Page 44 of Stolen Time
Seth reached out a hand to help me to my feet, and I waited near the blankets — which he didn’t seem to be worried about — while he secured the basket in the trunk. Afterward, he came back over to me, saying, “There’s a little path that winds away from the picnic area and into the woods. It loops back aroundand comes out a hundred feet or so from where it starts, so you can’t really get lost.”
I reflected that getting lost in the woods with Seth didn’t seem like such a bad idea…especially since I guessed he probably knew this land well and we wouldn’t stay lost for very long. In the meantime, though, I’d be just fine with being alone with him out here, in a place where it felt as though the rest of the world was very far away.
“Lead on,” I said.
He offered me his arm, and I took it. As we went, I found myself glad that I’d switched over to my flat shoes; it wasn’t as though we were rock climbing or anything close to it, but still, the path was far from level and had stones and fallen branches strewn here and there, showing that, while someone might come along every once in a while to make sure the trees weren’t openly encroaching on the pathway, neither were they expending too much effort to go through on a daily or even weekly basis to make sure the way was clear.
And I was okay with that. I liked the wild feel of our surroundings, and with Seth providing a steady arm to lean on, I knew I didn’t have to worry about tripping and doing a face-plant in the middle of the path. Aspens grew here and there among the pines, as well as sycamores and oaks and a few other trees I didn’t recognize, and the soft rustle of their leaves made me think of home, and the way my family always made an effort to go on a hike in the San Francisco Peaks wilderness when the aspens were turning in the fall.
“It’s beautiful,” I said.
Seth’s head tilted up toward the canopy above us, and I caught a hint of a smile at the corner of his mouth. “I’m glad you like it out here. I used to come up here a lot when I was younger and just wanted a chance to walk among the trees and clear my head.”
That comment made me want to smile as well. I knew he was only twenty-four, so those “younger” days must have been when he was still a schoolboy.
All the same, I understood what he meant. Although I loved my family and we got along well, I’d still had those times when I needed to get away from the noise and chaos that always seemed to come along with being the middle child of three siblings, and up to a place where I could be alone for a while and let myself breathe.
Funny how Seth and I had been born more than a hundred years apart, and yet were so alike.
“It feels as though I used to do something like this, too,” I replied. Although I couldn’t tell him the truth about myself, I thought maybe it would be safe to share how this walk in the trees felt familiar to me as well.
“You’re remembering something?” he asked, a certain eager light showing in his eyes.
I couldn’t ignore the undercurrent of excitement…of hope…in his voice. “I’m not sure ‘remembering’ is the right way to describe it. More like…there’s something here that seems almost familiar. But it’s not something I can consciously recall.”
To my relief, he didn’t appear too disappointed by my reply. “Still, it might mean something is waking up in your mind…that even though your memories are buried, things about your past are beginning to surface.”
“I suppose it’s possible,” I allowed, and we walked a little further. If I hadn’t known better, I would have thought we were plunging deeper and deeper into the woods, even though Seth had described this trail as one big loop, and therefore we couldn’t possibly get lost as long as we stuck to the path.
A moment passed, and another. Then he said, “There’s something I need to talk to you about.”
“Oh?”
His steps slowed to a stop, and I paused as well. Here, the rustle of the wind in the trees was a little louder, and from somewhere off in the distance came the impatienttap-tap-tapof a woodpecker, but otherwise, nothing seemed to move in the forest around us.
“There’s…something happening in my family right now,” he said. “It’s not something I can discuss with anyone who’s not a family member, not really. But because of that, I need to concentrate on being with them for a while. Not long, I hope. Maybe a week at the most. Until then, though….”
The words drifted off, caught by the breeze. Rather than look away, his gaze caught mine, pure azure, worried and somehow…ashamed?
No, that didn’t make any sense.
“Until then…?” I prompted, and he released a breath.
“We won’t be able to see each other.”
I might have been angry, except I could tell he was under a lot of strain. Whatever was going on, he was asking for this separation…a temporary one, from the way he was talking…only because he knew it was the right thing to do.
Was one of his parents sick? As soon as the question crossed my mind, though, I promptly dismissed it. A good healer could take care of any health issues that arose in a clan, whether a broken bone or brain cancer.
Except, as with all witches, skills varied from person to person. After meeting Helen O’Dowd, I had no reason to believe she wasn’t utterly competent, but what if she wasn’t? What if she was fine with handling sprained ankles and childhood fevers, but fell down on the job when it came to the really big stuff?
That worry made me ask, “Is someone ill?”
“No, no,” Seth said hastily. “Nothing like that. It’s just…family business. I can’t say more than that.” He stopped thereand took my hands in his. As much as I loved the strength in his fingers, I was almost annoyed with him right then.
Didn’t he know how much his touch affected me? If he was trying to break things off, initiating physical contact didn’t seem like a very good idea right then.
No, I was being too hard on him. Whatever might be going on with the McAllisters, I could tell it was something Seth knew he should go along with, even if he was less than happy about the situation.