Gabriel watched as the driver turned down a side street, speeding out of sight.
After taking a moment to calm down, Gabriel walked nonchalantly back to the house, not caring if any of Richard’s neighbors had witnessed the altercation. He retrieved Julia’s coat from the car, depositing the baseball bat in the back of the SUV, just in case.
Chapter Thirty-Three
It’s warmer than I expected.” Julia unbuttoned her coat as they walked across the back lawn. The inky sky stretched above them, and the stars and moon shone down. But the temperature was unseasonably warm, especially given Gabriel’s determined walking pace.
He shined a flashlight to illuminate the way, gripping Julia’s hand tightly.
She kept pace with him despite the discomfort in her leg. The numbness hadn’t gone away, although it varied in intensity. Still, she’d hidden it from Gabriel, and Dr. Rubio, and everyone else. Somehow she hoped it would simply disappear.
&nbs
p; They entered the woods, picking their way over fallen branches and sticks to embark on a well-trodden path.
Julia wondered about her recent issues with memory. She was still sleep-deprived, despite dropping Clare’s two-o’clock-in-the-morning feeding. Getting more sleep had aided Julia’s memory, but she still struggled to assimilate new information. Ever since coming home from the hospital, she’d found she needed to read and reread academic books and articles, in a way she never had before. Novels were different. Late at night or early in the morning, Julia would read ebooks on her cell phone.
“Careful.” Gabriel shined the flashlight over a large fallen branch. He stopped, grabbed Julia by the waist, and lifted her over it.
She laughed in surprise, although she appreciated his gallantry.
She’d been in these woods hundreds of times, most of them with Gabriel. She was fairly sure she could find her way back to the house, even under the cover of darkness. Although she remembered with horror the time she’d gotten lost. . . .
It occurred to her that perhaps the human memory was like the sea. It moved with regularity, carrying bits of things on a current. But when the tempest came, that which was long forgotten bubbled to the surface. Julia never thought about being lost in the woods, if she could help it. But the memory would bubble up unbidden or trouble her in dreams. She clasped Gabriel’s arm, moving her body closer to his as the orchard swallowed them up.
“Not far now.” His tone was comforting.
A few more steps and they stood at the edge of the clearing.
Gabriel sighed. “Paradise.”
He led Julia to the center of the clearing and spread the blanket. Then he tugged her to recline atop it, switching off the flashlight. He held her hand as they gazed up at the stars and beyond. “Katherine emailed me.”
“What did she say?”
“She asked if she could spend Christmas with us and Clare. I didn’t respond. I wanted to ask you first.”
“That’s all right with me, if it’s all right with Richard.”
“I’ll ask him.” Gabriel paused. “You know that Katherine will find out about Cecilia.”
“Not from us.”
Gabriel’s body tensed. “It’s bound to come out.”
“It’s still my decision.” Julia turned her head, examining what she could see of Gabriel’s strong profile. She elected to change the subject. “What do you like about the orchard?”
He took his time answering her question. “It’s peaceful. The woods are so thick, even in fall, you feel as if you’re in your own private world. I can think here.”
Julia lifted his hand to her mouth and kissed it. “I’ve been thinking about your lectureship.”
Now he turned his head. “What have you been thinking?”
“Everything about it is so fancy. The dinner they threw us at the castle. The announcement and reception. The media interest.” She gazed at him in admiration. “You could speak on any subject you want. And people would listen.”
“They expect me to speak about Dante.”
“Yes, because that’s your area of specialization. But you could choose any subject. Anything at all.”