A Husband in Time

by Maggie Shayne

  Jane blinked, shaking her head. “But…but if it’s before you left, then—then you’re there? And here? You… There are two of you? Zach, what if—”

  “I don’t know. I don’t know if the past me will be there or not, Jane. I should be all right as long as I don’t confront him…er, me.” He clasped her shoulders, turned her toward him. “Jane, I have to go now.” And, to her surprise, his eyes seemed damp. “Saying goodbye to you…saying goodbye…” He shook his head, apparently giving up on words. Instead of speaking, he pulled her tight to his chest, and kissed her. He kissed her slowly, tenderly, for a very long time. And Jane found herself kissing him back, slipping her hands up to his shoulders and parting her lips in invitation, and pressing her body tight to his. Before, they’d had passion, desperation, desire. This…this was different. This was emotion…so much emotion that it took her breath away.

  Could it be that he…?

  He lifted his head away, turning toward the light. Jane gave herself a mental shake, trying desperately to swim her way to the surface of the pool of feeling she’d nearly drowned in just now. She blinked twice, and cleared her throat, but her voice was hoarse all the same. “I don’t know what you’re thinking, Bolton, but you can think again. My son is back there. I’m going with you.”

  He shook his head. “The side effects…”

  “I’m a little more than half your weight, Zach. I’ll be fine. Besides, as you told me earlier, that’s not a consideration.”

  “It’s not safe. Not even necessary. Jane, I’ll take care of Cody as if he were my own, you know I will. I love the boy.” He frowned after he said that, as if the words had surprised him. But then his brow cleared, and he nodded once. “I love the boy. He’ll be safe with me, and as soon as the device recharges, I’ll send him back to you.”

  “I’m going with you.”

  He searched her face, shook his head. “I can’t let you risk it.”

  “It isn’t your decision.” Jane pulled from his strong grip so suddenly that he was taken by surprise. She didn’t waste a second, just spun around and ran directly into the light. There was the sensation of being squeezed until she felt like a turtle under a truck tire, and then sudden relief as she hit the floor. Or the floor hit her. Like a two-by-four in the face, swung by a giant.

  Zach landed beside her with a crash, and lay there on his side, hands pressed to his head, face twisted in a grimace of anguish. The box hit the floor beside him, and then the light blinked out.

  Jane tried to stand, and was surprised when a wave of dizziness washed over her, sending her right back to her knees again. Her brain sloshed as if she’d been drinking too much. Her vision was spotty, and her balance way off kilter. Lord, what a frightening sensation!

  But Zach…Zach was still on the floor. He’d rolled onto his back now, and lay there, eyes squeezed tight, palms pressing the sides of his head.

  “Zach?” Jane knelt beside him, battling her own reactions, because his were obviously far worse. “Hang on, Zach. Hang on, okay? Zach?”

  His eyes opened, focused on her without recognition. Blank. Utterly blank. His brows came together, and he stared at her. “I know you,” he said weakly, blinking his vision into focus, and taking in the surroundings. His gaze fell upon the box on the floor, and narrowed as he struggled to sit up. But then he was looking at her again. He reached for her, touched her hair as his eyes probed hers. “I know you,” he repeated. “I know your face, and your scent and the taste of your lips. And I know there’s no other woman in the world quite like you. Wait…”

  “Jane, I’m Jane,” she said, but her voice was a bit breathless, in reaction to those words. She gave herself a mental kick. He was confused, disoriented. “Come on, Zach, I need you now.”

  “Jane,” he muttered, lying back down as if for a little nap. She quite understood the feeling. She shared it. Exhaustion. Jet lag to the tenth power. “Come back to bed, Jane.”

  She took his face between her hands, slapping his cheeks several times. “Zach, come on. Wake up, this is an emergency.”

  He opened his eyes. “Darling, you’re insatiable….”

  “Benjamin, Zach. Cody. Remember?”

  “Benja—” He blinked, and the dazed expression left his face. “Benjamin. My son!” He sat up, paused to give his head a shake, then gripped her outstretched hand and struggled to his feet. He paused, blinking down at his hand, still surrounding hers. “Jane…yes…” He lifted his gaze to hers. “I’m sorry.”

