He took a deep breath and watched her as she dipped a cloth into a bowl that was on the small dresser beside the bed and wrung out the water. She placed the cool towel on his forehead and smiled. He frowned, unable to remember the last time someone smiled at him like that, as if his life was of any worth.
“You’ve been unconscious for four days,” she said.
“Four days?” He gasped and tried to sit up but another wave of dizziness stopped him.
“I found you in the fields up north that way.” She pointed out the small window. “I feared you wouldn’t survive.”
“Four days?” he dumbly repeated, unable to believe this was happening to him. Then he realized he was naked. “Where are my pants? Where’s my…?” He couldn’t say time traveling device, so he opted for asking, “Where’s the thing I had in my pocket?”
“Everything you had is in the dresser drawer.” She gave him an amused smile. “You have no need to worry. I had a husband. I know what a man looks like when he doesn’t have clothes on.”
“You had a husband?”
“He passed away a year ago. We came out here to build a home and to farm, but he got sick our first winter here.” She sighed and swallowed the lump in her throat. “It wasn’t meant to be, I guess.”
“Then what are you doing here? Don’t you have relatives to go to?”
“No. I didn’t have any family. I was a mail-order bride, and he lived out here, far from anywhere.”
“So how have you managed all by yourself?”
“I learned to grow a good-sized garden. I make it to town a couple times a year and I have a cellar to keep foods from rotting. It’s nothing fancy, mind you, but it works.”
“You came from back east?”
“Rhode Island.”
“That’s a lot different from here.”
She laughed, the sound reminding him of wind chimes. “It’s another world out there.”
His gaze fell to his body. “Do you make it a habit of taking men into your home and undressing them?”
“Believe it or not, you’re the first person I’ve come across in eight months. I found you laying face down in the fields.”
“And you carried me here?”
Still grinning, she shook her head. “You are an odd man. How do you think I’d manage a feat like that when you’re a foot taller than me? I put you on my steed and brought you here. I was on my way to town. I’ll make another attempt when you’re well enough.”
He couldn’t stop the smile forming on his lips. “You still haven’t explained why I’m naked.”
“That’s simple. You had a fever, so I had to keep you cool. Your fever broke last night. I hoped it meant you would wake up today.” She removed the cloth from his forehead. “Do you need to use the privy?”
His eyebrows furrowed. “The what?”
“Do you need to urinate?”
He blinked, surprised and intrigued by her straightforwardness. He hadn’t met a single female in this time period who hadn’t blushed at the thought of mentioning personal business or undressing. At least no respectable woman. This woman, who looked at him now with her pretty blue eyes, was a lady. There was no mistaking her proper upbringing. What on earth was she doing saving someone like him?
“If you are too ill, you may use this container.” She picked up an empty jug by the bed.
“No. I can go outside.” He wondered if she even had a place to go to the bathroom. He carefully sat up, noticing the pile of newspapers underneath him. He didn’t even want to know how she managed to keep him dry and clean. Those details were best left to her and her alone. When he no longer felt dizzy, he stumbled out of the bed.
She quickly set the jug on the floor and placed his arm around her shoulders to steady him. “I can help you. I might be a woman but I’m not useless.”
He glanced at her. “Of that, I have no doubt.” Any woman who could survive out here had to be tough.
Once outside, he squinted in the sun. He saw the flat landscape. A small wood barn was close to the one room cabin. A well stood a half acre from the cabin, and she had worked on a garden where she grew her food. A few trees that produced apples surrounded the cabin. She showed him where the cellar was and walked him to the outhouse.
“I’ll wait out here.”
Despite his uneasy feeling about having a woman being nearby when he answered nature’s call, he went into the wooden building and relieved his bladder. Once he was done, he came back out. Now that his full bladder was no longer an issue, he could tend to other matters, the first being his lack of clothing and getting his hands back on that time traveling device.
“Can I get dressed?” he asked.
“Of course. I’ll help you back to the house and then you can get your clothes. Then I’ll make you some soup.”
“Will you take me to town? I need to get on a train to Fargo.”
“I’ll take you but I need you to rest up first. You’re in no shape to travel for two days.”
“Two days?”
“That’s how long it takes me to get to town. That’s why I don’t make the trip very often.”
He sighed. He was losing time. Well, it wasn’t like he didn’t have a time machine. Realizing there was nothing else to do for the moment, he walked with her to the cabin.
***
Megan couldn’t go on like this, hoping and praying that she’d find a way back home. Every Saturday she came to town to ride the stupid train only to remain in 1898, and this last run through was the final straw. She sank into the seat of the train after another failed attempt.
Ted sat next to her, trying to comfort her by rubbing her arm, but she didn’t want to be comforted. She wanted to wake up at home and have this be one bizarre dream. She turned to the window, mindlessly watching the passing fields of gold and greens. Crying did no good. Screaming did no good. Running around and jumping up and down like an idiot didn’t do any good. Even bumping into Ted, like she had when they traveled back into the past, didn’t work. They’d done everything they could think of and exhausted every idea.
