“Aye.”
“You know what seems really weird to me?” the lad continued. “There’s no plastic in this era. Plastic is everywhere in my era. It’s also weird to live without refrigerators and electricity.”
“Dare I ask?” Daniel muttered. He’d heard of electricity, though he’d never seen it employed for any practical purpose, but he’d never heard of plastic or refrigerators, not that he could recall, anyway. “What is plastic?”
“You don’t remember seeing plastic water bottles on the ground in Garretsville when you haunted there?”
“I do not.”
“Hmm. It’s difficult to describe something comprised of such unlikely chemical compounds.” Oliver’s brow creased. “It’s a material made from a number of organic ingredients such as cellulose, coal, and crude oil. In my time, scientists have also figured out how to make some forms of plastic using corn.”
“Corn?” Daniel cast him a look of surprise.
“Yep. Plastic isn’t just one thing though. Some plastics are extremely thin and flexible while others are rigid. Bags, storage containers for food and other stuff like plates and cups are made of plastic. In the future, milk and a whole bunch of products are stored and sold in plastic containers.” Oliver shook his head. “It’s not good for the environment though, and by the twenty-first century, plastic has become a problem, especially the bags, which are not biodegradable.”
He couldn’t imagine what plastic might be like, so he had no idea how the stuff might be a problem. He chose to let the matter drop and forged on. “What about a refrigerator?” Daniel asked.
“It’s like a big metal box that keeps food cold so that it stays fresh longer.” Oliver used his hands to demonstrate the size.
“An icebox then.”
“Yes, except you don’t have to put any ice in it to keep things cold. Refrigerators run on electricity, and a coolant circulates through coils in back to extract heat from the air inside. They also have freezer compartments where you can keep meat and vegetables. Some of them even have icemakers built in.”
“I’ve no notion of what a coolant might be.”
“They’re also chemical compounds, only their function is to draw heat out of their surroundings. Refrigerators use a coolant called tetrafluoroethene, which doesn’t cause holes in the ozone layer like its predecessors, chlorofluorocarbons.”
Gad, his head was beginning to spin. “What’s an ozone layer?”
Oliver huffed out a laugh. “It’s complicated. Come to think of it, everything in my era is complicated.”
“You seem quite knowledgeable on the subject.” There was more to Oliver than met the eye, and he couldn’t help being a little impressed.
“Yeah, well, I’m studying to be an environmental scientist, so I’ve learned a lot about chemistry, biology, ecology and the like.” He glanced Daniel’s way again. “Do you remember the gift shop in Garretsville? That shop has a refrigerator where cold drinks and snacks are stored.”
“I don’t remember anything about the gift shop.” He frowned. He had a vague memory of watching Meredith as she wrote down the names and birth dates of his family. Somehow he knew that had taken place in the gift shop Oliver referred to, but he couldn’t recall a single detail about the interior.
“Oh well.” Oliver shrugged. “Things are much simpler in your time than they are in ours.”
By ours, Oliver meant his and Meredith’s century, and that brought to mind the argument he’d had with Charles about who belonged where. The obstacles he faced to secure a future with Meredith loomed larger every day. “Different, perhaps, but not necessarily simpler.” At least, not to his way of thinking.
“So, what are you going to do when the ambush is behind you?” Oliver asked, sliding an assessing look his way. “Will you return to our century with Meredith, or will you remain here in yours?”
“You are blunt, and that’s a fact.” Heat surged to Daniel’s face, and his heart pounded. “So I’ll be equally blunt. It’s none of your damned business.”
“I know it’s not, but you’re like two star-crossed lovers, and I can’t help finding the drama riveting.” He shrugged. “I’m one of those people who always reads the end of a book first. Then I go to the beginning to find out how the characters arrived at that ending. That’s why I want to know now.”
Daniel’s jaw clenched. “Hmph.” That Oliver saw them as entertainment rankled.