  “It’s the portal. It does something to your mind, Zach. It isn’t your fault.”

  “We’re a day early,” he whispered. “Jane, I can’t run into…into the other Zach—if he exists. I can’t. I’ve no idea what would happen if I did.”

  “Well…think, Zach. Where were you at—” she glanced around the room, found the mantel clock and went on “—5:30 p.m., on the night before…”

  “The night before my son slipped into a coma?” Zach finished for her. “I was at his bedside. Nothing could make me leave.”

  And as he said it, the two of them turned, gazes falling on the tiny, sleeping child in the big bed, and the empty chair beside him. “Well, something apparently made you leave tonight,” she whispered.

  He staggered away from her, to the bedside, bent over and brushed his lips over his son’s forehead. Benjamin slept soundly, not even stirring. And Jane’s eyes burned as she moved closer and looked down at his pale face and red curly hair, at the freckles scattered across his nose. Just like Cody.

  Zach straightened up, his eyes moist, his jaw taut. “Come on. An earlier version of me is liable to show up at any moment. Help me…” He put his arm around her shoulders, bracing himself against her as if he’d fall down without her help. “Get me to my…your…” He lifted his brows. “Our bedroom. No one will bother us there, and we can plot our next move.”

  She nodded and helped him into the hall.

  Cody waited until it was late enough that he figured everyone would be asleep. And then he went back to the house. He had several advantages, and he’d spent his time listing them, one by one, to build up his confidence. One was that he was a lot smarter than just about anyone else in this century. Nothing to be vain about, just that he came from a more enlightened time. So he ought to be able to outwit every last one of them, right down to Eli Waterson and Wilhelm Bausch. That thought made him smile a little. Imagine outwitting two genius scientists.

  Another advantage was that he knew the house like the back of his hand. He’d explored it thoroughly since he and his mom had moved in. And he knew how to get in, even if it was locked up tight. He also knew which room was Ben’s. And he had his penlight. Perfect. Advantage number four was that no one was expecting him. So he had the element of surprise on his side.

  Now, he also had a couple of things working against him, the main one being that the medication was supposed to be taken over a period of several days, every four hours. If he gave Ben a dose now, and then missed one later, the whole treatment would have to start over, and he only had enough pills to do this once. So there was no way he could leave Ben in that house. He had to get him out of there. And he had to do it tonight.

  Cody plotted and planned until the wee hours. And then he gathered up every bit of courage he had, and he tiptoed out of the barn and back to the deserted road.

  The road was in worse shape than ever. No hint of pavement, no fresh gravel. Just packed dirt. It wasn’t wide enough for two cars to pass safely, and there was only one sign on the whole thing, as far as he could see. A wooden board nailed to a post. Someone had painted Rockwell on the sign, and one end had been sawed off to a point. Cody picked up his pace. He thought that if he squinted until his eyes went out of focus, and didn’t pay too much attention to details, it was just like being back home. Only…it truly wasn’t. It felt different. Even the air seemed different.

  Something clattered and clunked, and Cody went stiff. Then he kicked himself into high gear, and dived into the bushe
s along the roadside, crouching there and watching the road behind him, as bright as day beneath the moon.

  The sounds grew louder, and then the thing making them came into view. A horse, wearing blinders and all kinds of straps. A big black horse, pulling a big, wobbling buggy behind it, and it was headed toward Rockwell. Cody shook his head in stark wonder as the wooden wheels, trimmed in metal, rolled and squeaked past him. The seat inside looked like soft brown velvet, with little buttons all over it. A man and a lady rode on that seat, the lady wearing a striped dress and a hat that almost made Cody laugh out loud. So did the man’s long, curled mustache, which was so well waxed it gleamed in the moon’s reflection. His bowler hat was almost as good.

  Cody bit back his grin and shook his head in wonder. He really had traveled a century into the past, hadn’t he? Gosh. It was unbelievable, but he’d done it.

  And now he had to do something even harder. Save a little boy who had no hope left except for him.

