Eric Nylund - Mortal Coils 01 by Mortal Coils

Author:Mortal Coils
Language: eng
Format: mobi, epub
Published: 2012-06-08T14:19:59+00:00

40

SMALL AMONG GIANTS

Fiona dismounted and pulled off her borrowed motorcycle helmet. She shook out her hair.

Her body thrummed from the ride up the coast. Robert’s Harley had the speed and power of a rocket. She had clung to him—totally scared out of her mind, thrilled, too.

He’d picked her up from Ringo’s only fifteen minutes ago, and there was no way they could have made it so far up the coast. Yet, as with Uncle Henry’s limousine ride, they hadn’t seemed to go that fast, just that everyone else on the Coast Highway had seemed slow in comparison.

What bothered Fiona more, though, was when Julie and Eliot had returned from their break. Julie looked as if she’d been crying. Eliot looked bewildered (as usual). She’d wanted to ask him what had happened, but then Robert showed up … and she’d left.

Robert got off his bike and stretched his leather-clad body. All other thoughts faded from Fiona’s mind.

After holding on to him for so long, smelling leather, she wanted to go back and cling to him some more.

Was this really a date? So many things had happened so quickly, and little of it made any sense. But did it have to make sense for Fiona to enjoy herself?

And if this was her first date, she didn’t want to blow it. She unthinkingly brushed her fingers through her hair, worrying the ends. She forced herself to stop. She didn’t want to look like a nervous little girl.

“This way.” Robert strode toward the trailhead.

Surrounding the tiny gravel lot where they had parked was a forest of shadows, ferns, and wildflowers. The sign by the trail read REDWOOD NATIONAL FOREST INTERPRETIVE TRAIL 0.6 MILES (LOOP).

“Just a sec,” she said.

Fiona set her book bag on the bike and reached inside for her chocolates—just two or three to perk her up. Her hand wavered, however, over the heart-shaped box. She’d never felt more confident. Did she really need them? She’d never before been able to talk to anyone other than Grandmother, Cee, or her brother. Had she changed? Or was it just the sugar?

What if this wasn’t really her? What happened when the never-ending box of chocolates … ended?

Maybe it was time to find out.

Fiona zipped up the bag and trotted after Robert.

The instant they stepped onto the path, the sounds from the road vanished. Insect buzz, birdcall, and the nearly imperceptible sound of the air moving filled her ears.

She’d seen the huge trees before in books, but now just a few steps from them, it felt different. These redwoods were giants—all silently looking down and watching her.

“There are sequoias in the mountains that are more massive,” Robert explained in a reverent whisper, “but these redwoods are the tallest trees in the world. Some grow over three hundred feet.”

They walked solemnly along the trail, and Fiona craned her head upward, trying to find the treetops. The redwoods filled the sky. Layers of fog drifted in and out and added to the illusion that she was in a private world, alone with Robert.

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