Indigo Incite (The Indigo Trilogy) (30 page)

“I
appreciate the offer, but I think I should do this on my own. I want to just
sit down and get it done. If I studied with you, I would be too tempted to talk
and get sidetracked.”

The
disappointment was apparent in her expression. “Oh, okay. Well, if you change
your mind, I’m just a phone call away. Do you mind if I join you now? I just
came to the lab to finish up a little bit of work.”

“Sure, I
don’t mind. Pull up a stool.” In truth, he really did want to be alone, but he
wasn’t about to throw her off twice in one day.

“So did your
friends go home already?”

“Yeah,
they all had to get back to school, too.”

“Oh,
well that’s too bad. Maybe next time they’re in town we can all hang out and I
can meet them.”

“Sure. They’d
like to meet you.”

He
turned back to his project. He just wanted to work, but a moment later she
asked, “Where did you guys go? You said you were going to show them the
sights.”

“Oh, um,
we went to the Grand Canyon and spent a couple of days there, and then we
toured Sedona.”

“Sounds
like fun.”

“Yep, we
had a good time.” He kept his response brief and to the point. He hoped that
she would get the hint.

With his
back to her, he was thankful she couldn’t see his face. He rolled his eyes and
sighed. Obviously he wouldn’t find peace and quiet in the lab today. Before she
had time to ask another question, his phone rang.
Saved by the bell
, he
thought. Maybe she would get lost in her work and forget about him by the time
he got off the phone.

He took
his phone out of his pocket and looked to see who called. It was Grace.
From
one girl to the next
, he thought with a sigh, and yet he realized that he
was excited at the idea that he would hear her voice again.

“I’ve got
to take this,” he told Jenna. Then he stood and walked to the window. “Hey,
Grace. How are things back home?”

“Everything’s
great. More than great actually. How are you?”

“Ugh,
well, you know, it’s good to be home, but I’m now faced with enough homework to
last a week. But I’m sure you know. You probably have a ton of homework too,
huh?”

“Yeah,
I’ve got quite a bit. I’ve been working on it all weekend. I just wanted to
take a quick study break and call to say hi. After spending all day, every day,
with you and everybody else, it seems strange to suddenly be so far apart, you
know?”

“Yeah, I
know.” He realized that as much as he had tried not to admit it, to himself, he
missed her.

“Liliana
invited all of us to come see her this summer. Do you think you might go?”

He
wanted to see her; and yet, he also wanted to see Sarah.
Okay, maybe I don’t
know what I want
, he told himself. Perhaps a few months would help to clear
his head.

He
didn’t want to get her hopes up, so he said, “Yeah, we’ll see. I don’t know for
sure yet what I’ll have going on, but if nothing else comes up, I might be able
to go.” It was a vague answer, but for now it was the best he could do. Grace
was an incredibly beautiful, sweet, and caring girl, and the last thing he
wanted to do was get her hopes up and then break her heart.

The
disappointment in her voice was clear. “Okay, well, you know we would all love
for you to come. It wouldn’t be the same without you, so at least promise
you’ll think about it.”

“I
will,” he said. Then he added, “You know you can call me any time.”

“Thanks.
I appreciate that.”

He knew
that Jenna undoubtedly had one ear focused on his conversation, so he said
simply, “And please, call me if you ever hear from any of our friends from
Mexico. I’m always here for you.”

“You’re
a good friend, Eddie. The same goes with you. Call me any time, okay?”

“I will.
I’ll talk to you soon. Bye, Grace.”

“Bye,
Eddie.”

He looked
out the window and sighed. He would like nothing better than to tell Grace that
he liked her, but she was in high school. The last thing she needed was a long-distance
relationship with a college student in another state. Time was what he needed,
he told himself. Hopefully, in time, everything would figure itself out.

*****

“Hi, Tyler!”
Liliana answered the phone on the first ring. “How are you? Did your dad
finally find a school for you to attend?”

“Yep. It’s
great. I can’t tell you how wonderful it feels to not be under the watchful eye
of my foster family. The only thing that would make it better is if you were
here, with me.”

“I wish
we were closer. Where are you anyway?”

“Hey,
before I forget,” Tyler interrupted, “there was a reason that I called.”

“You
mean, other than the fact that we haven’t talked in three days? I was starting
to worry about you.”

“I know.
I’m sorry. With the move and transfer to new schools and everything, I was
busy. Forgive me?”

“Of
course. So, you were saying? There was a reason that you called?”

“Oh
yeah, right. Do you remember that beach that you were telling me about? The one
that you wanted to take me to?”

“Yeah.
What about it?”

“Well, I
was thinking, if you’re not busy today, maybe you could go there and I could
chat with you in your mind like we used to. You could describe the beach and
what you see, and it would be like I was there with you. I know it wouldn’t be
the same, but it would be the next best thing. What do you think?”

Liliana
smiled. “I’d like that. I can be there in an hour. I’ll contact you when I get
there, okay?”

“Sounds
good. I’ll be waiting.”

After
she told her mother where she was headed, Liliana rode the bus the short
distance to the beach. It was a cloudy, drizzly day, and the beach was nearly
deserted. Except for an older white-haired couple walking hand in hand along
the shore and two other people farther down the sand, she was alone.

I’m
here
, she thought to
Tyler.

I
wish we were walking hand in hand right now, like that older couple you just
passed
, he thought.
Can
you describe what you see so I feel like I’m there with you?

She
continued to walk toward the water’s edge, and once she reached it, she began
to slowly walk the shoreline.
It’s a cold, drizzly day. The water is gray
and the waves are rough. There are a couple of seagulls floating on the water,
and I can hear a sea lion hollering somewhere nearby.
She paused her
thought and considered about what he had said. Something didn’t seem right.

