by Sable Hunter
His assurance lifted a burden from her heart. “You’d have descendants,” she whispered, remembering their conversations from before.
“Not descendants. A baby. A chubby cheeked baby with big blue eyes.” He picked her up in his arms and swung her around. “I hope you’re with child right now.”
“We could wait and see. Or we could buy a pregnancy test.”
“At the convenient store?” he asked with a wide-eyed innocence, hiding a playful smile.
“Yes. At the convenience store.” An excited, but uneasy feeling inched through her. “Are you sure? I mean, I’ve had a lifetime to plan how I would love you. This is all pretty much a shock to you.”
Reno held her shoulder, looking her full in the face. “The only way I could regret this is if you weren’t coming with me. I would not want to leave a child of mine behind.”
She could hear the certainty in his voice. “I understand completely.” Journey was grateful that wouldn’t be a choice they’d have to make.
…Despite the late hour, Journey wasn’t shocked to see a crowd of people at the Slab. Cars were parked up and down the narrow road on either side of the slow-moving waterway. Reno, however, was flabbergasted.
“Where did all these people come from?”
“All over.” She loved this place and so did a lot of other people. The Slab was a huge outcropping of granite that provided a playground for the Llano River. “Folks come from miles around to enjoy the swimming and wading holes. There aren’t many places in central Texas that has sandy beaches like these or huge, smooth rocks perfect for sunbathing to get a tan.”
“A what?” Journey noticed him noticing a beautiful woman in a very small pink bikini. She was wearing sunglasses, stretched out on one of the pink slabs of granite “What cha looking at?”
Reno didn’t miss a beat. “A woman who’s not worthy to walk in your shadow, my love.”
“Oh, you’re good.” She pulled on the hem of the shirt he wore unbuttoned over his bottoms.
“What was she doing lying out like an offering to the gods?”
“Well, I’d say she was trying to get a tan on her skin, but the sun is a little low in the sky for that to work.” She giggled in a scoffing manner. “I think she just wants some attention.”
“Tanning hide is how you make leather. Why would she want to do that?”
Journey, who’d never been an advocate of wasting her time trying to get a tan felt vindicated. “Exactly. People ruin their skin trying to get a tan. Especially with a tanning bed.” When she saw his narrowed gaze, she shook her head. “Getting a tan is letting your skin get darker.”
Reno was trying to follow her line of thought. “Where I’m from, women protect their skin. They consider a tan, as you call it, to be a sign of low class.”
Journey saw the women turn her head to stare at Reno through her sunglasses. She didn’t appear happy. “It’s pretty common knowledge now that too much exposure to the sun’s damaging ultraviolet waves causes cancer.”
“Cancer.” He repeated the word. “I’ve heard Domino use that word. Terrible disease, isn’t it?”
“You’re right about that.” Nodding ahead of them, she announced, “See, the crowd is thinning out the further away from the road we go.” She could see a few people fishing and a couple taking a full-body dip in one of the deeper areas. “There’s a miniature waterfall up ahead. If that spot is unoccupied, it’s my favorite.”
Reno walked along beside her, trying to see anything that looked familiar. “This place has changed. Shallower. The rapids are almost non-existent.”
“Just depends on the amount of rainfall. A guy died when his truck was swept off the road and into the river a year or two ago. I think Apple almost suffered the same fate here, come to think of it. Benjen saved her.”
When he didn’t comment, Journey touched his arm. “What’s wrong?”
They came to a stop next to the waterfall. There was no one about, so they stripped down to their suits and Reno held her hand as they stepped into the knee-deep water. “You look very alluring, Sojourner Stanton.” He ran the tip of a finger from just under her breast to just over her femininity. “There’s not much material to this little outfit.”
“Hey, it’s a one-piece, very modest.”
“The one-piece has a lot of openings in it. Most of your front is uncovered.” He spun her around. “As is most of your back.”
“Do you want me to put my cover up back on?”
He looked around. “No, not at all.” Pulling her close for a kiss, he took advantage of their solitude.