Doomed. They were doomed to spend the rest of their lives in the past. God only knew the destruction they would cause, lingering in a time period that they weren’t meant to be in. She didn’t even want to think about it. She pressed her forehead against the warm window and swallowed the sob that threatened to break forth.
He leaned close to her. “We’ll just make a home here. It’s not that bad. Things could be worse.”
He said those words every time, and every time, she resisted. Maybe it was time to stop resisting. They would live the rest of their lives during the turn of the 20th century. As long as they kept a low profile and didn’t make any big changes to the past, then they should be alright. The future should be alright.
She took a deep breath and rested her head against the back of the seat. Fargo would be coming up soon. She saw the familiar barn with its brown frame with a busted window. Today, the horse grazed the grass in the fenced area. The old farmer collected eggs from the hen house. At least he looked happy this afternoon. He’d look sad most of the time she saw him. She shook her head. She’d definitely been on this route way too many times if the farmer seemed like a familiar friend.
Turning to Ted, she said, “I give up. It’s in the middle of July and we’re still here. I guess I might as well get used to it.”
He put his arm around her shoulders, pulling her close to him. “That’s the spirit.”
“You’re happy about this.” It was a silly statement. She knew he’d grown used to this time, Fargo, and the people. She knew he enjoyed working on Ray’s farm more than he enjoyed any of the other jobs he’d ever had. But what about the people they knew in their time? “Don’t you miss your family and friends?”
His smile faltered. “Sometimes.”
She looked out the window again, not really seeing the homesteads in her view. Instead, she thought of her mother and her friends. She wouldn’t ever see them again
. “What do you think they say happened to us?” She turned her attention back to him and waited for his answer.
He shrugged. “I don’t know. I assume they think we’re missing. Witnesses were on the Amtrak. I’m sure someone saw us disappear.”
She groaned and rubbed her temples. “Who’s going to believe that?”
“Well, the train car was full.”
“They probably convinced themselves that they imagined us disappearing. They probably say that we just walked off and didn’t come back.”
“What does it matter? We can’t do anything about it.”
He was right. She knew he was right. There wouldn’t be any way for someone to travel back in time to get them. They were stuck. Like it or not, this was their new home.
The train came to a stop.
The conductor made his all-too-familiar announcement. “Fargo, North Dakota!”
She reluctantly followed Ted off the train. As she stepped onto the platform, she gave one last look at the train. How did they get to the past? What was it about the train that could transport people through time? She wished she knew. If she could tap into whatever disturbance in the space-time continuum that existed on that train, she could return home.
No. Her home was no longer in the future. It was in the past. This was her home now. She’d live the rest of her life here, doing as little as possible to disrupt the fragile balance of order, and she’d die here. Only, she’d be born in the future. The thought was an eerie one. She would die before she was born. Shivering, she turned to Ted.
“It won’t be that bad,” he softly told her. “Who knows? In a couple of years, you might even like it here.”
Sighing, she crossed her arms and strolled beside him as they made their way to the wagon he’d recently bought. “It’s not that I don’t like it here,” she informed him as he helped her onto the seat.
He remained close to her and looked up at her. “What bothers you? The people we used to know who are back in our time?”
“Somewhat. But…”
“But what?”
She took a deep breath and leaned forward so no one would overhear them. “What if we do something to screw up future events?”
To her surprise, he smiled. “I doubt that average everyday Americans like us are going to mess up the future.”
“It could happen.”
“How?”
She struggled to think of a possible scenario but couldn’t.
He backed away from her. “We’ll be fine. Everything will be as it’s meant to be. You’ll see.”
“When? In the future when I’m a little girl?”
He shot her a ‘get serious’ look but didn’t say anything.
She waited for him to get into his side of the wagon. Once he was next to her, she said, “We’ve interacted with a lot of people.”
He clicked the reins and the geldings moved forward. He glanced at her. “So?”
“What if we said or did something that’s changed them? What if they do something that they weren’t meant to do because they talked to us?”
He laughed as he turned the horses down the dusty street. “You mean like Charles bathing and brushing his teeth?”
She grimaced. “He needed to do that anyway. No, what I mean is what if we changed the course of someone’s life in a major way?” She gasped and grabbed his arm.
“What?” He pulled back on the reins so the horses came to a stop. He scanned the road. “I don’t see anyone in the street.”
“Oh. No, you’re not about to run someone over,” she assured him. As soon as the horses moved again, she continued, “I introduced Miriam to Jason. What if I wasn’t supposed to do that?”
“Are you sure Jason knows that you were introducing him to Miriam?”
She rolled her eyes. “Oh come on, Ted. You aren’t still on that whole ‘Jason was coming onto me’ thing, are you?”
“I saw the way he was looking at you.”
