Page 9 of Killing Time

Because that was probably what everyone thought they were — just a couple of travelers passing through. No one he’d seen at the restaurant today was old enough to have worked here back in 1926, so none of them could have possibly recognized him.

He thought that was a good thing. The fewer complications, the better.

“Yes, I’ll ask when he comes back to check on us.”

From there, they both went quiet for a few minutes. And when the waiter stopped by to ask if they’d like any dessert — which they both declined — Seth said, “I don’t suppose you know if the gas stations or any of the shops here in town have a map? My wife and I have decided that we’d like to take a detour up to Flagstaff rather than going directly back to Phoenix.”

Seth knew his cheeks heated a bit as he made that comment about his “wife,” but he’d already realized that was the best explanation for why they would be traveling together. Althoughsocial mores seemed as if they’d loosened up a bit over the intervening twenty-one years, he still guessed it was somewhat scandalous for an unmarried man and woman to be sharing a hotel room.

Or a house.

A wicked light danced in Devynn’s eyes, but she didn’t say anything, only listened while the waiter told Seth that they could get a map at the Phillips station at the corner of Main Street and Pima, or in the general store just across the way.

“Of course, they’re not open at this hour,” the man concluded. “But they’ll reopen at nine tomorrow.”

Which was fine. Even though Seth thought he and Devynn had come up with a good plan — or at least the beginnings of one — he knew they wouldn’t go jaunting off to Flagstaff without clearing things with Abigail and the elders.

As much as he would have liked to slip away and not have to offer any explanation, he knew it wouldn’t be very responsible to carry out the plan without discussing it with his clan’s leaders first.

Seth thanked the waiter, and the man headed off to check on one of his other tables. Once he was gone, Devynn gave him a wide, lipsticked grin.

“So, we’re married now?”

He met her gaze as directly as he could. “It seemed the best explanation for us being together on a road trip. Or would you rather have been my sister again?”

“God, no,” she said in tones of convincing horror, and he had to smile right back at her.

“Well, then,” he said, then added in a murmur, “Although I’m not opposed to the notion of actually being married.”

The wicked glint in her eyes disappeared, and now she looked deadly serious.

“I’m not opposed, either,” she replied, her gray-blue eyes meeting his, as if she wanted him to know exactly how she felt about that subject. “So let’s get through all of this so we can start really thinking about the future.”

They still had a little wine left, and he lifted his glass.

“I’ll drink to that.”

She clinked her glass against his and swallowed the rest of her wine. Something about that moment felt almost like a ritual, and even though the formal words hadn’t been spoken, he knew a great deal had changed in those few seconds.

They were bound together now more than ever…and he knew they needed to survive, no matter what.

3

BODY HEAT

The drive homefrom the restaurant felt like something out of a dream. Maybe I could have blamed the wine I’d drunk with dinner, but I knew it was much more than that, especially when I’d had only a single glass.

No, this was all about the understanding I seemed to have reached with Seth. He might not have come right out and asked me, but I knew he wanted to marry me, wanted to make sure our futures would be bound together forever.

And I was just fine with that. True, we had quite a few hurdles to overcome before we could even think about getting to that point, and yet, just knowing we were on the path was enough for me.

The important thing was that no matter what happened, Seth and I would face it together.

I also thought I might be okay with staying in 1947. It had a lot more creature comforts than 1884 or even 1926, and although Jerome wasn’t quite the lively place it once had been, I thought Seth and I could work together to make sure it survived those rocky years and went on to future success.

For all I knew, maybe we were meant to be here, were meant to be some of the people who had worked so hard to preserve Jerome and keep it from slipping into utter ruin.

Deep down, I knew that wasn’t quite right. This wasn’t our place or time, and even though we had a mission we needed to carry out, we shouldn’t stay here any longer than necessary.

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