Mesa, and I’d grown nostalgic for it. I loved riding it again, remembering every quirk of its personality.

I’d also missed watching Mick hunker low into the wind, his black hair flying every which way. In states with helmet laws, he wore a matte black half helmet, which only made him look more bad-ass than ever. He’d taught me how to shift positions on my bike so I wouldn’t grow too fatigued, including balancing on my seat with my feet behind me. Mick also liked to stop a lot, because every single thing we passed was fascinating to him.

Today, it was the Badlands of South Dakota, the jagged peaks of hills that stretched across a barren and stark valley, reminding me of the valleys around Many Farms. The land wasn’t quite the same, but the vista made me homesick.

I thought about the Crossroads Hotel I’d come to love, along with all the crazy people in my life. I wanted to wake up so I could be with them, but then again …

In this dream, I had Mick all to myself. It was the way it used to be—he and I riding side by side, heading down the road just to see where it led.

Mick soon left the freeway, just as I remembered, and took me down back roads deep into the heart of the country. In South Dakota that meant vast farms surrounded by land quietly rising into the Black Hills.

We stopped at historic sites along the way, Mick telling me more about indigenous culture than I ever knew. Even Grandmother hadn’t taught me much beyond the traditions of the Diné.

Mick knew a lot about geology too. Today he went on about how the Black Hills formed from rifts and uplifts or passing hot spots or whatever. At the time I’d thought he simply read a lot of books. Now I knew that, in his time, he’d probably witnessed an amazing amount of volcanic activity.

By mid-afternoon, Mick had dropped the college professor mode and suggested we stop in a town and rest a while. My young heart beat faster with anticipation—he really meant we should hole up and spend time in bed.

Mick tucked us into a room in another tiny motel, securing our bikes right outside the door. This motel was popular with bikers, and the ones wandering around the place were big, scary-looking guys. When they saw Mick, however, they broke into grins and greeted him with enthusiasm.

I swore Mick knew everyone on the planet. I bet myself that if we hiked to the highest, remotest place in the Gobi desert, a Mongolian would come striding along and say, “Mick! Hey, how you doing?”

That night a big thunderstorm blew up. The clouds were volatile, a tornado forming in the storm’s heart.

I wanted to pull that tornado wind to me and ride it. I wanted to blow apart every building, fly away high to freedom. I grabbed the lightning and sent it around the room, laughing.

“Shh.” Mick held my face in his hands as he took me down to the bed. His kisses were firing instead of calming, he aroused and wanting me.

Mick pressed my palms to his chest and took the lightning I gathered straight into him. I zapped him as I had