“Please come forward and visit me,” Dr. Teel said to Carol. “And if things work out with Megan, bring her along as well.”
“I hope to do just that,” Carol said.
Duster nodded to Teel and Bonnie waved and then they headed down the mansion drive and out to the wagon road leading back toward Boise.
Megan rested comfortably on the thick pads in the back of the wagon.
Dr. Teel had given Carol a more future version of a sedative and a quick lesson in how much to administer.
So the journey to take Megan home had started.
One more step.
They again went straight through, taking turns napping on the bed beside Megan as they traveled.
Four days later, again very early in the morning to the east of Missoula, just two weeks and one day from when they had picked up Megan, Carol said goodbye to the sleeping girl.
“She should wake up in about an hour,” Carol said to Bonnie as Bonnie gave the reins of her horse to Carol and climbed into the back of the wagon. “Dr. Teel tells me she will be hungry and thirsty. Water is fine, a little bread would also be fine until she reaches home.”
Bonnie nodded and smiled. “Don’t worry, we have her from here.”
Carol knew that they had three hours of travel left to get Megan back home.
And Carol knew she didn’t dare go the last little bit with them. Megan could never see her if there was any hope the two of them could have a relationship in the future.
Carol turned away as the wagon started off and went to build a camp along a stream where she could wait for Bonnie and Duster to return.
Megan was alive.
Only eleven years old and very much alive.
But leaving Megan again had hurt.
Stupidly. Carol knew that.
It was amazing how much she was willing to go through for Megan’s future love.
Nine hours later, in the heat of the late afternoon, Bonnie and Duster rode back into Carol’s camp without the wagon.
“We waited for the local doctor to come and check out Megan,” Bonnie said as they both climbed down from their horses. The local doctor pronounced Megan fine.”
“How was she feeling?”
“Tired and level and glad to be home,” Bonnie said, smiling. “Megan is a very amazing girl.”
“An even more amazing woman,” Carol said.
“So what happened to the wagon?”
“My butt is what happened,” Duster said. “It’s going to be a few centuries of time before I’ll ride in a wagon again.”
“We gave it to Megan’s family to use,” Bonnie said, winking at Carol and then laughing.
And for the first time in a long time, Carol laughed as well.
And wow did that feel good.
PART SEVEN
Once More for Love
CHAPTER FIFTY-TWO
June 6th, 1901
Boise, Idaho
MEGAN FELT NERVOUS. She had on one of her best skirts and blouses, an outfit she saved for special occasions such as a staff party. The skirt was a pleated blue and the blouse a loose white with silk on the neck and sleeves. She wore a light matching blue jacket over her blouse and a small string of pearls that her mother had given her when she got married and moved to Boise.
Even though it was a warm evening outside, Megan felt she needed the jacket to look presentable.
She wasn’t sure why she was nervous. This Carol Kogan sounded nice and impressive and wanted to just talk. Megan figured that was what was making her nervous, that someone actually valued beyond what they ate at their table what she did every night.
Dr. Stevens had really played this Carol up as a major writer and a really nice person. And that Megan deserved to be in her research for the Powerful Women of the West book.
Megan brushed down her skirt one more time, then checked to make sure her hair was in place, even though as short as it was, there wasn’t much she could do with it.
She nodded to the desk clerk as she moved across the stone-floors of the foyer and into the open restaurant doors beyond.
Stan, the evening host, greeted her with a smile. “You look wonderful this evening, Mrs. Taber.”
“Thank you, Stan,” she said, bowing slightly.
“Your guest is waiting at the table near the front window,” Stan said, indicating that she should follow him.
The blinds on the west side of the room had been drawn to block out the direct evening sun and Megan was happy to see that the woman was sitting in a shaded area near an open window. The noise and smells from the streets might intrude at times, but even a slight breeze would be better than being stuffy.
As Megan approached, the woman she was meeting glanced around and seemed shocked.
Actually, it was Megan who felt shocked. The woman was stunningly beautiful and dressed in a similar style as Megan was.
After a moment, the woman seemed to take a deep breath and then stood and extended her hand. “Mrs. Taber, I am Carol Kogan. The honor is all mine to be talking with you.”
Megan took Miss Kogan’s hand and was stunned at how soft and wonderful it felt. She didn’t want to let it go.
And she didn’t want to stop staring in Miss Kogan’s eyes either. They were the most beautiful green Megan had ever seen.
Deep green, caring green.
And clearly Miss Kogan didn’t want to break the grip either. Her face looked flushed and there was a slight look of panic on her face.
Megan thought that odd, since she was the one who should be panicked, not the famous writer.
Stan moved around Megan and pulled out her chair, so Megan released Miss Kogan’s hand and sat, allowing Miss Kogan to sit again as well.
“Would you enjoy a beverage to start?” Stan asked Megan.
Miss Kogan already had a glass of water in front of her.
“Water would be wonderful,” Megan said.
