“Sorry to disturb your rest.” Emma-Jean pushed herself to an upright position. She’d almost forgotten where she was. It was amazing what peace of mind could be gained from a good night’s sleep.
“I can dress and help you with your chores,” she said, swinging her legs over the side of the bed.
“No need. We all pick up after ourselves around here. But I do have some errands to run, and when I return I’d like to talk to you about something.”
Looking down, Emma-Jean tucked her hair behind her ear before clasping her hands in her lap.
“Okay,” she replied in a doubtful tone.
Miss Dunham must have picked up on her apprehension. “Have no concern. I’d just like to help you figure out your next steps.”
Admittedly and contrary to what she’d been told, Emma-Jean worried about Miss Dunham’s kindness. She was quickly learning that her mother’s words about all things coming at a price were true.
“I can’t stay. I’m only here for a short time,” she said, and her voice trembled as the words came out.
“I know…you told me.”
“I mean, I’m serious. I’m leaving soon.”
“And I’ll help you. Stop thinking I’m trying to get you to do something you don’t want to do. My help doesn’t come with a price tag.”
Miss Dunham sat some clean linen near her.
“You can change whenever you’re ready and go down to the kitchen to have something to eat. Now, if you don’t need anything, I’ll be back in a few hours.”
“I’m fine. Thank you.”
“You’re welcome.”
“Wait.”
Miss Dunham was walking back to the door when Emma-Jean called out. She stopped and changed her course.
“Yes, Emma-Jean.”
“What about Claretha?”
“She’s fine. I had someone escort her back home a few hours ago. She told me to tell you goodbye.”
“I see.”
“Is there anything else?”
“Well, actually, yes. I’m looking for someone, and I was hoping you could help me find him?”
“Does this someone have a name?”
“Yes, sorry. Just one second.” Emma-Jean got out of bed and went over to the chest that held her sack of belongings. She reached inside and pulled out a letter. “I’m looking for this man. His name is on the back of the photograph enclosed.”
Miss Dunham accepted the creased piece of paper with the picture. After unfolding it, she stared at it before looking back at Emma-Jean. “Is this your kin?”
“No, a very dear friend of mine. Her name is Gracie. It’s her uncle.”
Miss Dunham sighed heavily, before placing the photo back inside the letter, folding it and handing it back to Emma-Jean.
“I’m sorry to tell you, but this man died a few months ago.”
Tough Decisions
Poor Gracie. She’d had high hopes of being reunited with her uncle. Now, not only would it not happen, but Gracie would never see him again. And to make matters worse, it was all the family she’d had.
Emma-Jean would write a letter telling her the sad news about her kin. Gracie wouldn't expect her to be in contact so soon. But it was the right thing to do.
"Yes, that's exactly what I'll do," she said before pulling the cover over her head.
She hadn’t been in a comfortable bed for a while, and when Miss Dunham left, she’d fallen back into a deep slumber. When she finally woke up, it was already noon and she hurried to washup, fix her hair, and dress. Though, Miss Dunham had insisted she rest; she would feel guilty if she hadn’t at least helped to prepare dinner.
She made her way to the kitchen where Miss Dunham was busy preparing food.
“Oh, I see you’re up.”
“Yes, thank you again for letting me sleep late. I hadn’t realized how tired I was. Can I help you? I know how to cook.”
“I’m sure you do, but I have this. If you’d like, you can prepare the two dinner tables. There’ll be eight of us. But first, grab yourself something to eat. There’s some hot rocks over on the table—freshly baked from the oven. And butter dish is on the sideboard.”
“Thank you.”
Emma-Jean ate before setting out the tableware. Once she was finished, she walked back into the kitchen.
“All done.”
“Thanks.”
Emma-Jean cleared her throat. “I have a letter I’d like to send to a friend. Could I put it in the mail pile to send, please?”
“Sure, set it on the counter. I’ll take it in case you’re asleep when I go to run my errands tomorrow.”
