Back In Time: A Historic Western Time Travel Romance (An Oregon Trail Time Travel Romance Book 3)

by Susan Leigh Carlton

  “I want to call Julia too. I want to set up the note business with them too,” she said.

  “We’re going to be just like Star Trek. We’re going to ‘boldly go where no man has gone before,’” Barry said.

  “Except Angie did it. She didn’t decide to do it, it was thrust on her.”

  * * *

  The farm was sold, and diamonds were purchased with the proceeds, except for $2000. Barry had a brainstorm, and scanned Ebay for US currency, found and purchased US dollars of the appropriate time frame. From a costume shop, they purchased a change of clothes each. Allie created a pocket on the underside of one of her dresses for the diamonds. They were flush, and ready for whatever the future or in their case the past held for them.

  “That was really smart of you. The first time I went back, I was wearing Nikes and only had current money and credit cards, neither of which was any good.”

  He gave them a note, sealed in a glass vial. “I’ve picked the Natural History Society building for our hiding place, since it’s one of the few buildings of that time still in place. Most of the original buildings were torn down or moved to their present location here in Cambridge.”

  Everything was in place. They would meet the doctor and his team the next morning at eight.

  Chapter fourteen

  Goodbye and Godspeed

  Six weeks later, MIT…

  “Doctor Fujikawa, It is good to see you again,” Allie said. “We can’t thank you enough for the opportunity to see our daughter.”

  He bowed. “You come back. We talk.”

  “If we get to our daughter, we won’t be coming back,” Barry said.

  Charles Van Landingham gave them printed instructions on how to return if they decided to come back. “You have our note and remember where to leave it. I’m expecting to find it when I check. Now, I’m going to take you out to a courtyard. In a few minutes you will see a portal that will appear to be a black wall. Walk through it to the end and you will emerge in 1870. If you decide to return, the instructions will give you the times and dates. You will see the same thing in that situation.

  “It has been a pleasure and a privilege to work with you. Goodbye and Godspeed. Give your daughter a hug from all of us on the team.” They shook hands and waited.

  “If something happens, it has been a wonderful life and I love you more than I can tell you,” Allie said to Barry.

  “I feel the same way. I couldn’t have had a better wife.” He took her hand and kissed her.

  A chill filled the air, and the wormhole was before them. Holding hands, they walked into it without looking back. Five minutes later, it disappeared, taking them with it.

  They emerged into the brightness of a crisp, spring Boston day. The streets were unpaved, with horse drawn carriages, and trolley cars passing by. A boy was selling Boston Daily Advertiser newspapers. Barry bought one and checked the date. It was April 17, 1870. They had made it!

  “Let’s get to the National History Society Building and leave the note,” he said. “Then we can see about going to see Angie.”

  “It’s going to happen. I can’t believe it,” Allie said.

  * * *

  MIT the present time…

  Charles checked the hidey hole they had agreed upon. After some fumbling around, he found the glass tube containing the note. He rushed back to the research lab.

  “They made it,” he told Doctor Fujikawa. “Here’s the note.”

  “You had doubts?”

  “No, the only thing I’m wondering if I should have told him about the physical problems we’ve run into.”

  “No reason to,” Doctor Fujikawa said, “it only happened three times.”

  “Out of five events,” Van Landingham said. “That’s a 60% occurrence rate.”

  “Ten trips. Each one went both ways. And they were all inbound. You said they weren’t coming back.”

  “I don’t think they will, but they will be spending five days on a train,” Van Landingham. “Two of our three had to be hospitalized and given tPA. They won’t have access to it. [Author’s note: tPA is tissue plasminogen activator, also known as the clot buster.]

  “It is not part of our research,” Fujikawa said.

  “”But wasn’t it our ethical responsibility to tell them about it?”

  “In my opinion, we had no responsibility. Nothing we can do about it anyway. Discussion closed.”

  * * *

  “I thought this would be a four or five day trip,” Barry complained on the fifth day out of New York City. “I feel worn out.”

