Touched by Time

by Zoe Matthews

  “I received an unusual response.” She handed him the letter and indicated to him that he should sit on a chair that was in front of her desk. Collins hesitated, then sat down to read the letter.

  “Interesting,” was all he said when he finished.

  “What do you think? It is definitely from the future. Are you sure this will work? Should I really send her information like she requested?”

  “I get the feeling she wants a different life. She isn’t sure she believes this letter is real, but she wants it to be,” Collins responded.

  “Yes, I felt the same.”

  “Of course, you must follow your heart in this matter, but I think it wouldn’t hurt to send her the information. You won’t be telling her about the key, yet. That can wait until you know if she is really interested.”

  “You’re right. I will send her the information.”

  Chapter 3

  Patrick Callaghan forked some hay into the horse’s stalls. It was almost evening and he was glad the day was almost over. He was looking forward to going into the large family cabin and eating a good meal his sister, Bridget, would have prepared. Patrick could hear his stomach growl and could almost taste his sister’s cooking. Working with food was what Bridget was best at and she always made excellent meals with the small variety of foods that they had available on their small ranch.

  He lived on land that his father had secured during the Homesteading Act in 1873. His two younger brothers and Bridget lived with him. They worked hard on the small ranch together, doing their best to carve a living off the hard mountain land.

  Patrick had been satisfied with his life until the last few months. This last winter had been hard and even though he had his brothers, Shaun and Keegan, and Bridget to talk to, he still felt lonely. He had turned 30 years old that winter and he knew it was time he thought about starting a family. This ranch had been passed to him when his father had died five years before, since he was the eldest son, and that was how it was done in his family. He always felt that it wasn’t fair that he inherited the land and not his two brothers, nor his sister for that matter, but he tried to be fair to all of them, and never made any of them feel like they needed to leave. He knew he would need to make some changes legally in the future, but for now, the way things were set up worked for him and his siblings, and he was satisfied.

  He loved this ranch, this land that his father and grandfather had sacrificed much for. His grandfather, Patrick Callaghan the first, had lived in Ireland with his wife and four children. They worked land that another man owned. Most of what they grew and harvested went to the landowner and they had very little for themselves. Then there was the potato famine. It lasted for about five years and many of their neighbors and friends died, including three of their children. Patrick’s father was ten years old and was the only child left alive when his father and mother decided they needed to leave Ireland. They wanted to immigrate to America. They were lucky to have an heirloom, a set of fine china dishes that had been passed to them by his maternal great-grandmother. They had hidden them so their landowner didn’t know about them, or he would have insisted they give them to him as part of payment to live on his land. They had buried them in their garden in a small wooden box filled with sawdust. One night Patrick’s grandfather dug them up, then the family snuck out of their village to a nearby city. They sold the china dishes and received enough money for the three of them to immigrate to America.

  Patrick remembered when his father told this story, he would say that the three of them actually ate better on the ship to America than they had for years because of the potato famine even though they had purchased the least expensive tickets. They settled in New York and his grandfather worked for the rest of his life in several factories to support his wife and son. They saved what they could so Patrick’s father could go to college. He earned a degree in accounting and after graduation from college, he worked at a large prestigious company, but his real dream was that he wanted to live on his own land. He wanted to own land like his father always wanted to in Ireland. He spent his free time studying and learning how to farm, how to care for horses and cows, and how to grow hay and other crops.

  Patrick’s father married his mother and soon he was born. A few years later Shaun joined the family, and then Bridget. When Patrick was eleven years old, his father decided he wanted to take advantage of the Homesteading Act and moved his young family to the Rocky Mountains in Colorado. There, they were able to secure 160 acres of their own land. He spent the next five years improving it until he owned the land. Then Patrick’s youngest brother, Keegan, was born.

  When his father first came to this land, he had built a small one-room cabin for the family to live in. It was barely large enough for the five of them. The summer that the land officially became theirs, his father immediately built a large home a short distance away from the smaller cabin. Right now, Patrick slept in the small home his father had built, although he ate his meals in the large cabin. Even though the small cabin was tiny, he loved that first home that his father had built. His siblings lived in the larger cabin.

  Patrick had learned to love this land and he never had a desire to leave it. He would stay on this ranch all the time if he could, but he still had to make trips into Denver every so often for supplies. Denver was a four-hour trip on horseback, the easiest and fastest way to get there. He was planning on going to Denver the next day with Bridget and Keegan, leaving Shaun to run the ranch while he was gone. They needed supplies now that winter was over.

  When they went into Denver for supplies, they usually stayed over one night, especially if Bridget came with him. Sometimes he would make the trip on his own and so would only be gone for the day. That is how he preferred to make the trip, but he knew Bridget was looking forward to going into Denver, and he didn’t have the heart to suggest she stay behind.

