“Olivia told the sheriff what we found when we arrived here. The State Patrol will dust the puzzle box for prints.”
“They’ll identify yours, Amber’s, and Olivia’s along with a few partials they can’t identify. That’s no problem.”
“What about inside the box?” Connor asked.
“A few fibers maybe, but nothing significant. I’m not worried.”
“Would you tell me if you were?”
“I’ll always tell ye what ye need to know.”
Connor’s sigh was intentionally audible. David was the ultimate commander and he had just sidestepped Connor’s question. David never sent troops into the field unless they were fully equipped and informed. Knowing that fact was answer enough for him. As for telling David about the emotional turmoil taking place on the mountain, he probably already knew or suspected.
“What’s your plan?” Connor asked.
“Kenzie is doing last minute research, Rick is pulling our gear together, and I’m finishing Dinosaurs 101. The plan is to leave in an hour.”
Connor checked the time again. Mornings generally flew by at a blazing speed, but this morning, time crawled on one knee. “You should be back with Amber before noon.”
“If the brooches work for us the way they worked for Amy and Kevin, then yes, we should be. If that was a fluke, I don’t know when we’ll be back.”
“I don’t believe it was a fluke. Be sure to tell Amber how worried Olivia is, and please hurry home.”
“That’s what I intend to do.”
“If Amber wants to go back later and spend more time there, Olivia and I will go with her. But for now, she needs to come home and get straight with the sheriff and her sister.”
“I’ll call ye as soon as we get back,” David said.
“Be careful. Oh wait. I forgot to ask. Did Kenzie make an offer on the ranch?”
“Aye, and she pushed for an early closing date. Got the sellers to agree to three weeks. Tell Olivia thanks.”
If the luck of the Irish was with him, and if Olivia was still speaking to him after she heard from her sister, then maybe he could celebrate Amber’s return and the contract on the ranch with Olivia tonight. As he thought about his luck, he found it somewhat ironic that the phrase wasn’t Irish at all. It started in America during the gold and silver rush of the second half of the nineteenth century when most of the miners were Irish. Regardless of its origin, he hoped some of it would rain down on him.
He poured another cup of coffee and finished off the berries. Olivia needed to come back and eat a bite before they left. As if reading his mind, boots clunked across the hardwood porch planks. She breezed into the room and slapped a piece of paper into his hand.
“I just got served.”
He glanced out the window but didn’t see any additional horses or men. “From the State Patrol? Where are they? I didn’t hear any horses ride up.”
“They went to the mine first and came up the stairs.” Olivia unzipped her backpack. “What do you want for lunch?”
“Surprise me,” he said.
She tossed several packages of food into her backpack while he read through the search warrant. It authorized the State Patrol to search a three-room cabin. There was no mention of the cellar, and he didn’t intend to tell them about it. The room had been a closely-held family secret for over a hundred years and since Amber wasn’t in danger, at least not in this century, he wasn’t going to tell the State Patrol of its existence. If they found the room on their own, so be it.
“It seems to be in order. Let’s get out of here.” He tossed the warrant onto the kitchen table and together they left the cabin.
The sheriff and a group of five men wearing State Patrol jackets were gathered in a rough circle next to the barn. The State Patrol officers were studying a map while the sheriff, fishing another toothpick from his pocket in an absent-minded manner, spun his spur in a tiny furrow he had dug in the dirt.
“I’m Detective Connor O’Grady, retired, NYPD.” He pulled business cards from his pocket and dropped them on the corner of the map. “This is a historical cabin with items over a hundred years old. The owners would appreciate it if you went in as librarians, not cowboys. If you have any questions, you have my number.”
Olivia had tied their horses’ reins to the top rail of the hitching post. Connor snapped up the reins like a gunfighter on a draw. Holding onto the saddle horn, he swung his leg over the saddle without using the stirrups. He hoped he’d made his point. He might be a former cop from New York City, but he could handle himself in Colorado.
“If you find a lead, I’ve got three brothers and a sister, all retired detectives. The O’Gradys will search every inch of this mountain until we locate Amber.” He touched two fingers to the brim of his hat in salute. Then he and Olivia rode off the property without waiting for the sheriff.
