Daniel glanced around the large foyer and up at the cupola flooding light down three stories.
Rick nudged Daniel with his elbow. “You’ll have to check out the view. Braham goes up to the observation walkway to smoke cigars away from Charlotte and watch the river. In a former life, I think he was a riverboat captain.”
A wrought iron and crystal chandelier hung from the top of the cupola, extending down to a point level with the second floor. It was truly a magnificent design. The cupola and upper floors were accessed by dual self-supporting staircases that spiraled upward, level after level.
“Who designed the house, the cupola, the staircases?”
Rick pointed to Braham. “He envisioned it.”
“I found an architect who could interpret my vision and sketches, and a wife who tolerated my obsession.”
“Yer winery and racehorses must be doing well.”
“I was heavily invested in the railroad. Made a fortune in 1869 when the Union Pacific and Central Pacific Railroads met in Promontory, Utah. I sold everything I owned. Turned it into gold and buried it at MacKlenna Farm in Lexington, Kentucky. It’s now locked in a vault. I sell nuggets every now and again.” He pointed down a hallway. “There’s a visitor’s wing in that direction. Ye’re welcome to stay there as long as ye want.”
Daniel couldn’t think about how long he’d stay. His mind was focused only on Noah and Amber. “Is Amber close by? And where is Noah?”
“In distance, yes, she’s close. But with traffic it will take thirty-five minutes, maybe longer. But ye need to clean up a wee bit. Ye can’t go to the hospital looking like a nineteenth-century Pinkerton agent who’s been in a gunfight.”
Daniel caught his reflection in the gilded-framed mirrors hanging on both sides of the foyer. He shivered at the sight of his bloodied face and filthy clothes. “Do ye have an extra pair of trousers I could borrow?”
“Trousers, shirts, underwear, socks. We’re close enough in size, but as soon as we have an extra hour, we’ll go shopping and pick up a few things. I work with a personal shopper who knows all of Charlotte’s preferences. I shop to please my bride. But an old pair of jeans and a soft cotton shirt are all I need.”
“Are ye saying I should shop to please Charlotte?”
Braham laughed. “Charlotte has exquisite, yet subtle taste in everything from shoes to clothes to furniture for men, women, and children. If ye listen to her personal shopper’s advice, ye can’t go wrong. In thirty minutes, she completely outfitted Noah and even gave Rick a refresher course on what’s new in men’s fashion since he went off to war.”
“Where is Noah?” Daniel asked for the third time, letting an edge of impatience into his tone.
“The boys were under strict orders not to leave.” Braham stepped over to a small white box on the wall and pushed a button. “Lincoln, we’re back. Come to the foyer and bring Noah.”
Within moments, three boys tore through a doorway on the second floor and ran toward the stairs. “Is Pa here?” Noah hung over the rail to look. Seeing Daniel, he yelled, “Pa!” He ran down the steps so fast Daniel thought for sure he’d tumble, so he hurried over to catch him. But Noah navigated the spiral staircase safely and reached the bottom step without mishap, plowing right into Daniel. If his feet hadn’t been well-planted, they’d both be on the floor.
“Whoa, there. Let me look at ye.” His hair was slicked back on the sides and spikey on the top. He wore a shirt with short sleeves and no collar with New York Yankees written on the front, blue jeans, and multi-colored shoes. But it was his smile, reflecting in his bright blue eyes, that shocked Daniel more than the shirt or shoes.
“I’m glad you’re here. I have so much to tell you,” Noah said, squeezing Daniel around his waist. “What happened to your face?” Before Daniel could answer, Noah noticed what he held in his hand. Beaming, he said, “You got Amber’s journal back.” He hugged Daniel again. “Oh, Pa, she’ll be so happy. Lincoln said if Dr. Marsh got hold of Amber’s dinosaur pictures he’d know the future. And travelers, that’s what we are now, can’t change the future or it will mess up the world.”
Daniel squeezed his son, rubbing up and down Noah’s knobby spine through the soft fabric of his shirt. “That’s okay, lad. I understand.” Did that mean he also understood Braham’s conundrum about saving the president? And what would Daniel discover while he was in the twenty-first century that could mess up the future once he returned to his own time? He shivered at the thought.
