Kat took two steps and noticed a staircase leading to a second floor. A door behind the stairs stood open, the room inside shrouded in darkness. She took another step and whirled around when the door leading outside came crashing open.
“Oh, my God, it is you. Kat!”
Before she could respond, a woman rushed across the room and pulled her into a hard embrace. She pressed her arms against the woman’s chest, her mouth growing dry, and the sound of her heartbeat roaring in her ears. “Stop. What are you doing?”
“What’s the matter? Don’t you recognize me?”
Kat looked closer, and her hand flew to her own chest. A heavy feeling settled in her stomach, her hands suddenly shaking uncontrollably. “Anna? What the hell have you done to yourself?”
Anna’s hair was longer than she’d ever seen it, hanging in a slender braid over one shoulder. Although still red, it had some silver streaks mixed throughout the stands. There were lines in her face Kat didn’t remember and a glow of happiness she’d never seen before.
“What are you wearing?” Anna had on some kind of long robe that looked like it came from the antique shop she and Anna liked to browse through on rainy weekends.
“Oh, Kat, it’s so good to see you again.”
Kat rubbed her forehead. “What do you mean, again? It’s only been a couple of hours since I left you in front of the saloon. Where the hell have you been?” She glanced around the room. “And where the hell are we?”
“Uh-oh! Looks like she doesn’t know any more than you did when you arrived.”
Kat looked toward the door and saw three men standing in front of the window. One was David, and the other two were strangers. Well over six feet tall and lanky, the man who’d spoken had brown hair with flecks of gray and dark eyes. The other man was short and stocky, with blond hair and blue eyes.
Anna put her hand on Kat’s arm. “We’re in the Silver Rush Saloon in Hamilton, Nevada.”
Kat studied the room and then turned back to Anna. “Okay, joke’s over. Did I pass out or something when I fell down the stairs? Did you cart me off somewhere so you could play some elaborate joke on me?” She laughed. “I have to admit, as far as jokes go, this one’s a beaut.”
“The truth is always best, Anna. It’s also easier in the long run for everyone.” Win smiled at Kat as he walked over to stand next to David.
Kat jumped at the sound of Win’s voice behind her. She looked at Anna. “Yeah, the truth would be nice.”
Anna took a deep breath. “Okay, but I’d like to ask you a couple of questions.”
Kat nodded. “Okay.”
“What’s the last thing you remember?”
She thought for a moment. “I was searching for you. I’d gone through the entire town and then remembered you wanted a closer look at the saloon, so I came inside.” She shrugged. “I looked around and spotted the door to the cellar.” Wrinkling her forehead, she paused. “There was something that wasn’t right.” She tried to recall what she’d seen. “The basement was a mess, but there was a…” Kat frowned, biting her lip. She walked a couple of steps away, her glance darting around, and then came back to stand in front of Anna. “There was…”
“A big, red glowy circle.” Anna raised her arm and put it around Kat’s shoulders. “It sucked you in and sent you here.”
Kat looked around and frowned. “It sucked me in and sent me here.” When Anna nodded she laughed. “And just where is here?”
Anna looked toward the ceiling and cleared her throat. “It’s not so much of a where, as when.” She nodded toward the men standing by the door. “You wanted to know who they are. Well, let me introduce you.”
Anna crooked her finger, motioning the men closer. Her hand rose to the brunette’s shoulder. “This is Beauregard Martinson, otherwise known as Beau.” Her hand moved to the other man’s shoulder. “And this is Ezekiel Moses Bennington, otherwise known as Zeke.” Anna swallowed and rubbed Kat’s arm in a soothing gesture. “They’re my husbands, and you’re in Hamilton, Nevada. It’s September the seventeenth, 1899.”
Kat tensed, her temper flaring. She took a step back, her nails biting into her palms. “It’s not nice to try and pull the wool over your best friend’s eyes. What do you take me for?” She paused to catch her breath. “Oh, I know, this is payback for nagging you into making this trip.”