Journey kissed him back wholeheartedly, but she could feel that something wasn’t right. “You didn’t answer my question back there. What’s wrong?”
He waved his hand around. “I’ve always loved this place. I lived here for four years. But now, all I can see is this granite. What if…” He paused, unable to go on.
Journey finished for him. “What if somebody disappears?”
“Yea. What if I disappear? Where will I end up? When will I end up?” He pointed at the people he could see farther upstream. “Has it happened before? How often?” Reno knelt in the water, placing his hands on a slab of granite. “Never in my life have I felt so…temporary. And I’m not talking about dying. After I came through, I know now how easily you can…”
“Vanish?”
“Yea.”
She came close and hugged him from behind, laying her cheek on his back. “I’ll hold you. Keep you from going anywhere.”
Reno laughed lightly. “Silly, isn’t it?”
“After what you’ve experienced, you know what’s possible.” She held him for long moments, rubbing the smooth muscles of his back. “Let’s try not to think about it today. Let’s just be.”
With a sudden movement, he swung around to pick her up. His demeanor completely changed. “I like how you think.”
Together they played in the water, swimming like fishes in the depths, and frolicking in the shallows. They splashed one another and kissed at the waterfall. He chased her from one bank to another and she dunked him when he caught her. “I love your laughter.” Journey wrapped her legs around him under the water. “That’s one thing I couldn’t quite imagine. Your voice.”
“Is it what you expected?”
“Yea, but better. Deep and sorta scratchy.”
“And to think you wanted me to sing.” He made a tsk-tsking noise.
“All the best singers have distinctive voices.”
“Distinctive doesn’t necessarily mean pleasing to the ear.” To prove his point, he framed her face and began to sing. “Oh Shenandoah, I long to hear you. Far away, you rolling river. Oh Shenandoah, I long to see you. Away, we’re bound a way. Across the wide Missouri.”
Journey felt tears come to her eyes as he sung the familiar haunting ballad. His voice wasn’t scratchy. It was rich, round, deep, and wonderful. “My God. Your voice is like velvet. Don’t ever tell me you can’t sing.” She rubbed her arms. “I’ve got goosebumps all over.”
“Let me see.” Reno captured her hands.
She followed his gaze and watched his eyes go straight to her nipples. As he stared at the way they poked up against the wet material, she felt them grow even harder, puffier. “Reno…” she whispered, unable to say more.
“Now, this is why I could sing.” He bent to place his mouth over one of her tempting nipples, kissing and tonguing it through the material. “Your beauty inspires me.”
She trembled and held his head in place. Unfortunately, they could hear muted voices, someone was coming near. Journey edged away, playfully splashing a bit of water onto him. “I don’t know what I’m going to do with you, Reno.”
Despite their possible audience, he captured her in his arms. “Simple. You’re going to love me for a long, long time.”
She melted into him, happier than she’d ever been. “I already have, and I’ll love you forevermore.”
…Once they tired themselves out at
the Slab, they headed into Kingsland.
“Don’t forget to stop at the convenient store, if it’s still open,” Reno reminded her.
“Oh, yea. Most are open twenty-four hours.” She gave him a teasing glance. “And it’s a convenience store.” She emphasized the different word.
“I know.” He cupped the back of her head and squeezed gently. “I was just playing with you.”
“I do enjoy our play time.” She kept her eye out for a place to stop. “Tell me what it will be like when we get to King’s Ransom.”
Reno rested his head against the seat and turned to look at her while she drove. “Well, I’ve been sleeping in the bunkhouse and that isn’t going to do for you.”
“Don’t worry about luxury for me, Reno. I’m not made of glass.”
He chuckled and reached over to tug a lock of her hair. “I’m going to enjoy worrying about you, but what I was getting at was privacy. The bunkhouse doesn’t provide adequate privacy for us to…you know.” He raised his eyebrows and gave her a meaningful look.
“Have sex, you mean. So, what will we do?” Journey felt an odd thrill course through her at the thought of all the unbelievable things awaiting her.
