Current Impressions (8 page)

“Clear your mind.” He drew out each word
between clenched teeth.

“I am. I did.” My tone mimicked his.

He rubbed his temples and closed his eyes. I
watched him with some level of fascination. Did I really have the
ability to make him this frustrated or was this just his normal
personality? Temperamental and irritating.

He smiled at me. Too bad it didn’t reach his
eyes. They still looked pissed. “Let’s try again, shall we?” he
murmured. “Close your eyes, Meara.”

I did as he said. With my eyes closed, I
could feel his breath on my cheek. Couldn’t he back up a pace or
two?

“Picture the cloud.”

I saw the small cloud in my head. Not much
bigger than a cotton ball, wispy and soft like one, too.

“Can you see it filling?”

I did. I saw the wisps growing heavy with
dew, the white turning dark with moisture. The air cooled around
me, and a breeze raised my hair off my shoulders.

“Good,” Kieran whispered. “Good.”

The edges of the cloud grew black in my
mind, saturated to the point of bursting.

“Now, release it.” Kieran’s voice was a
sharp command. I started and saw the cloud puncture like a water
balloon. My eyes flew open when the rain drenched my skin.

Kieran beamed at me. “You did it!” His arms
circled my waist, and he spun me around. I raised my face to the
sky in awe.

I made it rain.
I. Made. It.
Rain
.

Kieran set me down, but he pulled me into a
tight hug. “You’re amazing.”

Without thinking, I slid my arms around his
waist. My body fit against his easily. I missed this closeness with
another person. My fingers brushed against his T-shirt. He rested
his cheek on my hair.

My euphoria began to fade, and I stiffened
and jumped back. What was I doing? This was Kieran, not Evan.

Kieran dropped his arms to his sides. I
crossed mine over my chest. We stared at each other in silence
until he cleared his throat. “That was good,” he said. “You caught
on faster than I expected.”

“You were yelling at me before,” I
grumbled.

He shrugged and picked up his cap where it
was laying on a boulder nearby. I tried not to notice how good he
looked, even in basketball shorts and a faded T-shirt. “I’m not the
most patient of teachers.”

“You can say that again,” I mumbled under my
breath.

He turned back and grinned at me. “But I
won’t.”

He was so infuriating! I tried to think of a
smart reply. Nothing came to mind. I watched as he placed his cap
on his head, adjusting it slightly.

“Oh, and Meara?”

“Yes?”

“Part two of your lesson today…” He paused
until I motioned for him to go on. “Transport yourself back to
Ronac.” He winked and disappeared.

I stared in disbelief. Really? This was the
best teacher my dad could come up with?

“Evan, your ride’s here,” his mom
called.

“Coming!” He looked around his room. It was
so clean—didn’t even feel like his. Everything he needed for the
trip was packed between his suitcase and his carry-on. With any
luck, he’d see Meara before the end of the week. At least, he hoped
she find him right away. He didn’t know how to find her.

He picked up his bags and went downstairs.
His mom was at the door, looking out at the professor’s car. When
she turned, her face was shiny with tears.

“Mom, I’ll be back in a few weeks.”

“Over a month,” she corrected with a smile.
She reached up to frame his face with her hands. It was something
she’d done since he was a little boy, only now, he was quite a bit
taller than she was. He leaned down and kissed her on the cheek
before hugging her.

“I love you, Mom.”

“I love you, too,” she said. “You’ll
call?”

“Regularly,” he said. “And, of course, I’ll
call you when we land.”

She nodded and dropped her hands, focusing
again on the professor’s car. “He won’t come in and say hello?”

She’d been irritated ever since Professor
Nolan declined the invitation to dinner. Evan tried several times
to get him to come over, but he refused.

“He’s socially awkward,” Evan said after a
moment. It was an excuse, but as good as any. It didn’t really seem
like the professor had friends. He barely talked to his colleagues
and mainly barked orders or facts at students.

“Something about his profile seems
familiar.” She continued to squint at the car. “What did you say
his name is?”

