10 Timeless Heroes; A Time Travel Romance Boxed Set
Page 160
With a resigned sigh, she slid the lovely rose-colored robe off and tugged on the trousers. They were loose, but not enough that she’d need a belt. The stiffness against her skin was not as bad as she’d feared. In fact, they were comfortable, aside from the unfamiliarity of them.
What would Brendan think of her, wearing men’s clothes? She didn’t know why it mattered, but it did—even if he wasn’t the mortal man he appeared to be. Mayhap the humiliation of men’s britches was part of her atonement.
Apparently there was no chemise, or else this was the chemise and there was no shirt. The heat of a blush spread across her face and neck. Soft as it was, how could she wear it with nothing else to cover her? At least it wasn’t made of coarse hair that would scratch against her. There were no buttons, so she pulled on the top.
The supple fabric caressed her skin with each shift of her body. She bent and pulled at the material, but it stretched with her. More magic, she supposed, but this was a good kind. Sure and that was an encouraging sign, wasn’t it? Mayhap her time of penance was to be a short one.
Blossom hurried into her room, a pair of odd shoes in her hand. She, too, wore trousers, and it puzzled Deirdre. Did even angels do penance in this place?
Before Deirdre could ask, Blossom handed her the footwear. “I found a pair of Keds I think you can wear. And here’s a pair of socks to wear with them.”
Deirdre took the shoes and socks from her, wondering what a Ked was? When Blossom had mourned the loss of Deirdre’s shoes, Deirdre hadn’t admitted the slippers she’d lost with their ragged soles were hardly worth a care.
She pulled on the socks then slid her feet into the shoes and tied the laces. A little snug, but not too bad. The soles of these were thick and springy, so she stood and practiced walking in them. “Now aren’t these lovely? A stone couldn’t poke through the bottom and they’d protect a person’s feet for a long time before the soles wore thin.”
Blossom blinked and looked puzzled. “Brendan said you want me to come along.” She stepped to the mirror and fluffed her lovely curls.
“If you don’t mind. I feel better when you’re around. Not so confused.” Safer, with Blossom to buffer her son.
Blossom frowned. “What was I thinking? I shouldn’t have let you sleep before a doctor had examined you. You looked so tired, but you might have a concussion. Dave—he’s my doctor friend—is coming by later to check you over.”
Deirdre certainly didn’t need a doctor poking at her or applying leeches. The thought made her shudder. “I’m fine, just a little mystified by everything new.”
Looking relieved, Blossom smiled. “Mystified? Of course, as you were in the bathroom earlier. Don’t worry, dear. I don’t know how you arrived on your own, but we’ll see no harm comes to you now you’re here.”
No harm would come to her?
Deirdre treasured the reassurance Blossom offered, but it left her no closer to determining how she’d make her way in this new place. She was halfway lost in thought as she accompanied Blossom to the other part of the house.
Brendan didn’t stare at her trousers, but he gawked at her top where it pulled tight across her breasts. The humiliation was difficult to bear, but she’d carry out her penance with all the dignity she could scrape together. Didn’t she want to proceed to the next afterlife?
Mayhap she did and mayhap she didn’t. Sure and she wanted to move on if it meant heaven. She was in no hurry to go the other direction.
He opened a door to the outside and held it for them. It wasn’t the way they’d come in, and was overshadowed by a mountain. “If we don’t hurry, Jim will be there and gone.”
After they passed through to a large porch, he shut the door behind them. Steps led to a walk cut through a grassy lawn. Trees lined a short drive. She recognized larkspur and roses growing in the garden, but the bright yellow and red flowers weren’t familiar to her. Wondering at flowers in Purgatory, she thought mayhap angels like Blossom needed beauty nearby.
Brendan waited for them to move off the porch then he turned and jiggled the doorknob.
Blossom leaned near Deirdre’s ear. “He always checks to make certain it’s really locked. Police detectives are not very trusting people.”
“Police?” How odd that Purgatory would have need for police, as they did in Dublin, and for sheriffs. What would the police do? Was not everyone here either doing penance or administering it?