She turned and walked toward the door. “I’m getting out of here. I’m not gonna be the butt of anybody’s jokes no matter how good of friends we are.” She pulled open the door and froze. The rotting buildings were gone and in their place were solid, weathered structures. The dirt road looked well-traveled, and there were horses tied up in front of several of the buildings.
Holding her breath, she whirled around to stare at Anna. “You said it’s 1899?”
Anna nodded and wrapped her arms around her waist. “Yes, Kat. For me, it’s been twenty-eight years since you walked down the road toward the mill, leaving me to look through the town. You’ve traveled one hundred and thirteen years into the past.”
Kat heard a roaring sound in her ears while white spots danced in front of her eyes. Then, blessed blackness settled around her.
* * * *
Anna gasped as David and Win rushed toward her fallen friend.
“Couldn’t you have been a little more subtle?” Win turned with Kat in his arms. “I’m gonna put her in the front room upstairs.”
Anna smoothed a hand over Kat’s hair. “Maybe it’d be better if you took her to our house.”
“No,” Win said. “She needs to stay here until she’s acclimated to the circumstances.”
“Did you see anything of the red circle when you found her?” Anna moved back to stand next to Beau.
“No, she was standing by the boxes on the far side of the room.” Win chuckled. “I think she broke a couple of boxes of our old glasses.”
David moved toward the stairs. “Can we discuss this later? We need to get her in the bed and tend to her.”
Anna pushed him aside. “I’ll be tending to her, so just put whatever you’re thinking right out of your head. She’s my oldest and dearest friend, and I’m not letting anything interfere with that.” She pointed toward the stairs. “Go on, Win, lay her on the bed in the front bedroom and I’ll bring up a fresh pitcher of water.” She watched as he walked up the stairs and then grabbed David by the arm. “I mean it. You stay down here while I make sure everything is okay. I’m gonna have to have a long talk with her and it’ll go better if we have some privacy. She’s going to have a lot to get used to, David. You might as well accept that she’s not the one for you and Win.” Not giving him a chance to argue, she turned and walked toward the kitchen.
Anna walked into the bedroom and saw Win leaning over the bed. His hand was slowly smoothing over Kat’s hair. “Git on back downstairs, Win, before I have to call Zeke and Beau.”
He snorted and glanced up. “I think you’ll find they accept me as an adult now and won’t interfere in whatever I decide I want.”
Anna pushed him aside. “I don’t give a rat’s ass what you want. You’ll do as I say or I’ll get Beau and Zeke to take you out to the woodshed and tan your hide.”
Win raised his brow and backed from the bed. “Although I’m not afraid of them, I’m not sure you wouldn’t try to do it yourself.” He took two steps toward the door and turned to glare at her. “It’s shameful the way you treat a Shoshone warrior, Anna. We’re a proud and noble race that deserves your respect.”
Anna placed her hand on her hip and narrowed her eyes.
Win laughed and turned back to the door. “Okay, okay, I’m going. But I promise, you can’t keep me away forever.”
She walked over and shut the door behind him and then went over and poured the water into a bowl. She picked up a rag on the dresser and dipped it into the cool water. Slowly, she began to pat the dampened cloth over Kat’s reddened face. She’d watched her son and Win practically drool over Kat’s picture over the years. They both
had to be thinking this was like a gift from heaven. Something inside her told Anna that Kat was not the right woman for her son. She couldn’t explain it. She just knew she had to do whatever she could to keep them apart.
“Come on, my friend. Wake up and I’ll tell you everything.”
* * * *
Kat struggled to open her eyes, her hands coming up to push away the dampness sliding over her face.
“Good, you’re awake. How do you feel?”
Kat opened her eyes and looked around. “Where am I?”
She was in a bedroom, but it was like nothing she’d ever seen before. The bed had a wooden headboard that towered above the mattress. It looked to be oak, with some kind of leaf design cut out in swirls across the curved top. The walls were covered in light blue wallpaper with designs of small bouquets of roses. A small dresser against one wall had a white crocheted doily draped across the top, the fringed ends hanging off each side. A large white bowl with a matching pitcher sat on the top, along with a kerosene lamp. The white cotton sheets felt cool against her arms, and there was a colorful patchwork quilt draped across the foot of the bed. A picture of a seaside view hung above the dresser, completing the room’s decor.
