by Zoe Matthews
Golin had shown up at their ranch pretending to be an uncle from Ireland and had tried to steal the keys. Perhaps because of the key he already had, he had found out about the two keys Victoria had in her possession. When Patrick had figured out his true intentions, he had sent Golin back to his own time, using his own key.
As they had talked with Victoria and Collins, they found out that he had also been to her house, and created a huge mess as he searched for the keys. He’d even left Victoria a threatening note when he’d been unable to find them. Everyone had agreed that they needed a safe hiding spot for the keys and had chosen a cave a few miles from their ranch.
Nicky felt the carriage slow and then stop in front of a hotel. She would guess it was twice as big as the main family cabin, and it had a second story. The red brick and framing of the porch displayed a rustic country style while the large windows in front gave evidence that it was a comfortable, clean place to stay in.
Shaun helped her down as a bellhop took their bags inside. It didn’t take long for them to be signed in and found themselves standing inside a simple, yet beautiful, hotel room. The main focus of the room was an iron-framed bed with a gorgeous white blanket draped over it. There was a beautifully carved desk and chair on the opposite wall that had some stationary, pens, and an oil lamp that sat on top. On the far wall was a window framed with white lace curtains. A couple feet in front of that sat a blue loveseat with a decorative pillow on it that made it look perfect for relaxing.
The bellhop opened the curtains and Nicky walked over to see the view. After Shaun tipped the boy and he left, shutting the door behind him, Shaun turned to her.
“Are you hungry? We could go down to the dining room for dinner.”
Nicky shook her head. “I’m still full from that huge meal Victoria prepared.”
Shaun smiled at her. “Maybe we can come up with something else to do,” he said as he took her into his arms.
Nicky slid her arms around his neck. “I love you very much, Shaun Callaghan. Thanks for coming to get me.”
“I love you too, Nicky Callaghan,” Shaun said as he gave her a light kiss. “Thanks for coming back with me.”
****
Medieval Times, Ireland, 1570
(Right after Patrick sent Golin back to his own time)
Golin landed with a hard thump, face first on the ground. After a moment he groaned and turned over, spitting out the dirt that had ended up in his mouth. He groaned again as he realized his hands were still tied behind his back. How was he going to get his hands loose? With a struggle, he sat up and looked around, pleased that the key had taken him to the time and place in which he wanted to go. He was at the river in Ireland, the exact place where he had first found the key. As far as he knew, no one in his time period came to this spot regularly, so he had plenty of time to figure out how to untie his hands.
He spent some time trying to get his hands loose and sighed with relief as he felt the ropes stretch. Soon he was able to slide one hand, and then the other, through the loop. Once he was freed, he picked up the rope and threw it into the river in anger. Then he sat down on the river bank to think about what he was going to do next.
He was very angry that the Callaghan’s had bested him. He really thought his ploy of pretending to be a long-lost uncle would work, at least long enough to get those two keys Victoria Hilton owned. He remembered that he had seen them sitting on a small table in the living room of the cabin when all the family members had left him alone for a few minutes. He wished he had just taken them the moment he’d seen them. It would have been so satisfying to see their faces as he disappeared to his own time right in front of them.
He picked up a rock and threw it into the river. When that did nothing to quell his anger, he continued to throw many rocks and stones into the water. Finally, after his anger was spent, he did his best to settle down. He needed to think about what to do next. Maybe he should just travel back to the Callaghan’s ranch right then. Deciding that was a good idea, he pulled his key out of his pocket and tried to use it to travel back to the ranch, but surprisingly it didn’t work. The key wasn’t even vibrating like it usually did when he held it in his hands. Why wouldn’t it work?
He tried it again, specifically thinking about the outhouse that he had used that was located just outside the large cabin, but again, nothing happened. Golin started to panic and clutched the key in his hands. Then he remembered something that had happened a few years ago. He had time traveled to the Roman time period, interested in learning about their lifestyle, when he dropped right in the middle of a huge battle. Just in time, he was able to use the key to leave, right before a Roman soldier lifted a spear to kill him. It had taken a few days before the key had worked properly then. Maybe that was what happened this time. When he used the key to remove himself from danger, it needed some time to recover.
