"Did Viloula tell you how it would take place, this going through time?"
She shook her head, frowning slightly. "No. She doesn't know."
"How did it happen last time?"
"I was sitting at my computer?" At his confused look, she waved airily. "I'll explain 'computer' later. Anyway, I was working at my terminal late one night. All of a sudden a storm started, lightning struck, and I woke up face-first in the Arizona dirt."
"So now you're planning to be at the Rock at midnight, hoping to ride some cosmic bolt of lightning back through time."
Her frown intensified. "Are you making fun of me?"
A grin burst across his face. He couldn't help it. He suddenly felt like a kid again, full of hope. The heavy veil of depression had ripped a little, let in a steady stream of light, and it warmed him. "Of course not. I'm just trying to understand."
"Why? All that matters is that I'm there. I have to count on fate to get me back."
"Or destiny." He said the words softly, feeling an unexpected shiver move through him. The moment he said the word, destiny, the pieces came together in his mind and formed a whole. Destiny.
She stared up at him, a hard, no-nonsense look in her eyes. "You're building up to something. What is it?"
He leaned toward her, his gaze as earnest as hers. "Do you think we're soul mates?"
"It doesn't matter. All I know is that I love you in this life ... more than I ever thought possible."
"Well, 7 believe it."
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"You do?"
I forgive you, Johnny. Lainie's words came back to him, swollen with meaning. Emily had always called him Johnny; only Emily. No one else called a gruff-talking, gray-haired giant of an outlaw Johnny. Yet the name had slipped from Lainie's mouth, an endearment from another woman, another time. But the same soul, a soul he'd loved once, and now believed he'd love for all time. "Yeah," he said softly. "I do. And that's why I'm thinking maybe we're not looking at this right."
"What do you mean?"
"We're seeing tomorrow night as an end. But maybe .. . maybe it could be a beginning."
"I don't understand, Killian. Tomorrow?"
"I could go with you."
Her mouth snapped shut. She stared up at him, unblinking. For a split second, she went so still, she appeared to stop breathing. "Wh-What do you mean?"
He twisted around a little, clutched her shoulders, and drew her close. "Who's to say it's not possible? I mean, none of this is possible. What if I just held your hand and wouldn't let you go?"
She bit down on her lower lip. He could see that she was battling hope, trying not to let the potent emotion overtake her. She was afraid of it, afraid to believe in something that would break her heart. "You could be hurt. You could ... die."
"Nothing could hurt me more than losing you."
"But if something went wrong, if it wasn't possible?"
"I'd die," he said simply. "And I wouldn't have a second's regret."
She swallowed convulsively, her wide-eyed gaze fixed on his. "You'd do that ... for me?"
Though he should have expected it, her question
filled him with an inestimable sadness. He touched her gently, breezed a callused finger along the velvety underside of her chin. "When will you understand how much I love you?"