Connor checked the time. It was nine. By eleven or twelve, David should be calling. If all went as planned, Olivia could finally talk to her sister. Connor hoped to hell they created a believable story before they made the call. Olivia wouldn’t be the only person who’d want to know where Amber had been. At least a dozen cops would be demanding answers, too.
14
The Present, MacKlenna Farm, Lexington, Kentucky—David
David dropped his saddlebags in the garage before entering MacKlenna Mansion to meet with Elliott. He first stopped in the kitchen to see what Mrs. Collins was fixing for lunch. When the O’Gradys and the Riccis weren’t on the farm, Mrs. Collins cooked more fish and seafood. She had a dish of baked salmon cakes with vegetables in the oven warmer. Before he scooped a couple of cakes and vegetables onto a plate, he checked the calendar on the wall just to be sure she hadn’t prepared the meal for a special event.
Kenzie entered the kitchen. “What are you doing?” She put her arms around his waist and looked over his shoulder. “Yum. I want some, too.”
He spooned a salmon cake and vegetables onto a plate and handed it to her. “Where are the kids?”
Kenzie sat down on a barstool. “Alice is bringing them over. Are you ready to go?” She bit into the salmon and moaned. “The food on MacKlenna Farm is better than a five-star restaurant in any major city. Did Mrs. Collins make this?”
“Aye. Maria is in California, remember?”
“I know, but Isabella pops in and cooks sometimes.”
“Not lately. She’s spending more time at the sorority house this semester than at the farm.”
“She’s adjusted so well, it’s amazing. Just a few months ago, she was attending Barnard College in 1909.”
David fixed another plate for himself and stood at ease in front of the sink while he ate. “Where are yer bags?”
“In the golf cart? Where are yours?”
“In the garage. I didn’t want the lads to see them, but they’ll know something is up by the way ye’re dressed. And,” he added with a wink, “ye look sexy as hell.” He swallowed a bite before he asked, “Where’d ye get that outfit?”
“In the closet. It’s a riding habit JL had made for the reunion in 1881 with Kit and Cullen. I had to let out the buttons. The jacket is a little tight in the bust, but I’ll survive. Hopefully, I won’t have to wear it more than a couple of days. But look at you. You’re very dashing in your frock coat and ascot. Is Rick wearing a suit, too?”
David finished the last of his salmon cake and wiped his mouth. “With his cowboy fixation, he’ll show up dressed like Clint Eastwood in High Plains Drifter.”
“God, I hope not. We’ll be burying him in Boothill Graveyard.”
“That’s in Arizona.”
“Whatever.” She emptied her plate and put it in the sink. “Did you tell him we were ready to go?”
The front door of the mansion opened and slammed closed. “Kenz.” Five-year-old Henry dropped his voice an octave and fell into a passable Scottish accent.
Kenzie’s jaw dropped. “Henry has never called me Kenz. What’s up with that?”
/> David shook his head. “I don’t know. Ye’ll have to ask him.”
“Where are ye, lass?”
“I’m in the kitchen, Henry.”
“It’s not Henry, my sweetling. It’s Robert James McBain.” Henry’s twin brother also adjusted his inflection to sound more Scottish.
Kenzie covered her mouth to keep from laughing out loud but giggled behind her hand. “Are they auditioning for a performance?”
Henry and Robbie bounded into the kitchen and skidded to a stop. “Where’d ye get that funny hat?” Robbie asked.
“It’s all…” Henry moved his hands around his head in robotic motions. “…tilted wrong. Here, let me fix it.”
Kenzie formed an X with her forearms. “Don’t touch the hat. It took me an hour to get it on right.”
“No wonder. Look at all that hair piled on top of your head.” Robbie shot a cockeyed glance at his dad. “Take your bride to the barber. She needs a haircut.”
David knelt on one knee, rested his arm on his opposite thigh, and looked at the boys, eye to eye. “Yer mother’s name is Mommy or Mom. If she wants to wear a funny hat, don’t criticize her selection. If ye can’t say something nice, don’t say anything at all. Be respectful.”
