Book of Days_ A Novel - James L. Rubart [113]
Cameron's adrenaline didn't stop pounding till he reached the bottom of the cliff and started the two-mile hike back to his MINI Cooper. He'd found it. The Book of Days and the Stories of Time were one and the same. He clutched the stone around his neck. Tomorrow he would take Ann and find his memories of Jessie and see his father again. Maybe even be cured.
After that he and Taylor Stone would have a very long talk.
CHAPTER 41
The next morning Ann called Cameron at 7:40.
"Are we still on for coffee?"
Cameron rolled over in bed, grabbed his iPhone, and punched up his calendar. SEVEN THIRTY. ANN: COFFEE AT JAVA JUMP START. Whoops. They'd set the date the night they explored Taylor's building, but he'd forgotten to set his alarm. "I spaced. Yes, we're on. I'll be there in ten."
"Good, we have to talk. There's something bothering me about Taylor's basement, and I want to work through it with you."
Ann had a white chocolate mocha waiting for Cameron when he walked into the coffee shop.
"How was your climb yesterday?"
Climb? Right, yesterday he'd gone for a solo. Wake up, Cam.
"Excellent. Great workout and great view from the top." At least there probably had been.
"Were there any other climbers?"
"Nope, my solo climb stayed solo."
Was that right? He didn't see anyone, did he? Another climber? No, but he'd seen someone . . . Cameron squeezed his head.
"What's wrong?"
"Nothing."
"You look like you just forgot what day it is."
"I . . . think I did meet someone." The flash of a conversation flitted through his mind. There was someone at the top. Was that right? A wave of panic flashed through him. Something deep inside said it was critical he remember who he talked to. And what they talked about. Was it a man? Yes, he was certain it was a man. A moment later he wasn't sure he'd talked to anyone.
"Who'd you meet?"
"I can't . . ." Heat filled his body. "You have to help me." He looked up. "It's important for me to remember this." He kneaded the back of his neck. Remember!
"Was it a man? A woman? A kid?"
"I talked to this person about the Book of Days, I know it." Cameron stood and immediately sat back down. "Help me."
For the next few minutes Cameron tried to recreate the event of the previous day, but nothing more than a vague recollection of talking to someone at some point during or after or before the climb was all he could grasp.
"It'll come back. Give it time."
He didn't have time. And it wouldn't come back. "We need me to remember it now. I have to."
"Let it go."
"I can't." Cameron turned and stared out the window of the coffee shop.
"It seems like whatever it was, it's let go of you." Ann took his hands and rubbed the top of them. "It'll be okay, Cam-Ram."
He fell back in his chair as another wave of heat washed over him. "What did you call me?"
"Cam-Ram. Has nobody ever called you that before?"
He gripped his chair. "Jessie called me that."
"Hey, I'm sorry. I didn't mean to call you something she—"
"No problem." Ann calling him that? As strange as it was, it felt right.
She squeezed his hands. "Can we talk about Taylor's basement? I think I've found something that might help us in this crazy quest."
"What quest? It's over."
"Probably, but maybe not."
"Give me a minute to clear my head."
Ann stood. "No problem. Those éclairs have been tempting me for three days. So I'm going to get rid of the temptation by eating one."
Ann seemed to move in slow motion as she weaved through the knot of people waiting to order their java jolt. When she reached the pastry shelves at the back of the coffee shop, she reached in and pulled out two chocolate éclairs and pretended they were dancing with each other.
When she got back, she said, "This éclair will do wondrous things for your mind and to your taste buds."
"Wouldn't that be nice?"
Ann took her first bite and wiped her mouth with a napkin. "I think Taylor wanted us to find the book."
"What do you mean?" Cameron took his first bite of the éclair. Wow. Tasty.
"Didn't you think it strange he wasn't