The Time Keeper (The Guardians of Time Book 1) (11 page)

Justin laughed.  ‘Jess is joining the Air Force, isn’t she?  With a body like hers, I don’t think she’ll have any problems landing a guy when she gets there.’  He glanced over at Jess who was helping herself to another piece of caramel slice.  ‘Of course, she’ll have to watch how many sweets she eats.  There’s a fine line between good curvy and just plain dumpy.’

Emilia bit her lip to hold back the nasty retort on the tip of her tongue.  She didn’t want to spoil the good mood between them, but she hated it when Justin got all judgmental and shallow… especially when it made him sound as bad as meathead Tim.

‘I’m going to talk to her for a bit,’ she said instead, no longer feeling so cosy in his arms.  ‘She looks lonely.’  She eased herself away from Justin and crawled over to Jess.

‘Oh, hey.’  Jess jumped slightly when Emilia appeared beside her.  She looked over at Justin who was settling down on his side with a beer.  ‘Boyfriend getting a bit claustrophobic?’

Emilia smiled and nudged Jess with her elbow.  ‘I was just thinking I’m going to miss you when you go off to the Air Force.’

‘Me too.  Do you think we’ll all still be friends years from now?’  Jess looked wistful and Emilia remembered how shy Jess had been when she’d moved to Ithaca a few years ago.  She’d always said how much it meant to her that Stace, Maddie and Emilia had welcomed her into their little friendship circle.  Now Emilia couldn’t imagine Jess not being there.

‘I hope so,’ she said quietly.  ‘It’ll be hard when we’re all in different places but I like the thought of us old and grey together, still catching up for Saturday brunch and gossiping about who our grandkids are dating.’

Jess giggled and looped her arm through Emilia’s.  ‘That sounds perfect.’

Chapter 13

Emilia spent the next few days working out and spending time with Justin and her friends.  In the back of her mind she was slightly on edge, waiting for a message to arrive with her first assignment, so when a text arrived from Seb late Wednesday night she assumed he’d heard from The Society.  She was surprised, and a bit perturbed, when she read his message.

Do you want to meet for a run early tomorrow morning?

She hesitated.  She ran all the time but she’d never run with anyone else and Seb looked like he was super fit.  Not to mention his legs were about ten times as long as hers!  Still, she hadn’t seen him for a while and it would probably be good for them to spend some time one on one before they were thrown together again.

She quickly typed a reply:
Sure.  As long as you don’t mind me slowing you down.

Her phone pinged almost immediately. 
Pick you up at 7.

*

Right on seven, Seb’s SUV pulled up the driveway behind her Beetle.  Emilia yelled goodbye to David and raced down the steps, so Seb didn’t have to turn the car off. 

‘Where are we going?’  Pulling the passenger door shut, she turned to face Seb.  It was the first time she’d seen him in exercise gear.  His legs, below his running shorts, were strong and tanned with well-defined muscles and again she wondered how she was going to keep up with him.

‘To my favourite running spot.’  He backed the SUV easily down the narrow driveway and turned it in the direction away from town.  ‘You’ll like it.’

‘Why the sudden desire to exercise with me?’

His mouth twitched in amusement.  ‘These “missions”, for lack of a better word, tend to be fairly physical.  So I figured it makes sense for us to train together and make sure we’re as prepared as possible.’

‘Oh.  Yeah, I guess you’re right.’  She hadn’t given much thought to the physicality involved in time travelling.  If she was honest, she’d kind of imagined the two of them bouncing through time, flying in to save a life and dashing back out again.  Obviously there was a bit more to it than that.

Seb darted a glance her way.  ‘Do you have a problem with that?’

‘I’m pretty fit and all, but you’re army trained and let’s face it, you’re packing a
lot
of muscle.  I’m almost a hundred percent certain you’ve got a six pack hiding under that t-shirt and…’ She was rambling, she knew it and could feel the back of her neck heating from embarrassment.

Seb choked back a laugh.  ‘Did you want to check?’

Emilia’s face flamed.  ‘
And
,’ she continued firmly, ‘I’m worried I won’t be able to keep up.’

‘I’m not going to leave you for dust, Angel.’  He frowned.  ‘The whole point of this is to help us work together as a team and if I understand what you’re physically capable of then I’ll know what I can expect from you if we get into a tight situation.’

‘Of course.  Why didn’t I think of that?’ she muttered.

