"I don't guess you're going to need any of Fredwina's lessons, are you?"
"Not yet," Tess agreed as they climbed the steps. "Let me go get some clothes on, Tillie."
"Please don't bother." Tillie sat in the rocking chair, smiling unconsciously to herself as she realized she could fit into the seat with a little room to spare now. "I can only stay for a moment. I just wanted to make sure you hadn't changed your mind about joining our Guild."
Tess dropped down on the porch step and curled her legs beneath the hem of Stone's shirt. "No, I haven't. Something just...came up this week, and I couldn't attend."
"Rose Brown didn't show up, either, and I guess we can count her as a lost member from now on. It's the most amazing thing. I heard she'd moved without even a word to anyone. I drove by her place on my way out here, and she's gone all right. The place is deserted."
Tillie tapped the floor and set the chair to rocking. "And you know what else is funny? Even though she didn't say a word to anyone, she left a note on the table saying she'd be in New Orleans. That's where she used to live, you know. Anyway, I've been thinking about maybe buying her place and building a newer house there. Daddy's so bored in town, and he could have a little garden — maybe raise some chickens or something."
"I'd like to have you for a neighbor," Tess said. "But I thought your father was more of a professional man."
"He took up gardening in prison," Tillie said without embarrassment. "He said he found out he had a green thumb, whatever that means. But supposedly he can grow beautiful flowers. I thought maybe your Flower would sell him some seeds and bulbs."
My Flower, Tess thought to herself. Yes, but for how long? Just because she hadn't found the time warp the other day on the hillside didn't mean it wouldn't happen again. Maybe the atmospheric conditions weren't right. Maybe there were only certain times of the year things like that happened. Maybe....
"Tess, is something wrong?"
Tess shook herself back to reality. "No, Tillie. Like I said, it will be nice having a neighbor I like. I never really cared for Rose."
"I don't doubt that," Tillie said with a giggle. "We all knew she had her eye on Stone. Maybe that's why she packed up and left — she knew with you in the picture Stone would never, ever give her a glance. Not that he ever did, but Rose couldn't see that — though I liked to tease Stone about her."
Tillie stopped the chair and stood up. "I really should be going. I'm due at Edith's for lunch. Would you do me a favor, though, Tess?"
"If I can."
"You know that Stone and I don't — well, to put it mildly — don't quite see eye to eye about things. I'm afraid if I ask him, he'll turn me down flat."
Tess raised her eyebrows and waited for Tillie to continue.
"'Course I have to check with Jack first and see if he can find her," Tillie mused. "But Daddy's just not up to doing a lot more than his gardening, and it would be a shame for all the rest of that land not to be used."
"Are you trying to say that you want to lease the land you can't use if you buy Rose's ranch, Tillie?"
"Lease it with an option to buy it whenever Stone can afford it," Tillie said. "Do you think Stone would be interested? Oh, probably not, coming from me. After all, I sure gave him a lot of problems, butting into his business. I know he's sort of acting like maybe he's forgiven me, but...."
"If he won't, I will, Tillie. Stone needs more land, if he wants his ranch to grow. But I wouldn't lease or buy the land without discussing it with him first."
"He'll probably say no."
"You let me work on that. O.K., Tillie?"
Tillie returned Tess's wink and walked down the steps. "Don't forget next Thursday, Tess," she called as she headed for her buggy. "We're going to have weekly meetings for a while, instead of bi-monthly. Just until we get a handle on the new direction we want the Guild to take. And we still have to plan that reception for you and Stone."
"I'll be there," Tess agreed. Hopefully, anyway, her mind continued. Her shoulders slumped as she watched Tillie climb into her buggy and drive off. She crossed to the rocking chair Tillie had vacated and sat down, keeping one eye on the barn in case Stone decided to take a break and join her. He'd spent a lot of time with her the last few days, but she knew he did have chores to do. She would try to tolerate his almost workaholic attitude as well as she could. Maybe they could afford a hired hand.
Or maybe Stone would be able to afford to hire someone someday — someday after she had gone. Tess flung one long leg over the other one and leaned back in the chair.
