“What?” She gasped. “No! Of course not! How could you even think that?”
“I don’t know, Gemma—is that even your name?” He looked at her as if she were a bug under a microscope.
“Yes! My name is Gemma Watts. I’m from New York, and I came here to find my husband, even if he wasn’t the mail-order groom I told you about.”
Pain and anger crossed his face, and he stepped up to her again. “There’s another man?” His voice was deadly, and she realized what he was thinking.
She held up her hands, resting her palms on his chest. She expected him to push her away, but he remained still, as if frozen in place. “No. Please, let me explain.”
“Speak.”
She didn’t appreciate the command, but she understood she’d pushed him to the very edge of what he could handle. “It might be a little hard to believe, but I swear it’s the truth.” Her mouth went dry, words temporarily failing her.
“Go on.”
She couldn’t look at him, so she looked at his neck. “I came from New York, but not the one you know. I’m from the future.”
He inhaled sharply, and she dared a glance at his face. His eyes were narrowed, and she could tell he didn’t believe her.
“I know it sounds insane.”
“Completely.”
“But it’s the truth! I’m from the future. The twenty-first century. That’s why you found me at the river. That’s why my clothes looked so strange.”
“If that’s true, how did you get here? Did one of the Greek gods send you or something?” he asked mockingly.
“What? No.” She was losing him. She could see it. “No. Nothing like that. I was a part of this book club. We read romance novels—romantic tales. There was a woman who came—apparently, she’s a fairy godmother—and she told us she could send us to where our true love was, to the man we were meant to find. I’d always loved reading about this time, about men like you who worked hard, settled this territory, and made a life for themselves.”
“So, you targeted me. Thought to trick me into marrying you.”
“No! Aren’t you listening to me at all? I said she sent me to the man I was meant to be with. I didn’t know who it was. I had no idea what he’d be like. I wasn’t even sure I’d meet him right away. That’s how I ended up in the river. When I appeared in your time, I was dropped right into it. I didn’t know who you were before we met that day. I hadn’t ever heard about you or your claim. I hadn’t studied this area extensively.”
He still looked skeptical. “So you didn’t know about anything here?”
“Well, a few things,” she admitted. He raised a brow. “I’d heard of the Copper Kings and had studied them in school. The copper mine will be so much larger than they realize now. The mine isn’t just going to make them rich, it’s going to completely throw them into the realm of kings.”
He shook his head and turned away from her. “I just can’t believe this, Gemma. Everything is so farfetched. Traveling through time? It’s the stuff of fairytales.”
She went to him and placed her hand on his back. She wanted to beg him to look at her, to believe her, but he would have to come around to accepting this on his own. “I know. At first, I couldn’t believe it either, but when other girls from my group started disappearing, I knew it had to be true.”
“They all were sent here?” He looked as though he’d caught her in another lie. “I haven’t seen any other new women.”
She shook her head. “No. They went all over. Some went to medieval Scotland, others to Regency England. We were sent all over the place, to wherever we were meant to go.”
His jaw clenched. “I need proof. I’m sorry, Gemma. It’s too much to take in.”
She nodded quickly. “I understand completely. If our situations were reversed, I’d feel the same way. But I’m telling you the truth, and I can prove it.”
“How?”
“Remember my bag? I didn’t want you to carry it for me because it had my things from the future. I brought medicine and technology, and other things I thought I would need to survive here. I knew if anyone saw it, they wouldn’t understand. They’d think it was witchcraft. But it’s not. I have a device. It’s a cell phone that fits in my hand, and it lets me call anyone anywhere in the world in a few seconds.”
He shook his head. “Impossible.”
She grinned. “It true. We can’t call during this time because the rest of the technology isn’t set up, but I brought it because it can also take photographs and videos—sort of like moving pictures but much better quality.”
His jaw went slack. “Show me.”
She took his hand and squeezed. “Follow me.”
He was starting to believe her! She was thrilled he was taking it so well. In a moment, he’d see the pictures, know she was telling the truth, and everything would be all right. “I have everything in my bag in my room.”
They walked up the stairs, and he waited in the hall as she entered. She went over to the dresser where she’d stored the pack.
Opening the drawer, she stared dumfounded.
“What’s wrong?” he asked.
But she didn’t answer. She quickly closed the drawer and opened the one below it. Then the one below that.
Panic enveloped her as she tore open each drawer, finally looking under and behind the piece of furniture.
Realizing something was really wrong, he asked, “Gemma, tell me.”
Dread settled in her belly as she faced him. “It’s gone. Someone stole my bag.”
Chapter 10
“What do you mean someone stole your bag?” Logan asked, still reeling from Gemma’s story.
She gestured widely, panicking. “I mean I put my bag in this drawer, and it’s gone now. Someone moved it.”
“You’re sure you put it there?”
“Of course! I’ve had to be very careful with the contents. I didn’t want anyone to see them.”
