“How is my son?” His voice, when he said it, was little more than a coarse whisper.
“We’ve stabilized him.”
“Then he’s all right?”
“Not yet. He’s still in a coma, but we’ve started an IV with tryptonine. Once the drug begins to take effect, we’re hoping he’ll come around.”
“Hoping?”
“Mr….” The doctor paused, glanced down at the chart in his hands and looked up at Zach again. “Bolton,” he went on. “We can’t be sure of anything at this point. If your son can hold on long enough for the medicine to take effect, we’ll be able to pull him through, but there’s still a great chance that he won’t. I have to be honest with you about that. You should prepare yourself.”
Jane felt the jolt that went through Zach’s body, and she held him tighter. His arm came around her shoulders, as if he were clinging to her for survival. “Go on,” he said, when he could speak again.
The doctor lowered his head. “Even if he survives, there’s a possibility of brain damage. His fever was very high when he was brought in. We have no way of knowing how, or even if, that affected him. We’ll only know when he comes around. He might be just fine, Mr. Bolton. But there’s a slim chance his motor skills and cognitive abilities could be impaired for the rest of his life. We just can’t tell at this point.”
“I see.”
“We should know something by morning.”
Zach nodded. Then as the doctor turned to go, he brought his head up sharply. “Can I see him?”
“Of course. We’ll be moving him to his room shortly, so you’ll have to keep it brief.”
Zach started forward, his arm still anchored around Jane.
“Only family,” the doctor said softly.
“Jane is family,” Zach replied, and kept right on going.
“Go home, Jane. You need rest.”
She didn’t, though. She came the rest of the way into the stark white room, with its wondrous beeping and blinking machines. She came all the way to the chair where Zach had been sitting for what seemed like years, and she gently took his son’s limp hand from his much larger one, enclosing it lovingly in her own. “I’ve been home. I brought you a change of clothes and something to eat,” she said softly, her gaze pinned to the face of his son.
She smelled good. Fresh and clean. She’d changed clothes herself, though it didn’t look to Zach as if she’d taken the time to get any sleep. Knowing Jane, he’d say she’d rushed home and back for his sake more than her own. She laid Benjamin’s hand down atop the bedsheet, and then opened the small bag that hung from her shoulder. She pulled a container from it, and then a plastic-wrapped spoon. “Here. Yogurt. It’s good for you. I’ve got some cookies, and a few—”
“Where is Cody? Not still sleeping on that horrendous excuse for a chair in the waiting room, I hope.”
Smiling slightly, Jane shook her head. “A nurse took pity and let me lay him in a vacant bed in the next room. I just hope I don’t get billed for it.”
She said it in jest, he knew, but the thought of bills and such made him wince. He’d been a man of means in his time. Now…now he had no clue how he’d begin to make his way. But he couldn’t worry over that now. He couldn’t think of anything else, except his son, lying here in this strange bed, perhaps at the brink of…
“Father?”
The yogurt cup fell to the floor from nerveless fingers as Zach’s heart swelled to bursting. Eyes wide, he turned his head slowly. But Benjamin wasn’t focused on him. Instead, he was blinking up at Jane, as if he were seeing an angel. She stroked his hair away from his forehead and leaned low to place a tender kiss there. Then she stepped away, making room for Zach at his son’s bedside.
“Benjamin,” he whispered, tears choking him. Ben tried to sit up, lifting his arms to his father, and Zach responded by wrapping his arms around his son’s thin frame and holding him very close. “You’re awake. Thank God, my son, you’re awake.” His words deteriorated to grateful mutters as he buried his face in his son’s red curls and closed his eyes to hide his tears.
“It was Cody’s medicine, Father. He said it would make me well again, and…” Ben backed up a little, staring up at his father. “Is it true? Am I really going to be well, Father?”
Stroking those riotous curls, Zach nodded. “It’s true.”
