by Bess McBride
“Hey!” she said. “You don’t have the right to manhandle me!”
Clint stuffed his hands in his pockets, shocked at his behavior but still angry.
“No! No, I don’t. You’re right. I apologize. What were you doing down there? It’s dangerous. I told you that.”
She crossed her arms with a mulish look on her face.
“Well, I wanted to, that’s why!”
Clint shook his head, fear receding into annoyance—not only fear that she might have been injured, but fear that she might have traveled back in time without saying goodbye to him.
“It’s time. It’s time for you to go back!” he said. He crossed his arms as she did.
“You know what? I think you’re right, Clint! I’m sure not going to stay here and be bossed around by some Neanderthal from the nineteenth century.”
“Good! Because I can’t continue to worry about you, especially if you’re being willful.”
“Willful?” Hilly laughed. “I’m not a child.”
“Then act like an adult,” Clint ground out. “Shall we?” He held out an arm to allow her to precede him toward the cave.
“And how do you think this is going to work?” Hilly’s blue eyes sparkled and fumed.
“We’ll hold hands and descend into the cave together as best we can without falling. I cannot think of another way. I am certainly not going to take your hand and jump into an abyss!” Clint held onto his anger. The other emotion so ready to consume him was grief, and he could not bear the pain.
“Well, good, because there’s no way I was going to do that either. I just went down to explore a bit, and I’m still here, so I’m not real sure this is going to work.” Hilly said. She kept her arms tightly crossed, her fingers digging into her elbows.
“We will see!” Clint thrust out his hand and waited for her to take it. She did, and at the touch of her skin, his resolve almost failed him. No! She wasn’t safe here. She would be miserable. She might not survive.
They approached the entrance to the cave, and Clint stepped down onto the ladder with one hand while he guided her down with his other hand. Slowly, painstakingly, they descended into the shaft while connected by holding hands.
“Wait!” Hilly called out from above. She looked down at Clint. “I don’t want to say goodbye this way, Clint. Not angry. I love you.”
Clint looked up, his anger melting, a crushing pain in his chest replacing it.
“I love you too, Hilly. I always will. Always!”
Hilly bent her knees and lowered herself until she was closer to him.
“I’m leaving you because it’s easier for you. I know I’m in the way, and I know I’m worrying you. I’m too much trouble.”
Clint climbed up two rungs and pressed himself against Hilly’s back. He kept hold of her hand.
“I just don’t think you will thrive here, Hilly, and I don’t want you to be unhappy. I can’t bear to say goodbye to you, but I know I must.”
Hilly leaned her head back, resting it in the hollow between his shoulder and his neck.
“Isn’t there any way for us to be together? This seems so sudden.”
Clint kissed her neck then her cheek.
“I don’t see how, sweetheart. I don’t see how.” He rested his face against her silky hair and breathed in her beautiful smell. Would her hair stay silky if she remained? With lye in the soap? Would she smell as sweet given the necessary conservation of bathing water in the desert? Could he try to return with her? Without money? With nothing to offer her?
He sighed. No, he loved her just the way she was. Not strong but not weak. Strong enough for her time but not for his.
“Say goodbye,” he whispered in her ear. He felt her body tremble. Hot tears fell down the side of her face and onto him.
“Goodbye,” Hilly whispered. “I love you.”
“I love you too, Hilly. Are you ready?”
Hilly shook her head. “No, but go!”
Clint pulled her downward into the cave.
Chapter Ten
Tears streaming down her face, Hilly let Clint lead her blindly down the ladder. She kept a tight grip on his hand, unwilling to let go, unwilling to lose him. He paused on every rung as if waiting for the time travel to occur.
After an eternity or only a few minutes, Clint stilled, and Hilly looked down. Through blurry eyes, she saw that he had reached the bottom of the shaft. He gently guided her down to the cave floor and pulled her into his arms.
A sob erupted from her. She couldn’t hold it back any longer.
