Page 75 of Borrowed Time

“What happened?” Seth asked. Both he and Devynn moved behind the counter and began inspecting the labels on the packaged clothing stacked there, but that didn’t mean he wasn’tgoing to get to the bottom of the oddly changed landscape he’d seen out on Jerome’s streets.

His brother smiled, but there was little humor in his expression. “Oh, a hell of a lot of things happened. A depression. Another world war. In our own little backyard, most of the mines shut down. The United Verde still has a few operations going on, but everyone’s saying it’ll probably last another five years at the most.”

A sad eventuality in most mining towns — it was rare that a mine could keep going for more than fifty years at the most, and that meant the United Verde had held on much longer than average — and yet Seth still hated the idea of it happening in his hometown.

Once again, he took note of the lack of shoppers, the way his brother seemed to be the only person working today.

“Where are Mom and Dad?” he asked. “I’m kind of surprised to see you holding down the fort here.”

Because everyone knew that theprima’sconsort wasn’t supposed to work at all, and instead was supposed to be available to her whenever she needed him.

Charles’s mouth twisted. “We lost Dad a little over a year ago. Heart attack in his sleep, so Helen said he didn’t suffer. Mom followed about six months afterward. A stroke, according to Helen, but most of us think she just didn’t want to go on with Dad gone and you….”

The words trailed off, but Seth knew what his brother had been about to say.

With you missing for more than twenty years.

And even though he’d done his best to prepare himself for this eventuality, realizing that if he went into the future with Devynn, his parents and brother and everyone else he’d known would be dead, it didn’t seem to have made any difference at all. Charles’s words might have been a punch in his stomach, andSeth reached out to put a hand on the lowest shelf in front of him, knowing he needed its solidity to keep him upright.

“Oh, Seth — ” Devynn began, but he shook his head. Of course she only meant to comfort him, but he knew if he listened to a single word more, or if he looked her in the face and saw the sympathy in her eyes, he would break down then and there.

And he couldn’t allow himself to do that. Not when he needed to figure out how the two of them would even begin to fit into 1947.

“It’s all right,” he said. Obviously, it wasn’t, and yet that was the only thing he could think of to say.

She swallowed, but then she gave a very small nod, as though telling herself she needed to let it go and allow him to grieve in his own way.

“I’m sorry to hear that,” he told his brother, a little surprised that his voice sounded so steady.

“It was hard for everyone,” Charles responded. His expression was studiously blank, and Seth knew in that moment that losing their parents had been more difficult for his brother than he wanted to let on. “But with the population in Jerome dwindling so fast and no one else really available to help out, I’ve gone back to working here at the store. Not such long hours as we used to have — just ten in the morning until three in the afternoon five days a week — but it’s enough to get people the items they need.” A twist of the mouth, and he added, “It’s a good thing you came back today. Tomorrow, I wouldn’t have been here. Not until Monday.”

By which comment, Seth assumed it must be Friday. The actual date probably didn’t matter as much, although he guessed he and Devynn had returned to Jerome in October, judging by the crisp feel of the air and the bright colors of the leaves on the trees outside.

It was good to think about that, though. If he stayed focused on the time of year, then he wouldn’t have to think about the way he’d been lost in the past when both his parents left this earth. The McAllisters believed in an afterlife, and he wanted to hope they were happy there, but it didn’t change the awful reality of them being gone from everyone’s lives…his included.

“No one’s living in the apartment,” Charles went on. “You and Devynn can change up there. When you’re ready, I’ll take you to talk to Abigail. Maybe she’ll be able to make heads or tails of all this.”

Meaning that Abigail must be theprimanow. Seth didn’t find that too strange, not when Mabel had already been in her fifties when he disappeared from Jerome.

He had to wonder what kind ofprimaher daughter was, though. There had always been murmurs that Abigail wasn’t really strong enough to lead the clan, murmurs her mother had done her best to stamp out. Her daughter was meant to beprima,end of discussion.

“How is Abigail?” he asked, and Charles shrugged.

“She’s fine. Keeps to the house mostly, especially once the weather gets colder.”

Next to him, Devynn had collected a decent-looking stack of garments, and Seth realized he hadn’t been keeping up. Maybe a good part of him was numb with shock, but he knew he needed to get together some proper clothes so they could go talk to theprima.

“And your family…?” Seth wondered if it was rude to ask the question, considering Charles hadn’t volunteered much, but it wasn’t as if they were strangers trying to make conversation.

Even if this Charles did feel like mostly a stranger to him.

“Our boy is Arthur,” Charles said, a note of pride entering his voice. “Just turned fourteen a few weeks ago. He’s in schoolright now, but maybe you can meet him when he gets home this afternoon.”

No mention of a daughter. The question must have showed in Seth’s face, because his brother’s expression grew stiff once again.

“We lost two girls before Arthur came along,” Charles said, his tone flat. “After Abigail had him, both Helen and the fancy doctor Abigail had come up from Phoenix told her the same thing, that if she tried to have another child, it would kill her.”

“I’m sorry,” Seth replied, but his brother’s shoulders only lifted again.

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