A little girl with blond curls gracefully walked down the stairs, holding onto the railing. “Daddy, the boys won’t play with me. I told them they had to because I didn’t have a play date today.”
When she reached the bottom step, Braham tucked Daniel’s rig under one arm and picked her up with the other. “Lincoln knows the rules. Nobody gets left out.”
“I reminded him, but he said they were playing games that I didn’t know how to play, and I should go play with Amelia Rose. But Daddy, Amelia Rose is a baby and I’m older. Can the twins come play?”
“David and Kenzie will probably be here late tonight so ye can play with the twins tomorrow.”
The little girl scrunched her face and peered over her father’s shoulder at Daniel. “I’m Kitherina, and if you didn’t have a beard, you’d look like Noah. I like Noah. He’s sweet.”
“I’m Major Grant. I’m Noah’s pa. And I’m happy to make yer acquaintance. How old are ye?”
“I’m five. How old are you?”
A knife-edged pain gutted Daniel and he clutched his belly reflexively. If his daughter Heather had survived, she’d be five, too. “I’m older than—” He spoke through the lump in his throat. “I’m older than that, ma’am. And ye’re the prettiest five-year-old I’ve ever seen.”
Kitherina touched his cheek. “You have a cut here, here, and here. And a big tear right here,” she said, pressing gently beneath his eye. “You need to see Dr. Mallory ASAP. That means as soon as possible so she can fix your boo-boos.” She looked at him closely. “Did a bullet graze your face? The Band-Aid doesn’t cover the entire wound. Looks like a picture I saw on Mommy’s desk. We’re not supposed to look at the papers on her desk because of…because of…hippo.” She shrugged like a turtle sneaking back into its shell and put her finger to her lips. Then she whispered, “Don’t tell Mommy.”
Then she continued, as if she’d been given a lifetime allotment of words and was determined to use them all in one conversation. “Mommy fixes bullet wounds. She’s the best around. Lincoln said she even fixed Daddy’s bullet wound. Guns are dangerous.” She gave her daddy a disapproving glance. “You better lock that gun in the safe. You know guns aren’t allowed in the house.”
Kitherina took a breath and smiled at her daddy, who was watching attentively. “I’m going to be a surgeon, equestrian, and vintner when I grow up. Noah wants to be a scientist. Lincoln wants to be president, and Patrick wants to be an explorer and a writer.”
Then she stopped and sighed dramatically before adding, “But don’t get me started on Robbie and Henry. They change their minds like the wind. First, they’re here…” She tossed her hands about, socking her pa in the head. “Then they’re over there. They can’t make up their minds. But that’s okay, because Lincoln says their daddy is the problem solver, so he can fix the twins’ problems, too.”
Daniel took the breath Kitherina failed to take. “I’m sure ye’ll make an excellent surgeon or vintner, whatever ye want to be.”
Her eyebrows drew in over her eyes. “Phew. You and Daddy smell.” She wrinkled her nose. “Uncle Rick smells, too. Have you been on a ’venture? Whirling back and forth?” She waved her hands all around her head again, wiggling her fingers, shaking her blond curls. “Ventures always make you smell bad.”
“Lincoln and Patrick said it’s the peat in the fog that smells,” Noah said, watching Kitherina with the same intensity he’d watched Amber on stage in Leadville.
Kitherina’s pout receded and her bro
w cleared. “I have to go. Nanny Sue is walking with Amelia Rose in the garden. I need to smell something sweet.” She pushed against Braham to climb down, giving him a quick peck on his mouth.
“It’s listening time now. You have to do that after you talk, and I’ve talked way too much. Daddy lets me ramble on, and then I have to be quiet and read Shakespeare. ‘Out, damned spot! Out, I say!—One, two. Why, then, ’tis time to do ’t. Hell is murky!—Fie, my lord, fie!’” She took a breath. “Sometimes,” she sighed, “I wonder if it’s worth it to talk so much. Goodbye.” She ran off, and the patter of her little feet was followed by a slamming door.
Daniel stood there benumbed by grief and overwhelmed by the precocious child. And he shook, like the tremors of a distant quake had set upon him. Noah squeezed his hand. “I always wondered, Pa, what Heather would be like if she’d lived. Now I know. Don’t you think she’d be like wee Kit? That’s what Lincoln and Patrick call her. Like you used to call Heather, wee Heather.”
