Page 110 of Meet Me on Greenwood

"I think it’s time I fill you in. I am worried that somehow the ORI is involved."

41

Gema

All of Tulsa Watches as Greenwood Shines

"Keep your stance open, there you go. And keep your arm up," Houston instructed. He walked up behind me to show me how to adjust my grip on the rifle. I inhaled sharply as I felt the warmth of his body against mine. "Relax, relax."

"Pretty difficult when you are this close," I said

"How do you think I feel?" he whispered in my ear. His warm breath trailed down to my neck as he gently moved my hair so he could place a kiss there. "Have I told you how much I love your hair?"

"Only three times this morning."

His lips curved against my skin. "Then not enough. Drop your elbow. There." He stood back. "You’re ready. Keep both eyes open and fire."

I took a deep breath and pulled the trigger. This time I was able to control the kickback a bit better, and while I didn’t hit the bullseye by any stretch, at least I got on the board. I put the gun down and raised my hands in victory.

"Pretty good," he said with a grin. "You have an excellent teacher."

He was humoring me, but I didn’t care. I ran into his arms, only pulling back when I noticed him grimacing. "Sorry," I said.

He pulled me back until I was sitting on his lap on a nearby log. "Don’t apologize. I love when you touch me."

"How can you love it when it hurts you?"

He reached up to kiss me. "Only a momentary setback. I’ll be good as new in a few days."

Every kiss was sacred and every time I wondered if it would be the last.

"You’re frowning again," he noted. "What are you thinking about?"

I looked around at the miles of land. "I don’t want you to move into town."

"I’m confused. You said—"

"I know I told you to do it, but I was scared and now I’m thinking you might be safer out here."

He raised his brows. "You mean, we?"

No.

"Of course," I said.

"You’ve been acting strange since the fire. I’m surprised you want to go to this ball tonight."

"Rita’s excited," I explained, "and it may be the last that I see her before she leaves." I’d told him everything about Rita and Bernie, and I’d been so relieved when he didn’t blink an eye. "Love is love," he’d said, a mirror of my own words.

"Do you have to get ready at the Alderman’s? Stay here," he said, hugging me close.

"I want my dress to be a surprise."

Lies. More lies. I planned to be gone before he arrived to pick me up. The thought of leaving Houston was physically painful, but the alternative was worse. "And I don’t want to take risks, even at an integrated ball."

I’d thought that sounded rational. It did to my ears, but then he said, "Sometimes, I feel like you are hiding from me. That you are afraid to tell me something."

I looked away, out into the fields, my mind splitting itself in two directions at once. One part of me was already rehearsing the lie, the smooth deflection I'd used a hundred times before, even on Andre—I don't know what you mean, Houston. But another part of me, the part I'd been trying to silence since the night I first laid eyes on him, was so tired. Tired of watching my words. Tired of being known by no one, not really, until him, and I was still holding back. The wind blew through my hair whipping it about. "There is something," I said. Then I said it. "I’m from the future."