“Theodore Nolan. Uh, Ted.”

“Ted Nolan… hmm… I don’t recognize it.” She
frowned in thought. “Maybe he just has one of those familiar
faces.”

Evan shrugged. Professor Nolan looked like
the stereotypical nerdy college professor—dowdy suit, tie, glasses,
and untidy hair. He didn’t really stand out.

He picked up his suitcases and waited. His
mom wasn’t moving from the entryway. “I need to leave, Mom.”

“Of course.” She stepped to the side and
held open the door. “Have a good trip. Say hi to Meara for us.”

His parents knew that Meara was one of the
reasons he took the internship. It was probably the main reason
they agreed to let him go. They knew how hard it was for him when
she moved away with her dad. They also genuinely liked her. Meara
was easy to like.

He paused to kiss his mom’s cheek one more
time. He would miss her, but she would probably miss him more. The
house had been noticeably empty in Katie’s absence, even when
filled with guests. At least Katie was returning in a few days.
She’d keep their mom occupied. And, Dad was coming home tonight and
not traveling the rest of the week.

Evan hurried down the steps and put his bags
in the trunk before sliding into the passenger seat. “Sorry for
making you wait. I was saying goodbye to my mom.”

“No problem.” Professor Nolan didn’t even
look at the house. He simply took off. “Where is the rest of your
family?”

“My dad’s on a business trip. My sister’s in
Cancun.”

“Your mom is alone?”

There was something in the professor’s tone,
but Evan couldn’t pinpoint it. Whatever it was, he felt uneasy, but
the feeling came and went just as quickly. “Not really alone,” he
said. “The inn is full right now. We’re pretty much booked all
summer.”

“That’s right.” Ted nodded. “A bed and
breakfast, correct?”

“Yes.” Evan was surprised he remembered
since he seemed to forget any detail that wasn’t marine
related.

The professor grew quiet, which Evan didn’t
mind. Classical music played at a whisper. It was pleasant and,
after a while, Evan closed his eyes. He knew he wouldn’t sleep on
the long flight—flying made him nervous—so he might as well try to
catch a bit now.

She touched his face, sliding her finger
along his lower lip before moving her hand behind his head and
drawing him closer.

“
I missed you.” She kissed him. “So
much.”

His hands tightened on her waist. He angled
his head and deepened the kiss. She hummed in reply. It felt so
good to have her in his arms again. He pulled her closer. He loved
how she smelled, the summer scent of her. He sniffed her hair, but
what he smelled was so rank that it made him gag. He pulled back
and looked at her.

Her seductive smile stayed in place even as
her face began to crack. A thick, black liquid oozed out, and the
stench increased. He scrambled back and lost his footing. Reaching
out to catch himself, he sliced his palm on a sharp stone. The warm
blood trickled down his hand, but he couldn’t look away from her
face. Her beautiful face coated in smelly, black goo. Only her eyes
remained untouched.

“
Meara? What’s happening?”

She opened her mouth to answer, and the
blackness flowed inside. She coughed, doubled over, and retched. He
reached for her just as she dissolved into a liquid puddle.

“Evan! Evan!”

He woke to the professor shaking his arm.
Sitting up, he glanced around to get his bearings. Just a dream.
They were still in the car. The airport was a few miles away.

“Are you okay?” Ted glanced at him uneasily.
“You were crying out in your sleep.”

“Yeah.” Evan ran his fingers through his
hair and reminded himself again that it was just a dream. His heart
seemed to have a hard time believing him, the way it jumped in his
chest. “I had the weirdest dream.”

Ted raised his eyebrow. “Want to talk about
it?”

“No.”

“Okay.” Ted turned his attention back to the
road, and Evan tried to slow his breathing and pulse to match the
tranquility of the music. It was just a dream. Meara was fine. He’d
see her soon, hold her in his arms, and everything would be
okay.