“I have a suggestion,” Oliver continued as if completely unaware of Daniel’s reaction to his rudeness. “The two of you should sit down together and make separate lists of pros and cons for staying in this time or returning to the twenty-first century. Like, how would you benefit in either scenario; what would you each lose by choosing to leave your time for the other’s? Then, combine them. Cross out the cons you have in common because they’re a given and should cancel each other out. It’ll be easier to decide when you can visualize which choice has the most pros for you both.
“I’ll consider your suggestion. In the meantime, I’d appreciate it if we could change the subject.” Again the lad surprised him. His suggestion made sense, and it would be helpful for him and Meredith to create a visual while discussing the issue. Already Daniel’s list of pros for staying in this time was taking shape in his mind.
“When you and Meredith arrived, you mentioned that, though you’d never laid eyes upon me, you felt my presence. What did you mean?” Daniel asked.
Oliver launched into a description of the chill accompanying the dead, hair-raising encounters, and his near possession. Daniel encouraged the lad to continue, only half listening. At least he and Meredith were no longer the topic of the day. An occasional “oh” or “ah” kept Oliver going, and he was free to think about how best to convince Meredith they’d both be better off in his time.
Meredith snuggled closer to Daniel’s side, luxuriating in the heat he radiated. It couldn’t be much past 8:00 PM, and she’d just been thoroughly adored through the Cavanaugh method of premarital lovemaking. That thought brought a smile to her face.
Daniel turned to his side, and drew her against his naked chest. “This is nice, isn’t it love? We’ve the cabin to ourselves all night and most of tomorrow.”
“Most of tomorrow?”
“Aye, it’s an eight-hour journey from Hellgate to Garretsville. Even if Charles and Oliver leave at dawn, they still won’t arrive home until two or three in the afternoon. However, Charles likes to tarry over a good breakfast, particularly if someone else makes it for him. They won’t set out until half past eight at the earliest.” He gave her shoulders a squeeze.
“They’ll eat, and then Oliver will likely want to purchase some keepsake from the trading post.” Twining his fingers with hers, he brought her hand to his mouth for a kiss. “If we want, we can spend the entire morning naked.”
She snorted. “Do you want to spend the entire morning naked?”
“Perhaps.” He tipped his head to grin at her. “I’ve this fantasy, you see.”
“Oh?”
“Aye.”
“Go on,” she prodded.
“We’d both be naked, and you’d be stretched out across the kitchen table.” He ran his hand down her side to her hip and squeezed. “I’d sit before you, spread you wide and feast on you instead of eggs and biscuits.” His hand continued downward to her sex, arousing her with gentle touches and teasing strokes.
“First, I’ll caress, kiss, lick, and nip every inch of you until I bring you to a frenzy,” he told her, his voice a sexy rasp. “Then, I’ll settled between your lovely thighs to lick your sweet cunny until you come.” His sighed. “I love watching you come, and that’s a fact.”
Inordinately pleased that Daniel fantasized about her, Meredith’s pulse raced. After all, she fantasized about him in much the same manner. “Sounds good to me.”
“Aye, and just think what it’ll be like to share the secret of what we did on that table thereafter.”
“You’re a little bi
t twisted,” she said as she laughed.
“I’ll not deny the accusation.” He winked at her. “What about you, love? Do you have any fantasies you’d like us to act out?”
“This,” she said, nuzzling his neck. “Being with you while we’re both alive was my fantasy, and acting on my desire is the bravest most adventurous thing I have ever done.”
Daniel smoothed the hair back from her forehead and kissed her lightly. “Has it been worth the risk?”
She sensed his uncertainty—or perhaps it was insecurity? She heard the unasked question …am I worth the risk you took? Her heart turned over in her chest, and her eyes misted. “Yes, beyond anything I could have imagined.”
Daniel went quiet for a few moments, and he raised himself up to sitting. “Are you tired?”
“Not particularly.” She arched a brow. “Why?”
“I think we should begin the conversation we need to have.”
“Now?” Her heart wrenched. She didn’t want to tell him of her decision, and part of her hoped … Best not even think about what she hoped.
