Touched by Time

by Zoe Matthews

  While they ate, she caught Patrick watching her a few times and would smile at her when he caught her gaze with his own. Every time this happened, her heart seemed to skip a beat and it would steal her breath away. She realized she would need to be very, very careful with her heart, and his.

  After the delicious meal, they walked to a nearby general store. Again, Kimberly did her best to act like she had always been in general stores like this one. The store was small, probably less than a fourth the size of the grocery stores at home. The counter was to the left, with a man behind it lifting a sack of flour down off the shelf for a customer. She could see a few aisles ahead of her with shelves that were stocked with basic fruits and vegetables, and other necessities. She realized, not for the first time, that all of the food she ate would need to be cooked from scratch.

  “I need to get some new books for our younger brother, Keegan,” Bridget explained to Kimberly as they walked to a shelf full of books. “We live so far away from Denver, Keegan hasn’t been able to go to school.”

  "So who teaches him?” Kimberly asked as she picked up what looked to be a history book.

  “I do, or at least I try to,” Bridget explained. “But this will likely be the last year I will be able to. He has passed me in what he has learned. For the past few months, I have just been guiding and encourage him.”

  “Does he want to continue his schooling?” Kimberly asked.

  “He does. He loves to learn. Out of all four of us, he has enjoyed school the most. We will have to arrange to board him next fall in Denver.”

  Bridget pulled a few books off of the shelf and started to look through them. Kimberly glanced at her own and saw that it was a history of England.

  “How old is Keegan?” Kimberly asked.

  “He is 15.”

  “Would he like this book?” she handed Bridget the book she was looking through and watched as the woman looked through it.

  “This would be perfect,” Bridget nodded. “It looks a little above his level, but it would challenge him. Let’s see if we can find some other books like this one.”

  Kimberly gladly helped, and soon between the two of them, they had found two science books and another history book. Kimberly wanted to ask about math, but didn’t know if that subject was something that was important in the 1890s as it was in her time. She felt a presence behind her and turned to see Patrick standing close to them.

  “Did you find what you needed for Keegan?” he asked Bridget who nodded.

  “Kimberly actually helped. We found a few books that should keep him busy for a few months. I really think we need to talk about boarding him next fall, Patrick,” Bridget told her brother as she handed him the books that were chosen.

  “Yes, I have some ideas along those lines, but we have to get through the summer first.” Patrick turned to Kimberly. “Do you need anything while we are here? I would like you to get what you need.”

  Kimberly didn’t know what to say. Victoria had provided her with a few dresses and other essentials. She didn’t know what she would need, and she didn’t want Patrick to spend money on her.

  “I don’t think…” Kimberly started to say, but Bridget interrupted her.

  “I’ll take care of it,” Bridget declared. She looped her arm through Kimberly’s and led her away towards some women’s clothing.

  “I really don’t need anything,” Kimberly started to say again.

  “Kimberly, we live on a ranch. From what Patrick has told me from your letters, you have lived in a city your entire life. There are some things you will need.”

  Soon Bridget had gathered another dress, boots, a few aprons, a hat, and a pair of pants, or britches as Bridget called them, that could be used for riding. When Kimberly saw all the items that Bridget wanted to buy, Kimberly again tried to protest. After all, what if things didn’t work out? But she knew she couldn’t say anything, so she finally decided to stay quiet, especially when Patrick came up to pay the bill. He didn’t even blink at the amount, and Kimberly felt relief. She hoped that if it was too much, he would have said something.

  Soon, too soon in Kimberly’s opinion, Patrick had the purchases tied to the three horses. Bridget swung into her saddle by herself and Kimberly wondered if she would be expected to do the same when Patrick guided her to one of the horses, and looked at her expectantly.

  When she continued to stand awkwardly next to the horse, he looked surprised. “Have you ever ridden before?” Patrick asked her.

  When she shook her head, he continued. “This is Honey. She is one of our gentlest horses. She is good to learn on. Let me help you up.” He bent his knee up and looked at her as if expecting her to know what she was to do. “Place your left foot here.” He touched his leg. She did as he requested and almost immediately he placed his hands around her waist and hoisted her onto the horse as if she weighed nothing.

  She took a few deep breaths. She hoped she would be able to make the trip to their ranch without embarrassing herself. She arranged her skirts around her the best she could.

  Patrick quickly gave her a few instructions on how to control the horse, but then said, “You really won’t need to worry about telling her what to do. She will just follow the other horses.”

  Kimberly hoped that was true. She prayed that Honey would do what was expected of her and not take off on her own. A scene from a movie she saw a couple weeks ago flashed through her mind. The horse a woman was riding was spooked and ran off wildly with no hope of calming it. Luckily, there was a handsome man nearby to save her. Kimberly had to suppress a panicked giggle as she looked at Patrick. At least she had her own handsome man nearby in case something went wrong. Patrick said something to his horse and they were soon on their way.

