Page 52 of Sinful

A cry of victory slipped from my mouth as I finally spotted the pile of leaves I’d dumped earlier, and I crouched to brush them aside. Beneath that pile lay several sticks that I’d used to cover the dark entrance, just like the boys did all those years ago. I tossed them aside, took another deep breath, and lowered myself into the tunnel.

It was short, but it was very constricted and pitch-black inside. I had to feel my way through all that darkness, hands clawing at the walls of tightly packed dirt, until a sliver of light finally appeared in front of me, letting me know I’d finished the journey to the other side.

I reached up, putting my hands on each side of the hole, and then I climbed up and out, heart pounding with exhilaration.I made it!I was finally on the other side of the boundary fence.

As I brushed the dirt and leaves from my dress, I turned and cast my eyes toward the humming fence, brows dipping in a frown. I thought I might feel different on the other side of it, but I felt exactly the same. I had no idea if that was good or bad. Perhaps it wasn’t either. It simplywas.

I hurried down the fence line, stomach fluttering with excitement. When I reached the meeting tree, Sebastian was already there, leaning against it with his arms folded across his broad chest.

“You made it,” he said with a grin, stepping away from the tree.

“I did,” I said breathlessly.

“Ready?” His chin dipped southward. “My car’s about an hour that way, just off the main road.”

“I’m ready.” I smiled back at him and started walking.

The heated excitement was growing in me by the second, and by the time the two of us had made it all the way to the bottom corner of the fence, I felt fit to burst. I’d chattered relentlessly the entire time, telling Sebastian everything I wanted to do in the big city, and he’d listened patiently, occasionally interjecting with his suggestions.

Now, we were finally at the road. The moment of truth had arrived.

“That’s your car?” I asked, pointing to a sleek black vehicle parked on a slight incline between two trees.

Sebastian nodded. “Your chariot awaits, my lady.”

I laughed and hurried over to it. He opened the door and told me to put the seatbelt on, and then he went around to the other side and slid into the driver’s seat. He inserted a key somewhere near the wheel, and then he clicked a button. Everything lit up, and I jolted with surprise, wide eyes on the map that had suddenly appeared on a rectangular display board on what appeared to be the car’s main control area.

“What is that?” I asked.

“This screen?” he asked, brows rising. I nodded, and he went on. “It’s built into the dash in most cars these days. Er, dashboard, I mean. It shows information like maps, music playlists, settings for the car temperature, and so on.”

“Wow.” My eyes were like saucers now. “You can control the temperature?”

“It’s not magic, Rose. Just technology.” Sebastian grinned and pulled onto the road. On the right side, there was a large green sign with white print, pointing out that Montreal was seventy-five miles north.

We turned left, and I frowned, head tipping with confusion. I looked at the map on the screen to confirm my suspicion—that we were heading south, not north—and then I looked over at Sebastian. “We’re going the wrong way.”

“I know.” He glanced over at me with a smile. “We’re going to my place in Pinecrest Falls first.”

“Why?” I said sharply, heart thudding.

That wasn’t the plan. The plan was Montreal, where we could see the city sights. Also, I didn’t want to go to his house. I’d been there once before, and the few memories I had of that night stirred up all sorts of dark feelings deep inside me, shadows lingering in the corners of my mind, whispering of fear and regret.

“Relax, Rose.” Sebastian’s eyes crinkled at the corners. “I figured you’d need to change first, because that dress of yours will look strange to outsiders, and I knew you wouldn’t want people staring at you all night. So I bought you some regular outsider clothes and shoes. You can change into them before we go. They’re back at the house.”

“Oh.” My shoulders sagged with relief, and I forced the vague memories into a box in the corner of my mind. “Sorry. My nerves are going insane.”

“No need to apologize. This is a big deal for you. First night out,” he replied. “Well, first as an adult, anyway.”

The car sped up, and I peered out the window, marveling at the blur of trees on the edge of the road as they whizzed by. I’d never traveled so quickly before. Even when my father took me out of Alderwood as a child, he’d never driven this fast, because he didn’t do it often, and that made him nervous and overly cautious.

“It’s so strange to me,” I murmured. “All these things are so normal to you, but to me, it really does seem like magic. This car, and all the technology in it… it’s amazing.”

“Yeah, it’s pretty cool. I’m glad you agreed to come and check it all out.” He cast a side-eyed glance at me, eyes glimmering with satisfaction. “We’re going to have a lot of fun together, Rose.”

“I can’t wait.” Another sign appeared on the side of the road, letting us know we were almost in Pinecrest Falls. I thought back to the previous sign I’d spotted and looked over at Sebastian again. “Won’t I need some sort of travel documents to go to Montreal?”

His eyes were focused on the road now. “No, you’ll be fine.”

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