Yellowstone Origins: Yellowstone Romance Series, Book 6

by Peggy L Henderson

  “Stay where you are.”

  Cam’s first instinct was to reach for his knife and tomahawk. He spun around, ready to face his opponent, his weapons in his hand. The sight of a man in a tanned shirt and dark green pants – the uniform of a park ranger - pointing a gun at him, stopped him from defending himself. He had enough memories from his childhood to know about guns, and it would be foolish to act in a threatening manner right now.

  Cam lowered his hands, sheathing his knife in his belt.

  “Drop your weapons, and put your hands over your head,” the ranger commanded.

  Gritting his teeth, every muscle in his body was tense and itching to fight back. This was different than facing a war party of Blackfoot. He curbed the primal need to defend himself, but here, in the future, fighting was not the best course of action. In this world, he had a distinct disadvantage.

  Cam tossed his knife and ax on the ground. Slowly, he raised his hands over his head as he’d seen done countless times on television as a boy. The ranger stepped up to him, and cuffed his hands behind his back. Three more rangers pushed their way through the small crowd of people.

  “Nice work, Cole,” one of them said, then looked at Cam with curious eyes.

  “We got a call about someone climbing in the canyon, and that he was armed with a knife,” the ranger who held him prisoner said to the others, then looked at Cam. “You understand it’s illegal to climb in the canyon, or to threaten someone with a weapon? You’re gonna have to come with us.”

  “What year am I in?” Cam asked through gritted teeth. He could easily kick the weapon out of the man’s hand, but he restrained his impulse to fight.

  Two of the other rangers told the crowd to move away, that the situation was under control.

  “Year?”

  The ranger grabbed his arm, and nudged him to move. Cam tensed, but complied. A short distance away, the trail opened into a wide parking area. The cars looked different than what he remembered, and instead of solar panels making up the road, this lot was still paved with asphalt. He was definitely not in 2036.

  There was only one person who could possibly help him in this time. Dan Osborne had been a ranger in Yellowstone in 2036, and Riley had met him in 2011. If he was somewhere between those years, there was a chance that Dan was here. With his help, Cam could track down the man who’d used Naatoyita's vessel to come back to the future, the one who’d been with Riley. It was his only hope of getting back to the past.

  The ranger hadn’t answered his question, and led him to one of several white vehicles with a green stripe, and the park service emblem along the sides. Bright red lights flashed from the top of the vehicles.

  He vaguely remembered cars such as these, even though they looked slightly different. He’d seen plenty of them when he’d been brought back from the past as a boy. Dan Osborne had been at his side the entire time. Cam smirked. He would need his help again, this time to track down the man Riley called Jeffrey.

  The ranger made him stand against the vehicle, and patted at his clothes, his arms, and down his legs. He babbled on about his rights not to speak and other things Cam didn’t understand, then told him to get in the car. Cam’s only thoughts were of Riley, of protecting her, and keeping her safe, otherwise he would not have cooperated. He couldn’t protect her if he was dead, or in a different century.

  Cam sat back against the seat. He looked out the car window, at the small crowd of people that still stood around, staring back at him, some taking pictures with devices much larger than what he remembered from 2036.

  Several rangers were obviously trying to get the people to disperse. The sounds and voices coming from the communication radio in the car grated on Cam’s nerves. He’d forgotten how loud everything was in the future.

  One thing was for certain. He was definitely in a time prior to 2036. The rangers would have scanned his eyes to obtain personal information on him by now otherwise, and these cars ran on fuel, not solar electricity, judging by their stench and loud engines.

  The vehicle began to move, and Cam leaned forward slightly.

  “What year is this?” he asked again. “I need to speak to Dan Osborne.”

  The two rangers in the front seats exchanged quick looks, but Cam couldn’t make out their facial expressions. The man who sat in the passenger seat directly in front of him shifted slightly, and glanced over his shoulder.

