by Dawn Brower
Trenton groaned and rolled onto his side. “I never want to do that again.” He managed to pull himself into a sitting position. “It’s worse than those spinning rides that make you want to lose the contents of your stomach.”
“Oh, dear,” Regina said. “I hate to one up him…” She frowned and stared down at the floor. “But I do believe my water broke. Bradford…”
“I’m on it,” he said as he started heading out the door. He paused and turned back and asked, “Can one of you help her outside as I bring the car around.”
Genevieve wanted to laugh but held it in. She’d never thought she’d see the day Bradford Kendall, the Duke of Weston, playboy extraordinaire, would be flustered as he helped his very pregnant wife. “Go,” Genevieve said. “I’ll help Regina.”
“Thank you,” he said and ran out of the room.
“You stay here,” Genevieve said to Trenton. “Get your equilibrium back. I have plans for you later, and I need you in top shape.”
Then she went and helped Regina walk to the front door. When she’d started to talk to Regina through her gift of telepathy, she never imagined she would one day help her in this way. It was odd that the woman who’d replaced Genevieve in Trenton’s life for a short time would enact a change in all their lives. If not for her, and that fateful wedding, would any of them be where they were? Would Alys have fallen through time and found James? What impact had Genevieve’s time in the past changed things? What other little things were altered and would they ever realize the full impact of it? It was strange the path life had led her on. Somehow, she’d miraculously ended up exactly where she needed to be. “Thank you so much,” Regina said. “Why ever did I think having a baby was a good idea?”
“Because they are blessings. This one will be a part of both you and Bradford. He or she will represent the love you share and will be a legacy of that unwavering bond.”
Regina smiled. “It’s a boy. I don’t suppose Trenton bothered to tell you that. Sometimes I wonder if he even listened to me as I spoke.”
Eve’s lips tilted up in amusement. “I suppose he had his reasons for not listening.”
“Yeah, you,” Regina said breathlessly. “He was hell-bent on finding you and tuned out the rest of the world.”
He’s said he’d been researching ways to find her… She hadn’t fully realized to what extent that had taken. How could she have ever doubted him? She’d put him through so much, and he’d been devoted to her the entire time. Somehow, she’d find a way to make it up to him. They made it out the front door as Bradford pulled his car in front. He jumped out and opened the passenger door for Regina. Once she was settled inside, he turned and hugged Genevieve. “Take care of my brother. I’ll call once the babe is born and let you know how they both are.”
Genevieve nodded and waved him off. It was good to be home. She went back into the house and found Trenton waiting for her with open arms.
“There you are,” she said. “I thought I told you to wait for me.”
“Darling,” he said. His lips tilted upward, and happiness filled her as it always did when he smiled at her in that way. “I’ll always be right here. Wherever you go, whatever you do, no matter what it takes, I’ll always be here for you.” He pulled her into his arms. “You can count on it.”
Epilogue
Genevieve strolled into the hospital room and stared down at her sister’s sleeping form. It had been three weeks since they’d done the bone marrow transplant. Peyton was getting better in slow degrees. The doctors said she could go home that night if all her tests came back with good news. Peyton had been so pale and weak when she’d first come to visit.
Aubriella had always complained about her stepsisters and stepmother. If her cousin had known that her stepmother was actually Genevieve’s biological mother, what would she have thought? Genevieve may never know. When Trenton told her what Aubriella had done, she hadn’t been surprised. When someone called to her, she couldn’t resist. Her empathic ability was both a curse and a gift. Whomever she went to help was lucky to have her. Genevieve hoped she’d see Aubriella again one day, but even if she didn’t, at least she had her sister.
“What has you so lost in thought?” Peyton asked.
“Aubriella,” she replied. “I miss her.” She chewed on her bottom lip. Her cousin had been her best friend since they were small. Why had she willingly jumped through time?
Her sister reached for Genevieve’s hand. “You two were so close. I hope one day you do get to see her again.”
