Because he had initially saved her, in many cultures that meant she was beholden to him for life. Was that for her lifetime here in the nineteenth century, or for the hundred thirty plus years since this time and the rest of her life? She knew—felt it in her deepest thoughts and heart—that she would always be his, regardless of what happened in a few hours. If she went back to her small house in Boston; back to her internship collecting artifacts; back to where there was no Jake and no smoldering looks and erotic touches, she would never forget what he had given her.
A whistle blasted and Bri jumped, jerking a look toward the small window. What time; what time is it? Her thoughts were frantic as she turned to the door just as it opened.
“Oh, God.” She raced toward Jake. “Have we missed it?”
His arms felt incredibly strong as they wrapped around her, pulling her to him. Keeping her safe, she thought. She slid her hands beneath his jacket, feeling the warmth tingle up her fingers into her hands, through her arms and into her heart. She felt his cheek on her hair; the touch of his lips on her brow. He kissed his way across her brow, down the bridge of her nose, then sliding softly across her own trembling lips, he stopped her questions.
Lordy, he even stopped her thoughts, Bri concluded as she gave herself over to him.
“We’ve time,” Jake murmured as he backed her into the room and kicked the door closed behind him.
Without another word, he began removing her clothes, a slight smile turning up the corners of his mouth as he remembered the first time he had removed the strange garments she wore when he fished her out of the river. How far they had come in such a short time; how much she had changed him.
That might not be exactly right, he thought now. Perhaps he had changed for her.
And then he couldn’t gather his thoughts at all as her creamy skin quivered at his touch. He quickly undressed and gently laid her on the bed, covering her with his body, wanting the closeness only skin-to-skin could provide.
“I won’t let you down, Brianna Blake.” Her cheek was soft and smooth beneath his lips, and he could have sworn he tasted the salt of tears. “Not in this lifetime or the next.” And it was that uncertainty that had him taking his time to love her slowly, gently. For if this was to be their last moment together, he wanted her to remember him forever.
* * *
Bri dressed for the second time in as many hours. The whistle had blasted indicating their departure from Kansas City so she knew they had only a few hours left. In some ways that was comforting, and in some ways she almost wished the moment was directly upon them so she didn’t have to think anymore.
“They’re having baked bass, roast pork and beef, apple pie and ice cream for supper,” he told her as he tugged on his trousers. “I’ve seen the menu. There doesn’t seem to be any reason we shouldn’t eat before...” He stopped when he looked at her and Bri was sure her face betrayed her emotions. Perhaps he was also feeling the unsettledness of it all and needed a distraction.
“We might as well proceed as we mean to go on.” He adjusted his coat. “Are you ready?”
For supper, or for…A shiver raced down her spine. Without a word, she put her hand in his and let him pull her out the door.
They received plenty of strange looks when they entered the salon. Well, she did anyway, but told herself not to care. After all, in just a short time, none of this would matter to them. She wouldn’t matter.
She made Jake choose a table near the door they had entered. The wine was poured but her hand shook so hard she had to set the goblet back down on the table. Jake reached across and took her hand. His felt steady and warm, and Bri forced herself to look up when he quietly spoke her name.
“Earlier you asked if I would understand if you couldn’t—didn’t— stay.”
She started to protest, not wanting to relive those last moments in bed, but he lifted their hands and pressed a kiss to her palm.
“The answer is yes, I would understand. But would I like it? Never.”
He started to say more, but a sudden jolt slammed through the steamer. China and glassware slid to the floor, shattering. Within seconds, Bri could feel the room begin to tilt.
“Dear God, it’s started.”
They jumped up, and without releasing her hand, Jake turned to the door and pulled her along behind him. A distress whistle blasted the evening air and people, bewildered, tried to push their way through the narrow opening.
“No matter what, don’t let go of my hand!” Jake shouted. “We have to stay together.”
Screams and bellows could be heard from the main deck and the stairs were quickly congested as people sought higher ground.
“She’s sinking!” One man yelled as he shoved his way past them. “God help us.”
