Once in a Blue Moon (46 page)

Chills broke out on her
back, arms and neck.

It had been gambled
away by a man who had lost his true love.

She swallowed and tried
to get air.

Was Melissa the mystery
woman? The woman who she’d disparaged for giving up security for
love?

Was
Melissa the idiot who had chosen love
?

Melissa looked at the
horizon, panic thudding her heart painfully in her chest, each
breath coming in aching gusts.

Melissa pictured her
family out there, waiting for her, searching for her. Tears came to
her eyes.

Yes. Apparently she was
that idiot.

She did love her
family; loved them enough to stay in this backward place with them
for three more years if necessary. Enough to give up security for
love.

She could not leave
until she knew for sure that her family was already gone.

She sprang into action,
swinging around and racing for Curly’s front door. She knew exactly
what she had to do.

Melissa ran back into
the house, and in her haste stumbled over the threshold, barely
managing to catch herself.

Curly had been watching
from the front window. He dropped the curtain and looked at her
expectantly as she came gracelessly through the entry. “Have you
changed your mind? Are you staying?”

Melissa felt a twist of
sympathy for his unconcealed eagerness and for the way he’d
misconstrued her indecision and return. “No. Sorry. I have to give
you this.” She tugged off the ring, lifted one of his beefy hands,
and placed it in his palm.

Not trusting him, she
quickly backed up a few steps. Mission accomplished, and now she
was out of there!

Curly stared down at
the bit of jewelry, then thrust it back toward her. “Keep it.”

Irritation had her
grinding her teeth. She didn’t have time for male displays of
stupidity! “I can’t. You have to take it. It’s important.” When she
got home, she wanted to cherish the history and lore of that ring.
She especially wanted to keep the history of the ring between
Richard and herself. She wanted the ring Richard had given her, not
the one Curly had.

Curly studied her,
nodded, and his fist clenched around the ring. “I’ll remember you
forever.”

His melodramatic
attitude irritated her further. He’d kidnapped her, kept her from
her family, and very probably forced them to stay in the past for
three more years. Now she noted the way he was clutching the ring
like it was a keepsake. No. She didn’t want him to keep it. She
wanted him to gamble it away. It was hers.

“Yes, well, as soon as
you’re ready to forget me, ditch the ring. Your future wife won’t
want jewelry that belonged to another woman.” Her voice was harsh,
but she couldn’t help it. The guy was an idiot, and she was out of
time.

Curly looked down, and
the lamplight illuminated his sad expression.

Melissa softened.
“Look, I wish you a long and happy life. If someone like me can
find love, so will you. And when you do, don’t forget to ditch the
ring. It’s important.”

With a sigh, she shook
her head and moved swiftly away. She’d done what she could, but was
out of time. She had to leave. Now.

She jerked the quilt
off the back of the sofa. “By the way, I’m taking your blanket and
your horse.” Her eyes narrowed, daring him to object. “You can pick
them both up at Sully’s place later today.”

She quickly moved
outside and shut the door firmly behind her. She whipped the quilt
around her body, covered herself completely, head and all, and
stepped into the moonlight.

The early morning air,
crisp and cool, washed over her face, but there was no tingling, no
nausea, no reaction whatsoever. She breathed a sigh of relief,
lurched down the stairs and headed for the horses.

Nervous about riding,
she chose the smaller of the two, realized it sported a
side-saddle, and ground her teeth. Curly was a blockhead!

She rounded to the
larger animal and blew out a breath. She could do this. She didn’t
have a choice. She untied the horse’s reins and awkwardly mounted,
her skirt and the ends of the blanket bunching underneath her.

The animal’s ears
twitched, its big body tensed, but thankfully, it stayed still.

Melissa straightened
the material of her skirt, made sure the blanket covered her
completely, and situated herself onto the hard saddle. The stirrups
were a little too long, but not bad, and she blessed her long
legs.

