River of Time Read online

  “She couldn’t. She lives…” Nicky stopped talking, trying to figure out what to say that wouldn’t sound like a lie.

  Justin’s eyes looked suspicious. “She lives where?”

  “Deep in the Rocky Mountains,” Nicky finally felt it was safe to say.

  “So?” Justin looked confused. “We still could have gone.”

  Nicky sighed. “She just wanted a small, quiet wedding without any fuss. You know what Mom would have wanted to do if she had known about it.”

  Nicky breathed a sigh of relief when Justin nodded his head in understanding. “Yeah, Mom would have insisted they wait while she planned some big wedding. She would have likely wanted to invite the entire city. I would have liked to have met Patrick, though.”

  “I’ll talk to Kimberly and see what I can do,” Nicky responded, crossing her fingers behind her back at her white lie, knowing that Justin would never see Kimberly again.

  “I still don’t understand why you didn’t just answer my texts and tell me. Don’t you know how worried I’ve been?” Justin demanded.

  “I left my phone home,” Nicky admitted. “I didn’t get your texts until a few hours ago.”

  “Why didn’t you take your phone? You never go anywhere without it.”

  Nicky knew that Justin was right. There were many times she was on her way to an event or even just the store. When she realized she had forgotten her phone, she would always turn around to go get it. She hated being without it.

  “I... I was so excited to hear from Kimberly, I just forgot it.” Nicky hated to lie again, but she didn’t know what else to say.

  “Well, I’m sure it won’t happen again,” Justin finally smiled at her. He settled himself down on Nicky’s couch. “Tell me about the wedding. What’s Patrick like?

  “Where’s Garrett?” she questioned her brother. She knew Justin hardly ever left his son alone.

  “He’s at soccer practice. I have a few minutes before I need to pick him up. So? What’s Patrick like? I’ve been thinking he’s pretty desperate, putting an ad in the newspaper for a bride.”

  “He’s a good man. He placed the ad, because he owns a huge ranch in the Rocky Mountains with his brothers and a sister. There are few women around, and it’s hard for him to make it into the city, so he didn’t have much opportunity to date normally.”

  Nicky knew the explanation sounded funny. It did even to her, but, even though Justin looked skeptical, he didn’t ask any more questions. He just looked at her intently for a few moments.

  “I think there is more to this story of yours, but I need to go get Garrett.” He stood, walked to the door, and opened it before turning to her. “Don’t think this conversation is over.” Then he was gone.

  Nicky sighed. She believed Justin when he said that the conversation wasn’t over. He was like a bulldog after a juicy bone, when he wanted to get information. She knew he wouldn’t back off on his questions until they were answered to his satisfaction. She desperately wished she could just pick up her phone and call Kimberly. Would it be okay to tell Justin? But if she did, would Justin even believe her? After all, that was the main reason Kimberly hadn’t told her the entire story at first. She knew Nicky wouldn’t have believed her.

  Over the next few hours, Nicky ate her enchiladas she ordered from the Mexican restaurant and did some cleaning of her apartment. She expected Justin to return to continue his questioning after picking up Garrett, but he never came back, and Nicky was relieved. She didn’t want to deal with him anymore that evening.

  Before she went to bed, she started her first letter to Shaun. She told him that she arrived safely, and Collins was staying at Victoria’s home for the night. She talked about eating her dinner and cleaning her townhouse. She wasn’t sure what else to say, so she decided to finish it the next day. What does a woman from 2005 tell a man who lived in 1892 anyway?

  Chapter 3

  Early July, 1892

  A few mornings after her wedding to Patrick, Kimberly stepped out of the small cabin she now shared with him and lifted her face to the early warmth of the sun. She sighed with contentment. Being married to Patrick was all she had hoped for. After Nicky left Victoria’s house, the rest of Patrick’s family also left to return to their ranch, leaving Kimberly and Patrick to travel slowly on their own. She had thoroughly enjoyed the trip back to the ranch.

  They had ridden their horses leisurely, stopping a few times for a meal and to talk. Ever since Bridget had told Kimberly a brief history of Patrick’s family, and how his grandfather had traveled to America during the potato famine in Ireland, she had been eager to know more. She had listened intently, as Patrick had described what his father had done in order to acquire the land in Colorado and build the houses they lived in now. In turn, she had told him more about her parents, the traditions they had before they had died, and how life had changed for her once she was in foster care. She found she could open up to him more than to anyone, even Nicky. They also talked about their dreams for the future, and she was delighted to find that he wanted children. Even though they had just married, she was already finding herself excited and eager to become a mother.

  As they traveled, Kimberly fell deeper in love with her new husband. She didn’t regret for a moment marrying Patrick, even though she had to give up quite a bit in doing so. There were many conveniences and technologies in her time that she no longer had access to, but she didn’t care. She was glad she had seen the ad in the newspaper and that she had answered it.

  They had arrived at the ranch late the evening before and found that Shaun and Keegan had done all of the evening chores. Bridget had made a delicious meal in celebration of their wedding. After dinner, Patrick moved his belongings into the small cabin she had been living in. They planned to share the cabin until a new larger one could be built for them.

