Book of Days_ A Novel - James L. Rubart [24]
Jason's gaze swept slowly back and forth over the faction in front of him. On his second pass he locked on to Cameron. One by one, Jason's group followed his gaze till all eyes were riveted on Cameron.
"Are you a seeker or a believer?" Jason asked.
"Neither."
"An honest man." Jason held out his hand, palm up. "That is refreshing." He strode over to Cameron. "If you are neither a seeker nor a believer, tell us what brings you here and what we might do to help make your life more full."
Cameron couldn't tell if Jason was kidding or not. Did he make up a line like that or read it in some self-help guru's book? Neither the man nor the smile on his face moved. Jason must be serious.
"My name is Cameron Vaux."
"Welcome, Cameron."
"I'd like to talk to you about the Book of Days."
"Excellent. You've come to the right place. Let's step outside for a moment." Jason led Cameron back through the door he'd come in. After they'd walked five yards Jason said, "The book, why do you seek it?"
"My—" He glanced at Jason. A hunger in the man's eyes made him stop. "Some friends of mine mentioned it before they died. They said it was important that I find it. I promised them I would. So I'm honoring their request."
"Wise friends. And I respect your honoring their desire." Jason smiled. "I think having a discussion about the book can be arranged. Breakfast tomorrow morning, perhaps? Say seven thirty at the Outland Café?"
"I'd like to talk to you about it right now."
"Not now. Tomorrow morning."
Cameron nodded. Jason didn't seem the type to be coerced into anything he didn't want to do.
"Our journey together begins, Cameron. I believe you will find it an extremely fascinating one."
CHAPTER 9
Ann sat in her room on Wednesday morning holding a cup of bad hotel coffee as she tried to ignore the cloud of doubt that hung over her head, sending drops of anxiety into her heart.
You're supposed to be here . . . you're supposed to be here.
Repeating the phrases like a mantra didn't help.
She'd slept late, went for a run, and showered, thinking it would help her figure out if she should call Cameron. He wasn't expecting her till Saturday. Part of her wanted to announce her early arrival, and part said wait.
She decided to check in with Drew, then grab an early lunch. Getting out among people would help clear her head.
"How was the drive down?" Drew asked.
"Fine." Ann took a sip of coffee and grimaced.
"You're still feeling this is the perfect path for you to be on?"
"No, but I'm successfully ignoring all those negative thoughts." She paused. "At least I wish I were."
"Are you thinking of heading back?"
"No, I need to do this, Drew."
"Hey, do me a favor. If you have it in your laptop, could you look up the e-mail address of that photographer who came by the office last month? I want to have him take some new head shots of you and the rest of the crew."
"RonnieD@JadeShot.com." Ann grabbed her keys and slipped out her door into the hotel hallway.
He chuckled. "It amazes me every time you do something like that."
"There are some advantages of having a photographic memory."
"What, there are disadvantages?"
"Remind me to tell you about them sometime."
"So have you figured out what you're going to say to Cameron when you see him?"
"I'm thinking about hello for starters." Ann reached her car, opened it, and slid behind the wheel.
"Hah."
"Hey, I worked on it the whole trip down."
"Seriously, what are you going to say?"
"I'm not thinking about it." Not at the moment. But she'd been debating what to say since that first disconcerting phone call four days ago. Ann jammed her keys into the ignition, started her Prius, and yanked the gearshift into Reverse.
"In other words, you have no clue how you'll greet him."
"I have nothing."
"I think you should take the blunt approach and tell him the reason you haven't had a relationship last more than nine months ever since you met him."
"I already told you, those feelings vanished years and years ago." A grocery store