A Window in Time

by Carolyn Lampman

  “Aren’t you going to get ready to go swimming with me?”

  “Not tonight. I’m too tired,” he said striking a match and lighting his pipe.

  “Oh...all right.” Brianna was surprisingly disappointed as she walked back into the cabin. Gradually over the last two weeks she’d come to enjoy his presence, which she had originally thought of as intrusive. If he isn’t going there’s no reason to wait until dark, she thought with a shrug. I’ll just go before I do the dishes.

  Changing into her very practical twentieth century underwear and covering it with Tom’s thigh length oversized T- shirt, Brianna grinned to herself. As scandalized as everyone was by Lucas’s cut-offs they’d probably have heart failure if they saw her makeshift swimsuit.

  Lucas had just stared at her the first time he’d seen it. In fact, the look he gave her had made her stomach do flip-flops and her temperature go up at least twenty degrees. Ever since she’d wondered what he’d do if he ever saw her in the skimpy bikini she’d bought for herself and never had the courage to wear.

  Brianna slipped Anna’s loose-fitting granny gown over her head and dug her cornmeal bag of bathing supplies out of the trunk. At least she wouldn’t have to hide her soap dish tonight. Soon it wouldn’t matter because her soap would all be gone, just like the shampoo and toothpaste. Brianna sighed as she headed for the door. She’d made them last as long as she could, but there hadn’t been much to start with.

  “Where do you think you’re going?” Lucas asked as she walked out the door.

  She looked down at him in surprise. “Where do you suppose?”

  “I said I was too tired.”

  “So?”

  “I thought we agreed you wouldn’t go alone.”

  “We did? When?”

  Lucas sighed in exasperation. “The night I proved to you how dangerous it was to go by yourself.”

  “No, Lucas, the only thing I agreed to that night was that you could come along if you wanted to.” She smiled sweetly. “As I remember, I proved my point, too, or have you forgotten your walk home?”

  “Not likely. I’ll have scars for the rest of my life.”

  Brianna laughed. “Only on your pride. Everything else was taken care of with baking powder and water.”

  “Your paste didn’t stop all the itching,” he grumbled. “I lost at least a pint of blood to those damn mosquitoes.”

  “It was your own fault, Lucas. Anyway, you don’t need to worry about me going swimming alone. I’m a grown woman and perfectly able to take care of myself.”

  “I forbid you to go.”

  “You don’t have the right to tell me what to do, Lucas.”

  “I can stop you.”

  “Maybe so, but you’ll have a hard time explaining to Billy and Ian why I’m screaming my head off.”

  “You wouldn’t.”

  “Wanna bet?” She smiled and patted his cheek. “Don’t worry, Lucas, I’ll be fine. It isn’t even dark yet. Nobody could sneak up on me if they wanted to.”

  “Brianna—”

  “Bye, Lucas,” she called over her shoulder. “See you later.” Her smile faded as she walked down the path. She really had to stop baiting him like that. His memories of that night were far from pleasant, while hers...well...doctoring the bites on that glorious body of his hadn’t exactly been punishment.

  Suddenly, every thought of Lucas disappeared as a cloud of blue mist formed on the trail ahead of her. With a startled cry she stopped and stared for a full fifteen seconds before lifting her skirt and running toward it as fast as she could. Like an elusive rainbow, the shimmer of light seemed to move, staying exactly the same distance from her until it finally disappeared a few seconds later.

  Brianna stopped in the middle of the trail and stomped her foot. She felt like weeping with frustration. This time she was certain she had seen two people on the other side. Though the image was dim, she was almost sure the taller of the two was Tom Shaffer.

  He’d discovered the force that had brought her here and was trying to get her back. For the first time since she had arrived, Brianna really believed she was going to make it home. Frustration gave way to euphoria and then gradually foreboding. Surely if she went back, Anna would be coming here. Until now Brianna really hadn’t given any serious thought to what would happen if she did. No matter how much they looked alike, Lucas was going to know the difference. For that matter, so would Billy, Seth and Ian.

