Pierre, he wasn't so certain about. He walked into the living room, gave his brother-in-law a nudge with his boot. "Pierre, where's Rose?"
"Poof," Pierre said, waving one hand as he lay facedown on the rug. "Auburn disappeared, and she took the baby. Just a common thief, after all."
Bradley and Dillinger looked at each other.
Dillinger shook his head, the light dawning. He'd seen the signs; he'd known a change was coming.
I shouldn't have left her.
"There's one of those earrings," Bradley said, pointing.
Polly's earring lay on the rug. Dillinger picked it up and put it into his duster pocket.
Heartbroken, crushed with shock, he pulled Pierre up off the floor and dragged him to the guest room, gently placing him on the bed. "Do you want me to go for a doctor?"
"Did you go for one for my sister?"
"Yes, damn it, I did," Dillinger said, then sighed. "Don't be a madman, Pierre. I know you're grieving for her. Everyone loved Polly. The last person who wanted anything to happen to her, though, was me. She made my whole world a better place."
Pierre moaned. "You'll never make it if you try to get the doc for me."
"I'd give it my best shot."
His brother-in-law stared at him through fever-glazed eyes. "I'd settle for you wrapping my rib cage so I don't scream when I cough. Your woman packs a helluva kick with those ugly boots she wears."
Dillinger went to get some cloth, sorely tempted to bind Pierre's mouth, as well as his ribs. But he figured the man had been punished enough. He'd made his own prison of hate, which was the worst way to live, as any dead gunslinger's ghost could have told him.
* * *
"WHOA!" AUBURN LET OUT a squeak as she and the baby landed on a nice, comfy sofa in the lobby of the Hilton hotel. "Holy smokes! Are you all right, Rose?"
She was stunned the baby had made the journey; she hadn't known if Rose would come back with her.
The child looked at her with gentle eyes, just as she'd been looking at her a few moments ago in Dillinger's house in Christmas River. Rose didn't feel cold; she was warm as toast, in fact. The only things Auburn had been aware of was a whoosh and then cold, and a subtle tearing as she was sucked through time. But the baby didn't seem to mind their unexpected trip.
"Hey!"
A young, friendly desk clerk walked over to her. "I remember you."
"You do?" Hadn't it been about nine days since she'd left?
"Yep. You were dressed a little differently."
"Oh, yeah." Okay, so Polly's green dress wasn't fashionable, but Auburn was going to have it dry-cleaned and put away to show Rose one day.
"Your boyfriend stayed here for a couple of days, waiting on you to get back. And your parents paid for your room until the end of the month. We were supposed to make sure your car stayed safe, and keep your room just as it was. Your parents said they always believed you and Bradley—Mr. Jackson—would get back together once you had time to work everything out. At least that's what your mom told the manager."
Auburn blinked. "So all my stuff is still in my room?"
The desk clerk shrugged. "Everything. And your sweet little convertible is in the parking lot."
"Oh, my gosh! That's great news!" For once, Auburn didn't mind her parents meddling and trying to help out. "May I have a room key? I've misplaced mine. I think I left it in the room."
"Sure." The clerk smiled, and Auburn was reminded of herself at that age. The baby-faced young woman snapped her bubblegum and handed over a key card.
"This is wonderful," Auburn said, thanking her lucky stars. "Rose, sweetie," she said, going up the elevator, "we may not make it home by Christmas, but we will make it home. Together."
Maybe it wasn't as wonderful as spending Christmas with Dillinger would have been, but Auburn knew that her life had changed for the better, all because of the cowboy from Christmas Past.
She had no choice but to move forward.
For Rose's sake.
Chapter Seventeen
Auburn charged her cell phone, grabbed Pampers and baby wipes and hugged her Louis Vuitton bag. "I can't help it," she said. "You're beautiful!"
She knew she'd never again take for granted being able to buy luxury items.
She changed Rose, who seemed in quite good spirits for all she'd been through, even offering Auburn a tiny smile.
"Oh, they say when a baby smiles it's just gas, but I don't believe that for a second. I think you know you're the special one around here." She kissed the baby and picked her up. "I guess I'll never know if you were the magic or the earrings. And I feel terrible I left your daddy behind. I'm glad you came with me, though."
She tucked Rose in her cushy carrier. "I'm going to have to figure out how to get you a birth certificate and a passport. You and I can do some globe hopping and perfume launching now that our company is ours again, with Bradley out of the way. And we're going to develop a new line of baby friendly perfumes and lotions, all natural, totally biocompatible, because no one can appreciate what you babies had to go through before the days of easy baths and food on every corner and good medicine. We'll call it Baby Planet, and donate all proceeds to mothers with children they need help raising, in honor of your mom, who Polly wanted to help." Auburn kissed the infant on the nose. "You'll be a perfect spokesperson."
