Pure Blood (Time Spirit Trilogy, #3) Read Free Page A

like you!”
She stepped back from her boyfriend and studied his face, merging
the image of Nathaniel Clayton overtop and seeing such striking
similarities she let out a gasp.
    “Harrison, I think I met your dad… your real dad!”
     

 
    Chapter
Four
    Anastasia State Park, Florida – 2011AD
     
    “When?” Harrison could barely get the word
free.
    “1821.”
    “You…” A shocked chuckle left his lips as he
shook his head. “No, Gem, you’re wrong. My dad died of cancer in
1992… when my mom was pregnant with me. I’ve told you that before.”
He slapped her shoulder and paced away from her. “He can’t have
been in 1821, he… that… I mean you must have seen someone else…
you…” He gulped and stopped talking. Gemma’s gaze was mesmerizing.
His heart slowed to a dull thud and his ears started ringing.
    “That’s how your mom knows what I am.”
    “But I thought you said you can’t travel into
the future. How did he get here?” It was like stumbling through a
minefield trying to get the words out of his mouth.
    “Harrison,” Gemma paused, obviously assessing
whether he could take it in, then licked her lips and continued, “I
don’t think Nathaniel came forward… I think your mom went
back.”
    His ears rang louder as he pinched his
forehead with his hands and walked towards the water with bug eyes.
Gemma was wise enough to stay silent as his mind reeled over the
news.
    My mother is a… no way, that’s ridiculous!
She can’t… she…
    His heart beat a loud double pound then
settled into an erratic rhythm.
    Holy crap it’s true. My mother’s just as
weird as my girlfriend!
    He spun to look at Gemma. She was standing a
few paces away, watching him with pained eyes. He knew the
expression was for him. He knew she could feel the emotion coursing
through his system.
    “I’m sorry,” she mouthed.
    A small smile fluttered over his lips as he
paced back towards her. “It’s not your fault.” He rubbed her
shoulders and kissed her forehead. “This is just huge. I’m
struggling to get my head around it.”
    “Fair enough.”
    “I need to talk to my mom.”
    “I know.” She stepped back from him. “Call me
later, okay.”
    “Yeah.” He brushed her lips with a kiss and
headed for his car. He could sense her watching him leave and
flicked her a wave as he accelerated away. He felt a little bad for
cutting their date short, but the desire to hear the truth from his
mother was overwhelming. How could she have kept this from him?
    The pressing feeling that he didn’t know who
his mother really was nearly pushed him through the floorboard. By
the time he pulled into his driveway his body was taut. Anger
sparked and flashed through his muscles as he wrenched open the
door and paced into the house.
    He was about to bellow her name, but was
stopped short by the screaming coming from the living room.
    “WE ARE NOT MOVING AGAIN!!”
    Tears streamed down Rosie’s cheeks as she
stood, blotchy faced, in the doorway. Her eyes were rimmed red and
the second she saw Harrison she rushed into his arms and began
sobbing against his chest.
    “What’s going on?”
    Helen cleared her throat and tried to look
unfazed by her step-daughter’s outburst. Bryan stood behind her,
his hand on her shoulder, doubt flickering through his eyes.
Harrison frowned as he studied his mother’s expression. Keeping his
hand running comforting circles over Rosie’s back, he waited for
the answer he already knew.
    “There’s a job opportunity for me up in DC,
working at one of the Smithsonians. Bryan and I are just discussing
what we might do.”
    Harrison’s short laugh was cynical. “You know
running won’t change anything, Mom. It obviously hasn’t worked that
last twenty-eight times.” He puffed out an irate breath. “You might
want to start acting like a grown-up-parent at some point and think
about everyone else in this family before yourself.”
    “Harrison…”
    “No! Rosie’s right. We’re not