****

When they landed in Aberdeen, the professor
rented a compact European car. Evan pushed the seat back as far as
it would go. He still needed to bend his legs to fit in the car. It
was mildly uncomfortable, but Ted claimed the car got excellent gas
mileage. Hopefully, that didn’t mean they would be taking any long
road trips through the Scottish countryside.

As they left the airport, Ted explained that
the airport was northwest of the city. It would take about a half
hour to reach their destination. The house they were staying at
belonged to another professor. They were going to work together,
and he offered them free rooms if they chipped in toward the food.
It sounded like a good deal to Evan.

Aberdeen itself was a beautiful city—old
buildings mixed with new. It was early in the morning, and people
bustled about. A few sat outdoors sipping coffee and enjoying the
summer weather. Like Nova Scotia, Scotland was cold and damp most
of the year. The natives needed to soak up the warmth while it
lasted.

Outside of the city, the roads became curvy
and narrow. The view became less metropolitan and wilder as
buildings gave way to cliffs and manicured gardens to moss-covered
boulders. A slender lighthouse in pristine white appeared on the
horizon. It reminded Evan of home.

Ted cleared his throat. “We’re almost there.
Kenneth’s house is just past the lighthouse.”

With the term ‘house,’ Evan was expecting a
cabin or small, weathered building like the homes in Peggy’s Cove.
He could not have anticipated the looming stone-and-wood structure
that stretched before them. It looked like an English manor house,
with two graceful turrets in the front and a steep, tall roof.

“That’s your friend’s house?” Evan’s voice
was filled with awe.

Ted chuckled. “It’s something, isn’t it? He
inherited it from his great grandfather.”

As they drew closer, Evan noticed that the
house was gated. Stopping the car, Ted got out. He entered a code
into a panel, and the doors swung open.

“It’s well protected,” Ted said as he slid
back into the car.

From what?
Evan thought. They were in
the middle of nowhere. Why would this Kenneth need protection? The
gate was probably leftover from his great grandfather’s time.
Things were rougher back then, highlanders and all that.

Ted parked the car at the end of the drive
and got out. Evan followed. He stretched and tried to work the
soreness out of his cramped muscles. The drive from the airport
might not have been long, but it felt that way in the tiny car.

“Ted, you made it!” A tall, muscular man
came down the front steps to greet them. His thick hair was white
and silver and his eyes were blue-gray, so bright they almost
glowed. Evan usually didn’t pay much attention to what other guys
looked like, but this man could give James Bond a run for his
money. He exuded finesse and charm. The burr of his Scottish accent
only added to his image.

The professor held out his hand, which
Kenneth used to pull him into a hug. “None of that! We’re family.”
He laughed when he saw the unsettled look on Ted’s face. Evan
almost laughed, too. Clearly, the professor was not used to
hugs.

Ted straightened his glasses and looked at
Evan. “Evan, this is my colleague, Kenneth Guthrie.”

“It’s Ken.” His handshake was firm. “Let’s
not be formal. Welcome, Evan.”

Evan turned to get his bags out of the
trunk, but Ken’s voice stopped him. “Leave your bags, the staff
will bring them in.” He started to walk away and motioned for Evan
and Ted to follow him. “Come, I’ll show you around.”

He took them through the house, which was
bigger inside than it looked from the outside. There were eight
bedrooms and six baths, a den, a library, a large formal room, and
an enormous dining room. The kitchen was huge, too, but mainly
reserved for the staff.

“Unless you need a snack or drink,” Ken
said. “Then help yourself at any time. My home is your home.”

Friendly guy
, Evan thought. He wasn’t
sure he would act the same if someone came to his house, but it was
nice to have such a generous host.

When they reached the room at the end of the
upstairs hall and Ken told him, “This one is yours.” Evan almost
wept with relief. He was exhausted after the ten-hour flight and
not being able to sleep on the plane. The seats were uncomfortable,
and the cabin was noisy.
This room is perfect
, he thought,
noting the bed was covered in plush blankets and fluffy pillows.
Looking at it made him sleepy, he couldn’t wait to change and crawl
under the covers. His bags already sat in the corner of the
room.