Stealing Time (11 page)

“Bring out something different than we
ordered, like desserts or something. Make it more like a dream.”
Kate suggested and returned to the table. “So what are you doing
here, Ty?”

“I don’t really know. I feel like I’m back in
time or something. I woke up in some old house or farm and then
started walking. Tried to figure out where I was.” Tyson paused as
Anna approached the table.

“Here’s your order — apple pie with a side of
gravy.” She placed the items in front of them. “Would you like me
to pour?”

Anna played her part well. Kate believed her
act wholeheartedly and answered. “I think we’ll take care of
that.”

Tyson stared down at the strange combination
in front of him. “Really?” He glanced over at Kate, and they both
started to laugh.

“Just eat the pie...or if you’d like,” she
mimicked Anna, “would you like me to pour?”

Tyson dug into the pie and finished it
quickly. Kate knew he hadn’t eaten all day and was truly hungry.
She played with her pie and then finally passed it over to him. “Go
ahead, enjoy.”

They made light conversation as Tyson ate the
second piece. Kate began to see her friend again, the one she
thought she lost forever. He didn’t try to kiss her or act
desperate the whole time they were together. Tears filled her eyes.
Not wanting Ty to see, she excused herself. Kate made her way back
to the kitchen where Drew was waiting.

“My turn.” He took Kate by the arms. “Are you
okay with this? Hopefully I can chase him back to the
boardinghouse. You wait here and come back with Anna after her
shift’s done.” He kissed her forehead and went out to the
restaurant.

“Tyson, my man, how are you doing?” Drew
approached the table. “I think it’s time for you to be heading
out.”

“Where’s Katie? I was here with her just a
minute ago.” Tyson appeared confused as Kate watched from the
kitchen door.

“Now you’ve got me.”

Tyson rose from his seat and walked to the
front of the dining room. “I don’t need this. You’re not going to
tell me what to do.”

“We’ll just see about that...Thomas!”

The kitchen door swung open, and Thomas Cook
appeared with a giant carving knife in hand. He was a pretty big
guy. Drew always said he would make a great offensive lineman,
giving Drew the protection he needed as quarterback. Thomas tapped
the knife on his palm very slowly, doing it over and over until
Tyson ran out the door with Drew in hot pursuit.

“Oh, I feel sorry for him.” Kate peeked over
Thomas’ shoulder.

“If someone’s harassing you, never feel
sorry.” Thomas went back to the pot he had been stirring.

“Thank you, Thomas, especially for not asking
any questions.” Kate patted him on the back. “You’re a great
friend.”

“You just take care. That’s thanks
enough.”

Kate counted the minutes until she saw Mr.
Johansson pull up in the Buick. “Anna, he’s here!” She ran out to
the car and jumped in.

“Didn’t know you worked the dinner shift.”
Carl Sr. turned around in the driver’s seat, staring at Kate. “Long
day?”

“You wouldn’t believe me if I told you.” She
searched for Anna’s hand for support. Anna gave her a squeeze as if
to say she knew what was on her mind.

The car ambled along the road, and Kate swore
he was driving slower than usual just to spite her. She wanted to
scream out to step on the gas but contained herself.

“Will you look at that sunset? Never get used
to them.” Carl shook his head slowly back and forth as he pointed
to the western horizon. The sky was ablaze in gold, and they
watched it slowly fade into a pale orange with tones of pink around
the edges.

“Beautiful.” Anna sighed.

Kate never tired of seeing her friend so
happy. It was the best gift they all could have given her...a
summer at the canyon.

Finally the boardinghouse came into view.
Kate almost leaped from the Buick before it stopped. She knew Tyson
could be on his way home because the sun had almost set.

“There you are.” Drew came out the front
door. “Mrs. Johansson said I could wait for you.” He was especially
calm for someone who chased Tyson all the way back to the house.
“She’s got coffee and cinnamon bread waiting for us.”

Kate just stared at him with wide eyes. He
helped her out of the car and whispered in her ear. “He fell and
hit his head. Was a little dazed. Maya helped me get him
upstairs.”

“Oh, no, did he recognize her?”

“No, she looks younger, don’t forget. Plus he
was a little groggy.”

Kate let out a puff of breath. “When will
this ever end?”