Jake’s hand squeezed hard on hers. “Where do we go?”
“At least as high as the hurricane deck.” She had to shout to be heard over the whistle and the clamoring of people—women and children trying to hold on to the rail that was now twisted and breaking apart as the steamer tilted further. She didn’t doubt the cargo held loosely on deck by a mere rope was already sliding into the river. She tried to latch on to anything that would balance her.
“Ouch. Wait.” She jerked on Jake’s hand. Her other hand had caught on the rough rail and pain zinged up her arm. “Wait.”
People pushed and shoved; children cried. She stepped back to see why her hand was caught and saw the tiny sparkle of light reflecting off metal.
“Dear God. The ring.” It had to stay on board. She twisted her hand to free it from where the ring had caught on a nail. She thumbed it but it wouldn’t slide off. Frantically she shook loose of Jake to use her other hand to remove the ring; to drop it where she was. She reached out for him again, fingers just touching, when something or someone, slammed hard into her back, pushing her toward the broken railing. Everything went black.
Epilogue
The noise was no longer deafening; in fact, the silence was as eerie as listening underwater. A heavy weight bore down on her chest, making it difficult to breath. As much as she tried, she could see nothing and wondered if her eyes were closed, or if it was night. Was she on the bank of the river at Parkville? She didn’t feel as though she lay on the ground.
She took a cautious breath, and then another and the pressure eased. She wasn’t swallowing water; she hadn’t drowned when the steamer tilted so severely she could no longer hang on. She flexed her fingers, realizing she held on to nothing—to no one.
No, she screamed but no sound came out. No, no, no. We were supposed to come back together.
“Sh, sh, don’t get so agitated,” a voice crooned. “It’s about time you woke.” A cloth was lifted from her eyes. When she blinked, the soft light created flickering shadows as her vision cleared.
“Where?” Her throat felt raw and scratchy when she tried to speak, but she had to know. So many questions flooded her mind. Was she in Parkville? Where was Jake?
The woman tending her paid little mind as she hummed, busily moving about the room. She had on a cheery blouse, all Bri could see as the bed seemed high. Then she stepped away and Bri saw she wore scrubs. She turned her head slightly to where a monitor clicked on an IV pole. Past that she stared at the window, where another tall building stretched to the sky, lights from the windows brightening the night.
She began crying; hot tears streaming from eyes she squeezed tightly shut to block out what she saw. She was back. Why didn’t the thought cheer her? From the moment she had first realized she was on board the Arabia, she had wanted to return to her own time.
“Jake?”
The nurse shook her head. “No one by that name checking in on you all this time, but there’s been plenty of others just waiting until you woke up.”
“Woke?” Her brain couldn’t seem to put more than a word at a time together.
“Why, you’ve been out over ten days, sweetie, since the accident at the excavation site. Part of that was induced bec
ause the doctor was afraid the bump on your head was causing swelling, so he wanted to keep you still and quiet until it went down.” She gave Bri a dazzling smile. “And so it did.”
Bri rolled to her side and curled her knees up to her chest. That couldn’t be right. She couldn’t have been in the hospital at the same time she had been on the Arabia. Was it all a dream? More tears came, the sobs clogging her throat.
Visions as clear as day swam in her mind—Jake’s crooked smile when he had gotten drunk and tried to entice her into bed; the smell and feel of him when he had finally done so. She remembered his excitement when learning she was from the future and could still hear his frustration at her all those times when she hadn’t followed his orders.
Then she clearly heard Jake’s voice telling her to hold on; not to let go of him no matter what. But she hadn’t listened, so intent on removing the ring that she thought had been the reason she had gone back in time in the first place. She rubbed her pinkie where the ring had been and could feel a small scratch. She had been so sure if she left things as they had been; if she were in the right place at the right time...
Well she had been, she sniffed. But that no longer mattered because she wanted to be with Jake, whether it was in 1856 or the present. Now, apparently history had righted itself and things were as they should be. Except her heart remained with Jake, and nothing could change the fact she was in love with a man long since dead.