‘Because you’re always telling yourself you’re not good enough?’ he guessed.  And wasn’t he just spot on, she thought in surprise.  ‘I already know you’re fit and healthy.  Now I want to see how far you can push yourself.’

‘Right.’

‘And by the way,’ he grinned and flexed an impressively sized bicep.  ‘All this muscle weighs me down.  You, on the other hand, are light as a feather.  It wouldn’t shock me if
you
leave
me
for dust.’

Emilia grinned back at him.  ‘I’ll make that my personal mission,’ she promised.

‘I’m sure you will!’

Emilia hadn’t been paying much attention to where they were going, but as Seb turned the car into the entrance of the Taughannock Falls State Park, she couldn’t help but laugh.  Seb raised a questioning brow.

‘We wouldn’t happen to be running the Rim track by any chance?’

‘How did you know?’

‘That happens to be one of my favourite running routes too.  I love the view of the waterfall from the top.’

‘Me too.’

*

Emilia reached the top of the Rim walk right behind Seb, thrilled she’d kept up with him the whole way.  He’d set a quick but steady pace and her lungs were burning, but she hadn’t fallen behind.  She dropped her hands to her knees and heaved in big gusts of oxygen.  When she’d got her breath back, she wandered over to the edge of the track so she could take in the view of the waterfall and gorge below.  Seb was already there, leaning against the railing with his back to the falls.

‘How much did you hold back?’

‘I didn’t.’  He looked at her, admiration shining from his eyes.  ‘That’s exactly how I run it when I’m by myself.’

‘Really?’ she squeaked.  Pride swelled up inside her and she looked away so he wouldn’t see how much his approval mattered to her.

In her peripheral vision she saw him nod slowly.  ‘There’s something I wanted to run by you.’

She turned her back to the view and rested her elbows on the railing with a contented sigh.  She loved being outside in summer!  ‘I’m all ears.’

‘I’ve been tossing around the idea of teaching you how to use a gun.’  His eyes narrowed slightly.  ‘Unless that’s another hidden talent you have that I don’t know about.’

Emilia bit her lip to hold back a smile.  He was obviously still smarting that she hadn’t told him about her martial arts ability.  ‘It’s not.  But why do I need to learn how to shoot a gun?’

He frowned and she could read the indecision on his face.  ‘Some of the situations and places we’re going to get thrown into are dangerous.  I thought maybe it would be good if you were a bit more prepared… just in case circumstances arise in which I’m unable to defend you.’

‘But you’re not sure about it, are you?’

He pushed away from the railing and started pacing up and down.  Then he stopped in front of her and shoved his hand through his hair.  It stood up in endearingly messy spikes.  He lifted worried eyes to meet hers.  ‘It’s just we have to be so careful not to change history, as much as possible.  We’re not supposed to lead people down different paths, cause them to choose different partners or… kill them.’

‘Right, because it would have a domino effect and if we killed someone we’re not supposed to, then whole generations might not be born.’  Emilia could see where he was going with this.

‘Yeah, so aside from the person who is the focus of our mission, we’re supposed to interact as little as possible with others.’

‘Then it’s probably best I don’t have the tools to kill someone accidentally,’ she suggested, which suited her just fine.

‘But I like the idea of you at least being able to defend yourself,’ he argued and started pacing again.  ‘If I teach you how to shoot properly, you could aim for a debilitating but not fatal shot.’

‘You mean, shoot someone in the knee or something like that?’

He nodded slowly.

Emilia felt a little queasy at the thought.  ‘Seb, I’m not sure I feel too good about that.  And besides, if I’m in a high pressure situation and it’s life or death, I don’t know if I’d be calm enough to make a studied shot.’  She stood up straight.  ‘I think it’s best if we leave any and all gun usage to you.  And if I really get stuck, maybe you can just suddenly make me invisible or something.  You’ve already told me you can do that.’

His eyes crinkled in a half smile, but the worry didn’t leave his face.  ‘I can.  But if we’re talking worst case scenario, that’s not going to work if I’m lying unconscious on the ground.  Which is why I thought it might be useful for you to know how to handle a gun.’

Emilia’s stomach twisted.  The thought of Seb lying unconscious and helpless was not one she wanted to dwell on.  ‘Can I think about it?’ she asked in a small voice.

‘Of course.’  He reached out and brushed the tips of his fingers gently across her cheekbone.  ‘It’s not going to be as bad as all that.  Most missions go very smoothly.’

She smiled weakly.  ‘Who’s to say we won’t get sent back to the pygmies and I’ll need to learn how to use poison darts instead of a gun?’