  “It’s because we haven’t been getting any exercise. The only thing we’ve done is walk to the dining car. At home, you were always busy. For the past month, about the only thing we’ve done is travel. I’m a little tired myself. Maybe we should exercise.”

  “Did we bring any heartburn tablets?” Barry asked. “All of this greasy food is giving me indigestion.”

  “No, I only brought aspirin,” she said. “Maybe fruit would help.”

  “I haven’t seen any, have you?” he asked.

  “No, I’ll ask the porter.”

  Later…

  “I have a couple of apples. Maybe you should try walking. Also, take an aspirin, to help dissolve any potential clots.”

  “Finally, Sacramento,” Allie said. “I looked at the distance between here and Salem before we left. It’s about 550 miles. Another twelve hours on a train.”

  The agent told them there was no train until the next day.

  “We need to find a hotel for tonight,” Barry said. “Is there a quiet hotel nearby? he asked the agent.

  “The Fremont is probably the quietest. The others are over saloons, and the miners aren’t quiet people,” he told them. “If the gunshots don’t keep you awake, the fighting will.”

  “Is it in walking distance?”

  “It’s a right good piece from here. You can probably get a carriage out front. If I may make a suggestion, I’d make arrangements with the driver to pick you up in the morning. If you miss the train, you’ll have another two days to wait.”

  “Thank you for the tip. I’ll do that. What should I offer him?”

  The agent named an amount. “That should get him back early enough.”

  Checked in, and set for the next day, Barry said, “I’m going to take a nap.”

  Three hours later, he woke. “It sure is nice to have a bed that isn’t swaying back and forth. I feel better.”

  “Do you feel like walking a little bit?” Allie asked her husband.

  “More so than before the nap,” he said. “It would probably do me good though. Maybe we can find a place to eat that has vegetables.”

  “I’ll get some baking soda. It should help the heartburn, if you still have it.”

  * * *

  “It was a few minutes after five when the train stopped at the small Salem depot and the Thornton’s stepped from the train onto the wooden platform. “Look at this place,” Allie whispered. “It isn’t much more than a wide place in the road.”

  “I imagine there’s more people around on the weekends,” Barry said. “Let me check on a hotel, though I doubt it’s big enough to support one.”

  “We almost have one,” the man said. “One is being built just down the street, but it isn’t done yet.”

  “Is there some place we can get a room for tonight?”

  “Mrs. Hinchley might have a room for you. I don’t know. It’s the white house on the next corner.”

  Barry knocked on the door. It was answered by a kindly looking woman with white hair. “You just come in on the train?” she asked. “I’m Clara Hinchley.”

  “We did just come in from New York. The agent told me we might be able to get a room for the night. I’m Barry Thornton and this is my wife Allie.”

  “Come on in. I reckon I can put you up. You’re just in time for supper. I’ll show you to your room and I need to get back to my cooking.”

  She led them down the hall,
and opened the door. “It’s four dollars for the night and that includes supper and breakfast. How long will you be here?”

  “Probably not very long. We have family in the area, but didn’t want to go trying to find them in the dark.”

  “Makes sense. I’d better get back to my stove. Supper will be in about half an hour. When you hear the bell, come on to the dining room.”

  Later…

  “That was good. I can’t tell you how long it’s been since I had chicken and dumplings,” Allie said. “And fresh green beans.”

  “You said you have family in the area,” Mrs. Hinchley said. “Who might that be?”

  “Angela Lewis, do you know her.”

  “I reckon I do. She was staying here when that poor Mrs. Gilley died. Her appendix ruptured. Doc Barlow saved the baby, but couldn’t save her.”

  “How sad. We hadn’t heard about that,” Allie said, concealing where they really came from.

  “Maybe you can tell us how to get to their farm.”

  “I can’t but I expect Mose at the livery stable can. I think they live across the river in the Silver Rock Creek area. Just exactly where, I don’t know.”