  When Kimberly woke up that morning, Patrick had already gone. She wasn’t surprised, since he always started his days very early, but she was disappointed nonetheless that she hadn’t woken when he did. She promised herself that she would ask him to wake her from now on. She needed to get used to life on a ranch in the 1890’s and wanted to be on the same schedule Patrick was.

  One of the things she had a hard time getting used to was wearing long skirts and dresses. In her time, she hardly ever wore a dress, preferring jeans and shorts. In Patrick’s time, women wore dresses all the time. While they were in Denver, Patrick had purchased a few boy pants for her. They weren’t as comfortable as her worn jeans, but they were much better to wear than skirts, and Kimberly had instantly decided that she would always wear the pants unless they were around other people or in Denver.

  Kimberly walked into the large family cabin to help Bridget with breakfast. Even though she and Patrick were living in their own cabin, it wasn’t large enough to have a kitchen, and she had agreed that they would eat all their meals with the rest of the family. She was glad they were doing this, because she still wasn’t good at cooking on a wood stove.

  “Hello,” Kimberly greeted Bridget who stood at the large wood stove, stirring something in a skillet.

  Bridget turned to Kimberly at her greeting. “Good morning. Did you sleep well?”

  “I did,” Kimberly told her. She washed her hands and then started to slice some bread for toasting. “I was pretty tired last night from the horseback ride from Denver, even though we made the trip slowly.”

  “You’ll get used to it. We don’t go to Denver very much, and we hardly ever do in the winter because of the snow. Although I suspect we will make the trip more often, especially since Keegan will be going to school there in the fall,” Bridget said with a smile. Keegan was Patrick’s youngest brother who was 15-years-old and planning on staying with Victoria through the coming winter, so he could attend school.

  While they chatted, both women worked together and quickly prepared breakfast. Shaun’s daughter, Colleen, joined them and performed her usual job, which was setting the table.

  Afte
r breakfast, Kimberly helped with the dishes and then went out to find Patrick. She first let her dog, Daisy, who was overjoyed to see her, out of her pen. Daisy was a Border Collie puppy that Patrick had given her a few weeks prior. Patrick raised Border Collies and trained them to be cattle dogs. His dogs were well known for their trainability and smartness, and Patrick had no trouble finding homes for any of his puppies. In his latest litter, one of the puppy’s character was too calm. Patrick gave her the puppy, explaining that the dog wouldn’t do well as a cattle dog. Kimberly was thrilled. She loved dogs, and Border Collies were actually one of her favorite breeds. She named her puppy Daisy.

  Kimberly could see her husband in the distance and headed in that direction with Daisy running alongside her. When she reached Patrick, she noticed he was busy working with some cows and their calves, so she quietly watched. She was fascinated, as she watched Patrick check for any signs of distress or injury. Calves were an important part of their income in ranching, so Patrick was very focused on his job.

  Patrick soon noticed her and, after pushing a large cow out of the way, came towards her. He leaned over the fence and gave her a quick kiss.

  “What brings you out here?” he asked.

  “I wanted to see if I could help with anything,” she told him, which was true, but she really just wanted to be with him.

  Patrick looked at the cows and then back at her. “I’m not sure working with the cows is a good idea for you.”

  Kimberly frowned. “Now that we’re married, I want to find out what ranch life is like. I know you are going to be very busy, and there are going to be some things I can’t help with, like moving cows, but I’m sure there are other things we can work on together.”

  Kimberly knew that, in her time, women working with cows wouldn’t be frowned upon, but she also knew she was in 1892, and she needed to adjust some of her thinking.

  “When I’m done here, I’m going to work with the two puppies I kept from Summer’s litter. Would you like to help?” Summer was the mother of Daisy.

  Kimberly’s eyes lit up. “I would love to do that.”

  They agreed that Kimberly would work in the garden pulling weeds until Patrick came to get her. Kimberly turned away, but not before spending a few minutes watching her husband again. She admired the strength it took to hold onto each cow, and she saw sweat start to build on his brow from the effort. He didn’t slow at all, but kept at his job with practiced ease.

  She worked in the garden for about an hour, keeping Daisy by her side. The puppy thought pulling weeds was a great game and would attack any weed Kimberly tossed aside. When Patrick finally came for her, he found her laughing at Daisy’s antics.

  “You should be teaching her to stay in one place,” Patrick advised her. “She’s cute now, but, if she did that as a full grown dog, it wouldn’t be as cute.”

  Kimberly understood what Patrick was trying to tell her, but she enjoyed the puppy’s playfulness. “I’ll work with her,” she promised.

  As they walked together towards the field where the dogs were kept, Patrick explained what he wanted to do that day. “You’ll need to put Daisy back in the field. We will work with one dog at a time, teaching them basic obedience commands.”

  “Okay, then I will do the same with Daisy,” Kimberly told him.