Although it wasn’t proper, he moved into the room, rechecking each drawer and the other places she’d looked. He also looked through the cupboard by her bed, under her mattress, and under the heavy piece of furniture.
She paced the room, agitated. “I don’t know who could have taken it. No one has been coming in here for anything.”
“What about to clean?”
“No! I’ve insisted on doing everything myself for this very reason.”
She’d had the pack. He’d seen it with his own eyes. “It couldn’t have just disappeared…” Then he thought about how she’d just appeared in his time above the river.
Sensing his thoughts, she glared at him. “The pack wouldn’t have just disappeared. Someone had to have taken it.”
“But who? And why?”
She chewed her lip. “I don’t know. Not unless they knew what was in it. I made sure to bring something that no one would want, nothing that would attract too much attention.”
He agreed no one would steal it for the bag itself. “Then why take it from your drawer?”
“None of this makes sense.” She collapsed into an upholstered chair.
She looked so dejected. He wanted to go to her, to tell her it would turn up. But this was a little too coincidental. She claimed she was from the future, and the only proof she had was in a bag that had magically disappeared. “When was the last time you saw it?”
“I don’t know.” She shook her head, concentrating. “I took a picture out the window a few days ago. But I put it away again…” Her eyes widened. “It was in the drawer before the dinner last night. I remember I was getting hose out of another drawer, but I accidentally opened that one, and it was there.”
He shook his head. “No one came up here. And besides, why would they take something of yours? What would they gain?”
“I don’t know why they wo—” She staggered back. “Eliza. It has to be.”
“Eliza Pollard? Why?”
Gemma glared at him. “You were courting her. She expected to marry you. She even
warned me to stay away from you.”
He frowned. “When?”
“In the library. She came in and confronted me. You found me just as she’d left.”
Last night replayed in his mind, and he nodded slowly. “And then you came back, and it was obvious to everyone that things had changed between us.”
“She would have known any chance she had with you was gone. She could have sneaked into my room, found the bag, and then taken it.”
It was a stretch, but it was possible. “Why would she do that?”
She gestured wildly. “I don’t know. Maybe she was looking for something that could ruin me?” Her face turned ghost white. “And she found it. If she showed it to anyone…”
He didn’t know if he believed her or not, but he didn’t like seeing her in distress. “It’ll be fine. Everything will be all right.”
“You don’t know that. You haven’t seen what I have in there.”
He didn’t respond. What could he say? He didn’t believe time travel was possible. It was such a stretch of the imagination. And although the timing worked for Eliza to have stolen the bag, it seemed too convenient.
She’d been watching him as he thought it over, and her face fell. “You don’t believe me.”
“No,” he said, trying to soften the blow. “Would you?”
She turned away, but not before he saw her eyes water. He never wanted to hurt her. Reaching for her, he tried to take her into his arms, but she went stiff, refusing the gesture. “I know you don’t believe me, but I’m telling you the truth. Whoever has my bag will make it known. Then you’ll see.”
He raked a hand through his hair. He didn’t know what to say, how to make this better. No, he didn’t believe her, but that didn’t mean he loved her any less. And now that she’d told him there wasn’t a fiancé waiting for her, there was nothing keeping them apart. “It doesn’t matter to me. I still want you.”
She shook her head. “It matters to me. This is who I am, where I come from. If you don’t believe this, you’ll never believe anything I tell you about my past. How could we be together?” She laughed humorlessly. “How could you be okay marrying a crazy person?”
He hadn’t mentioned marriage yet, but the fact that she’d been thinking of it too only made him want her more. “None of it matters.”
“Yes, it does!”
His fists opened and closed at his sides. It was obvious there was nothing he could say to mend this. All he could do was give her time, let this all die down, and then move on. “I’ll ask the housekeeper if anyone has seen your bag.”
She whipped around. “Fine. But it’s a waste of time.” She marched toward the door.
“Where are you going?”
“I know Eliza has it. And I intend to get it back.”
Logan called after her as she fled down the stairs, but she didn’t stop.
She’s from the future?
He’d never heard of anything so preposterous in his life. He was too stunned by the fact that she didn’t have a fiancé to even fully process her claim.
It couldn’t be true…could it?
If she’d had her bag and showed him this cell phone from the future, would he have believed it, or would he have brushed it off?
He left her room, walking down the hall without thinking of where he was going. All he could see was the hurt on her face. Regardless of where she was from, he’d never wanted to do that. He loved her. He wanted to take care of her.
But how could what she said be true?
“Logan?”
He backed up a step and looked into the library at his mother. “Good morning.”
“Morning.” She frowned. “Did I hear Gemma leave earlier?”
He sighed. His mother never missed anything. He sunk into one of the upholstered chairs, putting his head in his hands. “Yes.”
He heard her sit in the chair next to him. “What happened?”