How could they go on like this? Sure, they had forced themselves to talk rationally about it — discuss how Tess would take care of herself if she did become pregnant, then slipped back to 1993. Or would it be 1994, or 1995? Would she stay here for a few years, grow complacent and assured that she would be here forever, then wake up back in her apartment?
Oh, God! Tess sat up. What if she had a baby here with Stone, then woke up back in New York, leaving behind not only Stone, Flower and Rain, but also her own child?
Tess buried her face in her hands. She wouldn't want to live without Stone and her children. Somehow there had to be a way to find out whether she could plan a firm future with Stone.
When Tess lifted her head, she saw three riders far down the road and recognized Rain's gray gelding. Silver Eagle was bringing the kids home. After glancing down at her bare legs, Tess walked into the house to get dressed. The Shaman had been shocked to find his granddaughter in pants. What would he say if he found Flower's mother prancing around half naked?
In deference to Silver Eagle, Tess slipped on one of her dresses. She wished the weather would break. Back in the Adirondacks, there were probably already fall signs in the air, but she didn't really know whether Oklahoma's leaves changed each year. She did remember seeing weather reports of snow in the winter down here. And one of the firm's attorneys had come back from a spring seminar in Dallas raving about the beautiful wildflowers and dogwood he'd seen on a tour of the area. She bet spring would be gorgeous around here.
When Tess stepped out on the porch again, she saw Silver Eagle and the children dragging a bundle from the barn. A second later, she realized it was the tipi. At the Cherokee camp, some families still lived in their tipis, although a few had already begun building permanent houses. She guessed the Shaman must be planning to stay for a few days.
Rain and Flower caught sight of Tess and raced to the cabin, where Rain overcame his little boy reluctance and hugged her tightly, along with Flower. They both started chattering at once, trying to fill her in on their visit to the Cherokees all in one breath.
"Whoa," Tess finally said. "You'll both have plenty of time to tell me everything you've done. Let me go say hello to your grandfather. And I'd like to learn how that tipi goes together, since I was busy in the cabin the last time it was put up."
She hugged them both again, one in each arm. "I'm really glad you're home, kids. I've missed you."
"Us, too," Flower said as she linked her arm with Tess and walked out in the yard. "But the nicest thing was that we knew when we came home this time, you'd be our real mother. With you and Pa married, I mean. Tess, you won't go away now, will you?"
"I still don't know that for sure, Flower," Tess murmured. "I'm sorry. But let's don't talk about that now."
Silver Eagle held out his hand as they approached, but Tess stepped up and kissed his weathered cheek. "Welcome to our home," she said. "I wanted to ask you if it's all right for me to call you Father now."
"You are the mother of my grandchildren," the Shaman said with a smile. "I would be honored."
"I'm the one who's proud of that," Tess replied. "I hope you're planning to stay for a while."
"Only for two days. We have a saying among the Cherokee that fish and relatives smell after three days."
Tess laughed gaily. "I thought that was a white saying. Can I get you any bedding or...."
"Tess," Flower hastily put in. "Wait 'til you s
ee what I made for you at the camp." She grabbed Tess's arm and started to pull her away, but Silver Eagle shook his head at her.
"It is — how does your new mother say — O.K., Flower," he said. "She has only been part of the Cherokees for a few weeks. You can teach her our customs."
"What's wrong?" Tess asked with a frown. "I did the wash — everything's clean."
Rain snickered, but cut it off when Silver Eagle gave him a stern look. "Uh...it's like this, Ma," he said, and Tess's heart swelled at the term. "It's sort of rude to offer our sheets and stuff — like you think what Grandfather brought with him isn't clean."
"Oh. I'm sorry," Tess said, then her eyes twinkled. "Well, I hope it's not rude to offer chocolate cake. I made a huge one early this morning, and I'd hate to have to eat it all alone."
"Chocolate cake's fine," Rain assured her seriously, glancing around in surprise at the rest of the group when they broke up in laughter.