  His little brother, Keegan, also was looking forward to it. Keegan was 15 years old, but he was getting old enough to continue his education. Right now, Bridget helped him with his schoolwork. There wasn’t a schoolhouse nearby, so Keegan did his learning on his own with Bridget’s help. He loved learning and Bridget had confided to Patrick a few months ago that she didn’t think she would be able to help him much longer as he was passing her own knowledge. Patrick knew that they would need to look into boarding Keegan in Denver, probably in the fall so he could continue his education. Keegan talked about wanting to be a doctor. Patrick knew that Keegan would not be spending his life as a rancher.

  He knew Bridget would marry someday and move away, even though she was already 24 years old and considered an old maid. Bridget hadn’t dated much. There weren’t very many single men who were willing to travel to their ranch to court her. When Patrick would bring up the subject of marriage with her, she would insist she enjoyed her life, and didn’t regret that she hadn’t found anyone yet. A few years ago, Patrick had suggested that she move to Denver and find a job in a restaurant. Maybe then she would find a man to marry, but Bridget had gotten very angry. No one was going to make her leave her home. She was staying where she was, and if she was ever going to find someone to marry, he would have to come to her. Patrick didn’t dare remind her that the likelihood of that happening was very low because of how isolated they were from any nearby towns or cities, but he backed off and didn’t suggest it again.

  Patrick finished up with the care of the horses and then closed the barn door. He headed to the house, his two faithful border collies following him. The female was lagging behind a little, and Patrick knew there would be a litter of puppies soon. The dogs curled up on their pile of blankets on the porch as he went inside.

  Bridget was at the stove stirring something. Shaun was sitting at the table, his eight year old daughter, Colleen, sitting on his lap. Keegan was sitting by the fireplace whittling on a stick. Keegan was always carving or whittling something when he had time. He liked carving animals and was very good at it. Right now, Patrick could tell that he was work
ing on a whistle that he most likely would give to Colleen. On the fireplace mantle sat a number of carved animals; a bear, some birds, various horses, and other animals that were found in the mountains.

  “It smells good, Bridget,” Patrick complimented her as he kissed her cheek in welcome.

  “Dinner should be ready in a few minutes,” Bridget replied with a smile. “You have just enough time to clean up.”

  Patrick looked down at his hands and softly chuckled at his sister’s not-so-subtle hint. He headed to the table where warm water, soap and clean towels were set up and ready for him.

  “Do you have the horses bedded down for the night?” Shaun asked.

  “Yep, I checked Apache’s leg. It seems to be healing fine.” Shaun took care of all the animal’s medical needs.

  Shaun nodded and settled Colleen firmer on his lap. “Are you ready to go to Denver tomorrow?”

  “I am,” Colleen piped up. “I can’t wait.” She was going to Denver for the first time without her father. “I get to ride my own horse and everything.”

  “Do you really think she is ready for that?” Patrick asked Shaun as he teased Colleen.

  “Daddy said I can go. I’m old enough,” Colleen stated matter-of-factly.

  “Yes you are, sweetheart. Uncle Patrick is just teasing. You get to go.”

  Colleen smiled her relief and settled back against her father’s chest. Patrick was glad Bridget would be going with him to help care for Colleen.

  Bridget quickly had the food on the table and the family sat down to eat. She had prepared fried chicken, mashed potatoes and the last jar of green beans that she had preserved the summer before. Patrick knew that she had made an apple pie for dessert because he could smell the scent of sugared apples.

  After Shaun said the prayer over the food, it was quiet for a while as everyone filled their plates and started to eat. Colleen broke the silence.

  “Why haven’t you married, Uncle Patrick?” she asked innocently as she took a bite of the chicken.

  Patrick was surprised at her question. What brought this up? “I guess I haven’t found the right woman who wanted me,” he finally said.

  “Why are you asking that, sweetheart?” Shaun asked his daughter.

  “Well, I want a mommy, but Uncle Patrick is the oldest, so he needs to marry first. After he gets married, then you can get married because you are the next oldest.”

  Patrick almost choked on his food, trying to keep the laughter in. He was always amazed the way Colleen’s mind worked.

  “Good plan, Colleen,” Keegan said with a grin. “Then it will be Bridget’s turn.”

  Bridget glared at Keegan. “I’m fine being a single woman.”

  “I’ll see what I can do, how about that?” Patrick told Colleen. He knew he had surprised his siblings because they all looked at him with questions in their eyes.

  “Do you have someone…?” Bridget started to ask, but Patrick interrupted her.

  “We can talk about it later.” He had actually been thinking about this subject, but he didn’t want to tell his siblings his plans with Colleen around.

  Later, after Colleen had gone to bed, Bridget brought up the subject again. They were all sitting around the fireplace in the living area, each doing their own thing. Bridget was mending some clothes. Keegan was again working on the whistle, and both Patrick and Shaun were reading a book.

