With his right hand, he brushed one of the letters. A thin
coating of something held it firmly in place. The other rotated
easily.
He glanced at the door. The tantalizing odor of bacon frying
wafted into the room, although it had thinned considerably. He
was sure Becci was still busy in the kitchen, but it wouldn’t
take her long to finish. He had to know if the gold was also in
the dresser, but if he opened the compartment, would he be
thrust back to his time?
They only had today. One day to love her and create
memories that would have to last him for all eternity. He didn’t
want to lose their time together because of some damn
medallion.
But Becci needed the money he’d put in the secret
compartment. If he found the gold she might have enough so
that she wouldn’t have to sell. She might be wealthy. If she
was, she would have her wish for her charity nursery. His
future—their future—depended on what he found.
He put both hands on the belly-side of the initial that was
stuck and pushed.
Nothing.
He drew in a deep breath and tried again, using a little
more pressure. The letter snapped free. He rolled it on its side
like he’d designed it and held it in place while he turned the
second letter. The front slid down, easily.
Caleb paused. Fear sent a tremor rippling through him. It
was too late to back out now. Slowly, he pulled out the shallow
drawer. Sunlight ricocheted off the looking glass and hit the
contents in the hidden compartment. His heart thudded against
his chest. After all these years, the gold he’d tossed in here
remained untouched.
He opened the deerskin pouch and emptied its contents,
staring at the small, gold medallion nestled among the nuggets
and other coins. Hesitantly, he traced the outline of the floral
design that had fascinated him the first time he saw it. Catching
the chain, he drew out the pendant, letting it spin in the
sunbeams. Fragments of light flashed in every direction.
He lowered the Atlantean coin to his hand and brushed his
thumb over the emblem again. Rebecca had given him the
medallion, and he wished he could give it to Becci. He was
sure it would be enough to save Berclair manor. It had been
worth a fortune in his time, so it would surely be worth a couple
of fortunes now. He curled his fingers over the circular piece.
Was there some way he could get back to his time and leave
this behind for Becci?
Caleb.
“Rebecca?” Caleb stared in disbelief at Rebecca’s image
in the mirror. She wasn’t dead!
The medallion is yours, Caleb. My gift to you for Obadiah’s
sins. It is one of the keys to happiness. Its secrets are many,
and its treasures are great, but only if its owner is not greedy.
You have proved that you are worthy of the coin.
“Can I use the medallion to get home and then return it to
Becci?”
No. It’s yours, not hers. From the day you were born, the
Deity of Atlantis proclaimed you to be its Keeper.
Caleb frowned. Deity? Atlantis? Keeper?
Yes. Keeper. Chosen at birth. You are a descendent of
Atlantis, as are Becci and Lilly. But greed denied you your
right.
My right for what?”
You will learn when the time is right.
Slowly he shifted his gaze to the door. Its edges glowed in
a rainbow of colors. All he had to do was walk through the
door with the medallion in his hand, and he would be back
where he’d come from. The gold throbbed in his palm. He
could go home.
He took a step toward the door and stopped. “No. I don’t
want to return to the past. If this is my destiny, then I will
remain here.”
There are lessons you must learn to be a keeper and guide.
“If I am the keeper, then I can stay where I want.”
No.
“I don’t want to go back,” he repeated.
You must.
Caleb stared at the mirror as Rebecca’s image was replaced
by the reflection of the rumpled bed. “Oh, Becci, how can I
leave you?”
A gnawing pain clawed at his chest. The hope of lasting
love would vanish the moment he walked back in time. If only
she could go with him, but he knew she wouldn’t be happy in
his time. A woman’s role was much different today than in
Rebecca’s day.
“One more day. Please,” he pleaded. “Give me just one
more day to love her.”
“What are you mumbling about?” Becci called from the
foot of the stairs.
“Nothing, honey,” he replied. Caleb hurriedly pushed the
gold and coins back into the pouch. Opening the top of the
small trinket box, he slipped both the medallion and pouch of
gold into it and returned the box to the spot where Becci had
left it. Resetting the dresser handles, he scooted the front panel
back in place and secured the secret compartment. He dusted
the dresser and quickly crossed to the bed. He’d just tucked
the sheet around his waist when Becci entered.
“What are you up to?” Becci asked. The look in Caleb’s
eyes told her something was wrong.
“Nothing.”
“Are you sure?”
Caleb nodded and turned his gaze toward the window. She
knew he was lying. Did he already regret making love to her?
Her heart sank.
