“I’m here, Eva.” Timothy waved to them from the door of the saloon. “I’ve set up the candles the exact way they were the one time we got the red circle to appear.” He shrugged. “I figured it couldn’t hurt.”
Tony smiled. “Thanks, man. We appreciate any help you can give us.”
“Anybody wanna tell me what’s happened to make the three of you so desperate to go through the red circle?”
Eva sighed. “We don’t have much time, but the short version is I’ll be a suspect in my mother’s disappearance if I stick around. Seems her fingerprints were in my locket and the police got their hands on it.”
Timothy’s mouth fell open as he looked from Tony to Zach and then back to Eva. “I guess you got no options, then. Let’s see if we can make this thing work.”
Eva walked to stand in front of Timothy. “You can’t come downstairs with us.”
“Why the hell not?”
“Because we can’t be sure it wouldn’t pull you in with us. I don’t want you to risk being taken away from your family.”
Timothy’s eyes filled with tears. “Thank you, Eva. I’ll pray that God shows you the way home. If you get a chance, let my sister know I’m healthy and happy and that I wish the same for her.” He touched Eva’s face gently and then turned and walked to his truck. He wiped his hand across his eyes, started the engine, and then drove away.
Eva turned around and took a deep breath. “Okay, guys. Let’s see if we can take a little trip.”
* * * *
Tony took the flashlight from his truck and led the way through the upper level of the saloon. Nothing had changed. It was still full of cobwebs, dark, and dreary. Silently, they headed for the stairs that led to the basement. An eerie glow came from the bottom, illuminating the last few steps. Slowly, Tony walked down, keeping his hand over his shoulder where Eva’s hand was clasped tightly in his. When they reached the bottom, they moved to stand between three lit candles.
“Now what?” Zach asked.
Eva looked around. “I don’t know.
Zach took her hand. “How did Timothy make it work when you came here?”
“He didn’t. It was Kat that caused it to open.”
Tony moved toward the wall. “Tell us again how she did it.”
“Timothy was threatening me with a gun, telling her to call out for Mama like she did when she came through. She tried calling Mama’s name, but nothing happened. Then, when he, well, he touched me and said he’d entertain me if she didn’t open it, she screamed out that she wished it would open and take him away.” Eva shrugged. “The next thing I knew we were falling through the void.”
Tony kicked the edge of a crate. “Well, that’s not gonna work this time. Nobody’s gonna be threatening you.”
“Eva, just try calling it here.” Zach nodded his encouragement.
Eva moved to stand in front of the wall. She reached out her hands. “Come on, guys. Let’s hold hands. I don’t wanna risk us not going through together.” When their hands were joined she looked up at the wall. “I wish the portal would open and take us back to my time.” When nothing happened, she called out again, even louder. “Please, please, open the portal and take us back to my time.”
Zach looked around. “I don’t feel anything. Do you?”
Tony shook his head. “No, nothing yet.”
“What are we gonna do?” Eva sobbed.
Zach put his hand on her shoulder. “We need more emotion, but I don’t know how to get it.”
Tony jumped when his cell went off. “Damn, I forgot to leave it at home. I don’t guess it’ll be much use where we’re going.” He pulled it out and looked at the display. Frowning, he flipped it open. “Hey, Andrew, what’s up?”
“Tony, I don’t have a clue what’s going on with you, but we’ve always been friends, so I felt like I should let you know what’s happening.”
Tony glanced at Eva and Zach. “Okay, buddy, what’s going on?”
“Laura gave the captain a story this morning about your lady friend. Said she’d obtained the lady’s prints and that she’s somehow connected to the disappearance of that teacher and nurse a couple of years ago.”
Tony closed his eyes for a moment. “Is that it?”
Andrew hesitated. “No, she also insinuated that the lady in question has got you somehow involved.” He cleared his throat. “Tony, they’ve pulled GPS coordinates on your work truck. Laura and a team are en route to intercept you in hopes that your lady friend is with you. Man, I don’t know what’s going down. Just be careful, buddy. Laura’s on some kind of crusade, and somebody is bound to get hurt.” He hung up before Tony could say anything else.