  “You’ve landed in 2011, and you’ve got some explaining to do. We’ve had our share of crazies over the years, trying to prove something by climbing down to the falls, but I think dressing in buckskins, and going native while doing it is a first.” Both men chuckled.

  Cam gritted his teeth. His pulse sped up. He was in the year from which Riley had time traveled.

  “Where are you taking me?” He forced his voice to remain even.

  “Justice Center at Mammoth,” the ranger answered.

  Cam shook his head. He clamped his mouth shut, even though his entire body tensed. He stared out the window, glancing at cars that passed them, and off into the forest. This was how he’d first seen Yellowstone as a boy. He now knew the mountains and valleys intimately.

  An hour or more must have passed by the time the rangers led him into a large stone building. He was told to sit in a chair opposite a heavyset ranger with a protruding belly. They asked him countless questions. His name. His identification. What he’d been doing in the canyon. Did he know it was illegal to climb to the bottom of the canyon? Cam didn’t answer any of them, except for one.

  “My name is Cameron Osborne, and I refuse to speak to anyone but Dan Osborne.” He glared at the man interrogating him. “He’s a ranger in this park.”

  The man tilted his head, studying him. “Osborne? You two related?”

  Cam hesitated. “Yes, we’re . . . cousins. I need to see him.”

  “Well,” the man sighed. “Since you’re not going to cooperate, we’re gonna have to lock you up, and let the judge decide what to do with you.”

  A different ranger took his arm, intent to lead him away. Cam stood, but didn’t move. He stared at the man who’d been asking him questions. “Tell Dan Osborne that Riley . . . Osb . . .Bernard is in the past, and she’s in danger,” he pleaded. Being at these people’s mercy went against all his ingrained instincts.

  He held the man’s confused stare, and yanked his arm free from the other ranger’s grip. He stepped up to the desk, leaning forward. He braced his cuffed hands on the smooth desktop. “I need his help to get back to her, or she will die,” he said adamantly.

  * * *

  Cam paced like a caged animal after the ranger locked him in a holding cell, frustration building as the minutes and hours ticked away. What if these men didn’t notify Dan? It was obvious that they thought he was out of his mind. He couldn’t blame them. No one had believed him thirteen years ago, either.

  He sat on the bunk against the wall, and leaned his elbows on his knees, staring at the ground. Helplessness, despair, and even grief, consumed him. He couldn’t fail Riley. She’d chosen to stay with him in the past, and now she was stuck there, alone.

  He’d ignored the tray of food someone brought him. He’d never refused a meal before. Growing up in the wilderness, food was scarce at times, and it was an insult to refuse it, but he had no desire to eat. His wife, the woman he loved, was in danger, and he wasn’t there to protect her.

  A sleepless night passed, and with morning came the faint voices of people in the building. Cam sprang from the bunk when the lock turned on the door of his cell.

  “You have a visitor,” the ranger greeted him.

  Cam glanced past the man’s shoulders. The urge to escape grew stronger, but where would he go? In his buckskins, he stood out like a bison in a herd of pronghorn. He had no weapons, and no means to find Dan Osborne. Cam allowed the ranger to lead him to a different room, where another ranger sat, waiting at a table.

  Cam’s eyes met the dark-haired man’s gaze. He stood, looking him up and do
wn with curious eyes. The expression on the ranger’s face was unreadable, but there was no doubt about whom he was facing. Dan Osborne looked decades younger, but he was the same man Cam had encountered in 2036.

  “Here’s the guy who says he’s your long-lost cousin, Osborne,” the ranger who’d led him to this room said with a chuckle. He left, closing the door behind him.

  Cam stared into familiar eyes; Riley’s brown eyes. Hope ignited in him, and for the first time in his life, he stood face to face with a member of his true family. His bloodline.

  “Cameron . . . Osborne?” Dan said, a slight hitch of disbelief in his voice.

  Cam nodded.

  “If you’re my cousin, it’s from many generations ago.” His eyes lingered on Cam’s clothes. He shook his head, and ran a hand along his jaw. His voice lowered to a whisper. “I just came back from a trip to 1811, and I know Daniel didn’t have any siblings, so where do you fit into the family?”

