Lightning Only Strikes Twice

by Fletcher, Stanalei

  “You shouldn’t have gone to all the trouble. I’m not really hungry.” Her stomach wasn’t queasy any more, but her appetite hadn’t yet returned.

  “You ought to try and eat to keep up your strength.” Casey looked over at the bag on the bed. “Found your clothes, I see. You’re almost ready to go home.”

  Annie held up the arm with the IV. “As soon as the doctor takes this thing out, I can finish dressing.”

  “I don’t know when he’ll be here. Why don’t you have a bite while you wait,” Casey said as she left.

  Annie contemplated the empty closet and missing shoes a moment longer and then walked back to the bed. Picking up the carton of milk from the breakfast tray, she opened it. As she took her first swallow, another knock sounded.

  That must be Luke.

  She turned, ready with a welcoming smile.

  Her smile froze as a stocky man stood in doorway. He wasn’t Luke, but he looked familiar. It took her a moment to place him. Then she remembered. He was Maxwell Development’s property manager.

  “Miss Crawford?”

  “Come in,” she said.

  He stepped just inside the door and glanced around as though being a hospital made him uncomfortable. He looked at Annie. “My name is Harold Wade. I work for Mr. Maxwell.”

  She set the milk carton on the tray. “I remember. Is Luke with you, Mr. Wade?”

  “Call me Harry. Everyone does,” he said. “Mr. Maxwell was treated and released last night.”

  “Oh,” Annie said, confused by his statement. “I didn’t realize he’d been hurt. But he’s okay now?”

  “He’s under doctor’s orders to rest at home today,” Harry said.

  Disappointment soured the milk she’d swallowed. She had hoped Luke would come for her. She sighed. Maybe it was better this way. At least she’d have a chance to clean up before she saw him again. “What can I do for you, Harry?”

  “Mr. Maxwell instructed me to take you home. Has the doctor released you yet?”

  “Not yet.” A tall, lanky, white-coated physician stood behind Harry. “I was just about to examine Miss Crawford.”

  The speed at which events were happening left Annie struggling to keep up. The pace in White Rock never moved this fast.

  She forced a smile for the doctor. “I am feeling better and would love to go home,” she said. “Except I don’t have my shoes.”

  “I’ll check with the nurse,” Harry said, obviously eager to give her privacy with the doctor.

  The doctor stepped aside for the property manager to pass and then closed the door to a crack. He looked at the chart in his hand, then at her. “Annie Crawford, I presume?”

  She nodded. “That’s me.”

  “I’m Dr. Michaels. Do you mind if I check you over? I’d like to make sure you’re not going to have any lasting effects from your accident yesterday.”

  Yesterday? Surely, she’d been gone longer. “Okay, I guess…” she said uncertainly.

  The doctor laid her chart next to the breakfast tray and secured a stethoscope in his ears. “Sit here on the bed, please.”

  Annie complied and held her breath as he placed the cold metal above her left breast and listened to her heart. He moved it to her back. “Take a deep breath,” he said. Annie inhaled and let the air out through her mouth. “Good.” He moved the stethoscope to the other side. “Again, please.”

  The clinical process was as familiar as it was unwelcome. All her life, she’d blindly accepted impersonal medical care. How different this examination was from Dr. Smyth’s casual manner. She preferred the country doctor’s homey approach to this stiff inspection of her body.

  Dr. Michaels finished and draped the stethoscope over his neck. After jotting some notes in the chart, he fished a pen light out of his pocket. “Let’s take a look.” Pointing over his left shoulder, he said, “Look over here.” He flicked the light over her right eye. “Now over there,” he said indicating the opposite side. Then he flicked the light to her left eye.

  He lowered the pen light and Annie blinked away the white spots while he fitted a nozzle on the tip. He brought it up once more and checked her nostrils and both ears.

  “Is everything in the right place?” She tried to lighten the somber examination.

  The doctor’s lips twitched. “I thought I saw daylight on the other side, but that’s not too uncommon,” he joked.

