This time I didn’t need to ask how Miss Everly died because I recalled it was from a carriage accident.
I looked in the oval mirror that stood in the corner of the room. I looked like I was from the era; I looked elegant once again.
“Ah, now, aren’t ya a pretty thing,” Nancy said pulling me away from the mirror. “You can go down the stairs and join the party.”
“I will be observing alongside the guests, Nancy. I’d like it if you held my secret like you did my great-grandmother’s and Mr. Lockhart. I will go by Mrs. Bailey so that the men here think me to be married.”
“Oh, yes, dearie. I understand, Mrs. it is.”
I left the small room and took the back staircase, peering around a corner until I found the right room. I wouldn’t be hiding in the same room as before. This time I was going to be joining the guests. I found them all talking and sipping brandy in a large room with a gigantic fireplace.
I found a bunch of women and I joined in casual conversation. Things had to be different this time, much different, for this to work.
The women were speaking of the death of Miss Everly and how tremendously awful it was. I didn’t chime in, but I did act solemn like they did. It wasn’t hard blending in. They were a lot like the gossipy girls at my high school. You just had to nod and laugh at the right times.
“Ahem.” A loud cough behind me startled me.
I turned and faced the man from which it came. Jackson Ridgewell Jr. had once again made himself known the same exact way as before.
“I don’t think I’ve had the pleasure of an introduction,” he said as he smiled at me with his beautiful grin.
“I’m Mrs. Bailey,” I said with confidence. I couldn’t falter, not even in the slightest. I had to stay strong and remember that this was the best thing for us, for him.
“How do you do Mrs. Bailey? I’m Jack—”
“Of course you are. I know who you are Mr. Ridgewell. This party is in your honor,” I said. It felt fake, but I had a role to play. Always observe, never intrude.
He was still the epitome of hotness in a late twentieth century way. Being in his presence made my heart beat faster, still. I hated being dishonest with him, even if he didn’t remember who I was.
“Do you have a first name, Mrs. Bailey?”
“Of course I do. It’s Emmeline.”
“What a beautiful name. Why are you in here alone? Where is Mr. Bailey?”
My heart skipped a beat as I lied.
“My husband is in America. I came here on his behalf. He apologizes for not being able to attend. We wish you a safe trip, Mr. Ridgewell.”
I smiled, and he took my hand and kissed it gently. “Thank you, Mrs. Bailey, for coming. I do hope you’ll stay for dinner.” He was totally flirting with me.
“Thank you, Jack. I will if I have time.”
His smile grew large and he nodded. He pulled away from me and turned to walk away. I felt my heart die as he did.
What we had was now gone. I had changed our first meeting, and in doing so I had erased all memories we had made. They were gone from his mind and he would only ever know me as Mrs. Emmeline Bailey, if he remembered me at all. I, though, would never forget him and what we shared.
Jack Ridgewell taught me to love and to let down my guard. He taught me that I could let people into my life and even if that meant losing them, I would be all right. I had loved him and lost him, and I survived. I had become a better person, a stronger person, for it.
And I had known a love that was beautiful when I was with him. Jack’s life would be better now. He would do all that he set out to do, but without the interference of me.
I watched him walk away, but before I turned to leave, he stopped. He turned around and looked at me, and said, “Mrs. Bailey, have we met before?”
I wanted nothing more than to tell him we had. Or that maybe in another life we would. Instead I said, “No, we haven’t.”
He laughed. “That’s funny because you look familiar somehow. And you called me, Jack. Only my friends call me Jack.”
Shrugging, I replied, “Guess I’m your friend now, Jack.”
He looked like he wanted to say something else, but he was bombarded by a man and his wife, thankfully. I had done what I needed to do.
It was time to leave. I felt the pull coming along just in time, and I walked out of the room and out of Jack’s life. I wouldn’t be coming back. Jack’s story had been told, and I knew his future. There was no need for me to preserve it any longer.
Thirty-Four
Spring was in the air once again, and besides fall, it was a close favorite of mine. With the harsh winter gone, the colors of the trees came back. And life awoke once again. It seemed like life was flying by since I moved back home. Thinking about the winter I had first arrived made it feel like a lifetime ago. We had a bonfire with the crisp spring night air surrounding us. The fire rose and warmed us as we sat by it and ate our fill of pie and caramel apples that Becca brought from the coffee shop.
Rose drank her iced tea and told us how the building of her new office was going. She finally was getting what she needed for her career, and I was never as happy for her as I was then. Rose was a talented doctor and she was needed in this town.
I was still the librarian, and I wasn’t going to be doing anything different anytime soon. I did decide to change my major, though, which didn’t surprise Tarryn or Becca in the slightest, but Rose was shocked.
“I thought you wanted to be a teacher.”
I laughed and sipped my coffee. “I did. I needed a challenge though.”
She side-eyed me. “Yeah, I’d say that getting your master’s in Library Science will be a challenge for you.”
I chucked my caramel apple at her and she dodged it.
“Hey! No wasting apples!” Becca yelled. “It took me forever to make those, you know?”
I held up my hands. “Sorry. But she made me.” I pointed at Rose, who smiled guiltily.
“Aren’t you going to be late, Emme?” Tarryn asked as she looked at her watch.
I checked the time, and she was right. I was going to be late. I got up from the chair and grabbed my coffee. “Time for me to head out.”
Rose looked surprise. “What? Where are you going?”
“She has a date,” Tarryn teased.
“With that hot construction guy?” Rose asked.
I laughed. “He’s more than a construction guy and his name is Jason, remember?”
Rose had met him once at an end of the autumn party. I didn’t expect her to remember the meeting since she got wasted that night.
