“I thought it was impossible to trick a guy like him. Doesn’t legend spout on about how Decimus had this phenomenal sixth sense?”
“I often wonder about that myself, but the priest got to Vala and when it came to her, Decimus would do anything.”
“What happened?”
“The priest placed Vala’s life in danger. When Decimus learned of her death, he couldn’t help but cross the line instantly in order to save her. The missionary took his chance and Decimus returned with a fist sized hole in his leg.”
Gemma gasped.
“It took him weeks to heal.”
“What happened to the priest?”
“He disappeared.”
Gabe turned to his computer and double clicked the space bar, bringing up a fresh screen. Moving the mouse beside him, he opened up a search engine and began hunting for information on Coyote Granger.
“Oh, well that’s good, right? He couldn’t bug them anymore.”
Gemma watched Gabe’s face pinch.
“What?”
“Nothing.” He shot her a smile. “Let’s just concentrate on getting your man back.”
“But...”
“Kid, we’ve only got so much time. Get to work.”
“But you’re not telling me something.”
“Look, all I know is that Decimus risked everything to save the woman he loved. He should never be criticized for that. When it comes to the person you love… you’d do anything you possibly could to save them.” Gabe’s voice cracked and Gemma felt her heart constrict.
Reaching across the desk, she squeezed his hand and wanted to say she knew the feeling, but suddenly felt she had no right. She hadn’t spent the better part of her life living without Harrison and she now had the hope of getting him back. What hope did Gabe have? She wasn’t sure how Lena died, but if the chilling comment from weeks before was anything to go by, it was a harrowing grief that Gabe lived with. Not to mention the fact he probably hated himself for being powerless to change it.
“Thank you for helping me, Gabe.” The words were insufficient, but he graced her with a small smile anyway. Hesitantly she removed her hand and turned to the keyboard in front of her. Gabe cleared his throat and gave her a few suggestions about the information that would be most useful.
* * * *
“Okay, let’s take a break.” Gabe stretched his hands above him and drew his body north.
Gemma was relieved. They had been scanning Internet documents for nearly two hours. Her eyes felt gritty and her brain was starting to pulse in time with the screen. All they had managed to ascertain from the copious reading was that Coyote Granger was hanged on September 26th 1885 after being captured by a family of riders near the gorge. It didn’t say how long he spent in jail before heading to the gallows and she couldn’t find any information on Mary either.
How had Harrison found out so much? She shook her head in frustration then felt her lips leap with pride. He was a complete genius when it came to researching history. Not to mention the fact he probably had old family journals. Journals that no longer existed… but that was going to change soon enough.
The fluttering inside her accelerated.
“Can we do a little practice?”
Gabe chuckled.
“Sure, kid, why not.” He scanned the library and indicated with a flick of his head to the back corner.
Gemma followed him past volumes of accounting books and finally stopped in the dusty, dark recesses of the library.
“Okay, where do you wanna go?”
Gemma had been making a list throughout the night and felt her lips spread with a wide grin. “8 pm, June 18, 2011.”
“What happened then?”
Gemma blushed and dropped her gaze to the floor. She shrugged casually. “Just a… good night.”
She glanced up through her lashes and noted Gabe’s droll expression.
“How good a night?”
“Not that good. We haven’t… well, not yet anyway.”
She cleared her throat and looked up at him. His arms remained folded, his mouth still grim.
“You’re only seventeen…”
“Dad!” She protested without thought then suddenly blanched. “I mean… Gabe.”
They both dropped their eyes then fought the awkwardness to look up at each other. His head bobbed in contemplation before he cleared his throat and thrust his hands into his pockets.
“Look, whatever you got up to… and I don’t think I want to know… it won’t have happened anymore. It only exists in your memory now.”
“I know.” She shrugged with a frown. “I just thought being in the same location with that same view of the ocean, might keep the memory clearer for just a little longer.”
Gabe’s eyes softened with understanding. He squeezed her shoulder lightly before shifting back into training mode.
“You can’t travel that far yet. Choose something that’s at least within the last 48 hours.”
“That’s it?”
“Would you just be patient, please?” An exasperated sigh escaped his lips. “Look, if you pull this one off without a worry, then I’ll let you head back to the beginning of the week, okay?”
He patted her shoulder and couldn’t fight a grin as he took in her childlike expression.
“Wipe that pout off your face and go back a couple of days, will ya? Go on, get out of here.”
Gemma’s face exploded with a grin as she shut her eyes and began to visualize. Moments later she was standing on the beach, staring past a sun tanned raisin and out at an arthritic pier.
The travel practice came to an end without any drama. Gemma was permitted to go back to the beginning of the week and felt an elated buzz upon her return. She was actually traveling on her own. The sensation was heady.
The rest of the afternoon had been spent at Gabe’s caravan looking over their notes and discussing possible strategies for when she did head back to Canon City.
A forceful text from her mother made Gemma aware of the time.
“I gotta go.” She grabbed her bag and swung it onto her shoulder as she rose from the booth.