***
Chapter 36
Where in the world was everyone, Tess asked herself when she realized how quiet the cabin was the next afternoon. And why was she sitting in here at the table hemming the curtains she and Flower had cut out? She could just as well do that out on the porch, where it was a little cooler.
She gathered up another pair of curtains and carried them with Flower's sewing box out onto the porch. Well, there was Flower — watering her rose bushes. She really wished Sid would get that pipe out here. How long did it take for orders from Oklahoma City to arrive, anyway? Probably quite a while by wagon, she realized, since no trains ran to Clover Valley.
Stone, of course, had ridden out to check on the cattle, but he should be back any minute. In fact, she thought she could barely make out a plume of dust way down the road — hopefully, Stone returning.
She had promised Stone to keep an eye on the mare in the barn, in case she showed signs of foaling early — not that she really knew what foaling signs were. She tossed the curtains on the rocking chair and set the sewing box on the seat. At least she could stretch her legs a little and go out to the barn to see if the mare was restless.
As she neared the barn, Tess heard voices inside. So that's where Rain and Silver Eagle had disappeared to. But she swore she also heard a woman's voice in there. She paused a moment, cocking her head as another strange male voice reached her ears. She hadn't heard any buggy or horses ride in — and she'd had one ear tuned for Stone's return.
"Michael! There's Tess!"
Tess stopped inside the barn door and stared in astonishment. A little poof sounded and the two figures hovering in the air above Rain and Silver Eagle disappeared, but the misty fluffiness where they had stood remained.
"Michael, the cloud!" Tess heard that woman's voice say, and the white cloud dissipated.
Tess blinked her eyes — rubbed at them — then closed her open mouth with a snap. She shook her head and stared at the place above Silver Eagle's head where she had seen — no, of course not. She looked higher, at the barn rafters, covered by an unbroken roof. Nothing could have gone out that way.
Oh, shoot, what was she thinking? She drew her gaze back down to the Shaman and her son. Rain ducked his head and shuffled a foot in the straw-littered floor, but Silver Eagle stared back at her with a contemplating look on his face.
"What...?" Tess cleared her throat with a croak. "What — or who was that? Did you see...? Were you talking to...? Were those sp...sp...spirits?"
Angela whispered frantically to Michael, "What are we going to do, Michael? Oh, we're in trouble now. We weren't supposed to let her see us, and we forgot ourselves while we talked to Rain and Silver Eagle."
Michael cocked an ear upward. "I don't hear Mr. G yelling at us yet," he whispered back. "Uh oh. Look at Tess!"
Tess marched on into the barn. "They were spirits, weren't they? And I've heard those voices before — up on Saddleback before I fell and outside the cabin one day. Who are they? They've got something to do with how I got here to Oklahoma, don't they?"
When Silver Eagle and Rain remained silent, Tess stamped her foot and crossed her arms over her chest.
"Answer me, darn it! I demand to know what's going on here!"
"But you haven't fasted, Ma," Rain began in a tentative voice. "I mean, we didn't either this time, but we did the first time."
Tess gripped her arms tighter and glared at Silver Eagle. "Who were they?"
Silver Eagle glanced at Rain, and Rain looked up at Michael. Michael shrugged his shoulders, then Rain shrugged at his grandfather.
"Spirits," Silver Eagle finally admitted. "They say they are your guardian angels."
"My...." Tess's jaw fell again and locked open. Her arms dropped to her sides, and she slowly shook her head. "Ah...." She lifted a hand to pop her jaw closed so she could speak. "I don't believe you."
"It's rude to call Grandfather a liar, Ma," Rain said in a hurt voice. "'Sides, I saw them first and told him about Michael and Angela."
"Michael and Angela," Tess repeated. "Oh, my God. You're telling me the truth, aren't you?"
Rain sighed in exasperation. "'Course we are. Angela came with you that day on the hill, and Michael just after that. They been here all the time, but I couldn't try to talk to them until after Grandfather and I fasted at the Cherokee camp. We knew they'd come with you — they never follow anyone else."
"I see," Tess murmured. "Or do I? Rain, I'd like you and Silver Eagle to leave me alone now. There's a couple slices of cake left in the kitchen."