Robbie leaned over and whispered. “It’s a stupid hat. If I can’t tell her, you do it.”
David stood, barely containing a laugh, and chucked Robbie’s chin. “I wouldn’t dare.”
“Hey, Dad. You’re wearing funny clothes too. Are your khakis at the cleaners getting a knife-edge crease?” Henry brushed his hand down his pant legs. “Granny Alice puts knife-edge creases in my pants. Do you think they look like Uncle Elliott’s?”
Kenzie put her arm around Henry. “I think your creases are perfect, darling.” She patted his head. He had so much product on that his waves and spikes didn’t move. “Is JC giving you styling advice?”
“Please, don’t mess with my hair, Mom.”
“Okay, I won’t but, I need to tell you that we’re going away overnight, and you have to listen to Granny Alice. Whatever she says, you do. Got it?”
Henry’s eyes darted between his parents as his face paled. “You’re both going?”
“Again?” Robbie’s eyes narrowed. “But you don’t travel at the same time. Remember? That’s the rule.”
“We’re making an exception this time.”
Robbie put his finger to his chin and tapped it there. “You made an exception last time.”
David glanced away, put his fist to his mouth, and cleared his throat.
“Where’s Laurie Wallis?” Kenzie asked. “You were supposed to be watching her.”
“Granny Alice is pushing her in the stroller. She told us to go ahead.”
Henry made a face. “She had a stinky diaper.”
“Granny Alice?” David asked.
Robbie giggled. “No, Da. Laurie Wallis.”
Henry grabbed Robbie’s arm. “Come on. We got to go upstairs. JC’s waiting for us. If we’re late, he’ll go play with somebody else.”
Robbie gave Henry a quizzical look and threw up his arms. “Nobody else is here.”
Henry shoved his brother. “James Cullen’s got other friends, stupid.”
“Hey, no hitting. No name calling,” Kenzie said. “Come here and give me a hug and be nice to each other. Hitting your brother is like hitting yourself.”
Robbie punched himself in the arm. “Does that hurt, Henry?”
“No, does this?” Henry punched his own arm.
“Stop! It hurts,” Robbie screamed. “Mommy, make him stop.”
Henry punched his own arm harder until Robbie stopped screaming, grabbed his belly, and laughed. When Henry realized he’d been tricked, he shoved Robbie.
“Stop it, right now.” Kenzie said. “And give me a goodbye hug.”
David struggled to keep from grinning like an idiot. They were his lads. God, he loved them and wanted a dozen more.
The boys hugged Kenzie around the waist then ran toward the back staircase. “Bye, Kenz,” Henry said.
“Bye, McBain,” Robbie said.
The twins giggled hysterically all the way up the stairs. “Good idea, Robbie, calling ’em by those names.”
Kenzie rolled her eyes and flashed a look at David. “I was anxious about this trip, but not now. If we need to stay a couple of weeks, I’ll be fine. If I start acting strange, remind me of this little vignette.”
A lump rose in David’s throat. He hadn’t expected it to be such an emotional experience to leave his children behind. “I don’t know where they come up with this stuff. In another year, Laurie Wallis will be smack in the middle.”
“Oh God, I hope not.”
“We need another wee lass.”
“You’re a Johnny-one-note, McBain. Forget it. Even if you get me drunk, it won’t work. No. More. Babies.”
He stood there in the middle of the kitchen and all he could think about was kissing his bride. He lifted her chin with his fingertip and his lips found hers, a touch at first, and then an explosion of need as his tongue made its way deep within her mouth. Her arms came around his neck and he pulled her hips close to his. It was an amazingly intimate moment until a throat clear brought them to their senses.
“I thought ye were getting ready to go,” Elliott said.
David stepped back from Kenzie but kept an arm wrapped around her.
“If anything happens to us, you’ll take care of my kids, right?” Kenzie asked.
Elliott put his coffee cup in the sink and rinsed it out. “Hell, ye’ll be back before those monsters know ye’re gone.”
She smacked his arm. “I can call them monsters but no one else can.”
“Did ye tell yer dad ye were going away?”
“No, he’d worry. I’ll tell him when we get back,” she said.