Everything would be perfect, except the fact that she'd never know what happened to Dillinger. To Bradley, either, for that matter, but that didn't seem to occupy her mind as much. "Shallow of me, I know," Auburn murmured, "but Bradley actually seemed happy in Christmas River. I suppose he'll always be the kind of guy who lands on his feet. But Dillinger…"
Dillinger had wanted her for herself, and she knew that was the difference between the two men in her mind. She loved him with all her heart and soul, every cell of her being, no matter the century. But Dillinger would want her to take good care of the baby Polly had given him.
She had to be strong.
"I'll wonder from time to time whatever happened to your yucky ol' uncle Pierre, too," Auburn told baby Rose, packing up their things. "I do hope he survived his bronchitis or pneumonia or whatever he caught from being a stalker."
But she would never know what had happened to any of the three men she'd left behind, and there was nothing to do but take Rose home to New York City.
* * *
AUBURN WAS THRILLED to be on the road. She drove like the wind for two and half days, determined to be home for Christmas. It was hard driving without her gunslinger for company. The baby slept mostly, but Auburn wasn't in the least bit tired, an effect she chalked up to the time-traveling.
All she did on the long drive was think about Dillinger.
It was too late for her to realize she was totally head-over-heels in love with the man. Impractical, since she'd never see him again. But she'd given him her heart willingly. "I just wish I'd told him I'd fallen in love with him." Every romantic tune on the radio made her eyes tear up.
Finally, the drive was over. Exhausted, Auburn walked in the front door of the penthouse, calling "Merry Christmas!" A smile lit her face when she heard answering squeals of joy; she was instantly enveloped by her sister's and mother's arms, her father patiently waiting his turn for a hug and a homesick kiss.
"And who is this angel?" Auburn's mother asked. Tall and slender, Barbara McGinnis looked like a model in spite of her love of baking Christmas cookies.
"This is Rose," Auburn said, as her parents and Cherie cooed over the infant. "I'm adopting her."
Her father blinked. "Aubs, dear, do you need a baby? What does Bradley think about this?"
"Bradley and I are not together. And I think you have your company back now. We'll find other financing. He liked Rose, though, so he'd approve of me adopting her."
"What happened to the parents?" Cherie asked, her eyes sparkling as she looked at the baby. "Come to Aunt Cherie, honey," she said. "You just remember, any little thing you want, your auntie will make
sure you get." She giggled and the baby grinned back at her.
"Rose's mother passed away, and her father is unable to take care of her." It was only a tiny fib; Dillinger loved to take care of Rose, but there was that matter of over a hundred years separating them.
"That's so sad," Cherie said. "But now we have our own little doll for Christmas. You sweet angel," she murmured against Rose's head, already smitten.
Barbara and Charles hugged Auburn again. "It's so good you're back," her mom whispered. Her dad was too choked up to say much. They just smiled at their daughters and the new arrival, looking like people who'd just been granted a miracle.
"Are you and Bradley all right, though, dear?" Barbara asked as the five of them went to sit around the Christmas tree.
"Absolutely. By the end of our vacation together we'd come to the conclusion that we wanted very, very different things in life."
Barbara wiped her eyes and held out her arms. "Give me the baby, Cherie. You're hogging her."
Auburn smiled. It was just the reception she'd known Rose would receive. From orphaned to spoiled, Rose deserved a Christmas miracle.
"Can I see you in the kitchen, Auburn?" Cherie asked. "I need a little help mixing up some eggnog. Or cocoa."
"Maybe Christmas-tinis," their father suggested, trying to get the baby away from his wife so he could have a turn holding her. "And definitely a plate of cookies for Santa, please."
"Because Santa hasn't had enough today," Cherie said once they were in the kitchen. The sisters laughed, hugged each other again.
"It's great to be home," Auburn exclaimed. "You have no idea how much I've missed it."
"Go ahead, spill," Cherie said. "I can tell by the look on your face that you're wrapping everything up nice-nice for Mom and Dad, and sitting on the real story."
"I wouldn't know where to start."
"It involves a guy," Cherie prompted. "Did you and Bradley really finish off on good terms?"
"Yes. We weren't the same people we'd been before."
"You do seem different," Cherie mused. "More calm, maybe."
Auburn took out the cocoa, measuring it into cups. "I needed some time away." She was far from calm. Heartbreak had taken her over.
"And so you met a man…." Cherie reminded her.
"I did," she said, "but he's not available, so don't start getting too excited. He'll never be available." She felt bad about leaving Dillinger, and she hoped he'd forgiven her for doing so and taking his child.
"Ooh, not a married man!" Cherie cried. "You don't want to fall for the lure of the married man."
"Cherie!" She laughed in spite of her sadness. "I would never even look at a married man. No, Dillinger doesn't live anywhere where I could ever see him, so it's a nonstarter." The words were hard to speak. The realization she would never see him again tore at her.
"So you had a fling with a man you knew was geographically unavailable," Cherie said, "and yet our family has its own private and company jets."