Golin stood and started the walk towards his small cottage that was located at the edge of his village, a few miles away from the river. He had a few days to kill, which he would use to figure out what his next move would be. He didn’t know what he was going to do, but he was convinced that the Callaghan family had declared war on him, and he would respond in kind. The next time he paid them a visit, he wouldn’t be as nice. He would do whatever he needed to get those keys. They belonged to him.
Chapter 3
Fall, 2006
“Garrett, we need to leave for Grandma’s birthday party in a few minutes. Are you ready?” Justin shouted upstairs to his ten-year-old son.
“I’m almost ready, Dad,” Garrett called back. “I just want to get the soccer trophy I earned. I want to show Grandpa.”
Justin grinned and sat down on his favorite chair, a huge stuffed recliner, to wait for Garrett. As he waited, he smiled again as he thought of his son. As he often did, he said a prayer, feeling very grateful that Garrett was in his life, something that almost hadn’t happened. When Justin was a Senior in high school, he had gotten his girlfriend pregnant with Garrett. Unfortunately, she hadn’t wanted to marry him, and she hadn’t wanted to raise a baby. She had wanted to give their baby up for adoption. Justin had a huge fight on his hands, doing everything he could to keep Garrett. Right before she gave birth to Garrett, she decided that Justin was sincere in wanting to keep their baby, so she had agreed to let Justin raise him. She even signed papers to give up any rights she had to the baby. They had stayed in touch for a few years. He sent her pictures of Garrett every few months, but around the time their son was four years old, the letters he sent to her started to come back to him unopened.
His parents helped quite a bit with Garrett for the first few years. He had lived with them and they had watched Garrett while Justin finished school and worked. Justin had been able to move out of his parents’ home and into his own townhouse when Garrett was two years old. He hadn’t needed to put Garrett in daycare because a video game that he had created had taken off, and he had made quite a bit of money from it. Since then, he had designed and created three other games. He figured he had the perfect job. He could work at home while Garrett was at school, and his video games had become very popular.
He heard thundering feet as Garrett ran down the stairs, his long arms and legs swinging as he almost tripped on the last stair. “I’m ready, Dad.”
“Do you have any homework you need to finish up for tomorrow?” Justin asked him as they headed outside of their townhouse, turning around to lock the door behind them. Garrett had just started fifth grade.
“Nope. I did it all when I got home from school. I even studied my spelling words.”
“Good,” Justin reached out to place a hand on Garrett’s shoulder, but his son was too excited to walk at Justin’s comfortable place. He ran ahead towards their car, his small trophy in his hand.
“Did you buy a present for Grandma?” Garrett asked after they strapped themselves in the car and Justin started to drive towards where his parents lived on the outskirts of Denver.
“N
o. You know that Grandma doesn’t want any gifts.”
“Oh,” Garrett sat back with a disappointed sigh.
“Why did you ask?” Justin questioned as he drove his car onto the freeway. He saw Garrett shrug his shoulders and then pulled a small piece of paper out of his pants pocket.
“I drew her a picture for her birthday. I guess she won’t want it.”
“She’ll definitely want a picture you drew just for her,” Justin assured him. “You made it special for her.”
Garrett smiled with relief and carefully folded the paper to put back in his pocket. He settled back against the car seat and watched as the scenery rushed passed them.
Justin sighed as he continued to drive towards his parents’ house. He thought of Nicky and wished she was riding with them right at that moment, like she would have been doing if she hadn’t traveled back through time to marry a man who lived in 1893.
He didn’t know what he was going to tell his parents, but he knew his mother wasn’t going to be very understanding of Nicky’s absence that evening. His mother had always been very insistent that no gifts be given to her for her birthdays, but she was equally insistent that both Nicky and Justin be present for her birthday dinner. In her mind, that was their birthday gift to her. Justin wasn’t looking forward to the evening. What was he going to tell his parents?