Wait
a minute! I never told you that there was an old couple walking hand in hand.
How did you know that?

Are
you sure? You must have thought it and weren’t aware of it.

Hmmm…I
guess.
She continued
her walk
. One day, I’d like to bring you here. If you were here right now,
we could walk up to this little restaurant, go inside and warm up, and get
something hot to drink.

That
sounds nice. Tell me something else. If I were there with you, right now, would
you kiss me?

Liliana
smiled at the thought.
Oh, you know I would.

Kiss
me.

Excuse
me?

Look
up the beach. Tell me what you see.

She
looked up then and saw a guy walking alone toward her. He was about thirty
yards away and he looked like…
It can’t be…It isn’t…Is that you?

You
said that one day you wanted to bring me here. One day seemed too far away. I
couldn’t wait that long.

“Tyler?”
she called out. She started to walk faster and then broke into a run. He ran
toward her, and the moment they met, she was spun off of her feet and greeted
with a passionate kiss. By the time her feet rested on the sand, she felt dizzy
with emotion.

“I can’t
believe you’re really here!” she said breathlessly. “You are here, right? I’m
not dreaming?”

“I’m
here.”

“But…how?”

My new
boarding school is in Portland. It’s just a few hours away. I can drive up here
on weekends.

“You’re
kidding! That’s wonderful! Why didn’t you tell me?”

“There
was no guarantee that we’d get into the school. I didn’t want to disappoint
you. And then I decided that I would wait to tell you, because I wanted to
surprise you. Are you surprised?” He grinned and kissed her again.

“Yeah,
I’m surprised. I’m…beyond words.”

“Good. That’s
what I was going for.”

“You’re
sure this isn’t a dream?”

“If it
is, then I’m dreaming right along with you.”

“You
know, this reminds me of a Chinese proverb that my grandma taught me. It goes,
‘If I am dreaming, let me never awake. If I am awake, let me never sleep.' It
seems kind of fitting, don’t you think?

“Absolutely,”
he said and kissed her again.

*****

Sarah
gazed down at the newborn sleeping peacefully in her arms. She smiled and
gently kissed the top of his full head of curly, red hair. He had communicated
with her so much when she had been pregnant that she hadn’t known what to
expect from him once he was born, but so far, he seemed like a typical newborn.

Ian had
explained that her baby seemed normal because he was overwhelmed with the new
sensations of life. Birth for any baby was traumatic. Within the womb, babies
never feel cold, hungry, or tired. After they’re born, the world is an
overwhelming place to be. He assured her that once the baby got used to things,
she would begin to notice his uniqueness.

The door
opened then and a nurse walked in. “Good morning. How are the two of you doing
today? Were you able to get any sleep?”

“Not
much,” Sarah admitted.

“Welcome
to the world of motherhood. You’ll find you won’t get much sleep for the next
year or so. Amazing what we sacrifice for our children, isn’t it? It’s all
worth it though.”

“Yes, it
is.” Sarah looked down at him again. She was aware of the dangers that lurked
outside of the hospital walls. Even though the compound in Mexico had been
disbanded, she was fully aware that the agency still existed, and there were
plenty of people who would do just about anything to find her child. And she
knew that she would sacrifice her safety in a heartbeat in order to protect
him.

In order
to protect Trevor and the sanctuary of Roswell, she had returned to Granite
Falls a week before her due date. She had been aware that waiting so long had
been pushing her luck, and it had been a fine balance in the timing. Too long
away from Roswell would put herself and the baby at risk, but it would have
been a greater risk if he had been born in Roswell. The moment he was born, a
paper trail would be created. The announcement of his birth would be public
record, and he would need to be issued a social security card and birth
certificate. Even though Roswell was a sanctuary, a paper trail would immediately
draw the attention of the IIA So the plan had been formed to return to Granite
Falls, only long enough for the birth of the baby and to recover. Then she
would gather the remainder of her belongings and once again disappear.

Ian had
insisted that he escort her back to Washington and remain by her side. Sarah
had tried to refute his offer, but he had been stubborn and wouldn’t take no
for an answer. “He’ll need my protection," he persisted. "If any
trackers come for him, I’m the only one who will be able to sense their
presence and get the two of you to safety.”

“But
once you’re away from Roswell, they’ll sense your presence, too. You can’t risk
being captured.”

“That’s
a risk I’m prepared to take. Your baby will be helpless. His safety is more
important than my own.”

Sarah
couldn’t argue with that, so she had hesitantly agreed that he should join her.

Sympathetic
to their cause, Patricia had hired two private security guards to stand outside
of her hospital room around the clock.

There
was another knock at the door and the nurse opened it. Sarah smiled and waved at
the security guard hovering behind Ian and her aunt, in the hall. At her wave,
the guard nodded and returned to his post.

“With
that red hair of yours, I’m guessing that you must be the husband,” the nurse
said to Ian when he and her aunt entered the room.

“Uh,
no.” Ian looked embarrassed. “I’m a cousin.”

“Oh, I’m
sorry.”

“It’s all
right,” Sarah said. “My husband is overseas in the military right now.”

“Oh, you
poor dear. I’m so sorry. I hope you have some help at home.”

Sarah
looked from Ian to her aunt and smiled. She had known that her arrival home,
with a man other than her husband, would seem odd, so she had explained that
Ian was her husband’s cousin. The red hair made the lie seem plausible. Aunt
Mae had welcomed him into her home with open arms.