  Chapter 9

  Patrick kept his horse from going too fast as he guided Apache towards the woods at the edge of Denver and onto the path that would lead them to their ranch. He wanted to chuckle at Kimberly’s face when he swung her into Honey’s saddle. It was very obvious she didn’t have any experience with horses. He wondered why she would be interested in being a mail-order bride if she came from a family wealthy enough to ride carriages everywhere. He chuckled again as he glanced back at her. She clutched the saddle horn so hard her hands turned white. Well, that would be one of the first things he would help her with. If she was going to be his wife, she needed to be comfortable being on a horse.

  Overall, he was pleased with Kimberly. She seemed quiet and a bit shy, and he hoped as she felt more comfortable with her new life, she would open up and talk more. He was glad to see that Bridget was able to get her to talk. It was obvious she had been educated because she was able to help Bridget choose some of the books for Keegan.

  “That is something I’ll need to ask her about,” he muttered to himself. Why would a woman who had received education want to be a mail-order bride? That was a question he had not asked in his letters.

  He had been instantly attracted to her the moment he saw her. Her dark brown hair seemed to have a light tint to it when the sunlight shown on it. Her hair had been pulled back into a style that he had seen other women wear, but some strands had gotten loose and he could tell her hair was shorter than most women. He liked the interest she had shown when they walked along the streets of Denver. She seemed in awe of the store and it was almost as if she had never seen a general store before. Patrick dismissed that thought as soon as he had it. Of course she had seen stores before. It was the 1890s after all and she was from the city. He could tell she had a hard time with him buying her things she needed. Well, that was another thing she would need to get used to. He intended to provide for her. She was going to be his wife, after all.

  Part of him wished the thirty days were up and he could marry her, but he somehow knew that she needed some encouragement before she would be ready to commit. He would use the next 30 days to get to know her, and allow her to get to know him. He felt excited that he would be able to spend time with her. It would be fun to t
each her how to ride a horse, to show her his ranch and the surrounding mountains: the best place on earth to live.

  ****

  Kimberly breathed a sigh of relief when Patrick announced that they were going to stop and rest the horses for a few minutes. Her bottom was starting to hurt and she desperately wanted to move around.

  She had actually enjoyed the first hour. After she had gotten used to the movement of the horse, she started to look around at her surroundings. The mountains were beautiful, just like they were in her time, although quite a few homes and towns had been built. In Patrick’s time, there was nothing but aspen and pine trees, meadows full of wild flowers, and small animals showing their faces every so often. Over the last half hour, they had started to follow a river, and Bridget had explained to her that they would continue to follow the river all the way to their ranch. Kimberly had always enjoyed the sound of running water, so she tried to concentrate on that as she became more and more stiff.

  Patrick came over and helped her off the horse, keeping his hands on her arms until he was sure she wasn’t going to topple over.

  “We will take a break for about 15 minutes,” Patrick told her and Kimberly nodded her understanding. “Are you hungry?”

  She shook her head. She was still full from the lunch they had eaten. “I am thirsty, though.”

  Patrick immediately provided a leather canteen and Kimberly enjoyed some cold clear water. “I would like to walk around a bit.”

  “Don’t wander off to far from us,” Patrick warned and Kimberly nodded her agreement. She needed to use some bathroom facilities and knew that there would be nothing around. Her choice was to wait until they arrived at the ranch or use a bush. She chose to wait.

  She walked along the edge of the river, stopping every so often to enjoy the water. She saw some minnows swimming in a shallow pool and bent down to touch the water which she found was ice cold. She scooped up some water and splashed it on her face, not knowing that Patrick was watching her. She stood and lifted her face to the sun, enjoying the rays. It felt so peaceful here and she slowly found herself starting to relax. It was nice to know she didn’t have to wake up the next morning and go into work at the hospital. She didn’t realize how stressed that job had made her until she had gotten away from the situation.

  “Time to go,” Patrick called and she returned to her horse’s side.

  “How much farther is your ranch?” She was careful to keep her tone of voice light, as if she was just curious and not because she couldn’t wait to get off the horse for good.

  “About another hour,” Patrick replied. He helped her up in the saddle the same way as before and they were soon on their way. Sure enough, an hour later they arrived at the farm. A man came up to them to help with the horses.

  “This is my brother, Shaun,” Patrick introduced the man as he helped Kimberly down. She noticed that Shaun didn’t have the dark red hair that Patrick or Bridget had. He had blond hair with blue eyes, and was almost as handsome as Patrick was. These O’Connor men were gorgeous and she wondered why they weren’t married.

  “It’s nice to meet you,” Kimberly told him, extending her hand which he shook.

  “Pleased to meet you,” Shaun drawled as he helped his sister down.

