E. G. Parsons - Black Rock:

by A Time For Love

  "You need to learn a little patience, my friend. The time isn't right for you to return. You've only been here a little while. It will be a couple of months before you can safely go back."

  Brad drained his glass and threw it into the fireplace where it shattered over the logs stacked there. He glared at Davidson.

  "You'd better not be playing games with me, Davidson. I expect you to deliver on your promise."

  "I took you in when you came pounding on the door confused and disoriented. You were no longer in 1898 and thought you'd gone insane. I helped you understand what had happened and have given you a place to stay. Don't threaten me. I'll keep my promise, but it's not going to happen overnight. I suggest you go upstairs and sleep it off."

  Brad left without saying another word and Davidson heaved a sigh. Wellman was going to be trouble. He hoped he'd be able to keep him in line long enough to send him and Roxanne back to the correct time.

  * * * * *

  Roxanne sat on the back patio reading a history book, or trying to. She was unable to concentrate. They'd been here for two weeks and she didn't know how much longer she'd be able to take living here in such close quarters with Collin. He seemed to be making a habit of walking around half nude and brushing up against her. Then he'd make an exaggerated show of apology for getting too close. It was driving her crazy.

  When he wasn't driving her to the edge of reason, he spent his time working in his office. She knew he was working close with the police to locate Brad, but he was also working hard to keep his business affairs in order and was beginning to look very tired.

  Most nights he didn't come to bed until the early hours of the morning. She knew because she wasn't sleeping either. She'd toss and turn, twisting the bedclothes around her, thinking about the time they'd made love and wanting him so badly, she ached. Slamming the book on the table, she stood to go to the office.

  Collin hung up the phone after speaking with Inspector Calhoun. There was still no sign of Wellman. Collin hoped he'd gone back through the rock shortly after arriving here, but he still had Davidson to worry about. He was frustrated and tired. He wasn't sleeping, but that had nothing to do with Wellman or Davidson.

  His scheme to get Roxanne to come to him had failed miserably. All he'd succeeded in doing was to drive himself crazy. He walked around in a constant state of arousal. And when he should be working, he found himself thinking about the softness of her skin was or how her nipples would harden instantly at his slightest touch.

  He had an important case coming up for trial and needed to concentrate. Edie had noticed his absent-mindedness and suggested he turn the case over to one of his partners. He was beginning to think she was right.

  The door opened and the object of his thoughts walked in and sat in a chair in front of his desk.

  "We need to talk, Collin."

  "Good afternoon to you too, my sweet. You look beautiful today. That green sundress suits you."

  "Collin, I didn't come in here to pass pleasantries with you, but speaking of clothes, why is there no black?"

  "I believe I told Edie to purchase a black cocktail dress."

  "Yes, there is a black dress, but it's formal, not everyday wear."

  "You don't need to wear black everyday."

  "I'm still in mourning, Collin. It's not respectful to wear such bright colors so soon after losing Papa."

  "Those rules don't apply anymore. You have to remember that you aren't living in 1898 any longer. You've read enough history to know that customs are different now. It doesn't mean that people grieve any less, they just don't run around from head to foot in black anymore."

  "All right, lets not talk about clothes. That isn't why I came."

  "Just what is on your mind?"

  "This arrangement."

  "Yes?"

  "Collin, I'm going stir crazy. Isn't it safe enough now for us to go out somewhere? Must we spend every minute here in the house?"

  "I understand how you feel, but I really think we should wait at least another few weeks before going out anywhere. I promise to give you a complete tour of the city as soon as it's safe. I'll even spring for dinner and dancing."

  "Collin, how will we know when it's safe? Davidson hasn't tried to contact me again and Brad has never been found. Are we suppose to put our lives on hold forever?"

  "No, not forever, but another few weeks won't hurt. I promise then we'll go out somewhere and do something. Okay?"

  "There's something else."

  "What is it, Roxanne? I have lots of work to do." He needed to get her out of the room. The scent of woman and roses reminded him of their time in the cabin and was driving him wild.

  "I know. That's what I want to talk about. You look tired and I know you aren't sleeping well. I think you're working too hard."

  He stilled and looked directly into her eyes. "My work has nothing to do with my not sleeping and we both know it."

  Roxanne became flustered and looked away from the blazing amber.

  "If you're concerned that I'm about to collapse, you can remedy the problem."

  "I have no idea what you mean. Perhaps a glass of warm milk before bed would help."

  Collin chuckled. "No, I don't think that would help. What I need is your warm, naked body under mine, shivering with excitement."

  Heat spiraled through her at the image his words conjured. "Collin, you promised not to…"

  "No, I did not. I never promise anything I know I can't deliver. Why don't you put us both out of our misery? Simply say that you want me."

  She wanted to say the words. She wanted things to be different. If only Collin loved her, but he didn't and it was past time for her to give up that dream. Collin would never commit to one woman.

  "I don't want to discuss this. I'm going to my room." She turned and headed for the door.

  "You can run away, sweetheart, but you won't escape that burning ache of desire."

  The door slammed and she was gone. The pencil Collin held snapped in two and he threw it at the wall. The woman was driving him mad.