Stan nodded and turned away.
Megan looked across the table at Carol, who was staring at her.
“Call me Megan,” she said, deciding to break the ice a little, even though ice was a great distance away from this warm summer evening.
“I’m Carol. And I apologize for staring. I feel so like I know you and you are a very beautiful woman.”
Megan could feel herself blush a little along her neck. She laughed. “No need to apologize at all, because I was thinking the same of you.”
Now Carol blushed slightly and laughed what was clearly a relieved laugh. At that point, Carol seemed to relax.
And that helped Megan relax.
From there over the evening they managed to talk about their pasts, about how Megan’s husband had died, and then finally her baking.
It was a wonderful evening, especially when Carol called her baking an art. Megan thought of it as an art, but no one had ever said that to her before.
The evening ended with the two of them sitting and staring at each other for the longest and most wonderful time.
Megan knew she should have felt uncomfortable, but she didn’t. Not in the slightest.
It just felt right.
CHAPTER FIFTY-THREE
June 6th, 1901
Boise, Idaho
CAROL HAD BEEN so nervous when Megan came into the dining room, she almost couldn’t stand. Her stomach was twisted into a tight knot and she was sweating even more than the warm summer evening caused.
Carol had buried Megan four times, yet here she was again, walking across the warm, sunlit dining room like an angel.
And this time, with a healthy heart.
There was no doubt it was the same Megan that Carol had fallen so completely in love with. And now seeing Megan like this again was like a dream.
All Carol wanted to do was hug her.
And never let Megan go.
But Carol didn’t.
She knew she had a script to follow and she didn’t dare mess it up for fear of losing Megan, not to death, but to stupidity.
Th
is was going to be impossible.
This would be a very fine balance.
She had to do it.
Dr. Stevens had arranged this meeting this time without Bonnie and Duster, since there was a chance Megan would remember them. And Dr. Stevens had managed it, but Carol didn’t know what the fine doctor had said about her. She was going to have to play that by ear.
Thankfully, the dinner went well and as it had in the last three timelines, they met the next morning for breakfast in Megan’s apartment.
Carol touched Megan’s beautiful patchwork quilt on the couch when she came in, knowing that it was also in her condo on her own couch in 2019. Carol had spent a lot of time wrapped in that quilt over time, not wanting to think about there being a world without Megan.
And now, that was possible.
If Carol stayed on script.
The breakfast went almost identically as the first breakfast that they had three times together.
And from that moment forward they spent every dinner together and every breakfast, until the moment when Megan asked Carol to scrub her back.
Carol had agreed, then as Megan lowered her beautiful body into the tub, Carol could see the very faint white scar.
Very faint and as far as Carol was concerned, the most beautiful scar she had ever seen.
Period.
As Carol took the washcloth and soap and got it ready, she asked, “Did you scratch your chest?”
Megan laughed. “That is from an operation I had as a child. My mother said it fixed my heart.”
Carol wanted to say it fixed far more than that, but she said nothing.
After a moment, Carol said, “Would you mind if I joined you in the bath? Better than getting my blouse and skirt soaked.
Megan blushed slightly and said, “I would love that.”
And the romance turned wonderfully physical from there, as it had the last time they had been together.
Carol knew what Megan liked and made sure Megan enjoyed every second.
It was the most wonderful time Carol had ever had.
That evening at dinner, before Megan went to her baking, Carol asked Megan if she could get the following night off of work. She had a wonderful surprise to show her.
Megan nodded and smiled. “I would love to start to see some of the many surprises and secrets you hold.”
“You saw a few of those this morning,” Carol said, blushing.
Megan also blushed. “That’s why I am interested in more. That was wonderful.”
Carol laughed. “I thought so as well.”
As before, it had taken Carol one month to gain Megan’s trust and love.
And for Carol, it had been once again one of the best months of her life.
Maybe the best because this time she wasn’t worried about Megan dying at any moment.
Because after losing Megan four times, getting to spend a wonderful month with her again couldn’t be anything more than the best.
CHAPTER FIFTY-FOUR
July 8th, 1901
Boise, Idaho
MEGAN COULDN’T BELIEVE how much and how quickly she had fallen completely in love with the mysterious Carol Kogan.
And clearly Carol had fallen for her as well. In fact, it felt as if Carol was in love from the first moment they met.
Megan had never actually had an affair with a woman, but with Carol everything just felt right and wonderful and each moment precious.
Megan had no doubt that she would love to just touch Carol’s skin for the rest of her life. And it surprised Megan that she wanted to spend the rest of her life with Carol. Not a thought she ever would have thought possible just a month before.
And every day that feeling got deeper and deeper.
And since Carol was now willing to start opening up about some of her secrets, Megan felt encouraged. Megan had never pushed or asked, but she could tell that Carol kept a lot hidden.