“We are still together,” Clint said. “My heart’s desire and worse fears have come true.”
Hilly pressed her face against his chest and clung to him with all her might.
“I’m so sorry,” she sobbed. “I’m so sorry. I’m such a burden.”
“No, no, never a burden, Hilly.”
She hiccupped and lifted her head to look at him.
“But how did we get here last time? How did you go to the future? Just from me calling out to you?” With bleary eyes, she looked around the cave. There was nothing extraordinary about it. No portals. No gleaming stone talismans.
“I don’t know,” Clint said. “That is all I remember before I awakened in your time. As for our return, you were there. I grabbed your hand as you fell. I am still unwilling to take a leap of faith, skip the ladder and jump into the cave with you.” His lips curled into a tender smile.
Hilly gave him a watery chuckle. “Me either. Admittedly, this time travel thing is surreal, fantasy, but I’m not willing to stretch the truth any further and make the jump either. We would both end up at the bottom of the cave with broken arms and legs at best, and dead at worst.”
“Was there a particular time of the day? Or an hour? Maybe morning is not the right time.”
“No, it was morning when we came out here last time.”
“And afternoon when I first heard your voice.”
Hilly leaned up to kiss him on the lips. “Well, if I had to be stuck in the past, I’m glad I’m stuck with you,” she whispered against his mouth.
“Are you?” Clint asked quietly. “Are you truly?”
Hilly nodded, and Clint pulled her closer and responded to her kiss like a thirsty man might to a drink of water. In minutes, he lifted his head and eyed her lovingly but with a resolute glint in his eye.
“But I am taking you back to town, Hilly. We will find a place for you to live. Surely, you can see that even the necessities of nature make it too hard for you to live out here.”
Hilly nodded. “But promise me, I’ll see you every day. Every day.”
“A promise I am happy to make. I’ll find a place in town as well and come out to the mine to work every day. I’m thinking of asking Nan Dorn if you can stay with her. I’ll pay for your upkeep.”
Hilly smiled. “Or maybe I can help her out in that store of hers next to the stable. I don’t want you to pay for me.”
“It is common in my time for men to take care of women, Hilly,” Clint said with a gentle smile. “But you are not from this time, and we will have to make allowances for that, won’t we?”
Hilly nodded. “For how long though, Clint? Am I staying forever?”
Clint pulled her tighter into his arms. “I don’t know, sweetheart. I don’t know. I wish I knew so I could plan better.”
“Plan what?” Hilly asked.
“Well, when to marry you, of course,” Clint said. He went down on one knee and pulled her hand to his lips.
“Will you marry me, Miss Hilly Creighton? For better or worse? As long as we have together?”
Hilly’s legs trembled, and she sank to her knees to face him.
“Marry you?” she squeaked. “Are you sure?”
Clint nodded firmly, a light shining from his eyes. “As sure as I’ve ever been about anything. I love you and I want to spend the rest of my life with you—in this time or in yours. I don’t care which as long as I can provide for you.”
> “But we’ve only really just met. You don’t even know me.” Hilly didn’t really think the trite words applied to them, not given their bond.
“But I do know you, Hilly, and you know me, more than any other person ever will. I believe we were meant to be together. Time has surely shown us that.”
Hilly nodded. “Yes, I think you’re right. This can’t just be a random accident. I feel like I’ve known you forever.”
“I feel the same way, Hilly. You are no stranger to me. It’s as if I have been waiting for you all my life.” He brought Hilly’s hands to his lips.
Hilly reached to touch his cheek with her hand.
“Yes, I’ll marry you, Clint. Yes, I will!”
Clint pulled her to him and kissed her soundly. She fell over onto his lap and laughed happily.
“I will build you a house,” he said enthusiastically. “There is land for sale in town.”
“In Tombstone?” she asked.
“No?”
“Maybe nearby? Why not out here? Then I can bring you lunch!”
