Spending an entire day on a small private jet would’ve been unbelievably boring if Cadence hadn’t been so tired she fell asleep almost as soon as the plane took off and dozed for a good ten hours before waking up to take care of nature’s call, eat something, and go back to sleep for another five hours. The fact that her sister was asleep even longer made her feel a little less like a freak since none of the Guardians had to sleep at all. She was shocked Jamie wasn’t tired since it took so much energy to heal himself the day before, but when she settled into the seat beside him to pick his brain for a while, he claimed he hadn’t slept a wink.
Stifling a yawn, she reclined the seat as far as it could go and leaned back into the soft leather. “How are you still tired?” he asked, his voice quiet so as not to bother Cassidy who was snoozing on Brandon’s shoulder a few rows in front of them.
“I know it’s been a long time since you’ve needed sleep, but don’t you remember ever sleeping for so long that you couldn’t wake up?”
He grinned at her like she was slightly crazy. “No, but you’re right. It’s been a hundred and fifty years. I guess I might’ve forgotten a few things about what it’s like to be human-ish.”
Her brown hair danced slightly as she shook her head at him. “Does it seem surreal to have seen so many things change, or is that just how it is? I mean, is it like the lifespan of a fly? An hour has to seem like an eternity to them, right? Because their lives are so short?”
“I don’t know.” He puzzled over her question for a moment, like he hadn’t stopped to think about it for a while. “I just know… the first time I went to Australia, it was on an ocean liner. And it took a heck of a lot longer than a day.”
“That’s so amazing to me. Did you ever think there would be aircraft that could take you there so much quicker?”
“I remember the first time I saw a Zeppelin. We thought those were fast. Things change. Who knows what will happen next? I honestly try not to dwell too much on the future—or the past. I think that’s one of the reasons you don’t know as much about our histories as maybe you should, Cadence. None of us really like to sit around and talk about it. Especially not Aaron and me.”
She couldn’t tell if he was trying to be nice or if he really meant it. She understood what he meant, though. She knew more about Aaron’s past than anyone else’s, but it was hard to get him to talk about it. Jamie had known her fiancé for over a hundred years, and even though they hadn’t worked together that entire time, she believed their first hunt had been the search for Jack the Ripper, in London, in the 1890s. It seemed surreal just to think about it.
Thoughts of Aaron’s first wife entered her mind. He rarely spoke of Aislyn, and she knew that was because it had been so painful to deal with her infection and subsequent death. “It took him a really long time to get over her, didn’t it?” Cadence’s voice was just above a whisper. Even though she could see Aaron and Elliott having an adamant conversation through their IACs near the front of the plane, his hearing and ability to pay attention to more than one thing at a time were uncanny.
“It did,” Jamie agreed. “I always thought it was so strange that he didn’t seem interested in dating any of the ladies who fawned all over him. But then, I found out firsthand… and now I totally get it.”
Hearing that ladies threw themselves at Aaron wasn’t a surprise, even though she didn’t like it. It wasn’t any different now, although at least the worst of the offenders seemed to have moved on. Not with Christian, though; Aurora had filled her in earlier about the date, which had not gone well. Cadence wasn’t at all shocked, and she felt a little guilty for practically forcing the blonde to go out with the tech guy. But… it was over now. And maybe Ashley would be finding another guy soon enough. At least she made it clear to Aurora that she wasn’t interested in Aaron anymore now that she was fully aware of how she’d been acting.
Returning her attention to Jamie, Cadence asked, “You have dated some, haven’t you? Since… Ellie passed away?”
“Sure, I’ve gone out with a few girls. There was one I thought I might give it a real chance with. But….” His voice trailed off, and his eyes glazed over slightly. “I really just can’t explain it. I feel like I’ve been searching for someone like Ellie for seventy years, and no one has ever really come close.”
Cadence placed her hand on his arm and squeezed it. She felt like, if she’d really lost Aaron in Ireland, maybe she would feel the same way and decide never to be with anyone else again either. “She must’ve been very special.”
A sad smile broke across his face. “She was. Ellie was so energetic, so full of life. She’d joke around about everything all the time. And… she was terrified of spiders.” He chuckled like he was remembering a particular incident. “Seeing as though there are some pretty big arachnids in Hawaii, that wasn’t a good thing.”
“No, I imagine not,” Cadence laughed, happy to be hearing about her at last.
“She was beautiful, too. Prettiest blonde hair. And she loved bright red lipstick.” He sighed. “I miss her everyday… still… after all of these years. Just like I did the day it happened.”
She slipped her hand down his arm so that she was holding his hand. “I’m so sorry. I really wish I would’ve had the chance to meet her.”
“Thanks.” Jamie swallowed hard. “Even if… even if she hadn’t been killed, you still probably wouldn’t have met her, though. She would’ve been seventy-five the year you were born.”