“Hopefully tonight. We have to get that book
back as soon as possible.”

They filed into the kitchen, and Kate hurried
over to Maya. “Are you okay? I hope you didn’t have to carry Tyson
up the stairs.”

“Oh, lordy, no,” Maya chuckled. “Drew just
gave him a push and a shove.”

Ruthie and Lucinda joined the group at the
table, and even though it was hard to act normal, Kate tried her
best. They talked about the dinner shift and how Drew helped the
tourists all day. Kate was dying to run upstairs and check on
Tyson. He should definitely be gone by now.

“Thank you very much, Mrs. Johansson.” Drew
got up. “If you’ll excuse me, I’ll be heading home.”

“Always enjoy your company, Andrew.”

“I’ll walk him out.” Kate sprung from her
seat.

“Now don’t be gone too long,” Lucinda
teased.

As they walked down the hall to the front of
the house, Kate could stand it no longer. “Drew, get up there, and
see if he’s gone. Then we’ll head for home.”

It only took a few minutes, and Drew was
back. “Not there. I’ll see you tomorrow.” He gave Kate a quick kiss
and made a return trip up the stairs.

Chapter
Eight

Kate forced herself awake. Her worlds had
tumbled together, and she tried to make sense of it. Tyson was at
the canyon when he should be in Ohio. Present day Anna helped trick
him and get him back to the boardinghouse.

Where exactly am I?
Looking around at
sky blue walls adorned with magnificent butterflies calmed her. She
was home in Ohio. As she lay in bed, she reviewed everything that
happened at the canyon. She knew Tyson would want to talk about his
dream, and she wanted to hear what he had to say. She needed a plan
that didn’t appear too obvious she was looking for him. The car
needed washing. Hopefully she’d catch him outside. He might visit
her on the deck, like he often does, but she couldn’t count on
that. Call him? No, might seem like she was thinking about him.

Kate threw on a bathing suit top and a pair
of cut offs and opted for the car wash. She rarely washed any car,
but thought she’d say she’s trying to convince her parents to give
her the car now that she wasn’t going away to school. Making a
bucket of soapy water in the kitchen, she grabbed a sponge and
headed for the garage. Tyson needed to be shooting hoops in his
drive for the plan to work. As the garage door slowly rose, Kate
heard a bouncing ball like she hoped she would.

Acting nonchalant, she backed the car out of
the garage and carried the bucket out to the driveway. Soap suds
sloshed out of the bucket and onto the ground, but Kate continued
to act like she knew what she was doing. Throwing the sponge on the
hood of the car she began to push it around.

“First you need to hose it down.” She heard a
voice from across the street.

“What?”

“Hose? The thing water comes out of?” Tyson
was now crossing the road. “Give the car a little water before you
wash it. You’re not very good at this, are you?” He entered the
garage and pulled the hose out to the car. Aiming it straight at
Kate, he said, “Now go turn it on.”

“I thought you were going to squirt me!” she
squealed as she ran into the garage.

“I don’t think I ever saw you wash a car.”
Water gushed out of the hose, and Tyson sprayed the car.

“I’m trying to improve my chances of owning
this.” Kate patted the hood.

“Good idea.”

The pair made idle conversation as they
worked. Kate searched for a way to bring up the dream. She was
surprised he didn’t say a thing about it. They were on the drying
stage, and time was ticking.

“Boy, I had a strange dream last night,” Kate
finally said.

“Hey, I did, too. You were in it.”

“Really, what were we doing?”

“I think I was at the Grand Canyon. You came
and took me to dinner. We were served something really
strange...apple pie and gravy.”

“Yuk! Did we eat it?”

“I ate the pie, and then you disappeared.
Drew came out of the kitchen with some giant guy carrying a knife.
Drew ended up chasing me all the way back to an old house.”

“Wow, isn’t that how dreams always turn out?
Start off making sense and then turn into something bizarre.”

“Yeah, I guess you’re right, but it felt
really real.” He rubbed the side of his head.

“I know what you mean.” Kate tried to be as
agreeable as possible and not have Tyson question the dream. He
didn’t mention bumping his head in the dream, and she realized his
head still hurt from that. Hopefully, she’d get the book back, and
this would be over.

