Soothsayer: Magic Is All Around Us (Soothsayer Series Book 1) (27 page)

Rachel took charge of picking which trails we hiked. She loved the outdoors and always came prepared with a new and exciting trail. She promised this hike would give me an excellent view of Half Dome, once we got to the top. Every year I tried to get a shot of the mountain but the weather had never been on my side. The straight smooth surface juxtaposed with the half circle dome was not only one of the main tourist attractions, but also one of the most beautiful sights in the whole park.

Supplied with plenty of water and lunch, we headed out the door a little after eight o’clock. The trailhead was only about a ten minute walk from our cabin. Once we arrived, we started up into the wilderness. Rachel took the lead of course and I picked up the rear with Annabel. I wanted to be able to stop and get the shots I wanted without holding up the rest of the group.

Yosemite was photography heaven for me. The trees sprung out of the ground and stood with stoic beauty, creating a world of lush green leaves and pockets of blue sky above. The contrast between the hard granite rocks blanketing Yosemite and the softness of the pine trees made a beautiful photographic composition.

“You sure are quiet back there, Violet,” Rachel said about forty-five minutes up the marked path. “Are you struggling that much? I didn’t think this trail would be that bad.”

“Not that bad!” Christy gasped, struggling for air. “I feel like I’m gonna keel over!”

“Stop your complaining, Christy, exercise is good for you,” Becky laughed.

“Exercise, yes… having a heart attack on the side of a mountain, not so much.” Christy planted her hands on her knees and panted.

“Here you go.” Annabel handed a water bottle to Christy and helped her sit down.

“Why don’t we take a short water break?” I suggested, trying to keep the peace.

“Yes, water break!” Christy said taking another sip from the bottle Annabel had given her.

“So what gives, Violet? You’re never this quiet,” Rachel noted as she sat on the rock next to me.

“She’s just a little… preoccupied, shall we say,” Becky said in a teasing voice as she wiggled her eyebrows at me.

If looks could kill, Becky would have burst into flames with the glare I was giving her. Putting me on the spot like this was her way of guaranteeing she would get her questions answered. There was no way I could get away with short, noncommittal answers with all of them ganging up on me. Everyone’s eyes turned to me then and I squirmed under their scrutiny. There was no escape.

“Preoccupied?” Christy said, looking at me with raised eyebrows and a smile.

“That’s right,” Becky said, squeaking with excitement.

“About what, exactly?” Rachel asked.

“Oh, isn’t it obvious,” Becky said. “There’s a new man in Violet’s life.”

Annabel and I shared a glance. This was going to be mortifying.

“Who?” Christy asked with more excitement than necessary.

“Thanks a lot,” I said, shaking my head at Becky. “Yes, there is someone, but it’s not what you think. We’re just friends.”

A short laugh escaped Becky’s throat.

“Violet, seriously, who is he?” Christy asked as she leaned on the edge of her rock.

“It’s Robert Maxwell!” Becky blurted out.

“Do you wanna tell them, then?” I bit, seething at Becky.

“No, sorry. I’ll be quiet now.” She mimed locking her mouth and threw away the key.

“Robert Maxwell, like
the
Robert Maxwell? Steamy, rich, mysterious Robert Maxwell?” Christy asked with a gaping mouth.

Annabel laughed out loud and I covered my eyes with my hand.

“He doesn’t usually put an article before his name, but that would be him.” My cheeks flushed as I
pinched the bridge of my nose.

“Well good for you! You need yourself a good man,” Rachel announced.

“I have to say, I do approve.” Annabel chimed in.

“Start at the beginning and tell us everything!" Christy clapped her hands together.

I sighed. “We met at the bookstore a week before your wedding,” I said looking at Annabel. “I was searching for a few books when he walked up to me.”

“So he came on to you, that’s a good sign,” Rachel noted, smiling enthusiastically.

“He came over and suggested a book. I could hardly string a sentence together, I was so taken off guard,” I continued, laughing at the memory. So much had happened since that day it was almost humorous remembering how tongue-tied I’d been the first time we met. “I didn’t know who he was at the time. It wasn’t until I met with Annabel later that day, that I put two and two together.”
Everyone looked between Annabel and myself.

“I ran into him again, at the wedding, in one of the bedrooms,”
I continued.

“One of the bedrooms?” Christy said, raising her eyebrows with barely contained excitement.

“I didn’t know that.” Annabel’s voice was accusatory.

I shook my head embarrassed by what I was about to say, “Yeah, he was naked.” I paused. “Well, half naked.” A grin formed on my lips as they each stared at me with rapt expressions. If I was going to be forced to tell them about Robert, then I might as well enjoy it.

“What I wouldn’t give.” Rachel sighed and shook her head.

“That’s what I said,” Becky laughed.

“You better give us every little detail,” Christy added.

I laughed and continued, “He looked amazing, of course.” I sighed as well as I remembered just how amazing he looked.

God I hope Robert can’t interpret the meaning behind my emotions right now
, I thought.

“He came walking out of the bathroom with a towel around his waist the same time I walked into the room from the balcony where I was taking pictures,” I explained. “I was so embarrassed at having intruded on someone that it took me a minute to realize I recognized him. As handsome as he already is, he gets even better with his clothes off.” I had to pause then to catch my breath.

“Okay, that’s my brother-in-law, you’re taking about.” Annabel threw her hands up.

The rest of the girls stared at me, picturing Robert half naked and dripping wet. I couldn’t help but laugh. Christy and Rachel’s faces were glazed over with forbidden fantasies of the man they thought I was involved with.

“So are you guys together now?” Christy asked.

“It’s complicated,” I answered and looked up at Annabel. We were getting into a sticky topic.

“Oh stop being shy. I saw him come out of your bedroom the other day,” Becky chimed in.

