Connor scowled thoughtfully. “My work is—”
“No, not your work. What do you do for fun?”
“Fun?” The word rolled off his tongue as if it were foreign.
“Yes, Connor. Something that makes you happy. Makes you laugh or just feel free.”
“That isna the point of what I do.”
“You mean you’re not allowed to—?”
“I’m sayin’ ’tis not wholly regarded as critical to our job description.”
“But it’s not prohibited.”
He leaned back against the wooden stern. “And yer point is…?”
“My point is…I’m not sure of my point. Just that if that dial on your wrist is any indication maybe we should enjoy the time we have left. Together.”
A muscle worked in his jaw as he thought about her words. “What d’ye suggest?”
“Well,” she said, looking up through her lashes at him. “Are those wings of yours practical or only used to impress in-betweeners?”
“What? Ye mean these?” He unfolded his wings effortlessly, like a proud weightlifter, baring his physique.
She giggled. “Yeah. Those.” This time, she touched them, running her fingertips across the soft rows of feathers. “Are they good for anything or…just for show?”
“How is it ye think we get from here to there?”
“I…I couldn’t say. It happens so fast.”
“Inyourtime, it does.” His smile hitched something in her chest.
“But wait. I’ve moved from here to there myself,” she said. “And I’m not…how—?”
He cocked his head in agreement. “Nor can ye hold things in your hand. Or show yourself. You’re in-between, Emma. Neither quite one o’ them right now nor one o’ us. But somewhere in the middle. Yer will moves ye, simple as that. Ye think yerself a place, then there ye are.”
Ah.“Then,” she asked, tucking her hand around his arm, “could we do it your way but slow it down for me? Just once?”
“Slow it down? Ye want to see, is that it?”
“Yes.” She took in the beauty of the lake around them, imagining what a bird’s-eye view of it might be. Or flying back home, with nothing between them and the earth but air. “I want to see everything. And I want you to see it, too, with me. Maybe it’s the last time.”
Touched by her words, he tucked his arm around her. “Then ye shall have it, Emma.” He pulled her up beside him. With the rocking of the boat, she collided against him, but he didn’t set her away. Instead, he held her for a moment against him, steadied her. Grateful, Emma pressed her cheek to his chest and slid her arms around his waist. His shirt was warmed by the sun. It felt good to be held by him. It felt right.
He pressed a kiss to the top of her head. “Ready?”
Was she? Was she really ready for anything that was about to happen? “No time like the present,” she murmured against him, threading her fingers through his. With a swoop of wings and a sound like the wind sifting through the treetops, they were off.
Chapter Nine
Kinsey Abbott stoodoutside the ICU holding flowers again as Aubrey returned from a quick trip out for fast food. It was the third time since Emma had been admitted that she’d shown up with flowers. Aubrey approached her with a smile. The closer she got, the more she noticed that her short-cropped hair looked in need of washing. She was still wearing the exact same khakis and long-sleeved shirt she’d been in yesterday and the day before. None of that was normal, but Aubrey decided she must’ve been under more stress than any of them knew.
“Hey, Kinsey. That’s so sweet of you to bring flowers again.”
“Emma likes roses. I wanted her to have them.”
“I know,” Aubrey said, gently. “But listen. I’m sure you didn’t know, but they don’t allow her to have flowers in the ICU. We’ve been taking them home until she gets a real room.”
