by Zoe Matthews
At that sentence, her mother started glancing at the window, as if hoping she could meet Megan, too. Barbara spoke up. “Megan is still in Denver. I…I wasn’t sure how this meeting would go.”
Confusion crossed her mother’s face. “How did you expect it to go?”
“Well, I ran away after ignoring your plan for my future. I truly thought you might never want to see me again. You were so angry about my pregnancy. I didn’t know if you could accept Megan as your granddaughter, especially because of how she came to be.”
Her mother nodded in understanding, her face showing her anguish and remorse. “We were mad at first, but I cannot describe how much I regret ever creating that plan for you. It was not my decision to make, and I should have been much more understanding of everything you were going through.”
“We deeply regret not believing you about Jason. Especially when rumors started about stories of another girl who claimed he also raped her,” her father added.
Barbara’s eyes filled with tears, and Daniel wrapped his arm around her. Everything she had hoped to hear from her parents was everything they were saying to her. She couldn’t imagine how things could have turned out any better. They talked and caught each other up on their lives. They hadn’t known Megan had just gotten married, and her mother cried at the knowledge. A pang of guilt went through her, knowing that her parents had missed everything about their own granddaughter growing up.
Hours passed, and then she felt it was about time they leave. She set down her glass and grabbed Daniel’s hand for what felt like the hundredth time since they had sat down.
She was about to suggest they leave when her father spoke up. “There is one more thing I wanted to tell you. On the day you were born, we started an account in your name. Up until your graduation, we added money to that account, and since then, we have invested it. I would like to give that account to you, and let you make the decisions you would like with that money.”
Barbara shook her head. “I don’t want any money. That has never been important to me.”
Her mother smiled. “We know that, sweetheart. But the account is already in your name. The money is already yours; there is nothing that would make us ever touch that money and spend it for ourselves. It was meant to be yours since the day you were born.”
Her father slid over an envelope with the account information, and she hesitated, but curiosity overtook her and she picked it up. She didn’t want to spend the money, her stubborn side insisting that she hadn’t earned it. However, she could see that her parents weren’t going to let her leave the information there. She would take it with her and decide what she should do with it later.
“Thank you,” she said, uncomfortable with the situation as she picked up the envelope and tucked it into her bag.
Her mother seemed to sense that she was ready to leave, and she stood. “Please, will you come back to visit us? Or at least call every now and then?”
Barbara smiled. This was one thing she did know the answer to. “Yes. And I will talk to Megan and ask if she would like to come meet you two.”
Her mother’s smile spread even wider, and her eyes filled again. “I would enjoy that very much.”
Barbara couldn’t help the tears that filled her eyes as well. “So would I.”
She left with Daniel, knowing without a doubt that he was the reason her life had turned itself around so perfectly. She was engaged to be married, had the potential to have a real relationship with her parents again, and they had plans to travel the world and do what they could to make a difference. A thought hit her. The bank account could be used for travel expenses, or to start a charity for a third world country. She could use this money to help others, just the way Daniel had been able to help her.
Chapter 20
In the end, Barbara and Daniel spent two days with her family before returning to Denver. This was another time where she was glad she had hired Mary Anne so she didn’t need to worry about opening the shop. There were times when being with her parents was stressful for Barbara, but for the most part, she had enjoyed being with them. Before they left, her parents made arrangements to come to Denver in order to meet Megan, just as soon as Barbara was able to tell her daughter about her grandparents.
Once they returned to Denver, life returned pretty much to normal. Megan and Keegan returned from their honeymoon and were running the shop by themselves most of the time, although Barbara did show up every now and then to help. She spent most of her time with Daniel and was able to get to know him better. The more time she spent with him, the more she fell in love with him.
When she had the chance to tell Megan that her father had shown up and George Manning had ended up getting arrested, her daughter was horrified. When she added the story about going to Texas to meet with her parents, Megan threw her hands up in the air.
“I get married and go away for ten days, and look what happens?” she said, half seriously and half-teasing. “Did you make some more time travel trips while we were gone as well?”
Barbara grinned at her daughter. “No. I thought there was enough happening. We couldn’t fit in a trip back in time.”
Megan chuckled, but then looked at Barbara. “I’m not sure I ever want to meet… Jason, Mom.”
Barbara was relieved at Megan’s words. She’d figure out how to accept it if Megan decided she wanted her father in her life, but she was glad she didn’t need to.
“That’s just fine, sweetheart,” Barbara told her. “Just know that you can ask me anything you want about him and that time in my life.”
“I also want to wait for awhile before meeting your parents. I do want to meet them someday, just not right now. I want to get used to my new life with Keegan. I want to focus on him right now.” Megan looked at Barbara as if she was pleading for understanding.