Tony turned off his phone and tossed it to the ground. “We don’t have much time. I didn’t use any common sense, and I drove us here in my work vehicle.” He looked at Zach. “A friend told me that Laura’s pulled the GPS coordinates and is on the way here with backup to see if she can apprehend Eva.”
Zach ran his fingers through his hair. “Shit!” He turned to Eva. “Now would be a good time to try again, darlin’.”
“What will happen if she gets here and finds us together?” Eva asked.
Tony shrugged. “They’ll take us all into custody for questioning, and if we can’t give them the answers they want, they could charge us with obstructing justice in a felony, or we could be railroaded on the charges of the women’s disappearance. Trust me, it’s better if we aren’t here when they show up.”
Chapter 13
Eva turned toward the wall, clenching her fists, her heart racing, the sound of her heartbeat roaring in her ears. She felt her limbs go weak as she envisioned the red circle in her mind. “Please, come and take us away from this place and back to the time I came from.” She repeated it several times and then flinched when the sound of a shrill siren broke the silence. She looked at Tony’s ashen face. “What is that?”
He swallowed hard, his hand gripping hers so tightly the knuckles were white. “It’s the siren on a police car. They’ve found us.”
Eva turned back to the wall, tears streaming down her face, obstructing her vision. She was trying hard not to shake as she screamed. “Take us home, please. Don’t leave us here. Please take us home.”
Zach’s hand tightened around her fingers. “Holy shit. Look at that!”
A small, red circle appeared on the wall beside the stairs. Only about a foot in diameter, it began to grow, pulsing with a strange energy. Larger and larger it swelled, sending little shock waves around the room.
The sound of the siren stopped, and the dull sound of voices could be heard drifting down the stairs. Slowly, the three of them moved as one toward the wall. Eva stood in the middle, her hands clasped tightly in the hands of her men. Tony on her right, Zach on her left. She closed her eyes briefly and uttered a prayer for God to see them safely to their destination. Suddenly, something seemed to be pulling her forward. She felt dizzy and weak. Her dry lips trembled as she gasped for air into her lungs. Everything turned black as the three of them were sucked into the void. There was no air, no light, only the feel of her lover’s hands kept her sane.
Round and round she seemed to spin, and then her hands were released. No! Don’t take them from me. She could feel tears filling her eyes, but they didn’t fall. Gradually, the spinning stopped, leaving her feeling as she was suspended in time. The blackness around her closed in until she felt numb. She cried silently for the men she loved, and wondered where they were. When she didn’t think she could take the blackness a moment longer, she was thrown forward, the air around her thinning until she could draw a tortured breath, filling her lungs.
The room was dark and the dirt floor cold beneath her hands. Where am I? She screamed when a hand closed over her leg in the darkness.
“Shhh, love,” Tony cooed. “It’s only me. Are you okay?”
She threw herself into his arms, crying. “You’re here.”
He kissed her on the top of her head as his arms crushed he
r to his chest.
“Where’s Zach,” she whispered. “Did he make it?”
“I don’t know. I haven’t been awake long. The only reason I found you was from the bath salt you used last night. You smell like jasmine.”
“He could be unconscious. Mama was when she came through. Let’s feel around and see if we can find him.”
“Okay, but be careful.”
She went to the left while Tony went to the right. Slowly, she inched her way across the floor until her hand touched the canvas of a shoe. She let her hands trail up the leg. “Tony, he’s here.” She moved up to his head. “At least I think it’s him. He’s unconscious, but he’s breathing.” She raised his head to her lap and gently caressed his cheek. “Zach, please wake up and let me know you’re okay. Please, please wake up.”
Tony moved close and put his arm around Eva’s waist. “Don’t worry, love. He’s gonna be okay.”
Zach groaned. “How’s a body supposed to get any sleep with the two of you yammering away.”