Genevieve smiled. “Time will tell. For now, we have each other. You miss Serenity too.”
She nodded. “I do, but you’re right. We have each other to lean on now. Thank you so much for helping me. It couldn’t have been easy. Your life has been turned upside down in more ways than one.”
Helping Peyton had been a gift to her to. She had Trenton, but she had a long way to go before she completely healed. Her parents had lied to her for years, and she didn’t know how to come to grips with it all. Peyton and Trenton were her rocks. “How many times do I have to tell you to quit thanking me? It was the decent thing to do. You’re my sister.” She leaned down and kissed her cheek. “Rest. You’re going home today. I’ll be back later to pick you up. Trenton and I agreed you’re coming to Weston Manor to heal. Bradford is being generous and didn’t argue too much about it. We have plenty of time to learn everything about each other.”
Life was good. She couldn’t ask for anything more than she had. She left her sister and walked out of the hospital. She found Trenton leaning against the car waiting for her.
“How’s she doing?”
“Good,” she replied. “We can bring her home tonight. Is everything ready in her room?”
“It’s all exactly as you specified. I hope she doesn’t mind a squalling baby though because Bradford and Regina’s offspring has one hell of a set of lungs on him.”
Trenton wasn’t lying. The future Duke of Weston, Cameron James Kendall, screamed his little head off on a daily basis. “She’ll get used to it. We did. Are you ready to go to lunch?”
He shook his head and pulled a box out of his pocket. “I’ve been holding on to this for so long, hoping for the right moment to ask you. I realized that there will never be a perfect time, and if I keep waiting I’ll never ask. You’re the miracle I never thought I’d have. For a time, I stopped believing in us or the possibility of finding you. It’s a mistake I’ll never make again.” He flipped the lid of the box open. “Genevieve Byrne, will you do me the honor of being my wife.”
A tear fell down her cheek. She reached up and pulled his lips down to hers. She kissed him as if she’d never done so before. Then stepped back and said, “I thought you’d never ask.”
He slipped the ring on her finger and pulled her back into his arms. This was what happiness was. Thank heavens she’d managed to set her fears aside and dared to reach for it.
**Read on for an excerpt from
Linked Across Time book 8: Scandalized by My Prince**
Prologue
Dr. Aubriella Byrne pulled up in front of Weston Manor and blew out a breath. She was on a mission and Trenton Quinn was going to let her help whether he liked it or not. Her cousin, Genevieve had been missing for too many years now. Eve, as everyone called her, was more than family to her. She was her best friend, and Aubriella had sorely missed her. It was time to bring her home where she belonged.
She slid open the front door and peeked around. No butler and no residents to be found. Sneaking wasn’t something she usually did, but desperate times meant she’d do a lot she normally wouldn’t. Where would Trenton be in this mausoleum? The library would be the best choice for someone studying—at least, that was where she’d be in his place. She’d heard from a mutual acquaintance, a certain professor at Oxford, that Trenton was studying the Marquess of Seabrook’s family journals. Afterward, she high tailed it to Weston to confront him. Why wouldn’t he have told her what he suspected about what
happened to Genevieve? He was well aware how close she and Genevieve were. If her cousin was still alive she had a right to know about it.
Aubriella took quiet steps down the hall, heading toward the room she believed Trenton to be in. She didn’t want to alert anyone to her presence before she had the opportunity to talk to him. He’d probably throw her out immediately, but it was a risk she was willing to take. This was too important for her to give up easily.
“This is useless,” Trenton shouted as he picked a leather-bound journal and tossed it against a nearby wall.
“Easy, tiger,” Aubriella said and ducked in the doorway as she dodged the flying journal. She held up her hands and walked into the room slowly. “I come in peace.”