She patted the horse’s
warm, glossy neck. “Now listen up.” She tried to infuse confidence
into her voice. “I want no trouble from you. I’m in a big hurry,
and I need your help.” With a tug of the reins, she turned the
horse toward the main road and urged the animal to run.

She clutched at the
quilt as it tried to slip, held tight to the saddle horn as if her
life depended on it, which, considering their speed and her
inexperience, it probably did, and pointed her toes to grip the
stirrups.

The ride was bumpy,
awkward and graceless. She didn’t care. All that mattered was they
were moving quickly and in the direction of her family.

She thought it might be
getting lighter in the east, but she tried to ignore it. Her breath
came in hard pants and she tried to concentrate on the striking of
the hooves against the dirt-packed road rather than the impending
sunlight.

Everything would be
okay. She had to believe that. If they didn’t make it back, well,
they’d live in the past for three more years. Melissa was
definitely starting up a design company. They could go to L.A. or
New York.

She’d get the designs
she’d given to Sully to bury. Draw more, and get some backing.
They’d figure it out. As long as they were together, everything
would be all right. Her stomach clenched at the thought of staying,
but if that’s the way it had to be then she’d deal with it. The
most important thing was that her family was with her.

Was it lighter? She
couldn’t be sure, but fear clutched at her throat, threatening to
strangle her. Her family was still there. They were waiting. They
had to be.

Melissa clung to the
saddle horn and spurred the horse to greater speed. Within a
minute, they reached the main road. They seemed to be making good
time. Only a mile or so to go.

Hope tightened her
throat. Could she actually make it in time? Was it possible they
could still go back?

More light brightened
the morning air.

Her hope dimmed, but
Melissa still visualized reaching the site of their property and
finding her family there waiting for her. Her vision blurred and
she realized she was crying, trembling. Scared to death.

As if sensing Melissa’s
urgency, the horse ran fast, never slowing, and she blessed his
stamina, thankful that she’d chosen the right animal after all.
Finally, they hit the last stretch of road.

Frantically, Melissa
searched up ahead. The dawn light fought with the darkness and won.
She could clearly see their property. She could see the small oak,
the long grass, the hill. But she didn’t see her family. Didn’t see
anyone.

Surely they heard her
coming? Didn’t they hear the horses hooves, the urgency? Why didn’t
they come forward? Why didn’t they show themselves?

Seconds later, Melissa
reached the property, and reined in the horse.

The animal, muscles
bunching, skidded to a stop, blowing air and breathing hard.

The sun hit the
horizon, bright and clear.

Horror prickled at
Melissa’s neck and she jumped off the horse, ran to the top of the
hill and searched Sully’s yard.

Her family was not
there.

Wild desperation
spurred her to action and she rushed down the hill, holding the
blanket over her head. Of course they weren’t outside. They were in
the cabin. Out of the moonlight. Waiting for her. They had to be.
She threw open the cabin door. “Richard!”

There was no response.
The interior was dark. Empty.

The full horror of the
situation washed over her. Her family had gone back without
her.

They’d left her in the past alone. “
Richard
!” She screamed his
name.

Panicked, she threw off
the quilt, ran back up the hill, and searched the sky for the moon.
It was still there, but as the sun blazed, it faded in the sky.

“
Richard
!”
Melissa screamed his name, terrified.

Waves of disbelief
crashed upon her. Her mouth parted and her breathing escalated.

She couldn’t believe
it.

They were gone.

They’d left her.

The
sun bright and warm at her back, she stared at the moon. “Take me!”
She raised her arms and jumped up and down. “Please, take me
back!
Please
!”

Weak and shaking, out
of energy, out of hope, she stopped moving. Her chest heaved as the
moon blurred through her tears. “Please,” she moaned the word and
lifted a hand in entreaty. “You have to take me back.”

Nothing happened. She
didn’t feel so much as a goose bump.

It was over.

It was really over.

