by Kit Morgan
His father stood patiently as, one arm still around her, he held her hand with the other and steered her toward the house. He didn’t know what to tell his parents. They would ask why she was crying, and he didn’t want Lorelei to have to explain it. He didn’t want to try either.
His father led the way, the lantern lighting a path through the snow. Maybe she needed sleep – she’d said she was tired. Maybe everything had caught up to her.
“My goodness, what happened?” Belle asked as they brought Lorelei into the kitchen.
“It’s all right, Mother,” Jeff said quickly, hoping his own tears had dried enough not to be noticeable. “Today was a bit much for her.” That was at least part of the truth.
“I’m going to send for Doc Drake,” his father said again and headed for the door.
“No!” Jefferson and Lorelei said in unison. He looked at her as his throat grew thick. Whatever was connecting them tightened another notch – and it hurt.
Father held up his hand. “He knows … where she’s from. I’m thinking we might want to talk this out, since we’re the only people beside the MacDonalds who know.”
“And Adele,” Lorelei managed. “But I really just want to rest.”
His parents exchanged a look. “He has a point, Lorelei,” Mother said. “Maybe there are things we need to talk about.”
Jeff nodded. It made good sense. But he wasn’t going to press her, not in the shape she was in. “Lorelei, if you want to talk, we’re here. And we can get the doc too.”
She glanced at Jefferson, then Father, and swallowed hard. “Thank you, but I just want to go upstairs. I’d like to be alone right now if that’s okay.”
“Of course,” Belle said gently. “I’ll bring you up a supper tray.”
Lorelei smiled weakly. “Thank you.”
Jeff began to guide her out of the kitchen when Father stopped. “Belle, why don’t you take her upstairs, see if there’s anything else she needs?”
“Good idea,” Mother said as she pulled Lorelei out of his hold.
Jefferson almost doubled over at the separation. It hurt all over, like getting run over by a wagon. Whatever this was and however it was happening, it couldn’t be ignored. This wasn’t normal, and no one in Clear Creek would understand.
Well … maybe not no one.
“Jefferson. A word, if you please?”
Jeff sighed. He knew he’d have to face his father and his questions, and he wasn’t sure he had answers. But maybe a talk would help. And as soon as he had the chance, he’d ride to town and speak with Doc Drake or Grandma Waller. The doc knew miracles, and Grandma knew the MacDonalds – maybe one of them could explain all this.
Chapter Nineteen
“Adele and I could prepare you a hot bath,” Belle offered when they entered the bedroom.
“Yes, that would be nice.” Lorelei sat on Adele’s bed. “I’m sorry I fell apart.”
Belle sat next to her. “I understand.” She took her hand and held it. “I know the circumstances are strange. I don’t claim to understand them myself. We’ve known the MacDonalds for many years and have always found them to be trustworthy, but this …” She shrugged.
Lorelei frowned. She was spent, yet at the same time felt so much better, like a huge weight had been lifted off her inside and out. Confession was supposed to be good for the soul, but it was more than that and she knew it. “I don’t want to think about that now.” She looked at Belle. “Please?”
Belle put her arm around her. “Just know this. When Dallan and Shona left you with us and told us to care for you, that, to us, means in every sense of the word. You can talk to me if you wish.”
The woman’s kindness was like a healing balm on a bad wound. Only this particular wound had somehow just been cleansed by Jefferson and stitched up besides. “Thank you. But I’m too tired to talk right now. Sorry.”
“Don’t be. I know how it feels to have a good cry. And from the looks of you, you just had a great one.”
Lorelei smiled. “I did.”
“I hope my son handled himself.”
Lorelei met Belle’s gaze. “He was a perfect gentleman.”
Belle smiled. “I’m sure he was. What I meant was that Jefferson, like most men, can’t stand to see women cry. They don’t know what to do.”
Lorelei thought of Jeff’s tight embrace, his voice, his words, the thing that reached down deep within her and extracted her deepest fears … “He gave me what I needed at the time. It helped.”
