believe her?"
"What? That Lucas was taken by aliens?
Of course not. After all, there are no aliens."
The arching of his eyebrow, the ghost
of a smile, stopped her. "Are you so certain?"
"Are there?" she asked in a
whisper.
"Don't you know?" he asked, his voice
low, caressing.
"Not for sure."
She wasn't certain how she knew, but
she did know that her answer pleased him.
* * * *
Gaelen understood now what drew him to
her. She still had a sense of wonder. She still believed, even if
she didn't know it. He had already revealed more of himself to her
than he ever had before, even to his fairy women.
In spite of the unfortunate factors of
her human nature and her occupation, which made her a person to be
avoided, he was drawn to her like a moth to a bug-zapper. And it
was too bad. He had a feeling Annabelle Tinker was a treasure. Envy
scorched a hole through him. Though any human male could have her,
she was forbidden to him.
No good dwelling on that. It was a fact
and had to be faced and accepted. His more pressing problem was
Annabelle's profession. She didn't much care for her job--that much
was clear--but still the bills had to be paid. So, she didn't
believe Erin's story, but might she use it as a filler in her
tabloid, like all the other stories she hadn't believed? Would she
even bother changing the names to protect the innocent?
He watched her, and in spite of all his
sensible reasons why he should stay away from her, he heard her
spirit calling his, all the while knowing she was a risky woman. He
risked not only revelation and disbelief, but also violating the
laws of his people. Laws put in place to protect both fairy and
human.
"Ready to blow this joint?" he asked,
surprising himself, as he motioned to the waiter for the check.
Leaving too big a tip in his urgency to get going, he took her arm
and led her from the restaurant. "Do you mind walking a bit?" he
heard himself say, though he'd certainly not meant to delay getting
her back home and him out of the reach of her allure.
"Oh, no. It's such a nice
evening."
They left his car in front of The Tea
Room and walked down Franklin Street to the place where the campus
met the town. They turned on the sidewalk fronting Battle Hall and
followed it past Silent Sam, standing his post as he had for almost
one hundred years. A breeze swept through the trees covering
McCorkle Place. Annabelle chafed her arms.
"Cold? Silly girl to come out on an
early spring night with nothing but that bit of finery to warm
you." With no thought, Gaelen whisked off his jacket and wrapped it
around her shoulders. The chill seeped through his shirt sleeves
into his bones.
"I can't take your--"
"Say thank you, Annabelle."
She smiled and he suddenly he wasn't
chilly anymore. Quite the opposite, in fact.
"Thank you, Gaelen."
"You're very welcome."
They walked on through the campus, past
the Old Well, across Cameron Avenue and toward the library. As they
walked, they talked. Gaelen couldn't remember talking so much with
a woman about anything, much less something not directly involving
him.
But he was enchanted.
"So, this farmer, what was his name?"
Annabelle made a concentrated frown. "Ah, yes, Oswald McGillicuddy,
from just outside of Jamestown, he found one of his cows giving
birth in a pasture. But, he claimed this particular cow hadn't been
pregnant the night before. When the calf was born, he swore it
looked just like E.T., all head and eyes and tentacles. Naturally,
we didn't see the calf when we got to the farm. The aliens had
abducted it, along with Mr. McGillicuddy's wife,
Eloise."
"I see," he said, with a smile. "So, is
that the strangest story you ever wrote?"
"So far. But I'm sure I'll come up with
stranger." She gazed around in the warm spring evening and drew in
a deep breath, her eyes fluttering closed. "Do you smell that?" she
asked.
"What?" He picked his shirt away from
him, frowning.
"Not you," she laughed, shoving him
affably. "The flowers. They're just
"What? That Lucas was taken by aliens?
Of course not. After all, there are no aliens."
The arching of his eyebrow, the ghost
of a smile, stopped her. "Are you so certain?"
"Are there?" she asked in a
whisper.
"Don't you know?" he asked, his voice
low, caressing.
"Not for sure."
She wasn't certain how she knew, but
she did know that her answer pleased him.
* * * *
Gaelen understood now what drew him to
her. She still had a sense of wonder. She still believed, even if
she didn't know it. He had already revealed more of himself to her
than he ever had before, even to his fairy women.
In spite of the unfortunate factors of
her human nature and her occupation, which made her a person to be
avoided, he was drawn to her like a moth to a bug-zapper. And it
was too bad. He had a feeling Annabelle Tinker was a treasure. Envy
scorched a hole through him. Though any human male could have her,
she was forbidden to him.
No good dwelling on that. It was a fact
and had to be faced and accepted. His more pressing problem was
Annabelle's profession. She didn't much care for her job--that much
was clear--but still the bills had to be paid. So, she didn't
believe Erin's story, but might she use it as a filler in her
tabloid, like all the other stories she hadn't believed? Would she
even bother changing the names to protect the innocent?
He watched her, and in spite of all his
sensible reasons why he should stay away from her, he heard her
spirit calling his, all the while knowing she was a risky woman. He
risked not only revelation and disbelief, but also violating the
laws of his people. Laws put in place to protect both fairy and
human.
"Ready to blow this joint?" he asked,
surprising himself, as he motioned to the waiter for the check.
Leaving too big a tip in his urgency to get going, he took her arm
and led her from the restaurant. "Do you mind walking a bit?" he
heard himself say, though he'd certainly not meant to delay getting
her back home and him out of the reach of her allure.
"Oh, no. It's such a nice
evening."
They left his car in front of The Tea
Room and walked down Franklin Street to the place where the campus
met the town. They turned on the sidewalk fronting Battle Hall and
followed it past Silent Sam, standing his post as he had for almost
one hundred years. A breeze swept through the trees covering
McCorkle Place. Annabelle chafed her arms.
"Cold? Silly girl to come out on an
early spring night with nothing but that bit of finery to warm
you." With no thought, Gaelen whisked off his jacket and wrapped it
around her shoulders. The chill seeped through his shirt sleeves
into his bones.
"I can't take your--"
"Say thank you, Annabelle."
She smiled and he suddenly he wasn't
chilly anymore. Quite the opposite, in fact.
"Thank you, Gaelen."
"You're very welcome."
They walked on through the campus, past
the Old Well, across Cameron Avenue and toward the library. As they
walked, they talked. Gaelen couldn't remember talking so much with
a woman about anything, much less something not directly involving
him.
But he was enchanted.
"So, this farmer, what was his name?"
Annabelle made a concentrated frown. "Ah, yes, Oswald McGillicuddy,
from just outside of Jamestown, he found one of his cows giving
birth in a pasture. But, he claimed this particular cow hadn't been
pregnant the night before. When the calf was born, he swore it
looked just like E.T., all head and eyes and tentacles. Naturally,
we didn't see the calf when we got to the farm. The aliens had
abducted it, along with Mr. McGillicuddy's wife,
Eloise."
"I see," he said, with a smile. "So, is
that the strangest story you ever wrote?"
"So far. But I'm sure I'll come up with
stranger." She gazed around in the warm spring evening and drew in
a deep breath, her eyes fluttering closed. "Do you smell that?" she
asked.
"What?" He picked his shirt away from
him, frowning.
"Not you," she laughed, shoving him
affably. "The flowers. They're just
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