Eternal Moon

Chapter 21: An Inconvenient Desire

Healing took time, something Jamie typically didn't have or enjoy. But there was no escaping the fact that she was once again stuck in Gealach Lán. Except for this time, she wasn't itching to get out as soon as possible.

Jamie had begun to realize that worrying about her friends and family was pointless. There was no way of getting word to them, and even though she knew they would soon start to accept that she was probably dead, the realization didn't kill her as much as she thought it would. Instead, she found it a little freeing.

It was freeing to no longer worry about her thesis, to not look at her phone a hundred times a day, to not check her email, to not call back bill collectors, or not rush an Instacart order when she ran out of food. There was no Netflix or Instagram to distract her. No friends from her past trying to stay in touch after years apart. Life in the 21st century barely existed here, and she felt as if she was finally able to rest.

As the week progressed, she noticed that she could wake up and actually feel refreshed. It didn't hurt that she had Effie and Catrina waiting on her hand and foot, but the slowness of this place helped too. There was no rush; only time. Time to sleep and eat or walk and read. In fact, it was starting to feel a little bit like a vacation.

Despite that, she was still studying and researching. Kane had given her unfettered, free rein over the library, welcoming her to read anything that her heart desired. Sometimes he came by and read by her side, but he also left her to her own devices, stopping by occasionally to invite her to eat or take a break.

He had changed most of all. For the most part.

No one would ever call Kane Murdock the life of the party. He was still quiet, content to sit or walk in silence for stretches of time. He didn't freely express every thought in his head like Jamie or make small talk for the sake of it. The brooding, whether he knew it or not, was still there, and he wasn't one for bombastic sentiments of affection or even approval. Confidence thrummed off of him and he felt no need to declare it.

Yet there were no longer secrets between them the way there were before. Now that he was no longer hiding the truth about himself or Gealach Lán, he opened up to Jamie and answered all of her questions without any restraint, even the ones about him personally.

She had found him one day fishing by the loch on the property, standing in that content silence as he used an old fishing reel. Early morning light glittered across the water of the loch, serene and untouched by his presence.

"I didn't know you fished," she remarked, taking a seat by him on the grass, holding her steaming mug of coffee. Early mornings were a lot more enjoyable without traffic or lines at Starbucks.

She could tell he was pleased to see her by the curve of his mouth. "Aye. Something Ian and I used to do."

Ian. It simultaneously warmed her and hurt her to hear mention of his long-gone brother. He had opened up more about his family during their conversations. She was still shocked that he had gone so many centuries without any family.

"Must've been very different back then, though."

He shrugged. "Somewhat. But fishing, at least for me, remains much of the same."

That was definitely Kane, she was realizing. Even if the world did change around him, he liked to do things the old-fashioned way.

"What's changed the most?" she asked.

His eyebrows crinkled for a moment as he considered. "I've not seen any of the world besides what's in books or movies, but the technology is certainly immense. And everything seems bigger and smaller at the same time."