Reaching for her tatty sneakers, she was about to slide her foot inside when Gabe’s voice stopped her.
“What’s that?” He slid from his seat and crouched on the floor, running his finger over the birthmark on her ankle.
“It’s a birthmark.”
“No it’s not.”
“Yes it is.”
He grabbed her ankle and lifted her foot towards him, studying the star shaped mark closely. “Well, you didn’t have it at your birth.”
Gemma tried to quell her irritation with a confused laugh. “Yes I did. I’ve always had it.”
Gabe looked up from the floor, his irritation more evident. “Can you just believe me on this one? Your mother and I studied every inch of your perfect skin and you did not have a birthmark on your ankle.” He let go of her foot and rose to face her. “Your collarbone, yes. That thing went fire engine red whenever you cried.” He grinned.
Gemma looked down at her ankle and frowned. “Well if it’s not a birthmark, then what is it?”
Shoving his hands in his pockets, he gazed down at her feet and shrugged. “A tattoo?”
Gemma fell back into the seat and lifted her foot for closer inspection. “It doesn’t even look like a tattoo. It’s brown!”
Gabe ran his finger over the mark again and Gemma saw the hard lines of anger forming as an idea hit him. “Do the rest of your family have the same mark?”
Off the top of her head, she couldn’t quite remember. “Why?” Her heart thudded ominously.
“I’m wondering if that’s how Alistair controls your travel.”
Chapter Twenty-Three
St Augustine, Florida – 2011 AD
Gemma had been traveling on her own for two and a half weeks, but it had been three days since she’d last seen Gabe. Her evil mother had been hounding her since Gemma had made that humble show at the
dinner table. She was constantly being invited shopping and asked to pop into the hospital for lunch. There were only so many excuses she could make up. Finding time with Gabe was becoming frustratingly impossible.
Today, however, she was determined. All she had to do was get out of this painful shopping spree at the mall. She’d already had to try on three pairs of pants, a skirt that took the word mini and shrunk it several times in the wash and a pair of shoes that were so high she’d nearly snapped her ankle on the short trip around the store. Enough was enough!
Smiling politely at her mother’s explanation of why hot pink looked so stunning on her sister, her mind raced with decent excuses for escape.
I have to go for a run.
I thought you went for one this morning?
I need to work out at the gym.
Gemma, you are pushing yourself too hard.
I promised Dom I’d go surfing with him.
He can wait until we get home.
Gemma winced as every excuse was shot down with an easy argument. How she wished for school and homework. That used to get her out of anything.
“So? How does it look?” Ruby whipped back the door to reveal a skin-tight dress. It hugged her petite frame making her butt look small and her boobs look big. Gemma tried to hide her grimace. As stunning as it looked, it screamed slut… something Ruby would no doubt use to her advantage. Gemma wouldn’t be caught dead in such a revealing number.
“You don’t think it’s a little tight?”
“Mom, would you get out of the 18th Century please?” Ruby spun back to the mirror to admire herself. Gathering up her hair into a hand held bun, she turned from side to side to study the effect with the dress.
It did look amazing. With some drop earrings Ruby would turn every head on the block. Gemma was about to say so when something grabbed her throat and cut off her air supply. Just before Ruby dropped her hair she spotted it. The small star shaped mark sat at the base of her hairline and it looked exactly like Gemma’s.
“Lift your hair again, Rube. I want to see it one more time.”
Ruby obliged with a smile. Gemma sucked back her fears and pasted on a look of approval.
“Nice,” she managed.
Gabe’s comment about her birthmark had had her mind spinning, but time had reduced the impact of it. The first few days she had subtly tried to study each of her family looking for similar marks, but her somewhat pathetic investigation had revealed nothing. As she’d immersed herself in practicing her travel, the idea that Gabe might be right only simmered in the corners of her brain. Something she was more than happy to go along with. Facing the prospect of being bonded to her parents was a battle for another day. All she wanted for now was to get Harrison back.
But now she couldn’t escape it. Her lips moved to ask her mother if she knew her daughters both had similar birthmarks. She wanted to sound casual and judge her mother’s reaction, but fear clutched her throat and she ended up spluttering on her own saliva instead.
“What’s wrong with you? You don’t like it, do you?” Ruby looked annoyed.
Gemma shook her head as her mother gave her a couple of crisp slaps on the back.
“You can be honest sweetheart,” Penelope said.
No, I really can’t.
She had to get out of here. She had to breathe.
Looking around her, she quickly surveyed the store hunting for some fashion excuse that could be easily bought. Instead fate gifted her an out.
“Why don’t you go and get a drink. You sound like you need one.”
Gemma smiled gratefully at her mother, adding one more cough for good measure. Grabbing the five-dollar bill from her mother’s hand she made a hasty retreat from the store. As soon as she was on the other side of the glass, she inhaled the sweet nectar of open, non-perfumed air. Closing her eyes against the rolling emotions threatening to nauseate her, she let out a slow breath and turned towards the grocery store at the other end of the mall.