  * * *

  Chapter fifteen

  Momma

  Armed with directions from Mose at the livery stable, Barry and Allie set out for the Lewis farm at 8:30. “I hope we don’t get lost,” Barry said. “It’s a shame we don’t have GPS.”

  “So far so good,” Allie said. “There’s the river.” The ferry was on the far side, so they had to wait for it to make the return trip.

  A few miles down the road, Barry said, “The creek he told us to watch for should be close by,” It sure is beautiful land around here. It would be good for raising cattle. It would make good grazing. There’s some trees up ahead. It’s probably the creek. We don’t cross it.”

  The creek was in front of them. “It must be these wheel tracks.” He turned north following the tracks. “There’s the lumber mill on the side of the creek.”

  They continued on. Ten minutes later they saw a small cabin. “That must be the Gilley farm,” Allie said. At the next cabin. “This is Hiram and Sophronia’s place.”

  When the next cabin came into view, she put her hand on Barry’s. “This is it. Call out so they don’t think we’re up to no good,” she said.

  Barry raised his voice. “Hello in the house,” he said. “The man at the livery said don’t get out of the carriage until we’re asked. Otherwise, it might be interpreted as unfriendly. Hello in the house.”

  “Something I can do for you folks?” the man coming from the barn asked.

  “We’re looking for the Lewis farm,” Barry said.

  “Which one? There’s two,” the man said.

  “Jedadiah Lewis.”

  “I’m Jedadiah,” he said. “Come in and set a spell. I imagine there’s a pot of coffee on the stove.

  He turned to face the house. “Honey, we’ve got company,” he said in a loud voice.

  The door opened, and the barrel of a shotgun appeared, held in the hands of a young woman. “See if they have guns, Jed. Both triggers are cocked,” she warned, “so don’t try anything funny.”

  “Angie,” Allie said.

  “Momma,” Angie’s eyes rolled back in her head and she fell forward in a faint. She would have hit the ground face down if Jed hadn’t reached her.

  “Who are you?” he asked, anger reflected in his voice. “Why is my wife so afraid of you?”

  “I’m Barry Thornton, and this is Allie, my wife. We’re Angie’s parents.”

  “I don’t believe you. It’s impossible.”

  “Show him, Allie.”

  Allie took her iPhone from her pocket, and thumbed through to her photos. “Take a look at this,” she said and held out the phone.

  “I’ve seen one of these before. Angie has one.”

  “I know. I gave it to her for Christmas,” Barry said.

  Jed picked Angie up and carried her inside.

  “Do you have water,” Allie asked.

  “Over there,” Jed said, and pointed.

  Allie brought a dipper of water to the bed. “Hold her head up,” she directed, and held it to Angie’s lips.

  “Just a sip, now,” she said to the daughter she had never expected to see again. “A small sip.”

  Her eyes opened. Disbelief registered on her face. “Mom? Dad?”

  “Yes, sweetheart. It’s us,” Barry said,

  “How did you get here?” Angie asked.

  “By the grace of God and some geniuses at MIT,” he told her.

  “How did you know what happened to me. I’m dreaming. That’s what it is. I’m dreaming.”

  “A friend of your mother’s saw a video on Facebook and told her about it. With a lot of good detective work, she put it all together. We came out here and met your great-great-great grandson. We’ve been here before,” her father said.

  “Jed, get Hiram. I want him to meet his grandparents.”

  He went to another part of the cabin and lifted the small boy from the crib. “Come on, big fellow. We’ve got someone that wants to see you.”

  Angie took the two year old. “Hiram, this is your Grandmother Allie and Grandpa Barry. Mom, this is your grandson, Hiram. He was two years old week before last.”

  The tears streamed down Allie’s cheeks. “I never thought this minute would happen. We have a grandson.” She drew her daughter into her arms and embraced them.

  They sat at the kitchen table. “Tell me all about it,” Angie said.

  “Do you remember Sarah Jameson?” Allie asked.

  “Of course. She was one of my teachers,” Angie said.