“Thank you,” she said, putting the letter where she’d been told to.
Miss Dunham wiped her hands on the apron she was wearing. “So, Emma-Jean. Do you want to tell me a little about yourself?”
She stepped around Miss Dunham. Rolling up her sleeves, she dipped her hands in the water and started to wash the dishes.
“Umm…sure. What do you want to know?”
“For starters, why did you travel so far to become a schoolmarm?”
She thought about it for a bit and shrugged.
“I just needed to get away. With my ma and pa gone, there was nothing left for me in Kansas. Plus, I heard some ladies at a mercantile saying they were opening a new school here.” Emma-Jean tossed a quick look over at Miss Dunham who was cutting up onions. Maybe she knew more about the position. If so, perhaps she would be kind enough to give her some insight.
Miss Dunham stopped her prepping and looked at Emma-Jean. “Oh, honey, I’m sorry. But there’s no school opening here in Heartsbridge. There’s only the one located at the end of town but to my knowledge, it’s fully staffed. Unfortunately, the project you’re speaking of has been put on hold.”
Washing the last plate, she dried and placed it on the counter next to the others. She’d been about to ask where to put them when Miss Dunham told her the news. That meant she’d traveled all this way for nothing.
“Oh,” she said, her voice cracking. Emma-Jean’s shoulder’s slumped, and she collapsed into the chair. Lowering her head, she tried to hide her disappointment.
No matter what she did, it seemed she just couldn’t find her place. Maybe it just wasn’t meant to be, and she should give up on her dreams. Settle for the next best thing—a husband. Perhaps she could find one kind enough to allow Gracie to stay once she turned eighteen.
She raised her head. Blowing out a breath of frustration, she leaned back and blinked a few times, shaking off the thought.
Miss Dunham washed her hands and pulled a chair up next to her.
“Now, honey, things are never as bad as they seem. Everything happens for a reason,” she said, wrapping an arm around Emma-Jean’s shoulders. “What if I told you it was possible for your dreams to come true?”
Emma-Jean sighed. “I don’t see how. Nothing seems to work in my favor.” As soon as the words came out, she wanted to take them back. Doom and gloom thoughts wouldn’t help anything.
“Well, don’t give up just yet. Plus, I know something you don’t but we’ll discuss it after dinner. It’ll be life changing, and it’s not me being a matchmaker,” Miss Dunham said, with a sparkle in her eyes, raising a brow. It left Emma-Jean more than just a little curious.
After dinner, they’d worked together to put everything away. Emma-Jean had washed and Miss Dunham had dried.
She’d wanted to ask her about the life-changing thing she’d mentioned but didn’t want to seem impatient. Although it had been all she was able to think about during dinner.
“Come. I want to show you something.”
Anxious, Emma-Jean followed Miss Dunham into a room at the back of the boardinghouse. Almost immediately, she felt a peace upon entering. She looked around, observing the different oddities, wondering where they’d come from. Miss Dunham pulled the Duplex burner down and lit the paraffin lamp.
“Have a seat.” Miss. Dunham patted the spot next to her on the sofa, clenching the
timepiece she’d been holding onto the previous night when she’d arrived.
“I know you think you’re alone in this world but you’re really not. You’re just out of place.”
Emma-Jean didn’t like to think about that part of her life because of the feeling associated with it. If she was to move forward, she couldn’t look backward. Besides, she’d been through enough to know her situation could have been a lot worse. Many of the children at the poorhouse had been much younger and some had never met their parents. She was grateful she had. And with so many children without parents, she wouldn’t consider not helping them any way she could which was why it was important for her to teach. Children needed to know how to read and write in case they somehow found themselves in a similar situation, God forbid.
“If you don’t mind, Miss Dunham, I prefer not to talk about my past.”
“Okay,” she said, removing the timepiece from around her neck and opening it. The hands were circling around fast.