“Aye.” Daniel threw off the covers and got up. He crossed the room to the small writing desk in the corner and pulled out the single drawer. Taking out a stack of paper and two pencils, he continued, “Each of us will create a list of pros and cons for our own personal thoughts on the matter of where we’ll settle. So, you’ll make a list of the pros for staying with me in this time, and a column for the pros of our returning to your time—plus the cons for both. I’ll do the same. Then we’ll compare.”
Her curiosity piqued, Meredith couldn’t deny she wanted to see what he’d put to paper. “All right.” She rose from bed. “Let’s do this downstairs at the table.”
“Aye, but we’d best put on some clothing, else we’ll not get anything done.” He reached for his night shirt where it hung on a peg. “I’ll make tea.”
She snatched up her nightgown from the end of the bed. “I don’t suppose you have a bottle of wine stashed away.”
“Sorry.” He pulled the nightshirt over his head. “Charles and I enjoy a drink as much as the next man, but we’ve both seen the results of the poor judgment imbibing leads to. The consequences are far worse out here on the frontier. We agreed not to imbibe at all until our fortunes are secured and our business plans are well and truly underway. Same goes for gambling, though I’ve never been much inclined to do so anyway. I’ve worked too hard and suffered too much to fritter away my money over a game of chance.”
“Sounds reasonable.” She still longed for a glass or two of a nice red wine. However, it was unlikely anything resembling good red wine could be found in Garretsville. Daniel headed for the stairs, sheets of paper and two pencils in hand, and she followed.
“Meredith, we’re not to include family on our lists. This is to be about you and me.”
Her brow rose. “But—”
“I’ve already determined that if I return with you, we’ll first make a trip to Ireland. My younger brother is nearly grown. I’ll bequeath my half of the Hannigan & Cavanaugh partnership to him, and I’ll see to it that he is properly educated, thereby securing my family’s future. I’m sure Charles would be willing to take on the role of guardian until David reaches his majority. He’ll train my brother in all he needs to know to become an equal partner.”
Her breath caught. Well this is huge and mind-altering. He’d obviously given the matter a lot of thought. Hell, Daniel had even come up with a solution for fulfilling his promise to his family. Still, thinking wasn’t the same as doing. “What would you do in the twenty-first century?” she asked.
“I’d take my time, learn the lay of the land, and once I chose a lucrative career path, I’d continue my education to that end.” He moved to the cook stove and lit the fire already laid for morning.
Meredith filled the kettle, mulling over everything he’d revealed. Now his questions about how Brían’s clan went about assimilating into the modern world made sense. “You’d give up everything you’ve built here and start over from scratch … for me?”
“I wouldn’t give up everything, love. I’ll bring a fortune in gold coins with me.”
How would that work? How would he explain having a horde of nineteenth-century gold coins in his possession? He’d be accused of counterfeiting, or at least he’d be under scrutiny. “I suppose you could sell them over time to collectors,” she muttered. “I wonder if they’d test as genuinely from this era?” she mused.
“What’s that?”
“The gold coins would be considered collectibles.” She set the kettle atop the stove. “Gold coins aren’t used as currency in my time.”
“If that’s the case, wouldn’t they be worth even more than their face value?”
“I suppose they would.” For the next several minutes, they both worked to get the tea ready and the table set for their task. Meredith went over what she’d write as she fixed her tea and took a seat. She picked up a pencil and drew four columns along the sheet of paper. Two for staying; two for returning. One column for pros, and one for cons. “I’m ready.”
Daniel chuckled. “It’s not a footrace, love. Go ahead. I’ll be with you in a moment.” He gathered a lantern, lit it and brought the light to the table. The sun hadn’t set, but it would soon. Finally he sat down, and the inside of the cabin grew quiet except for the scratching of pencil against paper and the occasional sipping sound as they drank their tea.
