his shirtsleeve and dripped from his fingertips. His arm hung
limply at his side.
“The medallion isn’t of any real value. It will only bring
about your death if you try to keep it,” Caleb cautioned as
Jacobs snatched it up by the chain.
“Yore lyin’. You jist want it fer yoreself.”
“It’s not mine. It belongs to Rebecca,” Caleb said softly.
“Not no more. She’s dead. So I guess that makes it mine
for the takin’.”
“No. It goes in the dresser for Rebecca’s namesake.”
Rebecca’s namesake. My Becci.
A different type of pain ripped through him. He would never
see Becci again. At least his sweet memories of her hadn’t
been lost in time.
Jacobs reached for the knife. Caleb caught him by the wrist,
but his mind wasn’t on the fight. He didn’t want to live without
Becci. Would she remember him? Would she read his journal
and know he loved her?
Jacobs threw his elbow into Caleb, knocking him to his
back. Then he swept the knife off the floor and swung it toward
Caleb. Instinctively, Caleb caught the drunk’s wrist in both
hands, stopping the downward trail of the blade.
His arms shook with the tension of holding the point away.
He could feel the blood oozing from the wound in his shoulder,
whittling at his strength.
Jacobs was going to win.
He would never see Becci again.
The point came closer, aiming straight for his neck.
Once the blade pierced the vein at his neck the end would
come quickly. He would never again be able to tell Becci he
loved her. Never get the chance to hold her. He only hoped that
she would find someone to love and the happiness she and he
were destined to never share.
The knife crept closer, its tip only a fraction away from
piercing his neck. “I love you, Becci,” he whispered as the last
of his strength faded, and he surrendered to fate.
***
A raw primitive grief squeezed at Becci’s heart. Tears
trickled down her cheeks. Why hadn’t she told Caleb she loved
him with all her heart?
As hard as she tried to remain calm, she couldn’t. A tremor
shook her hands as she brushed a kink from the ruffled edge of
the curtains and straightened the small dish on the nightstand.
Clenching her fists together, she brought them to her chest as
deep, shuddering sobs racked her insides.
What would she do without him?
Michael waited downstairs with pen and paper in hand. If
she signed she wouldn’t have the burdens connected with the
family home. She had the means to keep the house now, but
without Caleb it meant nothing.
She picked up both the tiny cube Caleb had carved for her
and his journal. She sat on the edge of the bed and stared out
the window, recalling what he’d said when he’d given her the
box.
I don’t have much, but I love you, Becci. I love you with
all my heart.
She traced the letters that formed her name. The spoken
words had been hard for him to express, but at that moment
she’d felt more loved than at any other time in her life. He’d
been with her for almost five weeks. He’d held her, kissed her,
and loved her, but he’d never promised her more than the
moment. He’d told her he had a promise to keep—a child to
raise and a woman to support.
A shudder rippled through her, and she clutched the two
items Caleb had left behind to her chest.
Caleb was gone. Gone.
Don’t panic. Remain calm and be patient, Becci.
The thoughts floated through her mind with a soft sternness
that made the air vibrate with a fierce intensity.
Becci drew in a deep breath. How could she relax when all
she could do was relive the incidents of the last few minutes?
One moment Caleb and Jacobs had been struggling over
the knife, and the next they’d plummeted through the door.
Their image had frozen for an instant, and then they’d
disappeared.
Becci flipped on the lamp, set the journal and the trinket
box down and ran her fingertip over the hand-carved “B” that
adorned each piece of furniture. The journals said Caleb had
made the furniture for her namesake. Did Rebecca really hide
gold in the secret compartments of the other furniture?
Her heart raced. Apprehension gripped her. She didn’t dare
look, not with Michael in the house.
“Becci?”
Oh Lord, Michael! She couldn’t let him find the journal or
the medallion. She had to hide them, but where?
She jerked open the bottom drawer, shoved the trinket box
to the far back corner and slipped the journal under a stack of
shorts. It was the best she could do for now.
“Where’s Jacobs?” Michael called up from the foot of the
stairs, a note of anger lacing his voice.
“Jacobs?” Why would he ask for Jacobs? He hadn’t even
met the man, had he?
“He vanished.” Her words sounded so final. “Caleb, too.”
Disappeared, as if they’d never been. Again her chest
tightened and tears filled her eyes, blurring everything before
her.
She could feel Caleb’s presence in the hall. The caress of
his eyes fanned the flames of desire just as they had when they’d
shared his supper down by the lake. She sensed the excitement
and fear, the hope and the regret. But most of all she felt the
love that had flourished between them. In one night he had
shown her what it meant to be cherished.
“I love you, Caleb Harrison,” Becci declared. “I’ll keep
the door open for you for as long as it takes. Please come back.
Please.”
