When he finally gave her a chance to breathe, he whispered, “Laney.” He moved his fingers along Anne’s cheeks, wishing he were strong enough to pull the woman writing the words into his world.
Tears streamed down Anne’s cheeks. “I’m sorry I left you, William. I am going to find a way to get back to you, but I promise I won’t leave you again.”
William leaned his arm against the wall and stared down at his feet. “I need to leave you in the morning.”
“But why? We are together again.” Anne thought about his motivation. Could her love hold him from his purpose? “Please stay with me. Do not go to battle.”
William grinned. “The only reason I leave is to be with you again. I thought I made that clear to you.” He reached out and grasped her hands.
Laney closed her eyes and imagined that William really held her hands, remembering the first time he touched her by the ocean.
Her door creaked open an inch. Laney shut her journal and shoved it into the top drawer of her desk, feeling strangely guilty.
“Come in.” She flipped open a book in front of her. Brushing away beads of sweat from her face, she glanced towards the door.
“I’m sorry to interrupt your reading.” Her dad poked his head in the doorway. His receding hairline gleamed in her bedroom lights, showing his age.
Focusing on him, she neglected to guard her own appearance.
“Are you all right?” He stepped further into the room.
Flushing even more, Laney grabbed a tissue from her nightstand. “Yeah. I’m at the sad part of the book.” She shifted her gaze back to her dad.
He would buy her story even though his eyes still held on to their concern. “Could you help me with the computer? I’m trying to post a picture of that ring I bought last week, but it keeps screwing up.”
“Sure. I’ll be down in a minute.”
He hesitated as he closed the door a couple of inches, opening his mouth to say something then shutting it again. Laney took out the journal, flipping to the page where she left off.
“I am coming with you.” Anne had a tight grip on his hands.
William sighed, “The battlefield is no place for a young woman. You cannot come with me.”
“Once again, William Clarke, you forget who writes the words. I think you will find that I can be quite stubborn.” Anne sat up straight, her resolve unmoving.
William laughed, kneeling beside her. He laid his head in her lap. “I think you will find that I am more stubborn than the mule in the backyard when it comes to your safety.”
“We will discuss this in the morning, and I had better find you here,” Anne pouted. The discussion had to be drawn to a close.
The leather notebook was tucked away once again in Laney’s desk drawer with a few pens and her cellphone bill. She trusted William to wait to discuss the matter further before he left. She didn’t want him taking any risks when she could easily find a way to enter his world from her side of the page.
Chapter 2
The moon illuminated a small section of the bed as William laced up his boots. He was still indecisive about leaving Anne behind. On the one hand, he felt guilty about sneaking out and knew that she’d find some way to try to take matters into her own hands. But then, he also wanted her with him.
Sarah bent over the hearth, stoking the fire before Father got up for the day to start his early morning rounds in town. Her blonde hair was swept up in a white, mop cap, a strand worked itself free, so she swatted at it with her hand.
“Good morning, dear sister.” He placed his bag on the table. He kept his voice low, not wanting to wake Anne or his father.
“William. What are you doing awake so early?” Soot stains streaked Sarah’s cheeks.
He took a rag from the sink and wiped off her face. “Much better. You want to be presentable for the boys in town.”
“You are one to talk about plans with suitors, being one yourself.” Sarah sat down in their mother’s rocking chair. Her cheeks reddened in the glow of the fire as she smoothed out her skirt. “Is Anne with child?”
“Sarah, just because Mother is gone, does not mean you can take over her role as my caretaker. You are only two years my elder.” William slung the bag over his shoulder. “And no, Anne is not with child because that would be impossible. I have never… we have never…” Heat burned his cheeks at the inappropriateness of the conversation.
“Then it would not be a disgraceful marriage.” Sarah rocked the chair and tapped her foot on the floor. “When will you ask her?”
Marriage was the furthest thing from William’s mind. Right now, his mind swam with thoughts of the Gate Keeper and his whereabouts. “When Anne wakes, will you tell her that I will be back soon? She is not to follow me. You know how dangerous of a situation it is with the Red Coats.”
“I know.” She ran her hand along the wooden arm of the chair. “But why do you need to go?”
“I have been called up.” His heart beat faster with the lie so quickly crossing his lips. “I received the message yesterday from Jonathan, the Miller’s son.” A message from a known Patriot might be more believable to his sister.
“Anne just arrived. She will be heartbroken.”
“Please give her this for me.” He removed an envelope from his coat pocket and handed it to his sister. “It might give her some peace.”
The wind-driven rain striking the Holden’s car in horizontal sheets was supposed to be a remnant of Hurricane Dan. When one of the big storms did manage to meander up the coast to New England, the colder waters weakened it considerably. But the fifty-mile per hour winds and downpour made for a lousy moving day.
Laney’s thoughts ran on overdrive with questions to ask William, but whenever she opened her journal, nothing new was added. An uneasy suspicion ran through her that he somehow found a way to begin his quest without her knowledge. Lugging her suitcase through the puddles, Laney’s nerves were on edge. Distractions around her got in the way of the true reality in her backpack.
