Shadow of Time - Book 1: (Paranormal Romance) (3 page)

“Did you always have that
mark?” she wondered softly, absently touching his skin with her index finger. Josh stopped breathing, and she looked up. He was staring at her hand, and then briefly at her. His gaze drifted to the sand below their feet.

“No,” he replied after a long, awkward silence. “Last time you saw me I didn’t have it yet. I got it
– after that.”

“Oh.” Well, that was weird.
After all, they were called ‘birthmarks’ because people were born with them. “It’s shaped like an animal,” she pointed out, suddenly realizing her hand was still on his chest. She quickly let it slide down.

“A bear,” he
said crisply. He avoided her eyes and scanned the deck behind them. “Let’s go eat our ice creams.”

Hannah frowned
. Something in his attitude had clearly changed after she mentioned his birthmark. “Look, I’m sorry if I was prying.”

He looked
down at her, a sudden touch of tenderness in his eyes. “You’re not prying,” he said softly. Then he pressed his lips to her hand – the hand he was still holding – in a quick, soft kiss. He stepped back and headed toward the table. Hannah let her hand fall to her side, exhaling slowly.

With a sour face, she rubbed her forehead.
Yep, Ben was absolutely right. St. Mary’s Port was definitely the
best
place to relax and let go of things.

3.

That night, Hannah strolled back home in silence, Ben walking next to her. She would have liked to share with him how the evening with Josh had confused her, but perhaps she wasn’t ready for Ben to know yet. Still, it felt weird not to say anything to him. She always talked to Ben about everything that was on her mind, and he was the same with her.

Absently, s
he looked up to see some people sitting on the porch of the neighboring house, their faces illuminated by the large candle on the table they were sitting at.

“
Let’s go and say hi,” Ben said, following her gaze. He waved at the new neighbors and pulled Hannah along to their front porch.

Hannah was quickly introduced to the Greene family – Ivy and Amber, two red-haired sisters, and their parents Paul and Sarah.
She and Ben sat down on one of the porch benches to tell the neighbors some stories about their previous summers in St. Mary’s Port.

As Ben told Paul where the best fishing spots were,
Hannah’s gaze wandered to the book Amber had in her lap. “Herbal Remedies,” she read from the cover. “You reading that for fun or for school?”

Amber shrugged. “I’
m going to study naturopathy after the summer, but I haven’t started yet. So I guess that means it’s for fun.”

Hannah chuckled
. Yup, she and Amber would get along well. “Well, if you like picking herbs and wild plants, you should help me and Ben sometime. We’re going to do a barbecue with some friends from the reservation soon. We used to do those at the lake every summer. Ben and Josh would catch fresh fish, and Emily and I would pick berries. Like real hunter-gatherers.”

“We’
d love to join you! Dad taught us how to fish,” Ivy offered. “With us on your team, you’ll never go hungry.”

Hannah
groaned. “What? Nobody wants to help me pick berries?”

Ben chuckled
, a large grin taking up his whole face. “Oh, don’t worry. Josh will help you out. I bet you can’t wait to go off into the woods with him.”

Hannah
opened and closed her mouth again, trying to suppress the blush creeping up her face. “Ben,” she hissed indignantly, shooting him a withering look.

“What?” He shrugged vaguely, turning away from her to light a cigarette.

After talking to the neighbours for a few more minutes, they decided to go home, wishing the Greenes a good night.

As they
trudged back to their own cabin in awkward silence, Hannah bit her lip. Shouldn’t she say something? Finally, Ben cleared his throat, sitting down on the porch steps. “Uhm – sorry I offended you before. You know.”

“What
do you mean?” Hannah replied softly.

“A
bout the woods.” Ben glanced sideways. “About Josh. I didn’t want to tick you off. You just seemed to have, like, a really great time with him tonight.”

H
annah shifted. She couldn’t really deny Ben’s joke had made her uncomfortable – he’d seen her go red.

“You didn’t tick me off
,” she finally said, because Ben kept staring at her, his face a big question mark.

“Then what?”

Hannah sighed. She brushed an imaginary speck of dust from her skirt. “I felt caught.”

“
So you like Josh.” It wasn’t a question, but a statement. Hannah looked sideways, suddenly so nervous she wished she could take a drag of Ben’s cigarette. He followed her gaze and held out his cigarette. “Want to share?”

“No, thanks.
I shouldn’t start smoking again.”

Ben shrugged. “So
– do you?” he asked.

“I don’t
know,” Hannah muttered, staring at a dark stain in the wooden floor of the porch, suddenly thinking of Josh’s birthmark. “I mean – I’ve known him since forever.”

“Seems like a good starting point.
” Ben put an arm around her shoulders.

Hannah
snatched the cigarette from Ben’s fingers. “Just one drag,” she grumbled, displeased with herself and her bad habits.

Ben gave
her a warm smile. “I’m sorry, sis. I’ll stop goading you, okay?”

Together, t
hey finished the last bit of the cigarette and then went into the cabin for a good, long night’s sleep.

The next morning
, Hannah was woken up by bright sunlight streaming in through the window, shining directly in her face. Oh crap – she hadn’t closed the curtains yesterday. Groaning, she turned her back to the window.

Still a bit groggy,
Hannah heard Ben talking on the phone in the kitchen. “No, she’s still asleep. I’ll say hello to her when she wakes up. How’s Paris?”

That
must be Katie on the phone. Her brother’s girlfriend was touring Europe by train during her summer break. Paris was the third city on her list.