Emma-Jean eyes widened as she looked down. “I’ve never seen hands on a clock move so fast. Is it broken?”
“It’s working just fine. This timepiece isn’t like any other one. It only works in the presence of special people such as yourself.”
Emma-Jean chuckled. “I hardly think I’m the reason why it’s working. There’s nothing special about me.”
“That’s where you’re wrong, Emma-Jean. You’re very special. One of the reasons why you wanted to leave Canton, Kansas so badly was because you didn’t belong there. And you ended up here because we were supposed to meet.”
Emma-Jean stared at Miss Dunham. “How do you know this?”
“Because you’re not the first person who’s been led here and you won’t be the last. You see, Emma-Jean, I help people find their rightful place in the world and your place isn’t here. It’s in the future.”
Emma-Jean openly stared at Miss Dunham, cocking her head to the side. Maybe she’d just heard her wrong. “Did you say the future?”
“I did.”
Emma-Jean let out a short laugh, waiting for Miss Dunham to do the same. But rather, the lady just placed her hands in her lap and smiled gracefully.
“I’m serious, Emma-Jean. And I have a feeling if you take me up on my offer, you won’t regret it.”
She knew better than to believe that such a thing existed. But looking at Miss Dunham, she was almost tempted to go along with it, just to see how far she would take this joke of hers. Undeniably, she was slightly surprised. She hadn’t seemed like the lighthearted type before now.
“Okay, and what happens when I get to the future? I’ll be in the same predicament, alone and homeless with no money.”
“Oh, I’m not so sure about that,” Miss Dunham said.
Emma-Jean stood and started to pace the floor. It was a bit silly but she could stand to be amused. So she decided to play along.
“Okay, I’m ready.”
Miss Dunham raised a brow. “Are you sure?”
Emma-Jean took in a deep breath and released it. “I’m sure.”
“Well then, good. But first, I need to tell you the rules. Things will be much different, and you’ll need to allow yourself time to adjust. The water will taste different, the air will smell different, and there will be more conveniences than you could have ever imagined. But Moira, a relative of mine, will be there to help. She’ll give you everything you need.”
Emma-Jean hunched her shoulders and brought her arms to her side.
“Sounds interesting.”
“One more thing, you can only stay for so long before you’ll need to decide if you want to stay in 2017 or come back to our time. Now, if you’re ready, sit here.”
Miss Dunham went over to a table and wrote a quick letter. Folding it, she handed it to Emma-Jean.
“Here you go. Give this to Moira when you get there.”
She stared at the creased paper before accepting it. Perhaps this was going a little far. She watched as Miss Dunham fiddled with the timepiece, discerning that the woman was a little too bemused by it.
“Now sit back and get comfortable. You’re headed to your new life,” she said, backing away with a huge smile on her face.
Miss Dunham turned, extinguished the lamp, and opened the door. She’d never said anything about sitting in a dark room. Something about this didn’t seem right and Emma-Jean wasn’t finding any of it amusing anymore.
“Wait!” she called out, leaning forward right as the door shut.
“I-changed-my-mind.” Her words echoed in her head and she felt herself being hauled away through dense air.
What on earth was happening?
Unplanned Parenthood
It had become evident that someone was tampering with the latches on the stable gates. This was the second time this week he had to chase down one of his mares. Losing another one wouldn’t be good, especially since he was down to having less than a handful. He needed to find a way to put an end to this and it had to happen fast. Thankfully, the children had been asleep when it happened.
If he was a betting man, he’d place money on the culprit being Lana. It started with just a few items here and there, then it became bigger things. It had gotten so bad that now when the stable hand came, the supplies he needed wouldn’t be there and he’d end up paying him for a blank trip.
Who steals lead ropes and bathing necessities for horses anyway? A person with serious issues—Lana, that’s who.
Then to make matters worse, she’d left him in serious debt—taking out a loan against the ranch and bailed out on paying it. If it wasn’t for the children, he would have had her thrown in jail.