  “1811?” Cam echoed. Relief swept through him. Dan knew all about time travel. He smiled. “1749,” he said, then his face sobered. “I need your help to get back to my time. My wife is in danger. You know her as Riley Bernard.”

  Dan’s eyes widened. He blinked, and shook his head again, then sat in his chair. “Riley Bernard? Cute blonde, wears dresses and high heels? The one who came to see me at the ranger station and asked for help with some field research? That Riley Bernard?”

  Cam nearly laughed at the incredulous look on Dan’s face. He nodded. “She’s no longer the woman you describe.”

  “I imagine she’s not, after traveling to . . . after traveling such a great distance.” He leaned forward, and his eyes moved around the room as if people were listening, then stared back at Cam. “I’m going to get you out of here, and then you can tell me everything from the beginning.”

  Chapter Twenty-Eight

  “When I was a boy, I always wanted to ride in a gasoline-powered car. It was considered old-fashioned.”

  “Old-fashioned?” Dan’s eyes widened.

  “Yeah. I remember electric cars, and solar roads, from when I was a boy.”

  Cam stepped out of the park service vehicle, this time without handcuffs. Dan walked around the car, a smile on his face.

  “I shouldn’t be asking questions about the future, but the technological advances sure sound exciting. I just hope I’m still around here in Yellowstone to help make a difference. My superior, John Hastings, seems to have other ideas, though. At least he hasn’t harassed me since that day I met Riley.”

  “I have a good feeling that you’ll be here for a long time,” Cam said. “You’re an Osborne, and it’s your calling to protect this land.”

  Dan paused, and their eyes met. Cam held his stare. He wouldn’t mention that he’d already met Dan in the future, and he’d become a ranger with a lot of authority in the park.

  Dan nodded wordlessly and led the way to the building where his future wife lived. He and Cam had talked for a long time after leaving the Justice Center. Now all they had to do was find Jeffrey and get the vessel back from him.

  “Jana, are you home?”

  Dan opened the door to the apartment, and Cam followed him inside.

  “Dan?” A woman’s voice called from another room. “I’m so glad you’re back. I have some incredible news to –”

  A woman with copper hair rushed down the hall. She stopped in her tracks, her eyes going wide when she glimpsed Cam. Her mouth gaped open, then a wide smile formed on her lips.

  “I have some incredible news to tell you,” she finished, almost breathless.

  Dan embraced her. “So do I.”

  He kissed her, sending an unexpected twinge of longing and loneliness through Cam. The ache to hold Riley in his arms again squeezed his heart almost painfully.

  Jana’s eyes never left Cam when she pulled away from Dan’s embrace. She stepped around Dan, her eyes roaming over Cam from top to bottom.

  “Cameron,” she said, nodding with a satisfied smile on her face. She glanced over her shoulder and down the hall to where she’d come from moments ago.

  Cam's forehead scrunched. How could she know him? Dan looked equally perplexed. Movement from the darkened corridor grabbed Cam's attention. His heart slammed against his ribs. He pushed past the two people who stood between him and the narrow hall behind them. Some indescribable sensation passed through him before he even saw the person emerging from the room.

  “Cameron?”

  The sound of Riley’s familiar voice, his name on her lips, was the sweetest sound he’d ever heard. He rushed to her in three strides, his arms lifting her to him off the ground. Warmth spread throughout his limbs, and his lips sought hers. Relief, joy, and love filled him, and he pulled her further into his embrace, afraid to let her go.

  Riley’s body trembled against him. Her arms wrapped around his neck, nearly cutting off his air supply.

  “I thought you were dead,” she sobbed against his lips, kissing him over and over again. “I thought I lost you.”

  “I will always come back to you,” he murmured against her cheek, inhaling deeply of the sweet scent of her skin. “You and I won’t ever be pulled apart.”