Trenton closed his eyes and took a deep breath. She had no idea what was going through that thick skull of his, but his emotions were broadcasting loud and clear. He was frustrated and about to give up. Whatever was in that journal he’d thrown against the wall hadn’t been the enlightenment he’d hoped to gain. Lucky for him, she was here now. Maybe she would be able to decipher something he had been unable to. At least she hoped to.
Trenton opened his eyes and faced her. “What are you doing here?”
“I’m not welcome at Weston Manor any longer?” She lifted a brow and then snapped her fingers. “That’s right, I never really was, but too bad. I’m here to help you even though you keep turning me down. This is what I did my dissertation on, remember? History is my thing.”
“I don’t want you here.” Duh. Aubriella refrained from saying that aloud and stared at him as he reiterated his lack of intelligence. He glared at her. The muscles in his jaw twitched and then Trenton hammered home the final blow, “I’ve been clear on that point.”
Yeah, he had—many times. As a rule, she didn’t believe in listening to idiots. She’d respected his wishes at first, but the time had come to toss that aside. He hadn’t brought her cousin home, and she was tired of waiting for him to.
“And I believe I vetoed that already.” She walked over and picked up the journal he’d thrown. “Is this any way to treat a priceless artifact? I have half a mind to tell the Marquess of Seabrook how you’re treating his family’s journals.” The book was old, and his mistreatment could very well destroy it. His carelessness could be the reason Genevieve was never found.
“That one doesn’t belong to him,” Trenton said. If it didn’t belong to the Marquess of Seabrook, who owned it? She was about to ask him when he held out his hand and demanded, “Give it to me.”
She ignored him and opened the journal. If he didn’t want her to look at it, of course she had to. She might discover something and that was all the incentive she needed. He wasn’t going to get rid of her as easily as he had before. She’d dog his heels until he had no choice but to let her in. Aubriella wanted to find her cousin, or at least, aid in helping.
She scanned the pages, reading each word. This was absolutely amazing. The historian in her was thrilled to read a firsthand account from that time period.
“You just found this?” Excitement thrummed through her like electricity buzzing on a live wire.
“Why do you ask?” he asked in a cautious tone.
She flipped through the pages more rapidly now. “Oh, this is so interesting—if I’d had this when I wrote my thesis…” Aubriella chewed on her bottom lip and stared down at the pages. “Do you know what this means?”
Amazing… How long had he had this journal?
“Why are you still here?” He reached for the book and almost managed to snatch it out of her hands. She jerked back before he fully grasped it.
“I’m not done reading this.”
She lifted her hand and brushed one of her rose-gold locks behind her ear. Her focus was on the journal. She was completely engrossed in the contents. Trenton’s presence started to disappear as she studied the words on the page. This was her specialty and she had an accounting of something she’d theorized on. She’d studied history as an undergrad and finished her doctorate after Genevieve disappeared. She’d believed time travel to be possible, but hadn’t been able to figure it out. It was hard to prove something that was more a concept than a reality. She liked the idea of time travel and that was why she’d studied the possibility of it. The problem was that even though she studied it she hadn’t fully believed it could be possible. This journal though—no better key existed than it. If she had an idea of what time period her cousin had traveled to, she might be able to find her.
“Aubriella” The sound of her name being said echoed in her ear, but she ignored it. Continuing to read the journal and discovering its secrets was far more important. Trenton shouted, “Damn it, Brie, give me the journal.”
Her head jerked up and she met his gaze. The cobwebs of her engrossment still threaded through her mind. She blinked several times clearing her thoughts. Trenton hoped to go back to find her cousin. “You want to travel though the mirrors.”
She wasn’t sure if he understood what he’d read. Time travel was not only possible, but her cousin seemed to be lost somewhere in the past. At least, that is the gist of it. Why hadn’t Trenton explained any of this to her?
“According to this journal, Elizabeth Kendall had the ability to push her hand through the mirror here at Weston Manor, but she never did more than that. It freaked her husband out.” She frowned. “I can’t say I blame the guy. Anything of a supernatural nature must have been disconcerting to someone in the nineteenth century.”