“It was my wish, you know. The shooting stars…I knew it wasn’t very scientific, Father, but when I saw them from my bedroom window, I wished on them. And my wishes came true. All three of them really came true!” He lay back on the pillows, sighing, and Zach knew he was still easily tired. But, by God, there were healthy splashes of color in his cheeks now. And his eyes had regained some of their former shine.
“Three wishes?”
“Oh, yes! My first wish was to be well again. That came true. And then I wished for a big brother, and Cody came. He promised he’d be…” Benjamin blinked and looked around the room, and Zach did the same. “But…he didn’t leave me, did he?”
“No, son. Cody is taking a nap in the next room.” And, apparently, his mother had decided to join him there. She must have slipped out to give him time alone with his son.
“Oh.” Benjamin frowned, tilting his head. “We’re not home, are we, Father?”
“No, son, we’re in a hospital, a long ways from home.”
Squinting at the overhead light fixture, Benjamin said, “We must be where Cody comes from, huh?”
Now how in the world could he know that? No matter. “Tell me about the rest of your wishes, Benjamin. What else did you wish for? Whatever it is, I’ll get it for you, I swear.”
Benjamin grinned, and Zach fully expected to hear a request for a new toy or a puppy or some such. Instead, he heard, “Oh…well, like I said, I wished for a big brother. I’ve been wanting one for ever so long, Father. But you don’t need to get one for me. Cody is my brother now.”
“He is?”
“Uh-huh. We swore an oath. Those were my first two wishes, and they both came true. And there’s only one more to go. And I think it’s come true, too.”
Swallowing hard, Zach whispered, “What’s the third wish, Ben?”
“I want a mother,” Benjamin whispered, closing his eyes and smiling softly. “I want a real mother, who will live with us and who will love me for always.” He tilted his head, and looked at his father. “I know you’ve been looking for one for a long time, Father, but you never find any really good ones. Anyway, it doesn’t matter now, because I have her all picked out.”
“You do, do you?”
Benjamin nodded firmly, then looked toward the door, his eyes lighting up. Jane stood there, and Zach was left with no doubt about the identity of the woman his son had chosen. And then Cody crowded past her, and raced to the opposite side of the bed. The two boys chattered excitedly, seemingly forgetting the presence of the adults in the room. Jane took Zach’s arm and gently led him into the hallway.
“You look worried. Zach, you ought to be relieved. He looks so much better.”
Searching her face, Zach saw the telltale traces of tearstains. “I’ll never get over how deeply you feel things, Jane Fortune,” he whispered, tracing those marks on her cheeks with his fingertips.
“What is it you’re worrying about?” she persisted.
He shook his head. “A hundred things. A thousand. My son is well, though, so what right do I have to complain? I’d live in the streets and be happy.”
“Is that it? You’re wondering where you’ll live when he’s released? Zach, you know you’re welcome to stay with Cody and me for as long as—”
Shaking his head, Zach turned away from her. “And how long would that be, Jane? How long do you suppose it will take a man like me to find a means to earn a living in this time? I don’t even know where to begin.”
She placed a hand on his shoulder. “Zach, you’re a genius.”
“No. I was a genius. Surrounded by modern technology, I’m a bumbling fool.” He sighe
d hard, and began to pace. “I’m back where I began. A man with little wealth and no social standing. No security. Nothing to offer a woman—” He bit his lip, and broke off.
“A woman?” Jane repeated. “Zach, I know you miss Claudia, but you can’t possibly be thinking of going back there and bringing her—”
“Can’t that brain of yours think about anything but Claudia?” he snapped. She blinked hard at his harsh tone, and Zach instantly regretted it. But the woman was so frustrating! Ah, but who did he have to blame for her misconceptions? No one but himself. “I’m simply trying to illustrate how ill-equipped I am to make a living for myself, much less anyone else, amid the modern technology of today’s society.” He hoped that covered his slip, as well as his bad manners. He was too tired to think this through right now, and too frustrated to be this close to her without touching her. He recalled her telling him that her family was one of the wealthiest in the country. Good God, he felt as if he’d gone backward in time all over again.
