Chapter Twenty-Four

Renn stood outside Jessica’s door, his hand poised for knocking, when a branch brushed against his neck.

Turning around, he faced the tiny yard. And damn if he didn’t hear a soft voice weaving between the leaves.

Be kind to her.

A large branch bent down, nearly scraping his face and then rose up again.

This booting through time was messing with his mind. It had to be that. Trees did not talk. Not in this time. Not in his time. Only in Fairytale time.

He took a few deep breaths, stabilizing his core.

Be kind. The words whispered behind him. His neck tickled. Be honest.

It would be easy to appear in Jessica’s room. But instead, he knocked. When she didn’t answer, he knocked again.

He shifted his feet, willing her to answer. This way of communicating was not easy. But if he wanted to make this work, he was going to have to act like a normal person. One of the most normal traits of this time was carrying around a cellphone, which he didn’t own.

After knocking again, he gave up.

The tree swayed gently against his forehead as he turned around and walked away.

****

“Jessie.”

“Grandpa?” My eyes shot open. A drill worked its way through my chest. “Is something wrong with Grandma?” I threw my legs over the side of the bed.

In the three years since I’d lived in this apartment, my grandfather has only been inside one time. And that was to show the plumber my bathroom which needed unclogging. I was sure something was terribly wrong.

“No, no, honey.” He patted my arm. “She’s fine. That fella in the coat is here.”

“Here?” I looked around, knowing Renn could appear anywhere, anytime. My brain was fuzzy from sleep, but my eyes were clear as water. “Where?”

Grandpa nodded toward the main house. “He’s a nice fella.”

God only knew what my grandmother was saying to him. I threw off my covers and stood up. I heard voices coming from my grandparents’ kitchen.

I saw Renn’s back when Grandpa opened the connecting door, leaving me to get ready.

I slammed it shut and hurriedly put on the jeans I’d left on the floor last night and grabbed a sweatshirt off my chair. Nothing could be done about my hair. I ran my fingers through the curls and let it fall wherever it wanted.

“Hi,” I said, walking into my grandparents’ kitchen.

“Good morning, Jessica.” My heart jumped at the sound of Renn’s rich voice.

He turned away from me and back toward my grandmother. “Not far from here,” he said, running his finger over a spot on the table.

God only knew what question elicited that answer.

Realizing my grandmother had a monopoly on his attention, I sat down next to Renn, hoping to stop the interrogation.

“Do you want some coffee?” Grandma asked me. “I couldn’t get your friend here to take a cup. Are you sure I can’t get you something?”

“No thanks, ma’am,” he said. “I had breakfast before I came over.” He began twirling his thumbs.

I wanted to reach over and take his hand but held back.

“There’s plenty of eggs and bacon if you want to make your friend breakfast. I’ve got bills to pay.” My grandmother refilled her cup, gave me quick thumbs up, and left us alone in the kitchen.

“How come you’re in here?” I asked. “Why didn’t you just come back to my place?”

“I knocked, but you didn’t hear me.”

It was hard to believe I didn’t hear him outside my door. After my conversation with Arlianna, I was surprised I slept at all.

“You knocked?”

He leaned forward, cupping my face between his warm, soft hands. “For normalcy.”

Was he kidding? There was nothing normal about him, and I doubted there ever would be.

“I know what’s happened to you,” I said.

His smile told me he wasn’t going to believe a word I was going to say. But he was willing to play along.

“I had a piece of your coat, and rubbing it pulled you into a time stream.”

“And how have you come to know this?” He ran his finger below my ear. The sensation overpowered my ability to speak.

He pulled me close, brushing his lips gently against mine. I opened my mouth, so ready for a kiss.

“Arlianna likes you,” he whispered. “She felt our connection when she met you.”

I pulled back. “If you already know I saw her, why are you pretending you didn’t?”

He brushed a hair off my forehead. “I’m sorry, Jessica. This isn’t easy for me, either. Wanting you so much and not knowing how to act.”

“Can you get the fabric back for me? So I can know when you’re coming?”

He shook his head. “No can do. As they say. But if I get a cell phone, I can call you.”

I wrapped my arms around him, burying my head in his neck. His lemony scent made my groin tingle.