  Sixteen

  Collin had been avoiding her for the past two days. Roxanne didn't know which was worse, having him close and tempting her at every turn or this cold silence. She took her cup of tea out to the patio, hoping the beauty of the garden would help to soothe her jumpiness. She'd just begun to relax when Collin came looking for her.

  "Roxanne, there you are. I need to talk to you." Collin took the seat across from her.

  "Talk away, Collin, no one is stopping you."

  "Ouch…a little testy are we?"

  "You've completely ignored me for two days and now suddenly you need to talk."

  "It was either ignore you or throw you over my shoulder and whisk you up the stairs to bed."

  "Collin…"

  "Never mind, we won't go there. "I have news. I managed to rent a small cottage outside of town. We'll be using different names, Mr. and Mrs. Jameson, I'm Fred and you're Ida. I told them we're on our honeymoon and don't want to be disturbed. We'll pack our clothes and other stuff for an extended stay and go tomorrow to pick up the key."

  "You made all these arrangements without even consulting me?"

  "I did what needed to be done. You'd already told me you wished to stay here."

  "Yes, I do want to stay here. I have no intention of hiding for the rest of my life because of Bradford Wellman. He probably isn't even here in this time period. You've worked with the police and there's been no sign of him anywhere."

  "We can't be sure he isn't here and aren't you forgetting about Davidson?" He could pose a larger risk to your safety than Wellman."

  "I haven't forgotten about him, Collin. He may be a danger, but I'm not a baby now. He can't just pick me up and carry me to the rock. Besides…"

  Collin looked at her curiously. "Besides?"

  "Well, if there's any chance that I could go back and save Papa, then isn't it at least worth thinking about?"

  "No. Listen to me. Gene Dav
idson can't be trusted. He's a liar and a kidnapper of children. How could you even consider listening to him? He took you from your family when you were no more than a baby and sent you through time, not knowing if you'd live or die and not caring."

  "I know all that, Collin. I just keep thinking about Papa and the chance to help him, to see him again. I miss him so much."

  "I know you do." Collin reached across the table and took her hand in his. "I wish things could be different. I wish Jacob had lived, but, Darlin' you can't trust this man. Please believe me, he doesn't care about you. He has his own agenda and will say anything to get you to agree to his scheme."

  "Okay, I suppose you're right about him, but why hide out, Collin?"

  "I just don't feel that you're safe here. Davidson knows you're here and could be planning anything. Please come to the cabin with me, Roxanne. I truly think it's the best thing."

  "I'll go, but I won't hide forever, Collin."

  "It won't be for long, I promise."

  * * * * *

  Collin set their suitcases by the door and watched Roxanne come down the stairs. He couldn't stop the laughter from escaping when she stopped in from of him.

  "Collin, are laughing at me?" She gave him a severe look.

  "You do realize it's about 90 degrees out there already and going to get hotter?" He inspected her from head to toe and knew she was in there somewhere. He laughed even harder.

  "Stop it, Collin. I couldn't go out where anyone would see me in those clothes. It wouldn't be decent." Roxanne had been in a dilemma when she'd been getting dressed. Everything was so revealing. She'd finally settled on pants, a blouse and a long bathrobe over all.

  Collin managed to control his laughter and reached over to pull the bathrobe off her shoulders.

  "As charming as you are in this, I can't allow you to go out like that. You'd have a heatstroke. The jeans and shirt will be okay, but a sundress or shorts would have been more comfortable for you.

  "You think I'm being ridiculous."

  "No, I think you're charmingly modest, but trust me on this. You will garner a lot more attention trying to cover up than by wearing normal modern clothes."

  Roxanne grinned. "I guess the bathrobe was a little too much."

  "Just a little. Come on let's get going. You're going to love this little place."

  * * * * *

  The cottage set up in the hills about ten miles out of town and it made Roxanne nervous. It was the perfect place for lovers. Completely isolated, the little stone house sat at the end of the road surrounded by trees and had a lovely little stream in back. It reminded her of Collin's place, where they'd made love. How was she ever to resist Collin in this adorable hideaway?

  "What do you think of it?" Collin asked. As soon as he'd seen it, he'd thought of his cabin where they'd made love and knew it was the perfect place to be alone with her.

  "It looks very comfortable. The porch faces west, we'll be able to watch the sun set from here."

  Collin looked over at her, disappointed in her answer. "Yep, and there's a large deck across the back, according to the owners. So we can watch the sun rise from there."

  Walking up the steps to the door of the cottage, she turned to look back at him. "Well, let's go in and have a look."

  They went through the house, inspecting all the rooms. They were small and cozy. There was a large stone fireplace against one wall of the living room. That room was open to a kitchen and dining area. There was only one bedroom and a large bathroom.

  Roxanne looked over at Collin. "There's only one bedroom."

  "Don't worry, I'll sleep in here." He went to a door off the kitchen. It opened into a small storage room that had been converted to a sleeping area.

  After inspecting the house, they opened the French doors off the kitchen and walked out on the large deck.

  "Oh my. Collin, it's so beautiful!"