“I’ll get you all settled in with Fancy and King, they won’t mind putting us up until I can get our cabin ready. I think I told you of my intention to build a home for everyone. With you there, my home will have a heart. Now that I’ve seen how you live, maybe we could put in a few modern type conveniences. I’d love for you to jot down a few ideas.”
“Okay. I’d like that. Perhaps, we could look at a few house-plans together to get some idea of a layout.”
“Sure. I didn’t know those were available. On the internet, I guess.”
“You’re learning.” She put on the blinker and pulled into a small gas/grocery store. “Are you coming?”
He met her at the door to open it for her. “Lead on, Journey-mine.”
She led him to the aisle that offered personal and beauty items. “This store has a little of everything, not a lot of anything.”
“Except drinks.” He marveled at the coolers that covered three walls, containing dozens and dozens of different kinds of beverages. Everything from beer, sodas, energy drinks, juices. “This is crazy.”
“Pssst. Come here.” She motioned for him to come to her. “Here are our choices.”
Reno leaned into look, then he leaned in closer. “Glory Be Goodness. Mega-Boy, Intergalactic Prophylactic, Snug-Fit, Ribbed for her Pleasure.” He winked at Journey. “I like that.” He picked up another. “Night-Light.”
“Those glow in the dark,” she whispered.
He gave her a look of total disbelief. “No, they don’t.”
“Hey, you didn’t believe me about escalators.” She shrugged her shoulders.
Reno took a box of those and a box of Trojan Magnum. “These’ll do.”
Journey giggled as she stopped to get a pregnancy test. Just to be sure, she picked up the two-pack. When they got to the counter, Reno insisted on paying. While the clerk rang them up, he read the box for the pregnancy test. “This has to be wrong.” He looked over his shoulder to where she’d picked up the test. “This product can’t be for finding out whether you’re with child or not.”
“Yes, it is.” Journey spoke to him without looking at him. “Put the box down.”
“But they want you to pee on the stick.” He explained in a loud whisper.
The clerk started giggling. Nodding toward Reno, she asked, “Where’s he been? Under a rock?”
She just smiled and shook her head. As soon as the clerk bagged the items, Journey snatched them off the counter and grabbed Reno by the hand. “Come on. Let’s go.”
When they got in the car, he started up again. “How can peeing on a stick tell you anything? Sounds a little outlandish to me.”
“Like everything else you’ve encountered?” She tapped her temple. “Let me put on my thinking cap. I’ll tell you one thing; you sure have put my knowledge to how things work to the test.”
“I guess it’s good practice for when our baby comes.”
Our baby.
Journey’s heart jumped in her chest. “We don’t even know if we’re pregnant yet. Some couples have a very difficult time with fertility issues.”
“We’ll know as soon as you use your little pee stick.”
“Yes. As for how it works, I think there is a chemical in the stick that reacts to the presence of a certain hormone in a woman’s urine. A hormone that’s only present if the woman is pregnant.”
“Hmmm. Okay. Sounds perfectly…impossible.” He laughed. “Just like everything else in this crazy place.”
As Journey kept the course toward home, she let her mind wander to the possibilities. “What are we going to tell people, Reno? About where I came from?”
“I don’t know. What do you want to tell them? The truth?”
She glanced at him with concern in her face. “Not really. Most people wouldn’t even try to understand. They’d say we were crazy. Or lying.”
Reno folded his hands and looked out the window. “That’s probably why there’s not more evidence of this happening to other people. Time-travel or going through a portal – or whatever you want to call it – probably happens. But no one wants to be put in a circus cage and gawked at.”
“You’re probably right.” She frowned, pondering what this might mean. “Considering what you’ve been through, it makes you think doesn’t it?”
“Yea, it does. I do trust, Lou, though. She’ll make the right decision.”
As they pulled into the driveway the sun was going down behind the mountain. “How about that moonlight ride? Are you ready to go?”
