In answer, Bethea in turn kissed his hand. For a moment they put their heads together, sharing an intimacy Laine had never witnessed between the two. The only thing that would make this moment more perfect would be if Arabella were here.
But she was dead. Though death, for such as she, was perhaps not as final as for ordinary humans. Laine had felt her several times, before they left the Blackhorse Inn and the lush forests and streams around it. Arabella was gone from this world, but in the next she was with her beloved.
Laine drained the last of her coffee and jumped up. She could bear being inside no longer, with the brilliant golden day out there ready and waiting.
“I’m going for a run. Anyone care to join me?”
Arren, Innis, and Anya immediately leapt up, as she had known they would. Here in the wide-open prairie, far from prying eyes, they could shift as they willed, and run forever.
Martin and Bethea remained seated. He looked at her and quirked an eyebrow. “Well, my dearest? Is it time?”
Time? What did he mean?
Bethea cupped his face in her hands, searching his hazel eyes with her own. “Are you sure, my love? Completely sure? There’s no going back . . . ”
He grabbed both her hands and pulled her up into a bear hug. “I’m sure.”
Together they smiled at the younger generation. “We’re going to take a walk to the river. It will be cold . . . but I think a swim is just the thing for us.”
Water, Circle, Moon Page 29