Seb chuckled.  ‘Who’s to say, indeed.’

They started back down the track at a steady jog. 

Emilia studied the back of Seb’s head.  It was really sweet of him to be so concerned about her safety and she was kind of chuffed he was willing to trust her with a gun.  She appreciated too that he’d asked for her opinion rather than just telling her what he’d decided.  It was funny how he seemed to understand her and treat her as an equal… even though he was
boss
!  It only made her want to understand him more and what better time to start than now?

‘Hey, Sparky,’ she called out.

His head whipped around and she giggled at the scowl he shot her way.  ‘What?’ he growled.

‘Better watch where you’re going,’ she advised.  He looked to the front again without missing a beat.  ‘Will you show me your place?  I don’t even know where you live.’

He stumbled.  ‘I don’t think so.’

‘Aw, come on Seb.  You’re at my place all the time.  I just want to see your home.’

‘You live with your dad,’ he called back over his shoulder.  ‘I don’t think it’s appropriate for you to be alone with me in my apartment.’

Emilia snorted.  ‘You’re kidding, right?  You’re not turning all medieval on me, are you?’

He didn’t answer but Emilia could read the tension in his shoulders.

‘Dad’s hardly ever home, anyway.  You and I have been alone in my house heaps of times, so what’s the difference?’

‘Emilia,’ he warned.

But suddenly it was incredibly important she see where he lived.  ‘Are you scared I’m going to try and seduce you?  Because in case you’ve forgotten, I have a boyfriend.’

He stopped and spun to face her so suddenly Emilia went careening into his solid chest.  He caught her by the arms, steadied her and then pushed her away.

‘I just don’t think it’s a good idea.’

She tilted her head to the side and looked at him, her brown eyes wide and guileless.

He looked away.  ‘
Please
, Em.  It’s my private space.’

The words sounded lame, and she could see he knew it.  ‘What is it you don’t want me to see?’ she asked quietly, not pushing, just curious.

His jaw tightened.  ‘Nothing.  It’s just… fine, damn you.  I’ll take you there.’

A huge smile blossomed over her face.  Seb’s eyes widened and he swallowed hard. 

‘Thank you.’  She squeezed his arm and, while he was still looking bemused, sidled around him and bounded the rest of the way down the path.

*

To say his place was stark was an understatement.  It should have been amazing with the spectacular view it commanded, but the austerity of all the white surfaces and lack of furniture was borderline depressing.  Emilia didn’t know what to say and she didn’t want to offend Seb.  She wandered slowly around the vastness of the living area and kitchen – the New York Rangers could probably play hockey in here with the amount of space and slickness of the white tiled floor.  She shivered.  The place wasn’t cold, but it
felt
cold.

She could feel Seb’s eyes on her, watching as she trailed her hand along the white marble bench top.  ‘Horrendous, isn’t it?’

Surprised, she spun around to meet his eyes… and went with the tactful approach.  ‘The view is magnificent.  It must be fabulous at night with all the city lights.’

He laughed, a hard, dry kind of laugh.  ‘That’s about the only good thing about it.’

‘Then why did you buy it?’

He sighed and heaved himself up onto the bench top, his biceps bunching deliciously.  He glanced at her out of the corner of his eye.  ‘Because I suddenly had all this money and I thought it would make me feel good to have a penthouse apartment.  But I hate it.’

‘Maybe you should try decorating it, add some colour in.’ She bit her lip, suddenly uncertain.  ‘I could help you, if you like.’

He shook his head slowly.  ‘Thanks for the offer, but no.  It’s only ever going to be an apartment.  It won’t be a home… like yours.’

‘Like mine?’ she echoed.  ‘You like our place?’

‘I’ve always liked your house.’  He paused.  ‘It feels warm and welcoming, like a real home should feel.  I’ve never had a place like that.’

‘Not even when you were little?’ she asked carefully.  She knew nothing of Seb’s childhood or family.  He’d never talked about them.

‘No.’  He launched himself off the bench.  ‘Can we get out of here?’

She felt a brief twinge of hurt that he’d shut her out again, but this was the most he’d ever revealed to her and she realized she’d ultimately get further if she didn’t push him.  ‘Can I just use the bathroom first?’

He nodded in relief and gestured towards the hallway off the open plan living space.  Emilia headed in the direction he’d pointed.  The hall was dark.  She fumbled around for a light switch and flicked it on.  One step in, she stopped in surprised wonder.