“Don’t give me that crap. I can keep up with your messed up sleep habits. I’ve been doing it for years,” Boomer retorted as he turned to face her. “You left with him and didn’t have the decency to tell me.”
“I didn’t think it was a problem. You were safe, and that’s all that mattered,” she replied.
Boomer threw up his arms in exasperation. “In case you missed it, I’m the guard. You need to be in my sight or at least tell me where you are.”
Samantha laughed and said, “Funny, I thought I was the one protecting you.”
“I have your back, and you have mine, always,” Boomer stated.
With the pronouncement, she knew his anger was gone, or at least diminished. A vow so powerful could never be made without love. Yet in a way he was right. In all their years together, he had never left without informing her as to where and when he would be back. “I’m sorry, Boomer. The last thing I ever want to do is make you worry.”
“I did worry. You left with a man who wants more than a little kissy face. I’m only trying to keep you from getting hurt,” Boomer replied with a softer tone.
Samantha wrapped her arms around her middle. “Too late. In the course of one afternoon, I’ve managed to ruin just about everything here.”
“Jeff did most of that.”
“He was right. I withheld information which makes me no better than the screwed-up commanders we left behind. Plus, I seem to have a knack for saying the wrong things to Faolan over and over again.”
“So stay away from him,” Boomer suggested.
“I know all the reasons I should, yet I don’t want to stay away from him. For a few brief hours today, nothing mattered, and there were no worries. When I’m with Faolan, I get lost in him. He doesn’t see me as some genius to be used for gain, or as an officer with a duty to perform. I’ve never been with anyone who just treats me as a woman with all of the sweet trappings.”
Boomer reached down and pulled a piece of grass from her hair. He held it out for inspection. “What did I miss today?”
Samantha released her sides to rub her face. She said, “Not what you’re assuming.” With great detail, she spoke of the ride, the shepherd’s cottage, the picturesque meadow, and what was interrupted.
“You could have spared me all the details, Sam,” Boomer said.
“You didn’t spare me when you hooked up with Lieutenant Simms six months ago.” The statement was a mistake. They had agreed never to talk about people who had been transferred and never heard from again. With a whisper, “Sorry about that.”
A sad smile covered his face. “Don’t worry about it. By the way, what would have happened if Jeff hadn’t called?”
“Really? We would have had a perfect afternoon.”
Boomer mulled over the response. “We both know he would have wanted more. Given what I’ve heard about this place, you might have come back married.”
“I would have said no, and I told him that,” Samantha said, and she turned away from Boomer to stare at the waves.
She felt the warmth of Boomer’s hand on her shoulder. “I like Faolan because he seems intent on protecting you. You smile when you’re with him.” With a pause, he asked, “Why deny him? I see the way you look at him, and we’ve all seen the way he watches you. I know you well enough to know you wouldn’t have even thought about sleeping with him if you didn’t love him.”
Why does Boomer always find the simple truth in everything? Samantha sighed. “Love doesn’t change what’s going to happen. The best I can do is to protect him.”
“Now I know you do love the guy—your protection instincts are up.” Boomer asked, “What are we saving him from?” Before she could reply, Boomer turned her to face him. “You found something in the last log-in.”
With a nod, Samantha replied, “I’m close, so close to the path back to the lab. I know that’s exactly where I need to go, and I’m certain it will be at the time we left. Don’t ask me why, but that needs to be the target on my re-entry according to UNK005. The how is still elusive, but I can feel that I’m on the brink of nailing it.”
Boomer lifted her chin with his massive hands. “Since when do you talk about the mission as a singular? There is a ‘we’ in everything.”
“Not this time. I know enough to be certain it will be a one-way ticket. Stay here and live a happy life, please,” Samantha requested as she held the hands that engulfed her cheeks.
“In case you missed it, the lab has two guards with automatic weapons, and the colonel had a side arm. There is too much risk for even you to get through that,” Boomer stated.
“Boomer, all I need to do is get back there with the smaller orb, and mission accomplished,” Samantha explained.
Boomer dropped his hands and paced for several minutes before he returned to stand in front of her. He said, “I know I’m supposed to go with you. There’s more, but I promised to keep quiet about it. I go with you, end of sentence.” He looked down at her. “That you would even think to go without me really pisses me off. We started this together, and we end this together.” The smile crossed his face as he added, “Between the two of us, three armed men are a piece of cake. You could get us back here after we secure the lab.”
Her heart swelled with the knowledge he would risk everything to stand by her side. Yet her head shook in denial. “Provided I even manage to gain re-entry to the lab, I can’t reopen another quantum door. There is a risk that it could merge the two bubbles with catastrophic results, and I won’t take the chance.”
“What if we chuck the orb into the lab after opening another door?”
Samantha shifted enough to let the sea breeze wash over her face before she replied, “Then I create a paradox which will have potentially negative ramifications. If I open another door from our original timeline, it reconnects the two bubbles and the potential for the destruction of both remains.”
Boomer nodded. “So we go back, kick some ass in the lab, regain possession of both orbs, and find somewhere to bury them deep.”
