Winds of Time
Page 1
WINDS OF TIME
Mail-Order Brides/Time Travel Series, Book 3
Written by Zoe Matthews
and
Jade Jensen
Copyright © 2016
All rights reserved
No part of this publication may be copied or reproduced in any format, by any means, electronic or otherwise, without prior consent from the copyright owner and publisher of this book.
This is a work of fiction. All characters, names, places and events are the product of the author's imagination and used fictitiously.
Contents
Chapter 1
Chapter 2
Chapter 3
Chapter 4
Chapter 5
Chapter 6
Chapter 7
Chapter 8
Chapter 9
Chapter 10
Chapter 11
Chapter 12
Chapter 13
Chapter 14
Chapter 15
Chapter 16
Chapter 17
Chapter 18
Epilogue
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Chapter 1
Fall, 1893
On a bright fall morning, Nicky looked down at the beautifully simple dress she was wearing for her wedding. It was long-sleeved and mostly lace, with a high collar, and intricate designs in the bodice. Other than the lace and the designs, there weren’t any other fancy frills. It was amazing to Nicky that she could dream and plan a wedding for the 21st century her entire life, and that dream could change in a couple of months because of one man. She wouldn't change one thing about their wedding. It was simple, small, and entirely focused on their love for each other, not decorations and catering.
Victoria poked her head through the door of her room with a wide smile on her face. "Everyone is ready!"
Nicky couldn't hold in her squeal of delight. "Okay, I will be right in!"
Colleen, who had been practicing scattering rose petals, ran over. "Don't forget, you said I could go first! Can I go now?" She may have been just as excited as Nicky was about the wedding.
"Yes, go ahead and drop those petals down the aisle!" Nicky smiled at her. The girl was out of the door before Nicky could even finish her sentence.
Nicky counted to ten and then opened the door. She walked down the short hall to the ceremony room and looked through the doorway. Just as she had predicted, Colleen was almost down the aisle. She was clearly too excited to lay the petals down slowly. Out of the corner of her eye, she saw Shaun's family, Victoria and Collins, and a few of the people from town that Shaun had gotten to know well over the years.
But her main focus was Shaun. He was watching Colleen with a fond smile and hadn't noticed Nicky yet. Despite the distraction Colleen was providing, Nicky could tell Shaun was a little nervous. Then he glanced at the doorway and Nicky saw all his muscles relax. A radiant smile spread across his face. She responded in kind and stepped fully into the doorway. All heads turned to her now that she was in full view.
As she had many times in the last few weeks, she felt an overwhelming peace at her decision to stay and marry Shaun. She knew they would be happy together for as long as they lived.
***
Bridget watched almost enviously as Nicky walked down the aisle towards her brother, Shaun. She noticed that Shaun didn’t take his eyes off of Nicky for even a second and the look on his face told everyone how much he loved her. Tears came to Bridget’s eyes, incredibly happy that Shaun had found someone he loved so much. After things didn't work out with his last fiancé, he had been going through life in a haze. Since Nicky had decided to stay in their time and live on their ranch, Bridget had never seen him happier.
Shaun’s daughter, Colleen, stood next to him, hardly able to contain her excitement about the proceedings. She was finally going to have a mother. Colleen stood still, but Bridget could tell she was shaking with excitement inside because she couldn’t quite keep her arms and hands still.
Bridget looked at her sister-in-law, Kimberly, out of the corner of her eye. She stood next to Bridget, a huge smile on her face. Of course Kimberly is happy, Bridget thought to herself. Her best friend from the future was marrying her husband’s younger brother from his time, 1893.
Bridget’s mind drifted for a moment as she thought about the events that had happened in her family over the last year-and-a-half. Her oldest brother, Patrick, had decided he wanted to get married and start a family. So, he had made the four-hour trip from their family ranch that was located deep in the Rocky Mountains to the nearest city, Denver, Colorado. That was when he met with an older woman, Victoria Hilton, who ran a mail-order bride business out of her home. Patrick placed an ad for a wife through Victoria. Unbeknownst to Patrick, Victoria had access to two golden keys. They were simple objects, and yet, they had changed the lives of her whole family. It might come as a surprise to the average person, but these keys enabled Victoria to travel to whatever time she wished.
After experimenting and using the keys for quite a few years while she was married to her late husband, Charles, she made the decision to secretly place Patrick’s ad in a newspaper from the future, in 2005. Kimberly found the ad. Thinking it was a joke, she answered it, and was shocked when she had actually received a personal acknowledgment. Over the next few months, she wrote to Patrick, still not realizing that he was actually from 1892. Kimberly was surprised to find that she was falling in love with him just through their letters, and decided she wanted to meet him.
When Victoria told Kimberly the truth about where Patrick was from, Kimberly decided to take a chance on her own future, and used one of Victoria’s keys to travel back to Patrick’s time. She stayed on their ranch with the idea of getting to know Patrick. Over the next month, Patrick fell in love with Kimberly, and they soon married.
