Page 23 of Christmas Past
“We’re not sure yet,” Devynn answered. “It depends on a few things.”
“Well, I hope it’s long enough for everyone to see you.” Arthur moved toward the door. “Actually, why don’t I walk you up to Paradise Lane? I was planning to close for lunch anyway, and I know Ruby would want to see you as soon as possible.”
Seth exchanged a glance with Devynn, who nodded. “That would be wonderful,” he said.
Arthur flipped the sign on the door to “Closed” and then held it open so his unexpected visitors could step outside. Even during the brief time they’d been inside the store, the temperature had risen by several degrees, and off in the distance, the familiar shapes of thunderheads had begun to build up above the Mogollon Rim to the east. Summer, then, and probably late summer, from the general feel of the air and the angle of the sunlight. “Come on, then,” Arthur said. “Let’s go surprise the prima.”
As they walked, Seth looked around them with interest. The houses appeared much the same as they had in 1947, but a few more had begun to show signs of neglect — peeling paint and overgrown gardens, giving the general impression of a community that had seen better days. Still, there were signs of life…people watering their flowerbeds or hanging the wash from clotheslines in their backyards…and he was glad to see that not everyone had abandoned Jerome yet.
The Victorian house where Abigail had lived didn’t look at all different. It was the same white with green trim that it had always been — and always would be, since it sported that same color scheme in the twenty-first century, even though the interior had been updated quite a bit. The roses in the front yard appeared especially exuberant, though, each bush so studded with blooms that it was hard to see the greenery beneath. And their scent hung in the warm, slightly humid air, lush and pure at the same time.
“Ruby’s got quite the green thumb,” Arthur said, appearing to notice the admiring way Seth and Devynn looked at the garden as they made their way up the front walk. “I don’t think growing things was her original talent, but you’d never know that from looking at her roses.”
As their little group approached the front door, Seth could hear voices drifting through the open windows — what sounded like an animated conversation punctuated by occasional laughter. It was a startling contrast to the subdued, almost funereal atmosphere that had pervaded the house during Abigail’s time as prima.
Arthur knocked, and the voices inside paused. A moment later, the door opened to reveal Ruby McAllister. She seemed even more vibrantly beautiful than he remembered, her strawberry blonde hair now a bit longer but still styled in the soft curls she’d sported in 1947, and she wore a simple blue summer dress and a pair of sandals, showing off bright red toenails.
“Arthur!” she exclaimed. “I wasn’t expecting to see you today.” But immediately her gaze moved to Seth and Devynn, and her expression shifted to one of delighted recognition. “Oh, my stars. Look what the wind blew in!”
“Hello, Ruby,” Seth said, finding himself smiling in response to the sudden flash of her red-lipped grin. There was something about Ruby McAllister that made everyone around her instantly more cheerful.
“Seth McAllister, you haven’t aged a day,” Ruby said, stepping forward to embrace him. “And Devynn, you look wonderful. Come in, come in! Patrick will be so excited to meet you.”
She ushered them into the front sitting room, which had been completely transformed from Abigail’s time. Where once there had been heavy, dark furniture, somber portraits, and a few fussy parlor palms, now there were bright rugs, comfortable chairs, and plants of all shapes and sizes displayed on stands and shelves and on the fireplace mantel, and Seth found himself relaxing as he took a look around.
Yes, this was definitely Ruby’s house now.
“Patrick!” Ruby called out. “Come see who’s here!”
A man entered from the central hall that split the bottom floor of the house. He was tall and broad-shouldered, with the kind of tanned skin that indicated he spent a good deal of time outdoors. His hair was a brown a few shades darker than Seth’s, and his eyes were a warm hazel, a shade that wasn’t terribly common in their clan.
Of course they would never have met before this, not when Patrick hailed from Payson and apparently hadn’t been anywhere near Jerome when Seth and Devynn were here during those terrible days last year after Ruby was kidnapped by Jasper Wilcox. However, it seemed Patrick must have still heard all about them, because he immediately grinned, his face lighting up with sudden recognition.
“Seth McAllister and Devynn Rowe,” he said, and stepped forward to shake Seth’s hand, his grip firm. “Ruby told me about your adventures and said you might come back someday, but I still wasn’t sure I believed in all that time travel business until now.”
“It’s good to meet you, Patrick,” Seth said, while Devynn murmured similar words. “And congratulations to both of you.”
Patrick continued to smile as he looked over his wife. “I definitely said a few extra prayers to Brigid, thanking her for allowing me to be the lucky one who got to be Ruby’s consort.”
“We’re both lucky,” Ruby said, her tone firm, then went over to stand next to her husband, their fingers twining in a movement so smooth, so simple, it was obvious that such easy affection was already instinctual to them, despite only being married for a few months.
“Arthur was just telling us about what’s been happening here in Jerome,” Devynn put in. “I’m sorry about Abigail.”
Ruby’s expression sobered at once. “Thank you. It was peaceful, which was a blessing. She’d been suffering for so long.” She paused before adding, “I know it must be strange to see us here, and Charles back in your family’s apartment over the mercantile. It’s just tradition for the prima to have this house.”
“Not strange at all,” Seth said stoutly. That was how it worked in the McAllister clan — this home was handed down from prima to prima, and if a consort survived the passing of his wife, then he needed to make his own living arrangements. “Besides, this house needed someone like you to bring it back to life.”
Ruby smiled. “That’s kind of you to say. Would you like some iced tea? I just made a pitcher this morning.”
“Tea sounds wonderful,” Devynn said, and Seth had to agree with that sentiment. After walking up the hill in the summery heat, he could use something to wet his throat.
Ruby led them into the kitchen, which clearly had been updated after she and Patrick moved in. The heavy, dark cabinets had been painted a creamy white, and the fussy drapes that had once blocked the windows were gone, allowing plenty of natural light to make its way inside. It was the sort of place where people would naturally want to gather.
Patrick got the pitcher of iced tea out of the refrigerator — the icebox appeared to be as much a thing of the past as the dark cupboards — and Ruby bustled around gathering glasses and a plate of what looked like homemade cookies, then guided them over to the kitchen table, which overlooked a garden as blooming and cheerful as the one out front.
“So,” Ruby said once they were all seated, “what brings you to 1948? I’m assuming this trip wasn’t exactly planned.”
Seth and Devynn exchanged a glance, and she nodded at him, as if letting him know he could respond to the prima’s question. “No, it wasn’t,” Seth replied. “We were trying to get back to our own time in the twenty-first century, but Devynn’s gift has been a little unpredictable lately.”