“Let’s get one today,” he said.

“First, I have other plans.” I took his hand and led him into my apartment.

****

Hours later, satiated from lovemaking, after we had tattooed ourselves onto each other’s psyche, we strolled hand in hand through the outdoor mall a few miles from my apartment. Renn had assured me I would be safe because we were together.

As we made our way down the sidewalk toward the Verizon store, I studied Renn’s profile. His lips were pressed tightly together. He looked from side to side. I’d read in his Handbook that time travelers had heightened senses, and I wondered if he was hearing things beyond my range.

A half dozen kids played on a climbing apparatus. It caught Renn’s attention, and he stopped and stared, twirling his thumbs forward and backward.

“Such a multitude of people in one place,” he said.

I was still in awe at the strange way he talked, sometimes dropping letters, using abbreviations and at other times, uncommonly used words. “Don’t you have malls?”

“Not like this. We have specialty stores, but mostly we shop on the galaxies.”

“Galaxies?” I asked.

“Sites on the web. Clusters of clouds make up systems, and systems sit inside galaxies. It’s pretty simple.”

“Whatever you say.” I pictured what he was saying, but I much preferred live shopping to online, and so I didn’t think I’d like those galaxies much.

He flinched and covered his ears as a group of teenage girls, linked together like puzzle pieces, giggled as they rushed past us. He winced again when a mom pushing a stroller nearly bumped into his legs.

Feeling his distress, I led him toward a more secluded area.

By the time we reached the bench, after zigzagging around another group of teenagers and a small yapping dog, I could feel the tension rising from Renn. He stared straight ahead, reminding me of the first time when I’d snuck up behind him at The Mud Hut. I thought he might shimmer. But he didn’t.

“Do you want some water?” I asked.

He held up his hand and shook his head.

I sat there, looking at him, biting on the inside of my cheek. His shoulders heaved up and down. His hands twitched on his thighs. It seemed like forever before he finally let out a giant breath of air and looked over at me.

“You’re still here,” I said.

“Apparently so.” He smiled. “I suspect too much uncontrolled time streaming has unbalanced my CORE.”

I suggested we eat before dealing with the Verizon store. Buying my current phone had turned into a mini-series event. Galaxy shopping was probably quick and easy, and I didn’t want Renn to get annoyed with our way of doing things.

We walked toward a deli at the far end of the mall. Our silence stitched us together. Words weren’t necessary.

“Let’s run away,” I suggested after a few minutes. “We’ll go somewhere together until Natasha forgets about us.”

Renn smiled, his whole face lighting up. “If only we could.”

“Why can’t we?” I watched his eyes grow intense. “Can’t you take me somewhere? Anywhere in time?”

I was tempted to add that we could go back to when my mother was still alive, but I didn’t. And I didn’t know why. Maybe because if he said yes, then I would have to seriously consider leaving the life I now had. As it stood, I wanted to be with him forever, but I wanted that forever to be here.

“She’ll find us, Jessica. There is no escape. That’s why…” He put his arm around my waist, pulling me closer to his side. “Later. We’ll talk later.”

I hated that word. Later was just a step below but in the negative news category. David’s postponed talk involved asking for his ring back. My advisor wanted a proposal from me later this month. Mom said we’d talk later about my birthday party. That later never came.

“You’re sad,” Renn said.

I gave his shoulder a bump.

“Don’t be.” He ran a finger across my lips. “We have each other.”

I wasn’t so sure about that.

“To answer your earlier question about why Natasha picked you. You are creative and compassionate. But you’ve lost your ambition, and you’ve been questioning your future. You have strong family ties, and in your quest to know your mother, you’ve developed the need to be a mother yourself. Traits that make you almost a soulmate for this Frank guy.”

I glanced at him as we walked. “Is there anything you don’t know about me?”

“I don’t know what it’s like to kiss you in a mall.”

He pulled me toward him and pressed his lips on mine. My insides exploded. Okay, so he had the advantage of knowing more about me than I did about him. But it really didn’t matter. I knew the most important thing about him. He was my soulmate. No one in the world could make my insides spin with a kiss the way Renn could.