Sadie's letter nevertheless took him by surprise. She wasn't just grateful to him. She was smitten with him. She liked him and clearly wanted him back.
Kevin got off the bench, slipped the letter in a back pocket, and walked to the intersection with Cedar Street, where he saw Walt lead another merry band of tourists past the house of ill repute. He smiled when he saw a high-school-age boy throw his hand up and presumably ask a question about historic Wallace. He wondered what the kid would think of the real deal.
Haunted by the scented note, Kevin decided to walk around town and hopefully clear a mind that had been remarkably uncluttered just an hour earlier. He turned west, toward Fifth Street, then north, toward the river, and began a tour of a familiar neighborhood.
When he approached the high school campus, he saw two distinctive buildings. The first was the new school, an edifice of colored brick and glass that filled nearly an entire block. The second was a remnant of the old school, a storage facility that had changed little in more than a hundred years and presumably still served a useful purpose.
Kevin thought about his visit to the original school, his conversations with Principal Edward Morrison, the boys in the gym class, and his unexpected but entirely welcome encounter with Sarah Thompson. He hoped that she had come to her senses with respect to Preston Pierce and found a satisfying life that she too deserved.
When Kevin reached a small park next to the school, he stopped, sat on a picnic table, and assessed his surroundings. Wallace had changed a lot in a century. Fewer businesses now operated in its downtown core. Fewer houses dotted its south and west sides. An elevated freeway loomed over the riverfront and the former site of the Northern Pacific Railroad depot.
Yet there was still much that was familiar about this once important town. Kevin could sense it, even feel it. He could almost see horse-drawn wagons pulling kegs of beer and women wearing fancy hats stepping out of not-so-fancy shops. He could see Andy in the Shooting Star and Maude in the Placer Room. Those images would never go away.
A few minutes later, he got up, headed south on Third, and cut across Bank to King Street, once the site of Wallace's most extravagant homes. He thought again about how the city had changed and how it had not and then returned to the letter.
I hope that instead of finding your place in Montana you come back to a town that needs you and a girl who admires you. I hope you give Wallace another look and Sadie Hawkins another chance.
Kevin shook his head. He could see now that he should have handled matters differently. Though he did not at all regret saving Sadie from a life of squalor and retiring her debt, he did regret creating an impression he could not honor. He had taken her to dinner, bought her gifts, and all but courted her for forty-eight hours. He had encouraged affection he knew he'd never be able to return and that, he concluded, had been a mistake.
He glanced at his watch, saw two forty-five on the dial, and pondered his options. Despite the hour, it was not too late to join his family. He could hop in his Beetle, drive to Spokane, and order a New York strip before Dad touted the virtues of 3D printing, Mom asked about his day, and Rena recounted the horrors of not finding clothes in her size at outlet stores. He would enjoy a big meal, more time with his clan, and maybe even the show. He didn't care much for plays, but he did like spectacles. A rousing theatrical performance might just be the ticket.
Kevin knew also that he could stay put. He could check out more of the tourist traps or go on a long hike or even grab his bike and hit the Trail of the Coeur d'Alenes. A physically fit cyclist could cover a lot of ground on a two-hour ride and work up a serious appetite. The more he thought about getting out on the trail and revitalizing his mind and body, the more he wanted to return to his wheels and start peddling.
The one thing he didn't want to do was return to Roger Johnson's house and think about the past. He didn't want to mentally revisit the past ten days or the people he had met or the places he had seen. He didn't want to think about the ripples or messes he'd left behind. He wanted to think about something else, something in the here and now, and begin the process of moving on.
The problem was that he couldn't. No matter how hard he tried, he couldn't purge the images in his mind and in his camera. He couldn't stop thinking about what he had done. He couldn't get past the note. Sadie's words haunted him as surely as a spider on a ceiling.
Paralyzed by indecision, Kevin continued his way toward a mansion that had once been owned by the richest woman in town. When he reached his destination, he sat on a utility box and took stock of a residence that had been his home just a few hours earlier.
