Touched by Time

by Zoe Matthews

  Kimberly nodded. She understood the importance of not losing the key.

  Mrs. Hilton gave her a piece of paper with detailed instructions. A few days from now, a day that had been agreed upon by Mrs. Hilton, Patrick and herself, she was to clutch the key in her right hand, say the date out loud, June 5, 1892, and picture in her mind the Denver train station. If she did it right, she should immediately be transported back in time to the train station in Denver, the way it was in 1892. Patrick should be there to greet her.

  “Good luck, my dear,” Mrs. Hilton told Kimberly as she walked her to the door. “I will be living at my home in Denver during your 30 days with Patrick. It will look much like this one, only much newer. If there are any problems, don’t hesitate to come find me.”

  ****

  Over the next few days, Kimberly did everything she could to prepare for her spontaneous trip back in time. She researched the time era and tried to learn how the day to day life would be like living on a ranch. She didn't want to seem stupid if she didn't know basic day to day habits. In the privacy of her room late one night, she tried on each article of clothing so she knew how to put them on. After she folded each of the clothing and put them all back in the carpetbag, leaving one dress out that she had decided to wear for her trip back in time, she looked around her room. There were two things she wished she could take with her. She had a small first aid kit that she had put together in nursing school and that she kept with her all the time. The nurse in her had a hard time leaving first aid supplies behind. What if she might need them while she was gone? She also wanted to take her sketch pad and colored pencils. Drawing was as much as a part of her as being a nurse. She drew when she needed to relax, think, or make a major decision.

  Quickly, without thinking about the consequences, she put the first aid kit on the bottom of the carpetbag, along with her small sketch pad, colored pencils, and a battery-operated pencil sharpener. When she arrived at Patrick’s ranch, she would make sure she hid both items well so no one would ever see them.

  Kimberly also withdrew a large amount of cash to give to Nicky for expenses for rent. She didn’t want her being gone to be a financial burden to her friend. She withdrew enough for expenses for two months which she placed in an envelope. She also included instructions on how to access the rest of her money should she not return. She wasn’t going to need her money if she chose to stay in the 1890s.

  The last thing she did the night before she was to leave was to write Nicky and Justin a letter. She knew Nicky thought something was up, but Kimberly knew her friend didn’t suspect that she had actually decided to become a mail-order bride because she hadn’t talked about it to Nicky since they visited Mrs. Hilton that second time. She knew Nicky had assumed Kimberly agreed with her that it was a scam.

  Kimberly knew she couldn’t tell Nicky and Justin about the time travel, but she felt she couldn’t leave without letting them know she had decided to become a mail-order bride. She quickly pulled out a sheet of paper, the kind of heavy paper she had written on to Patrick, and started to write.

  Dear Nicky and Justin,

  When you find this letter, you will know that I am no longer here. I have made the decision to go visit Patrick and get to know him better. If, in 30 days, we both feel it is right, we will marry.

  I am going to ask you both something important. Please do not try to find me. You will not be able to. I cannot tell you exactly where I am, but I know that if you go to Mrs. Victoria Hilton’s home, she will know how to get a message to me if it is important.

  I am sorry about the way I am leaving. You both have been like a brother and sister to me, ever since my parents were killed, and I will be forever grateful. I can’t really explain to you why I feel I should embark on this new life, but please know that I do feel it is the right decision for me.

  Nicky, I am enclosing enough money to cover my expenses for the next two months. If I do not return, you are welcome to use the rest of the funds in my account as you see fit.

  Love you both always,

  Kimberly

  Kimberly placed the letter along with the cash into an envelope and left it on her bed. She knew Nicky would find it when she got curious enough to wonder why Kimberly wasn’t up for the day.

  Then, it was time. Kimberly was finally ready to start a new chapter of her life. She clutched the carpetbag in her left hand and held the key in the right. She pictured the Denver train station while she whispered out loud, “June 5, 1892,” just like Victoria had instructed.

  Instantly the tingling and vibration she always felt when she held the key grew stronger. The sensation grew to remind her of the pins and needles she would feel if her foot fell asleep. Her heart pounded as, for a moment, she realized she could see two different scenes at once. Then she was at the train station, with people walking, not even realizing she had just appeared in front of them. She took a deep breath and started looking around, searching for what could be her future husband. Without second guessing herself, she was swept into her new life.

  Chapter 8

  Patrick quickly finished feeding the last of the barn animals and then sighed with relief. He had wanted to get an early start this morning, but a few things had slowed him down. He was heading into Denver to pick up Kimberly at the train station, and he had a long ride ahead of him. When he arrived in the barn a few hours ago, he found a horse lame and a cow that seemed to be sick. He was glad he had his younger brother, Shaun, helping him. Shaun had a gift with animals and always seemed to know how to help them when they were sick or injured.

  “I guess that’s it,” Patrick told Shaun as he put the pitchfork away in its place. “I need to get going.”

  “Go ahead and eat breakfast,” Shaun told him. “I’ll get Keegan out here to finish up the rest of the chores. I’m sure Bridget will have something for you to eat.”