“I’m glad to hear it.” She gave her a hug and got up. “I’ll have Adele and Parthena start heating the water for your bath.”
“Belle?” Lorelei’s heart warmed at the tender look on the woman’s face. “Thank you.”
Belle smiled at her. “You’re welcome.” She turned and left.
Lorelei took a deep breath and lay on the bed. It was as if everything within her had been poured out during her cry until there was nothing left but a blissful numbness. But what was now empty, she sensed, would need to be filled. With what, she had no idea. She couldn’t think – she was too tired, the result of more than just a good cry. It had been a cleansing.
“Jeff …” she said without thinking. She looked at the door. He’d rescued her in that woodshed, but how? And from what? She just knew it was bad and … old. Something that had been lurking in the deepest recesses of her heart, something bitter. But after years of not liking the person she looked at in the mirror every day, was it any wonder? Now her heart felt empty, ready to be filled with … what?
She lay there and stared at the ceiling until she realized she wasn’t afraid anymore. The fear was really gone. She smiled just as something deep inside “clicked,” fell into alignment. “Jeff?” She didn’t know why she spoke his name again. It just happened.
Lorelei ...
She sat up, eyes the size of platters. She’d heard him, she knew it, but not with her ears. She swallowed hard. “What the heck?” She sat very still, seeing if she’d hear her name again.
Nothing. She breathed a sigh of relief and fell upon the bed. How could she hear Jeff call her name … not in her head but in her heart?
Lorelei lay there and puzzled over it until she couldn’t keep her eyes open any longer and drifted into a dreamless sleep.
The next morning at breakfast it was all she could do not to stare at Jeff across the table. They’d shared something – he’d held her, comforted her, and was there for her in ways she couldn’t explain. She still had no explanation for whatever happened between them in the moments she stood sobbing into his chest. She wanted to ask him about it but couldn’t with the entire family sitting at the table. She’d have to wait for an opportunity with just him, or at least without the younger Cookes around.
But as soon as breakfast was done, he’d be off to do his chores and she’d have to help with hers. That was one thing about the 1870s she’d quickly grasped: the work was never done.
She ate her eggs, potatoes and bacon and tried not to look at him, but it was hard. Now that she’d been held by him and had cried her heart out in his arms, there was no going back to the way things were before, no “just friends.” Even her attraction to him had changed – now he was just there. In fact, he was everywhere, as if they were now two parts of the same person. Weird.
“I want you girls to hurry to get everything done before play practice,” Belle said as she began to clear away the dishes. “We have only two more and I’d like to get there early to check on everyone’s costumes.”
Lorelei’s eyebrows rose. “Only two?”
“Yes, Christmas Eve is just three days away.”
She stared at Jeff, who smiled reassuringly, and relaxed in waves. “Oh. I didn’t realize.” Her eyes locked with his and her chest swelled. It was as if she’d known him forever. She didn’t care if she was blushing – she couldn’t take her eyes from his. Something was different about him now …
“Jefferson, your father would like you to help him in the
mercantile today,” Belle announced.
He flinched in his chair. “What?”
“Yes, he needs to do inventory. Logan and the hands can handle things around here.”
“But who’s going to drive you and the others to town?”
“Logan is perfectly capable,” his mother replied. “So am I, for that matter.”
Jeff gave Lorelei an apologetic look. I’m sorry I won’t be here for you today.
She returned the look. It’s all right, I’ll get along.
He smiled and nodded in acknowledgement. He knew. Wow, they’d just done that. He could read her mind – and now she could read his. Whatever happened last night was powerful stuff. Did this happen to everybody, only nobody talked about it? Or was this something unique between them? Either way, it was trippy.
He gave her one last look – see you later – before he left the table, gathered his coat and hat and went out the back door.
She sighed and began to help clear off the breakfast dishes. Her heart was light, no longer weighed down by fear or her own self-loathing. She felt brand new, and she liked it.
