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"Some dill pickles and pepperoncinis on the side, maybe?"
"Massive heartburn waiting to happen coming right up," he said. "You want pepperjack
cheese on that sub?"
"Please."
He sighed. "Woman, you'll have nightmares all night."
"I'm going to anyway," she prophesied, knowing she wasn't going to get much sleep in
the coming nights.
He started out the door then stopped to give her a concerned look. "You want to come
with me?"
She shook her head. "If you don't mind, I'd like to take a hot bath."
"There's a robe in the armoire in the bath. Hasn't ever been taken out of the package."
Wynter cocked her head to one side. "My size?"
"What do you think?" he asked before exiting the room.
She heard him downstairs then sat up when the front door closed. Swinging her legs
from the bed, she hurried out of the bedroom and down the stairs. She made a beeline to her
purse, opened it and rummaged inside for the slip of paper she'd folded and put there before
leaving home that morning. Paper in hand, she placed the purse on the foyer table once again
and ran back upstairs. Hand trembling, she picked up the phone on the bedside table and
punched in the number from the paper.
The phone rang and rang and rang, her hopes evaporating with each hollow sound. She
was clutching the receiver so tightly her hand began to cramp and by the time the twentieth ring
came, she slowly returned the receiver to its cradle.
"Where are you, Kaegan?" she asked, feeling the prickling of tears at the back of her
eyes.
She needed him, she thought as she looked down at his handwriting. She needed so
desperately to talk to him, to tell him what had happened. For a long time she stared at the paper
until she had the number memorized then slipped it into the pocket of her skirt. With shoulders
slumped, she went into the bathroom and closed the door.
When Azzin returned, he found Wynter sitting in the shower the water beating down on
her bent head, legs bent and wrapped securely in the protection of her arms. She was crying, her
shoulders shaking, and his heart broke. Opening the glass door, he reached in to turn off the
shower then bent down to lift her out.
"Ah, baby," he groaned. "You're like ice."
He had no idea how long she'd been under the cold water but he knew he'd been gone at
least thirty minutes. There had been a long line at the sub shop and though he was tempted to
use his magick but common sense prevailed and he stood huffing and puffing and glaring in
the line like everyone else.
He sat her down on his workout bench and turned to get a towel. She was shivering
when he flung it around her, her lips trembling. He ran the soft fabric over her somewhat
roughly in an effort to warm her, blotting her sopping wet hair, pushing it from her eyes.
"She's gone, Azzin," she said. "I'll never see her again. I'll never talk to her again."
WINDS THROUGH TIME Charlotte Boyett-Compo 84
She lifted her head and the look she gave him made his knees weak.
"I've lost my best friend and the last thing I said to her was ...." Her voice broke. "Screw
you."
"It wasn't said in anger," he said, instinctively understanding that was the way the two
women had interacted. "Was it?"
"No, but ...." Her shoulders shook. "That shouldn't have been the last thing she heard me
say!"
He reached for his robe and wrapped her in it then lifted her again, carried her into the
bedroom and sat her on the bed. He walked over to one of the armoires and took out a gown he'd
purchased just for her. It was a long cotton gown down in pale green gingham and he helped her
put it on.
Though the food and soda pop he'd fetched her was sitting on the table across the room,
he knew she wouldn't touch it. After he tucked her beneath the sheets, he went over to put the
sub in the mini fridge and brought back one of the cans of Cherry Pepsi, popping the lid as he sat
down beside her.
"Here, this will help," he said.
"Nectar of the gods," she said on a hitching sob.
"If you say so," he replied with a snort. "I'll keep some on hand from now on."
It was the fleeting look she sent him that brought Azzin's world to an immediate halt. He
knew at that moment he had lost the contest. Rage unfolded within him but he was careful not
allow it to show. He forced a smile he prayed was not as hideous as it felt to his lips and reached
out to gently cup Wynter's cheek. The contact drove the pain deeper into his heart and it was all
he could do not to howl.
"Thank you," she said softly, lowering her eyes.
"I would do anything for you," he said then lowered his hand. His heart torn in half, he
moved from the bed then looked around. "I forgot to tell you. I have Rachel's belongings out in
the car. They gave them to me when you were with the Rabbi." [ Pobierz całość w formacie PDF ]