She repeated the words like a mantra, wishing with all her
heart that he would return, and knowing that she had no control
over the time portal.
Nothing would bring him back if he didn’t want to return.
***
Caleb waited for the knife to deliver the final wound.
Instead, he heard a loud crack echo through the hall. Jacobs’
eyes widened as a cry of pain hissed from between his clenched
teeth, and he went stiff-backed. His body jerked convulsively,
and his hand opened. For a fraction of a second the knife teetered
on his palm before clattering to the floor. He stared down at
Caleb with shock, and then he fell forward.
“Rebecca?” Caleb whispered. Had she come to his rescue?
“Rebecca,” he called again, drawing in a shaky breath. The
acrid smell of gunpowder mixed with the soft scent of lavender.
Luke’s hoarse cry echoed from downstairs.
“Caleb.” Rebecca’s pain-riddled voice beckoned him.
“Caleb...”
“I’m here, Rebecca. I’m here,” Caleb muttered, pushing
himself to a sitting position. Pain slashed through his shoulder
when he moved. But he ignored it as he dragged himself to
where Rebecca lay on the floor, the dueling pistol she’d used
on Jacobs on the floor beside her.
“Luke...get L
uke,” she gasped, grabbing his sleeve with
one hand while pressing the other to her chest. Blood covered
her slender fingers and trickled down her arm to drip onto her
dress.
“Please, take him with you.”
“I’m not leaving you, Rebecca.” Caleb took her hand and
brought it to his lips before laying it on his knee. He slipped
off his shirt, gently lifted the hand from her chest and covered
the wound with the soft material.
“Please.” Rebecca’s words poured out between deep gasps
of breath. “Get Luke. Take care of him.”
“I will, Rebecca. I will.”
“Oh, dear Lord, I’m so sorry.” Tears rolled down her cheeks.
“Shh. Save your strength, Mary Rebecca.”
Rebecca clutched at his shirt and drew in a sharp gasp.
Whether for courage or from pain, he didn’t know. Her voice
was barely a whisper, and Caleb leaned forward to hear her.
“This is all yours now,” she whispered. “Now you have
everything you’ve ever wanted.”
“No,” Caleb whispered back.
“No,” she agreed. Her eyelids fluttered open. She rolled
her head in a weak gesture toward the bedroom. “She can be
yours, too. If that’s what you choose.”
Caleb glanced at the muted image of the future. His future
if he wanted it, and he nodded in understanding. Becci’s
transparent form hovered so close yet so far away.
He loved her. He didn’t want to lose her, but he’d made a
promise to Saul.
“You must choose. Make your choice from here,” she said
resting her hand against his chest. “Do it quickly. If she leaves
the room, the door will close forever. But remember, nothing
is for certain.”
“I can’t go to her. I promised to look after Luke. He needs
me here.”
Rebecca expelled a pain-riddled gasp. “Take him with you.”
“Oh, Rebecca, I can’t. The pain would kill him.”
Rebecca coughed and swallowed hard. “No, it was Jacobs
who caused the disruption. Go to her. Take Luke with you.”
Caleb watched Becci. She was clutching the small trinket
box to her chest. Did she love him? How could he even consider
burdening her with a ready-made family?
Rebecca expelled an anguished cry. “Hold me, Caleb. Hold
me. I don’t want to die alone. I’m so alone.”
“I’m here. I’ll stay with you,” Caleb said, gently lifting
her to his chest. He ignored the pain that sliced through his
shoulder and rocked her gently.
“Kiss Luke for me,” she murmured, then she drew in one
sharp breath, and her arm slid down Caleb’s chest to hang limply
at her side.
Tears slid down Caleb’s cheeks. He held her tightly for a
moment then said, “I will, Mary Rebecca. I’ll kiss him for
you.”
He eased her to the floor. Wind howled through the house,
and Caleb looked down the long flight of steps to the entry
hall. Eli’s and Saul’s portraits were the only two lining the
walls, but in the future six ancestral portraits would be displayed
in the stairwell gallery.
Luke’s should have been next, but he’d seen the future.
Obadiah had stolen Luke’s inheritance. The only way he would
have what was rightfully his would be to take him to the future.
To Becci.
He caught the handrail and pulled himself up. The
movement caused a wave of dizziness to sweep over him. He’d
lost too much blood, and his vision blurred. He fought to clear
his head. If he didn’t get Luke to Becci, Ascott would win. He
wouldn’t let Jacobs or Ascott take away Luke’s future or his.
He glanced toward the bedroom. Becci stood a few feet
from the threshold and his heart skipped a beat. She was leaving
the room. He had to get to her, but he couldn’t leave Luke
behind.
“No. Becci, please. Wait for me,” he pleaded knowing his
words were several lifetimes too far away for her to hear.