The house had changed surprisingly little in a century. Though the doors and windows had been updated and the siding redone, the mansion appeared much as he had left it. Even the black wrought-iron fence that ringed the property seemed untouched by more than a hundred winters.
Kevin lifted his eyes to the north dormer, his dormer, and saw a middle-aged man throw open a window and stare at the ne'er-do-well sitting on his utility box. He considered asking the man if he had found a strange pair of socks in the dresser but decided to remain silent. There was no need to invite calls to the police on such a nice day.
Kevin studied the house for another moment and then looked again at the letter. The words seemed bigger now and bolder. They jumped off the page and hit him in a whole new way.
Sadie may have been a mere high school graduate, but she was no dummy. She knew the power of words and knew that this note would stir his heart and maybe a few other things. She didn't want to part with Kevin and was willing to pull every string to get him back.
Kevin got off the utility box and put the letter away. He had to stop thinking about her. She was just a girl, for crying out loud – one who had already lived and died and made her mark on the world. She was gone. It was time to leave well enough alone.
As he walked back to his grandfather's house, however, Kevin realized that well enough would never be good enough. He would never be at peace until he exorcised his ghosts and tied up loose ends. Suddenly, the unthinkable became thinkable.
What was the harm, he reasoned, in making one last visit? He could settle his affairs, clean up any messes, and still return to 2013 before his family came back from Spokane. Though the chamber of stones might not send him to February 23, 1910, it would almost certainly return him to June 21, 2013. The portal had proved extraordinarily reliable in reentry mode.
Kevin weighed that important consideration as he crossed a street and started down another block. He knew it was crazy to even consider another trip because any trip might turn out badly. Prudence dictated that he turn away now.
The time for prudence, however, had come and gone. He wanted more than a careful life where he checked his shadow each step of the way. He wanted adventure, fulfillment, and love. If that meant finding them in another century and bringing them back, he would do just that. If it meant finding them now, he would do that too.
He smiled as he turned onto Garnet Street, approached Roger Johnson's house, and thought of the suit he had left lying on the back of a chair. Stan Laurel would perform again.
CHAPTER 24: KEVIN
Kevin packed a bigger suitcase for his third trip to 1910. He packed it with more socks, more underwear, more toiletries, and more stuff. He didn't care this time if any of the items stood out. As far as he was concerned, anachronisms were now the latest in cutting-edge technology. He cared only about comfort and convenience on what would surely be his longest stay.
He also packed more loot. He grabbed several handfuls of golden eagles, diamonds, and convertible cash and stuffed the goods in three zippered freezer bags. If someone managed to mug him outside the chamber of stones, he would, in effect, win the lottery.
As it turned out, no one greeted him when he walked out the chamber door – not a mugger, not Asa Johnson with a shotgun, no one. What did greet him was a cold winter afternoon.
Kevin initially took that as a good sign. He h
ad left in winter and wanted to return to winter. If he had, in fact, returned to winter, he would be in great shape – in theory, anyway.
Reality might be far more complicated. Kevin needed only a few seconds to run the numbers. He had met Asa Johnson and his family on February 14, Andy and Maude on February 16, Principal Ed Morrison on February 18, and Sadie on February 21. Any arrival before those dates would complicate his current visit beyond measure.
Determined to learn his arrival date as quickly as possible, he walked briskly down Garnet to Sixth Street and proceeded north to a shop that sold newspapers. A few minutes later, he stepped inside the store, gave the clerk a nickel, and opened the latest edition of the Wallace Standard. The date at the top read: Monday, February 28, 1910.
He couldn't have asked for a bigger break. Assuming he had reentered the same time stream, he would be able to reenter the lives of his friends as if he had been gone for only five days. He would be able to tell Maude, Andy, and Sadie that he had seen what Montana had to offer and come running back. With any luck, he'd be able to pick up precisely where he'd left off.