“You want more coffee?” a familiar voice suddenly addressed Ben.

Oh. Josh was here, too. A slight smile tugged at her lips as she sat up in bed.

Hannah
listened absent-mindedly to one end of the conversation between Ben and Katie on the phone, not quite ready to step outside just yet. She was eager to talk to Josh, but the thought of having him around all morning actually made her nervous.

Oh, geez. She was really
into
Josh. She couldn’t deny it.

Hannah sat
up straight, staring at herself in the mirror on the wall above her bed. She’d been in a steady relationship for years. It had been a while since she’d fallen in love. Was it even real? After all, what did she really know about this new, seventeen-year-old Josh? The thirteen-year-old boy from four summers ago seemed like a different person.

She got dressed slowly, trying to get the creases out of her red linen dress. She put on a pair of black fl
ip-flops and quickly dragged a comb through her hair before stepping out of the room. After all, there was no reason to show herself sporting a disastrous hairdo yet again.

“Good morning,” she hollered upon entering the kitchen. Ben and Josh looked up from their breakfast plates with wide grins. “Enjoy,” she went on with a glance at the pile of pancakes on the table.

“Did you sleep well?” Ben asked.

“Like a log.”

“Would you like some pancakes too?” Josh asked, nodding at the pile.

“In a minute. F
irst I’ll grab some O.J., and then I’ll have a shower.”

“Why did you get dressed if you still need to take a shower?” Ben
asked with a grin. “Were you wearing silly pajamas unfit for public display?”

“
Didn’t have any on. I forgot to pack them,” Hannah said without thinking. She could feel her cheeks flush and quickly turned around to pour herself some juice from the carton on the counter. “I’ll buy a pair of PJs in the village later on. And while I’m at it, can I get you guys anything?”

Ben chuckled. “How about getting us some more fishin
g rods?”

Hannah
glared at him. “Sure, I’ll get the neighbors new fishing rods so I’ll be my own berry-picking team for the barbecue.”

Josh looked up
. “What barbecue?”

“
Why don’t you tell him about our barbecue plans while I hit the shower?” Hannah quickly stalked out of the kitchen before Ben could crack any more jokes about berry-picking and teaming up with Josh in the woods.

When she got back to the
kitchen freshly showered and made-up, the breakfast table was empty. That was a bit disappointing – Ben and Josh had already left without saying goodbye. Hannah sat down to make herself a small stack of pancakes with butter and syrup, humming along to the radio. Still whistling, she walked to the fridge to get some more orange juice, pouring herself a large glass. When she closed the fridge door, Josh was suddenly back in the kitchen, standing right next to her.

“Oh, hi,” she sai
d, a bit taken aback. “I thought the two of you had already left.”

“
We’re leaving in a minute.” He smiled at her. Hannah shuffled past him and sat down at the table again, gulping down a large swig of juice and cutting off a piece of her pancake.

When s
he looked up. Josh was leaning against the kitchen counter, resting his hands on either side, staring back at her. She swallowed hard. Wasn’t this silence awkward? Maybe she should make conversation.

“Y
ou want some?” she asked, pointing at the pancakes in front of her. “I can’t finish them all by myself.”

He shook his head
. “No, thanks. I’m full.”

Hannah put
the fork in her mouth and slowly chewed a bit of pancake.

“So, what do you think?” Josh asked
, a small smile dancing on his lips.

“
Uhm – tasty,” she mumbled with her mouth full. Puzzled, she looked back at him, and then it clicked. “Oh! Did
you
make them?”

“Yep.
Used special flour from the rez. Don’t look so baffled, I have many talents you have yet to discover.” He sported a cocky grin, and Hannah blinked, literally forcing the blood away from her face. He was doing it on purpose, she could feel it.

“So it would seem.” S
he laughed nervously. “Well, at least they taste a lot better than Ben’s baking blunders.”

“
Hey, that sounds like a cool name for a bakery. Can’t you just picture it as a store sign - ‘Ben’s Baking Blunders’?” He made a stately gesture.

Hannah
burst out giggling, nearly choking on her pancake. Josh quickly walked over to her and carefully patted her back. “You okay? I’m sorry I’m so hilarious.”

“You’re too modest.” Hannah coughed
, catching her breath again before she looked up at him, suddenly registering that his hand was still on her back. It made her insides turn to goo.

Right at that moment, Ben entered the kitchen. “I found the air beds,” he told Josh, his gaze wandering from Josh’s hand to Hannah’s flustered fac
e. Why did she feel like he’d caught her doing something naughty?

Josh let his hand fall from
her back, taking a step toward Ben. “Good, let’s go then,” he said, suddenly in a hurry. He joined Ben and they clattered out of the kitchen.

“See you tonight,” Ben shouted over his shoulder. “I’m cooking for us. You can invite Emily too!”

“Yeah, I will.” She didn’t dare ask who exactly he meant by ‘us’.

At noon, Hannah
threw her cell phone, keys, and purse into her handbag and left the cabin. It didn’t take long to find Grassroots, the vegetarian restaurant in the village center. Her gaze drifted to a Navajo girl sitting at a small table outside.

“
Uhm... Emily?” she ventured.

The girl looked up from the magazine she’d been reading,
a wide smile appearing on her face. “Hannah!” she exclaimed enthusiastically, getting to her feet. “You’re back!”

“Em!” Hannah hugged
her old friend tightly. “It’s great to see you again. You look good.”