He hurried down the steps. Luke’s cry came from the parlor.
He found the boy, scooped him up, and stumbled back up the
stairs. Each step took its toll on his waning energy.
As they reached the top landing, Luke screamed and
reached for Rebecca.
“I’m sorry,” Caleb whispered and turned away. He could
only hope Luke would love Becci as much as he’d loved his
mother.
Caleb moved toward the threshold. Luke snuggled against
his chest. One more step. His hand touched the frame. Oh,
Lord. Where was the key? Without it he couldn’t reach Becci.
“Noooo!” he cried as she inched closer to the door.
He tightened his hold on Luke and shoved himself toward
Jacobs. “Where is it?” he yelled as he shifted Luke into his
injured arm, grabbed Jacobs by the shoulder and rolled him
over. The coin wasn’t there. He quickly glanced at the door.
Becci’s hand rested on the shimmering edge of the portal, and
panic wrapped its fingers around his throat.
He was losing her. Only two steps separated her from the
doorway. Without realizing what she was doing, she would
lock him in the past and seal his fate. The thin thread of love
he’d tried to grasp was slowly slipping away from him. Even
if he had the medallion in his hand there would not be enough
time for Luke and him to cross over before she passed through
the doorway.
Lightning flashed. Caleb caught the flicker of something
at the edge of the balcony. Another flash illuminated the hall,
sending a glittering beam off the thin, bright chain. Hope
gathered inside him, but as he reached for the medallion, it fell
over the edge of the balcony.
He lunged for it as the last inch rolled over the edge.
Twenty-three
Becci wiped the moisture from her cheeks and stared at
the rainbow reflection around the door. It glowed in an eerie
rippling circle, and she recalled that Caleb had told her she
wasn’t supposed to go through the door as long as there were
lights around it. But Michael was calling her, and if she didn’t
go downstairs, he’d come up here. She didn’t want him near
her bedroom
With hesitant steps, she moved across the room to the door.
A noise stopped her. It sounded like Caleb’s voice, calling out
for her to wait. Turning to make a quick sweeping glance around
the room, she turned back to the door.
“Caleb?” she called. “Caleb, are you there?”
Silence greeted her.
She hadn’t really expected an answer. It was just wishful
thinking that made her believe she’d heard him. She took
another step toward the entry. New tears rolled down her cheeks.
He was really gone.
Her hand touched the door frame just as a gust of wind
whipped through the room and sent the curtains flapping. If it
was going to rain, she needed to close the window and check
the other rooms before heading downstairs.
To keep Michael from coming upstairs, she yelled, “I’ll be
down in a minute, Michael.”<
br />
She crossed to the window and leaned her forehead against
the cool pane. She’d been about to close the window the first
time she saw Caleb. Dropping to her knees, she clutched her
waist and bent forward. Caleb was gone, and he wasn’t coming
back.
Life would go on.
Time would go on.
The hall floor creaked under the weight of cautious
footsteps. Becci cringed. She wouldn’t be alone much longer.
Michael was coming despite her effort to keep him away.
She pushed herself to her feet just as she heard shoe leather
brush the hardwood flooring behind her. Knowing she had to
be strong, she wiped at her tears, determined not to let Michael
see her crying. She didn’t want to confront him yet, but how
could she avoid him?
“Go away,” Becci ordered without looking back.
A warm, masculine hand closed around her shoulders. The
gentle caress sent a ripple of longing to her heart. Only Caleb
could create the hunger she felt radiating from the fingers gently
feathering over her skin. Only he created this longing for love
and the protection she’d never experienced except with him.
But Caleb was gone, and it was Michael’s touch she felt.
With a slight squeeze, a warm hand reached around, turned
her head and lifted her chin with one finger and Becci gasped.
“Caleb? Oh, Caleb! Is it really you?”
He circled her with his free arm and pressed a kiss to her
temple. “Darling, I would like for you to meet my godson,
Luke. I promised Rebecca I would keep him safe. He’s an
orphan now. I’m all he has, and I’ll understand if you don’t
want...If you...” Caleb swallowed around the lump in his throat.
Luke took a shuddering breath, and Becci reached up and
wiped away a single tear that trickled down his cheek.
“Oh, Caleb, he’s beautiful. I...” Tears flooded her eyes.
She wanted to tell him she would gladly be Luke’s godmother
if Caleb would stay here and marry her. But was he here to
stay? She had to be sure before she made a fool of herself.
She rose up on her tiptoes and kissed Caleb on the cheek.
He tightened his hold around her waist and returned her kiss.
Lightning, followed by the crack of thunder, jarred them
apart. Rain pelted the glass and without taking his eyes off
Becci, Caleb reached behind her and forced the window down.
Christopher, Barbara - Keeper of Key.txt Page 36