“That is also fine. I will contact them and let them know of your decision. Again, you just let me know when you are ready.”
“I’m excited that you have found Daniel,” Megan went on. “Maybe I can meet your parents at your wedding.”
“We haven’t set a date yet,” Barbara reminded her daughter. “It could be awhile.”
“That’s fine. So much has happened in my life, so many changes.”
Later, as Barbara thought about her conversation with Megan, she realized that her daughter was right. Megan had gone through many changes over the last six months. Not only had she traveled back in time to 1902: she had met Keegan, become engaged, helped her move the store to a new location and gotten it set up and running, along with planning a wedding. Then Barbara had disappeared. Now, when Megan returned from her honeymoon, she’d found out that her father wanted to meet her and her grandparents as well, and that Barbara was engaged. That had to be a lot to deal with and she totally understood where her daughter was coming from.
She could tell that even though Daniel also had many adjustments to make as he learned to live in 2016, he easily accepted her world. He loved trying new things. They spent many days driving around Denver and some of the nearby areas. He even asked her to give him driving lessons.
One night after a fun day hiking in the mountains, Daniel took her hand and led her outside to the gazebo. Once they were seated on one of the benches, he pulled the locket out of his pocket.
“I was wondering what happened to the locket,” she commented as she reached out for it, but he closed his hand over it.
“I want to explain something to you,” Daniel said. “When I took Laura back to my time, I was able to study this locket. It actually looks just like a locket my mother used to own. She gave it to Laura. When I showed it to Laura, she thought the same. But when I asked her to look for Mother’s locket, she had it in her jewelry box.”
“That’s weird. So, there are two of them?”
“Where did you find this locket?” Daniel asked.
“It was wrapped up in a handkerchief hidden in a trunk in the attic. I assumed it was Victoria’s.”
; “She is the one who first owned this home?”
“Yes. It was built around 1865. When she died, she deeded the house to Keegan.” Daniel was aware of Keegan’s story of being born in the late 1800s and traveling through a portal on his family’s ranch to the future.
“There has to be a connection between all of this.”
“I wonder if there is some type of magic in the house in general. It just doesn’t seem a coincidence that so many ways to time travel have happened in connection to this house,” Barbara offered.
“You may be right,” Daniel agreed. He opened the locket and then gave it to her. “There was a man who attended the ball we went to. He made some small paintings and delivered them to Edward, hoping we’d commission him to paint some larger portraits. That painting looked exactly like this one.”
“So that’s where the painting came from. I wondered how we were able to have a painting of the two of us.”
“So this was meant to be, somehow,” he finally commented with a grin. Setting her phone down next to him, he gathered her into his arms. “In my time when a man asks a woman to marry him, they are usually engaged for at least a year. I am discovering that I don’t want to wait that long.”
Barbara grinned up at him. “Neither do I.”
“I have no idea how long it will take to plan a wedding in this time. How long do you need?”
“Very little time at all. Sure, there are some people who want large weddings. They will rent a reception hall and plan a large and elaborate wedding, but I don’t care about any of that. I would be perfectly happy to have a small wedding with just Megan and Keegan with us.”
“And your parents?”
“Megan isn’t ready to meet them yet. I am fine with just us.”
Daniel said nothing while he held her like she was something precious to him. She felt so right against his chest, just like she belonged there. She realized she had loved him since she first saw his image in the locket. He was the only one she wanted to be with. The power between them, between their times, between their hearts, and bounded them together.
After they shared the most romantic kiss of her life, Daniel pulled away and turned over the locket which she was still holding in her hand.
“I asked Keegan to help me find someone who could add something to the locket.”
She could see that some writing had been added to the back of the locket.
For my love, throughout all time.
1816 and 2016
“Oh, Daniel,” Barbara said as tears came to her eyes. She buried her face into his chest. “I think my life started when I found that locket. We were meant to be together.”
“I’ve decided something. I’ve been pondering quite a bit about time travel. I believe whatever time we live in is the present. There is only now, because that is where we are. Man has constructed time and its impact is only in the present. I was born in 1771. You were born in…” He looked at her questioningly.
“1975,” she answered, wondering where his thoughts were going.
“Up until now, my present was in 1816 and yours was here, in 2016. Now this time is our one and our only. Love has brought us together through time.”
“I love how you have explained it,” Barbara told him as she took his hand. “Come. We have a wedding to plan.”
“We have a life to plan, together,” Daniel said with another gentle kiss.
Love flowed between them both, from him to her, from her to him. From his time to hers. From first to last. Forever.
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