A Window in Time

by Carolyn Lampman

  As though he read her mind, Lucas glanced at the shuttered window. “I’d better finish up here then go find Ian and Seth. Sounds like we’re in for a storm.”

  “A blizzard, do you think?”

  “Could be.” He straightened with a sigh. “If it is, we’re going to have a problem.”

  She shivered. “The stock?”

  “No. We’ll string ropes out to the barn so we can get out there to feed no matter how bad it gets. Water could be something of a problem if we can’t take them down to the river, but we’ll fill all the barrels. Of course, we’ll have to thaw it out but—”

  “Lucas?” Brianna put her hand on his good arm. “What is it?”

  “What do you mean?”

  “I’ve never known you to rattle before.”

  “Rattle?”

  “Go on and on about nothing. Is it your arm?”

  “No. It hurts a little but that elixir of yours will take care of it.”

  Brianna nodded and made a mental note to grind up a couple more of Tom’s painkillers for him. Mixed in water, they passed for medicine she’d bought from the peddler and had kept the pain from Lucas’s broken arm at bay. “It’s the sleeping arrangements,” Lucas said.

  “What?”

  “If a blizzard hits, everybody will have to stay in the cabin.”

  “Oh.” She glanced at her feet. “Lucas, it’s way too cold for anybody to sleep on the floor.”

  “I know. Ian and Seth can both fit in your bunk if they spoon.”

  Brianna frowned. The image it brought to mind would have been very odd in this time period. “What in the world does that mean?”

  He gave her a strange look. “Where have you been all your life? When two people spoon they sleep head to foot with each other.”

  “Oh, I get it. That way they can share body heat without getting too close.”

  “Right.” Lucas suddenly became very busy gathering his tools. “I’m sorry, Brianna, but there’s no other solution.”

  “Oh, for heaven’s sake, Lucas, as though I begrudge them the use of my bed. It really should be Ian’s anyw—” With a flash of clarity, Brianna understood. If Ian and Seth were in her bed, she and Lucas would have to share the other. “Oh, my.”

  “Yes. It could be a bit difficult.”

  “Well....can’t we just...spoon too?”

  “We can if you want to, but married couples don’t spoon. Ian will know the truth immediately. It will please him, I’m sure.” Lucas paused. “But it could complicate things.”

  Boy could it. Though Ian had never tried to be anything but a good friend to Brianna, a blind man could see he was smitten. If he knew her marriage to Lucas wasn’t real... “You and I have shared a bed before, Lucas,” she said with a nonchalance she didn’t feel. “If we have to, we can do it again.”

  “And maybe it won’t blizzard at all.”

  “Right. Would you like some help with your coat?” With the splint and sling on his right arm there were some things he couldn’t do. He’d solved the problem of shaving easily enough by growing a beard. Getting dressed was another matter. Over the month he and Brianna had worked out a system, but he hated being dependent on her.

  “I suppose,” he said with ill-concealed disgust. “I’ll be glad when I get this thing off my arm. You have better things to do than wait on me,” he grumbled as she buttoned his coat. “Makes me feel like a child.”

  Brianna smiled. It was an old refrain, one she heard several times a day. “It’s only temporary, and I don’t mind in the least.”

  Mind? Heck, she enjoyed it. Not only had she missed their shared swimming trips, the coming of winter had forced him to start wearing long underwear to bed. Helping him button his shirt might not be as satisfying as watching the thick muscles of his back as he swam, or seeing that gorgeous torso outlined in moonlight, but it was better than nothing.

  “With the three of us it shouldn’t take much more than an hour,” Lucas said wiggling his fingers into the glove she held.

  “Do you need my help too?”

  “No, just have plenty of hot coffee ready.”

  “All right, then. See you at supper.” Brianna sighed as she closed the door behind him. The forced intimacy caused by his broken arm had been wonderful. She loved helping him with his experiments almost as much as she loved touching him without worrying about what he’d think.

  Sharing a narrow bunk with him was another matter entirely. I’ll be able to control myself...won’t I? Maybe I need a suit of armor, she thought with a wry grin as she knelt by her trunk to get the painkillers.

