He reached out to her and for once she didn’t flinch. His fingers grazed her arm, but he pulled away before her eyes glazed over. “Would you have done anything differently?”
He was talking as if the incident really happened, which, in his mind, didn’t. This woman was getting under his skin.
“No. We did the best we could.”
“Then don’t worry about it. How much time do we have?”
“Do you believe me?”
He raked a hand over his hair. “I believe you believe this happened.”
She snorted out her disgust. “Don’t patronize me.”
“Look, I don’t think anything will happen, but on the off chance it does, I want to be here. What time?”
“The call came in at 4:30. Near the end of my shift.”
“But you aren’t working today.”
She shook her head. “I took the day off. Since I couldn’t figure out the murderer then I have to head them off when.”
His head spun, but he couldn’t see her logic. Here they were, on a normal Spring day, talking about an incident that never happened. “Where’s your friend?”
“He left.”
Zach bit his tongue. He wouldn’t ask what he wanted to know. Were they lovers? When this all came down and was done, would he have a chance with Grace?
“What?”
He’d been staring at her. Shaking off his thoughts he smiled.
“You don’t do that very often. And sometimes you look like a shark when you do.”
“There isn’t too much to smile about in my line of work.”
She nodded and as if she understood. “I at least get to save people.”
“I get to see them afterwards.”
“Mm. What do you do to blow off steam?”
“Yoga. And you?”
“Run.”
“Do you run from everything?”
“I haven’t run from this town or Dolores. No matter how much I want to put this ‘gift’ I have behind me. I want to forget about it most days.”
“How’d you meet Mark?”
There, he’d asked it. It was out on the table.
She laughed. “Mark seems like he’s always been here.”
“You been together long?”
She smiled. “Are you asking if we’re lovers?”
“Yep.”
“We aren’t. But you don’t like me very much.”
“I never said that. I just don’t trust you.”
“That isn’t conducive to starting a relationship.”
He shrugged, moving closer to her. “But you’ve grown on me.”
Her head tilted back to look up at him. “Like a fungus?”
With trepidation, he reached out and brushed a hair from her face. She didn’t flinch. In fact, for a moment, she turned towards his hand. “That didn’t hurt? Or make you faint.”
“I see colors when you touch me.”
“What kind of colors?”
He tried again, letting his fingertips brush her cheek.
“Like I’m inside a kaleidoscope.”
“Is it bad?”
“Not completely.”
Her eyes fell closed as his fingers went to her lush lips. “How about now?”
“Purples and reds with an underlying warm feeling.”
“Do you like it?”
Her “Yes” came out as a whisper.
Then she pulled back. “We can’t do this.”
Chapter Twelve
All of Grace’s effort finally moved her away from his touch. Her self-control was about to snap. She might even have thrown herself into his arms.
Then Dolores would be doomed. Grace would lose focus and then the murderer would succeed.
Instead, Grace walked away, catching her breath. “Because of Dolores?” He shook his head. “She knows we’re over. Jeez she was gonna have someone else’s baby.”
His voice held a note of desperation. “I have a job to do. Whatever I may think about my talent, I’ve been given it. And I have to follow it.” She whirled and bit her lip. “I have no choice.”
He looked down then back at her, his shoulders slumped with fatigue. “Grace. This murder isn’t going to happen. I just can’t believe that you time traveled back here. Besides. Why should you put your life on hold?”
Her heart hurt in her chest. Just when she thought she was getting through to him. Her eyes fell closed and she drank in the warmth from the sun. A shiver passed through her despite the heat.
He took a step towards her. She opened her eyes and moved away from him. If he put his arms around her she’d surrender. Her head would rest on his chest and she’d be content to let someone else prevent murders.
“Then you should go, Zach.”
“I don’t think you’re crazy.”
“Some part of you does.” She turned away from him. “Go.”
“No.”
His strong statement had her looking over his shoulder. “I’m seeing this through with you. I have a few cases to type up reports on and then I’ll be back after lunch. I’ll take a half day. We’ll see this through.”
She shook her head. “How do I know it isn’t you that’s going to kill her?”
“You don’t. You have to trust me. And deep in your heart, I think you know I shouldn’t be on your suspect list.”
“They way you trust me?”
The irony had her chuckling.
A frown creased his face. “Touche’.”
“Go, Zach and don’t worry about us.”
“Oh, cut the melodrama.”
“Look, I’ll be out of here when this is all done, anyway.”
She knew that for sure. She couldn’t stay in a town that thought her a freak. Would she ever settle somewhere? Unfortunately dead people were everywhere.
“Look, I’ll be back.” He turned towards his car. “You can count on that.”
She didn’t watch him drive off, but went in to check on Dolores.
Zach raced through his morning and was heading out the door when a call came in he had to take. A spouse he’d been hired to tail was going on a business trip, or so they said. He hoped she went to the airport then he could get to Dolores and Grace. His blood rushed with the urgency of the situation.
So, he went, but kept an eye on the clock. The woman met her lover at a hotel on the edge of town. Zach snapped the shots the husband wanted, but before he knew it Dolores was on her way to the hospital with a gunshot wound, her house on fire.
And when he arrived at the hospital, Grace was in the next room. She’d been in the fire, too. He dashed through the curtain separating her hospital bed from the hall.
“Zach,” she croaked out. His gaze raced up and down her. Grace was alive, though smudged and battered. His heart leapt with relief.
He took her hand, but looked for signs of distress from the action. She didn’t pull away.
Grace’s gaze took him in. “I’m sorry. I didn’t save her.”
He blinked. Didn’t save who? “Dolores is dead?”
She nodded, her face pale, her neck bruised.
His hands found her other then squeezed both of them. He sat on the edge of the bed. “What happened?”
“He came up behind me. I never heard him.”
“So she got shot anyway,” he said.
Her crestfallen face made him wish he hadn’t been so blunt. He took a deep breath and pushed what grief he had over Dolores to the back of his mind. He needed to concentrate on the living for once.
“I guess you couldn’t change what was supposed to happen. Maybe you weren’t supposed to change it.”
His words sounded odd to his ears, but he knew Grace believed in what she said. She had a gift in her own mind. Even if he didn’t understand, he wanted to.
“You don’t understand. She wasn’t supposed to die. That’s why she talked to me. I’ll go see her again.”
Coughs rocked her and Zach poured water into a glass. He handed the liquid to her. She drank, then handed it back to him.
“What are you doing?” he asked when she swung her legs to the side of the bed. She looked too pale to stand.
“Going to see Dolores before they take her away.”
“This is nuts, Grace. I don’t know how you know she was going to be killed, but seeing her isn’t going to change anything.”
“Zach, go home. You didn’t believe me then. Why would you believe me now?”
“Because this time I want to.”