  “This is a bit morbid, but I’m going to tell it the way it happened. She saw a clip on Facebook that had gone viral and told me about it.

  Seeing Jed’s puzzled look, Angie said, “I’ll explain it later. Go ahead Mom.”

  “They were breaking ground for a new school in Haynes Falls and the backhoe cracked open a coffin. Inside they found an iPhone and a solar charger. The forensics lab traced the phone back through Apple and found it had been sold to your father right before Christmas in 2014.”

  “My Christmas present,” Angie said.

  “Yes,” Allie said. “I started working then, and with Sarah’s help and the help of a docent at the Family History Center, I found you in the census records coming back to the 1870 Census. Anyway, I found the records where you were married, and the homestead claims, so I knew when and where you were. They did a show on KHNF here and interviewed us, as well as Julia and Roy Lewis. Then we were on Morning in America. The producer of the show gave us the name of a doctor at MIT who was researching time travel using wormholes.

  “Do you remember them from when you were in my physics class?” Allie asked

  “Barely.”

  “Anyway, a couple or three months ago, we got a call from Doctor Van Landingham asking if we would like to visit our daughter. The rest is history, or the future, I don’t know which, but here we are.”

  “Can you go back?” Jed asked.

  “We have a schedule of times when we could return,” she said, “but we would have to go to Boston to do it.”

  “Could you take Angie back?” Jed asked fearfully.

  “I suppose we could. If we decided to return and if she decided to go. We sort of thought we might stay. We sold the dairy, the house, everything,” Barry said.

  “Mom, it’s a hard life, with none of the conveniences you’re used to,” Angie said.

  “But you’re here, and so is Hiram. I want to hear about what happened and how you got here.”

  “”Tell her about Jeremy,” Jed said.

  “Who is Jeremy?”

  “He’s a ten year old boy. I guess he’s twelve now. He found me stuck in a tree, and ran to get help to get me down. Jeremy always runs. Everywhere. He’s the one that first told Jed my name.

  “I’ll never forget the first thing he said. She imitated his sque
aky voice and twang. “Lady, what are you doing in at tree?”

  Chapter sixteen

  Life Saving

  “Mrs. Thornton, your daughter saved my sister, Mandy’s life.”

  “I know. I read your mother’s journal. She wrote about it.”

  “Turnabout is fair play,” Angie said. “You saved mine.”

  “That wasn’t in the journal,” Allie said. “What happened?”

  “We had just gotten to Oregon City. I had gone to bed when a man tried to drag me out from under the wagon. Jed heard me scream and came running. The man hit him in the head with a shovel. He was unconscious for a long time. Too long. I was scared. It was right before we came down here from Oregon City.”

  “You were sleeping under the wagon?”

  “She wouldn’t have it any other way,” Jed said. “She said Seth should be with his wife. Something else, she walked. Almost all of the way from where we found her to here, except when she got sick that time, and when Miss Polly was sick.”

  “I wore my sneakers completely out. Momma sewed new leather soles on them and I wore those out. Jed bought a pair of moccasins from some Indians that came to camp.”

  “Was Polly the one with the ruptured appendix?”

  “You know about that too?”

  “Mrs. Hinchley told us about it last night at dinner. We stayed there, since it was after dark when the train got in.”

  “Polly was the one. She discovered she was pregnant after they started out, but too far from their home to turn back.

  “She had terrible morning sickness, so I helped take care of her in exchange for my food.

  “I just thought of something,” Angie said. “How are we going to explain them to Mama?” She turned to her mother, “I hope you’re not hurt, but I call Jed’s mother and dad Mama and Papa. I couldn’t have made it without them.

  “I’ve only told three people about what happened to me. I was afraid they would think I was a witch or crazy. They were already looking at me funny because of my clothes. I never lied about anything. I told them I was from Brevard. And we had gotten caught in a flash flood. I had to tell Major Adams about it. He was the wagon master, in order to be accepted. I told Mandy, and then Jed.”