“Kat, can you hear me?” Anna pressed her hand against Kat’s cheek. “Are you okay?”
Kat took a deep breath and focused on her friend. “I’m fine. At least I think I am. I was just taking in the furnishings of this room. Where are we? Some kind of museum?”
Anna perched on the side of the bed, wringing a cloth between her hands. “No, honey, this isn’t a museum. Do you remember what I told you downstairs?”
Kat groaned. “Don’t give me that crap again. I’ve got a roaring headache. Can we just go home now?”
Anna’s eyes filled with tears. “For years I prayed for a way to open the portal so I could let you know I was okay, but I could never find a way. How did you open it?”
Kat shrugged and pushed up until her back rested against the headboard. “I didn’t open any portal. I fell down the damn stairs and hit my head or something.”
“You don’t remember the red, glowing circle pulling you in?”
Frowning, Kat scratched her head. She could remember something red and glowing on the wall. She’d tried to get around it to go back upstairs.
“You’re remembering, aren’t you?”
Kat shook her head. “No.”
Anna leaned back and smiled. “You’ve always been a lousy liar.” She moved closer to sit next to Kat’s hip. “Kat, take a good, long look at me. Can’t you see the differences? The gray hairs, the wrinkles that didn’t used to be there. It’s been a rough twenty-eight years, and I know I show some aging.” She picked up Kat’s hand. “Do you remember the picture in the book that looked so much like me?”
Kat nodded and tried to pull her hand away.
“Well, it was me, Kat. That picture was taken on the day I married Beau and Zeke.”
Kat studied her closely. She could see the fine stands of gray taking away from the former shine of Anna’s red hair. Her complexion was still clear, but there were definite signs of aging. She wrapped her arms around her chest, the reality of her situation settling heavily, pushing out the air and causing her to gasp.
“How?” Her voice came out in a high squeak.
“I don’t know. After you walked off to go photograph the mill I felt this weird, I don’t know, yearning, I guess, to go inside the saloon. It was awful, all covered in cobwebs, bugs crawling all over. I looked around and noticed the door to the basement.” Anna looked down at her hands for a moment. “I thought I saw some trunks down there, and I remember thinking it’d be so cool if they had old stuff in them. So, I started down the steps. This red glowing circle appeared on the wall in front of me and before I could get back up the stairs it seemed to suck me down. I didn’t know anything else until I woke up in Beau and Zeke’s bed. They were running this place back then, and they found me in the basement just like the boys found you.”
“Wait, their bed?”
Anna grinned. “Yeah, they were a couple before I came along. I guess you’d call them bisexual.” She shrugged. “It doesn’t matter. We all love each other.”
“Do they know anything about the red circle?”
“No, but I’ve had a lot of years to think about it, and I believe the red circle is some kind of time portal. I don’t know if it just goes to this spot, or just this time. If you didn’t do anything to open it, then it must pick people at random to send them here.” She glanced toward the floor and then back at Kat. “The picture in the book really was me, Kat. That was me and my husbands right after we got married.”
“I can’t believe it. You’re saying that destiny sent you back, that everything was already decided in our lives before we even went on vacation.”
Anna smiled, playing with the end of her braid. “I guess a person can’t fight what destiny has in store for them.”
“Do you know of others who have come through?”
“No, at least not since I’ve been here.”
“Okay, what if I believe you. How do we get home?”
Anna shook her head. “I don’t know of a way, and if I did, I wouldn’t go.”
Kat blinked twice. “Why not? Wait, you said the men downstairs were your husbands? As in two?”
Anna laughed. “I was wondering when you’d finally catch up with that. Yes, I’m married to those two hunks. They were the owners of this place when I came through. When they found me in the basement, I was unconscious. The trip back in time was a little rough for me.”