  Annie smiled, until his probing fingers found the tender spot on her head where she’d struck the side of the tree. “Ouch.” She winced.

  “Hmm…What have we here?” He lifted the hair off her temple. “Looks like a bruise, what happened?

  “I think my head hit a tree.”

  “Yesterday?” the doctor asked surprised. “This show signs of healing already. Are you sure this didn’t happen earlier?”

  How was she supposed to answer that? She couldn’t very well tell him that it had happened three weeks ago when she landed in White Rock, 1891.

  “Ummm….” She offered an apologetic smile. “I guess I don’t really remember.”

  “I’ve seen people heal quickly, but this is remarkable.” He made some notes on his chart and then continued his examination checking the tops of her shoulders and along her neck. “Hold out your hands.”

  Annie frowned, puzzled at the request but stuck out her hands for the doctor.

  He held them and peered at her fingers before turning them palm up and running his thumb over her wrists. His touch was gentle, but nothing like when Luke held her hands.

  “This is even more unusual,” he mumbled as he continued to examine her hands.

  “What are you looking for?” she asked.

  “I don’t understand why you don’t have burns on your skin.”

  “Why would I have burns?”

  “According to the reports, you were struck by lightning.” Releasing her hands, he entered more notes on her chart. “You should have some burns.”

  “I guess the reports were wrong.”

  He didn’t look convinced. “Perhaps.” He looked pointedly at her untouched meal tray. “The emergency staff reported that you were nauseated when you came in. I see you haven’t touched your breakfast. How are feeling now?”

  “I did try the milk.” She shrugged. “I feel fine. The dizziness that made me sick is gone.”

  He gave her a quick smile. “Milk’s good, but you need to eat some food.”

  “I will. When I get home. When can I go?”

  Dr. Michaels appeared to give her question some consideration. “I’d like to see you in my office next week for a follow-up.” He took a card from his pocket. “Call and make an appointment.”

  Annie took the card. Under his name, she read the words General Practitioner and glanced at him in surprise. “You’re not a specialist?”

  “I’m Mr. Maxwell’s family physician. He asked me to personally oversee your case.” The doctor picked up her chart and tucked it under his arm. “I don’t see anything here that leads me to believe you need a specialist.” He pointed a long finger at her. “To be on the safe side, I want you to call if the queasiness reappears or if you start having headaches. Understand, young lady?”

  Annie had been about to object, but closed her mouth and nodded.

  “Good.” He smiled and headed to the door.

  “Wait,” Annie called. “Don’t you need my insurance information?”

  Dr. Michaels waved as he opened the door. “All taken care of. I’ll write up your release for the nurse.”

  After the doctor left, Annie sat on the bed chewing on her lip. She gazed at the card in her hand. Dr. Michaels was Luke’s doctor. He wasn’t billing her for his services. That was a good thing, because the hospital bill for her overnight stay would be plenty. She would have to set up a payment plan with accounting department to keep from dipping into her savings.

  She brought herself up short. How quickly she’d slipped into the present. It was almost as though everything she’d experienced in White
Rock had been a dream.

  Harry stuck his head around the door and tapped. “I couldn’t find your shoes, but the nurse found these for you.” He held a pair of disposable slippers.

  “I suppose they’re better than bare feet.” She smiled. “Thank you.”

  He placed them on the bed. “I talked to Dr. Michaels outside. He said he was releasing you. Are you ready to go?”

  “As soon as the nurse takes this out.” She held up her arm with the IV tubing.

  “How about right now?” Casey breezed in once again. She gave a pointed look to Harry. “The waiting room is down the hall to your right.”

  Harry ducked out of the room looking afraid that he’d be the next one to take a needle.

  Casey removed the IV and left.

  Annie shed the hospital gown and finished dressing. No sooner had she put on the slippers than another knock came at the door. Busy place, she thought. “Come in,” she called.

  Harry pushed the door open. “Ready?”

