Blooms of Consequence (Dusk Gate Chronicles Book 4) Read Online Free PDF Page A

nightmare?”
    “No, not really. It was very vivid; I felt like I was really there.”
    “Where?”
    “Bristlecone.”
    He set down the brush and walked over to the wooden half-wall that separated the two stalls. “Tell me.”
    “It was like it was normal. You and I both went to the gate and went through. It must have been a Sunday night, I think, because I got up and went to school the next morning. You were there, too.”
    “Not avoiding you, I hope.”
    She looked into his eyes. “I’m not even sure I could imagine that even in a dream anymore. It’s hard to believe you ever used to do that.”
    “That’s probably the biggest regret I have, you know – that I treated you that way.”
    “You didn’t know.”
    His gaze was intense. “Does that matter? I mean, when you first came here, you didn’t know anyone; this wasn’t your life, and still you were nice to everyone. I do realize now that I could have acted like a decent human being, even if I was keeping a secret.”
    She ran her hand down the side of his face. “Well, in my dream, you did. You walked me to my first class, and we sat together at lunch.”
    He smiled. “I would have liked that.”
    “Zander was mad. So was Abigail. Nobody else was talking to me.”
    His face dropped. “I thought you said it wasn’t a nightmare.”
    “It wasn’t really. It was hard at first, but you were there. After school, I went over to your house, and we did our homework together. And then… it was a dream, you know, so it wasn’t just one day. Eventually, Zander moved on. Maybe he started dating someone else, or something, I don’t know. And Abigail could only be mad for so long before she was just dying to know more about the elusive William Rose.”
    He chuckled. “Yeah, my anonymity would be in deep trouble in about thirty seconds, wouldn’t it?”
    “I don’t think I’d give it that long.”
    He reached for her hand. “It would be kind of fun – to walk around Bristlecone High School, holding your hand.”
    “It was good in my dream.” Her stomach gave a little flip at his answering smile.
    “So what else happened?”
    She shrugged. “The details are mostly vague, but I think there were lots of things. You having dinner with my family, helping Owen with his math the way you do with Alex sometimes...”
    He squeezed her hand. “I’d love to know Owen like that.”
    Her cheeks warmed a little at the next part. “You asked me to prom.”
    “Well, that’s a given,” he said, sliding his finger under her chin to lift her gaze back to his face. What kind of dress did you wear?”
    She rolled her eyes. “I wasn’t really looking at me.”
    “ I would have been.”
    “Anyway, it was all just stuff like that ... maybe just an idea of what it would be like if we were normal teenagers in Bristlecone.” She’d stopped short of telling him about the part of her dream where he’d proposed to her shortly before graduation, not knowing how he’d feel about that. Not knowing how she felt about it.
    He pulled her hand to his lips; his breath was warm against her knuckles. “We could do that, you know, if that’s what you want. At some point, we’re going to be able to get back to the gate again, and we could go back to Bristlecone and have all of that. We could still get back there long before spring break is over.”
    “You would do that?”
    “Yes, I would. I’m in this, Quinn. Please don’t make your decision based on me . In some ways, it would be a lot less complicated, wouldn’t it? If we just had a simple life there – graduation, college...”
    “Would it really be less complicated, do you think?”
    He shrugged. “It sounds less complicated.”
    She nodded, and stretched across the wall to kiss him on the cheek. “Everything sounds less complicated when you’re not in the middle of it.” She picked up Dusk’s brush and was about to walk back toward the horse when William grabbed her hand again.
    “Are you feeling okay?” he