She glanced around her dorm room after dropping her wet luggage in front of the closet. Missy’s sophomore year décor was surprisingly similar to her freshman year décor. Her bed was spread out neatly with the same bedding, her laptop already plugged in at her desk, and the cotton candy pink curtains hung from the large windows. The absence of her ex-boyfriend’s picture scattered throughout the room was the biggest difference. The two girls had decided to stay together for their sophomore year but switched to the more desirable main quad side of the dorm. Missy wanted to know what was going on, and when it involved her—which she believed it always did.
Laney’s dad lugged her black chest through the door, set it down and then dragged it the rest of the way to its spot beneath the window. His hood failed to keep the front of his hair dry and it clung to his forehead in black and gray chunks that still dripped at regular intervals. She opened her trunk and tossed him a towel.
He wiped off his face and dried his hair before tossing it back. “Thanks, sweetie.”
He stared out the window at the rain-drenched campus, as she dug out another towel for her mother. She’d arrive any minute carrying the next piece of her college essentials. The wind picked up and turned the rain into vertical mayhem. A couple of girls on the quad below held their umbrellas sideways trying to keep themselves dry. The blue and white tent, pitched in the far-right corner of the quad to welcome new students, ripped off its stakes and rolled like tumbleweed across the grass.
“Maybe you’d have been better off if we sent you to school in Seattle.” Her dad turned away from the window. “At least they’re prepared for this kind of stuff up there.”
Laney drew her raincoat back over her head, unsure if she’d win the battle with the hurricane.
A knock came on the door. Half expecting to see one of Missy’s friends, she was surprised to find her grandfather, Grady, standing there. He held one of her suitcases in his hand. Her mother was behind him carrying a box.
; “Grady!”
He put down the suitcase before Laney tackled him with her hug. Her grandfather looked worn and wet and wonderful. She took his hand, led him into the room, and took his coat from him. Her dad tossed the towel to her mom.
“How are you, sweetheart?” Grady’s blue eyes held an unspoken concern meant only for the two of them. “I’ve missed you this summer.”
Laney’s grandfather knew about William. He was there when she sent her Watcher back into the book to be healed by his father. Last school year, she learned that he was also a Weaver and shared her ability to draw characters out of his books. Her grandmother, Rebecca, was a character in a story he wrote.
Hanging clothes in Laney’s closet, her mother peered over her shoulder. “Are you going to join us for dinner, Dad?” Though her blonde curls frizzed a little in the humidity, Laney envied their individuality. Her straight brown hair hung limply, making her look like a drowned rat.
“Dining hall food at Madison College? Wouldn’t miss it.” Grady winked at Laney.
Following their gourmet dinner consisting of filleted rubber and charcoal-encrusted, scalloped potatoes, Grady offered to walk Laney back to the dorm. Her dad had parked behind the dining hall after they dropped off her luggage. The tears welled up in his eyes. She thought that a veteran college dad might take the parting a little easier this time. Her arm wrapped around his waist as they headed down the stairs to the car, her head rested on his shoulder.
Grady shook his head. “What are you going to do when you have to walk her down the aisle, Tim? You still hold onto Laney like she’s going to break if you let her out of your sight.”
Her dad ignored Grady, stopping at the glass door that led to the parking lot. He held her before him, putting his hands on her shoulders and looking her in the eyes. “You’ve been different this summer. Something happened at school last year that changed you. I’m not saying that it’s good or bad, just different.”
“I…” She couldn’t tell her dad the truth.
“I feel terrible that I never trusted Jason, and I don’t know if the change has to do with his death, but I have a feeling it’s much more than that.” When he let go of her shoulders, he leaned against the wall and ran his fingers through his hair, making it stick out askew.
Normally, she’d have laughed, but she kept her mouth buttoned in a straight line, holding onto her secret.
“We’ve never kept things from each other.” His eyes were downturned.
“I know. Don’t worry about me. I’ll come back to you in one piece at Christmas.” If Laney’s plans ran their course, she wondered if her words held any validity.
The wind had died down enough that they could open an umbrella. Grady had suggested they take the long way around the quad back to her room. He needed fresh air. All through dinner, he had maintained a conversation with her parents, but she had seen him watching her out of the corner of his eye.
“So, when can I award you the Oscar?” He looked down at the path in front of them, his elbow locked in hers to prevent any stumbling. With her other hand, she held the black umbrella over both of their heads.
“I don’t know what you’re talking about.” She wanted to talk about William with him but not about her plans to enter the book.
“You need to go on with life. Moping around and crying over William isn’t going to help. It’s only going to cast suspicion on what really happened.” He stopped and put a hand on her shoulder, his old bones shook. A large blue stone in a gold setting stuck out on his crooked finger.
“Is that your Weaver ring?” She backed away to get a better look. “What happened to it?” She held onto his hand and touched the stone with her finger.
The stone was a sapphire, like her pendant, but the spider was missing, and cracks ran through the precious gem.
Grady sighed. “I’ve kept it locked away since your grandmother died. Most of the time, I stowed it in a safe. When I realized that Richard was your history professor, I took it back out. I had to put an end to the complicated monster I created.” He gazed at his finger. “I don’t know what happened to the ring.” He stuffed his hand in his pocket. “The last time I checked on it, the spider was gone.”