“You’re alive,” Eva squealed.
Zach chuckled. “Yeah, that would be an accurate statement. So, tell me. Did we make it?”
Eva wrinkled her nose. “We’re not in the same saloon basement we were in before. It’s cleaner and smells better. I don’t have any way to know what the date is until we go upstairs. Do you think you can make it up those steps?”
“Yeah, I can make it, but answer me this. Is there any chance someone might shoot us as intruders and ask questions later?”
Eva sighed and shook her head and then remembered the men couldn’t see her in the thick darkness. “It’s possible, but not probable. My brothers didn’t walk around with guns strapped on all the time. It’s awfully quiet, so maybe it’s nighttime and everyone’s asleep.”
“She’s right,” Tony said. “The only way we’re gonna know anything is to get out of this basement. I’d much rather meet adversity upstairs than trapped in a basement.”
“So we’re agreed. We’re all going upstairs and see if we can find my brothers.”
Tony grunted. “Yeah, we’re agreed, but I’m going first.”
Eva shook her head. “No, it needs to be me going first. If I run into family upstairs, I’ll be a shock, but they’ll recognize me. They won’t know you from Adam.”
“She’s got a point, Tony.”
Tony groaned. “Okay, just please be careful.”
She grinned. “Follow me.” Slowly she made her way across the darkened basement, the men cursing quietly when they ran into the occasional wooden crate. When they reached the stairs, Eva gave a sigh of relief. “Won’t be long now,” she whispered. Swiftly, they climbed the steps with her pausing at the door at the top. “I love both you guys. No matter what else happens, remember that.” Without waiting for them to answer, she turned the doorknob and pushed open the door.
The air was very cool and the room darkened. She could see a dim light coming from the kitchen, and she heard muted voices. Motioning for the guys to follow her, she made her way along the wall and paused outside the kitchen door. She could hear David and Win talking.
“I left Kat sleeping,” David said. “She seemed so tired yesterday.”
“Yeah, this pregnancy seems to be almost more than she can handle.”
“It’s not the pregnancy, Win. Eva’s birthday was last week, and she still blames herself for Timothy taking her through the red circle. It’s slowly killing her not knowing what happened to Eva.”
With tears in her eyes, Eva stepped through the door. “Then maybe we’d better wake her up and let her know I’m okay.”
David and Winn both jumped up, their chairs crashing to the floor behind them, cups of coffee spilling across the kitchen table.
“Eva,” David screamed, as he rushed over to drag her into his arms. He hugged he so hard she squeaked, barely able to get a breath. She could see Zach and Tony moving through the door beside her.
“Ease up, man,” Tony said. “You’re squishing the life out of her.”
David took a step back and glanced above the door where Eva knew he kept a loaded rifle.
“Chill, big brother. They’re with me.”
Win stepped forward and took her in his arms. He gazed at Eva, letting his eyes travel from her head, down to her feet and back. Then he turned his perusal to her men. After a moment, he smiled. “Welcome home, little sister. Your stories will keep the family enthralled for years. Are you well, little one?”
Eva smiled, grabbed Tony and Zach’s hands, and sighed. “Win, I’m perfect. Where is everybody?”
David scowled. “Don’t you think you should introduce your friends first?”
“Well, if everyone was here, I’d only have to do it once.”
Win snickered. “Kat is sleeping upstairs, and your parents are at their home. They don’t usually arrive for breakfast for another hour.” He looked at Tony. “Won’t you please have a seat? I can offer you a cup of coffee to tide you over until breakfast.”
“How can you be so dang calm,” David groused. “I want some answers, little girl. Where’ve you been? How did you get back? What happened to that lowdown skunk, Canders?”
Eva pushed her men toward the table. “Okay, introductions first.” She put her hand on Zach’s shoulder. “This is my man, Zach Carlson.” Her hand moved to Tony’s arm. “And this is my man, Tony Grandy.” She pointed to Win. “That’s my brother Winter Warrior, but everyone calls him Win. And the surly one is my brother David.”