  They worked together with the dogs until they heard the chiming of the lunch bell in the summer breeze. After putting the dog they were training back in the field, Kimberly commented, “I probably should have helped Bridget with making lunch.”

  Patrick reached over and took her hand. “Bridget is used to making all of our meals. Now that you are a permanent family member, maybe you should talk to Bridget and make plans about what she would like help with. More than likely, she will be fine continuing the schedule she is used to.”

  “I do enjoy being outdoors more than inside,” Kimberly commented. As if on cue, the breeze hit her face, and she inhaled the clean air. She looked around at the beautiful, evergreen trees and admired the elegant way the tall grass moved in the wind. She was very content with her new life.

  ****

  Shaun smiled at his daughter, Colleen, as she giggled. Spirit, the pony that she had received for her ninth birthday just a few weeks before, nuzzled her hand for a treat. He watched, as she fed Spirit a piece of apple and then petted her neck.

  “Can I help you train horses today, Pa?” Colleen asked, her dark eyes dancing. “I’m big enough, now that I turned nine.”

  “That you are,” Shaun told his daughter with a smile. He loved being Colleen’s father and didn’t know what he would do without her in his life.

  “We need to feed the horses first and make sure they have enough water,” Shaun replied.

  “Then, I can help take them to the river,” Colleen offered.

  Shaun agreed and slipped on a bridle for each of his ten horses. His job on the ranch was to take care of all the horses, along with training and breeding, a job he absolutely loved. He was glad Patrick liked working with the cows, since he hated them. Their jobs worked out for each of them.

  Shaun took two horses by their bridles, while Colleen guided another, and together they walked them down to the river for a good drink. Shaun tried to do this daily, although there was a small stream that ran along the edge of the fields where the horses spent the majority of their days. Shaun felt it was good that the horses got fresh water every day.

  He half listened as Colleen chattered about whatever came to her head. He couldn’t get the last few days out of his mind. He was happy that Patrick had found Kimberly, but he wasn’t sure how he felt about how they had met, with Kimberly being from the future, 2005 of all places. He knew Kimberly had been able to travel through time to 1892 because of the keys Victoria owned, but he wished he knew how they worked exactly.

  Meeting Nicky, Kimberly’s best friend, was an experience in itself. He knew part of the reason he was drawn to Nicky was because she had accepted Colleen with her dark, black hair and golden skin without any reservations. Colleen wasn’t his real daughter. Shaun was good friends with an Indian man named Running Deer, whose sister had become pregnant by a French, mountain man. The man had abandoned them both, and then Running Deer’s sister died. Running Deer and his mother had felt it would be best if Colleen was raised by Shaun, since he was well known by their tribe and a very good friend. Since Colleen was considered a half-breed, she wouldn’t be accepted by her mother’s tribe now that she was dead.

  Shaun had immediately agreed to raise Colleen as his own. In his mind, she was his daughter. But he worried about her future. It was fine raising her on a ranch in the middle of the Rocky Mountains while she was a child. However, he knew some day, when she grew older, she was going to have to leave the ranch and would have to deal with others who wouldn’t be able to accept her, because she was part Indian. But for now, Colleen was safe on their ranch and enjoyed a carefree childhood.

  Shaun was leery, when Nicky first met Colleen, but immediately relaxed when he could see she didn’t have any qualms about her. Later he learned she was a school teacher in her time, and he figured that was likely why she was so good with Colleen.

  He now regretted that he had suggested they write. He knew it would be almost impossible to have anything more than a friendship with a woman from the future. Yes, it was working for Patrick, but Kimberly had voluntarily come to their time, very willing to give up her own. He couldn’t expect another woman to do the same, and he sure wasn’t going to leave his own time. He was happy training and raising horses. He loved living on the land his father had worked so hard to own. Nothing would make him give up this life, not even a beautiful woman.

  He thought of another woman who had been in his life, Delia. He had met her while attending a barn raising in Denver two-years ago and had fallen instantly in love with her. She had golden hair, sky blue eyes, and a delightful laugh. After a few months of dating, with him making the trip to Denver often, he had asked for her hand in marriag
e, and she had accepted. What he didn’t know then was that she was expecting him to leave his ranch and live in the city. Her father was a banker and was willing to give him a job. She also didn’t want to be a mother to Colleen. She actually expected him to give Colleen to Bridget. Of course, Shaun had immediately terminated the engagement, but the damage had been done. Shaun had promised himself that he would rather stay single than marry someone who wouldn’t accept his lifestyle and his daughter.

  He had expected Kimberly to demand Patrick leave the ranch and live in her time, but she didn’t, and Shaun was able to admit to himself that not all women were like Delia, but he still felt he needed to guard his heart and protect his daughter. That meant even from women who lived in the future.

  At that moment, he decided he wouldn’t write Nicky even though he had been the one to suggest it. No good would come from it. He forced his thoughts away from Nicky and started to listen to Colleen.

  “Can I, Pa?” she was asking. She had stopped walking her horse and was looking up at him with a confused look on her face. How long had he been thinking of Nicky and not paying attention to his daughter?