Forcing a cheerful tone to her voice, she said, “I need to
pick up some things at the store for tonight’s party. How would
you like to suffer through a bit of culture shock today and tag
along with me? It will give you something else to write about
in your journal.”
He caught her hand and lifted it to his lips. “As long as
I’m with you, I’ll go anywhere.”
***
“Fasten your seat belt,” Becci ordered. She grabbed hers
and clicked it into position. Then pivoted toward Caleb and
waited for him to secure his. He didn’t move.
She chuckled as she watched him sit stiff-backed in the
passenger seat.
“Seat belt,” she repeated, jerking hers to show him what
she meant. “It’s the law that you wear one any time the car is
moving, whether you’re driving or just a passenger.”
He still didn’t move.
She unfastened her belt and scooted across the seat. She
grabbed his leg just above his knee and squeezed gently. The
muscles in his leg tensed. Leaning in front of him, she reached
for his belt.
He cupped his hand over her shoulder and eased her around.
Mere inches separated them, and she kept her face turned away.
She didn’t want to look into his eyes, and she wasn’t sure why.
Caleb slipped his palm to the back of her neck, lifted her
face to his, and smiled his crooked grin. “I can do it. I just
wanted a kiss.”
When their lips touched she felt him tremble. She pulled
back so she could see his face. The fear was still in his eyes.
“Are you
afraid?”
“No—yes. This is crazy, Becci. I’m thirty-four years old,
and all this is impossible for me to believe and remain sane.
It’s too much.” Caleb tugged her into his arms. “I want to believe
everything I hear, see and feel.” He paused and outlined the
contour of her jaw with one finger. “I’m trying, Becci. I really
am.”
“I know you are, but you’ll probably feel better if you don’t
try to believe in it all. Just sit back and enjoy it.”
He sighed and leaned back so she could fix his seat belt. If
he believed himself crazy, then so was she. After all, she
believed he was from another time.
She snapped the belt into place and moved back to her
spot. Drawing in a deep breath, she met his gaze. She really
loved him so much it hurt.
She refastened her seat belt, gave him a sassy wink and hit
the gas, spinning the wheels in the gravel. The car headed down
the drive. She slowed down at the end of the driveway, cast a
quick glance at the traffic, and turned onto the busy highway.
“Stop,” Caleb yelled just as the speedometer reached forty.
Becci pulled the car to the shoulder and slammed on the
brakes. “What’s wrong?”
“That was a little fast, wasn’t it?”
She laughed. “Not hardly, mister. Hold on to your hat. You
are about to experience the ride of a life time.”
Caleb held on to the padded armrest and closed his eyes.
Becci tapped her fist thoughtfully against the steering wheel.
If he stayed like that he wouldn’t see a blasted thing.
“Relax, Caleb. I’m really a good driver, and I’m not driving
another inch until you open your eyes. How do you expect to
see anything with them closed?”
“But—”
“No buts. If you think this is fast, you ought to watch a
Winston Cup Race. Most of the speeds average above one
hundred, and even that is slow compared to some of the other
races.”
“You’re joking. At those speeds a trip that takes—took—
me thirty or forty minutes by wagon can be accomplished in
less than five minutes now?”
“Yep. Look, Caleb, if you’ll just relax and trust me, I
promise I’ll get you back in one piece. Deal?”
“Deal,” he finally agreed.
Five minutes later they were walking into a discount store.
Caleb stopped just inside the entrance, and Becci laughed when
he whirled around to watch the doors open for the next customer.
She caught his sleeve and pulled him toward the row of
baskets. “Stay close and don’t talk to any strangers.”
Becci headed for housewares with Caleb close on her heels.
The next time she looked around he had vanished. Panic
bubbled up inside her. She raced down one aisle and then the
next. He was nowhere in sight.
Her panic increased. Where had he gone? How was she
going to find him? And what was she going to do if he ended
up getting arrested because someone thought he was looney
tunes?
Eighteen
A buzzer sounded, and a disembodied voice announced
that a salesclerk was needed in toys. Becci swung her cart
toward the front of the store. She’d ask them to page Caleb
and, hopefully, he would come to the front.
She walked up to the customer service department and
looked around impatiently while waiting for the line of people
in front of her to finish their business.
“May I help you?” the clerk finally asked.
“I’ve gotten separated from the person with me. Can you
page him?”
“Sure,” the young woman said.
Becci gave her Caleb’s name, and the woman immediately
spouted it into the paging system. Five minutes later, Caleb
and an employee sauntered up to the desk.
“Hi, Becci. This is Stewart. He’s the manager out on the
dock. I was helping him load a...truck.”