Kevin took a moment to scan the front page and found stories that made him laugh, wince, and sigh in relief. A wire story reported that an amorous embracer named "Jack the Hugger" had been apprehended in Butte, Montana, after harassing the city's women for weeks. More ominous was a breaking report that avalanches in nearby Burke and Mace had killed several people. The good news was that Andy O'Connell was still at the paper. His article on an ongoing labor dispute ran nearly the length of the last column.
The time traveler, wearing his gray Stan Laurel suit, a red bow tie, and a derby hat, left the newsstand for King Street. Heavy snow continued to fall, making Kevin wonder whether he should have packed leather boots instead of leather shoes.
No matter where he looked, he saw signs of the times: businessmen closing shops, school children walking home, dirty-faced miners wandering in and out of saloons, and horse-drawn wagons hauling a variety of goods. He saw no cars. Automobiles would not come to Wallace in noticeable numbers for a few more years.
When he reached Maude's mansion, he took a deep breath, dropped his suitcase to his side, and knocked on the door. Nothing happened. He knocked again. This time he heard two people walk to the entry. One stuck her nose against a pane of frosted glass.
Kevin started to say something but held his tongue when the door began to open. The first person to greet him grinned slyly and put her hands on her hips.
"Welcome back, Mr. Johnson," Maude said. "We missed you."
The second person, standing at Maude's side, didn't say a thing. She didn't have to. Her million-dollar smile said it all.
CHAPTER 25: MAUDE
Tuesday, March 1, 1910
"Where's Andy?" Kevin asked as he buttered a sourdough biscuit. "I can't imagine him passing up a feast like this."
"Normally he wouldn't," Maude said. "He's become quite fond of Sadie's cooking, but he had to rush to a warehouse near the depot this morning."
"What's going on?"
Maude sighed and glanced at her boarders, who sat facing each other at her dining room table. She saw a well-dressed man look at her with curious eyes and a more modestly dressed woman look at the well-dressed man with adoring eyes. She wasn't sure she wanted to bring up such a delicate matter at breakfast.
"The authorities have begun . . . assembling the victims from the slides. I'm told that nineteen perished in Burke and Mace and another five in outlying areas."
"How awful," Sadie said.
"Tell me more," Kevin said to Maude.
Kevin placed his biscuit on a plate of eggs, sausages, and sweet rolls and looked more thoughtfully at his hostess. He did not at all appear reluctant to discuss death at the table. He instead seemed eager to jump in.
"Very well, Kevin," Maude said. "I spoke to a neighbor last night who has a brother in Mace and he said the situation is quite serious. Most of the camp is buried under forty feet of snow."
"Did you say nineteen died?"
"Nineteen died, and it could have been worse."
"How is that?"
Maude glanced at Sadie before answering Kevin. She didn't want to cause her unnecessary distress but decided to continue when she saw that Sadie appeared just as eager to hear the news.
"Several men on a construction train that was carried into a ravine were able to dig themselves out," Maude said. She sipped her tea and turned to Kevin. "What's more, the slide barely missed a boarding house filled with three hundred miners. Most were asleep at the time."
Kevin stared at Maude and slowly shook his head.
"What about Burke?" he asked.
"It was lucky too."
"What do you mean?"
"When the news from Mace reached Burke, most of the people there moved to safer ground. The slide in Burke buried mostly empty houses. Sadly, four of those who died in Burke were men who had helped with the rescue effort in Mace."
"Did you know any of the victims?"
"I knew one of the managers at the mine in Mace. I'm not sure about the rest. The authorities have not yet identified all of the deceased. I suppose Andrew will be able to tell us more when he returns," Maude said. "Anyway, that's enough gloom for one morning. How was your trip?"
"It was nice. I'd never been to Montana. I enjoyed my time there."
"Did you find any teaching opportunities?"
"As a matter of fact, I did," Kevin said. "There's a small town near Missoula that had two immediate openings for math instructors."
"So why did you return?"
Kevin paused for a moment before answering.
