Empath (Book 1 of the Empath Trilogy) (29 page)

Riding the elevator to the top floor, I made a game of catching his eye and coyly glancing away; my goal was to make him smile and between floors two and three it worked.  Leading the way, he carried the bags down the long hallway until we reached our room.  James must have gotten the best room in the place.  Ours was off the main hall, on a quiet wing overlooking the lake and our view was spectacular.  We walked in, he tossed the bags down on the chair in the corner and I continued through to the balcony.  Opening the door, I walked out into the shock of only mildly brisk air and took in the scenery.  It was an unusually bright, sunny day in Duluth and the lake reflected the clear blue of the sky next to the fall colors lining the visible shoreline.

My hands were on the balcony railing, the light breeze ruffling my hair and just like that, my legs were swept up from underneath me as a low chuckle rang in my ear.  James whisked me back inside and tossed me, giggling on the bed.  I couldn’t help but get caught up in the moment, his joy was infectious.  Here we were, none of the bad guys following us for now, no constant checking in with anybody about safety or patrols. We were just two normal people in love.  Sappy, but true.

“Well,” his demeanor changed, making me catch my breath as he made his way up the bed, hovering over me.  “We have almost five hours before anyone will be expecting us.  Is there anything you
need
to do?”   

Reaching up, I slid a hand into his hair and coaxed him closer so that I could wrap a leg around his thigh and pull him down to show him my first idea.  It met with his approval, my health no longer a concern for him.  Sometime later, we threw on our clothes and grabbed our jackets, heading out into the afternoon sunshine. 

Ch. 36

James and I wandered in and out of some shops as the urge struck.  Duluth was great for its boutique shops.  I hadn’t had anything since breakfast and even though I argued I wasn’t hungry, James worried about another fainting spell so we stopped off at a coffee shop and I grabbed a vanilla latte.

We wandered into one of the shops advertising specialty woodwork and found, scattered throughout, beautiful sections of carved animals, doors and children’s toys, antique wood inlaid boxes.  One box in particular grabbed my attention, reeling me in while James made a loop around the far side of the shop to get a better look at an old door. 

It was about the size of a cigar box and had intricate patterns inlaid on all sides with a stretched out map of the world on the top.  Each continent and the larger islands was a different shade and type of wood.  I recognized mahogany, pine, cedar, and cypress; there were a few others not so easily distinguished.  I thought it perfect for James’ office at home.  

Patiently, I waited until he was heading for the door.  “I’m going to use the restroom.  Would you mind waiting at the tables out front with my coffee?”  He gave me a curious look.  Wrinkling my nose I raised my cup.  “I can’t take it in with me.”  He kissed my head, taking my cup before turning to walk out.  When I was sure he was outside, I turned back and grabbed the box whisking it to the middle of the store and the counter. 

The shopkeeper was a fifty something woman dressed in an artsy, burlap-like dress with some funky paint splattered glasses on a faux pearl chain.  Dramatically made up eyes crinkled kindly at me over her glasses.  “Quite a find, dear.”  I didn’t know if she meant the box or James. 

“Thank you,” I mumbled, blushing like a fool as she wrapped up my package.  She smiled again as she handed me the bag and I walked quickly out of the store. 

Stepping onto the street, my gaze easily rested on James’ back.  He was sitting casually, to all appearances watching the people with little interest, unless you knew like I did, that he was studying each face for signs of danger.  I couldn’t help but feel a little sad seeing him looking so out of place here, waiting for me at a mismatched bistro set on a narrow sidewalk between bike racks and trees.  He should be at a real bistro in Paris or somewhere much more cosmopolitan than this. 

I was standing outside the door of the shop, staring at him with my gift in hand, feeling woefully outclassed, when he sensed me and shifted in his seat.  Seeing the smile twist his lips when he saw me, I tucked away my doubts for the future in favor of the pleasures of now.  That skill was not exclusively his. 

As I approached, his eyes followed my arm down to settle on the bag in my hand.  I wished briefly he didn’t have to cover his eyes outside in the sun.  I’d come to rely on them to read his moods.  His eyes were the one thing he couldn’t control and without them I was blind.  Motioning for me to come over and sit with him, a crease settled on his forehead when I set his gift down on the table in front of him. 

“What is that?”

“Go on, open it.”  I pushed it toward him, again fully aware he could hear my pulse accelerating. 

Wordlessly, he took the bag and lifted the gift out very gently.  Long pale fingers unwrapped the tissue paper from the box taking care not to let it slide on the metal table.  When the last of the paper was pulled away, my eyes were focused on James’ face.  I had a second of trepidation that I’d chosen poorly when he sat, paper held aloft in his frozen hand staring at it.  It felt like an eternity before he reanimated and spoke carefully, “Claire, this is very thoughtful of you.”

“Do you like it?  I saw it and could picture it on your desk.  You have all of those business cards and scraps of paper with restaurants and stuff from your trips floating around in a pile.  I thought it might give you a place for them.” 

He leaned forward putting a hand on the back of my neck and his lips were brief but urgent.  “I love it.”

After he rewrapped it for safe transport, we continued our meandering way down the street. Holding hands and looking in shop windows wordlessly for the next while.  When he tried to get my attention he had to squeeze my hand. 

“I’m sorry, I was in my own world.” 