After a long moment,
she sank to her knees, bowed her head and let the tears come. She’d
just made the biggest mistake she’d ever made in her entire
life.

She’d lost
everything.

Her entire body started
to shake.

Three years. The words
rang in her head like a mantra.

Three years, without
her family.

Three years of
isolation.

Three years alone.

What was she going to
do?

A dog barked nearby and
Melissa’s head jerked up, her breath catching as searing hope
flared in her chest. Could her family be nearby? Perhaps they’d
been out searching for her? Perhaps they’d obtained a dog and were
trying to track her down?

Her gaze wildly
searched the surrounding landscape, finally anchoring on the only
moving objects. Sully, his wagon, horse and dog. They were coming
home. Melissa’s family wasn’t with them. Hope died as quickly as it
had surfaced.

Shoulders slumping,
Melissa knelt in the wet grass and watched listlessly as the huge
dog spotted her and came streaking ahead to greet her. He was
coming fast, his massive body eating up the ground between
them.

Too fast.

Uh, oh. Melissa stood
and held up both hands in front of herself for protection.

Zeke didn’t even slow,
but rushed up the hill and when he reached her, jumped up, his huge
body hitting full force.

Melissa was knocked
backward and over the side of the hill. She hit the rain-softened
ground, rolled a few times, mud and muck smearing her. It didn’t
matter. Nothing did.

She stopped at the
bottom of the hill, landing on her back and out of the sunlight.
She lay in the shade of the hill, unwilling to get up. Unable to
care that she was lying in mud and probably much worse.

Whimpering happily, the
dog jumped on top of her, licked her face, then dug his muzzle
between her neck and shoulder, coating her with slobber as his big
body wriggled furiously.

Melissa’s eyes clenched
tight as emotion swamped her and suddenly she was so grateful he
was there. That the dumb animal loved her. She wrapped her arms
around him and grief for the loss of her family filled her heart
and spilled out of her eyes. She started to sob.

Nausea rolled in her
stomach. She felt physically ill at the loss of her family. Just
like when--

Startled, she opened
tear-filled eyes to look up at the sky. She blinked. The blue moon,
pale, but still visible in the heavens, seemed to wobble, grow
larger, then rush at her.

And everything went
white.

“Melissa?”

Richard’s voice, coming
from far away, was joined by Jessica’s.

“Mom?”

Someone lightly tapped
Melissa’s face. It was irritating. She turned away, but bright
light made her flinch, and she jerked her head back.

“Mom, come on, wake
up.” Jeremy’s voice. Closer.

Heavy with sleep,
Melissa moved her head back and forth. She lifted her brows, trying
to get her eyes to open. Light struck her in the face again, and
she squinted, her eyes teared, and finally she managed to open
them.

Her family hovered
above her.

It
took Melissa a moment to accept that her family was actually there.
That she was really
with
her family.

They all looked
worried. Jessica wiped at tears; Richard was pale, and obviously
upset; Jeremy’s forehead wrinkled in a frown.

Melissa took a huge gulp of air and lunged at Richard.
“
You’re here
!”

Richard caught her,
pulled her onto his lap and sat back in the long grass, his arms
tight around her.

Jeremy and Jessica
threw themselves at her, their arms wrapping around Melissa’s back,
Richard’s neck and each other.

She lay motionless, her
cheek against Richard’s shoulder, and savored the feel of her
family surrounding her as her heartbeat slowed to normal.

After a moment, she
relaxed her hold, and felt Richard’s shoulders, arms and chest,
testing to see if he were real. She reached out and touched
Jeremy’s hand, then Jessica’s face.

She glanced at Sully’s
cabin, old and weathered once again. Her breath caught, and she
wrenched out of Richard’s arms and scrambled up the hill.

And
there it was. Her house. Her big, wonderful,
gorgeous
stucco house. The deck, the
flower beds, the shrubs, the whole lot. Sprinklers sprayed the
lawn.
Sprinklers
!