Nicky Foster was Kimberly’s best friend from the future. She was able to come back in time to Kimberly's wedding and had instantly felt a spark with Shaun. She spent the next winter exchanging letters with Shaun using the keys to get the letters back and forth from her time to his. When Nicky found out that Kimberly was expecting a baby, she used one of the keys to travel back in time. She wanted to help Kimberly with her pregnancy and labor, but she also wanted to get to know Shaun better. Over the ensuing weeks, Shaun and Nicky had fallen in love. And now they were marrying.
“I now pronounce you man and wife,” Bridget heard the minister say through her musings. “You may now kiss the bride.”
Bridget shook her head slightly and forced her thoughts about the keys out of her head so she could focus on the wedding. She needed to stop feeling sorry for herself. She was very happy for both of her brothers because they’d been able to find love and start a family, but deep down she admitted that she wanted the same for herself. They both had such hard heads and it had taken many years for them to find someone they loved. Even through all her happiness, she couldn’t help the pang of loneliness that rang through her. Both of her brothers were married, and most of her friends from town were married with children as well. Even Victoria had recently married to her former butler, Collins. Bridget longed for a family of her own.
Shaun kissed Nicky long and hard and didn’t stop until everyone started to clap. Shaun pulled away with a sheepish look on his face, but then placed another soft kiss on Nicky’s lips. Bridget glanced at her clasped hands in her lap and wondered if she would ever experience a kiss like what she had just witnessed.
The wedding guests started to move out of the chapel and into a small room that was used for gatherings. Food had been set up for everyone to enjoy and the guests started to fill their plates with cold fried chicken, potato salad, and wedding c
ake. Bridget had helped prepare the food. She loved to cook and bake, and she enjoyed making many different types of dishes. In fact, that was the main reason she always told herself as to why she stayed on the ranch instead of moving to the city. She felt she needed to take care of her brothers. She just knew that if they didn’t have anyone to cook for them, they’d starve to death.
But now both Patrick and Shaun were married. Her youngest brother, Keegan, enjoyed going to school and wanted to become a doctor someday. Because of this, Patrick had arranged for him to spend his winters living with Victoria and Collins while he finished his schooling. He was only 16 years old, but Bridget knew Keegan planned to go to a medical school in the East as soon as he was done with the local school in Denver.
Kimberly and Nicky helped with the chores around the ranch so much, there almost wasn’t enough for Bridget to do. She thrived off being able to help those she loved and no longer felt her help was needed. She envisioned what it would be like to have a husband and children of her own. She could help her husband with his chores and her own children with their schooling. She smiled sadly that she hadn’t found that for herself yet.
“Aunt Bridget.” She heard her name being called and turned. Colleen ran towards her. “Did you see how well I scattered the rose petals on the floor? They were so pretty.”
Bridget mentally shook herself again and pasted a smile on her face. She would have many moments in the future during which she could feel sorry for herself. Right now, she wanted to enjoy this moment as it was supposed to be a happy one. She also didn’t want to ruin the day for Nicky or Shaun, as she knew they would feel bad if they knew how hard this was for her.
“Yes, you did a wonderful job,” she told the beaming girl.
Scattering rose petals was a tradition that Nicky had brought back with her from the future. Bridget had silently scoffed when she had heard that Nicky wanted to pull off the petals from several roses from Victoria’s beautiful gardens. Nicky wanted Colleen to be her “flower girl” and to scatter the petals in the aisle just before Nicky herself walked down the path towards Shaun. Bridget had to admit the fragrance of the petals added to the ceremony, along with their colors of red, pink, and yellow.
“I’m going to do the same when I get married. It’s soooo romantic,” Colleen declared as she waved her arms in the air. “Can I be your flower girl when you get married?”
Bridget was startled at Colleen’s question because she had just been wondering if she would ever get married. She recovered quickly and did her best to keep her voice happy. “Yes. If I marry, you can scatter rose petals.”
“I’m going to get some lemonade,” Colleen announced and bounced off towards the large punch bowl.
Bridget checked to make sure there was enough food for everyone to eat before filling her own plate. She wasn’t very hungry, but knew she needed to eat since she hadn’t had breakfast that morning. After getting the food she wanted, she looked for a chair to sit on, and found one that had been set up a few feet away from her family members. She claimed the chair, wanting a few moments to herself, but it wasn’t to be. A few minutes later, Kimberly pulled a chair closer to Bridget and sat down, holding three-month-old Katherine, one of her twin babies, in her arms. Bridget noted that the baby was asleep.
“I sure hope Kathy sleeps for a while,” Kimberly commented as she leaned back in the chair with a sigh. She closed her eyes for a moment and then opened them, looking at Bridget with a twinkle in her eyes.
