by Zoe Matthews
After thinking about what to take, she suddenly knew. Kimberly loved to draw with her colored pencils she had snuck into her bag when she first arrived to meet Patrick. When Kimberly had any amount of free time, even if it was only a few minutes, she would spend it drawing things, landscapes and family around her. The sketchbook that she had brought with her was almost full. Bridget found a stack of empty sketchbooks and decided to bring them. After another moment's thought, she went back to the box with the used sketchbooks, and grabbed one that looked like it had been drawn by a child. She figured that that was from Kimberly’s childhood and held a lot of memories.
She took the sketchbooks and set them on a small table in the living room, and then instantly saw what she could take back to Nicky, her copy of Pride and Prejudice. She could tell as she’d read its pages over the last few days, that the book meant something to Nicky. She loved reading the small colored papers that were placed all through the book, with notes written on them. She would take this book back in time to Nicky.
Feeling good about her choices, she went into Nicky’s room and started packing her things, keeping herself busy until Justin arrived that evening. He let himself in at the exact time he told Bridget he would, but he wasn’t alone. Along with Garrett, Doug and Michelle were with him, both looking very grim and upset. Justin smiled sheepishly when Bridget looked at him, curious as to why his parents were there. From what she could figure out, they weren’t at all happy Justin was planning on going back in time with her, and taking Garrett with him. She wondered if he was going to change his mind about going, and the thought made her heart drop.
****
“My parents want to come with us,” Justin announced, as soon as they arrived. He hoped Bridget would be able to help convince them to stay in their own time. He didn’t want to have the responsibility of his parents. Would the two keys be able to transport five people? They were supposed to hold hands while the actual time travel took place. What if someone let go?
Bridget’s eyes darted between him and his parents. “Oh.”
“I think it’s really cool,” Garrett announced as he threw himself on the sofa. “I get to experience time travel. I want to tell my best friend, Paul, about it, but Dad says I can’t tell anyone, which stinks.”
“Your father is correct. It would be best if you didn’t tell anyone, Garrett,” Bridget told the boy.
Garrett sighed. “I know. No one would believe me anyway. But it’s still going to be cool we get to go. And I miss Nicky and Kimberly. I want to see them again.”
Justin watched as Bridget smiled at his son. “I know it’s going to be hard to not tell anyone, but it would be best if we keep this a secret. Your father told you about the keys because he trusts you.”
Garrett sat up, pride filling his chest. “I can be trusted, I promise.”
Doug cleared his throat and everyone looked at him. “We do not agree with this. We already lost one daughter and Kimberly, whom we think of as a daughter. What if something happens to Justin and Garrett, and they don’t return?”
“Dad,” Justin started to say, but stopped when his father lifted his hand to silence him.
“But, I also understand why Justin wants to go. We need to know for sure that our daughters are doing well.”
“Not that we don’t believe you, my dear,” Michelle quickly added.
“So we’ve decided we are going with you,” Doug continued.
Justin exchanged a glance with Bridget. “I’m not sure it’s a good idea.”
Bridget stayed silent and just looked at him, as if saying, “They’re your parents. I’ll let you handle this.”
“Can’t we all go?” Michelle asked. “The keys will transport all of us, won’t they? Justin explained how it works.”
“We’d only be gone for a few days, just long enough to see our daughters and meet their husbands,” Doug added.
“And meet our grandchildren.”
With those words, Justin knew that was the real reason his parents wanted to come. They wanted to see their new grandchildren. He looked at Bridget. “Would we all be able to go?”
Bridget nodded her head slowly. “I really don’t know. As far as I know, only two people have traveled together with one key. But from what I understand, as long as no one breaks the link with our hands, it will work. We have two keys, so I don’t see why we wouldn’t be able to travel with more people.”
“Then it’s settled,” Michelle said firmly.
Justin sighed silently. He was starting to wish he had just gone without telling his parents where he’d be, but he also knew that when it came down to it, he couldn’t have done that. His parents had already lost too much.
“It will be okay,” Bridget said as she touched his sleeve. “This all started because a woman in my time brought Kimberly to meet Patrick. Then Nicky and Shaun met. Your parents need to know the end to the story. We need to end it.”
He finally nodded. “Okay, we will all go together.”
“Yes!” Garrett yelled, putting his fist in the air.
“But we will only be gone a few days,” Justin said firmly.
“And this trip will likely be the last one,” Bridget said softly.
Doug and Michelle nodded and Justin knew they understood what Bridget was saying. It would be the last time they saw Nicky and Kimberly.
“Once we arrive in my time, I know my brothers will insist we get rid of the keys for good. We will not be able to use them again,” Bridget explained.
