A time To Die - Dont Be A Hero Book 2

Evening Tour

Macy crept out the back door and curled up in the corner of an old porch swing. The sun was setting and she just wanted to be alone with her thoughts. She wanted to focus on the mission at hand and figure out what was going on out here, but her thoughts kept returning to Jackson and to his alter-ego. To her complete horror, her mind also kept dragging Natasha into focus and torturing her with images of the detestable bitch kissing Jackson.

She drew a long breath and let it out slowly. A tear escaped and ran down her cheek faster than she could catch it. She cursed at it angrily and pulled her compact out to try to smooth out the track it left down her flawless skin. Before she could even flip it open, another one rolled down the other side and she let out a squeak of annoyance. 

Macy did not like being unsure of herself. She detested having to question her own perception of how things were. She loved Jackson. She was absolutely positive that he loved her. However, things had changed so drastically for both of them in such a short amount of time that she was left with the sense that he had become a stranger to her. Suddenly she didn't feel that she knew him anymore.

For the past year it had been just the two of them, for the most part. They were together almost every waking moment. Then practically overnight they had become surrounded by other people. His sister. The vigilante team they had once been trying to apprehend. Natasha, a woman hell-bent on getting way too close to Jackson for Macy's comfort. Well, it was his other side that she wanted, but that was where Macy was stuck.

Is Jackson Wolfe and Father Time the same person? she asked herself for the hundredth time. Even if they aren't, would it be okay with me if a relationship sprung up between his alter-ego and another woman?

She shook her head and gazed at the brightly colored ribbons of sky on the horizon. The sun had just slipped all the way out of view and the colorful display it left behind was a thing of magnificent beauty.

Suddenly she felt very small and insignificant. She stared at the fire-emblazoned sky and wondered just how little she actually was. How unimportant her predicaments were in the entire scheme of things. Her arms instinctively wrapped around herself as she tried not to feel swallowed by the vastness of the wide open sky. Her tears were forgotten and her mind boggled at the possibilities.

A footstep behind her yanked her out of her reveries and she whirled her head to find Jackson standing there gazing out at the sunset. His hands were shoved into the pockets of his jeans and he was wearing a button down shirt that he hadn't bothered to button. Macy noticed that his hair was damp. She could smell his soap and cleanliness from where she sat and fought the urge to breathe him in.

"Jackson, darling, you really shouldn't sneak up like that. You'll stop my heart!" she lectured, more in an attempt to conceal her emotions than because she was really annoyed.

"You seemed so lost in thought I didn't want to disturb you." he replied, softly.

She looked up at him and her heart pounded in her chest. She felt drawn to Jackson like a moth to a flame. She always had. There was something about him that made her feel... well, secure. Safe. More than that. He caused a tingling feeling just below her tummy and he often made her feel like giggling. All of those wonderful feelings dissipated with the presence of her new arch-nemesis, the Raven.

"Well, you may as well sit down." She patted the seat next to her.

He walked over and sat down on the swing, leaning forward with his forearms on his knees. His hooded eyes still gazed out at the last of the brilliant colors of the sunset. They were beginning to fade.

"It's beautiful here, isn't it?" Macy asked, breaking the silence that had engulfed them.

Jackson turned to look at her. "It's different than what we're used to. That's for sure."