  Patrick nodded at his brother’s words. He was anxious to leave. He knew he was going to barely meet the train as it was. He hoped Bridget would be ready to go. He was leaving Shaun and Keegan at the ranch to take care of things while he was gone, but he wanted Bridget to come with him. He hoped having his sister along would help his new bride be more comfortable with her new situation.

  He also knew Bridget was planning to do some shopping while they were in Denver. She wanted to purchase some new fabric for dresses for her and also for Shaun’s young daughter, Colleen. Keegan needed some new school books. He also wanted Bridget to make sure Kimberly had what she would need in order to live on the ranch.

  Their ranch was located in the middle of the Rocky Mountains and they didn’t have any neighbors that lived nearby, although every once in a while they would see Indians that lived deeper in the mountains.

  Patrick entered the small ranch house and was relieved to see a plate of food sitting on the table. He quickly washed up with a basin of water that had been set aside for that specific use and sat down to eat. Bridget was washing up the last of the breakfast dishes.

  Bridget smiled at him as he took his first bite. “I’m glad you were able to come in and eat.” She placed a few slices of buttered bread next to him. “I just need to finish these dishes and pack up some food. We can leave whenever you are ready.”

  “Why can’t I go with you?” a small voice asked. Patrick turned his attention to Colleen. She had her bottom lip sticking out in a pout. “Pa said I did fine on the last trip to Denver.”

  “That you did,” Patrick agreed. “But this trip is just for Bridget and me. We won’t be staying the night like we did last time. I want to be back this evening.”

  “Why are you going to Denver?” Colleen asked curiously.

  “Remember? I am picking up my new bride today,” Patrick answered her, feeling slightly more anxious as he said the words out loud.

  Colleen nodded her head, her dark hair bouncing as she did. “I remember. Pa said it will be a miracle if she stays.”

  Patrick felt frustrated at her words. He knew Shaun didn’t approve
of what he was doing, but he wished he would keep his opinion to himself.

  “Colleen, sometimes it is best to not repeat everything you hear,” Bridget gently chastised her. “Will you please come and dry these dishes?”

  Colleen obeyed, picked up a nearby towel, and started her chore.

  Patrick quickly ate the last of his breakfast and stood to take his dishes to Bridget. “Good as usual, sis,” he told her as she quickly started to wash his plate. “I’m going to get our horses saddled.”

  “Which one are you going to have Kimberly ride?” Bridget asked. “I wonder how much experience she has had with horses.”

  This was the only concern he had with Kimberly. He had enjoyed her letters, although some of what she had written had puzzled him. It was almost as if she had never left a city in her life. He desperately hoped she would be able to adjust living on his ranch, especially since it was located so far away from the nearest city. In her last letter, she had assured him she didn’t like living in the city and felt she would enjoy living on a ranch. He hoped she wouldn’t change her mind.

  He knew they wouldn’t be able to marry until she had been at the ranch for 30 days. Mrs. Hilton was very firm on this rule. She didn’t think it was wise for a man and a woman who first met each other to immediately marry. Patrick understood this guideline, but almost wished they could ignore it. He was anxious to have a wife and start his family. But he could also see the wisdom in Mrs. Hilton’s request. If Kimberly couldn’t adjust to their way of life, it would be better if they didn’t marry and both of them ending up with an unhappy marriage.

  He was glad that there was a small cabin on the ranch that Kimberly could sleep in for the required 30 days, but he also hoped she would want to spend most of her time with his family. Even though he would be marrying her, it was important that she would be able to get along with his siblings.

  “I plan on bringing Honey for her,” Patrick answered Bridget’s question. She was the gentlest horse they had and a good one to ride if a person didn’t have experience with horses. In fact, Colleen had learned to ride on her.

  Bridget nodded her approval and turned back to her chore. Patrick jogged back to the barn. He smiled his thanks as he saw that Shaun had saddled his favorite riding horse, Apache. They worked together to get Bridget’s horse and Honey saddled and ready to go.

  Soon he and Bridget were on their way towards Denver. He sighed to himself as he listened to his sister talk about what she wanted to purchase. His life was about to change and he said a prayer that everything would go well over the next 30 days. He was traveling to Denver to get a wife. As he pondered this, he know in his heart, he was already committed to her.

  ****

  Kimberly was suddenly thrust into a new world. She had just arrived at the Denver train station and she looked around in awe. The key worked! Just like Mrs. Hilton had said it would! She had actually traveled back in time to 1892.

  Her eyes scanned her surroundings, thrilled to be taking in a new time period. She could tell by the slight chill in the air that it was spring time, just like it had been in her time period. People were going about their days as normal, going into one of the few shops that were located along the street, or shouting greetings to each other. Some people did look at her with mild curiosity; they must know just about everyone in the city, and she wondered if they were curious about who she was. She smiled shyly at those she made eye contact with. She could tell by the layer of dust covering the wood floors, she was going to have to get used to being dirty. She saw two boys throwing a small red ball back and forth to each other until an older woman yelled out for them to stop when the ball almost hit a store window.