  Unlike Zach, Cody hadn’t suffered any ill effects from coming through. He’d had a slight headache that lasted a couple of hours, nothing else.

  He felt just fine now. So when the buggy had passed, he clambered right back onto the road, and headed for the house, faster this time. He was getting antsy, and he wanted this over with. There was only one light on, and he knew well enough that it was in Ben’s room. He walked around the house, just as quiet as he could, looked around once, and then bent to the hatchway door that led into the cellar. Mom kept this door padlocked, but it seemed like locks weren’t as necessary in this past. The door opened, creaked loud, making Cody grate his teeth. Then he ducked inside, lowering the door behind him and pulling out his penlight.

  He didn’t intend to take time to look around. The place was creepy, anyway. Dark and unfinished. Dirt floor, instead of the cement he was used to. No lights. No washer and dryer in the corner. No boxy metal furnace to keep the place warm. There was a giant hulking iron thing, with an orange-red glow spilling from its every crevice, of which there were many. And a pile of what looked like coal sitting beside it.

  Shining his penlight ahead of him, Cody made his way to the stairs, and tiptoed up them. The door at the top had a hook and eye for a lock. It did in his time, anyway. He hoped that was the case here, because if it was he could open it. He’d played around trying to once, when he and some friends played hide and seek down here. At the top of the cellar stairs, Cody listened, heard no one. Then he pulled his library card from his jeans pocket, and slid it into the crack between the door and the frame. Slowly he moved the card upward, and soon he felt the resistance of the hook. He lifted it, jiggled the card a little and smiled when he heard the pinging sound as the hook fell against the door on the other side. Then he turned the knob and pushed the door open.

  Pitch-dark in the kitchen. Good thing he knew his way around. He slipped through, clicking off his penlight and sticking it back into his pocket. He got through the dining room, too, and then the living room, where he went even more slowly as he approached the stairs. He thought he heard someone moving around up there, but when he went still and quiet, he decided it had only been his imagination.

  Silently he moved up the stairs, and turned toward Ben’s room. But then he stiffened, because voices were coming from beyond the door. And then footsteps. Cody almost passed out from fear, and then he slipped farther down the hall and ducked into the hall closet.

  Jane swallowed hard as she stood silently in the bedroom, staring down at the small, pale-faced little boy. Benjamin, his breathing labored, dark circles ringing his thickly lashed eyes, laid sleeping, his hand clasped in a larger, fleshier one. The woman had fallen asleep in the hard wooden chair beside the bed. Jane could see only the back of her bowed head, her plump, slumped shoulders. And then, as she stood there, wondering how in the world she would handle it when the woman turned and looked at her, she stiffened, straightened in the chair and did just that.

  “What—who are you? How did you get—?”

  Jane held up a hand to calm the startled woman. “It’s all right, Mrs. Haversham. I’m a friend…of Zachariah’s. Is he here?”

  The woman rose, smoothing her dress’s long, rumpled skirts, blinking the sleep haze from her eyes. “No. No, and I’ve no idea where he’s gone.”

  Jane frowned. Neither she nor Zach had known what to expect. The prospect of meeting another Zach, one who didn’t know her, had been so absurd it made her dizzy. “Are you certain? This is very important. I have to know—”

  “If Zachariah were here, don’t you think he’d be at his son’s side? When we’ve barely been able to pry him from this room long enough to eat or to sleep? No, miss. Zachariah seems to have vanished without a trace, and I’m worried to death about him.” The woman’s lower lip trembled, and she clutched at her apron, wringing it in her hands.

  Jane stepped closer, her throat tightening, and put a hand on the woman’s shoulder. “It’s all right. It’s going to be all right. But I need your help, Mrs. Haversham. I’m looking for my son, Cody. He’s missing, and I—”

  “Your son?” the woman repeated, and it seemed she calmed considerably. “Young boy…looks enough like Benjamin to be his twin, only older and a good deal healthier?”

  “Yes! Then he’s here?”

  “No, I’m afraid not. He was, of course, but that was earlier, and— Land sakes, the boy never made it home?”

  Jane closed her eyes as tears threatened. “No.”