“I turned my back for a second, and you vanished,” Becci
snapped. “I’ve been frantic. I looked all over the store for you.
I will never take you shopping again.”
“Mary Rebecca,” Caleb said with a soft firmness she
recognized from the other times he’d been upset with her. “I’m
sorry you’re angry, but I am not a child. I could have found my
way back to Berclair Manor.”
“I’m not angry,” she whispered. “I was scared. I thought
I’d lost you.” The profoundness of her words startled her.
“I’ll stay with you for as long as I can, Becci,” he whispered
back.
Becci stared at Caleb and realized they both knew his words
held a double meaning. She nodded and headed for the check
out.
After they left the store, Caleb joked about the strange
people and the new work inventions he’d seen. Things she’d
grown up with and never thought about intrigued him. From
his white knuckled grip as they drove a whopping forty miles
an hour, to Caleb’s first experience getting fast food from a
drive-in window, she hadn’t been able to stop laughing—except
for the few minutes they’d been separated in the store. And
he’d taken it all in stride.
“I wish we could have stayed out all day. Maybe I’ll give
you a driving lesson tomorrow, but only if you promise not to
go off without me,” she said as they arrived back home. The
muscles around her heart tightened. She shoved the car into
park and turned in her seat to face Caleb. “I don’t want you to
leave. I love you.”
She wasn’t sure what made her say it, but she hadn’t been
able to hold her tongue. He wore his crooked grin, but there
was no laughter in his eyes.
“I didn’t want to love you, Becci, but I do. It’s not right to
care so much knowing there’s no future in it. But I’ll be gone
before dark tomorrow. Not because I want to. Because I have
to.”
Caleb saw the tears glistening in her eyes at his words, but
he made no effort to comfort her because he knew he couldn’t.
Instead, he shoved open the door and slid out of the car. With
hurried steps, he headed toward the lake without looking back.
He couldn’t stand to see her cry. He should have left before her
heart became involved. Before his heart became involved.
Becci leaned her head against the car window and watched
him walk away. They had tonight and maybe part of tomorrow,
and she couldn’t believe that they had to share tonight with a
group of people. She wished she could cancel the party, but it
was too late. She also realized she had to keep the house so
Caleb could come back to her if he could find a way to do so.
If she couldn’t get the Ascomp grant, she’d find another way.
***
Jacobs opened the shed door, and Caleb glanced up and
shut the journal he’d been writing in. He returned it to his
saddlebags along with the two other journals that outlined his
life. Writing them had been Rebecca’s idea. She’d said his life
had been interesting enough that someday
someone would write
his story. He’d thought that notion foolish, but he found writing
down his thoughts comforting.
“Whatcha’ up to?” Jacobs asked. He tipped his bottle up
and gulped down a long swig. “Writin’ about yore evening
with the filly?”
“That’s none of your business.”
“Shore it is. I ain’t never seen you that mad a’fore. I heard
tell you was a man with a temper, but until yesterdee, I didn’t
believe it.”
“Believe it, and believe this, too. I killed a man once for
lying with my woman, and I’ll kill you if you come anywhere
near Becci. Now, get out. I’ve got to get ready for the party.”
“That Ascott feller, is he gonna be at this here party?”
“Yes.” Caleb shrugged into his shirt and buttoned it. “I’ll
bring you a plate over after all the festivities are finished, and
we’ll make plans to return to Raleigh. I promised I’d get you
back to Raleigh, and I’m a man of my word. Be prepared to
leave tomorrow afternoon,” he said as he tugged on his pants.
“You found the gold?”
Caleb retrieved his saddlebags and slung them over his
shoulder. “I found the medallion, and that’s all we need. We’ll
take nothing that isn’t ours to take, understand?”
“Maybe I’s don’t want to go back. That Ascott feller, he
told me there’s a place close to here that offers anything a man
has a notion to do fer a price. And if I don’t go back, I might be
able to find me some of that there gold stashed in the house.”
Caleb stared at Jacobs as the drunk’s words finally
registered. He’d mentioned Ascott twice. When had he spoken
to the man?
“You don’t have a choice, Jacobs. When the time comes,
we’ll go to the spot where I think the transfer should take place.
You had better pray it works.”
Jacobs nodded and said, “I’ll be ready.” He wiped his fist
across his mouth then opened the door. “I’ll watch for ya to
bring my vittles, too.”
Caleb crossed to the window and watched the drunk turn
toward the lake. Then he went back to the cot and pulled out
his journal again. He would have to write out the instructions
for opening the hidden compartments in all the furniture before
he went to the party. That way, after he was gone, Becci could
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