“Who will worry?”
They all turned to see Rick strutting into the kitchen, dressed exactly as David had predicted: brown cowboy hat, leather vest with a shearling lining, round-collar shirt with dense blue stripes, brown poncho, rich leather boots, spurs, a black cigar, and a Colt .45 long gun.
“Look what I found,” he said, snuggling Laurie Wallis to his chest.
Kenzie reached to take her daughter, but Rick pulled back and wouldn’t let go of the two-year-old. “No, you can’t have her.”
Laurie Wallis giggled.
“Ye look like a damn Spaghetti Western outlaw. Ye’ll get us all shot. Nix the poncho,” David said.
Kenzie tugged on the fringe bottom. “The poncho is the only part I like. I’ll take it.”
“Can’t have my poncho,” Rick said.
“What about the gold?” David asked.
“Weapons, money, gold. Check,” Rick said.
“’Oney, eck,” Laurie Wallis said, repeating Rick.
“Mon…ey,” Kenzie said, emphasizing the M consonant sound. Laurie Wallis held out her arms and Kenzie hugged her baby, kissing her face and head with loud smooches. “Love my baby girl.”
“JL packed the weapons to your specifications,” Rick said. “Elliott took care of the gold, and I had my clothes overnighted from New York. It was a group effort.”
David took Laurie Wallis from Kenzie and hugged her tight. “It always is, isn’t it lass.” He nuzzled her chin and she giggled then squirmed to get down.
“Obbie, Enry?” Laurie Wallis asked.
“They went upstairs to see James Cullen,” Kenzie said.
“Aurie Allis go too.” She darted toward the stairs, but Kenzie grabbed her.
“No, you don’t. You wait for Granny Alice.”
“I’m up here, Kenzie,” Alice said from the top of the staircase. “Let her come up.”
The toddler pushed away from Kenzie. “Anny Alice said me go.”
Kenzie stood at the bottom and watched her daughter climb up. “Hold tight. Take your time.” Kenzie had one foot on the floor the other on the step ready to race up and grab her child if she teetered. When the little girl re
ached the top step, Kenzie exhaled. “Bye, sweetie.”
Laurie Wallis threw a kiss back then tottered down the hallway.
When Kenzie turned back to David, her eyes were glistening. He opened his arms and embraced her. “We won’t be gone long.”
Kenzie licked her lips and took a deep breath. “Sorry about the drama. Let’s get out of here before I change my mind.”
“What about horses?” Elliott asked.
“Three Morgans were delivered this morning. They’re good stock, but they won’t look out of place,” Rick said. “All have old tack in excellent condition.”
Kenzie hugged Elliott. “I love Dad, but I’d rather you and Meredith raise the kids if anything—”
“Don’t worry, lass. Ye’re with David,” Elliott said.
“But if anything happens—”
“Nothing will happen.”
David sighed heavily. He had never seen Kenzie this worried, but then she’d never left her children longer than overnight. He looked forward to having her to himself, without anyone else climbing into their bed in the middle of the night.
Elliott dug into his pocket and pulled out the diamond and amethyst brooches. “Take both, just in case.”
Kenzie gave them to David and he put them in his vest pockets, then he gave Elliott a hug and a slap on the back. “See ye soon.”
Elliott went out into the garage with them where David gathered his saddlebags. “Where’s yer gear, Rick?”
“At the barn. I left a groom in charge of the gear and horses. He tried to take the poncho, too.”
“Ye should have given it to him,” Elliott said.
David, Kenzie, and Rick—the gentleman, his lady, and the high plains drifter—walked across the lawn toward the paddock and barn beyond.
“What happens if we get separated, like the group did when they landed in Central Park?” Rick asked.
“Go straight to the Western Union Office. If the rest of us don’t show up within an hour, send telegrams to Caǹon City, Morrison, and Denver, and don’t leave town until ye get a response,” David said.
“In case we get split up, you need some of this gold.” Rick dug into his saddlebags and gave Kenzie and David each a bag of nuggets. “That should be enough to buy the town.”
The Amber Brooch: Time Travel Romance (The Celtic Brooch Book 8) Page 18