  Kimberly gladly gave her horse up to Patrick and started to walk around, trying to get her stiff legs to move properly. As she walked, she looked around for an outhouse, trying to remember if the toilets were outside or inside in this time period. Bridget must have noticed, and pointed Kimberly to the outdoor latrine to the side of a large house, and Kimberly headed towards it. Her long dress swished as she moved and she wished she could remove it and put on some pants. She was starting to realize learning how to get used to long dresses was going to be a challenge. In her time, she rarely wore dresses, preferring jeans and shorts, and of course she would wear scrubs to work.

  She stepped into the latrine and was surprised by the stink. She didn't think about the little details, like using the bathroom, would change so drastically. After she finished, she looked around for toilet paper, which she couldn't find. She did find a pile of old store catalogs in a basket on the floor and remembered reading that was what people used to use for toilet paper. Then she looked slightly more panicked for a sink to wash her hands in, which was also absent. She took a deep breath. She had a lot to get used to. She already felt covered in dirt, and realized she probably wouldn't have the opportunity to bathe as often as she had in her apartment either. She made a mental note to visit the river to rinse off as often as she could.

  “I will have dinner ready as soon as I can,” Bridget said when Kimberly had returned. “I know you are tired.”

  Kimberly nodded agreement at Bridget’s words. She wished she could just go to bed right then. She had never been as tired as she felt at that moment. Obviously, traveling through time was an exhausting experience. She almost felt as if she was going to topple over. She watched as Bridget left, walking towards what looked to be a large cabin. Kimberly slowly turned a full circle, noticing the buildings around her. There was the large cabin that Bridget had disappeared into. A short distance away there was a smaller cabin. She could see a large building that she figured was the barn since Patrick was leading the horses towards it. There were fenced fields surrounding them. Some of them had a few cattle and horses in them and others were empty. She also noticed a large fenced area that had been totally cleared of plants and she wondered if that was a garden.

  She wondered what she should do and finally decided to follow Bridget. Once inside the large cabin she quickly looked around. It was decorated simply, but she instantly felt like she had come home. There was only one level. She had walked into what looked to be the living room since there were a few sofas and chairs that was placed around a small table. There was a fireplace with a shelf above it filled with small animals carved out of wood and she wondered who carved them. She saw a large colorful braided rug on the floor. She could see the kitchen through an open door and could hear Bridget talking to someone, so she decided to head in that direction.

  When she entered, she immediately noticed Bridget at an old-fashioned wood stove, stirring something in a large pot. There was a large wooden table in the middle of the room with benches and wooden chairs surrounding it. A young girl was walking around it setting plates and silverware down. She looked up as Kimberly entered and smiled shyly at her.

  “Hello,” Kimberly greeted the girl. Bridget turned from the stove with a smile.

  “I’m glad you came in,” Bridget said as she continued to stir whatever was in the large pot. “I’m sorry for leaving you out there in the yard, but I wanted to make sure this stew was cooking properly.”

  “It smells delicious,” Kimberly commented. She wanted to ask how Bridget had gotten a pot of stew cooking so quickly, but knew that question might likely be strange to Bridget. Luckily, Bridget answered her unspoken question.

  “That is what’s wonderful about stew. You can start it in the morning and let it simmer all day on the back of the stove. It’s almost done.” She turned, walked towards a nearby counter, and started to stir a flour mixture. “I just need to get these biscuits in the oven. By the time they are done, the men should be here and we can eat.”

  Kimberly didn’t know what to say, so she just nodded. Suddenly she felt so tired she didn’t think she could stand another minute and sank down onto a nearby bench. She knew she should offer to help prepare the meal, but she didn’t think she had enough strength to even ask the question. She knew she wouldn’t be much help anyway. She hardly cooked at all in her time and she knew cooking on a wood stove would be very different.

  “I’m Colleen,” the girl told her.

  “That’s right,” Bridget said as she started to place spoonfuls of the biscuit mix onto a flat pan. “I should introduce you. This is Colleen, Shaun’s daughter.”

  “Hello, Colleen,” Kimberly said to the child. “I’m Kimberly Nelson.”

  “Are
you the woman Patrick is going to marry?” Colleen asked curiously.

  “I probably will marry him,” Kimberly answered and instantly wished she could take back her words when Bridget looked at her sharply. She knew this entire family was most likely planning that the marriage between her and Patrick was going to happen when the 30 days were up. In their minds, the marriage was basically a done deal. She was glad when Bridget just frowned at her and turned back to the biscuits.

  “I’m glad you came,” Colleen told her. “Patrick needs a wife. He’s getting too old.”

  Kimberly smiled at the child’s words. She knew Patrick was 30 years old and in her time, that was the age most men decide to marry. In the 1890s, it was probably rare a man had not married by the time he was 30. Even at her age, 25, a woman was considered an old maid if not married.

  “How old are you?” she asked Colleen.