“You heard the gunshot in the lab when we left. Within thirty seconds, the sensors will have the base on lock down,” Samantha said.
“So we rip it and run. With your rank, we can get out,” Boomer encouraged.
“You can’t rip dark matter away from its active conduit. The result would be a massive explosion. The shut-down sequence is brief, but by then the lab doors will be sealed by the security protocols. When someone does come to open the doors, they will find the colonel and two guards on the floor. Somehow I don’t think my rank will get us of out that.”
Ideas flashed across Boomer’s face as he absorbed the reality facing them, yet he kept quiet.
“I’m not seeing the solution to all the variables in play. However, both orbs in the lab allow for this timeline to continue. While there has only been one timeline, multiple realities via string theory are possible. The universe will allow this bubble to continue if the orbs are not separated. This is a good bubble. Our war won’t happen in this one, and in a way, that makes our mission complete.”
“Then we save this bubble together.”
The man before her was unbelievably stubborn. Samantha pleaded, “I’m going back to either get shot or face the United Forces for disobeying orders. Either way the outcome is lousy. Stay here.”
With a quick headshake, he replied, “No way. You need me to be your common sense. While you are brilliant, you tend to miss the obvious.” Boomer hesitated before he added, “I’ve got your back. When do you want to get back to work?”
Samantha knew she should start again, but her heart wasn’t up to the task. Her eyes wandered the peaceful perch on the cliffs, and she inhaled the fresh salty air. Once she started, there would be no stopping until there was a way back. “Tomorrow morning, so get a good night’s sleep.”
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“Not so fast. What are you going to do about Faolan?”
Her throat swelled with pain. “Let him think the worst of me. His life may be easier if he assumes I was only protecting the men. Faolan needs to be with someone who will be here, and that’s not me.”
Boomer’s head shook in denial. “You’re taking the weenie way out. Give the man some credit and tell him the truth. He deserves to know why, and you know it.”
“The truth will hurt him, too. He’ll argue the need to go, and as it is, I don’t want to leave him,” Samantha replied.
“I can’t tell you what to do, but if I were Faolan, I’d want to know you loved me even if you had to leave.”
Samantha nodded and turned back to the sea. “You know I love you.”
“Of course I do, and you know I love you,” Boomer replied. “Think about it while I go find Jeff. He and I need to discuss his poor choice of words.”
“Leave it alone, Boomer. I don’t think he meant it.”
“Well, then we need to kiss and make up. I don’t feel like going to bed with bad mojo between us.” Boomer turned to leave and suggested, “That may be the best advice I can leave you with.”
As Samantha watched Boomer walk toward the barracks, she knew life had been much less complicated when work served as her only reason for existence. The whole of the balance of time was more complex than she could have ever dreamed. It was the human variable that had always been left out of the equations. People made the choices that made up the years. Dana had started something that needed to continue; that much was certain. For reasons unknown, the Draig clan changed the course of history and somehow prevented a world war that destroyed life. That meant Faolan needed to marry and continue the line, which was all the more reason to leave him alone.
She sat at the edge of the cliff and watched late afternoon become a sunset filled with hues of yellow then bright to fading orange, and finally a red disk dropped below the horizon and melted into the sea. Never in her life had she sat to watch a sunset. She smiled at the realization and rose onto steady legs. Life had become too many years with no experiences and no risks beyond the lab. The day had given her a glimpse of what life should be, and she would treasure every moment spent with the little time that remained.
The wind from the sea washed over her, and she knew she was done with quiet reflection. The fate of the universe hung in the balance, and in a way, within her hand. Samantha opened and closed her hand, certain she had found the missing meaning in the repetitive motion. With a last glance for the waves, she turned and made her way back to the keep. The plan was to sleep, and then, in the morning, work until the problem was solved.
She took the long way and entered through the kitchen. It was empty, and she realized she had lingered longer than she thought by the cliffs. Not willing to face anyone in the hall, Samantha crept up the back stairs and made her way to her chamber.
A fire had been lit in her absence and took the damp chill from the room. The soft light played on the wood walls and glistened off of the closed laptop. Yet her eyes were drawn to the item on her pillow. A small cutting of the flowering bush from earlier in the afternoon waited on the bed. She looked at the other fragrant items on the side table and was overwhelmed by her stupidity.
More than seven gifts had been left for her, and each one she assumed came as a gesture of goodwill for a guest. She had never been more wrong. Faolan had left each and every one. How could I have forgotten he vowed to find everything that made me smile? Nothing had made her smile more than the sweet scents provide by the unspoiled landscape, and he knew it. At the minimum, Faolan deserved an apology.
Her hand held the day’s gift as she left her chamber and stood before his door. There was a chance she was wrong, but not a big enough risk of one. She knocked and waited for a reply. A muted “What?” was all she heard.
After a deep breath, she opened the latch and stepped inside. She quickly noted the chamber was the same size as hers with similar furnishings: a large bed with a side table; a window, but his looked at the gates; a fireplace, with two chairs and a small table before it. Once again she had missed the obvious. Faolan had promised to treat her with all kindness and respect. He had given her a chamber that matched his in luxury.