James gave me a quick grin and rubbed the back of my hand with his thumb.  “I recognize that I don’t offer up much from my past, it’s just that when you have so many lifetimes they can blur.  What makes sense in one may not make sense in another because it is a different life entirely.”  His expression was guarded.

I had thought about that before, how could I not?  Yet Troy’s words about family had been cathartic.  I knew the man James was now, regardless of his people or what he might have done a century ago.  “I don’t mind.  As long as you’re here now that’s all that matters.”

Cocking his head at my ready acceptance yet again of his complicated life, James got a weird set to his lips right before he moved.  It was so fast I wasn’t ready and for a second; I was scared he’d seen someone when he plucked me out of the middle of the sidewalk and up against the building.  I was taken aback never having approved of public displays of affection, but as usual, when he touched me I felt that visceral pull at the center of my insides and the world fell away leaving only him and his kiss.  It was a moment before I recognized the sound of my name being called from somewhere nearby and my eyes rounded in fear. 

James pulled me harder against his body and turned us so that he was between the voice and me.  To an onlooker, it might have looked like he was maneuvering me to make out against the building.  I knew he was putting himself in a position to protect me. 

Peering over his shoulder, I followed the direction of the voice and caught a glimpse of my cousin Angie and her husband Brad walking toward us from two shops up.  Angie’s eyes were popping out of her head, one arm waving wildly while the other held on to her poor husband being dragged along behind her, looking like he’d eaten a bug. 

Before he unwittingly killed a relative, I whispered over his shoulder.  “It’s family, false alarm.”

Immediately he relaxed his arm and turned himself into me for another kiss, being very thorough trying to sell this one as a moment of passion on the street.  I didn’t mind although now I was
really
going to have them talking tonight. 

“Angie, hi.”  There was no need to fake the breathlessness or flush in my face.  I stepped around him and didn’t argue with the hand he slid down my arm and into my palm.  James took his protector status very seriously.  I for one appreciated the support; family made me almost as nervous as bad guys.  “Long time, no see.  Hey Brad, how’ve you been?”

Angie was only a few years older than me and had married her high school sweetheart a year ago.  They were a great couple, one of those that makes perfect sense to anyone who meets them for more than five minutes.  She was a talker while he was the quiet type.  Both were attractive, blond and tall.  I had heard there was already pressure on them for children, however, they enjoyed running competitively and camping too much to give in yet. 

Angie was of course the one to speak for them.  “Claire, how have you been?  I missed you at
our
wedding. 
You’ve
changed.  The last time I saw you I think it was my mother’s birthday.  Weren’t you sick or something?  You stayed in the guest bedroom the
whole time
.  Guess you got better.”  She eyed up my companion, her fascination readily apparent and it didn’t take Brad long to figure it out.  He was tense, not at all pleased with James as he stared at him icily.

My manners kicked in.  “Angie, Brad, this is my friend James Thomas.  James, meet my cousin and her husband Brad and Angie Carlson.  I’m assuming you two are in town for the wedding as well?”

“Yeah, we have to grab some things they forgot to bring over to the hotel.  We’ll head over to the hall in a little while.  So, James, you’re
the
date, huh?  Jeanette, that’s Claire’s mom, has been speculating about you
all
week.”  She stage whispered behind her hand, giving him a coy wink.  

Brad cleared his throat attempting to be polite.  I had always liked Brad.  He was nice to everyone because that was just his way.  It was never to impress or get something.  I appreciated that he’d never pushed me to participate or insisted on hugging at functions when I clearly looked uncomfortable, and for that I loved him. 

“Hey, Ang,” he took her hand.  “Don’t we need to finish getting that stuff?  They’re waiting for us.”  He shot a glare at James who pretended not to notice the jealous attitude shift.  Brad must have squeezed her hand because she yelped and glanced up, turning a deeper shade of pink at what she saw. 

Angie, back on her good behavior, waved as her husband pulled her back to the other side of the sidewalk.  “See you two tonight.”

After they had gone, James and I both breathed a sigh of relief and I leaned my head against his shoulder.  James kept his eyes constantly moving between the sidewalk and the street.  So adept was he at his job, I knew if I looked at his face I would see only mild interest in his surroundings yet I could feel his muscles coiled tightly beneath the surface of his skin ready to spring if necessary.  While I walked beside him, I thought about what Angie was going to tell my parents. 

Groaning, I mentioned it to James, “You heard me tell my mom we were just friends and you were going to ask my dad permission to date me.  Now Angie is going to tell them we were borderline indecent in the street.”

“I don’t mind if they know that you’ve let me kiss you.  What about the situation makes you uncomfortable?  Are you worried they will question your judgment?”  One brown eyebrow flicked up accentuating his crooked grin. 

“I don’t really care about the rest of them, but yes, I do worry what my parents will think.”  I wanted to explain.  “Just put yourself in their shoes for a second.  Their only child, a daughter, who has never been away from home, is now off living in a dorm room alone with virtually no adult supervision.  She has never dated and is innocent in the ways of men.”  The corner of his mouth twitched.  “Hey, I
was
a complete innocent before you came along, I’d never even kissed anybody before.”

“You didn’t seem to mind.”  He was only half playful though, I could tell his feelings were mildly bruised.

What I had to say was important to me so I soldiered on.  “Just listen please.  Their daughter has been at school less than a month and this ‘friend’ she brought out of nowhere to go to a wedding with her has now been spotted making out with her on a public street corner.  That just isn’t how I was raised.  I don’t want them to think less of either of us for this.”