  She almost giggled when she lifted the lid, for the crinoline lay on top. That’s about as close to armor as you can get. Not only was it a rather formidable piece of clothing, if she wore it there wouldn’t be room for Lucas in the bed.

  Then she sobered. If only there was some way of figuring out what to do. Maybe she should be encouraging Ian. For all she knew, Lucas would be dead by now, crushed by a buffalo or savaged by a wild horse. Surely if Anna were here she’d have made her choice.

  War loomed in the near future, for the Southern states had seceded. The nation held its breath waiting to see what would happen. Brianna knew the four men would soon go their separate ways, and she didn’t have a clue what her great-great-grandmother had done when the time came. Oh, Anna how I wish you were here to straighten out your own life.

  Brianna pulled out Tom’s medicine pouch. She hadn’t destroyed the backpack and its incriminating contents after the Indian attack. Every time she thought of doing it, she remembered how the strobe had saved her life and decided to wait a few more days. After Lucas broke his arm she knew she would never do it.

  Brianna would never forget the horrible sound he’d made when Ian set the break. Halfway between a groan and a scream it had raised the hairs on the back of her neck and twisted her insides into knots. She’d practically run to the trunk to dig out Tom’s medicine pouch. There had been no less than three different types of painkillers. She’d picked the one marked extra-strength and dissolved four tablets in a glass of water. For a while she’d been afraid she’d given him too much; he’d slept for hours. Since then she’d been very careful with the dosage, grinding up two pills at a time.

  The first bottle was gone and the other two wouldn’t last forever. As she emptied the aspirin into a small wooden box and re-hid the bottle, she wondered if the time would come when she wished she’d saved some for herself. She hadn’t seen the blue mist for a long time. Had Tom given up trying to reach her? The possibility of being stuck here forever didn’t bear thinking of. She hated everything about this century except Lucas; the one man she could never have.

  By the time the men came in, the wind had intensified until it shrieked around the cabin like a banshee, and Brianna had wrapped herself in Anna’s shawl to ward off the cold that came in through the walls.

  “I brought you a visitor,” Seth said cheerfully as he crossed the room and deposited a crate near the fireplace. “Hate to have Gertrude freeze her pinfeathers. It’s not like you could go out and find another chicken to replace her.”

  “Oh heavens, I forgot all about her. Thank you, Seth.”

  Ian chuckled. “It’s a good thing you found a chicken instead of a milk cow, Brianna. Might be a trifle crowded in here with a cow.”

  “Could be a little tight anyway if this storm lasts any length of time,” Lucas put in as he dumped a load of wood in the wood box.

  “It could be worse,” Seth said. “Bart Kelly could be here you know. He’s due in next week.”

  “Is it a blizzard then?” Brianna asked as she set the table for supper.

  Lucas nodded. “Looks like it. I hear they’re pretty bad in this part of the country.”

  “Haven’t you ever seen one?”

  “Not here. I came out when the Pony Express started in April.”

  Brianna was startled. It hadn’t occurred to her that none of the men had ever spent a winter in Wyoming. Her sto
mach clenched as she thought of the subzero weather that was bound to follow the storm. There was no way the cabin was built for it. Thank heavens Ian wasn’t completely ignorant of what to expect. He’d gone to Green Mountain several times to get wood. For the first time she wondered if it was enough.

  As bedtime approached, Brianna became more and more nervous. Lucas watched with a kind of irritated amusement. What did she think he was going to do to her with Seth and Ian right in the same room with them? He started to pull out his pipe then thought better of it. No sense filling the air with smoke. They might be breathing it for quite a while.

  All too soon it was time to call it an evening. Brianna pulled off Lucas’s boots and unbuttoned his shirt before stepping behind the curtain to change into her nightgown. She stayed there until Seth and Ian were under their blankets, then Lucas blew out the lantern and she came to bed.

  “Inside or outside?” she whispered in Lucas’s ear.

  “You take the inside. It will be warmer.”

  She nodded and lay down facing the wall. As Lucas slipped in behind her she pulled the blanket over them both. “Good night,” she said to the room at large.