  Lucas would have to be prepared for the switch, that’s all there was to it. A piece of cake, she thought as she continued on down to the river. She could just imagine the conversation. ‘I think you should know, Lucas, my great-great grandmother who happens to look just like me will be dropping in any day now. Oh, and by the way, she’s the one you’re married to, not me. I won’t be born for a hundred some odd years yet. I hope you like her, because you two just have to get together so you can be my great grandfather’s parents.’ Right, and he’ll commit me to the nearest insane asylum even if he has to go five hundred miles to do it.

  Brianna kicked off her shoes, pulled her dress over her head and eased herself down into the cool water. Maybe she could tell him Anna was her identical twin. They had switched places because...hmm, now what plausible excuse would Lucas accept? The answer was nothing. To him it would be duplicity, exactly what he expected from women anyway.

  The real fly in the ointment, of course, was that she wasn’t precisely sure Lucas was her great-great-grandfather. Not only did Ian MacTavish fit the description, he was just the sort of man who would appeal to the gentle Anna. Though Brianna was attracted to a bit more muscle herself, Ian was a handsome man and far easier to deal with than Lucas. She smiled to herself as she paddled around the pool on her back. Anybody was easier to deal with than Lucas.

  Her smile faded. If Ian were the one Anna wound up with, why wasn’t Brianna’s last name MacTavish? The only possible explanation was that something had happened to Lucas, and Ian had taken his name for some reason. Her heart clenched at the thought.

  “I thought you said no one could sneak up on you.” As if she had conjured him up, Lucas stood on the bank looking down at her with a forbidding frown on his face.

  “I knew you were there,” she lied.

  “Uh huh,” he said as he started to unbutton his shirt. That’s why you looked as if your mind was a million miles away.”

  “Just pretending.”

  “Sure.”

  Brianna watched him strip down to the infamous cut-offs. In spite of everyone else’s opinion she thought he looked fantastic. Lucas would probably have liked them better if she’d cut them longer, but she was glad she hadn’t. With the mid-thigh length, she could almost forget where she was, for he looked just like someone from her time. Of course, if he walked around the edge of a swimming pool at home he’d turn every female head there. “How come you changed your mind?”

  “One stubborn woman.” He waded in waist deep then dove below the surface and came up next to her. “Or should I say a spoiled one?”

  She wrinkled her nose at him. “Determined is the word, Lucas.”

  “Is that what they called it in that school of yours? Maybe they should add a course in obedience.”

  “Oh, come on, Lucas, loosen up. You’re down here now. Enjoy yourself.” As she said the words she curled her leg around his knees and jerked his feet out from under him.

  He yelped as he went down. When he came to the surface she was across the pool laughing at him. “You’ll pay for that,” he threatened wiping the water out of his eyes.

  “Not unless you can catch me,” she taunted. With that, the chase was on. Lucas was a good swimmer, but Brianna was faster and more agile. Every time he thought he had her she’d slip away like a water sprite. Before long they were both laughing as they cavorted around the pool. At last he dove under the water and swam around to attack from behind instead of from the front like she expected. She squealed in surprise as he burst through the surface and grabbed her.

/>   “Now I’ve got you,” he said with satisfaction as he wrapped his arms around her and pulled her close, but her attention was suddenly fixed on something else as she stared toward the northwest.

  “What’s that sound, Lucas?”

  “Huh?” He lifted his head and listened. A rumble like distant thunder filled the air, but there wasn’t a cloud in the sky. As he gazed northward he noticed a strange dark line across the horizon rolling toward them in a cloud of dust. His brow furrowed in confusion. What...?

  Then suddenly he knew, and panic clawed at his vitals. “Holy hell!” There was no way they’d ever make it to the station in time. Frantically, Lucas scanned the area around them. On the other side of the river he saw a small limestone outcropping about a hundred yards up a shallow gully. It wasn’t much, but it was the only chance they had. “Come on,” he said urgently tugging Brianna toward the bank.