  The deck overlooked a small meadow covered with tall grass and wild flowers. The stream could be seen winding its way at the back of the open area and down the hill. As they watched, a doe walked slowly out of the woods and into the meadow, looking cautiously around. A spotted fawn followed and they began to feed.

  It was such a lovely sight, Roxanne smiled brightly at Collin and he took her hand as they watched for a while before returning inside. As Collin brought the things from the car, Roxanne inspected the kitchen. It wasn't as well equipped as Collin's, but still very different than she was used to.

  Leaving the kitchen she wandered into the main room and saw a large black box with a glass front sitting in the corner. She had no idea what it was and left it to sit on the plump sofa. Seeing a strange little black box on the table in front of the sofa, she picked it up. It had strange buttons labeled with numbers. One of the buttons said power and she pushed it.

  Her heart almost leapt from her chest and she jumped from the sofa and ran into the kitchen when the large black box sprang to life.

  Horrible strange music came from the box and demon like creatures were screaming some kind of horrible chant. Collin entered the house with the last box of groceries and found Roxanne standing in the middle of the kitchen staring at the TV.

  He grabbed the remote from her stiff fingers and turned the television off. Wrapping his arms around her, he held her tightly. He'd forgotten to explain about the television.

  "It's okay, Sweetheart. It's not real. It's called a television and that was a group of musicians wearing heavy makeup. It's moving pictures."

  Roxanne frowned. "A vitascope projector? I've never seen a motion picture before. I never thought they'd be like that."

  "Yes well, it's come a long way since the late 1800's and now it's broadcast into homes through the television."

  "Do we have to watch it? I don't like it."

  "Well, I think that channel may be a bit much for you, but I'll find something calmer that you might enjoy. Trust me?"

  She looked into his shining eyes and felt foolish. "I trust you. I know I must seem very silly to you."

  "Of course not. How are you to know about things you've never seen before? Don't feel foolish or silly. It's a normal reaction. I'm the one who's sorry. I don't have a television at the house and had forgotten to explain about them. Forgive me?"

  "There's nothing to forgive, I just feel foolish for acting that way." She pushed away from him. "I'm grateful, if you weren't here, I'd be helpless."

  Collin grinned. "If there's one thing I've learned about you, it's that you are anything but helpless. If I weren't here, you'd take the bull by the horns and the modern world by storm."

  She blushed with pleasure at his words. "I'm glad you have so much faith in me, but I have so many questions."

  "Ask me whatever you want. If you don't ask, how are you to learn?"

  "Okay, later when we're both relaxed I'll bombard you with questions."

  "Good. Now why don't you go try out that shower while I put the food and stuff away?"

  Roxanne had always used the tub at Collin's house, but here there was only a shower. She used the shampoo Collin had given her to soap up her hair as the warm water poured over her body. It was such a heavenly experience. She loved soaking in a tub, but this shower thing was fantastic.

  After drying off, she donned the big bathrobe that Edie had bought for her and felt more decently covered than in the modern clothes. It had long sleeves and reached to the floor. She knew she'd have to adapt to this modern way of running around half naked, but it was going to take some time.

  After combing the tangles from her hair she went to find Collin. He was sitting on the sofa, holding the box for the thing he'd called a television and the pictures kept changing.

  He looked up as she entered the room and smiled. "How did you like the shower?"

  "It was wonderful. Very exhilarating."

  "Come here, Roxanne, I want to show you something."

  When she sat down by him, he held up the little black box. "This is called a remote control. It operate
s the television without having to get up and go over there. You can turn it on, off, change the channels and adjust the volume up or down."

  He demonstrated how all the controls worked and Roxanne became fascinated with pushing the buttons. He laughed and left her playing with it while he went to shower.

  Roxanne wasn't paying much attention to what was on the TV, but was fascinated by the remote. After a time she began watching a program about a dog that got into all kinds of trouble. She became engrossed and when Collin returned, she was curled up on the sofa with tears streaming down her face.

  Sitting beside her, he tried to pull her close, but she resisted and he let her go. "What's the matter? Why are you crying?"

  "Collin, it was so sweet. That little dog didn't have a home and he had so many problems. But then he found a family to love him."

  Laughing, he hugged her briefly. "So you like TV now?"

  Roxanne sat up, looking at him seriously. "Collin, could we have a dog? I've always wanted a dog."

  Collin looked at her tear-streaked face and glistening eyes and knew he'd never be able to refuse this woman anything she asked for.

  "I think that can be arranged. In fact it's a good idea. He can keep you company and offer some protection while I'm working.

  Roxanne clapped her hands together. "Oh, I can't wait. When can we get him or maybe her?"

  "I'm going into town tomorrow to speak with Inspector Calhoun about your kidnapping and I'll see what I can find at the local shelter."

  "I want to go too, Collin."

  "I'd love for you to go, but you know that's not possible right now. I don't want to run the risk.

  "What risk?"

  "That Davidson may spot us and follow us home or we may run into someone in your family. Are you ready for that?"

  "No." Roxanne turned away from him, feeling like a coward.

  Collin stood and pulled her onto his lap, holding on to her when she would have pulled away.