Clint shook his head. “Pipes have been laid for water in Tombstone. It is safer for you to be near the town. And if you truly do wish to work for money, my modern woman, then it would be best if we lived near town. I’m sure I could find some property just on the edge of town, would that be acceptable?”
Hilly nodded. “A suburb.”
Clint laughed. “Yes, a suburb.” He pulled her to her feet. “Let me take you back to town now.”
“So much for my camping adventure. I was lucky you were asleep when I got up so I could, you know, use the bathroom. I didn’t realize last night, but there’s not a single tree on this side of the hill to hide behind.”
“I was not expecting company, honey, or I would have planted a tree...or built an outhouse.”
“Oh gosh,” Hilly murmured. “An outhouse. Lucky me.”
Clint laughed, and took her hand to lead her to the ladder.
“You go first, and I’ll follow.”
Hilly looked up the ladder and hesitated.
“What if...what if one of us travels in time on the way back up? Even if we didn’t manage to do it on the way down, there’s always a chance, especially since we don’t know how it works.”
Clint sobered and shook his head. “It’s a chance we’ll have to take.” He pulled her around to face him. “Promise me that if we become separated, you’ll come to the mine and call for me...just as you did.”
“And you promise me that you’ll grab for me if you feel like I’m slipping away.”
“I promise, Hilly.”
“And promise me that if we do become separated...that you’ll leave a note for me here in the cave telling me how you are, that you’re safe, that you had a happy life.” She tried to choke down a sob, but it got away from her.
Clint cupped her face in his and laid his forehead against hers. “If the worse happens, I’ll leave you a note, but I can guarantee you that I will not have a happy life.”
“Don’t say that, Clint. Please don’t say that.”
Clint nodded. “Okay. Are you ready?” he asked.
Hilly nodded. She grabbed the ladder and began to climb, one inexorable rung at a time. Could she make it to the top without losing Clint?
“I’m so scared,” she whispered, afraid to speak aloud in case she initiated some sort of reaction.
“Don’t be,” Clint whispered. “I will grab you and I won’t let go.”
“Let’s hurry!”
“Okay,” Clint said.
Hilly scrambled up the ladder as fast as she could. She paused at the top and reached for Clint’s hand to pull him out. For a moment, the world went dark, and she tried to scream. But no sound came from her lips. The sun shone overhead pushing away the darkness, and the sensation passed. She climbed out of the cave and Clint cleared the top rung of the ladder and followed her. They stood upright, and Clint pulled Hilly into his arms.
“Well, that is that!” he said with a smile. “We are both still here.”
For some reason that she couldn’t understand, Hilly withheld her experience. For all she knew, she could have been on the verge of passing out from anxiety rather than some sort or time travel occurring.
“Yes, we are,” she said against his chest.
“I’ll make a quick breakfast before we return to Tombstone.”
Hilly nodded and sat down to watch him. Clearly, he was going to be the cook in the family. She shook her head and bit back a grin. The family! Her family. She tried not to think about her brother at the moment. He would be worrying about her soon, would call the police. She blocked the thought and concentrated on watching her handsome sandy blond cowboy/miner/farm boy/gunfighter make breakfast.
On arrival back in town, Clint drove the wagon into the stable and greeted John Dorn. He insisted that Hilly wait in the wagon while he talked to John about having Hilly stay there.
She felt awkward asking for such a favor. She would have much preferred to have a place to herself rather than stay with strangers—or even a place with Clint—but she supposed that wasn’t done. At least, Clint didn’t seem to think so.
The “Old West” smelled much newer than the older buildings in Tombstone she’d visited. The smell of freshly cut wood permeated the stable along with the odor of horse manure. She eyed the mules warily, tied up to a hitching post. What if they decided to take off? Would she grab the reins like they did in a Western movie? She’d be much safer actually getting off the wagon.
Except that she still hadn’t changed, not even into the looser men’s trousers that Nan Dorn had given Clint for her. Hilly knew she would have to make some concessions. She hadn’t seen any women yet in pants. She wore her overcoat but it felt hot in the morning sun. She guessed the temperature to be about 60 degrees.