“You look better this morning,” Belle commented as she took the dishes from Lorelei. “We never even got you into that hot bath. Sleep must have done you wonders.”
Lorelei smiled. “Yes, it did.” But it wasn’t sleep that had her looking and feeling this way – it was Jeff. Now more than ever, she thought that staying in this century might not be so bad. So long as she was with Jefferson Cooke.
* * *
Jefferson knocked on the door of the doctors’ house. He hoped Doc Drake was in.
The door opened. “Why, hello, Jefferson,” Mrs. Drake said. “What can I do for you?”
“Is your husband home, ma’am?”
“Yes – is there anything wrong?”
He glanced down the street at the mercantile. He told his father he needed a break from doing inventory and wanted to take a walk. “No. Yes. Really, I’d just like some advice.”
“Okay,” she said as her eyebrows rose. She too looked at the mercantile. “Is your father working?”
Jefferson took off his hat and twisted it in his hands. “Yes, ma’am.”
Her eyebrows rose again, and he knew what she must be thinking: What is it that you can’t talk to your own father about?
“Please, Mrs. Drake, I don’t have much time.”
She stepped aside. “Come in.” She turned to the stairwell. “Bowen?”
“Yes?” came the reply from above. Doc Drake appeared at the top of the stairs. “What is it, Elsie?”
“Jefferson would like to speak to you.”
“Oh, of course.” He started down the stairs. “Is this about Miss Carson? Is she all right?”
“Yes, sir. I …” He glanced at Elsie and back. “… well, can we talk in private?”
Elsie smiled. “Why don’t I go fix you both a cup of coffee?”
“That would be fine.” Doc came downstairs and motioned Jefferson to follow him. They filed down the hall into the kitchen where Elsie was at the stove, then continued to the patient room beyond.
As soon as Doc closed the door, he brought the two chairs in the room together and indicated Jefferson should sit. “Now what’s on your mind, son? Don’t tell me something’s ailing you?”
“Well, I’m not sure.”
“Oh?” Doc Drake stood as if to examine him.
“I’m not sick, if that’s what you think.”
Doc sat again. “Really? Then what is it?”
Jefferson sighed. “It’s about Lor … Miss Ca … Lorelei.”
Doc’s head tilted to one side. “What about her?”
Jefferson wiped his palms on his pants a few times. “Doc, do you know why the MacDonalds brought her here?”
Doc sat back in his chair. “No, son. I don’t know any more about that than you do.”
“Do you trust them?”
He nodded but said nothing.
“Why?”
Doc seemed to contemplate that. “Do you trust the wind?”
“What?”
He shrugged. “You can’t see it, I know, but can you trust it’s there?”
“Well … you see it in the trees, and can feel it in your hair and …”
“Exactly. Dallan and Shona are like the wind. You know they exist. You see them when they blow through town, you see and feel the effects of their passing through. Then they’re gone, everything settles and some things have changed. Look at Rufi Cucinotta and C.J. Branson. They’re married now.”
“Because of the MacDonalds?”
Doc smiled. “Indirectly. If they hadn’t come to town with their friends looking for that bird last summer, would C.J. and Rufi be married now?”
“I couldn’t say.”
“Let me put it this way – when the MacDonalds blew through last summer, they created the circumstances that put Rufi and C.J. together a lot. The result was they fell in love and got married.”
Jefferson stared at him, his heart thundering in his chest. “And this time they brought Lorelei.”
“Yes.” The doctor suddenly smiled. “Jefferson? Are you sweet on Lorelei?”
Dagnabit, how did the man know? Wait a minute – this wasn’t that. This was something way beyond that. This was …
Doc continued to look at him, the way a hawk zeros in on a mouse. It wasn’t a bad thing, he knew – it was when the doc closed his eyes that things … oh no! He closed them! Doc wasn’t just known for miracles of healing, but for knowing a man’s mettle. Doc Drake was a lot like Lorcan Brody in that he sensed things about people. The town was blessed to have these men among them. But Jefferson was nervous as to what the man might find in him.