She knew she had to tell Gabe about Ruby’s mark and a huge part of her wanted to, but… that could make his theory true and as much as she wanted to break free of this family she was petrified.
Maybe I shouldn’t try to sneak off and see Gabe today.
She entered the store and absentmindedly turned towards the drinks aisle. Her eyes glazed over the human traffic as she wove past an elderly couple working out the most economic loaf of bread and past a toddler throwing a huge tantrum over not getting the cereal he wanted. She was about to glide right past the girl agitatedly debating which chocolate bar to choose when she stopped. In all honesty it looked like she was about to go for both. That’s when Gemma recognized her.
“Oh hey, Courtney! I nearly walked right past you.”
Gemma smiled as she watched the girl turn with a confused frown. She wanted to envelop her in a huge hug. This was the first connection to Harrison she’d come across since he disappeared. Courtney’s hesitant expression kept Gemma’s arms firmly crossed.
“How was Maine?”
Courtney flinched and stepped away from her. “How did you know I went there?”
“Um.” Gemma swallowed, her friendly confidence swiftly draining. “You told me. Was it as bad as you thought it would be?”
“It was okay.” Courtney’s eyes ran down Gemma’s body as she placed the two bars back on the shelf. Her need for escape was evident.
What is her problem? Did I do something wrong?
Gathering up her last shred of social courage she decided to have one more shot then abandon ship if Courtney’s behavior didn’t defrost rapidly.
“I guess hiking and camping aren’t that bad after all.” She was sure her smile looked fake and forced.
Courtney’s brows wrinkled. “Why are you talking to me?”
“I’m sorry?”
“You never talk to me. You never talk to anyone.”
“But, Courtney, we’re friends. We…” The smile slid from Gemma’s face as realization rained down on her like cinder. No Harrison. No friends.
Gemma swallowed the lump in her throat. “Sorry, I just… I forgot…”
“Forgot what? That you’re the school hermit?”
Gemma looked down to hide the burning in her cheeks. Courtney remained still, looking at her with that same perplexed frown. Resolved, Gemma glanced up to say a dignified farewell when she suddenly noticed the red rim around Courtney’s eyes.
She’s been crying… and she’s buying chocolate.
“Are you okay?”
“Gemma, what do you want? Why are you suddenly talking to me?”
“Because you look upset?”
“I don’t need this right now.” Courtney turned to leave with an irritated huff.
“No wait.” Gemma grabbed her arm. “Please. I know I’ve been quiet and I know I was really rude to you that time you tried to be nice to me, but I’ve changed. I…” Suddenly lost, Gemma grasped for Courtney’s favorite topic. “How’s Darren?”
Courtney’s face drained of color. “How the hell should I know?”
Gemma felt her heart lurch. “Did you guys break up?”
“Break up? We were never even together!”
“But I thought he liked you.”
“Me too!” Suddenly forgetting her reservations, Courtney launched into a passionate explanation. “I was just waiting for him to ask me out, but then Dana decided she wanted him, even though she knew how I felt! Don’t you remember her swooning all over him? She was supposed to be my friend!”
Gemma bit the inside of her cheek as vague memories from her Harrison-less existence bested her. She had watched with minimal interest, feeling sorry for Courtney. The image of Courtney crying fresh waves of tears in the bathroom suddenly crystallized in her mind. All she remembered now was lifting her feet so that Courtney didn’t know she was in the stall listening.
Man, I hate myself sometimes. “I’m really sorry she did that to you.”
Courtney tisked and looked away. “Who c
ares, right? If he’s dumb enough to go out with her than he’s not worth it anyway. He’s probably only after one thing.”
“You know that’s not true. Darren’s a good guy. He’s just slow and shy.”
“Yeah,” Courtney conceded with a frown. “Dana said it was my fault for not asking him first.”
“I like that you want the guy to make the first move. It’s dignified.”
Courtney’s lips quivered with a smile, boosting Gemma’s confidence.
“His loss, right?”
“Thanks.”
“Hey, do you want to go get a drink or something?”
Uncertainty flickered over Courtney’s face. She glanced at her watch then looked up with apology. “I don’t think so, Gemma. I gotta go.”
Lifting her bag higher onto her shoulder, she spun on her heels and skulked away. The two chocolate bars sat precariously on the edge of the shelf, forgotten. Or maybe Courtney was just waiting until the coast was clear before retrieving them.
Gemma slumped towards the drinks aisle with a frown. She didn’t like herself without Harrison. If he were still around, Courtney wouldn’t have spent the last five minutes looking at her as though she was some kind of alien.
This sucks!
Gemma turned into the aisle and spotted what she could only assume was the cause of Courtney’s tears. Darren and Dana stood before the soda cans. His arm was slung over her shoulder and he looked resigned as she prattled on about how diet was the only drink she could possibly have and she didn’t care if it tasted different. They spotted her staring at them. Dana gave her a disgusted smirk while Darren looked a little perplexed that she was even making eye contact.
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