  She gave him another smile. He appeared as anxious to leave the hospital as she was. “Yes.”

  She picked up her purse and Harry helped her into the required wheelchair. They made the short elevator ride to the ground floor in silence. It seemed Harry Wade wasn’t the talkative type.

  In no time, Annie was belted inside one of Maxwell Development’s blue-and-white pickup trucks. “Are you ready, Miss Crawford?” Harry asked as he climbed into his side.

  “Please, call me Annie.”

  “Annie. That’s a pretty name.” He maneuvered the truck out of the parking lot. “Which way to your house?”

  “You can take Broadway south to Pennsylvania Street.”

  After circling the parking lot, he turned the truck onto Broadway. “You’re sure you’re feeling well enough to go home? I’d feel responsible if you left the hospital too soon.”

  “I’m fine,” she assured him. “Actually, I feel quite well considering all that’s happened. How’s Luke?”

  “I haven’t seen him since he was released from the hospital, but when I talked to him on the phone this morning, he sounded pretty good.”

  Annie sighed in relief. “I’m glad.”

  “You and he are awfully lucky to be alive, you know,” Harry said.

  “Why do you say that?”

  The property manager grunted. “If I hadn’t seen that lightning strike as I left, you both could’ve died out there.”

  “You were there?” she asked, surprised. “I thought we were alone in the grove.”

  “I was just heading down the road when I heard the loudest thunderclap of my life. I turned my truck around so fast, it made my head spin. I drove as close to the old mill as I could, but I still had to climb that tailings pile. I thought I was gonna break my neck.”

  Annie dreaded the next question, afraid it would negate everything she believed had happened. But she had to ask. “How—how long…” How long were we gone? The words wouldn’t come.

  “How long were you out?”

  She nodded, swallowing.

  He scratched his head. “I don’t know for sure. Time seemed to go real slow when I was running to get to you and Luke. I was praying hard that you two hadn’t been anywhere near that lightning strike.”

  “I’m sure we weren’t. The doctor didn’t find any burns.”

  “Maybe he didn’t find burns on you. But when I got to the forest, that old pine was smoldering. Smoke billowed right out of the center of the trunk. Directly underneath it lay you and Mr. Maxwell.” He slowed for a traffic light and glanced over at her. “Amazingly, there was hardly a scratch on either one of you.”

  “That can’t be right!”

  “It’s the truth, Annie. Saw it with my own eyes.” Harry engaged the gear and accelerated out of the intersection. “The bark was charred right off that tree. You’re real lucky.”

  “Yes. Real lucky,” she repeated. She stared out the window as they drove past gas stations, businesses, and fast food restaurants.

  He slowed the truck and took the corner to her street.

  “Which one?” he asked as he crept along looking at the houses.

  Annie pointed toward a condo duplex on their right. “This one.” She looked at the place she and her grandfather had called home the last few years before his death. The only thing unique about her house and the one next to it was the number on the door and the bright-red mailbox.

  Harry parked on the street in front. He hopped out and strode around the truck.

  Annie opened the passenger door and Harry helped her down.

  He followed her to her front door. “Is there anything I can do for you?”

  She dug through her purse and retrieved the keys. The same purse and keys that she’d wanted desperately to find those first few hours in White Rock.

  “Where’s my car?” she asked.

  He took the key ring from her hand. That was when she saw her car key was missing.

  “Mr. Maxwell’s having your car brought down tomorrow. He borrowed the key.” Harry studied the set of keys for a moment and selected one to put in the lock. It didn’t fit. He tried another and the door swung open.

  “I’ll need my car for work. Couldn’t we go get it now?”

  “Sorry.” He shook his head. “Mr. Maxwell’s orders.” Harry shrugged as though the matter was closed. He placed a hand on Annie’s back and ushered her inside.

  Annie wondered how she was going to get to work without her car. In fact, she wondered if she still had a job. She’d been gone so long…

  She glanced around her modest living room. Everything was just as she’d left it.