Two days later, the doctors decided she was well enough to be released, but the excavation crew insisted she not go back to work just yet. While she waited for a ride to her temporary apartment, she lifted her face to the wintery sun whose rays slanted through the hospital solarium. She let her mind drift. If she couldn’t work, she knew she would spend her days researching, looking for clues as to what happened to the passengers that long ago day; what happened to Jake. Surely there was some record.
“A gentleman asked me to give this to you.” A candy-striper held out a messily wrapped package that looked like it had been through a flood.
When Bri took it, a tingle shot up her arm. She quickly tore off the wrappings to find a book, watermarked and warped, but achingly familiar. Had Simon or one of the crew found it in the pit? How could they have known it was hers? Looking quickly around, she saw no one she knew. In fact, the solarium was deserted. With a shaking hand, she opened the journal and thumbed through the barely legible water soaked entries, until she came to the last, which wasn’t in her handwriting.
“My Dearest Brianna. In these last moments I realize what my self-imposed solitude has cost me and I know I cannot live without you. No man cares for the idea of losing the one he loves...”
As she spoke the rest out loud, Bri could clearly hear Jake’s voice. “...but the idea of not having your love is more than I can bear.”
A shadow crossed over the pages as he knelt before her. Her tears obscured his features, but she knew him; would know him always. He took her shaking hands, kissed both palms, and then pressed them to his cheeks.
She took one look at his loving face and launched herself at him, sending them to the floor, sprawling in each other’s arms. She kissed everywhere she could touch; his eyes, his nose, before finally settling on his lips, which were firm and just as hungry for her. It was long moments before she managed a breath.
“Oh, dear God, how...?” So many questions but it didn’t matter. She kissed him again. When she finally quit shaking, she nestled in his arms with a sigh.
“It is all so amazing,” he murmured into her hair. “The buildings, the automobile, the crowds of people. So unlike anything I had imagined, even after what you had told me.”
“Where have you been? How did you get here?”
He laughed and it was music to her ears. “That will no doubt be a feature for one of your sci-fi episodes I have recently watched on television.” He paused. “That is another marvelous invention. Did you know there is nothing you cannot buy on television?”
She slapped at his chest. “Tell me.”
“I really am not sure. One minute our fingers touched, and the next I was helping haul you out of a pit.” He rubbed her back as she snuggled closer. “Everyone must have assumed I was part of the crew, but they were most concerned for you. They carried you away without a thought for me, although someone dropped a coat around me before they scattered.”
He sighed. “It has taken me days to figure out how to go about getting information; how to use a telephone. Fortunately I found a very welcoming lady at a hotel. I mentioned the Arabia and she was very hospitable. It seems everyone is very excited about the excavation.” He chuckled. “There are some stories I could tell...”
Bri poked him.
“Anyway, I used your boss’s name. I fear I owe this Simon quite a bit of money for the lodging and food she allowed me to charge to his account.”
She turned to face him. “It doesn’t matter. Nothing matters except that you are here with me.”
He took her lips in yet another kiss, this one gentle and lasting.
“Would I have understood if you couldn’t stay with me? Yes,” he repeated the words Bri had kept in her heart that last night. Her lips trembled at the remembrance.
“Would I have searched for you, for your love, the rest of my life?” He leaned his forehead against hers.
“For eternity.” He kissed her again. “For eternity and a day.”
The End
Barbara was born in California and now resides in the midwest. She loves to travel and explore new places, which usually means each of her novels is set in a different locale. She has been published in formats from poetry and short stories to full-length fiction. She wrote and co-produced a documentary on state history which won state and national awards, but she really loves writing romance, whether it be contemporary, historical or time travel. Just for fun, each year she writes a Christmas short story for family and friends—some heartfelt and others whimsical – but always a gift from her heart. She has an MA in Communication, has taught at the college level and has made over 100 presentations at state and national conferences. She also loves to create art through pottery and fused glass, candles, baskets and quilts. Visit her website at http://www.authorsden.com/barbarajbaldwin.
The Lost Knight of Arabia Page 14