  His terror communicated itself to her and she moved through the water as quickly as she could. “What is it Lucas?” she asked fearfully as they scrambled up the far bank.

  “A buffalo stampede,” he said, swinging her up in his arms and heading toward the outcropping. “And they’ll be here any minute.”

  CHAPTER 19

  “Lucas, put me down.” Brianna had to shout over the sound of the approaching buffalo herd.

  “This is no time to fight me, Brianna. We have to get under that outcropping.”

  “That’s why I want down. We’ll never make it if you carry me.”

  “No,” he said stubbornly.

  “Damn it, Lucas,” she said, squirming in his arms. “I can run as fast as you can.” She managed to wiggle enough that he lost his grip. As her feet touched the ground, she grabbed his hand and started running for all she was worth.

  Having spent a good deal of her adult life walking around barefoot, Brianna’s feet weren’t nearly as sensitive to the rocks and gravel as Lucas’s. Though his legs were longer and more powerful, she was actually able to move faster. Lucas tried to pull his hand away when he realized it, but Brianna wouldn’t let him. He hadn’t considered going it alone, and neither did she.

  The thunder of hooves became a roar that shook the earth as the buffalo herd bore down on them, a moving wave of death and destruction as far as the eye could see. The outcropping was still impossibly far away when Brianna tripped and landed on the side of her foot sending a wrenching pain shooting up her leg.

  “My ankle,” she yelled.

  Lucas threw his arm around her waist and lifted her injured foot off the ground. With him half carrying her, they moved nearly as fast as before, but the delay had cost precious time. They reached the outcropping seconds before the buffalo.

  Wrapping both arms around her, Lucas dove under its feeble protection just as the first animal went over the top. Dirt showered down on them, but the rock held. A few heart-stopping seconds later it became apparent very few of the animals were actually hitting the outcropping as they jumped the small gulch.

  Brianna began to shake; moments later she started to cry. Lucas pulled her tightly into the safety of his embrace. “Shhh,” he said, cupping the back of her head in his hand. “We’re safe.”

  Brianna’s response was to cry harder, great gulping sobs that shook her whole body and sent torrents of tears cascading down her cheeks onto his chest. Helplessly, Lucas held her as the buffalo thundered overhead and the earth rocked around them. When the last hiccupping sobs finally died away, and Brianna shifted slightly so she could wipe her eyes with one hand.

  “Sorry, Lucas,” she said with a sniff. “It’s a reaction I seem to have in life-threatening situations. I don’t panic when it happens, I wait and fall to pieces when it’s all over.”

  “You’ve done this before?”

  “Once when I was in a c...uh... in a wreck.”

  “Are you all right now?”

  “I think so. I didn’t mean to cry all over you,” she said dabbing ineffectually at his chest for several seconds before giving up.

  “It doesn’t matter. We were both wet anyway.”

  The tiny space was so cramped neither of them could move more than an inch or two without risking exposure to the hooves that still pounded above them. “How long is this going to last?” she asked glancing nervously at the rock ceiling less than a foot over their heads.

  “Hard to say. It could go on for an hour or more.”

  “You’re kidding!”

  “It depends on the size of the herd. Anyway, we wouldn’t be in this predicament if you hadn’t insisted on going swimming.”

  “I just hate people who say I told you so,” she grumbled.

  “If you were right, you’d refrain from pointing it out?”

  “Of course!”

  The shadow of a smile crossed Lucas’s face. “I’ll bet.” At least he’d successfully distracted her from the buffalo pounding over their heads. “How’s your ankle?”

  “Hurts, but I don’t suppose it’s too serious. Probably just sprained. Thanks for giving me a hand.”

  “Up to that point you were dragging me along. I suppose you ran races in that school of yours, too.”

  Brianna grinned. “No, I never went out for track, though my older brother did, and I used to run from him a lot when we were kids.” No sense mentioning her physical conditioning was largely due to aerobics classes three times a week.

  “I didn’t know you had a brother.”

  Brianna winced inwardly. “I don’t anymore,” she said. “I...uh...I lost him the same time I lost my parents.” It was true, too. Bob hadn’t been born yet.

