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you told her the same story you had related to me, about coming from the future and being the participant in a play. She said you had predicted the Indian attack, though you thought you would be taken only if you left the inn." |
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"That's right." Mariah was unsure from his careful tone whether he was accepting or denying. "The script I read was only partly accurate." |
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"It did, I understand, say that you would be taken to a cliff near the river where the water had shaped large rocks into smooth ones." There was still no inflection in his voice. "The nearest place to fit that description was where I found you." |
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"Thank you for trying there," she said simply. Maybe she should have learned by now that she could not rely on Thorn. He had told her so often enough. |
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Instead, she had learned that she could. |
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"What is the next occurrence your . . . script predicts?" he asked slowly. |
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"Then you believe me?" She couldn't keep the joyful note from her voice. |
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"I do not believe such an incredible tale," he contradicted. "However, you did know the soldiers would follow the homesteaders visiting my inn, and you seemed to have predicted your own captureand rescue." |
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She searched for a way to explain in a manner he might, somehow, accept. "As I told you, Pierce wrote a story about a man named Thorn who was a lot like you. Not all the story follows real life here, but some does." |
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"The Thorn in the storyhe was dependable?" |
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Mariah drew in a quick breath. How astute this man was! She considered his question for only a moment before saying, "Yes. As I said, he was a lot like you." |
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He pulled her in front of him, grasping her ann so tightly that she winced. "Just because there have been times when I have acted as your make-believe hero did does not mean that I am he. I do as I wish. When it suits me, I help people, but sometimes even then it turns out wrong. Mostly, I do not even try." He stalked off, leaving her standing there. |
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"What's wrong with him?" Will, who had caught up with |
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