by Deborah Heal
“Don’t be ridiculous. You’re the sanest person I—wait a minute. You didn’t tell him about all that time travel hocus pocus, did you? You did, didn’t you?”
“It’s not hocus pocus. I tried to tell you, we really—”
“Okay, a joke, then. But, Abby, some people just aren’t going to think it’s funny when you keep on like that.”
“Oh, never mind,” Abby sighed. “When I get the computer fixed, I’ll show you. You and John both. You are still coming down for a visit, aren’t you?”
“I will as soon as I can get untangled from some things here. I can’t wait to meet John—and the new improved Merri.”
“Good. Maybe you can help me get a read on him,” Abby said, and then muttered after she hung up, “And I’ll introduce you to Charlotte and Abraham Lincoln too.”
Merri was waiting for her when she opened the front door and Abby wondered if she had been spying out the window.
“Did he kiss you?” Merri demanded.
“Merri!” Pat said.
“Let’s just say you won’t have to worry about not seeing much of me this summer, Merri,” Abby said and then described John’s odd departure.
“What’s the matter with that boy?” Pat said. “Why, any red-blooded guy would want to kiss you . . .” Pat’s eyes widened. “He did say he likes theatre. I bet that’s it. He’s . . .” She nodded toward Merri and lowered her voice. “You know… of another persuasion.”
“Mom, you don’t have to talk in code,” Merri said. “I’m not stupid.”
“Why would he take me on a date if he’s gay?”
“Some gay guys like to use a girlfriend as cover,” Pat said. “I saw it on TV. And he’s too nice. I mean, what guy wants to take a kid along on a date?”
“I’m sure that’s not true, Pat.” But then picture of John sitting so at ease among the crowd of women in the flowery tea room popped unbidden into her head.
So, either she was crazy or he was gay—or, hey, maybe both.
Get Unclaimed Legacy at HERE. Or get books 1-3 in a boxed set HERE.
When you finish the trilogy there’s more!
Fast-forward fifteen years and Merrideth Randall, the troubled pre-teen of the trilogy, is now a history professor at McKendree College. At least, that’s her day job. But after hours she turns to her first love, historical research. And she has a tool other historians can only dreams of—a computer program that rewinds time for a first-hand look at the past!
The Rewinding Time Series
Inspirational novels of history, mystery & romance.
Once Again
(book 1)
From Professor Randall’s Notebook…
(Field Research Location: Columbia and Waterloo, Monroe County, Illinois.)
To Do
1. Be the first to find where Fort Piggot was located on the Kaskaskia Trail.
2. Steer clear of attractive, single colleagues. (ie. Brett!)
3. Avoid career suicide. (See #2.)
4. Make sure computer program stays a secret.
5. Keep Uncle Sam from turning into Big Brother. (See #4.)
Professor Merrideth Randall uses the Beautiful Houses software to find the location of Fort Piggot and other early settlements in the Illinois Country. Rewinding to the 1780s, she meets the courageous pioneers who withstood Indian attacks, hardship, and loneliness to farm the rich land there. One brave settler even takes the Gospel to the very tribe that wreaked havoc on his family, although Merrideth can’t decide whether he’s a hero or a fool for doing so. How can a person forgive a crime so huge?
With the help of her program, Merrideth is able to help her colleague Brett with his family tree.
He is a physics professor with rock-star status on campus, and amazingly enough, he seems to be pursuing her, in spite of her firm policy against dating co-workers. She’d love to tell him more of what she discovered—like that he inherited his black hair and green eyes from his ancestor James Garretson and that his aunt’s poetry is eerily similar to the verse Elizabeth Garretson composed at her spinning wheel.
But keeping secrets is not Brett’s strong suit. And if an unscrupulous thief got his hands on the program, privacy would be a thing of the past. Merrideth has secrets about herself that she’d just as soon Brett didn’t find out either. But Brett does possess the virtue of patience, and he is quite willing to wait for Merrideth to come around to his way of thinking.
Get your copy of Once Again on Amazon.
Only One Way Home
(book 2)
From Professor Randall’s Notebook…
FIELD RESEARCH SITE: Golconda, Illinois.
GOAL: Trace client’s Frailey ancestors—back to Scotland if possible—and get home in time for dinner.
NOTE to SELF: Do NOT fall in love with Matthias Frailey—even though he is was quite wonderful. Remember, idiot, he’s been dead for over 175 years.
Professor Merrideth Randall’s latest after-hours genealogy consulting gig takes her and friends Abby and John to the small southern Illinois town of Golconda on the Ohio River. She expects to have to research the old-fashioned way at the courthouse. But thankfully, her client’s ancestor Matthias Frailey once hung out in Golconda’s ancient Ferry House Inn, and that means Beautiful Houses, Merrideth’s time-rewinding software, will work after all.
It doesn’t take Merrideth and her friends long to time-surf back to find out what they need to know about Matthias Frailey and his family. But when they become eyewitnesses to the arrival of the Cherokee on the Golconda Ferry on December 3, 1838, they cannot tear their eyes away from the tragedy that unfolds—nor from Matthias Frailey’s heroic response to it. The people are herded down Main Street on their Trail of Tears, bound for the Oklahoma Country, while the townsfolk only watch, or even cheer. But not Matthias Frailey. He does what he can to help them, especially a very spirited—and very pregnant—woman named White Dove who insists on walking so others may ride in the wagons.
Spending so much time inside Matthias’ head, Merrideth has no doubt that he is the kind, selfless man he appears to be. It’s impossible not to fall a little in love with him—despite the fact that he is from another century. Meanwhile, in the here and now, handsome Golconda historian Aaron Landis is doggedly pursuing her. And back home her McKendree College colleague Brett Garrison keeps calling while he waits for her return. But are they—or any man—worthy of her trust? Too bad there isn’t a way to time-surf in their heads. Now that would be a dating tool she could really put to good use.
Get Your Copy of Only One Way Home on Amazon
Stay tuned for more novels in the Rewinding Time Series.
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