“Yes, police. My son’s a detective with the Radford Crossing Police Department. He was badly injured on duty and has to recover before he can return to work.”
“Radford Crossing is a big place then?” Must be as big as Dublin if it had police.
Blossom appeared to think it over. “About fifty thousand people. It’s the largest town around until you get to Fort Worth, a giant compared to here at Possum Kingdom.”
Fifty thousand people in one city? Less than three dozen families lived at Ballymish.
She wondered if this Possum Kingdom was the name of a part of Purgatory or if she’d arrived in another limbo. “So, your home is in this Possum Kingdom?”
“Actually, Brendan calls it my home, but he bought it for me several years ago when he inherited money from his late father’s family. Just like him to be generous with his money even though he pretends to be gruff and cynical. Of course, he lives in Radford Crossing near his work.”
Why was money needed in Purgatory? There was a lot she didn’t understand. Blossom seemed agreeable to answering questions. But before Deirdre she could ask anything else, Brendan spoke.
“No need to give our entire family history, Mom.”
Deirdre wished he hadn’t stopped his mother. It would be nice to learn more about this kingdom—and about him.
They reached a shiny blue coach. Deirdre hesitated, stupefied. She’d never seen anything like it in her life. Then, she remembered that this was her afterlife.
The conveyance had odd, fat wheels, just like a white coach beside it. There was no wagon tongue. How would Brendan hitch the horses? She peered through the windows. This was no ordinary coach. Was it a trap?
Brendan opened both doors on one side, as if he expected her to climb in. Again she wavered, undecided whether to get inside or run away. Should she flee to the brush-covered mountain? To do so, she’d have to abandon Cathbad and her belongings.
Besides, the good saints must have intended her to meet up with this man who called himself Brendan, for they had indeed brought her to him. But why? She decided time would reveal the purpose.
Blossom patted Deirdre’s shoulder then hopped into the back. “Dear, you take the front seat with Brendan.”
If Blossom thought it was all right, perhaps it was. Cautiously, Deirdre entered the coach. The seats were smooth and wonderful, covered in fine gray leather soft as kid gloves. Brendan closed her door then went around to the other side and climbed in behind a wheel similar to the one he’d used on the magic boat. She’d give this coach a chance, but she was ready to leap out if she sensed danger.
“Fasten your seat belt.” He strapped himself in place.
She pulled at the shoulder strap as he had done his, but it didn’t budge. She paused in her efforts as panic struck her. “Please, I don’t want to be tied to the seat.”
He ignored her. “Here, I’ll do it.” He reached across her and pulled the binding forward.
His face was only inches from hers. Their lips almost touched. He smelled like fresh air after the rain and morning sunshine and pinecones from the forest. She stopped caring about being strapped in. Instead, she breathed in deeply while scandalous thoughts raced through her.
His breath fell soft on her mouth and he stared into her eyes. He didn’t move. Their lips almost touched.
In twenty-five years of life she’d never been kissed on the mouth. Only family had kissed her cheek. Wasn’t it time she experienced a man’s lips on hers?
He blinked and ducked his head to fasten the strap at her hip. “Er, um, you put this me
tal part in the fastener here. Don’t they have seat belts where you’re from?”
She exhaled. “No.” Saints forgive her, a regular Jezebel she’d become, boldly wanting him to kiss her. But she’d sensed a connection when he’d gazed at her. How could that be?
Perhaps Brendan had experienced the same sensations. His hand shook when he poked beside the wheel with a piece of metal shaped like a tiny sword. A new sound started, like the boat but not as loud. Recalling her vow not to scream again, she clamped her mouth shut and gripped the edges of the seat.
They were flying. No other coach or cart ever moved so fast. As they proceeded along the road, she saw other coaches without horses and decided this must be the way people traveled in the hereafter.
Amazing. Magic.
The speed of everything whizzing by made her dizzy, so she closed her eyes and leaned back against the seat. At least the strap kept her from jostling and jarring when the coach hit potholes. How funny that bad roads also existed in the afterlife.