“I am.” He picked up the sack from the convenience store. “I’ll put this inside and meet you at the barn.”
“Tell the dogs we’ll be back soon.” Journey watched him walk across the yard as she ambled to Myra’s flower garden to smell the roses. As she breathed in the heavy scent, she wondered at the peace filling her heart. So much was still up in the air, yet she founded grounded and secure in Reno’s love.
By the time he joined her, she’d saddled the horse she normally used. “What’s your name?” She patted the roan mare. “I ought to know it.” Journey thought for a minute. “I remember, it’s Cinnamon. How would you like to take a trip with me soon? Reno arrived on a horse; I presume I’ll need one when I go back in time.”
“That’s a good idea,” Reno spoke up as he came to her side. “The ride from here to King’s Ransom will be more comfortable if we both have a mount. She’ll serve you well, I’m sure.”
In a few minutes, Reno and Traveler were ready to go. Once through the gate, they rode out into the park. Night came on quickly as stars began to twinkle in the sky.
“Enchanted Rock has been designated as an international Dark Sky park. It’s one of the few places where the view of the night sky isn’t spoiled by light pollution.”
“How can light be polluted?”
“It’s the lights of the cities, industries, and residential communities that’s doing the polluting. Mankind has lit up the world to such a degree that we can’t see the stars anymore. Did you know that eighty percent of people have never seen the Milky Way?” She pointed at the distant hazy band of light.
“At least the sky is the same here as it is in my time.” He pointed at a moving point of light. “Except for the occasional plane.”
“Or satellites. Or the International Space Station.” She pointed those things out to him. “Did you know people are up there on that little pinprick of light?”
Chuckling, Reno lifted his shoulders. “I’m not surprised. What are they doing up there?”
“It’s a research laboratory.”
“Are they studying portals and wormholes?” he asked, staring up at the wide expanse of celestial beauty.
“I don’t know, we’ll have to ask Lou.” Urging Cinnamon to walk a little closer to Traveler, she held ou
t her hand and when he took it, she sighed with contentment. “She told me something once about the night sky that makes me feel really strange now.”
“Ha!” He laughed. “Somehow that doesn’t surprise me. What did she say?”
Journey waved her free hand in the air momentarily, then grabbed hold of the saddle horn to stabilize herself. “She said that we’re looking back in time when we gaze at the stars. Some are so far away that it takes hundreds or even thousands of years for their light to reach our eyes. Some may have already died and faded away, but we just don’t know it yet.” All of a sudden, it seemed imperative that she look at him. Tightening her grip on his hand, she was on the verge of tears. “I don’t want to lose you!”
“Oh, baby.” He moved Traveler close enough to pull her off her horse and into his arms, facing him. “You’re not going to lose me.”
She wrapped her arms and legs around him, burying her face in his chest. “I couldn’t stand it. I just couldn’t go on.”
“Shhh.” He rubbed her back and kissed her cheek. “We’re going to figure this out. I promise.”
He held her close while they continued their way to Enchanted Rock. She took comfort in the beat of his heart, memorizing the steady, strong sound. As she closed her eyes, absorbing his strength, he kissed her neck. “Listen. Listen.”
Journey sniffed and raised her head. For a second, she thought she was still hearing Reno’s heartbeat. “What is that?”
He paused to listen again.
Boom. Boom. Boom. Boom.
“If I didn’t know better, it sounds like Indian drums to me.”
Journey shivered. “Might be campers, I guess. Someone playing their bongo.” She paused, her voice hesitating. “It doesn’t sound like anything I’ve heard before.”
Reno had heard it. Recently. “Rawhide drums make a pretty distinctive sound.” And those were rawhide, he was almost certain.
“Do you think we’re hearing spirits, or do you think the drumbeats are echoing through a portal?”
“I just don’t know.” He slowed Traveler down, keeping Cinnamon on a short rein. The haunting sound continued for a few more minutes, then died down. “Let’s turn you around,” he said, lifting her easily to make the move. “Now. There. I like holding you.”