  “Good night,” Ian and Seth chimed in unison.

  Lucas just grunted as he settled himself more comfortably and shut his eyes. Suddenly he was surrounded by the essence of Brianna. He’d never in his life met anyone who bathed as much as she did. Maybe that was why she always smelled so good. The urge to sink his face into her hair was almost irresistible.

  She shifted slightly, and his hand accidentally brushed her hip. He started to pull it away, then stopped and ran his hand lightly down her leg. “What are you wearing?” he whispered.

  “My nightgown.”

  “No, I mean underneath.”

  “Two pairs of long underwear, my socks and a flannel shirt.”

  He stiffened. “Are you that afraid of me?”

  “No, I’m that cold.” She lifted his splinted arm from her hip and carefully placed it around her waist in a more natural position for him. “If I were afraid of you, I’d have worn my gun.”

  “Cold, huh?”

  “Frozen. I don’t do winter well. Now start kicking out that body heat.”

  He smiled in the darkness. “Anything to please the lady.”

  “Do you have enough room?”

  “I’m fine.” He was better than fine, at least for the moment. He might not feel that way by morning, but for right now he was content.

  Lucas’s lips traced a path of fire down her neck as his hands moved the length of her naked body in sure, masterful strokes. Desire ran through her like a molten river of sheer pleasure. It was heaven. She arched against him wanting more...much more. Suddenly a soft feminine voice intruded. “You mustn’t, Brianna. He’s mine.”

  Brianna jerked awake with Anna’s accusing words still ringing in her ears. Sometime during the night, she had rolled over and now lay in Lucas’s arms with her head pillowed against his left shoulder. What a dream! Her heart was still pounding, as much from arousal as her sudden awakening.

  She glanced up at his face and sighed in relief. He was still asleep. As far as she could tell, so were Ian and Seth. Carefully extricating herself, she crawled to the end of the bunk and got up. Lord but it was cold!

  Brianna got her clothes out of her trunk then hurried behind the curtain to use the chamber pot and to get dressed. She put her trousers on over the long underwear, exchanged her nightgown for a dress and wore her flannel shirt over the top of everything. It was a good thing Anna’s clothes were still slightly loose on her, otherwise she wouldn’t be able to move.

  The fire was going and the coffee brewing when the men began to stir. Beyond a brief good morning, Brianna ignored them, keeping her back turned while they dressed. With her dream still fresh in her mind, she was a little nervous about facing Lucas, but when the time came he was very matter-of-fact.

  “Did you sleep well?” she asked, buttoning his shirt.

  “Like a baby. How about you?”

  “Fine.”

  “Are you warm enough this morning?”

  “Lucas, you can see your breath in here!”

  “There must be something more you can put on.”

  “Nope.” Brianna pulled up her skirt slightly to show him her trousers. “I’m wearing it all.”

  His laughter and the subsequent explanation to Seth and Ian went a long way toward reestablishing her equilibrium. All three gave her a gentle ribbing all through breakfast to which she responded with good humor. Her complacency disappeared in a flash when they all began to get ready to go outside.

  “That blizzard is still howling out there,” Brianna said fearfully.

  “Don’t worry, Ian knew what it was going to be like. We strung ropes from here to the corral.”

  “Can’t you wait awhile? It could blow itself out in an hour or two.”

  “We have to be ready when Billy gets here.”

  “Billy! Surely he’s not coming in this.”

  “Of course, he is,” Seth said. “This is the day the mail comes through.”

  “But you’re not going on...are you? Seth, it’s too dangerous. You can’t.”

  “It’s my job, Brianna. The mail moves no matter what. That’s why they pay us so much.” Seth drew himself up to his full height. “I’ll get the mail to Platte River Bridge or die trying!”

  “Billy feels the same way. They won’t thank you for trying to protect them,” Lucas said gently as Ian and Seth went outside into the storm. “The company’s very picky about who they hire.”

  The rebuke was mild, but Brianna got the message loud and clear. “All right, Lucas, I won’t make it any harder for them.”