  Just then, a buffalo hit the rock above them with his back feet. The sound was terrifying, as though the whole outcropping was going to crumble. Instinctively, Brianna squealed and threw her arms around Lucas. He ducked his head, and squeezed her tighter as the dirt and rocks fell around them in a shower.

  The flow of debris gradually ceased, but neither Lucas or Brianna raised their heads. After several minutes, Lucas cautiously opened his eyes. The air was full of dust but breathable, and the outcropping was still intact over their heads. “It’s all right, Brianna.”

  She lifted her head. “It is?”

  “I think s...” Lucas’s words stuck in his throat when he looked down into her eyes. They widened slightly, and he felt like he was gazing into a fathomless lake. Her lips parted in unconscious invitation as his breath mingled with hers. Without an intentional move from either of them, they came together in a kiss as natural as the rain in spring. Soft and warm like a ray of sunlight through a cloud, it enveloped them in a velvet haze blocking out everything else.

  When it ended Brianna lifted her hand to his cheek in wonder. “Lucas?” she whispered.

  His answer was a groan as his lips swooped down on hers once more. This time there was as much passion as tenderness between them, and a multitude of sensations crashed in on Brianna’s senses. The length of his body pressed against her, the muscles of his back sleek and solid beneath her hands, the pounding of his heart against her chest as he explored the inside of her mouth. It was incredible, the kind of kiss she’d seen in movies but never expected to experience herself. She gave in to the heady sensations overwhelming her.

  Lucas couldn’t get enough. She tasted of sunshine and laughter as her mouth accepted his gentle invasion. Her hands traced the contours of his back leaving a path of fire in their wake while her body molded itself to his. The more he asked the more she gave, sweetly and without restraint. Lucas had never had a woman respond to him the way she did. Desire, hot and lusty rose within him like a tide.

  He wanted her, needed her the way a starving man needed food, or a flower needed rain. His ardor was intensified by the certain knowledge that she wanted him just as badly. As a widow, Brianna was no innocent; she knew what he offered, and she welcomed it.

  Of its own volition, his hand skimmed down her side to the swell of her hip, his fingers reaching for the bottom of her shirt. It wasn’t wrong. In the eyes of the law, the
y were man and wife.

  Ironically, it was that thought that stopped him. Giving in to his baser instincts would legalize their marriage and tie them together for life. Lucas wasn’t ready for that kind of commitment.

  Feathering light kisses against her lips, he reluctantly pulled away. Only the sound of their ragged breathing broke the silence as he rested his chin against the top of her head, striving for control. Suddenly his head jerked up.

  “It’s over.”

  “Hmm?” Her expression was bemused, her eyes soft and luminous in the dim-light of late afternoon as she gazed up at him.

  Lucas was unable to resist running the pad of his thumb over her lips. “The stampede. It’s over.”

  “Mmmhuh.”

  “We’d better get back to the station,” he said gently.

  “What?...Oh, right!” Brianna blushed as she disentangled herself and scooted out from under the ledge. “Ian and Billy will be worried.”

  Lucas crawled out and stood up. “I hope that’s all. The stampede probably hit them too.”

  “Oh, dear I hadn’t thought of that.”

  “They should have been safe enough in the barn. Are you all right?”

  “Fine.” She reached up to brush dirt off his shoulders. He was covered with it from head to toe, except where her body had been pressed against him. “You’re kind of dirty, you know.”

  He grinned. “So are you. Guess we’ll have to stop at the river on the way back.”

  It only took one step for Brianna to realize her ankle was twisted rather than sprained. Lucas put an arm around her for support as she limped along, but she was only too aware of the distance, physical and emotional, he put between them.

  Logically, she should have been happy. For the first time in her life she had lacked the ability to say no. Not only wouldn’t she have stopped him had he tried to make love to her, she’d have aided and abetted her own seduction. Rationally, she should be grateful that he hadn’t, but logic had very little to do with the tiny piece of her heart that mourned the loss.