Free Meadow's Keep (The Gatekeepers Series) by Shanon Grey Page B

Jasmine’s face had gone ashen and her knuckles were white where she gripped the seat. Her chest rose and fell quickly.
    He reached over and touched her shoulder. She flinched , her eyes huge. He sent a mental push to calm her and saw her battle it. He added his voice through the headset. “Relax, it’s a beautiful day. Enjoy the flight.” Her shoulder softened under his hand and she smiled a tremulous smile before she turned to look out the window.
    In that instant, his vision changed, shifted, and he was seeing unlike he’d ever seen before, which was saying something , since his eyes allowed him to see all sorts of nuances he knew other people didn’t see. However, this was different—and he sure as hell couldn’t fly a plane this way—not yet, anyway. He realized his hand still rested on Jasmine’s shoulder. He yanked it away and blinked. His vision returned to normal. What the hell? She seemed to be in a daze, staring out the side window toward the receding earth.
    “Jasmine,” he spoke softly into the headset, not wanting to startle her.
    She turned her head slightly, but, her eyes remained focused out the window, as though she couldn’t pull them away from whatever it was she was watching.
    “Jasmine ,” he said again, louder.
    She blinked several times, looked at him , and blushed.
    “What was that?” he asked.
    Jasmine looked him in the eyes. “ I’m not sure. I’m okay now.” She offered a small smile.
    “We’ll be cruising at about 31,000 feet. It’ll be like walking on the clouds,” he said, his voice soft, suggestive.
    She knew what he was doing. She let him. Her anxieties about flying seemed to have existed forever, as far back as she could remember, anyway. Until this time, she’d always sucked it up and done what she had to do, refusing any help. The Abbott House plane was large enough that she could sit back in the cabin, listening to loud music, popping gum, and get through it. She hadn’t even mentioned it to Dr. Browne. It seemed of little consequence, since she didn’t see why she should fly when there were perfectly good roads on which to travel. This small jet was something else. It felt like there was no plane.
    For a few moments earlier, in fact, when she’d looked out the window, it had been like she hadn’t been in the plane at all. Out of nowhere, she was flying—without the plane, above the trees. She could see the ground, vegetation, buildings. Hell, she saw a mouse scurrying to get away from a grass snake. And, she could see so far. It was amazing. Plus, she wasn’t afraid. Then he’d called her name, pulling her back. She didn’t want to let go. He’d called again, with a command she couldn’t ignore. In an instance, she was back in the plane and all her senses got tangled. Her anxiety level shot up.
    Jasmine reach ed up and wiped the moisture from her upper lip. What’s happening to me?
    “Tell me about your hometown ,” he interrupted her thoughts.
    “ Ruthorford?” Jasmine let her mind conjure up a picture of her hometown. “It’s a small, southern town in the mountains of northern Georgia. Well, the low mountains. It’s just a little way from Atlanta. We don’t have the hustle and bustle of Atlanta. Yet, we aren’t far from it.”
    “ However,” she said, turning toward him, “Ruthorford is set off by itself. It’s almost surrounded by water. You cross a bridge to get in and a bridge to get out. Most of the inhabitants can trace their families back to the original settlement, either Native American or Scot.”
    She glanced back out the window, but kept talking. “ We have the main town, which is encircled by farms. It’s very pretty. The town is very Victorian, its buildings old and quaint. A median runs down Main Street—its fountain is almost always shooting water.”
    “Is there someplace I can stay? A motel?” He looked over at her and flashed her a smile. “Unless you want me to stay with you,” he added, only half teasing.
    “