Daniel hugged his son fiercely, afraid to let him go, and feeling once again the small bones of his arms and shoulders and back—his flesh and blood. If not for Amber, his son would have been taken from him, too.
“It’s okay, Pa. Ma and Heather are together forever. Just like us.”
Braham squeezed Daniel’s shoulder. “I’m sorry for yer loss.”
The shock passed, and Daniel blew out a breath. If he’d learned anything over the years, it was how to sequester his emotions. After President Lincoln died, he was told, “Carry on, soldier.” After Lorna and wee Heather died, he was told, “Carry on, Daniel.” After his partner at the agency died, he was told, “Carry on, Agent Grant.”
He was tired of carrying on. He just wanted a wee bit of peace and quiet.
One of the other two boys, who strongly resembled Braham, stuck out his hand. “I’m Lincoln McCabe, sir, and this is my cousin, Patrick Mallory.”
Patrick thrust out his hand. “I came here from 1909. It’s different but once you get used to it, you’ll never want to return.”
“I must apologize for my sister,” Lincoln said. “She gets like that when no one pays attention to her. It all stores up and has to bubble out.”
“Ye mean explode,” Braham said, laughing.
“Does she really read Shakespeare?” Daniel asked.
“She’s been reading since she was two. Shakespeare is required reading, but she reads a special children’s edition,” Lincoln said. “We also read Plato, Aristotle, and all the Greek philosophers. We’re home schooled, but we play sports, go to scout meetings, cultural events, and other activities for socialization.”
“We don’t study and socialize all the time,” Patrick said. “We spend time outdoors camping, hunting, and horseback riding, learning how to live off the land. When Uncle Braham first explained my curriculum, I wasn’t happy about the riding and camping part. You see, I was living on the streets of New York City. I’d done enough camping out and hunting for food. But Uncle Braham teaches us how to use our brains along with our skills to accomplish tasks. If I went back to the city in 1909, I’d have the skills to not only survive but thrive.”
“If Noah stays here,” Lincoln said, “it will be the same for him. But my dad will add archaeology and paleontology to our curriculum. I’ve already Googled paleontology digs and found one in Utah. We can go there one weekend after Amber recovers from surgery.”
Daniel glanced at Braham. There was not only pride in his face, but an expression of deep love. It was as if he was molding these children to live and adapt anywhere at any time.
“Come with me, Pa,” Noah said. “I’ll take you to my room and show you how to shower and where to pee and stuff. You don’t have to go outside or even use a chamber pot.”
Braham laughed. “Ye might want to shave. Or the hospital will do it for ye. Ye’re going to need a few stitches.”
Noah cocked his head. “I’ve never seen Pa without his beard.”
Braham scratched his chin. “When I shaved mine off after the war, it took a while to get used to it. I’ll bring clothes to yer room. And Noah, there should be shaving gear in the bathroom drawers. Help yer dad find what he needs. I’ll have a snack sent up.”
Daniel had a sudden fear of shaving. What if he discovered his beard had been covering an ugly face? Lorna had said he was handsome, but that was years ago, and only one woman’s opinion. What if Amber was repulsed? Maybe he shouldn’t shave at all.
He followed Noah upstairs. “How many days have ye been here, lad?”
“Only a few hours, but Patrick, Lincoln, and I have been together constantly talking and stuff. I don’t understand half of what they tell me or show me, but I’m catching on a little bit at a time. This place is like a castle. And wait until you see the iPad. The world is at your fingertips, Pa. Whatever you want to know, you ask Siri, and she tells you.”
Noah turned into a bedroom that was larger than two bedrooms in Alec’s house in Denver. “Whose room is this? Braham’s?”
“It’s mine for now. Lincoln said I’d probably want to move to the visitor’s wing to be close to you. Come on, the bathroom is in here. It’s sort of like Mrs. Garland’s washroom, but fancier.”
Daniel entered a room with mirrors and towels and odd gadgets. Noah opened a glass door and turned on water.