Soon their movement slowed and she opened her eyes. They turned onto a red dirt lane. After a few minutes, they passed through a gate and wound up a hill through trees and brush. Funny looking black cows with sleek coats and no horns grazed on the sparse grass.
The sheriff’s man, Jim, stood beside a black and white coach. When they stopped, he walked toward them and wrenched open Deirdre’s door.
She shrunk back. What did he intend for her?
He had his little book in his hand. “Ma’am, can you show us where the people were when they chased you?”
Deirdre couldn’t get out. Brendan reached beside her hip, pushed something on the fastener, and she heard a latch opening. The restraining strap flew from her to its holder, hitting her chin on its way.
Jim extended his hand. “This way.” He looked back at Brendan, who walked behind them with Blossom. “You were below this point, right?”
Overwhelmed by the heat of Brendan’s hand along her hip followed by the smack of the strap, she strove to follow Jim’s directions. Deirdre stared around her. If this place was supposed to be the cliff near Ballymish, a demonic trick had changed it. There was none of the look of her village here.
Brendan nodded and pointed. “I lined up this direction from the Boy Scout camp’s dock.” He moved five feet to the left. “I’d say here’s where she jumped.”
Deirdre shook her head. She didn’t understand why they acted as if this was the place from which she’d leaped. Had they passed her village while her eyes were closed?
“No.” She looked around. Everything was different.
Everything.
There were plenty of rocks, but they had a different color to them. She recognized small daisies, but other wildflowers she’d never seen dotted the land. She inhaled an enticing scent and thought it came from the small, bushy evergreens. The other trees nearby were lacy ones she didn’t recognize.
Where was Ballymish?
Where were the fields?
Where was she?
Chapter Four
Slowly, Deirdre turned in a circle. “This isn’t right. It can’t be.” In spite of her vow to stay calm, panic rose like bile in her throat.
What had happened to the village and the people who lived there? Where were the stone fences, the green fields, the crops, the sheep, the cottages? It was as if she were in a different place.
Why had they brought her here? Did they intend to confuse her. Trick her?
The sheriff’s man said, “Ma’am, show me where the people who were chasing you stood, especially the one who threw rocks.”
“I-I can’t.”
She walked to the edge of the cliff and looked down. Surely they weren’t going to push her off the edge. She would have run the other way, but Blossom put an arm around her.
Blossom hugged her shoulders. “Is coming back here too upsetting?”
Deirdre nodded, for she couldn’t speak. She hadn’t noticed earlier when she was in the boat, but now she spotted another shore not far across the water. Could she have fallen into a bay?
No. She knew there was no land visible from the cliff near Ballymish. For most of her life, whenever she felt sad or upset, she’d sat on a large boulder and stared out at the endless sea.
Dizziness overcame her, and she dropped to her knees. She forced herself to peer over the edge. “The water looks different, too. It was churning before, with waves crashing against the cliff.”
“What?” Brendan walked over. “There were no waves. It was dead calm, which is why the fishing was so bad.”
“How can this be? Sure and it must be a trick of the Devil.” Shaking her head again, she trembled and fought the terror washing through her. Something horrible was wrong. “Everything is different. Are you sure your boat was below here? Mayhap it was another cliff.”
His hands firm and insistent, he helped her rise then pointed. “See those kids playing across there, near that dock? That’s the Boy Scout camp at Johnson Bend. Look to your right on this side of the shore, there’s Mom’s house at that point of land. Do you recognize it and my boat tied up at the dock near the boathouse?”
She took a deep breath and tried to speak. Her heart pounded in her ears. How could everything have changed?
Her words, when she found her voice, rasped out in a hoarse whisper “Yes, I...I see...the house.”
Merciful heaven, what had happened? Her legs threatened to give way again and she gripped Blossom’s arm for support. “Is the land we’re standing on Hell’s Gate?”
Behind them, Jim answered, “Been called that for over a-hundred-and-fifty years, ever since Comanche Indians caught those two trappers here.”
