Darkest Journey (Krewe of Hunters #20)(64)

They took a break and invited the children up to play, then sang some more. They were thrilled to see how well their act was received. Charlie was particularly happy to see her father nodding his approval.

Charlie was enjoying herself. She had missed this kind of creative expression, just three friends making music together and sharing it with an appreciative audience.

Things began to change as the second seating drew to a close.

As the diners were enjoying their dessert and Charlie was singing a sad ballad, “Home Sweet Home,” a song beloved by soldiers both North and South, she realized that reality was being overwritten right in front of her eyes.

It wasn’t that their living passengers disappeared, but rather that a gentle gray mist settled over the room and filled it with the sick and the injured from the long distant war.

Charlie saw the man she was certain had been a doctor sitting in the front, tears streaming down his cheeks. Her throat tightened, and she nearly missed a note. There was an aura of sadness mingled with hope in the room that was almost palpable.

The song ended. She was rewarded with thunderous applause. The mist lifted, and she was just a woman on a dais in the twenty-first century, surrounded by her friends.

Alexi and Clara came forward, and the three of them linked hands and bowed. The diners began to flood out. It was late. The next day they would be at Oak Alley, and many were eager to see the famed plantation and spend the day roaming the beautiful estate.

“My God,” Clara breathed, and Charlie turned to look at her. She’d known that Alexi saw things, but she hadn’t realized Clara could, too. Then she remembered that Clara had recently been through a brush with death. Perhaps that had brought about the change? There was more that connected them than they had wanted to admit until they were left in a position where they had no choice.

“You saw them, too?” Charlie asked.

Both women nodded, but neither spoke. Jonathan was hurrying toward them, a huge smile on his face. “You were amazing!” he congratulated them.

Charlie hugged her father, then saw Ethan was nearby, as well. Earlier only Thor had been watching over them. She’d known that Ethan and Jude had been working the ship, striking up conversations with anyone who might know something that could help them.

But now Ethan was here. And she loved the way he was looking at her, with so much pride.

He nodded respectfully to her father as he walked up to her, pausing to hug Clara and Alexi first. To her surprise, her father suddenly said, “Man, sorry I’ve been a jerk. Ethan, go kiss her. It’s hard for a man to let his little girl go, but...she’s grown up, and I need to accept that.”

“Despite my bad taste in men?” Charlie said, grinning at her dad.

He shrugged. “You could do worse, I’m sure.” He grinned back at her.

Ethan stepped forward. She slid into his arms, and when he kissed her, for a moment she wasn’t aware of anything around them. She couldn’t mourn the time that had passed with them apart, because now they were together, and this was real. She didn’t give a damn who knew or who saw it. She grinned and rose up on her toes to kiss him again.

She wanted a lot more.

“All right, all right, that’s enough,” her father said.

Laughing, and a little breathless, she stepped back. Ethan was grinning, as well. Charlie assumed he was happy that Jonathan seemed to have accepted him at last. She certainly was.

“We need to get out of here so the staff can get everything set up for tomorrow,” Alexi said.

“I would love to buy all of you a drink on the Sun Deck,” Jonathan said. “Coffee, tea or the nightcap of your choice.”

“Dad, I thought they didn’t bill you here?” Charlie said.

“So I’m cheap. I’d still enjoy spending some time with the bunch of you. I’d like to hear more about your investigation,” he said, “and see if I can help in any way.”

“Not a bad idea to hang out for a little while,” Thor said, slipping an arm around Clara’s shoulders. “Together,” he added.

“Let’s go,” Jude said.

As they left, Ethan slipped his arm around Charlie’s waist and whispered softly, “You’re shockingly sexy in period attire.”

“Despite the Victorians’ repressive attitudes toward sex, they still found a way to dress to entice,” she said, then laughed. “Good thing we have our supply of colorful condoms, though. I don’t mind the dress or even the corset, but I draw the line at Civil War condoms. A sheep’s bladder is not my idea of birth control. I certainly wouldn’t trust them to protect against STDs, although if they did, I don’t suppose people were terribly bright about it, seeing as syphilis and gonorrhea were running rampant in both armies.”

“I had no idea you were so knowledgeable about the sexier side of history,” Ethan said, pulling her closer.

“I learned a lot making that commercial. STDs are still ruining lives.”

She wasn’t whispering, and Clara turned around and joined their conversation. “I know. Young people need to watch out.”

“Young people?” Ethan said. “I read about a retiree community that’s had the largest concentration of STDs in the DC area for years.”

“I guess we never lose the need for love—or sex.”

Jude joined in then. “I suggest you don’t share that tidbit with the family dinner crowd.”