Timebound (34 page)

“And buying you some extra time to grab a weapon, although I don’t know if she realized that,” Connor added. “I just hope that slimy bastard is in a world of pain today.”

The floral arrangement from Trey’s dad arrived later in the afternoon. It was beautiful—white lilies, lavender roses, and purple alstroemeria, with clusters of tiny white baby’s breath. I hoped Katherine would eventually see it, and I was glad that there would, at least within this house, be some reminders of my relationship with Trey. Even though every little memento would hurt like hell, that still seemed better than what he was facing—no memories at all.

The flowers were followed within minutes by the delivery of a large hatbox. It contained a rather elaborate green bonnet, which I’d quite liked the idea of traveling without. So with the last of my costume in hand, we set a firm departure time of 6
P.M
. and the three of us began final preparations for my jump.

An emerald-green parasol lay on the bed, next to the black handbag that Katherine had carried on her last CHRONOS trip. The bag was about forty years out of fashion for a trip to 1893, but it would have to do, as it contained several hidden pockets that would come in handy. I couldn’t carry luggage, since I would emerge within the fairgrounds and there were no hotels on the premises. So the purse was stuffed with my spending money (all pre-1893, a coin collector’s dream), one of the diaries, a vintage map of the Exposition, a hairbrush, a toothbrush and toothpaste, a tiny first-aid kit, a flask of water, and four energy bars.

Connor’s inner Katherine had balked at several items in the bag, noting correctly that they were not historically appropriate, but this wasn’t a typical research mission and I might not be able to stand in line for hours to get food or drink. I cut several paper bags from Whole Foods into rectangles so that I could wrap the energy bars in plain brown paper—they’d probably get hard, but at least I wouldn’t starve. And I wasn’t traveling without a toothbrush if I might have to stay overnight, even if that toothbrush
was
made of sparkly pink plastic.

At a few minutes after five, I went into the bathroom to change into my undergarments. Trey waited outside so that he could help me lace the corset. I felt a bit awkward when I walked back into the bedroom, even though far more of my body was exposed by the shorts and tank tops I usually wore than by the yards of white silk and lace in which I was now enveloped.

He raised an appreciative eyebrow and smiled as he took me by the shoulders, then turned me around to begin pulling the laces together. He didn’t cinch it as tightly as Katherine had, but
I thought it was tight enough that the dress would fit. When he was done with the laces, he lifted my hair and pushed it over one shoulder, pressing his lips against the nape of my neck and adding several more very gentle kisses down my back until he reached the lace edge of the camisole. His breath was warm against my skin and I locked my knees to keep from melting into a gooey puddle on the floor.

“Promise me,” Trey said, very softly, as he turned me around to face him, “that one day, I will have the pleasure of
un
lacing this contraption. I can see why you’re not too happy with it, but there is something to be said for opening a gift very slowly.”

I smiled up at him with a hopeful look. “You could just unlace it now?”

“No can do, pretty girl,” he said, shaking his head. He sat down on the edge of the bed and pulled me onto his lap. “You have a job to finish. First, you’re going to stay away from tall, dark strangers at the fair, especially ones who time travel.” I blushed a bit at the veiled reference to Kiernan, but nodded. “I’d also prefer that you stay away from the guy who ran that World’s Fair Hotel.”

“No worries there,” I said. “I’m going to have enough on my hands trying to prevent one murder, without taking on a serial killer. If I
have
to stay overnight, I’ll follow Katherine’s lead and catch a cab to the Palmer House.”

“Okay—next, you’re going to save Katherine and come right back here. And finally, you’re going to
find me.
That shouldn’t be too hard, even if I’m not at Briar Hill.”

I held back the tears that were burning my eyes. “It won’t matter, Trey. You won’t know me.”

“Correct,” he said, and then flashed me a big grin.

“Then why are you smiling?”

“Because I know somethin’ you don’ know.”

“And what is that?” My lips twitched, both at the
Princess Bride
reference and at the fact that I’d walked straight into his joke. “I already
know
you’re not left-handed.”

“It comes to this,” he continued, the smile fading but never quite leaving his eyes. “I’ve been thinking pretty hard about the weeks since we met and I’m almost certain that I fell in love with you the moment you opened your eyes, right there on the floor in trig class. So does it really matter? You do what you have to do in 1893—I’m not even going to think about the possibility of you failing, because you won’t fail—and then you
find
me.”

“And exactly what am I supposed to say when I find you, Trey Coleman?”

He laughed. “Don’t say anything. Or say, ‘Wrong class,’ like you did the first time. It won’t make a bit of difference what you say. Smile at me, flip me onto my back with one of your wicked ninja moves, and then kiss me—even if I forget every single thing about you, I’m a guy, Kate. Believe me, I’m not going to push you away.”

“Maybe not… but you’ll think I’m crazy.”

He shrugged and kissed my nose. “Thought you were crazy that first day, too, but I’m still here, right?”

I couldn’t argue with that, and even if I’d had a viable argument, I couldn’t bear the thought of taking the little glimmer of hope from his eyes.

The spare CHRONOS medallion was shining, bright and blue, on the nightstand. I tucked it into the lined, hidden pocket near the bottom of my petticoat, and then Trey helped me into the dark green dress and the annoying boots. We even managed to get my hair into an orderly, if not ornate, chignon and I arranged the bonnet on top.

It looked a bit ridiculous to me.

Trey, of course, said that I looked perfect—although something in his eyes told me he was still envisioning me in the white
corset and petticoats that he knew were underneath. He fastened the bracelet that Katherine had given me around my wrist. The charm matched the dress perfectly—the ivory lace and green silk echoing the hues of the pearls and jade that formed the hourglass.