  As if she’d never been gone.

  “Maybe you should call your work and take a few days off. The doctor said you should rest. I think he’s right. You’ve been through a lot.”

  “I don’t know...” Annie said absently. The doctor told her the accident was only yesterday, but that couldn’t be right. She turned to Harry. “What day is it?”

  “Sunday, of course.”

  Annie swallowed the lump that suddenly appeared in her throat. “Of course it is.”

  To everyone else, only twenty-four hours had passed. They couldn’t possibly comprehend what she and Luke had gone through.

  Harry peered at her face. “Girl, are you sure you’re okay?”

  She shook herself and smiled. “I’m fine.” She crossed to the side table cluttered with last week’s newspaper. Friday’s date screamed out at her. The grainy photograph in the center of the page caught her attention.

  There was Luke, smiling into the upturned face a striking blonde. The headline underneath the photograph promised future wedding bells for the attractive couple.

  Reality crowded around her. She was back in the present. Whether nor not she’d truly traveled through time, or instead, had experienced a horrible nightmare, nothing would be the same again.

  She placed her purse over the newspaper, covering the photograph. “I’ll be fine,” she whispered. “I have no choice.”

  Chapter Fourteen

  Monday morning, Luke woke to the luxury of his old bedroom in his father’s house. Early dawn pushed through the wood shutters on his balcony window and glinted off the cherry wood wardrobe. Each piece of furniture had been in this room for over ten years, and was as familiar to him as his own face. Seeing it now through different eyes, it was as though he’d returned after a long trip.

  Two days had passed and regardless of what he believed to be true, nothing in his life seemed to have changed.

  His father had insisted Luke spend the weekend at the estate where the staff could care for him after the accident. Yet, as soon as Luke was settled, the elder Maxwell jetted away to Brazil to oversee a plantation purchase. To be fair, his father had been concerned about Luke’s health, but once he realized Luke was fine, he’d left.

  Luke was expected to uphold the Maxwell standard of good health and great wealth with dignity in the face of adversity. Alone.

&nbs
p; Luke had done just that. A day or so taking it easy around the house, a couple of good nights’ sleep in his old room and it was as though the accident never happened.

  His mother, God rest her soul, would have been proud of how he handled the paranormal experience with the typical Maxwell aplomb.

  Considering the events of the past few weeks, where his body had grown leaner, Luke felt incredibly healthy. If Emmaline hadn’t made a scene at the hospital, he would have stayed at his apartment in town. Instead, he took advantage of his father’s staff to inform Emmaline he was under strict doctor’s orders. No visitors.

  He had a lot to think about and he didn’t want any interruptions.

  That wasn’t quite true. There was one person he wanted to see.

  Annie.

  Since he hadn’t been allowed to drive yesterday, he’d made certain she was getting the best of care. Dr. Michaels reported a satisfactory examination and released her from the hospital. Harry had seen her safely home.

  To ensure she wouldn’t try to drive for a least another day Luke had left instructions not to have her car delivered until later this evening.

  Even if what they had experienced wasn’t some otherworldly phenomenon, something had happened to them. He took responsibility for her safety. He’d had his office send a bouquet of flowers with a get-well card. It wasn’t enough, but would have to do until he could see her in person.

  Something he planned to do today.

  He was finally rested enough to tackle the events of the last forty-eight hours. If only things weren’t so muddled. He didn’t know how to broach the subject of time travel without sounding like he’d lost his mind.

  He needed a better grip on the truth—to prove it wasn’t all in his head. Especially since both Harry and the rescue team had reported that he and Annie had been unconscious for only a few minutes.

  Had it been a freakish accident or had they actually lived in 1891? He wouldn’t find answers lying in bed.

  He shoved aside the bedding and buried his feet into deep pile carpet. The softness was foreign yet familiar at the same time.

  He padded into the bathroom. Maybe he hadn’t changed that much. His clothes hung a little more loosely on his body, but physically he didn’t feel different.