“Modern technology, my foot,” she snapped, and then she spun him around to face her, with more force than he’d expected. “You traveled through time, Zachariah Bolton. No other scientist has managed to do that, not with the help of every scrap of modern technology available today. Not one. You’re still a genius. And you’ll find a way to apply that brain of yours in today’s world. I know you will.”
He swallowed hard, but nodded. “Perhaps…”
“I’ll help you,” she told him. And he knew perfectly well she meant it.
“Why, Jane?” he whispered. “Why are you so good to me?”
Lowering her chin, she shook her head slowly. “We’ve been through hell together, Zach. I…like to think we’re…friends. And besides, you’d do the same for me.”
I’d cut out my heart for you, he wanted to tell her. But, of course, he couldn’t. Not now. Especially not now. In fact, maybe it was better that she go on believing he was pining away for selfish little Claudia.
It wasn’t what he wanted her to think. Not at all. He wanted to tell her…to tell her that he had done what he’d never in his life believed himself capable of doing. That he’d fallen in love with her. He wanted…good God, he wanted to ask Jane Fortune to marry him. Ben loved her. And, dammit, so did he.
But how could he ask that of her? He knew she was trying to get by without her fortune, but it was there, all the same. It was there. And what would she want with a man who was only steps away from being a pauper? She couldn’t be expected to continue giving to him and Ben. He couldn’t ask it of her. Nor of himself.
He looked at her, everything in him aching to tell her that it was her he loved, not Claudia. But instead, he clamped his jaw, and said nothing.
Fourteen
Dammit, why did men have to be such utter fools? She’d had it with them. Or… Well, she’d thought she’d had it with them. Until now. Now she’d made up her mind that no man would ever figure anything out unless a woman drew him a picture. Oh, she had her pride. And pride was all well and good, but facts were facts. And the fact was that more than her heart would be broken when Zachariah Bolton marched out of her life. Cody would be shattered, as well. He loved Zach madly, and had claimed little Benjamin as his very own brother. It would kill him to lose those two. And Benjamin was just as enamored of Cody. Not only that, but the boy seemed to have become attached to her. And, God, how she had fallen in love with that little tyke. Those carrot curls and those big blue eyes and that mischievous grin. He’d been home from the hospital for a week now, and he’d dug himself a permanent place in Jane’s heart. She loved him so much she felt as if she’d given birth to him. And she was not going to let him go. Not without a fight.
That damn thickheaded Zachariah Bolton had been brooding for days, heartsick, no doubt, over losing the selfish little witch he’d fancied himself in love with. And when he wasn’t moon-eyed over his lost love, he was scheming and plotting ways to earn a decent living in the 1990’s. There was no doubt whatsoever in Jane’s mind that the second he got his hands on a dependable income, he’d take his son and march straight out of her life. Which was why she hadn’t told him what she’d discovered when she finally got into that old safe that was stored in the attic. If she told him, she’d lose him. She’d been waiting, hoping against hope that he’d realize he belonged with her. Maybe even begin to love her a little bit.
But the jerk hadn’t come around, even after a week, and she was beginning to think he never would. Time to change tactics.
Besides, she couldn’t keep the information from him much longer. But she’d made up her mind that when she told him about that, she was going to tell him everything else, as well. Might as well lay it on the line and go for broke. Her delaying tactics certainly hadn’t been effective.
So she was going to tell him, flat out, tonight. She’d had all she could stand of watching him pine for another woman, and not even notice her. Enough was enough. More than enough, thank you very much.
It was driving him insane, living with her! Dammit, she seemed to go out of her way to be near him, tormenting him with her presence until he thought he’d go mad with wanting her. Must she wear those formfitting jeans all the time? Must she always leave her hair loose and flowing, for God’s sake? Couldn’t she bundle it up, spinster-style, just once? And for the love of God, why did she have to smell so good? Why did she have to sing in the shower? Why did she have to be so blasted loving and caring to his son that it melted his heart each time he saw it. Why?
