Page 67 of Borrowed Time

“You won’t get anything fresher in the Arizona territories,” he assured them, and that seemed to settle the matter.

How could they pass up a dish like that?

A good choice, too, because the trout was extremely fresh, and accompanied by rice rather than mashed potatoes or some kind of pickled vegetables.

“This is what I’m talking about,” Devynn remarked as she set down her fork and reached for the cup of hot tea near her place setting.

“What were you talking about?” Seth responded, not sure what she’d meant to say.

She smiled, a hint of a dimple flashing next to her lush mouth. “It’s just an expression. I suppose it’s a way of saying you really like something.”

He thought that was a strange way to go about it, but he knew there were probably plenty of idioms he’d have to get used to when he arrived in the twenty-first century. Most of the time, her speech sounded normal enough to him, although he had a feeling she tried to temper some of the more outrageous modern sayings just so she wouldn’t completely put him off.

Not much chance of that. Every moment he spent with her was a new adventure, and he honestly wouldn’t care if she started speaking in Swahili.

Somehow, he’d figure out a way to adapt.

And it would be even more of an adventure when they finally reached her time. He had a hard time visualizing many of the things she’d described to him, but she’d also made it sound as if Jerome hadn’t changed all that much, which he knew would help him adjust to a new century.

Was he being crazy? Was he honestly willing to give up everyone and everything he knew, just so he could spend the rest of his life with a woman he’d known for less than a month?

As he looked over at her, watched the way she broke off a piece of the roll she’d been provided with her lunch and spread some butter on it, he knew he wasn’t crazy at all.

Devynn Rowe was the kind of woman he’d happily travel through time with…no matter what happened.

After lunch, they explored the town a bit more, and spent almost an hour talking with the man who ran the barber shop on the other side of the street, as he seemed to be between clients and was all too glad to impart his knowledge to a couple of clueless Easterners.

“Oh, yep,” he said, and spread a hand to indicate the entire length of Railroad Avenue. He looked like he was probably in his mid-forties, with luxuriant fair hair he kept in check with pomade…although not so much that it completely tamed the extravagant wave that dipped down over his forehead, no doubt its own advertisement for his business. “It was an awful thing. We had a hot, dry June, and one day, a spark went up from the ironsmith down the street and the next thing we knew, the wind caught it and the fire started spreading all up and down the street. Lost two hotels and many businesses…and more than thirty houses.”

“That’s terrible,” Devynn breathed, and the man nodded.

“Yes, it was. But as you can see, we’ve recovered pretty quickly. Crews are working almost ’round the clock to get as much done as they can before winter really gets here.”

“And when do you think that will be?” Seth asked. Yes, Devynn had already made a few comments about how they could expect to get a real storm any day now, but he figured it couldn’t hurt to inquire of someone who’d lived here in Williams for decades.

After all, a lot had changed in a hundred and fifty years. For all he knew, the weather might have changed as well.

The barber looked up at the clear blue sky, his hazel eyes narrowing a bit. “Any day now. We’re kind of late for a real storm as it is.”

“Really?” Devynn said, her tone obviously dubious. The man glanced at her, his expression verging on disapproving, and she hastily added, voice much sweeter now, “That is, there’s not acloud in the sky — not that we can pretend to know much about your weather here in northern Arizona.”

Mollified by her shift in attitude, the barber responded, “Well, you can’t really count on what the sky looks like right now. Things can change fast around here.”

Although Seth was aware of that particular aspect of Arizona weather…and he guessed Devynn was, too, since she’d lived here her entire life as well…he still knew they couldn’t go from a clear blue sky to a raging snowstorm in a matter of an hour or two.

At least, he hoped not.

They chatted with the man a while longer, hearing how the city was already drawing plans to connect a spur to the rail line here that would one day take travelers to the Grand Canyon, even if that day might still be more than a decade in the future.

Devynn had a knowing light in her eyes during this part of the conversation, which seemed to signal she knew all about the new rail spur — which would have been well over a hundred years in the past in her time.

For all Seth knew, she’d already ridden on it multiple times. She’d spoken about her parents and what they’d experienced in the past, and had said a few things about her life in modern Flagstaff, but there was so much more about her that was a complete mystery.

Maybe one day they’d have a chance to catch their breath…and to speak openly with no worry about concealing who they were or why they were here.

The afternoon was wearing on, though, and since they hadn’t done much exploring on this side of the street, he thought they should look into the shops as they made their way back to the depot. Perhaps they’d get there a little early, but he figured that was better than being late and missing their train altogether.

Devynn seemed agreeable to that plan, and although she didn’t buy anything else, he thought he was beginning to geta better feel for her taste, how she seemed drawn to items in comforting, warm colors, and lingered over anything that felt handmade and earthy, whether that was a glazed bowl in shades of dark cream and brown, or a pair of carved wooden candlesticks.

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