Page 72 of 'Til All the Seas Run Dry

“My memories pale in comparison.”

He remembered reading the interview where Johnny Cash was asked what paradise was for him and he had answered, “This morning, with her, having coffee.” He may never drink coffee with Jory, but he’d give his last dime to spend every morning like that for the rest of his days.

“You’re gonna do great today,” Jory said softly.

“Aye?”

“I believe in you.”

It felt like being rocketed back in time. He remembered the morning he left, the last morning he saw her before… The sun was just barely threatening to rise, the landscape bathed in deep purples and blues. His sword was strapped to his back, a sack of provisions gripped in his hand, and she’d stood in front of him, her hand pressed over his heartbeat, which had pounded against the warmth of her palm. She’d looked up at him with sleepy eyes and hair that looked much like it did in this moment.

He’d pressed a kiss to her forehead, closing his free hand over hers, pressing it closer against his skin. And just before he’d walked away, she’d said, “You’re a marvel, mo cridhe. I believe in you.”

He sucked in a deep breath, an unnecessary thing, and yet so instinctive that his body did it without his bidding, as the air conditioning kicked on quietly and the whirring brought him back to the present. To her.

“Callum? Are you okay?”

He couldn’t speak. He felt the hot, bloody tears gathering at the corners of his eyes. He fought them back, clearing his throat and blinking quickly. “Aye. Just tired.”

He didn’t think she believed him, but she smiled softly and nodded.

“Good luck today. You don’t need it, but good luck anyway.”

“Thank you, Jory. Can I… can I call you after?”

“Sure. You can call anytime you want.”

“Same for you,” he said, then paused. When she didn’t say anything else, he continued, “I guess I’ll talk to you later then?”

She nodded again, an odd look on her face. Callum wanted to ask her about it. He had opened his mouth to do just that when she said, “Goodnight, then.”

He nodded. Later. He would ask her later. “Good morning, mo cridhe,” he whispered.

And then the screen went dark.

24

“Nat told Hank the meeting went well,” Esther said through the Bluetooth in Jory’s car.

Jory’s windshield wipers swept slowly across the glass.

“Yes,” Jory replied. “Dr. Alton agreed to sign over the patent. They’re paying her an absurd amount of money.”

“That’s great!”

It was. Callum had called her the night before to tell her. In fact, he’d been so excited about the meeting that he’d called her from the car immediately afterward. Apparently Dr. Alton had been thrilled with the idea that her research would be distributed worldwide at no cost, that Callum had the funds and capacity to make it happen. And apparently, the bureaucratic end of things could be handled with a few well-placed connections.

“Nat’s over the moon,” Esther said before something crashed in the background. “Shit.”

Jory smiled. “Callum is, too. I think they’ll be good partners.”

“So where’s he taking you tonight?”

“He’s not,” Jory said, pulling to a stop at one of the three stoplights in town.

“But your date is tonight, right?”

The light turned green, and Jory pulled through the intersection. “Yes. But we’re staying in.”