“What were their names again?”
“Beau and Zeke. You’ll get to see them again later. I want you to get to know them.” Anna looked down at the rag she held in her hands. “You’re gonna have to face the facts, Kat. You’re probably going to be stuck here, right along with me. We haven’t found a way to open the portal home.” She looked at Kat with tear-filled eyes. “I’m so glad you’re here. I’ve missed you, my friend.”
Kat leaned forward and hugged Anna. “I was so worried something bad had happened to you.” She laughed. “Hell, I even called the police and everything.” She pulled back and gazed into Anna’s eyes. “They were sending state troopers and park rangers to search for you.”
Anna glanced toward the door. “Maybe I should have the guys watch the basement a little more closely in case one of them finds their way here.”
“You said this is Hamilton.”
“Yes, you’re in Hamilton. What’s left of it, anyway? It was once pretty populated here. The Silver Bell Mine started playing out around eight years ago. John Chadwick ran the place for twenty years, and I guess they took just about all the ore the old mine had to give. There are still a few old-timers up there that bring out enough to live on, but it’s left this area pretty dead.”
Kat leaned back. “I remember my research. There were two mines that sent ore to the mill here.”
“Yeah, the other was the Seligman Mine. It opened in 1886 and shot up fast. It was a big producer and did the economy here a world of good. For a big mining town, Seligman had no saloons or gambling houses. So, the men all came here to spend their wages.”
Kat drew her knees up and draped her arms around them. “What happened to it?”
“It played out about four years ago. The silver deposits were shallow. I don’t think there are ten families left living up there now.”
“How many people live here?”
Anna took a deep breath. “Hmmm, there might be a hundred folks left in the area.”
“I don’t understand. If the area’s dead, why did you stay? With your knowledge of history you should have been able to go anywhere and do well.”
Anna reached and took Kat’s hand. “I wanted to stay near the portal in case it ever opened again.”
Kat stared at her for a moment and then pulled her into a hug. “You stayed to make sure I was okay.”
Anna leaned back and smiled. “Of course I
did. You’re my best friend and I love you.”
Kat caressed the side of Anna’s cheek. “I love you too, kiddo.” She cleared her throat and leaned back. “What do you do here, Anna? I can’t imagine there’s a hospital nearby that needs your nursing skills. For that matter, what the hell am I gonna do?”
Anna shrugged. “I’m not a young woman anymore. When I was younger I helped Beau and Zeke manage this place.” She laughed. “I’ve been able to use my nursing skills over the years, but not in a way that any doctor would have approved of. You could still teach, if you wanted to. There are about twenty or so kids that belong to the miners. We even have a schoolhouse, although it hasn’t been used in several years. You’d just have to be careful not to teach them any history that hasn’t happened yet.”
There was a brief knock at the door.
“Come in,” Anna called out.
Beau stuck his head in the door. “Is she okay?”
Anna nodded. “Yeah. Why don’t you bring everyone up so we can do the introductions properly and decide what we’re gonna do?”
He hesitated and glanced at Kat. “You’ve told her everything and she believes you?”
Kat smothered a laugh. “Yes, she’s proved to me that I’m not dreaming.”
Beau grinned. “Then I’ll get everyone and we’ll be right back.”
Kat turned her gaze to Anna and sighed. “Do you suppose I could get me a pair of hunky men of my own?”
Anna laughed. “I’m not sure about that. Beau and Zeke are pretty much one-of-a-kind. To be truthful, the pickings of men in this town aren’t good.”
Kat nodded toward the door. “I wouldn’t say that. Those two that found me downstairs are totally hot. Are they taken?” She gave Anna a little wink.
Anna pressed a hand to her stomach and licked her lips, glancing around the room. The door opened, and all four men walked inside. She got to her feet and faced the door. She clenched her hands together. “Everyone, this is my dearest friend in the world, Katarina Elizabeth Evans.”
When Kat's Away [Sequel to Anna Doubles Down] (Siren Publishing Ménage Amour) Page 2