Wait (Beloved Bloody Time) Read Online Free Page B

crisp lawn toward the leafless trees reaching up into the iron grey sky.
    “It is quite normal to be homesick in the beginning, you know,” she added gently.
    “Is there anything normal about this existence?” he asked, his voice rough.
    Her fingers pressed his arm, but she didn’t answer.
    The silence stayed with them until they were under the trees. There were a lot of couples and families out walking, taking in the fresh, crisp air, and there was a gay and festive atmosphere, despite the cool weather.
    Christian blew out a breath. “Please accept my apology,” he told her. “I’ve spoiled the mood.”
    “You’ve had a hard few years,” she said. “It seems to me to be only natural to feel at odds with everything and everyone.”
    “You pulled through just fine,” he pointed out. “Better than fine. You look quite glorious, in fact.”
    She smiled at him, then her smile faded. “I keep thinking about how hard it was for some of the men I nursed. How many families won’t have their soldiers returning home from this? A bit of hard work seems like heaven in comparison.”
    Christian grimaced, guilt touching him. “You make me sound terribly ungrateful.”
    “That wasn’t what I meant.”
    “But you’re right. We’re lucky to not have families to miss us. Bullets don’t hurt us. There is never any need to worry or wonder about when it might all unexpectedly end. There’s just time. Lots and lots of time.”
    “Time to do whatever you want,” she added.
    He halted and drew her to one side of the path, facing him and out of the way of everyone else using it. “What will you be doing next?” he asked.
    Natália smiled. “I am on duty in two hours. The evening shift.” She lifted the cap and veil she had folded in her hand.
    “I mean, after this. Are you going to stay in New York?”
    She shifted on her feet, as if she was uncomfortable with the question. Her gaze flickered away from him.
    “What is it?” he asked her.
    She shook her head, still not looking at him.
    Christian closed the few inches between them, until they were almost touching, and caught her face in his hands. She was neither hot nor cold to his touch. He brought her face back until her gaze was on him. She bit her lip.
    “What troubles you, Tally?” he asked, as gentle as she had been with him.
    She pressed her full lips together, her eyes locked on his. “I try not to follow my impulses,” she said. “They usually lead me into situations I don’t like.”
    “What impulse are you fighting now?”
    Natália hesitated again. Then, “I want to ask you what you want for your next life.”
    He stared at her, puzzled. “That is a bad question?”
    “I want to know if I can share it, even for a while.” She gave him a small smile. “It is the worst thing we can do, but that is what I feel.”
    Christian clamped down on the swell of joy that threatened to make the sun come out and flowers to bloom. He grit his teeth together, riding out the pleasure, letting better sense ascend in its place. He stroked her cheekbone, feeling soft flesh. He made himself say it. “I’m married, Tally.”
    She stepped back immediately, blinking, and straightened her apron with a sweep of her hands. “But that’s…that’s wonderful! Where is she? Here in New York?”
    He shook his head. “We met in England, during the war. Juliet is arriving tomorrow on the steamer. She wanted to come here to live. Europe is so torn up and depressing.”
    Natália nodded, smiling. “Is she…?”
    “She’s human,” Christian said. He gave her a smile that felt more like a grimace. “I took your advice, you see.”
    “I remember. Of course I remember,” she told him and took his arm once more. She turned and began to walk down the path, bringing him with her, past the many people sitting on the benches that lined the walk. “Human companionship. I’m so happy for you. Is she pretty?”
    “Very.”
    “Does she love you?”
    Christian recalled the