  “I knew we could count on you.” With a smile he was gone, and Brianna pushed the door shut behind him.

  Did they have any idea what they were asking Seth to do? Probably not. A Wyoming blizzard had to be experienced to be understood. She’d never forget the first time she’d been caught in one by herself. It had taken her six hours to make the ninety-mile drive from Shoshoni to Casper, a trip that usually took an hour and half. She had prayed she wouldn’t slide off the road or get stuck as she drove from one reflector pole to the next because she couldn’t see any farther. Seth and Billy wouldn’t even have the reflectors to mark the trail.

  In her time, smart winter travelers always had sleeping bags in the trunk for warmth and high-energy food in the glove box to...Tom’s trail mix! Of course. She couldn’t keep Seth here, but she could improve his chances of surviving.

  As she pulled the plastic sack out of Tom’s backpack, she considered how she was going to disguise the mixture of sunflower nuts, chocolate chips, raisins and bite-sized candies. It looked so twenty-first century. That’s why she’d never used any of it in her baking.

  Then it hit her. The coffee grinder! It only took a moment to empty out the beans and refill it with the trail mix. The grinder worked like a charm. For the first time all winter, she was thankful for the cold weather. Without it the chocolate would have gummed up the works.

  By the time the men returned she had fashioned small nuggets held together by a mixture of flour and molasses. The result wasn’t exactly an epicurean delight, but the burst of energy they could provide might mean the difference between survival and not. Seth was surprised by the ‘trail snacks’, but tucked them into the pocket of his coat.

  The morning passed in endless checker games as Ian and Lucas took turns waiting in the barn for Billy. Brianna refused to consider the possibility he wouldn’t make it; that he lay frozen to death on the trail somewhere.

  A little after noon, Ian stuck his head in the door. “Rider coming in, Seth.”

  “Be right there.” He wrapped his scarf around his head, put on his hat and grabbed his coat.

  Though Brianna knew she might never see him again, she resisted the urge to throw her arms around him and bid him a tearful farewell. “Good luck, Seth.”

  He gave her a jaunty
grin as he pulled on his gloves. “See you Thursday. Thanks for the trail snacks.”

  “Save them in case you get into trouble out there, Seth,” she called after him as he went out the door. Peering out into the storm, she gasped in horror. Billy sat on his horse wavering, unable to dismount. Ian pulled him off while Lucas jerked the mochila from Billy’s saddle and threw it over Seth’s. The other rider was up and away, disappearing into the gloom almost immediately.

  Lucas and Ian carried Billy to the cabin, his frozen legs dangling uselessly between them. They lay him on Brianna’s bunk, then Ian hurried back outside to take care of the horse who wasn’t in much better shape than his rider.

  “Get some water heating,” Lucas said pulling his glove off with his teeth. “We’ve got to get him warmed up.”

  Brianna set the kettle and three pans full of water on the fire.

  “Damn it, Billy, hang on,” Lucas said sharply. “Don’t go to sleep on me.”

  Brianna fought tears as she hurried over to help. “We have to get your coat and gloves off, Billy. I’m going to need your help.”

  Billy lifted his hand still curled into a fist. “Fr-roze around the reins.” His teeth chattered. “C-can’t str-straighten my fin-g-gers.”

  “Let’s do the other one first,” Brianna said easing off the right glove instead. “Now for the coat.”

  It took Lucas and Brianna several minutes to get Billy out of his coat and boots. They were finally able to loosen his left hand enough to take off the glove. Lucas studied him closely while Brianna rubbed life back into the frozen limbs. “Doesn’t look like any frostbite,” he said at last.

  “I got lost and couldn’t tell where I was going.” A spasm of pain crossed his face as the feeling began to come back to his fingers and toes. “Finally found the river.”

  “And you followed it in?” Brianna asked.

  “Not at first. I was so turned around I didn’t know which way to go. Then I found a place where the water flows too fast for ice to form. How the devil did you get your hands so hot, Brianna?”

  Brianna moved from one foot to the other. “They’re not hot at all. It just seems that way because you’re cold. So, you followed the river upstream then?”