“But we will be able to return to our time, right?” Doug clarified.
Bridget nodded. “I’m sure one of us will accompany you back, and then immediately return.”
“Okay, now that’s settled, what do we need to do?” Michelle asked.
Over the next few hours, they talked and planned what they would do the next day. The more they talked, the more excited his parents became. Even though he wanted to leave his parents safe in their time, he understood why they wanted to go.
They ordered pizza to share and Justin enjoyed watching Bridget eat the popular Italian food for the first time. She ended up devouring four slices. Garrett wanted to watch another Star Wars movie, but since Justin had seen Bridget reading Pride and Prejudice, he suggested they watch the latest movie about the Jane Austin book.
As they watched the show, he watched Bridget more than the movie, enjoying her reaction to the characters acting out the classic book. At one point, his father who sat next to him whispered, “Watch yourself, son. You know the two of you belong to different eras.”
Justin knew his father had seen his fascination and his feelings for Bridget. He nodded at his father, but for the first time admitted to himself that he had feelings for this woman. He still felt a relationship couldn’t work between him and Bridget, but he couldn’t help but look forward to spending another few days with her.
****
Ranch, 1894
Four days after Bridget had left, the family sat silently around the kitchen table, eating the dinner that Nicky had prepared. All of them, except Colleen, were feeling guilty in some way that Bridget had left, and all of them blamed themselves for allowing it to happen. All of them silently wondered if they would ever see her again.
Patrick and Shaun finished their breakfast first and left the house without a word to anyone else. Nicky sighed and started to clear the table, leaving her food unfinished.
“Would you like to take the babies outside to play with them?” Kimberly asked Colleen.
“Yes!” Colleen said with delight. She loved playing with Richard and Katherine and she did a good job of watching them.
Kimberly quickly cleaned their faces. Then Colleen took their hands as they toddled out the door with her. After they left, Kimberly watched them until they were settled in a small patch of grass under the shade of a tree near the cabin to play. She turned and started to wash the dishes.
“What are we going to do?” Nicky asked after the silence became too much for
her. “I know Bridget made the decision to leave on her own, but I feel like we should be able to do something.”
“We can’t go and get her,” Kimberly commented. “She took both of the keys. And to be honest with you, I don’t want to go back to the future. I’m happy here and I don’t want anything to keep me there.”
“I’m thinking we should make a trip to Denver and talk to Victoria and Collins. Maybe they would have an idea of what to do,” Nicky suggested.
“It’s a really bad time to be leaving the ranch just now. Patrick wants to move the cattle to their summer pasture in a few days. He’s not going to want to make a trip to Denver,” Kimberly replied.
“What was Bridget thinking? Didn’t she know we’d be worried about her?”
“I think she is ready to move on with her life, away from this ranch. She just didn’t know how to do it.”
“Well, traveling to the future isn’t the way to move on with your life,” Nicky said dryly.
“We time traveled,” Kimberly said simply. “Bridget knows neither of us regrets our decision.”
“Well, regardless of why she made this decision, I know that Justin will take good care of her. They have been writing each other all winter,” Nicky said as if hoping that was what had really happened.
“I wonder if she was hoping Justin would…” Kimberly started to say, but stopped.
“If she was hoping that Justin would fall in love with her and travel back to live in this time, she will be disappointed. Justin is very happy in our time. He has a good job making those games. He has Garrett,” Nicky reminded her.
Suddenly they heard Kimberly’s dog, Daisy, start to bark, alerting everyone that visitors were coming. Kimberly looked out of the kitchen window near the door as she wiped her wet hands on a towel.
“It looks like we don’t need to go to Denver. Victoria and Collins are coming with Keegan,” she announced happily.
“Great,” Nicky said, equally happy that they had arrived. Maybe with all of them together, they would be able to figure out what to do about Bridget.
For the next few hours, everyone just enjoyed being together. Patrick and Shaun heard the barking and arrived at the large cabin just as Victoria, Collins, and Keegan slid off their horses. Shaun gave Keegan a slap on the back by way of greeting, then ruffled his hair for good measure. He knew Keegan wouldn’t like it, which was the biggest reason why he did it. Then the two of them took care of the horses while the rest of the family gathered together in the living room.
Victoria and Collins talked about married life. Nicky enjoyed seeing how much they loved each other, as they held hands while they talked. It was fun to see the formal Collins soften as he watched Victoria talk about a trip they’d taken to San Francisco around Christmas time.
Keegan told everyone about the classes he’d taken. He had only one more year, and then he would be able to go to college. He was already looking at the schools from which he would be choosing. Victoria and Collins paid him to help take care of the grounds around their home and Keegan was saving every penny for college tuition.