Faolan turned in the chair before the fire and stared at her with cold, dark eyes. Even bathed only in shadows from the fire, she could see that the warm chocolate gaze she remembered from the afternoon had been replaced by hurt and anger. Like a coward, she looked away and noticed the flames from the fire. The logs held the same pattern as the ones that burned in her hearth. Even hurt, he had left her the gift and made sure she was comfortable.
Samantha closed the door without facing the exit. Her hand held out the branch. “I wanted to thank you for this and for every other item you left on my pillow. It was only tonight I realized they were from you.” She stumbled through an apology. “Every single one made me smile.”
Still Faolan only stared, so she continued, “You left the hall today before I was finished. While it’s true that the safety of the men has to come first, that had no bearing on what almost happened between you and me. There is no way I would or could ever think about, I mean I wouldn’t . . . From the moment we rode onto your lands, my men have been safe. I’ve known that. So you and I have had nothing to do with them.”
Faolan looked away from her, and Samantha saw the dagger in his hands. Not held in threat, but his concentration seemed focused on the metal. He finally spoke while his hands toyed with the weapon. “What would have happened earlier if we had nay been disturbed?”
Samantha felt the sadness in her voice for what had been lost. “We would have had a perfect afternoon.”
Faolan rose to his feet and placed the dagger on the table. While he made no move to walk, he turned to face her. “I would have claimed you as my own. I would have kept you in that meadow until you agreed to enter my gates as my wife.”
“Then we would be there arguing, which ends the idea of a perfect afternoon.”
Her humor had no place in the confrontation, and she knew it as soon as the comment left her mouth. Faolan marched to stand in front of her. “Why is it more preferable for me to use you for quick pleasure than to ask you to stand by my side for all time?” He demanded.
The eyes that glared held no warmth and threatened to pierce the little control she still had. Boomer was right; Faolan deserved the truth, and she hated it.
Her hand reached up to touch his face, and Faolan stepped backward out of her reach. Tears pricked at the rejection. She mustered her courage. “I don’t have all of time to offer you.” Samantha told him everything she had explained to Boomer and finished with, “There is virtually no probability that I will return.”
The withheld tears fell when horror crossed his features. In the last few days, she had cried more than she had in the last five years. The emotions brought to the surface by involvement in life brought joy and pain. Unfortunately, the night before her would bring the strongest pain. Love had no place in her limited time, and she knew it.
“You are amazing and wonderful, and if I could be with you, I would without any hesitation. I can’t do that to you. Find a woman who will be here and love her.” Her words choked on a sob. “I know that your family is essential to making the future better. Continue this line and know that I wished I could have been here with you.”
Samantha wiped the tears with the sleeve of her gown, though more fell to take the place of ones erased. She added, “I’m close to finding my way back. I can feel it.” She paused to clear her throat. “In the morning, I’ll start to finish what I began five years ago. I only ask that the men can stay here if they choose. Only Boomer comes with me.”
Without a word, Faolan closed the short distance and pulled Samantha hard against his chest. Her face buried in the warmth of his
chest as she cried and let out the anguish of goodbye. His hand held her braid while the other soothed her back, and she savored the last embrace.
When her sobs slowed, Faolan said, “I go with you.”
Her head shook. “You missed the part where your line needs to continue, and that means you stay here.” She left out that there was no way she would bring him into the misery left in her time.
The deep inhale could be felt as could the resignation at the exhale, and Faolan didn’t argue. When he spoke, he offered, “Your men are home here.”
“I know,” she whispered against his chest.
Samantha offered no resistance when he lifted her chin and shifted her body to find her eyes. “While you said a great many things, I dinna hear the word impossible.”
“Please don’t.” At his sweet thought, another tear fell.
His lips brushed her forehead, and he replied, “Spend the last of your days as my wife.”
She closed her eyes at the request. Samantha whispered, “Then what? How long will you wait for me to return when you know I won’t? I can’t do that to you.”
Faolan’s thumb wiped the moisture from her cheek. “Then I vow nay to wait.”
Against her wishes, the chuckle left her throat. She opened her eyes and found warm ones on her. Samantha said, “It’s probably for the best if I say goodbye.”
Samantha knew it would happen. Faolan lifted her face enough to place his lips against hers. Every brush sent tingles through her body. As his tongue sought entry, she complied. It began soft and sweet and carried an air of innocence. Then he demanded more as he pulled her body against his and kissed her with no control.
Faolan pulled away abruptly, he whispered, “Give me this night.”
The smile broke free on her face. It shouldn’t have surprised her that goodbye didn’t work. Samantha placed her hands on his cheeks and felt the soft stubble that graced his face at the end of each day. Her rational mind knew it would only make leaving harder. Yet the side of her Faolan had brought to life wanted him, wanted to know what it felt like to be loved by such an amazing man. She nodded. “Just now, Faolan. It’s all I have to offer you.”
Time of the Draig Page 21