He wanted her. Not just in his bed, but right to the base of his soul, he wanted her. He’d thought he’d loved once, but with every day that passed, he realized more and more how dim his young yearnings for Claudia had been in comparison with the real thing. But he hadn’t told Jane. He had his pride, dammit, and right now he had nothing to offer her. Nothing at all. He’d been slowly growing more and more frustrated as he sought to find his place in this new world, to understand where he fit in, to find a way to earn a living, for heaven’s sake. But he hadn’t. Not yet.
But he would. He’d find his way and he’d make Jane his own. It was the waiting that was driving him to distraction.
“Zachariah?”
He turned to see the object of his every waking thought, standing in the doorway of his workroom. He caught her unaware, and in that instant before she felt his gaze, he saw her pain, etched into the porcelain features of her face. Pain he’d caused. Hell, she cared for him. And he’d been a fool to let her go on believing he didn’t feel the same. In that moment, he changed his mind. He couldn’t wait any longer. To hell with his pride. To hell with his income, or lack thereof. He’d deal with that later. It was important, yes, but not as important as what he felt for this woman. Nothing was as important as that.
Jane had moved Cody to another bedroom, worried about prolonged exposure to the time warp that existed, invisible, here in this one. Benjamin had the room beside Cody’s, though they spent most of their time together in one place or the other. Usually wherever the Nintendo machine was set up at the time. Zach had set up a cot in here.
Jane was not smiling when she met his eyes. Lord, he’d done something to make her angry. Well, he deserved her anger for allowing her to doubt him so long. And he couldn’t blame her, could he?
“We have to talk,” she said.
“Yes, we do,” he said. “It’s long overdue.”
“Not here. I don’t want to wake the boys. Downstairs, okay?” And without another word, she backed out into the hall, closing the door behind her.
Zach drew a fortifying breath, and got to his feet, closing the journal where he’d been recording his thoughts. Jane had suggested he try his hand at writing, and he’d begun with the life story of the town’s most famous resident—himself. He’d have to write the ending as if it were fiction, though he knew full well it was not. Jane had assured him the project would sell and earn him a substantial amount, but it was a long process, and he needed something in the meantime.
; He’d been impatient, thinking he couldn’t wait. That he needed an income before he could tell Jane how he truly felt, and knowing he could not, would not, wait much longer to make Jane his. If she’d have him, that is.
Shaking his head, he walked downstairs, preparing himself for the worst.
Jane’s loins were girded. She stood in a rigid posture when Zach entered the living room, and vowed she wasn’t going to take pity on his poor broken heart.
“Coffee?” she said, when he took a seat on the sofa.
“No.”
“All right then. I guess I should come right to the point.”
“If you don’t mind, Jane, I’d like to go first.”
She blinked at him, her pretty eyes puzzled. “You would?”
Zach nodded.
“Actually, yes, I do mind. I’ve been rehearsing this in my mind for hours, and if I don’t get it out right now, I never will.” Jane paced the length of the living room, walking away from him in brisk strides, her luscious hips swaying as she moved.
Zach pursed his lips. “All right, if you insist. I must admit, you’ve piqued my curiosity. Whatever could you have to say to me that would require so much preparation?”
She whirled on him. “Damn you, Zachariah Bolton, you have to be the most hardheaded, utterly dense man I’ve ever known.”
“Now, wait a minute!” Zach jumped to his feet, intercepting her as she paced back the other way, catching her shoulders in his hands and staring down into her blazing eyes. “I know I’ve made you angry with me, Jane, and I’m sorry.”
“Angry? Zach, you’ve made me more than angry. This is beyond anger. I want to slap you. The way you’ve been walking around as if there’s a dark cloud over your head ever since you left the last century. I’m sick and tired of watching you pining away for that brainless, air-headed, vapid, overly made-up, self-centered bitch.”
He frowned down at her. She was breathless now, but he could see she was only warming up. “I’m sorry. I’m sorry I let you go on believing I was still pining over Claudia. It was unforgivable, Jane.”
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