I was still seeing Jason, but I asked him to not rush things. I couldn’t fall head first into a relationship after everything I went through. I needed to go slowly and he understood.
“I’ll see you girls later.”
“Yep, we’ll meet you there!” Tarryn called out.
“Don’t forget to bring some of that pie, Becca,” I reminded her.
“Why am I not invited?” Rose pouted.
“Aren’t you on the clock?” I asked pointing to her scrubs. She giggled and sipped her tea.
“I’m on my lunch break. Have fun, Emme. Tell construction guy I said, ‘Hi.’ ”
I waved and got into my truck. The engine roared to life, and I took the streets with the windows down.
Gram would be proud of me for starting my life over like I did. I was proud of myself, too.
It wasn’t easy starting over in Bay Ridge after college, but I did it. And it wasn’t easy acclimating to the idea that I had a talent with books that no one else did in this town. I ran the library and was going back to school to be an official chronicler.
I missed Gram on nights like this. I even missed my parents. I wished they
were all still with me, but since they weren’t, I would do them proud. I would do the Bailey name proud, tonight and all the nights after this.
I pulled into the driveway, this time it wasn’t dead, but full of cars.
The old Ridgewell home was lit up so bright you could see it from here. I got out and walked down the now finished walkway. The house wasn’t up and running for business yet, but Jason was throwing a small party in celebration of getting the form of approval for historical preservation, which meant he would preserve the house with help from the Historical Society of Maine. His friends and family were gathered there to celebrate, and my friends would be joining in the party soon. I wanted to get here first though, before them. There was something I needed to do.
I stared at the beautiful home where Jack and his family lived. It was breathtaking.
Jason had done so much to it in these last several months, making it look just like new. Jack would have loved it.
“Emme, there you are,” Jason said, coming out of the house and down the stairs. “I saw your car pull up.”
He looked handsome. He always did, but tonight he looked less like the construction guy and more like the well-dressed man who had stepped into my library the first night. I didn’t like to admit it, but he was really adorable that night, now that I think back on it. He had come in there to meet me, and looking at it now, he had to have been nervous. I wasn’t nice to him on the phone. But he came there anyway. He took the risk.
I took the risk now, and I walked up to him and threw my arms around his neck and kissed him.
It wasn’t a light kiss, but more like a ground shattering kiss. One that you never forgot.
He pulled back and said, “Wow. I don’t know what I did to deserve that, but please do it again.”
So I did.
Jason Ridgewell was making his way into my heart, even if I wanted things to slow down at first. I couldn’t help but let him in. He was perfection, and I wouldn’t let that slip out of my hands, not again.
I never looked at him and saw Jack anymore. Instead I saw the guy that was winning my heart with every word and every look.
We broke apart and he grabbed my hand. “Come on inside, beautiful. There are some people I want you to meet.”
“Who?” I asked curiously.
“No one important, just my mom and dad.”
I clenched his hand nervously. Was he serious? They were the most important.
“You are so gonna get it. This is trickery!” I said, jokingly.
“Maybe so. But I look forward to you getting back at me. When will that happen?”
I laughed. “You’re naughty!”
“Yep. And you love me.”
I stopped. “I do.”
He looked at me seriously now. Not laughing or joking. “Do you? Love me?”
I shrugged my shoulders, nervously.
“Maybe I came here early to tell you that I love you.” I smiled, trying to hide the nervousness that filled my whole body. I was shaking a little.
He faced me and placed his hands on my cheeks lightly, caressing me and softly said, “If you did, that would be fantastic because I love you, Emme.”
He kissed me and pulled back too soon.
“We have people to meet, don’t we?”
He sighed. “We do. I wish we could run off and be alone, but we have a whole house full of people who want to meet you, the famous librarian of Bay Ridge. I’m happy that you came here to tell me that.”
“I’m glad you are. I was nervous.”
He acted like it didn’t matter. Like me telling him I loved him wasn’t a big deal.
“I don’t open up to people, Jason. But with you, I feel like I need to. I feel like we’re going to be something important,” I said. “And I didn’t want to rush it.”
“You can’t rush things that important. But you also can’t deny feelings this strong,” he said matter-of-factly. “Now, we have people waiting for us.”
I grabbed his hand and pulled him up the stairs.
“You better get to introducing me then, Mr. Ridgewell.”
“I look forward to it.”
I decided to take Gram’s advice that she had given me the day we buried my parents. She told me to live my life and to be strong. That my parents gave me this life, as a gift, and I had to live each day, thankful for what I had and who I would be.
I was thankful for what I had and who was in my life now. I was also proud for who I became. I was a Librarian who could travel back in time and record history. I was given this gift by my family, and I intended to use it wisely from now on. In life we have small moments and we have a lot of them. Those small moments are what define us as human beings. They can break us, yes, but it’s how we rebuild ourselves after that makes the difference.
The End
Acknowledgements
To CHBB, thank you for saying, “Yes” to The Librarian.
You saw something in this story and I am so glad you did.
To my Royals for quite possibly being the most amazing group of supporters ever.
To fans and readers that I’ve been blessed to have acquired over the years: Thank you for reading my books; for spending your hard earned money on them, and leaving reviews to help me grow as a writer. To my friends, family and daughters, thank you for seeing me for who I am and loving me.
The Author
Christy Sloat resides in New Jersey with her husband, two daughters and her Chihuahua, Sophie.
Christy has embraced the love of reading and writing since her youth and was inspired by her grandmother’s loving support. She loves adventurous journeys with her friends and can be known to get lost inside a bookstore.
She is the Best Selling author of twelve novels including, The Visitors Series, The Past Lives Series and Slumber.
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