The top of the pro columns for staying or returning were easy. She and Daniel would remain together. As far as her era went, she listed advances in medicine, technology, and gains made regarding women’s rights and equality. She considered a lifestyle that was considerably less physically difficult due to grocery stores, central heating, electricity, and indoor plumbing.
Meredith bit her lip, unsure whether the lack of physical activity could really be counted as a pro. Maybe not, but on the other hand, people lived longer in the future. She waggled her pencil and frowned.
“What has you so perplexed, Meredith?”
“Trying to decide if an item is truly a pro, a con, or neutral.”
“Put it under both columns, and we can discuss the matter together.”
She nodded. “I know this is random, but ever since I arrived, I’ve been wondering. Who smokes the pipe sitting on the end table? I’ve never seen either of you smoke.”
“No one. Charles lost both his parents during the potato famine. The pipe belonged to his father. Charles brings it with him everywhere and sets the pipe where he can see it and be reminded of his da.”
“I had no idea he was so sentimental.”
“Aye. He also brings his mam’s tortoise shell combs with him everywhere we travel.” Daniel grinned. “He tries hard to hide his softer side.”
Several minutes ticked by as they finished their columns. When leaving out family, the list of cons seemed short, while the loss of her family caused her the most pain in considering the cons. Still, this was not her century, and who could say how being here might affect the future?
She’d been inoculated against the diseases that were the most deadly in the nineteenth century, and she’d live through history rather than studying the subject in books. She’d also have foreknowledge of things to come, which would helpful. She lifted her pencil and studied her lists. “I’m finished.”
“As am I. Shall we trade? We can look them over and discuss the matter.”
She snorted. “Are you always this methodical?”
“I can be when I set my mind to a task.” Grinning, he handed her his sheet in exchange for hers.
Her heart melted. At the top of both his pro columns, being with her headed the list. Under that, in the staying column, he’d written they’d be wealthy, and he could provide her and their offspring with a very good life. On the going to the future pro list, he’d stated his interest in becoming familiar with the technologies of her time. He also wrote that he wanted to meet and get to know her gifted family. She’d also l
isted meeting and getting to know his family on her pro list too, even though they’d agreed to leave family out of it.
Sighing, she shook her head. “Our lists are too similar to help us make a decision.”
“Mmm.” He raised his gaze to hers, his expression held so much love and tenderness, her breath caught. “I agree, and yet this exercise proved most beneficial, aye?”
“How so?” Mesmerized, she couldn’t tear her eyes from his.
“Up until now, we’ve tiptoed around our feelings for one another. Neither of us have been willing to make any kind of declaration because of the differences in our places in time. Our attachment to family has also had a stifling affect.” He held up her piece of paper. “Yet, these columns offer visible proof, and it’s time.
Her brow rose. “For what?”
“Time to be honest with one another. I love you, Meredith MacCarthy, and more than anything, I wish to share my life with you.”
Her eyes filled, and she feared her heart would beat right out of her chest. “I love you too, Daniel.”
In an instant, he was at her side, lifting her into his arms. “Shall we go back to bed and celebrate?”
Nodding was all she could manage.
He put her down and led her upstairs, where he enacted his fantasy from earlier, even though she wasn’t draped over the kitchen table.
Hours later, drowsy, sated, but unable to sleep, Meredith went over their conversation as Daniel’s occasional snore punctuated his steady breathing. Yes, they’d admitted they loved each other. Yes, they’d admitted to wanting a future together. Yet, neither had actually stated they’d be the one to relocate.
Realization hit her. Daniel’s pros and cons exercise had nothing to do with deciding who would make the sacrifice. Had all his talk been about seductive persuasion in a way that made sense to a man with a nineteenth century mindset? Men were the breadwinners. Women were mothers and wives, not professors at private colleges. They’d be wealthy. He’d provide her and their children with a good life. Wisely, he’d made no demands that she stay. His was a stealthier, sweeter campaign meant to win her over to his way of thinking in small increments.
Summoned in Time: A magical, ghostly, time travel romance... (The MacCarthy Sisters Book 3) Page 21