John nodded, threw her a polite smile, and made his way to the store next door. Clint returned to the wagon.
“Ya know? I think I’m going to need something in the skirt department,” Hilly murmured, “as much as I hate the idea. Especially if I’m staying in town. I don’t want everyone staring at me.” From her vantage point near the end of town, she could see activity on the street. Wagons and horses lined the road, either moving or pulled up beside buildings. A buggy worked its way down the street. Men, women and children crossed the dusty road in between wagons or walked along the wooden sidewalk. A few young cowboy-hatted men rode by on horses.
“It would cause less talk,” Clint murmured with a smile. He helped her down from the wagon. “John will see to the animals. He has gone next door to speak to Nan.”
He tucked her hand in the crook of his arm and led her into the general store next to the stables. The couple seemed prosperous, owning both a stable and a store.
She stepped inside, struck again by the smell of fresh wood.
Nan came out from behind a counter and stepped forward. “Hilly!” she said as she took Hilly’s hands in hers. “John told me about the happy news of your engagement. I am so glad to know you are staying in Tombstone after all, and that you will be staying with us for a while! I couldn’t imagine what Clint was thinking taking you out to the mine. I see you didn’t need those trousers after all?” Short, like her husband, she wore her graying hair in a severe bun at the back of her head. Her dark brown dress looked serviceable, and she wore a white apron around her waist. She eyed Hilly’s jeans with a hint of disapproval, just as she had the day before, but she pressed her lips together.
“Thank you, Nan,” Hilly said with a sideways glance at Clint who beamed. “No, I didn’t get a chance to change out there. No privacy, you know?” Hilly affected a cheesy smile. “I do appreciate you allowing me to stay here.” She wasn’t sure what Clint had said about the hotel, or why he hadn’t tried another hotel. She had seen signs from the street indicating that there were a few more hotels. She would try to remember to ask him.
“Well, he did mention that Sally Carlson turned him down flat when he asked about a r
oom for you, and I know full well she has room. She has the only hotel in town that a nice young lady can stay at. So, I’m happy to help. We have a spare room anyway. I’ll just go upstairs and air it out.” She turned to her husband. “John, dear, get them some tea, will you?”
She turned and disappeared through a door at the rear of the store, leaving John to look at them with wide eyes.
“Oh, right this way,” he said as he led them through the same door. On the right was a set of stairs presumably leading to the second floor, on the left a passage which led to a kitchen dominated by a large round wooden table. “Have a seat and let me see if I can figure this tea kettle out. I’m partial to coffee myself.”
“Coffee is fine if that’s easier for you,” Hilly said. She looked to Clint who smiled reassuringly.
“Sure, John, let’s have coffee.”
“That I can do. It’s still hot,” John said. His large grayish mustache wiggled as he smiled. He opened a white-painted cupboard and took out three cups to set on the wooden counter. Lifting the coffeepot from the stove, he poured, setting two of the cups in front of Hilly and Clint.
“I hate to be rude and leave you, but I’d better get back to the stables, get your mules unhitched and put Joe back in his stall.”
Clint half rose and looked from John to Hilly. “I’ll come help in just a minute, John,” he said.
John nodded and left by a back door, and Clint sat back down and turned to Hilly.
“Will you be all right here? I have to go help John.”
Hilly gripped her cup tightly. She really didn’t want him to go, but what could she do? She couldn’t cling to him forever.
“Sure, I’ll be fine.” She lowered her voice. “I think Nan disapproves of my clothing.”
Clint kissed the top of her head and smiled. “I’m not surprised. Do you want me to ask Nan if she has something in the store?”
Hilly shook her head. “No, I’ll do it.”
“I’ll be right next door.” Clint grabbed his hat, adjusted his holster and moved toward the door.
“You’re still wearing your gun,” Hilly said. “Is it that dangerous here in town? What about the O.K. Corral shootout and all the gunfights I hear about?”