And to think, this was his new life—changing diapers and chasing down horses.
After being a Marine on active duty for eight years, this was not what he'd expected to come home too. For crying out loud, he'd only been a kid when he enrolled in the military and now he was expected to be a single-parent. Though it wasn't the life he'd planned, it was the right thing to do.
"Will you be the only authorized parent?"
"What?” He came back to the here and now. “Beggin’ your pardon. Yes, ma'am. "
"Oh, call me Lisa," the school receptionist said, smiling flirtatiously, shifting on her heels.
"Are you certain you won’t be adding an authorized parent? I only ask because usually our mommies do the enrolling.”
He rubbed a hand over his face, wishing the process could go just a little faster. He still needed to stop by the grocery store, buy uniforms for Chloe, make an appointment for the children’s checkups and figure out this whole shot-records thing. Oh yeah, and they needed to eat dinner. But thanks to Moira, that much was covered.
"One day at a time," he whispered to himself.
"I guess I'm being a little too nosy," the school receptionist said as she placed paperwork inside two separate folders.
"I'm sorry. What was your question?" he asked, reaching down to pick up Hanna who was tugging at his pants leg. They all were extra hyper today except for Adam who was just being his usual quiet self. By now, he’d hoped they would have bonded more.
“I was just saying, usually we only see daddy doing enrollments when mommy is out of the picture.”
“How much longer?” Chloe whined, sitting next to Adam, swinging her legs.
“Not much longer, honey.”
The woman cleared her throat, and Austin turned back toward her.
She smiled.
“I’m sorry. What was that now?” Just then Adam sneezed. He sat Hanna on the counter, propping her against his chest, while he dug in the bag for a tissue. It reminded him, he’d needed to go to the pharmacy for cough medicine too.
"Wait, you can list Moira Lockhart,” he said, lifting up Hanna and walking over to Adam, handing him the tissue. “Too, could you highlight the asthma pump thing? I'll keep one in his bag, and I'll also drop off an extra one tomorrow for the nurse’s office." He also needed to take the children to see Abagail, their pediatrician so
on. He’d promised to do so when he’d run into her at the grocery store last week.
“Oh, and list Abagail Simmons as a contact as well.” Austin had almost forgotten she’d told him to. “She’s also their doctor, so you may want to make a note of that?”
“I’ll include it all in our system."
“Great. Can I complete the rest of this at home and bring it back?” he asked, adjusting the active toddler on his waist.
“Sure you can. And if you need any help, feel free to contact me anytime.” She bent over the counter, showing a bit too much cleavage for a school clerk. She picked up one of the school cards and wrote down her number before sliding it over to him. “Here you go.”
He accepted the card. “Thanks. I'll drop everything off in a few days. Come on, kids, let’s go.”
Exiting, he tried to remember everything she’d told him to do, but decided if he’d missed anything, he’d have to figure it out later. Right now, he needed to focus on what needed to be done at that moment.
Being a full-time parent, required full-time income. He needed to get the shop back open soon or else he’d be forced to sell the ranch and find a smaller place for them to live.
He loved the kids dearly but something had to give. There was no question about it, he needed help.
“Ice cream, ice cream!” Chloe yelled, sitting in the backseat of the SUV.
"All right. But if you keep kicking the back of the seat, instead of ice cream you'll be getting an extra serving of veggies.”
“No veggies, please.”
“But why? You need them to be strong and healthy. Or do you want to stay small forever?”
The little girl held her head down, hiding behind her hair.
“Okay. But does it work if I only eat the good ones?”
Using his rearview mirror, he peered back at the now pouting child.
"It sure does but you still have to eat some of the not so good tasting ones," he said before looking over at her brother. “And you get to have ice cream for dessert.”
“Yay,” she said, throwing her hands up, realizing her victory.
Timeless Honor (Timeless Hearts #7) Page 3