Rendezvous With Yesterday (The Gifted Ones #2)(117)

Robert sent Beth a somewhat scandalized look, then addressed Seth. “She is quite bold in her speech, is she not?”

“You will find most women of this time speak thusly.” Seth turned to Beth. “I realize the gentlemanly thing to do would be to escort you to the front seat. But I suspect Robert’s first ride in an automobile will go better for him if you sit beside him in the back.”

“Back seat’s fine,” Beth said.

Robert eyed the van dubiously. “What is it?”

Seth pushed a button on his remote, and the side door rolled back. “Think of it as a horseless wagon.”

Beth took Robert’s hand and tugged him forward. “Come on. You’ll like it. It’s fun.”

She suspected he would have balked at venturing into the strange conveyance had he not trusted her as much as he did. But he soon settled beside her on a soft bench seat.

“Hey, Seth,” she said as he reached for the door.

“Yes?”

“Why did you send the tent back with me? It wasn’t with me in the clearing.”

He shrugged. “I knew you would be cold.” Closing the door, he circled the vehicle and tucked his big body behind the wheel.

When the finely tuned engine hummed to life, Robert started slightly and clutched Beth’s hand.

Beth hadn’t realized what an unsettling experience this would be for him. Whenever she had imagined taking him on his first ride in a car, she had thought only about how much he would love the high speeds at which they could travel.

That and their ability to regulate the temperature, which Seth did.

Cool air wafted over them when he turned on the AC.

Beth grinned at Robert’s amazed expression as he leaned closer to the vents. “Pretty cool, huh?” she asked.

“’Tis very cool,” he uttered, closing his eyes in bliss.

He did enjoy the ride. Eventually. The speed limit on the highway leading into Houston was seventy miles per hour. Having never traveled anywhere near that fast, Robert did seem a tad nervous until the sights distracted him.

Beth found so much around them fascinating when seen anew through his eyes. The wide, smoothly paved road. The other vehicles that came in so many sizes, shapes and colors. The variety of races of people within those vehicles. The red brake lights that lit up on the back bumpers. The brightly colored billboards that Beth had always considered such an eyesore. The huge signs that hung above every store they passed.

What would he think when she took him out after the sun set and let him see how many of those signs began to glow?

The planes and helicopters that flew overhead astounded him. The booming music that assaulted them from neighboring cars annoyed him and made his head pound, although she thought his earlier exposure to the heat could be partially responsible for that. The signal lights enthralled him.

They were idling at a signal light not that far from the forest that had hatched their little road trip, having been diverted from the highway temporarily by road construction, when Robert suddenly leaned toward the darkened window beside him and pointed.

“Beth, look there. Another of your portraits.” He frowned. “Or is it a license?”

Leaning across him, she peered at an abandoned gas station that was papered with fliers. Did a picture of her reside amidst the assorted ads? “Seth, could we stop here for a minute, please?”



“Of course.” As soon as the light turned green, he eased forward, swung into the gas station, and stopped.

Beth hopped out and approached the wall near the boarded-up entrance. Not one, but several fliers with her picture adorned it. Most of them were faded, some more tattered than others. A couple had been partially covered by other fliers.

Pulling one down, she took it back to the van and climbed in, sliding the door shut behind her to lock out the heat.

Robert leaned in close as she retook her seat and studied the paper.

A photo took up half the page, showing her from the shoulders up, smiling happily at the viewer. Josh had taken the picture when they had driven to San Antonio back in June. Beside the photo, in neat, dark type was a physical description of her. Height. Weight. Hair color. Eye color. Birth date. The date she had disappeared. The clothing she had been wearing when she had last been seen.

And a phone number. Their phone number. Hers and Josh’s.

An unbelievably large reward was being offered for any information that led to her recovery. She couldn’t imagine where Josh could have come up with so much.

“What is it?” Robert asked. “Is it a license, like the small one you gave me?”

She shook her head. “It’s a missing-person flier. People put them up when loved ones disappear in hopes that someone will see it, recognize them, and know where they might be found.”

“Does such happen often?”

“People going missing?”

He nodded.

“Unfortunately, yes.” She looked at Seth, who had turned slightly in his seat to watch them. “Have you seen these?”

“Aye. He has put up thousands of them since you disappeared, blanketing at least a fifty-mile radius from the clearing in which the two of you fell. He even faxed a copy to other bounty hunters in hopes they would distribute them in other parts of the state.”

“Why didn’t you tell him I was okay? Why did you just let him think the worst?” What Josh must have suffered…