Doc finally opened his eyes and stared at Jefferson in shock. “What’s happened to you?!”
Jefferson was too surprised and confused to lie about it. “Well, shoot, Doc, if I knew that, I wouldn’t be here asking you!”
Doc snorted in laughter, then stared at the floor in puzzlement. Finally, he said, “It’s as if … hmmm. You know, I’m not sure myself. What I can tell you, son, is that circumstances have brought Lorelei Carson to you. Now, what are you going to do about it?”
Jefferson’s eyes widened. “I don’t know what to do.”
Doc smiled. “What does your heart tell you, Jefferson?”
He swallowed hard and fought the urge to get up and leave. Maybe he should have gone to Preacher Jo instead. But then, he’d probably give him the same sort of advice – and worse, Preacher Jo didn’t know Lorelei’s secret. Doc Drake did.
The problem was … “But if I follow my heart, and the MacDonalds come back and take her away …”
Doc nodded. “That is a risk. But let me suggest something … if the MacDonalds brought her here to you – if that was their reason for bringing her here – do you think they’d take her away from you?”
Jefferson froze, his eyes wide. Could that be?
“I’ll let you think about that one for a minute. How about that coffee?” Doc opened the door and waved at Elsie. She brought them each a cup, set them on the hutch next to a basket of bandages, then smiled at Jefferson. “Would you like some cookies?”
He could only stare blankly at her – his mind was otherwise occupied.
“Yes,” Doc answered for him. “A small plate, if you please.” She smiled again and returned to the kitchen, and Doc took his cup and sat. “Have you spoken to your father or mother about this?”
Jefferson shook his head.
Doc smiled. “Have you spoken to Lorelei about this?”
That shook him out of his deep freeze. “We, uh … well, something happened and …”
“What happened?” Doc said sternly.
“Nothing bad!”
“I didn’t say it was.”
Jefferson swallowed again. “I held her, that’s all I did. She was crying, sobbing, and I kept holding her is all.”
“But?”
“But I can’t stop thinking abo
ut her. It was bad before, but now it’s almost unbearable. It’s like … like I have to be with her. I … just being here in town when she’s not is …” Jefferson sighed, unable to go on.
Doc smiled. “And does the young lady feel the same way?”
“I couldn’t say.”
“Then you need to find out and see where it goes.”
Did Doc think he was falling in love with Lorelei and nothing more? Though he was falling in love with her. It was all the unexpected extras with it that had him confused. He knew people could fall for each other quickly – his own family history provided several examples. But this need, this feeling that his heart was being ripped out of him … he hadn’t heard any stories like that. “Doc?”
“Mmm?”
“When you met Mrs. Drake … did you feel like you were being torn apart? Because that’s how I feel.”
Doc gaped. “No … no, I couldn’t go that far.” He thought for a moment. “Maybe it has something to do with her being from another time. Maybe when the MacDonalds come back …”
“… We could ask them,” Jefferson grumbled. “Yeah, I think a lot of us have a lot of questions to ask.” He shook his head. “They’ve done a lot of good for us, I know, but they sure left us in a real pickle this time.”
“Yes, I suppose they did.” Doc took a sip from his cup and handed the other one to Jefferson. “Here. You could use the pick-me-up.”
Jefferson took it and had a long drink, draining half the cup. “If someone had told me even a month ago that I’d fall for a girl from way in the future, I’d have told them they were loco. Now I’m not sure I’m not.”
“You’re not, I assure you. The situation is loco. But we’ll all do the best we can – and I have faith it’ll come out right. That’s how things are around here.”
Jefferson smiled. “Thank you, Doc, I think I understand.”
“Do you?”
“Yes sir.” Jefferson knew what to do, at least for now. He’d leave the stuff he didn’t understand for later. For the present, he’d follow his heart’s first instinct – to be with Lorelei Carson, to be there for her. He’d talk with his parents about it. And when the MacDonalds came back, he’d fight like a tiger to not lose her.