“Take off your clothes and stand under here. There’s soap for your body and special liquid soap for your hair. The water is hot, and it lasts forever. Come on, get in.” Noah tugged at Daniel’s vest. “Get these old clothes off. You won’t need them now. Throw them in that basket in the corner. That’s for dirty clothes.”
“I’ll need them back to wear home,” Daniel said.
“Home?” Something akin to panic stole the color from Noah’s face. “I don’t want to think about leaving right now, Pa. Can we talk about it later?”
“Sure, lad, but…”
“Not now, please.”
Seeing how distressed the idea made Noah, Daniel put it aside as he stripped down to his skin and entered the glass enclosure. When he stepped under the hot water, he gasped. It was one of the most luxurious sensations he’d ever experienced, but he didn’t want to take all the water and deprive Braham and Rick of a quick wash. “How do ye turn it off?”
“You haven’t been in long enough.”
“Braham and Rick will want to use this room.”
“No, Pa. This is just for us. They have their own rooms and there’s enough hot water for everyone.”
Daniel didn’t understand how that was possible, or how many pots were heating on a stove to refill the tank. At Noah’s urging, Daniel stayed in the glass box and allowed the water and soap to wash away the mud and dirt until it all slithered down the drain in the floor.
“Turn the handle to the right when you’re done,” Noah said.
Daniel turned off the water and stepped out onto a thick, soft mat. Noah handed him a warm towel that smelled like a rose garden.
“Pa.”
Daniel rubbed his body dry and wrapped the thick cloth around his middle. “What’s on yer mind, lad?”
“Amber. I think about her all the time.”
“I do, too, Noah.”
“She’s really sick. Lincoln showed me a report on the iPad about her surgery. They’re going to cut her chest open and replace a piece of her heart. Lincoln said doctors do this surgery all the time.”
“Lincoln sounds like a smart lad.”
“He is, Pa. I like him. Patrick, too.” Noah’s brows furrowed, and despair clouded his eyes, and along with the slouch in his body signaled how worried he was. “I don’t want Amber to die.”
Daniel hugged his son, the small muscles of his shoulders shuddering beneath his hands. Noah smelled fresh and clean, like cedar wood and apple, and the fabric of his shirt was cottony soft. Not since Noah was a bairn had Daniel thought of his son as fragile, but he did now. Everything about Noah had changed—the way he smelled, the feel of his clothes, the style of his hair, e
verything—except his heart.
“Do you love her, Pa? Do you love her enough to marry her? Because I want Amber to be my ma.”
“Aye, I do…love her.” Daniel’s voice cracked. He tried to swallow but his throat was dry. If he broke down now, so would Noah. He squeezed him tightly, then released him, looked him in the eye. “Nothing would make me happier than to marry her, but right now,” he paused to gain control of his emotions, “all that matters is getting Amber well. Later, we’ll talk about our future.”
Noah looked at him, his smile fading. “I want to stay here with Amber and Lincoln and Patrick. But if you want to go back, I’ll go with you, but I’ll never forget the people here.”
“How’d I get so lucky to have a son like ye?”
“I don’t know. But I’m lucky to have a pa like you.”
Noah opened the cabinets below the counter and dug through the drawers. He held up what looked like a razor and a can that read shaving cream. Between the two of them, they figured out how to dispense the cream. But by the time they learned how to direct the stream of foam, it was all over the counter, the mirror, and Daniel. Although he was terrified to see himself without his beard, he did the best shaving job he could around the paper square on his cheek and the cuts and abrasions on his chin.
When he finished shaving, Noah just stared at him in the mirror. “Pa. You look like me.”
Relieved that he wasn’t ugly, Daniel laughed and chucked his son under the chin. “Since I’m older, I suppose ye look like me.”
“If Amber didn’t already love you, she would now. You’re handsome.”
“Love has more to do with who ye are inside than how ye look outside.”
Noah flicked at his hair spikes. “In the twenty-first century, folks spend a lot of time making themselves look special, but I’ve seen their hearts. The McCabes, McBains, O’Gradys, and the Kellys are all good people.”
Braham yelled from the other side of the door. “I left a pair of jeans and polo shirt on the bed. If they don’t fit, I’ll find others.”
The Amber Brooch: Time Travel Romance (The Celtic Brooch Book 8) Page 63