  “Lord,” the woman muttered, shaking her head. “The lad was upset that we couldn’t let him see Benjamin. Lit out of here like a bandit, and heaven only knows where he got himself off to. But don’t you worry, missy, I’m sure he’ll find his way home.” Then she tilted her head and frowned at Jane, eyeing her jeans and T-shirt with a puzzled expression. “And where is your home, if you don’t mind my asking?”

  “Far away,” Jane said. She fought the bitter disappointment that made her want to sink to her knees and cry. She battled the worry over Cody, tried not to let herself panic at the thought of him out there, alone in the night somewhere. She cleared her throat and brought her focus back to the questions that needed to be asked. If there were two Zachariah Boltons running around this house right now, and they happened to run into each other, God only knew what the results might be. “I need to know, ma’am, when did you discover Zach was missing?”

  The pale blue eyes welled up with tears. “An hour ago, miss. When I came in to check on Benjamin and saw this chair empty. I knew something was wrong. Zachariah hasn’t left his son’s side in days, except to go and fetch Doc Baker when things look bad.” Her eyes turned pleading. “I searched the house through, but there was no sign of Zachariah anywhere, and no one saw him leave. Please, miss, if you know where he is…”

  “I’m here, Mrs. Haversham.”

  The bedroom door stood open, and Zach stepped through it. Jane gasped as she whirled around and saw him there, uncertain which Zach this man might be. He met her gaze, nodded once. “Hello again, Jane.”

  Her breath escaped her in a rush, and her muscles seemed to go limp in relief.

  “Merciful heavens, Zachariah. I’ve been frightened to death!”

  “I’m sorry I worried you,” Zach told the woman. “But I’m here now. Why don’t you go on back to bed? You need your rest, you know.”

  Mrs. Haversham looked worriedly at Benjamin, who was still sleeping soundly. “I’ll go,” she said. “But call if you need me.”

  “Of course I will.” Zach hugged the woman briefly, and then she left them. His gaze shifted to his son, and he closed his eyes.

  She wanted to go to him, touch him. She wanted to feel his arms around her, and hear his strong, confident voice telling her that Cody would be all right, that they’d find him. But his confident air was nowhere in sight right now. When he looked at his dying child, he was the one who needed comforting.

  “Cody?” he asked, not taking his eyes from his son.

  “He was here,” Jane to
ld him. “But he ran away. Zach, where could he be?”

  Zach closed his eyes, moved toward the chair. “I don’t know.”

  He turned as if to sit, but Jane caught his arm and pulled. “No, Zach. You’re not going to slip right back into your role of sitting here watching your son fade away. I’m not going to let you. We have to find Cody.”

  “My son is dying,” he muttered, pulling free of her.

  “And mine has the drug that will cure him.”

  He blinked at her as if he’d gone blank for a moment. Gave his head a shake. “You’re right.” The words came out on a deep sigh. “Of course, you’re right.”

  Jane shook her head, pacing the room. “I don’t get this. We came back here on the day before you left, didn’t we? I mean, you seemed so sure. But if that’s the case, then why isn’t there another you, sitting here? Why—?” She turned to face him, pushing both hands through her hair. “This is so confusing.”

  “It seems to me that it would be physically impossible for a man to exist in two places at the same time. I couldn’t be in the room down the hall, and here, in this room, at once. It simply could not happen.”

  “Then where did…the other one…go?”

  Zach got up and walked to the window, parting the curtains to stare at something outside. “I don’t know, Jane. But I do know we came back farther, if only by a day. That’s certain.”

  Jane came to stand beside him, following his gaze. “How can you be so sure?”

  “There was a thunderstorm on the night before I went forward. Lightning struck that barn, the one you can see in the distance. A little after 9:00 p.m.” He pointed, and she saw the decrepit-looking building. “It burned to the ground within an hour, Jane.”

  She bit her lip, nodded. “Okay. All right, then we know we’re here a day earlier, and we know the other Zach vaporized or something when we came through.”

  “No. I think…I think I somehow merged with him…with me. It’s odd, Jane—I remember everything about my trip to the future, but I also remember being here by my son’s bedside an hour ago, holding his hand and praying for a miracle.”