She hadn't thought that far through what she was going to tell her sister; she had to tread carefully. "It's hard to maintain a long-distance relationship," she said with sadness, not able to tell her sister the real reason she could never see her cowboy again.
"Well," Cherie said, warming the milk for the cocoa, "you probably needed time to get Bradley out of your system. I never did think he was the man for you."
"You didn't? You never said that." Auburn put some cookies on a platter and wondered why her sister hadn't mentioned her misgivings.
"You were determined to be perfect," Cherie told her. "I'm the younger sibling, so I'm allowed to learn from your mistakes. One thing I've learned is not to be so darn perfect all the time." She grinned. "Don't let Mom and Dad try to push you into a marriage at the ripe old age of twenty-seven if you don't want to be married."
"Oh," Auburn said, "they'll focus on you now. Twenty-five is plenty marriageable."
"Yes," Cherie said with a smile, "but I'm not afraid to mess up the script. Part of our problem is that we're always worried about what people will think of us because we're the face of McGinnis Perfumes. I'll be the black sheep who brings excitement and a little scandal to the brand."
Auburn shook her head ruefully. She couldn't share her secret, of course, but she'd had enough excitement and scandal to last her for a lifetime—or at least a few years, anyway. What would her parents have thought if she'd brought home a gunslinger? She smiled wistfully as she thought about how wonderful Dillinger was to her. And to Rose.
She was going to miss that big, hot-blooded, hunky cowboy.
Like crazy.
She pushed the terrible heartache away and went to find Rose.
* * *
DILLINGER SLOWLY NURSED Pierre back to health, and taught Bradley how to be a rancher and how to survive in the coldest of winter conditions. He missed Auburn, but he knew she was wherever she had to be.
Their relationship had never been part of destiny, he'd decided. Every once in a while he'd pull Polly's earring from his pocket, wonder if Auburn had taken the other one. Maybe it would show up one day. He didn't think the earring was the key to her returning to her century; he'd seen her body begin to grow filmy and then reappear, and she hadn't had the earrings with her then.
She'd never been meant to be part of his era, that was all. Maybe his role had always been to take Rose to Auburn, a woman who would love her and care for her, and make certain she grew up to be a fine young lady.
Auburn was the perfect woman to do all that. He smiled when he remembered that he'd thought she was a woman of loose morals when he'd first met her. Over time, he'd realized her true character: she was a hard worker and a positive spirit.
She and Polly would have been such good friends, had they lived in the same time.
Now he had two roommates instead of a woman. Life was funny that way.
"Hey," Bradley yelled from the kitchen, "who wants venison chili for dinner?"
Pierre looked up from stoking the fire. He couldn't do a lot because of his ribs, but he did try to help out, in return for Dillinger letting him rest up in his house until the hard freeze passed. There was little light in the sky, even during the day, and he had no sleigh even if he were well enough to travel, which he wasn't.
Dillinger only slightly regretted chopping up Pierre's sleigh. He'd been mad that day, angry, tired of being hounded by the man. Taking it out on the sleigh wasn't a very productive use of his energy, but it had made great firewood. And he was making a better sleigh for Pierre as an apology, and hopefully a mending of their relationship.
"I'll take some chili," Pierre said, "and I'll do the washing up, since you did the cooking."
It was amazing how those two were making a great effort to get along. They were changing, Dillinger realized, trying to become better people. Stronger men. Men who didn't hold a grudge, didn't hold people hostage for financial reasons or revenge.
Maybe he'd become a stronger man, too, thanks to Auburn. "I'd like some chili, too," Dillinger said. "You've become quite the cook in the past few days."
Even Christmas had been a tasty affair, though he still preferred Auburn's cooking, especially her Christmas turkey soup. He'd loved everything she'd prepared, everything she'd done for him. Bradley had made game hens stuffed with rice and spices, surrounded by vegetables. Three men spending Christmas together hadn't seemed all that festive, but on the other hand, he hadn't been alone, and Dillinger had been grateful for that.
The Christmas miracle was that they'd all sat and talked in front of the fire, and put all the bad history behind them. Bradley didn't feel as if Dillinger had tried to steal his woman anymore, and said he realized Auburn hadn't been his true love, after all. Pierre said he knew he shouldn't have tried to kill a man who'd loved his sister, and was glad that the Christmas spirit had finally cured him of his grief.
Dillinger said he didn't give a fig about either of them, but since they were in his house, they might as well share a cup of w
ine with him. They'd laughed, not taking offense, and enjoyed the holiday with forgiving hearts.
Except Dillinger, who'd quietly nursed a broken heart.
"I guess I won't travel back," Bradley said as they sat eating their chili. "I don't seem to be getting any particular call to return, and I can't say I'm all that unhappy. I like it here." He glanced around Dillinger's comfortable house. "I like not living for the bottom line. I want to build a place just like this one."
The Cowboy from Christmas Past Page 14