“Do you think it’s tied to what happened to Richard?” She helped him avoid a large root that cracked the asphalt.
His eyes grew wide, and he stopped. “I suspected that but talked myself out of it. Now that you bring it up…”
“I’ll ask the other Weavers if they’ve heard of this happening before. Maybe they know what it means.”
“Enough about my ring. Your dad’s going to set you under lock and key if you’re not careful.” He shuffled up a gentle slope in the sidewalk. “Like I said, stop the sad girl act.”
“I don’t think my moping and crying is Dad’s problem.” She stifled a laugh. “I kind of turned into a workaholic this summer. He couldn’t get me to stop working.”
“Anything to take your mind off William.”
“Yes.”
The family’s antique store had never looked so clean. Polishing the silver tea trays and costume jewelry had become her obsession, and her dad even tried to set her up with his friends’ sons to get her out of the store. Finally, she had to tell him that setting up play dates for your nineteen-year-old daughter was against the unspoken father-daughter law.
The rain let up enough that Laney lowered the umbrella, but she kept her grip on Grady’s elbow. “He’s trying to come back.” Her voice was almost a whisper as if saying the words any louder might take the truth out of them.
“Of course he is. He’s in love with you.” His voice held a definitive edge.
“But I know what he’s doing.” She halted their movement again. Her experience with William had to be unique.
“What do you mean you know what he’s doing?”
“Did Grandma ever try to reach you from inside your book?” Grady never mentioned any communication from Rebecca before she had left the diner to become a part of his life. “I mean… did her words ever appear on the page on their own?”
“Is William writing part of the book?” Grady raised his eyebrows.
“In a way. The writing appears on its own, showing me what he’s saying and doing.” Her heart beat faster as she thought about his personal messages to her, almost like some type of strange long-distance e-mail relationship. “He uses my name instead of Anne’s.”
Grady hooked his elbow in hers again and continued toward her dorm. They had to shuffle around a couple of puddles that spread over the sidewalk like an endless lake. Two students passed them hand in hand, the girl completely absorbed in what the guy was saying.
He watched them walk away. “A Watcher’s love is anything but typical.” Grady nodded his head toward the couple. “When he finds out that she snorts when she laughs, or she finds out that he watches football for hours on end, their infatuation will fade.”
The pair stopped to kiss. Most relationships didn’t last, but the ones that did, made it because the couple understood the faults in each other and decided they could live with them. Her parents had their quirks. Her dad obsessed over antiques and history, and her mom read incessantly and cleaned the house sporadically. But their love for each other kept them together.
“A Watcher knows all your faults, just like you know all of his. When a Watcher loves a Weaver, no laws of what is real exist. It’s a space where miracles happen.”
When she entered Starr Hall, Laney thought about Grady’s words. How many miracles was one person allowed in her life? When William left the book last year and spent a few precious months with her, she couldn’t have imagined a greater miracle. All the physical laws she’d thought existed had vanished when words materialized out of nowhere on the pages of her journal.
Her roommate lounged on the bed, reading a book in her pink satin nightgown and fluffy bunny slippers when Laney got back to the room. Missy’s straight blonde hair was dark from her evening shower.
“Hey.”
Laney crossed the room for their customary hug.
“Laney!” Missy jumped up and rocked her back and forth until she felt like she was in a mixer. “Where’ve you been?”
“Just saying goodbye to my family. You know my dad.” She rolled her eyes in an attempt to speak Missy’s language.
“Ye-ah! Your dad either needs to get a life or seek serious therapy.” She laughed. “So have you heard from William?” Leave it to Missy to shoot straight to the guy talk.
“Um… yeah.” She scrambled to remember the story she had made up last year when William had unexpectedly reentered the book and disappeared from Madison. “He loves it in LA. If he doubles up a few courses this year, he might even be able to graduate early next year. He’s also taking up surfing on the side.” She threw the last bit in for Missy’s sake.
She stared at Laney, open-mouthed, uncharacteristically speechless for a second, then grinned and gazed at some spot on the wall over Laney’s shoulder. “I know it’s wrong to picture your roommate’s boyfriend half-naked and surfing, but I just can’t help myself.”
Laney shook her head. “So, what about you? Any prospects?” It was only their first day back, but Missy moved quickly. She dated at least three different guys after Brian had broken up with her last January. Missy didn’t know that Brian only dated her to be near Laney. He was the Gate Keeper between her book world and this world. A single touch from Brian could send Laney into William’s colonial land.
“Oh, a few. You know how I like to keep my options open.” She took the hairdryer out of her closet.
The hair drying routine usually took at least a half an hour, so Laney took out her journal. Her teeth dug into her bottom lip, seeing William’s new words on the page. She shifted her body to hide the journal from Missy.
William walked along the forested path that followed the road to Boston. His only plan was to avoid the Red Coats, stopping in every town along the way to ask about the man in the black cape. He knew the stretch of road between Lexington and Concord well, so he traveled with haste.
The Watcher Page 2