Patrick and Shaun gave a brief description of the cattle and the horses on the ranch. For a while, Nicky wondered if the newcomers even noticed that Bridget was missing.
“We do have something to talk to you about,” Collins said after everyone had caught up with each other since being apart all winter. “Can someone fetch Bridget? It would be easier if everyone heard what we have to tell you.”
Patrick and Shaun exchanged glances and Nicky and Kimberly looked down in their laps.
“She’s not here,” Patrick finally said after an uncomfortable silence.
“Where is she?” Keegan asked. “Is she working in the garden? I can go get her.”
“She’s not here at the ranch.” Patrick took a deep breath. “Four days ago, she went to the cave to deliver some letters to Nicky’s brother, Justin. She left a note saying she was going to use the keys to travel to the future to Nicky’s home. She wanted an adventure.”
“Oh, no,” Victoria breathed, placing her hand to her chest. “Why would she do that? Didn’t she know how dangerous that was?”
“I would have thought so,” Shaun said. “We talked about it enough and she obviously knew of the threat from Golin. But she did leave. We do know she took both keys with her.”
Victoria and Collins looked at each other and Nicky could tell that something was wrong.
“We had a visitor a few days ago,” Victoria said. She then told everyone about the man who had given her the first key decades before. He was very concerned about Golin and his intention of getting all the keys for his own use. This man, who refused to give his name and where he was from, wanted to take the keys into his safe keeping. He let Victoria know he wasn’t happy that she violated the agreement that she tell only one person.
Kimberly touched Victoria’s hand. “I, for one, am glad you told more than one person. I wouldn’t have met Patrick otherwise.”
“I agree,” Nicky added.
“I think we all would agree. Having Kimberly and Nicky join our family has been a blessing. But I’m glad the man wants to take the keys back. We shouldn’t have access to them anymore,” Patrick stated firmly.
Shaun nodded in agreement. “When Bridget returns, we will give you the keys. You can take them back to Denver and give them to the man.”
“I wonder why he wouldn’t tell you his name,” Kimberly speculated.
“It has been a mystery,” Victoria admitted. “Collins and I have been calling him The Irish Man because of how he was dressed.” She briefly described his clothing and what he looked like.
“Your description reminds me of what we’d call a leprechaun in our time,” Nicky commented with a grin.
“We think he might have his own time traveling keys. We think he is from a different time from ours. I’m sure he knows where this ranch is located,” Victoria added.
Patrick started to pace the room, showing his agitation, but he calmed when Kimberly walked up to him and put her arms around him. “It will be okay, Patrick. Bridget will return. Nicky and I have talked about it. She had been asking many questions over the last few months about the future, where we lived, how the keys worked, what life was like for us. She prepared herself.”
“Justin will take care of her,” Nicky said firmly.
“We will stay here at your ranch until Bridget returns with the keys, if that would be alright,” Collins said.
“Of course,” Patrick agreed. “Both of you are welcome to stay as long as you want.”
“I’m looking forward to spoiling these babies,” Victoria announced as she picked up Katherine and sat the baby in her lap.
Nicky made sure the room Victoria and Collins always used was cleaned and prepared for them. They would stay in the room they used last fall when they’d visited. Nicky liked knowing all four bedrooms in the large cabin were going to be in use again, since Keegan would be sleeping in the fourth room.
When Collins found out that Patrick, Shaun, and Keegan were going to move the cattle to the summer range, he offered to go and help. The man seemed very excited to be able to do “cowboy work” for a while and experience something new. They planned to leave the beginning of next week and expected to be gone for three days.
The next day after lunch was over and cleaned up, Nicky again heard Daisy barking. She ran to the kitchen window and saw a group of people walking towards the cabin. There seemed to be four adults and a child. At first she didn’t recognize them, but then she thought she recognized that one of them was Bridget. She ran out the door and recognized the others. Bridget had brought her family with her!
Nicky ran towards them, tears running down her face. She reached Justin first and he gathered her in his arms, swinging her around in a circle with joy. Then she hugged her mother, her father, and Garrett. For a few moments, they stood together in a group, hugging each other, glad to be back together. They all talked at the same time, tears still run
ning down Nicky’s face. She didn’t realize how much she had missed her family until she saw them walking on the ranch.
A door slammed and Kimberly joined them, screeching with joy. Colleen stood behind Nicky as she watched the family reunion in awe, her mouth opened in amazement.
“I’m so glad you came,” Nicky told her mother as she hugged her.
“It is so good to see you,” her mother said with tears running down her face as she hugged Nicky back. “Of course, I’m going to give you a long lecture later for leaving us like you did.”
“You can lecture me all you want,” Nicky agreed, laughing through her tears.