A Chance In Time (9 page)

Cole stood up and pulled
out her chair before he paid for their supper. Then they left the
restaurant and went to the hotel. Once he set the travel bag down
on the wood floor of their small room, his expression turned
serious.

“
I need to tell you why I
left last time we came to this town,” he said as he lit the
kerosene lamp.

She took off her hat and
placed it on the small table by the door. “I already said I don’t
care.”

“
But I need to tell you.
Maybe I need to do it for myself—so that I know we started this
marriage off with a clean slate.”

With a nod, she took his
hand and sat next to him on the bed. “What is it, Cole?”

“
Well…I…” He chuckled.
“It’s funny how, now that I can, I don’t know the right words to
say.”

Stroking the top of his
hand with her thumb, she asked, “What brought you onto my
land?”

“
Yes. That’s a good place
to start.” He cleared his throat. “You see, I come from the future,
a little over a hundred years to be exact.”

Her eyebrows
furrowed.

“
I know. It sounds like
fiction, but it’s true. I told you I was an inventor, and one of
the projects I worked on with two people was a time machine. At the
time, I was in a financial mess and thought if I took the device, I
could go back in time to the California Gold Rush and get some
money. You saw it. It was in my pocket when you found
me.”

She nodded. She hadn’t
given that strange thing anymore thought. Her main concern had been
whether or not he’d live and stay with her.

“
Anyway,” he continued,
wiping his free hand on his pants, “the plan was to get the gold
and return to my time before anyone knew I was gone. Only, one of
my partners, Blake, figured out what I was up to and tracked me
down. Through an accident on the train, I pushed some buttons on
the device and came to this time. I spent a long time running from
him, and I spent most of it walking on foot. The last thing I
remembered before you found me was wishing for some
water.”

He cleared his throat.
“Anyway, you asked if I had a wife. I did have one, but then I
caught her having an affair with my brother and got a divorce. So
no, I didn’t have a wife to go back to. But I didn’t think I
deserved you, Penelope. My life was a mess before I met you. I was
barely getting by, and I stole the time travel device that belonged
to my employer. I thought I’d leave so you didn’t have to get
involved with a liar and a thief. I was going to get some gold and
bring some back for you so you would have some money to fix up your
place. I was going to hide the gold and let you discover it by the
well. You know, an ounce of gold goes a whole lot further in this
time than it does in mine.”

Shaking her head, she said,
“But I don’t need gold.”

“
Sure you do. That place
you got is going to fall apart unless it’s tended to. I might have
fixed up the barn, but you have other things that need
tending.”

“
No, that’s not what I
meant. I meant that I already have some gold jewelry. Cole, money
isn’t what I need or even want. I left my family to marry Randy
because my rich father wanted me to marry a man who didn’t love me.
I wasn’t sure Randy would love me either, but I knew Randy didn’t
believe in having a mistress on the side. There are things more
important than money.”

“
Wow.” He exhaled and
laughed. “And here I thought you were destitute.”

She smiled and squeezed his
hand. “I could sell the jewelry if I wanted, but it’s the only part
of my past I have left. I don’t want gold. I’d rather have you.
Surely, you knew that?”

“
I did, but like I said, I
didn’t feel I deserved you. That kiss we shared before I got on the
train was the best kiss I ever had. Well, besides the one that made
us husband and wife. My first wife never kissed me that way. You
really do care for me.” He stroked her cheek his with his fingers
and then traced her lower lip. “After I got to Fargo, I realized
I’d be stupid to give up a chance to be with you. I gave the device
to Blake so I could return to you. I had to see if you’d forgive me
and take me back. I know I don’t deserve you, Penelope, but I’ll do
everything I can to be the kind of husband you can be proud of. I
love you.”

She edged closer to him.
“And I love you.”

Reaching up, she cupped the
side of his face and brought his face to hers so she could kiss
him. He returned her kiss, and pulled her into his arms. She missed
this. Being held by a man who promised himself only to her—a man
who wouldn’t run off to another woman.

Once they removed their
clothes, he pulled back the sheets and waited until she settled
onto the bed before joining her. He wrapped her in his arms and
kissed her again, this time tracing his tongue along her lower lip
until she opened to him. She caressed the back of his neck and
deepened the kiss, relishing the thrill of tingles that traveled up
and down her spine as their tongues met.

It’d been a long time since
she felt the intimate caress of a man as he ran his hand along her
skin, and every part of her relished this moment. Cole cupped one
breast in his hand while he slid his thigh between her legs. She
shivered with delight and shifted so that the area between her legs
was rubbing against him. Having been so long since that part of her
body had been stimulated, she rocked her hips in gentle rhythm,
slowly building the tension in her core. His fingers teased her
nipple, first rubbing it and then giving a gentle pinch so that it
hardened beneath his touch. The whole thing felt heavenly, and she
groaned her pleasure.

His lips left hers and went
down to her neck, his breath hot on her flesh. She wrapped him
tightly in her arms and willed their lovemaking to last as much as
her body ached to be satisfied. She hadn’t expected every nerve
ending in her body to tingle, nor did she expect the growing need
between her legs to intensify as suddenly as it had.

He rolled her fully onto
her back and lowered his head until he was kissing her breasts. His
hand descended from her breasts to the patch of dark blond curls
that marked her entrance. Her legs fell apart for him, inviting him
to explore all of her. While his tongue caressed her nipple in lazy
circular motions, two of his fingers slid into her body.

She grasped his arms and
moaned. She was afraid she wouldn’t last long. The wonderful
torment of his thumb as it worked over her sensitive nub was going
to be her undoing. And she was encouraging him further by moving
her hips and begging him to continue.