“Oh my God, I could just imagine,” Christy fawned.

Annabel cleared her throat to stifle a laugh. Robert and I were never going to hear the end of this from her.

“We aren’t sleeping together. I told you, all we did was… well, sleep,” I explained, leveling my gaze at Becky. She rolled her eyes. Clearly she still thought I was lying about what happened on that particular occasion.

“Really? So nothing’s happened between you guys?” Rachel asked.

“Well, not nothing.” I bit my lip, trying to hide a smile as I remembered his lips and body pressed against every inch of me.

“So, details?” Becky asked with anticipation. Rachel and Christy kept their eyes glued to me. I had them completely hooked.

“We kissed, just before you guys picked me up yesterday,” I admitted.

“Finally,” Annabel exclaimed.

Becky looked at Annabel out of the corner of her eye, sizing her up.

“What?” She said noticing Becky’s glance, “They’ve been dancing around each other for far too long.”

Becky nodded in agreement and the tension eased a bit. Becky could get a little territorial sometimes and I didn’t think she liked that I invited Annabel along who seemed to know more about Robert and I than she did.

“So that’s it?” Christy asked, frowning with disappointment.

“I definitely think she’s holding out on us,”
Rachel said taking a bite of a granola bar.

“I’m not holding out. Honestly, that’s all that’s happened between us.”

“I’ve seen the way he looks at you. Whether you want to admit it or not, he’s got it bad for you,” Becky said.

I looked away, unable to meet her glare.

“What do you mean?” Christy asked, saving me from having to come up with something to say.

“It’s just this look,” Becky started. Christy, Rachel and Annabel turned their attention toward Becky. Sadly, I did too. I couldn’t help but wonder what she saw when Robert looked at me. “It's like Violet’s the whole world to him. When they were over for dinner the other night, he never took his eyes off her, even when we were watching the movie. He kept staring at her like she was going to vanish at any moment.” Becky kept her focus on me.

Little did Becky know Robert looked at me like that because he believed I was The Waker, not because he was in love with me. Although, that kiss we shared had nothing to do with being The Waker. I frowned, unsure about how wrong Becky was.

“I think you’re seeing what you want to see,” I said and sighed.

“Maybe, but he did kiss you,” Becky pointed out.

“What was it like?” Christy asked, smiling at me.

I laughed, “You know that feeling you get when you’re at the top of a roller coaster?”
I looked up at the trees above us.

“Excited,” Rachel said with a wicked grin.

“Terrified,” Christy said.

“Thrilled,” Becky added.

“It was all those things and more.” I explained. I could almost feel his lips on mine once more.

“Damn, it’s been way too long since I had a kiss like that,” Rachel sighed.

“I don’t know,” I said as I played with the end of my ponytail.

“What don’t you know?” Christy asked.

“It’s just so hard to stay in control when I’m with him. After everything that happened with Nick, it just scares me, falling for someone so hard again.” I tossed my ponytail back over my shoulder.

“Nick?” Annabel asked.

“My ex.”

“He was a walking nightmare,” Becky added. “He was into this voodoo, spiritual crap.”

“Voodoo?” Annabel looked at me with a hidden question in her eyes.

I shook my head and said, “He was just mixed up in some kind of spiritual cult.”

“I see.” Annabel nodded her head once in understanding.

“I know Nick was nuts, but it might not be such a bad thing to lose a little control.” Rachel gave me an endearing raise of her eyebrows.

“Maybe, but I don’t know if that’s a risk I’m willing to take though.”

“You’re going to have to sooner or later,” Becky noted and eyed me matter-of-factly.

“Is that all you’re worried about? That you don’t want to be vulnerable to him?” Christy asked, hopeful. To her, not wanting to be vulnerable was an easily solved problem.

“No, that’s not all I’m worried about,” I admitted and stood. Being vulnerable to Robert was really the least of my worries at the moment. What scared me the most was knowing someone out there wanted me dead. I might not be alive long enough to worry about being vulnerable to anyone, but I couldn’t tell them that. “We should get moving again.”

“But we’re not done talking,” Christy protested. She loved coming on these trips but she always hated the hikes and would do just about anything to delay anymore exploration.

“Yes we are,” I said and took the lead.

No one said anything for a long time. I made my way briskly up the trail, taking pictures along the way. It really was one of the park’s easier trails and I used the adrenalin pumping through my body from our conversation to propel me up the steeper paths. It wasn’t just fear running through me; it was also the electricity arcing through my senses when I thought of Robert. He didn’t have to be close to me lately to have an effect on my heart rate. Just thinking about him made my vitals go into overdrive.

“Violet?” I heard Becky’s voice behind me. “Can you wait up?”

Annabel and I stopped and turned around. Becky was the only person standing there; the other girls were nowhere in sight. “Christy needed to stop again, so I said I’d catch up with you,” Becky said as she looked over her shoulder toward the rest of our group.

“Oh, okay. How far back did they stop?” I asked, taking a step back down the trail.

“They’re just around the bend, but I wanted to talk to you real quick.”

“Say no more.” Annabel said bouncing back toward the other girls.

Once she was out of ear shot, Becky said, “I wanted to say sorry. I didn’t mean to out you like that.”

“Yes you did.” I smiled. It was Becky’s nature to get in everyone’s business. I learned a long time ago not to hold a grudge.

The tension in her shoulders eased as her guilt quickly abated. “I just don’t want you to feel like you can’t talk to us. I know you have your reasons for being guarded, but we’re your friends.”

“I know you guys are, but you know how private I am. And this thing with Robert is complicated. Now you’ve got ‘Miss Happily Ever-After’ down there all excited about something that might never happen,” I said, motioning back in Christy’s direction.