Page 6 of Christmas Past
Still, he had to take a second or two to gather himself before he raised his hand to knock.
The conversation paused, and then he heard footsteps moving toward the door. No doubt they were wondering who would be visiting at this hour, especially with the building locked up for the evening. True, members of the clan could come and go as they pleased, since locks were no real impediment, but still, barging in unannounced like that was considered quite rude.
And then the door opened, and his father stared out at him in astonishment. He didn’t seem to have aged much during the time Seth had been gone, except to possibly have a few more threads of silver in his light brown hair.
That was good. Seth couldn’t help thinking about how much his brother Charles had aged from 1926 to 1947, but of course, that had been a much longer span of time.
“Seth?”
“Hello, Father,” Seth replied, knowing the words sounded horribly formal. But after spending months in the twenty-first century, he thought it better to compensate in the other direction rather than being as casual as most of the people he’d met in that future time.
No words beyond that, because his father immediately gathered him into a bear hug, holding onto him so tightly that Seth had to struggle to pull in a breath. When he let go, his gaze moved toward Devynn, who’d stood off to one side, a hopeful and yet also nervous expression on her lovely features.
“And Miss Rowe,” Henry McAllister said. “It’s very good to see you as well. Come inside.”
There had been just the slightest edge under those words, a tone that told Seth his father wasn’t as pleased to see Devynn as he’d just said. Well, that wasn’t too surprising, not when he guessed his father probably saw her as the chief reason for his son’s mysterious disappearance.
But at least he hadn’t forbidden them from coming in.
They stepped inside, and immediately Seth heard his mother’s voice coming from the dining room.
“Henry? Who was that at the door?”
“You’d better come see for yourself, Molly,” his father replied.
The sound of a chair scraping against the floor was followed by quick footsteps, and then his mother appeared in the entry to the living room. She was wearing her favorite winter dress, the dark blue wool crepe one with the white collar, and her soft brown hair was pinned up in its usual low bun at the back of her neck. But when she saw Seth standing there just inside the door, her hand went to her throat.
“Oh, my dear Goddess,” she whispered, and then she was rushing toward him, tears already glistening in the same blue eyes she shared with her son. “Seth!”
Her embrace was even more crushing than his father’s had been, and Seth found himself blinking back tears of his own while his mother held him as if she planned to never let him go. When she finally pulled away, her hands went to his face, touching his cheeks as if she needed to reassure herself that he was real.
“We thought — ” she began, then stopped and shook her head. “We didn’t know what to think. You just vanished, and there was blood in the mine shaft, and we were so afraid….”
“I know, Mother. I’m sorry we worried you so much.” Seth took her hands in his. “But we’ve been traveling, and we’re back for Christmas.”
Next to him, Devynn shifted slightly, as though she wasn’t completely thrilled with his choice of words.
But it was true. They had been traveling…just in time rather than space.
“Traveling?” Henry’s straight brown brows — so like Seth’s own — drew together. “Seth, you disappeared in June. It’s been six months.”
“I know it’s been a long time,” Seth said carefully. At some point, he would decide to tell them exactly what had happened, or whether it would be better to be somewhat vague about exactly where they were living. Whatever approach he used in the end, he’d already decided it would probably be better to come around to it slowly rather than revealing everything all at once. “But we’re here now, and we’re safe. That’s what matters.”
Molly’s gaze had shifted to Devynn, who was standing quietly right inside the door, clearly trying not to intrude on the family reunion. “Miss Rowe,” she said, then wiped her eyes with the back of her hand. “I’m so glad you’re both all right. When you disappeared, no one knew what to think.”
“Actually, Mother,” Seth said quietly, “Deborah — Devynn,” he added, realizing that they’d only known her by the much more common name she’d borrowed while in the past, “is my fiancée now.”
The words hung in the air for a moment. Devynn stood there quietly, but Seth could tell she was doing her best to act reserved and polite, like a proper young woman of his era, and not say anything that might raise even more questions.
“Devynn?” Molly repeated, as though trying to get used to the unusual name. Then she went on, her voice rising slightly, “Your fiancée?”
“Yes,” Seth said as he went to put his arm around Devynn’s waist. She moved a little closer to him, and he could tell she was glad of the public display of affection, the clear intention to show his parents that they should now be regarded as a couple. “We’ve been through a lot together…and we discovered that we couldn’t live without each other.”
Devynn managed a smile, although Seth could feel how tense her slender body was. Not for the first time, he thought of her courage — not merely to volunteer to bring them back in time despite the risks associated with such a journey, but also to face his parents and confront them with the shocking revelation that the two of them were now engaged. “I hope you don’t mind the surprise, Mrs. McAllister.” She paused there, and although Seth couldn’t sense anything different in the room, both his parents audibly gasped.
Her mother’s bright blue eyes widened in astonishment. “You’re…you’re a witch?” Molly said.
“I am,” Devynn said calmly. “My gift is being able to conceal my witch nature, but obviously, there’s no need to hide it from you now.”