Reaching down between them,
she wrapped her hand around his erection and ran her thumb along
his tip. He let out a slight groan, making her smile from the
simple action of arousing him further. As he continued to stroke
her core, she slid her hand up and down his erection, loving the
give and take of pleasure that was happening between
them.

Her breathing came faster
as her body got closer to the moment of her climax. “Yes, faster,”
she rasped, forgetting to keep stroking him while her focus came
solely on the mounting tension between her legs.

He obeyed and sped up his
rubbing until she cried out. Her release came hard and fast over
her, surprising her in an all consuming force of pleasure that had
her riding wave after wave of bliss. She had no idea it could be
this demanding, this intense, and all she could do was lay there
and absorb every sensation as it crashed into her.

When she could finally form
a coherent thought, he moved so that he was over her. Still
lightheaded, she received him into her body, her hands gripping his
butt to pull him deeper into her. He moaned and began thrusting
into her, filling her core and making her feel complete. If it was
up to her, this would go on forever, and she noted he must have
felt the same way for he slowed and stopped, his body straining as
he held off on the inevitable.

He lowered his head and
kissed her. She eagerly responded to him and moved with him as his
thrusting resumed in a slow, purposeful pace. Then he gained
momentum and she encouraged him along, working with him. When he
stilled and gave a muffled groan, she pressed him deeper into her.
She enjoyed the way he throbbed inside her as he spilled his seed.
She opened her eyes in time to see his expression of pleasure at
finally reaching his climax.

After he was done, he fell
on top of her. She wrapped him in her arms and inhaled the musky
scent of him. It spoke of masculine strength, and she loved it. But
it wasn’t just any man who held her after making love to her; it
was Cole.

They remained entangled in
each other’s arms for a long time, neither wishing to let the
moment end. When he lifted himself on his elbows, he smiled and
kissed her, this time taking it slow. Then, once their bodies
became fully aroused, they proceeded to make love again.

Chapter
Fourteen

A year later

“
It was nice seeing you,”
Penelope told Sandra as she gave her a big hug.

Cole stood in the parlor
and waited for the two women to stop gushing over each other. He’d
already said his good-bye to Sandra’s family. It still felt awkward
to be with Randy’s family, but they had welcomed him, and he
figured that they were Penelope’s family. At least, that is how she
talked about them.

“
Next time you’re in town,
we’ll have to have a picnic out in the park. Come in early spring.
That’s when the flowers are in full bloom,” Sandra said.

“
We will,” Penelope
promised.

After they left the house,
Cole took her arm and stopped her in front of the wagon. “Have you
given any thought to what we discussed before we came to
town?”

Penelope nodded. “Are you
sure, Cole?”

He smiled.
“Yes.”

“
You won’t have me all to
yourself anymore.”

“
I don’t mind. Not for
this.”

A smile spread across her
face. “Let’s go. Sandra said the train will be arriving in a half
hour.”

“
Your wish is my
command.”

She giggled. “That is the
funniest expression I’ve ever heard.”

He shrugged. “It’s a common
one from where I come from.” He put his arms around her and
whispered, “But I admit that in all the places I’ve ever been, you
are still the most wonderful woman I’ve ever met.”

“
You keep talking like that
and I’ll have to kiss you as soon we get out of town.”

“
Who says we have to wait?”
Before she could respond, he let his lips caress hers.

A chorus of giggles turned
their attention to Sandra’s children who watched them through the
window.

“
We’d better go,” he said,
chuckling.

Once they got into the
wagon, he directed the horses to the train station where the orphan
train was expected to arrive. He helped her down from the wagon,
sensing her excitement.

He did want a child, and he
knew Penelope wanted one too. This seemed like the logical thing to
do, especially since the children coming in on the train didn’t
have parents to care for them. He hated the thought of children not
having someone to care for and love them, and he couldn’t think of
a better mother than Penelope.

When the train pulled into
the station, they waited as the children were brought forward. A
few farmers seemed to be particularly interested in the strongest
boys and took them. That left a lot of the girls or weaker boys.
Two children, in particular, seemed to draw Penelope’s interest,
and it didn’t take a genius to figure out why. They were Indian
children. One girl and one boy. Both looked sad and malnourished,
making Cole wonder what had brought them here. The boy looked to be
five and the girl was probably two.

“
What about them?” Penelope
whispered.

“
Can you communicate with
them?”

“
Let me see.” She walked
over to them and asked, “Can you understand me?”

The boy and girl clung to
each other, visibly trembling.

“
They must be brother and
sister,” Cole softly stated.

“
I think so too. They
remind me of Martha. I wonder if they come from her
tribe?”

Turning to them, she spoke
to them in the Indian language that Cole hadn’t taken the time to
learn. Now, he wished he had. But how was he to know that these
children would be coming off the train?

The boy answered
her.

Penelope glanced at Cole.
“He speaks the same language that Martha did. I want to take them
home.”

He nodded. He doubted that
the other people would be willing to take Indian children into
their homes. “Tell them we’d like to be their parents.”

Smiling, she did as he
requested.

Though the boy looked
uncertain and the girl looked terrified, the boy nodded.

It would take time for the
children to get used to him and Penelope, Cole realized. But they
had time. Time to get to know each other...time to be a family. In
his heart, he felt that this was right, and with the way Penelope’s
face glowed, he couldn’t help but smile. Yes. A family. Maybe not a
typical one, but then again, his life was far from typical. A man
who’d come out of the future to make a life here in the past wasn’t
exactly one who had an ordinary life.