“It was a beautiful wedding, wasn’t it?” Kimberly asked happily. “I’m so glad Nicky is going to be here for good.”
Bridget nodded her head in agreement. “It was beautiful.”
She knew Kimberly was very close to Nicky, like a sister. Kimberly’s parents were killed when she was a teenager in some type of accident, and Nicky’s parents finished raising her. Bridget envied their close friendship. She was close to her three brothers, Patrick more than Shaun or Keegan, but as she watched Kimberly and Nicky together this past summer, she realized that also having a sister would have been nice.
Of course, she now had two sisters since both Patrick and Shaun were married, but for some reason, she had a hard time letting herself get close to either of them. She didn’t know why. Kimberly and Nicky always included her in whatever they did or talked about. They never made her feel like they didn’t want her around. Kimberly enjoyed working in the garden with her and helped can fruits and vegetables for winter. Nicky was determined to learn how to cook on the black stove in the large cabin and insisted that Bridget teach her everything she knew about how to use it. In the evenings when the family gathered in the living room, Bridget was always included in whatever Kimberly and Nicky were talking about. But she still couldn’t let herself get close to them.
Bridget listened silently as Kimberly chattered about the wedding, making sure she nodded her head at the appropriate times. She saw Patrick standing by the food table holding a glass of fine Champagne up in the air. Everyone stopped talking and gave their attention to him.
“I would like to make a toast,” Patrick announced. He waited while Collins walked around the room, handing out Champagne glasses to every adult who wanted one. When he was finished, he stood next to Victoria with his own glass.
“It’s still hard to believe that I watched my younger brother get married today. He can be one of the most stubborn men alive, but I’m sure I don’t have to tell most of you that.”
The people in the room chuckled and nodded their heads.
“Despite that, I know he deserves having a bride as beautiful as Nicky. I don’t know anyone more loyal or hardworking than Shaun. I am positive that these two will have a lovely marriage and beautiful children. Congratulations, you two.”
With that, Patrick raised his glass and took a big swallow. After everyone had emptied their glasses, Collins walked around and gathered them while Shaun and Nicky prepared to leave. Bridget knew that Patrick’s wedding present to them was a two-night stay at a nearby hotel.
Bridget heard a loud cry and saw that Colleen was holding Katherine’s twin brother, Richard, and attempting to soothe him. “Let me have Kathy and you can take care of Richie,” Bridget suggested.
“Thanks,” Kimberly replied as she slid the sleeping baby into Bridget’s arms. “Richie is probably hungry.”
Bridget held Kathy close to her and spent a few moments watching the infant sleep. She wondered if she would ever have a little girl of her own. Maybe it was time to make some changes in her life.
Chapter 2
“Let’s go,” Shaun whispered to Nicky after she gave Victoria one last hug. She nodded her head in agreement and allowed Shaun to lead her out of the church building. One of Victoria’s fine carriages was waiting for them and Shaun helped her inside before climbing in. He clicked his tongue to the horses and soon they were moving down the street towards one of the fanciest hotels in Denver.
Nicky looked around at the businesses that lined the street as the carriage moved slowly by. She acknowledged that everything looked very different from the Denver she knew in her time. It reminded her of the black-and-white photos she had seen at museums. She could almost see the snapshots that could be taken. Shaun took her hand in his own and squeezed.
“Happy?” he questioned with a smile.
“Very,” Nicky responded. “The wedding was beautiful. Victoria did a great job. I’m so grateful for everyone’s help.”
“Victoria was in her element. I know she would have preferred to have the wedding at her home, but the church building worked just as well.”
Nicky nodded, thinking of the large Victorian home the older woman lived in with Collins. The same home was still standing in Nicky’s time and was considered a historical site. “How long do we have before we need to go back to the ranch?”
“We have three days. I wanted to take a longer honeymoon, but I really need to get back. I have a buyer coming to look at a couple of my horses at the end of the week.”
“Do you think you will miss anything about your time?” Shaun asked with some concern in his voice.
Nicky shrugged. She was used to the question, but answered seriously and honestly, as she knew he still needed the reassurance that she didn’t want to go back to her time.
“Of course there will be things I miss. Our time periods are very different. I think I will miss my family the most. I really regret not talking to my parents before I left, but I’m not sure what the best way would have been to handle it.”
“Maybe you can exchange letters with your brother, like we did,” Shaun suggested. “We’d have to make a trip to the cave to do so, but I wouldn’t mind helping you with that. Although, Patrick and Kimberly do need to agree to this arrangement. After all, they own the keys now.”
Nicky felt pleased that Shaun understood her feelings about her family. “I wondered if that would be an option with the threat that Golin made. I wasn’t sure if it would be wise to continue using the keys.” She frowned as she thought about the man who’d tried to get the two keys from them just a few weeks before. He hadn’t succeeded, and they soon learned he had his own key that he used to transport himself from his time in the medieval era to 1893.