“Whatever. It doesn’t matter. The point is that Miriam would never have gone to that barn dance if it hadn’t been for me. And then she wouldn’t have met Jason. What if they weren’t supposed to meet?”
“Just don’t interact with Jason.”
“The damage has already been done. He and Miriam already know each other.” She placed her hands over her nervous stomach. “They might get married. Then there might be children. What if someone else was supposed to be the father of those children? What if someone isn’t going to be born because of me?”
“What if it doesn’t work out and she marries someone else?” He shook his head. “You’re taking this way too far. Just because they danced a couple of times, it doesn’t mean they’re headed for the altar.”
“A dance may be the beginning.”
He let out a loud sigh. “What’s the point in worrying about this? What’s done is done. You can’t undo it.”
Now she felt worse! What damage had she done without meaning to? She decided that she would have to avoid influencing the world around her. It was of the utmost importance that she stick to herself as much as possible. While they continued their journey to what was to be their permanent residence, she made plans regarding her new non-interference policy. Fortunately, she lived out of town. That made her job easier.
As they neared the house, he cleared his throat and shifted next to her.
Having learned those actions indicated his desire to speak, she turned to him. “Is something on your mind?”
He hesitated a moment, his eyes fixed on the path ahead of them. “Yes. Actually, there is.”
She waited for him to continue but he didn’t, so she pressed, “Well?”
He took a deep breath. “Well, since we’re here, in this time, then I think we should settle into this life.”
“I was thinking the same thing.”
“Good. I think we should buy the house and repaint it.”
It was a logical plan, she realized. “Okay.” It was cheaper in the long run to buy the house than to rent it for the rest of their lives.
“And…”
She looked at him, wondering why he paused. “What in the world has gotten into you, Ted? If you want to say something, just say it.”
“Well, we are married.”
“I know.” Where was he going with this?
“Maybe it’s time we acted like a married couple.”
“I thought we were,” she said.
He shifted again and glanced in her direction. “No. I mean, maybe we should…you know…”
She was beginning to get impatient. If he had something to say, he needed to come right out and say it. “I know what, Ted?”
His face grew bright red before he said, “We should be married. Share a bedroom.”
His meaning sunk into her and her jaw dropped. “Oh, no way!”
“Why not?” he snapped, looking both hurt and angry at the same time.
“Because we’d risk a pregnancy.”
“So?”
“So? Haven’t you been listening to anything I’ve been saying for the past hour? I already goofed up with Miriam and Jason. Do you honestly think I’m going to bring a person into this world who isn’t meant to be born? Can you imagine the ramifications?”
“You’re taking this too seriously.”
“I don’t think you’re being serious enough. Really Ted, we need to be careful.”
His hands were tight as he held the reins but his voice remained calm. “What if we use protection?”
“In 1898?”
“They have condoms.”
She rolled her eyes.
“I’m telling you the truth. They’re made of pig skin instead of latex.”
She cringed. A condom made from a pig? “Gross.”
“Okay. That’s out. What about withdrawal? I could pull out.”
“Enough!” She threw her hands up and covered her ears. “Don’t you know that condoms and pulling out aren’t one hundred percent effective? The only way to ensure that a p
regnancy doesn’t happen is abstinence.”
“I don’t want to live the rest of my life like that, Megan. What’s the point in being married if we’re not going to have sex?”
“Look, if we were in our own time period and if we were married, we’d be doing it. But we’re not in our time period. You can’t let your male urges warp your thinking. We have the future to think about here. The fate of humanity rests on our shoulders. It’s a grave responsibility, and I, for one, am not going to shirk my duty.”
They arrived at the house so she quickly jumped down from the wagon. The sooner she ended this discussion, the better.
“What am I supposed to do?” he asked her.
She placed her hands on her hips and looked up at him. “We have to do what’s right. I expect you to be honorable and do your part. You’ll just have to take care of whatever you need to do by yourself. Now, we won’t talk about this anymore.”
She turned and hurried into the house. Men! They lacked the common sense God gave a turnip. Here she and Ted were, stuck in the past, their actions ultimately threatening to change the course of the future, and all he could think about was sex. How typical. Who cared if they had a kid who might end up blowing up the world? Not that she could imagine raising a child who would destroy other people, but did Hitler’s mother know who she was raising? The thought gave her chills. Suddenly, the future seemed like a scary thing.
Chapter Twelve
Cole checked the time travel device and realized he still had a far way to go before he got to Fargo, unless he could hop a train. He sighed and put the device in the drawer under his clean shirt. For the time being, he wore the clothes that Penelope’s deceased husband wore. The man had been shorter than Cole, but the clothes and pants fit well enough. He sighed and shut the drawer. He had to get to Fargo.
Penelope entered the cabin, carrying a jar of pickles. “I remember you said you liked these.” She motioned to the jar and placed it on the table. “I will be going to town in a couple weeks. I’m running out of supplies.”
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