“Actually, he was from the eighteenth century,” Trenton said drolly.
“Come again?” She raised an eyebrow. He must have read something incorrectly. “The date on this journal clearly says 1840. That’s the nineteenth century. Are you sure you read this right?”
The corner of his lip quirked upward. He lifted his hand over his heart and said, “I’m wounded. You think I’m dumb?”
She narrowed her eyes and studied him. “Are you drunk?”
He sighed. “Lady Elizabeth Kendall married the Duke of Whitewood, otherwise known as Captain Jack Morgan, a time traveling pirate from the eighteenth century.” He moved toward her and snatched the journal. “And no, I’m not drunk.”
She practically danced in place as she asked, “How do you know this?”
A movement at the door caught her eye. She turned as Regina, the new Duchess of Weston, entered the room, platinum blonde hair falling down her back in waves. She was heavily pregnant and waddled a little as she walked. She glanced back and forth between them. “What are you doing?”
“Brie has a keen interest in your niece and her husband.” Trenton jerked his hand toward Aubriella.
“Niece?” Aubriella’s head turned toward Regina. How was that even possible? “Lady Elizabeth Kendall is related to you?”
“In a roundabout way,” Regina said as she rubbed her belly. “I suppose she’s related to Bradford several times removed.”
Aubriella had so many questions. She was surprised Trenton allowed her to stay long enough to ask the ones she had. Did he finally realize she would be a use to him? It was about damn time… Still, she had to understand this new development before she could move forward. How was Elizabeth Kendall related to Regina?
“I’m so confused,” Aubriella said. “Can we start at the beginning?”
“You’re slowing me down,” Trenton scoffed. “I thought you wanted to help.”
Trenton had his now famous glower settled onto his face. His impatience was rubbing on her last nerve. If he’d allowed her to help from the start, then she wouldn’t be so far behind with the details. She wanted to hear the tale of Elizabeth Kendall and her pirate husband. Aubriella wanted to know it all and study it down to the last detail. History had always fascinated her and now there was time travel too. It was all of her dreams rolled into one.
“My parents adopted Alys when they thought they couldn’t have children. I was a surprise blessing. So technically, yes, Elizabeth is my niece, as she is my sister’s daughter
.” Regina bit her lip. “I know it is all rather confusing. Alys travelled through time in a similar manner as Genevieve. Trenton’s been studying it for quite a while now.”
Aubriella’s mouth fell open. “So you all believe time travel is for real? I thought that, this entire time, Trenton had lost his mind. I honestly came here to humor him and help him accept reality. Genevieve wouldn’t want him to suffer.” She had wanted to believe time travel existed, but a small part of her had thought it was a pipe dream. One she’d never have the chance of discovering, let alone participating in.
“I deserve it,” Trenton said adamantly. “I failed her, and until I make that right, it isn’t fair for me to have any happiness.”
His emotions hit her like a wave crashing to shore. Hard, fast, and consuming—pain, longing, and sorrow mixed into one big ball of regret. Aubriella blocked them with a wall before they brought her to the ground. Sometimes her gift was more of a curse. She hated that other people’s emotions ruled her at times.
“Don’t be so hard on yourself,” Regina said. “I think Aubriella is right. Torturing yourself is not the answer, and you can’t tell me that is what Genevieve would have wanted for you.”
“She wouldn’t.” Aubriella nodded. “She loved—loves—you. If she is truly lost in time, that wouldn’t have changed.” She tilted her head a moment and then reached for the journal in Trenton’s hand. “Give that to me. Something I read makes me think I know how the mirror works.”
Trenton handed it over reluctantly. She flipped through it and was scanning the pages. She glanced up at Regina and said, “This doesn’t make sense to me. You told me Alys traveled to the nineteenth century. What does that have to do with the pirate duke? Are you certain it’s the same man?”