“Your men,” David groaned. “What have you gone and done, little sister?”
“I’d say she finally found her prince charmings,” said Win as he place two cups of coffee on the table. “She’s been talking about finding her two soul mates for as long as I’ve been a member of this family.”
“Well, how do we know they’re good enough for her?” David asked.
Win smacked the back of his head. “I trust your sister’s judgment. She’d never fall for men not worthy.”
“Excuse me.” Tony held his hand up. “I hope you don’t mind me asking, but what’s the date?”
David snickered. “You don’t have a clue where you’ve ended up, do you?”
Eva smacked him on the back of the head. “Be nice, David, or I’ll turn Mama loose on you.”
“All of you stop hitting me in the head.” David grinned. “I think you’re gonna have your hands full when Mama gets a load of that outfit you’re walking around in.”
Eva looked down at her shorts and grinned. “Believe it or not, this is pretty tame where I’ve been.”
David smiled and looked at Tony and Zeke. “Where do you come from?”
Tony sighed. “We’re from the year 2014, right outside Hamilton in the town of Ely.”
“I’ve heard Kat mention that before, but it won’t be around for a few more years.” He turned to Eva. “We never expected to see you again, little girl. When you disappeared, it nearly killed Mama with not knowing where you’d end up.”
Eva sniffed. “Win, would you go get the family? I can’t wait to see everybody.”
David turned to Tony. “In answer to your question, it’s December. Eva’s only been gone for six months.”
Tony nodded. “She was only with us a few weeks.”
“Why did you come back with her,” David asked. “Did it pull you in by accident?”
Zach grabbed Eva’s hand and pulled her into his arms. Tony moved to place his arms around her as well.
“No,” Tony said. “We meant to come. We’re in love with your sister.”
David’s mouth dropped open as he looked at Eva. “You traveled all the way to the future to get the same kind of relationship the rest of us have?”
She looked up at her men and smiled. “Damn straight.”
“What the hell is all the racket down here? A body can’t get a decent night’s sleep.” Kat walked through the door, tying the belt of a robe around her swollen body. She ran a hand through her messy hair, looked up,
and promptly screamed. David rushed to her side with Eva right behind him.
She took one look at Eva and broke out in tears, pulling her into a hug, smothering her face against her shoulder. “You’re home,” she sobbed. “You’re home.”
Eva leaned back. “Yes, I’m home, and I’m perfectly fine. You can relax now.” She looked down at Kat’s large belly. “And it looks like we’ve got even more reason to celebrate. You’re making me an auntie.”
“My baby, where’s my baby?”
When Eva heard her mother’s voice, only a few seconds passed before her mother and both fathers came barreling through the kitchen door. Before Eva could say a word, she was thrown into the middle of a four-way hug.
“My baby, my baby,” cried Anna.
“What in the name of all that’s holy are you wearing?” asked Beau.
Anna laughed, wiping the tears from her eyes. “She’s wearing a pair of shorts, and she looks great.” She ran her fingers through Eva’s hair. “If you’re wearing shorts, then you must have made it back to my time.”
“Yeah, I arrived two years after you disappeared.”
“Who the hell are you?”
Eva looked up to see Zeke scowling at Tony and Zach. She quickly introduced them. “They’re with me, Papa Zeke.”
Tony grinned. “We came back with your daughter because we love her and wanna make a life with her.”
Anna groaned. “Oh, brother. It must me some kind of genetic flaw in the family.”
“What happened to that no-good Timothy Canders?” asked Beau. “Did he come back with you?”
“No, he stayed in the future.” She spent several minutes telling them about Timothy’s life and how he’d helped the three of them get home. “I sort of promised him I’d tell his sister what happened to him.”
David snorted. “You’ll have a devil of a time doing that. She up and married a cow puncher that stayed here for a couple of weeks about four months ago. The two of them were heading west for him to start his own ranch.”
Forever Eva [Sequel to When Kat's Away] (Siren Publishing Ménage Amour) Page 18