Joy glanced at him in surprise, but she took his hand and Holly took the other.
He was glad no shock came from their clasped hands. Did their last shock run throughher body and the metal jewelry she wore?
She squeezed his hand, and he quickly flew them up and westward.
He moved his focus from Joy to Holly. Holly was their assignment and she was the one he should concentrate on. At the moment she smiled, her love of flying an interesting trait. Many of the living he’d helped weren’t excited about it. They said they felt as if they would fall, but sincethey would float in one place if he let go of their hand, it didn’t make sense to him.
He could better understand those with an irrational fear of heights. That wouldn’t go away just because a person was made weightless. That was exactly why it was anirrationalfear. But Holly obviously loved it as she’d said.
“Where are we headed?” Holly looked at him, anticipation shining in her brown eyes.
Showing her the wedding had been a mistake. He should have never agreed to it. Now she would expect her future to be rosy and that was hardly the case. “We’re headed to America.”
“Oh, to see my family? I just saw them at the beginning of the year, as I promised. Everyone was doing well, though it was hard to resist the pressure they put on me to move back.”
He pounced on that. “Why didn’tyou?”
“I can’t. Being in Deervale makes me feel closer to Cam.”
He barely refrained from rolling his eyes. Getting her to think of others in more than a superficial way would prove tough. “But you have no family in Scotland. All the people that love you are in America. It must be hard for them to have you so far away.”
Holly’s brows knit together. “I suppose, but they have each other.”
“Andso could you.”
Joy squeezed his hand, and he glanced her way to find her scowling at him once again. He ignored her look and flew them through the ether to a few years ahead. When they emerged from it, they were flying over Holly’s home state of New Hampshire.
“Look at all the trees!” Joy’s eyes were wide.
Holly spoke across him. “Haven’t you ever been to New Hampshire?”
Joy shook her head.“I was born and raised in the Southwest and none of my living clients lived here. Are there many people? It’s hard to see houses.”
Holly chuckled. “Oh, there are, and even a few small cities, but my mom and John live in the northwest area and there are a lot of trees.”
He’d forgotten what it was like to gaze at something in awe. His years as a Watchman had inured him to surprise and wonder.
“It’s so…green.” Joy was right.
In the middle of this summer day, with the sun shining brightly, the areawasgreen, dark green like parts of the highlands where the reforestation tracks of evergreen trees were plentiful. Not like the mountains where his cottage sat which were a lighter green made of grass and mosses.
“Oh, there’s the grocery store my mom goes to.” Holly pointed with her freehand. “And that’s the park where they set off the July fourth fireworks.”
“It’s a beautiful town, Holly.” Joy’s gaze moved over the landscape. “I even see some lakes here.”
Holly nodded as he began to descend. “The biggest one in this area is where mom and John live. I grew up with the lake as my backyard.”
He addressed Holly. “It sounds like you have a lot of memories here, too, yet you remainin Deervale.”
Holly lost her smile, and his hand received a squeeze from Joy, which he ignored once again.
He brought them down through the roof of the local bank, the old farmhouse having been remodeled to better house the commercial enterprise, complete with a modern addition in the back that couldn’t be seen from the road.
Holly winked at him. “I thought spirits didn’t need money.”
Hehovered high in a corner of the main lobby where they could see behind the tellers, down the hall and the front doors. Then he released their hands.
There were a couple people at the teller stations and a financial representative headed out back. The front doors opened and two men strode in.
