Free Shadow of Time - Book 1: (Paranormal Romance) by Jen Minkman Page B

dark of the summer night. Hannah could only make out the outline of Josh’s head and shoulders.
    “Yeah,” she replied. “I just like walking like a chimp. It’s so charming.”
    He chuckled and craned his neck to stare up at the sky. She followed his gaze.
    “You know, when I was little I used to watch the skies and look for the place where the angels lived,” she said softly. “I really thought God was somewhere among the stars.”
    “And now?”
    She paused. “You mean, why I watch the skies now?”
    “No. Where you think God is.” For some reason, the question didn’t sound weird or pompous, coming from him. He just sounded interested.
    “Well – I think God is everywhere. But people don’t open up to His presence on a daily basis. They close off.”
    Josh didn’t say anything. He just slipped an arm around her shoulders and stood a bit closer.
    “You think?” he asked. “Is that what you do, too? Close off?”
    She shook her head . “No, I don’t. But I guess most white people walk the earth as if it’s hostile territory. They have this urge to control and subdue nature. So, they take God out of the equation, out of this world, far above it. And your people place God in everything. That’s why the earth is their home. I think.” She blew out a breath. End of philosophical rant. Had she lost him now?
    “ You’re right. We deeply respect the earth, and we’re a part of her.” Josh turned his face toward her. “You see the differences between our cultures so clearly,” he said softly. Somehow, he sounded wise beyond his years, and for a split second, it felt as if he was addressing her as her senior. In a flash, Hannah saw his face, older than she’d ever seen it in reality – the face from her dream last night. She couldn’t get the image out of her head.
    “Uhm, you said you’d point out some of the Navajo constellations to me,” she said, when he stared up at the sky and remained silent.
    Josh tilted his head to the Big Dipper. “Náhookos Bika’ii. The protective father-figure of our night sky.” He made a quarter turn and indicated Cassiopeia. “And that’s the mother of the stars, Náhookos Bi’áadii.”
    Hannah took it all in. It was a shame she couldn’t tell Josh anything about the mythology behind the constellations she knew, even though she knew all the names by heart. There were no fathers or mothers in her firmament.
    “You’re close with your parents?” she suddenly blurted out, not really knowing where the question came from.
    Josh hesitated for a second. “ I guess.”
    “Doesn’t sound like you really feel it,” Hannah observed.
    “I love my parents. I just don’t talk to them a lot anymore.”
    “Well, how many seventeen-year-old guys do?”
    “With us, they do.”
    “But you don’t?” His sudden honesty and frankness opened up new avenues. She didn’t want to pass up this chance to ask Josh some personal questions.
    “No. I don’t.” The silence between them stretched out. Hannah held her breath. Even the world around them seemed to stop breathing for a moment. Everything was quiet.
    “I just – clammed up,” he whispered, barely audible.
    Hannah wished she could see his face. His voice sounded so lonely and so melancholic that she instinctively put her hand on his shoulder. “You – you shouldn’t,” she stammered.
    “I can’t help it. I can’t help myself.”
    “Can I help you, then?” Hannah asked quietly.
    He put his hand on hers, pressing a soft kiss on the back of her hand as he lifted it from her shoulder. “I don’t know,” he said.
    Hannah stared at him, even though she couldn’t see his eyes in the dark. She wanted to do something, reach out, say kind words that would make him feel supported, but she could feel the wall between them almost like a physical object.
    “Hey! Hannah!” Nick suddenly called out from the campfire. “Where are you? We’re going to play Truth or Dare!”
    She bellowed: “No, thanks. Ben