Megan got up a little earlier than normal in the afternoon and got dressed in her riding clothes. She hadn’t been riding in a very long time and was very pleased to discover her riding clothes still fit perfectly. Considering she was a baker and didn’t mind sampling her own work, that was saying something.
“We are going to need some early dinner,” Megan said as they left the hotel and turned toward the stables.
Both of them were wearing big cloth hats with wide brims as well to shade their skin from the sun. Megan hadn’t worn her riding hat since the last time she wore her riding clothes. It actually felt odd on her head, but Carol’s hat made her look even more alluring.
“I have dinner planned for us at the Institute,” Carol said. “It will be like nothing you have ever tasted, I promise.”
Megan couldn’t get even a hint more from Carol, so they got saddled and headed slowly out of town. Carol said that the horse Megan was riding was an Institute horse. A brown mare that seemed very gentle and Megan took a liking to her at once.
It was a beautiful summer day. The leaves still all green and the day didn’t seem like it was going to end up too warm.
Megan had brought along a jacket just in case they were late coming back in the evening, but she wasn’t wearing it at the moment.
Carol rode like an expert, which didn’t surprise Megan at all. She had a hunch that nothing would surprise her about Carol.
As they neared the Institute, Megan could see the three large Victorian homes standing on the rise above the river among a large stand of oak and cottonwood trees. The homes were beautiful and majestic.
“Two friends of mine I want you to meet will greet us at the Institute,” Carol said. “They are going to help with the surprise. And actually be one of the surprises as well.”
“Should I be worried about this surprise?” Megan asked as they got closer to the three large homes.
“Not in the slightest,” Carol said. “I am very much in love with you. And I want you to know everything about me.”
Megan was very pleased to hear Carol say that.
Very pleased.
As they dismounted in the stable behind the center mansion and gave their horses to a stable hand, Carol looked at Megan with an intense look. “Remember as you learn more about me, I love you.”
“I will,” Megan said, smiling.
Carol beamed at that and then the two of them started toward the back entrance to the mansion, taking off their hats as they went.
“Then it sounds like you are ready for some secrets,” Carol said.
“As much as I’ll ever be, I suppose.”
CHAPTER FIFTY-FIVE
July 8th, 1901
Boise, Idaho
CAROL LED MEGAN through the back door of the large Institute mansion, then instead of taking Megan on a tour, Carol touched a secret panel that slid back and stepped through.
“The Institute is so much more than the three buildings on the surface,” Carol said. “Let me show you.”
She held out her hand and took Megan’s hand.
“Secret panels in a mansion,” Megan said, smiling. “Like a story right out of All Story Magazine.”
“It is, isn’t it?” Carol said, happy that Megan didn’t seem afraid in the slightest. Carol remembered the first time she saw what was under the Institute. It had scared her more than she wanted to admit.
They went through the wide hallway lit by electrical bulbs and to an elevator.
“Much safer than the Otis at the hotel,” Carol said. “I promise.”
“You telling me that thing in the hotel isn’t safe?” Megan asked, laughing and stepping on beside Carol.
“I’d never ride it,” Carol said, laughing in return.
“I knew you were smart,” Megan said.
The elevator took them down two floors and opened up into the big cavern.
“Wow,” Megan said as Carol led her through the arrangements of living room furniture and toward a kitchen counter where Bonnie and Duster sat. “This is really some place.”
“No one really kno
ws about it,” Carol said. “Only about thirty people total. One of my many secrets I promised to show you.”
Bonnie and Duster were sitting at the kitchen counter against one wall of the large cavern. Carol had no idea if Megan would remember them or not. It had been fourteen years earlier.
As Carol and Megan approached, Bonnie and Duster turned around, large smiles on their faces.
“Megan, you look wonderful,” Bonnie said, standing and coming forward.
Megan was holding Carol’s hand and after two steps Megan stopped suddenly.
Carol glanced at the shocked look on Megan’s face. Clearly Megan recognized Bonnie and Duster.
“I’m Bonnie,” Bonnie said, standing and moving toward Megan with her hand extended. “This is Duster.”
“You took me to my surgery,” Megan said. “Didn’t you?”
“We did,” Bonnie said. “And we can explain why we are here after Carol shows you a few more secrets.”
“This is a pretty good one,” Megan said.
“Now we want to show you something and a kitchen you can only dream about,” Bonnie said. “Follow me.”
Carol took Megan’s hand and they went through a big door in the far wall and then down two flights of stairs and into a large room full of clothes and supplies. Duster followed along not talking.
“I’ll explain all this shortly,” Carol said, squeezing Megan’s hand.
“Good,” Megan said, “Because this is the biggest and strangest store I have ever seen.”
Carol watched Megan carefully as they went into the long, narrow crystal room.
Bonnie and Carol had decided to just go quickly through the process as they had before, get her established a few hundred years ahead, and then go back and show Megan what it looked like in 2019.
“Those are very beautiful crystals,” Megan said, pointing to the glowing crystals in the stone wall.
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