Silver Eagle smiled and laid a hand on Rain's shoulder, urging his grandson toward the barn door. Whether she had fasted or not, he would be willing to bet the two spirits would have a time standing up to this strong-willed woman. He closed the barn door quietly behind him and walked toward the cabin with Rain.
Tess craned her neck, staring up at the barn rafters. She wished Silver Eagle hadn't closed the door. Suddenly it felt sort of spooky in here. Maybe she should have asked the Shaman to stay and help her talk to the angels.
"Uh...Michael and Angela," she said. "I'd like to speak to you."
She stood quietly for a long moment, but nothing happened. Then she repeated her request in a firmer voice.
"What should we do, Michael?" Angela whispered.
"You got me," Michael replied. "Are there any rules for this?"
"Not really. I've never slipped and let anyone see me before — had anyone ask to speak to me."
"Maybe we're supposed to use our own judgment."
"Look," Tess said, her voice taking on a slight edge. "I've already had a glimpse of you, so I know darn well you're there. You brought me back here, didn't you? And you kept me from being hurt when my horse threw me off out there after the wild stallion attacked, didn't you?"
Her voice rose another notch. "Didn't you? Now you get your little butts back on that cloud and come out here where I can see you!"
"All we can do is try it and see what happens," Michael told Angela. "If Mr. G doesn't want her to see us, we probably won't be able to appear before her."
Tess gasped and backed up a step as the mistiness began materializing in the air again. One hand flew to her throat, and she stared in astonishment at the two figures on the cloud. What an incongruous pair. The man was pudgy and balding, chewing on a cigar stub. The woman wore an old-fashioned driving coat and had a long scarf wrapped around her head.
Tess giggled and shook her head. How could she be afraid of these two?
"Hello. I guess you're Michael and Angela, huh?"
"Yep," Michael said. "And I guess you can see us. We weren't sure if we'd be able to do this."
"You let Rain and Silver Eagle see you," Tess said.
"That's different," Angela said, but she didn't offer any further explanation.
"Well, if you can choose who you're visible to," Tess said, "make sure it's just me who can see you. I don't want Flower to walk in here and think I'm crazy."
"She probably wouldn't think that," Angela said, but she waved her ha
nd. "Now, I know what you're going to ask us, Tess, but I'm afraid we can't help you. We really don't know ourselves if you'll be allowed to stay here in 1893."
"That's ridiculous," Tess fumed. "You're angels. You're supposed to know things like that."
"Sorry," Michael said. "Only Mr. G knows. Angels aren't allowed to know the future, any more than you are."
"It's 1893," Tess told him with a frown. "It's the past where I used to be."
"Sure, it's your past now," Michael replied, "but it's also your future. Don't you see? You're still living your life, even though you're in the past, so your future is still ahead of you."
"That doesn't make a darned bit of sense!"
"Oh, shoot, it does too." Michael sat down and crossed his legs. "Now listen. You had a future in 1993, and you still have a future in 1893. See?"
"No, I don't! Don't you see? Stone and I can't live like this." Tess never heard the barn door open or noticed that it suddenly got brighter in the dim barn. She flung her arms wide and yelled, "It's not fair! We love each other, and how long do you think it will be before the strain starts sapping away at that love? We never know if I'll wake up in Stone's arms each morning, or whether I'll find myself back in New York. Never be able to see him or the kids again!"
"Tess...," Angela began.
"And what if I have a child? We're married, you know, and those things happen." She shook a finger at Angela. "You're a woman. How'd you feel if you had a baby, then were afraid that any day you'd be separated from it?"
"Tess...."
"I demand that you two go back to this Mr. G, or whoever it is that can answer my question, and find out what I need to know! I refuse to live day to day never knowing where I'm going to be the next day — the next hour!"
"Tess, darlin'." Stone swept her up into his arms. "Tess, darlin', it's all right. Honey, I'll take you into the house and...."
"Get your hands off me, Stone!" Tess frantically shoved at his chest. "I'm not done talking to these two!"
"Tess, there's no one here except you and me."
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