Thorns of Decision (Dusk Gate Chronicles) by Breeana Puttroff Read Free Book Online

in a few months. He’d probably be on crutches sooner, actually, if he didn’t have the broken arm and ribs.”
    It was good news. Although he’d always put a positive spin on things in front of Thomas, William had talked to her a few times about how much he wished they’d had the resources to do a really proper repair on Thomas’ shattered femur in their world. She was glad that, in the end, they’d had the option to bring him here.
    “Are you going back up there tonight?” she asked.
    “I don’t know. I want to, of course, but there are a number of things I’ve fallen behind on, and Nathaniel may be working. Thomas told me yesterday not to worry about it. We’re pretty sure he’ll be released to Nathaniel on Thursday morning.”
    “So soon? Just two days?”
    “It might not be so soon if Nathaniel wasn’t a doctor. There’s no school on Friday, so we’re probably going to try to take Thomas back home on Thursday evening.”
    The floor dropped out from under her. “Already? You’re going to leave and go back?”
    “I’m sure my parents are quite anxious to have Thomas home.”
    She nodded. Queen Charlotte and King Stephen would indeed be worried about their son and wanting him back. It was selfish of her not to think of that. Besides, she was sure Thomas and William both wanted to be with their family. It was just … she hadn’t seen him yet since he’d been here, and she wasn’t so sure she was ready for everything to be over – to go back to living her life here without them. She was afraid it was all going to feel like it had never happened.
    “I’m sure they are,” she said, fumbling for the right words, not knowing how to explain how she felt. “I’m just surprised … I was hoping to see Thomas while he was here.”
    His eyes softened in understanding. “Oh, right.”
    “It’s okay, though.” It had to be. Her life was here, not in their world.
    William’s expression changed to one of concern, and suddenly it was like he could see right through her, like he understood her real feelings about it.
    He shook his head. “No, I know he wants to see you, too. I could try calling Nathaniel later and ask if he could drive us up there tonight.”
    Nathaniel? She wasn’t sure she was ready to deal with Nathaniel yet, not until she had spoken to her mother. “Well, I could drive, but I have to work tonight.”
    William’s eyes lit up, and she realized that the issue of transportation was a big one. She wondered if he’d forgotten that she had a car and could drive. He had told her one time that he’d never really cared to learn to use a car while he was in her world – he didn’t think he would ever really spend enough time here for it to matter, and it was a useless skill in his world, where he was an accomplished horseback rider. “How about tomorrow, right after school?”
    She paused. She had a pretty good idea how her mom might feel about her driving all the way to Grand Junction with William. Of course, that assumed she would actually see her mother long enough to even have the conversation – which at this rate looked unlikely. What did she have to lose? “Sure.”
     
    *          *          *
     
    As she’d expected, by Wednesday, she’d still had almost no contact with her mother. Although Megan and her siblings were still home when she had woken up that morning – it would have been difficult to get out of the house before four in the morning when Quinn had again been woken up by crazy dreams – this time it was Quinn who stayed in her room. As much as she desperately wanted to talk to her mother, today she didn’t want to intentionally jeopardize her trip to Grand Junction with William.
    There had been another note on the counter in the kitchen after they’d left, though. Again, her mother had to work late and then had plans, and Quinn wouldn’t need to pick up Annie. The note irritated Quinn; her hands quivered as she read it. If she hadn’t