“Aren’t you ambitious today? I’m surprised
you’re washing the car.” Kate’s dad walked out of the garage.
“Hello, Tyson.”

“Hey, Mr. Roberts. Just showing Katie how
it’s done.”

“Looks great. The car might end up being
yours after all.” Her dad raised his coffee mug at her like he
could read her mind. “Coming in? We have some college planning to
do.”

“Yeah, in a minute. Thanks for the help, Ty.
When are you leaving for school?”

“A little earlier than I thought. I’m helping
Erin move into her apartment. I’ll stay with her until freshman
orientation. So I’ll only be here for a few more days.”

“Oh, you’re leaving this week.” Kate did a
celebration cheer in her head. “This is it then. We’re all going
our separate ways.”

“Don’t make it sound so final.” Tyson tossed
his towel on the car. “I’ll be back for Thanksgiving and the
preseason basketball game.”

“True. So you’re not coming back till
then?”

“Not planning on it. Going to be working out
with the team and studying.”

“Yeah, right.”

“Okay, maybe a little partying thrown in
there. You and Drew should come down and visit sometime.”

“We’ll see. We have school, too, you know.”
Kate hugged him quickly and ran in the house.

Drew and her dad were standing in the kitchen
on guard like they were waiting to hear her scream and come to the
rescue.

“Drew, thanks for not coming out.” Kate put
her arms around his waist, resting her head on his chest.

“I knew what you were up to. I hope it
worked.”

“Yeah, he thinks he was dreaming. The gravy
and knife wielding man helped put him over the edge.” Kate giggled
as she pictured the scene in her head. “Dad, if you could have seen
Anna and Thomas. They were so believable. Anna offered to pour
gravy on Ty’s apple pie.”

“Quick thinking on all your parts. Now if we
had the book in our possession, this could be over.”

“Oh, I almost forgot. Tyson said he’s leaving
early for school, the end of the week. I’ll go over after he leaves
and find it. I don’t think he’d take the book with him.”

Kate hoped this would end it. They had more
important things to think about. At the canyon everyone was
preparing for Lucinda and Henry’s wedding in September. Daniel
Jenkins would return from his cattle drive, and Anna would see him
for the first time that weekend. Kate needed to help her friend
during the wedding weekend. Anna wasn’t looking forward to it
because she knew how hurt Lucinda would be when she saw Daniel and
Anna together.

Anna was a young girl so in love at the time
she didn’t notice Lucinda’s pain. Since Lucinda was getting married
to someone else, Anna assumed Lucinda was over Daniel. Kate was the
only witness to all the heartache. Maya kept telling them “what
will be, will be”, and Anna believed it at the time.

Now a much older and wiser Anna was attending
the wedding, hoping to ease a little of Lucinda’s pain. She knew
she couldn’t alter history, but there might be something she could
do.

In the present, Kate and Drew had books to
buy and needed to get ready for fall semester. Her head spun with
the details of her two lives. She knew she had to concentrate on
one thing at a time. The first on her to-do list was to get the
book back from Tyson, and that’s what she planned to do. No matter
the cost.

* * * *

“The strangest thing happened at work today,
Kathryn.” Lucinda helped Kate slip on her bridesmaid’s dress for
the final fitting. “A young man, very handsome by the way, was at
my station for lunch asking if I knew a Katie Roberts.”

Kate’s heart began to pound. “And what did
you say?”

“I said I didn’t know anyone by that name or
Drew Kelly either. He didn’t seem satisfied by my answers. Looked
at me as if I was lying.” Lucinda cupped her hand over her mouth.
“I’d never lie, would I?”

That was a hard question for Kate to answer
since she knew Lucinda was marrying someone she settled for instead
of admitting her true feelings for Daniel Jenkins. The love she
felt for her great-great aunt won over, and she answered, “No, you
never would.”

“Then he said he hoped I wouldn’t serve him
apple pie and gravy. I think he was a little touched in the head,
if you know what I mean.”

“Crazy?”

“Well, I was trying to be kind, but yes,
crazy.”

“I’m sure you won’t be seeing him again. Now
what do you think?” Kate twirled around in her dress.

“Lovely, like I thought you would be.” The
girls embraced. “Bring the dress to my room whenever you’re
ready.”