  “Do you have someone in mind to court, Patrick?” Bridget asked.

  He shook his head. “No, but I am already thirty years old. I want to have a family. I think it is time to find someone.”

  “How are you going to do that?” Shaun asked. “You barely leave the ranch as it is.”

  “I am going to send for a mail-order bride,” he announced.

  “What?” Shaun had been leaning back on his chair and it slammed down on all four legs.

  “What’s a mail-order bride?” Keegan asked curiously.

  “I guess there are a lot of women who haven’t been able to find someone to marry, for various reasons. Last fall when I went to Denver, I saw that an older woman had started a mail-order bride business in her home. She helps match women and men together that want to marry.”

  “Really? That’s interesting,” Shaun commented.

  “Why would a woman want to marry someone she doesn’t even know?” Bridget asked skeptically. Patrick could tell by the tone of her voice that she thought the whole idea was dumb.

  “Because they want a new start in life. This woman said she had matched quite a few couples already,” Patrick explained to her.

  “What do you need to do?” Keegan asked curiously.

  “I wrote a letter explaining what I am looking for in a woman. Then Mrs. Hilton will find a woman who might be interested in me, and then we will write each other. When we go into Denver tomorrow, I am going to meet with her. She might have someone who is interested in writing.”

  “Are you sure this is legitimate?” Shaun asked suspiciously.

  “Sure, it is,” Bridget responded. “I have heard about mail-order brides, although I think…” she didn’t finish her sentence, but Patrick knew what she was thinking. That he was desperate.

  “I’m just going to give it a chance,” he said, and then changed the subject. He didn’t want to talk about it anymore.

  ****

  Kimberly entered her house after yet another long day at work. Angie had made her work a few hours later than she was supposed to, and she was tired, physically and emotionally. She didn’t know how much longer she was going to be able to handle her job. The day before she had applied to a few jobs she had found on an online job search site, and she hoped something would come of it.

  She heard voices coming from the kitchen and headed that direction. She found Nicky and her brother, Justin, sitting at the table, along with Justin’s son, Garrett.

  "Hi everyone,” she greeted and sat down on a chair with a tired sigh. She smiled at Garrett and reached over to ruffle his hair. “Hey, bud.” The boy smiled at her with a mouth full of cookies.

  “Not doing too well, huh?” Justin greeted her with a grin. “What’s going on?”

  “Work is, well, let’s just say, it’s not an enjoyable experience,” Kimberly told him. She was already starting to feel better just being with her friends. She loved being around Justin. He was like a brother to her and he treated her just like he treated Nicky. He was protective of her in a big brother way that sometimes was annoying, but he was fun to be around.

  “You got a letter today,” Nicole said as she handed her an envelope, then stared at her expectantly.

  Kimberly accepted the letter and started to set it aside until she saw who it was from. She saw Mrs. Victoria Hilton’s name and her address on the front, and she gasped.

  “I almost forgot about this. I really didn’t expect a response. It’s been almost two weeks.”

  “What’s this all about?” Justin asked with curiosity.

  Kimberly shook her head at Nicky, trying to convey to her friend to not say anything to Justin, but Nicky either didn’t see her or ignored her. She really didn’t want Justin to know about this. She knew his protective side would kick in and she would never hear the end of it.

  “Oh, Kimberly just answered an ad for a mail-order bride.” Her cheeky grin towards Kimberly hinted she saw Kimberly shake her head.

  Justin had just taken a drink of water and he immediately choked on it. “What?”

  Nicky pounded her brother’s back with her hand. “Take a breath, brother dear. You heard me.”

  “What’s going on, you two? What did you get mixed up with now?”

  “A few weeks ago, I saw an ad in one of those newspapers Nicky has been collecting.” Kimberly reluctantly opened her cell phone case and pulled out the small ad she still kept there and handed it to Justin. She knew Justin would just hound her until she told him the full story.

  “Kind of weird,” Justin said after he glanced at it and then handed it back to her.
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  Kimberly started to fill her plate with the dinner that Nicky had prepared. They had a good system going. Nicky cooked all the meals and Kimberly cleaned up afterward. Nicky had a creative flair that kept their dinners interesting. She listened as Nicky proceeded to fill her brother in with what they had done with the ad.

  “You guys are nuts, do you know that? What do you think is going to happen?”

  “I just sent away for the information as a joke. I didn’t think I’d receive a reply,” Kimberly said defensively, feeling a blush creep up to her cheeks.

  “Well, open it and see what it says,” Nicky said, so Kimberly slowly slit the envelope open and pulled out a single sheet of paper. She started to read silently.

  Dear Miss Nelson,

  Thank you for your interest in becoming a mail-order bride. As you may know, there are many men who live in the western United States and who live in areas where there are few women.