Talk of Indians and trappers made her head whirl more. She needed to sit down but she turned slowly again and searched for anything familiar. “D-Do you know which way Ballymish is from here?”
The sheriff’s man frowned. “Never heard of it. Have you, Brendan?”
Brendan wondered what she was trying to pull. “Nope.” Maybe she’d realized there was a hefty fine for jumping from the cliff and had made up the story to evade a ticket. But why leap with a cat she obviously cared about? Plus, there were the bruises and the rock. Maybe she’d gotten a ride with some nasty gang members. Or, a boyfriend might have hit her and tossed her off the cliff.
As if she’d read his mind, she looked up at him. “I’m not making it up. They were chasing me. It...it looks different now, but I’m not crazy and I didn’t imagine it.” Her already pale skin had lost all color and her eyes were wide and frantic.
He feared she’d pass out. With a nod to his mom, he led Deirdre away from the edge and back to the car. “Sit. Mom will keep you company. I’ll have a word with Jim and then we can go back to Mom’s house.”
Jim waited at his patrol unit. “This doesn’t add up. What do you make of it?”
“Beats me. She seems genuinely surprised.” He looked at Deirdre. No one could fake the horror he’d seen reflected in her eyes. She was obviously unsettled, but Blossom was talking to her.
He turned back to Jim. “Doctor’s coming over this evening to check her over.”
Jim’s eyebrows shot up. “Your doctor makes house calls?”
Brendan laughed. “For Mom he does. Dave Roan’s sweet on her and comes whenever she beckons.”
“Dr. Roan? Man, I tried to get an appointment with him but he’s not taking new patients.”
“I know, but he’ll see this one for Mom.”
Jim sagged against his car. “To tell you the truth, I don’t know what to make of her claims. There’s that rock with the blood on it, and the cut on her forehead. Other than that, there’s nothing. Can’t see how anyone could have chased her up here.” He opened the door and tossed his notebook onto the seat of his patrol car. “Any ideas?”
Brendan shrugged. “Maybe it was all a dream from that blow on the head. Maybe she tripped out on something. How the hell would I know?” He met Jim’s gaze. “Maybe she’s wacko.”
Frowning, Jim glanced to where Deirdre and Blossom waited then faced Brendan. “I’ll check with you after Dr. Roan sees her. I don’t like people playing tricks on me. I find out she has, and I’m slapping her with a ticket.” He started to climb into his patrol car.
Brendan laid a restraining hand on his shoulder. “Jim, you get the feeling she believes all this crap she told us?” Brendan’s gut clenched. Against reason, but he thought she told her wild tale as fact. So, what had happened?
Jim shook his head, disgust and anger evident. “If she imagines there was a mob up here chasing her earlier today, she needs to be locked in a padded room. No one drives up here without passing through the gate down there, and that’s always locked.”
There’d been heavy dew the night before and signs of their tires were easily visible in the dirt. No other vehicle tracks showed. “You said there’d been other jumpers. How did they get up here?”
“Just this month two kids climbed over the fence and walked up. Jumped together on a dare. Damned near drowned.” Jim nodded toward the camp across the water. “Lucky for them several Boy Scouts saw them. Two of the leaders rescued the jumpers while another called an ambulance.”
Brendan looked back the way they’d come. “Can’t see a mob climbing the fence and chasing Deirdre all the way up the hill. You sure the gate was locked?”
“You know how protective cattlemen are with ranch land. Cattle guard’s not enough to keep out rustlers and vandals.” Jim held up a keyring. “I had to get the key from Mr. Gibson. He almost came with me. Made me promise to bring it back as soon as we’re clear of the place. Most people I’d follow out, but I trust you to snap the padlock shut on the gate hasp when you leave.”
Jim waved and drove away. Brendan watched until the patrol car disappeared around a clump of cedar and mesquite trees. Damned if he had an explanation. If Deirdre was putting them on, she was a darn good actress.
Back at the house, they all went into the kitchen.