Connor was sitting in the kitchen when we came downstairs. He had been looking more and more uneasy about the entire jump as the day progressed. Judging from his expression when we walked in, I suspected that he had a full list of last-minute concerns to tick off. He glanced at the outfit and nodded once, however, which seemed to mean that I passed inspection, and then he turned toward Trey.

“Do you mind if Kate and I talk… privately? For just a moment? I hate to ask, but…”

Trey shook his head, although he looked a bit concerned. “No problem, Connor. Daphne’s on the patio. We’ll toss the Frisbee for a while.” He leaned over and gave me a quick kiss on the cheek and then headed out the back door.

Connor watched him as he walked out. “He seems in a better mood than last night.”

“I guess. What’s up?” Connor didn’t answer for a moment. I don’t know if he expected some private confession from me about why Trey’s mood had improved, but I just raised an eyebrow and waited until he finally spoke.

“You don’t have to do this, Kate. We’ll find another way. You’re taking an awful risk and it just doesn’t seem… right, to let you go.”

I smiled at him and walked over to the coffeepot. It was still warm, so I poured the remainder into a mug. “If you were going to go all protective on me, Connor, couldn’t you have done it before we buttoned up these horrid shoes? And the hair? And—”

“I’m serious, Kate.”

I sat down beside him and squeezed his hand. “I know you are, Connor. But what choice do we have, really? I’m not willing to give up my entire family.”

He motioned toward the backyard with his head. “And what about Trey? It’s pretty obvious how you feel, Kate—and he’s been head over heels since the first day you dragged him in the door. Are you willing to give him up?”

Having spent half the day either crying or fighting down tears, I wasn’t a bit surprised to feel them rising to the surface again. “Again, do I have a choice, Connor? And maybe Trey is right. He’s convinced himself that this won’t matter—that I’ll find him and we’ll be together. I’ll just have a few memories that he doesn’t.”

“I’m not trying to make things harder on you, Kate, it’s just—” He broke off and looked down at the table, his thumbnail tracing a groove in the wood along the edge. “Katherine tell you about my kids?”

I nodded.

“I’ve always wished I had known what was coming—even if I couldn’t prevent it, I could have prepared, said good-bye, you know?” He gave me a rueful smile. “But I didn’t get the option.”

He sighed and pulled an envelope out of his pocket. “Don’t get mad at Trey—all he did was give him the address—he doesn’t even know this arrived. It was Katherine’s decision not to show it to you—said she didn’t see the point in upsetting you. She was probably right, but… maybe you should know…” He pushed the letter toward me.

It was typewritten, but I recognized the signature at the bottom instantly.

Kate,

I remembered the name Briar Hill from the ID you showed me. I didn’t remember your friend’s last name, but fortunately there was only one Trey and one of the math teachers at Briar Hill located him for me. Trey gave me your address, but made it crystal clear that I’d better not hurt you again.

I never meant to hurt you at all, Kate. I hope you can understand my reaction. A lot of what you told me seems too incredible to believe, but I am convinced that you’re my daughter or at least the daughter I would have had, if I’d ever known your mother.

If you decide that this timeline is where you belong, please call me. Do you need help? Do you need money, a place to stay? I want to know you—at the very least, maybe we can be friends?

Please call. Or write. I don’t know how I’ll explain this to Emily or the boys, but we’ll find a way to make it work.

By the time I reached the end, tears were pouring down my face in a steady stream. At the bottom, I could see where he’d started to sign
Harry,
but he’d crossed it out. Instead, he had added the same signature I’d seen at the bottom of every birthday card, postcard, and note he’d ever written to me—
Dad.

Connor looked uncomfortable. “I’m sorry, Kate. Maybe it wasn’t a good idea to show you… I just…”

I could hear Trey laughing in the backyard, telling Daphne she’d made a good catch. Part of me wanted to view the letter as an omen, a sign that I should reconsider. But I shook my head.

“No, Connor, you were right to show me. Thank you. It makes me feel good to know for certain that my dad is a good person in any timeline. I kind of knew it already—I could tell he wasn’t trying to hurt me—but it’s nice to see that he wants to… be there for me, at least as much as he can be.”

I leaned back in my chair and shook my head. “But this letter doesn’t change anything, Connor—we both know that. Even if Saul were to back off and wasn’t actively trying to kill me, I’d have to wear a medallion every time I walked out the door. So would you. My mom would still be gone and Katherine—your kids, too. And Harry still wouldn’t be
my
dad. My biological father, yeah—but not my
dad
. I’ll have all of my memories, but he…”

Connor glanced toward the door, and then quickly looked down at his feet. He didn’t say anything, but I could follow his train of thought—the same would be true of my relationship with Trey.

“I know, Connor—but I’ve had a month with Trey and nearly seventeen years with Dad. And Trey seems convinced that all I have to do is kiss him and we’ll magically be…
us
again.”

“Princess Charming, I presume?” He gave me a halfhearted grin. “The only problem is that
you
seem less convinced on that point than Trey.”

“Yeah, but letting him know that isn’t going to make it any easier on either of us, is it?” I glanced at the clock. Five-forty-eight. The six o’clock deadline was obviously fluid—I’d be arriving early on the morning of October 28th, 1893, no matter what time it happened to be when I left the library. But every minute I waited made it more likely that I would lose my nerve.

“I’ll meet you in the library in ten minutes, okay?” I gave him a shaky smile and walked to the back door, tucking the letter into my pocket.

Trey was seated on the low stone wall surrounding the patio, with his back to me. Daphne lay at his feet, happily chewing on the edge of her neon green Frisbee. The late-afternoon sun was low in the sky, and combined with the few remaining tears in my eyes, it created a soft golden aura around him. I stood there for a minute, just looking at him, wanting to cement this in my memory. He turned toward me and smiled, and I had to fight back a fresh wave of tears.