  Cam set her on her feet, reluctant to let her go. He held her tight in his arms until Riley eased away from him. He lifted his hand to her face, swiping away the moisture on her cheeks. The look of pure love shone in her eyes, reflecting the emotions in his heart.

  After some time, he straightened and faced the two people who silently stood there. Dan had his arm around Jana’s waist, and they both wore wide smiles on their faces. A few tears rolled down Jana’s face, and she hastily swiped them away.

  “How?” Riley croaked. She stared up at Cam, her mind working as it always did, no doubt trying to figure out the answer to her own question.

  "Let's all sit down, and we can fill each other in on everything," Dan suggested and led the way to a small table in the kitchen.

  “Is there anything I can get you to eat, or drink?” Jana offered. “Since you’re in the future for the first time in many years, is there anything you’ve missed? Something you’d like to try?”

  “Pizza,” Cam said at the same time as Riley. His eyes sought hers, and he cupped the side of her face in his palm. “But other than you, there’s nothing the future has that I want,” he mumbled.

  “It’s a little early in the day for pizza, but . . . what the heck. Pizza it is.” Jana laughed.

  Cam held Riley on his lap, unwilling to let her go, even when Jana returned from picking up several large pizzas. He savored the taste, but it wasn’t the same as what he remembered as a boy. The flavors were too rich and salty for his palate, having developed a taste for the variety of plants and animals he hunted and foraged in the wilderness.

  "I can't believe the man I trusted all these years would have killed me if he'd known who I was," Cam said.

  He’d listened when Riley informed him that Pikowan’s real name had been John Hastings, and why Mukua had abandoned him in the wilderness. Dan and Jana confirmed that the man had an evil heart.

  “I didn’t realize I had Mukua’s vessel when Pikowan . . . John Hastings and I were swept downriver. He knew it was in the pouch I pulled from Mukua’s neck.” He glanced at Riley. “The vessel was the furthest thing from my mind at the time.” Their eyes locked in silent communication. He’d only thought of her, and keeping her safe.

  “We struggled in the water,” he continued. “I must have touched the vessel at some point. Now it might be lost forever.” He glanced around at two other sets of eyes watching him.

  “I don’t know if Pikowan traveled with me or not, but I didn’t see him when I woke up at the bottom of the falls. If he remained in the past, he’s dead. The only thing that saved me was touching the vessel at the exact moment I was swept under the water. It is most likely at the bottom of the falls now.”

  Dan scoffed. “Yeah, we’ve heard that before. That device makes an appearance whenever it’s conve
nient for one of the Sky People, it seems.”

  Riley’s arms tightened around his neck, and she rested her head against his shoulder.

  “We have to get the other device . . . vessel, back.” Jana glanced from Cam to Riley.

  Riley lifted her head. “Jeffrey wasn’t very cooperative when I asked him to give it to me in the hospital. He’s adamant that he’s going to hide it away, so no one else can find it. And,” she inhaled deeply, “he’s determined that I need to stay here.”

  Cam’s hand at her waist tightened. Riley shot him a quick glance.

  “I’ll call him, and tell him he has to give it back.”

  She slid from his lap and headed for the back room. Minutes later, she returned with a phone and stood outside the kitchen while she made her call.

  “If he’s uncooperative, we’ll just have to pay him a visit in Missoula,” Dan said, shrugging. It earned him a quick glare from Jana.

  Riley walked back into the room. “He’s agreed to meet me. He wasn’t happy that I left the hospital, but is eager to see me. He should be here in about four hours.”

  Her eyes were on Cam.

  “He wanted to meet in a public place, so I suggested the parking lot at the Lower Falls.”

  Jana frowned. “Why in a public place?”

  "I think he's worried someone might hurt him. I told him that you were here, Cam. All he remembers is that night you came into the Blackfoot camp and made it appear as if you were assaulting me. He's afraid of you." She smiled.

  Cam kept his thoughts to himself. This man had reason to be afraid. If he didn’t hand over the vessel willingly, he’d take it by force.

  “We’ll meet him along the Yellowstone, then,” he said instead.