  She glanced down at her hand to make sure she still had the key. Seeing that she did, she slipped the key into the pocket of her dress for safe keeping. The pocket was quite deep and she knew there was little danger of losing it. She was still clutching the carpet bag that held her belongings in her other hand and she gripped it tighter when an older man inadvertently bumped into her.

  “Sorry, miss,” the man told her tipping his hat as he hurried past her to some important destination only he knew of. Kimberly didn’t have a chance to say anything because he was soon gone.

  Kimberly looked around at the people around her. What if she didn’t find Patrick? He had briefly described himself in one of his letters, saying only that he was tall and had dark red hair. She started focusing on tall men with red hair and soon she spotted one. He was standing in the street near the train tracks, helping a woman down off of a horse. She almost dismissed this man because of the woman who was with him, but he did have red, almost auburn hair, so she kept an eye on him. He had three horses with him and she noticed that the woman also had equally red hair.

  The man looked around and almost instantly looked directly at her. He seemed to know who she was, for he strode towards her, leaving the woman to follow him if she wished.

  “Miss Kimberly Nelson?” the man questioned as he stood in front of her. She almost didn’t answer as she looked into his sea green eyes. He was the most handsome man she had ever seen. He was indeed tall, with her head coming to the top of his shoulder. His auburn hair had a slight curl to it and was long enough to touch the tip of his shirt collar. He smiled slightly at her as he waited for her response.

  “Yes, I am Kimberly,” she was finally able to reply. She mentally shook herself. She couldn’t afford to be attracted to him this early in the relationship. She had promised herself the night before as she was packing for her time travel trip, that she would not allow herself to fall in love with Patrick until she knew without a shadow of a doubt that she would want to stay in 1892. She didn’t want to chance losing another person because of fate, like she had lost her parents.

  “It’s good to meet you,” Patrick was saying as he stepped aside and pulled the woman Kimberly had seen with him towards them. “This is my sister, Bridget.”

  “Hello,” Kimberly turned her attention to the woman beside him. She had equally auburn red hair like Patrick did and Kimberly thought it was the most beautiful color she had ever seen. Even though Bridget’s hair was pulled back in a loose bun, Kimberly could tell that it was tight with natural curls, while Patrick’s was more wavy than curly. Bridget’s eyes were also different, a beautiful sky blue color.

  Bridget smiled at her. “It’s nice to meet you. Did you have a nice trip?”

  Kimberly froze for a second and then reminded herself that Bridget was talking about the train trip, not the time travel trip. “Yes, I did” she said, trying not to stutter.

  Patrick held out his hand to shake hers and Kimberly hesitantly placed hers in his and for a brief moment the world seemed to stop. Kimberly felt something in her heart that had been asleep for so long. It was as if her soul was recognizing another whom she might have known before. But how was that possible?

  Kimberly saw Patrick’s eyes widen as if he felt the same thing she had felt. Kimberly pulled her hand away in confusion.

  “I think we should go to the Denver Hotel and eat some lunch,” Bridget suggested. “Then I need to do some shopping. We want to be back to the ranch by dark and it is already 1:00.”

  Kimberly had many questions about how they were going to get to the ranch. She remembered Patrick writing that it was a four-hour horseback ride from Denver and all she saw was the three horses. She could see people driving wagons and horses in the Denver streets. Why wouldn’t they use a wagon to get to their ranch? Was she going to be expected to ride one of those horses? She had never been on a horse in her life! Somehow, even with all her preparation and study she did before coming here, she didn't think about taking horseback riding lessons. She hoped there was a wagon somewhere.

  Patrick took the carpetbag from Kimberly. He tied it securely to one of the horses and then made sure all three of the animals were tied to a post. She watched as he patted one of them with obvious affection and it nickered back at him.

  “Let’s go,” Patrick
said and led Kimberly and Bridget down the dusty walkway. Kimberly followed and tried not to stare at all the new sounds and sights that were before her. What was that saying? She sure wasn’t in Kansas anymore.

  The hotel was cool as they entered and Kimberly watched as Patrick greeted a man. They were quickly seated at a table by a large window. Patrick ordered for all of them which Kimberly found peculiar, but noticed that Bridget took it in stride. Kimberly decided she would watch Bridget carefully and take her cue from her.

  Little was said while they waited for the meal to be served. Patrick and Bridget talked briefly about what items she wanted to purchase and Kimberly listened, trying to act like the situation she was in was normal. What she wanted to do was watch everything around her, but she knew that it was considered rude to stare, so she refrained, and tried to focus on the conversation between Patrick and Bridget.

  When the food arrived Kimberly discovered how hungry she was. Patrick had ordered fried chicken with potatoes, gravy, and peas. In her time period, fried chicken was considered a food to avoid because of the high content of fat, but it was the best chicken she had ever tasted. She had been too nervous to eat breakfast in her apartment that morning, so she was very hungry.