He didn’t know what to say. Should he explain it all? And if he did, would it turn his mother against Gemma? No matter what had happened, he still wanted her. He let out a long breath. “She told me something this morning that is difficult to believe.”
“I see.” She cocked her head. “Is it something you can share?”
Gemma hadn’t said it was confidential, and, since she truly believed it, she would probably say the same to anyone. “She told me that she wasn’t really a mail-order bride and hadn’t come here on a stagecoach.”
“Oh dear. If that’s not the truth, then where did she come from?” She frowned. “You found her panning in the river. How had she gotten there? There wasn’t a horse, as I recall.”
He looked straight ahead. “She said she’s from the future. The twenty-first century. She said a woman sent her back here to find the love of her life.”
Silence echoed through the room, and he finally glanced at his mother. She had a strange expression on her face. She opened her mouth, closed it, then tilted her head. “And you don’t believe her?”
“Would you? It all sounds so insane. How could she have traveled back in time?”
“She had no proof of her claims?”
He shifted in his chair. “She said her bag contains things from the future. Things that are such a stretch of the mind, I can’t fathom it. She went to go get it, but the bag is conveniently missing.”
She frowned. “Missing?”
“That’s what she claims. She said it was here before the party, but now it’s gone.”
“And she has no idea where it could’ve gone.”
“She suspects Miss Pollard might have taken it.”
Understanding lit in his mother’s eyes. “I understand. While I’d hate to think the woman capable of such a thing, it is possible. Why didn’t you go with her?”
“Because I was still so stunned over her claims.” He put his head down. “And I hurt her.”
“Because you didn’t believe her.” His mother quieted. “I know it sounds crazy, Logan, but think about what you know about her. Think about her clothes, about the way she speaks. Have you ever heard anyone talk like that?”
His brows creased. “She speaks a little differently, but she’s from the east. It’s to be expected.”
She shook her head. “I’m from the east, dear. The Copper Kings and many of the others are from there as well. Have you ever heard any of them talk like that? Or behave the way she does? There’s something different about her. Something more than just being from the east. Think about it, Logan. She’s more outspoken, stronger, and more capable than any other woman of my acquaintance. I’ve never met her equal.”
A sinking feeling settled in his gut. His mother was right. What he loved about her was that she was so different than the rest. She didn’t care about what other women seemed to waste their time on. She wasn’t snippy or looking for a rich husband.
He’d found her trying to make her own way. She wasn’t wealthy, yet she didn’t know how to do everyday chores.
The more he thought about her, the more plausible her claim sounded. She was different. He’d just been so blinded by his feelings for her that he hadn’t seen it.
“If she’s from the future, why would she have ever come here?”
His mother’s lips slowly curled. “She already told you that. To find the love of her life. And I think she might have found him. Don’t you?”
His eyes met hers. “I love her more than anything in the world. I need her with me, and I don’t care where she’s from.”
“I know, dear. And it was obvious to everyone in the room last night as well. Eliza Pollard would have known that.” Worry filled her eyes. “But if she’s taken Gemma’s bag with things from the future, there could be problems.”
If everything Gemma said was true—and he believed her now—then anyone who saw those things could cause trouble for her. He jumped from his chair. “I need to get to her.”
His mother stood, leaning forward to kiss his cheek. “Go get Gemma and bring her home.”
He was still worried about her bag, but a lightness filled his heart. This was where she belonged.
Chapter 11
He doesn’t believe me.
It was the one thought that kept running through Gemma’s head as she rode in the wagon towards town.
She shouldn’t be surprised. Her story was completely out there, even in her time. And if someone had told her a year ago that they were from the future, she would have called a mental hospital, no matter what fantastical technology they showed her. She would have thought it was some experimental government stuff. She could’ve easily rationalized it away.
But even though she knew it would take time for him to come to terms with the truth—if he ever could—it still hurt.
She was in love with him. She wanted to spend the rest of her life with him. But how would that work if he couldn’t trust her? Would he question everything she said in the future?
Since she’d arrived in this time, her emotions had been on a roller coaster. Everything she’d planned on, everything she’d expected, had been thrown out the window. None of this was going according to plan.
Maybe coming to the past had been a giant mistake. Sure, she hadn't found love in her time, but she didn’t have it here either.
All she had was heartache—and the fear that Eliza would expose her and she’d be burned as a witch.
Did they still do that?
Maybe she should just get her bag and wish really hard to go home. Would that work? Would Dr. Lachele hear her?
After entering town, she’d asked someone for directions to the Pollards’ home. Fortunately, they lived in one of the larger homes on Main Street.
She pulled in front of the pristine white house and parked the wagon. The iron fence that surrounded the property was a work of art, and it reminded her of something similar she’d seen on a tour through Virginia City. She wished she could stop and study it, but there wasn’t time.
With a deep breath, she marched up the walkway to the front door and knocked briskly.
When an older gentleman opened the door, Gemma smiled. “Good morning. I’m here to see Miss Eliza Pollard.”
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