"I came back because I like it here. Don't get me wrong. I want to teach, but I want to be happy where I teach. I'm not looking only for a job, Maude. I'm looking for a home."
Maude smiled when she looked at Kevin and laughed to herself when she looked at Sadie. The girl had not taken her eyes off the teacher all morning and appeared surgically attached to his every word. Maude pined for the day she could look at a man, any man, that way again.
"Does that mean you intend to remain with us for a while?"
"It does. If it's OK with you, I'd like to stay here for at least a few weeks, maybe longer."
"You know you're welcome," Maude said. "If you need any sort of financial accommodation until you find employment, just let me know."
"That won't be necessary. I have more than enough money to pay my rent and help with some of the expenses around here."
"Are you a man of means, Mr. Johnson?"
Kevin smiled.
"Let's just say that I come from old money. My forebears invested wisely."
"Then I won't give your situation another thought. Shall we continue with the glorious meal that Sadie has prepared?"
"Yes, we should."
Maude laughed again when she saw Kevin and Sadie exchange affectionate smiles. She might have to set down some rules if the smiles evolved into something else. Or maybe she'd just let love run its course. She could think of far worse things than a man and a woman who actually liked each other.
Maude started to cut into a sausage but stopped when she heard the front door open. She turned toward the back of the dining room just as Andy walked in from a hallway.
"Come join us, Andrew. There is plenty."
"I think I'll do that."
Andy pulled up a chair facing Maude, sat down, and helped himself to sausages and eggs but didn't eat. He instead sighed, looked at the table, and brought a hand to his chin.
"What's the matter, dear?" Maude asked.
Andy scanned the faces at the table and shook his head.
"It's worse than I thought, Maude, much worse."
"What do you mean?"
"Miners weren't the only casualties."
"Please continue."
"Some children were killed and at least a few people from town, including someone we know. Lawrence Monroe was among the dead. He had gone to Mace to visit a friend."
Sadie put a hand over her mouth.
Kevin looked at Andy with bewildered eyes.
"Who was Lawrence Monroe?"
Andy took a breath and turned to Kevin.
"He was many things to the people of Wallace: a businessman, a church deacon, and a gentleman of the first order," Andy said. "He was also a teacher who worked at the high school for more than fifteen years. Mr. Monroe taught science."
CHAPTER 26: KEVIN
Monday, March 7, 1910
"Good afternoon, Mr. Johnson."
Edward Morrison shook Kevin's hand firmly and then turned to face the others in the room. Two stern-looking older men and a very pleasant-looking younger woman comprised the balance of the interview committee.
"Kevin, this is Samuel Garrison and Thomas Wainwright."
The applicant shook two more hands.
"Mr. Garrison and Mr. Wainwright are longtime instructors here. Mr. Garrison teaches chemistry and botany. Mr. Wainwright teaches Latin and rhetoric."
"It's nice to meet you gentlemen," Kevin said.
Morrison continued.
"Over here is Miss Sarah Thompson, our newest faculty member. She teaches English and American history. I believe we looked in on one of her classes on your first visit."
"Indeed we did," Kevin said. He spoke to the principal but looked at the teacher, the first person he'd met in 1910 and one he'd never forget. "It's nice to meet you, Miss Thompson."
"The pleasure is mine," she said as she shook his hand.
"Please take a seat, Mr. Johnson. Is there anything I can get you before we start?"
"No, thank you."
"OK then. Let's begin."
Morrison sat at one end of a polished hardwood table, Kevin at the other. Sarah sat to Kevin's right, facing the two other men. Five glasses and a pitcher of water sat between them.
"As I told you on Friday, Mr. Johnson, I have been authorized by the school board to fill this position immediately if I find a candidate with suitable qualifications. I have assembled this committee for advisory purposes only. Any decision on a probationary hire will be mine, and mine alone, and be subject to final approval by the board in thirty days."
The Fire (Northwest Passage Book 4) Page 10