After a few minutes, he took the next freeway exit, and soon he pulled his car into his parents’ driveway.
“Let the games begin,” he muttered to himself.
Garrett ran up to the door and was soon inside. Justin forced himself to follow.
As he let himself into his parents’ house, he saw his mother give Garrett a hug before she sat back to admire the trophy.
“Douglas,” his mother called to her husband. “Justin and Garrett are here.”
“Is Nicky with them? Tell her I want to talk to her.” Justin heard his father call from the family room where he likely had been sitting in front of the TV watching his favorite program. He groaned at his father’s words.
“Where is Nicky?” his mother asked as she looked outside at his car as if hoping her daughter would suddenly appear. “Did she come with you?”
Justin shook his head. “I need to talk to you about where she is,” Justin said, knowing at that moment that he couldn’t lie to his parents. He had never been able to hide the truth from his mother when he’d been a young boy. What made him think he could hide it from her now? It was time to tell his parents where Nicky and Kimberly really were.
His mother’s eyes widened in concern. “Is she sick? Is that why we haven’t seen her lately? Maybe I should go over to her townhouse and see if she needs anything. I’ve tried to call her but she hasn’t returned any of my calls.”
Justin grabbed his mother’s arm as she walked towards their landline to make the call. “She isn’t sick, Mom. How about we eat your birthday dinner, and then I will tell you and Dad about where she is.”
“Is she okay? Please tell me she is okay. I’ve been so worried about her. She was so distant all last winter, and then she spent the entire summer on her own.”
“I promise, Nicky is doing fine,” Justin said to her.
His mother sighed with relief. She looked at him skeptically, but he could see that she decided not to pester him about it yet. “Dinner's almost ready. I just need someone to slice up the beef. Then we can eat.”
“I can do that,” Justin offered.
Soon the dinner was ready, and everyone sat around the small dining room table. Justin made himself enjoy the delicious meal his mother had prepared.
Later, after eating chocolate cake and ice cream, Justin gave Garrett permission to watch a new movie his grandpa had purchased for him.
“What do you need to tell us about Nicky, son?” his father asked after Garrett had left the room.
Justin waited until he could hear the movie start.
“There have been quite a few things that have been going on with both Nicky and Kimberly,” Justin admitted. “I have decided to just tell you both everything.”
“You said Nicky is okay,” his mother reminded him. “Are you telling us the truth?”
“Yes, Mom. They are both okay.” Justin sighed and rubbed a hand over his eyes. “What I have to tell you will take some time. Can you just listen? Then if you have any questions, I will answer them.”
Both of his parents nodded their heads. His father sat back in his chair and sipped a cup of coffee.
His mother leaned on her arms. “Just tell us,” she said, her voice shaking a bit, as if knowing she wasn’t going to like what Justin had to tell her.
“About a year ago last May, Kimberly saw an ad in the newspaper that looked strange to her because it looked so old-fashioned, almost as if it had come out of a paper that was printed in the late 1800s. It was an advertisement for a mail-order bride. She showed it to Nicky, who dared her to answer the ad as a joke, and Kimberly took her up on the dare. Nicky and I teased her about it, then thought nothing of it. She actually received a reply from a woman named Victoria Hilton a few days later. With Mrs. Hilton acting as intermediary, Kimberly started to exchange letters with a man named Patrick Callaghan.
“After they had written a few letters to each other, Kimberly decided she wanted to meet Patrick. At that time, Mrs. Hilton told Kimberly that the only way she would be able to meet him was to travel back to 1892.”
Justin paused to gauge their reactions. His dad gave him a blank stare, then cleared his throat. “Now, son, I’m starting to think that both Kimberly and Nicky are in some sort of trouble. Time travel, really? Is that the best story you could come up with?”
“I thought you were going to tell us the truth,” his mother added, tears in her eyes.
Justin sighed and ran his hands through his hair again. “Please, will you both just listen?”
After getting a short nod from his mother and nothing from his father, Justin continued. “Mrs. Hilton has in her possession two golden keys. They can be used to travel back in time, forward in time, or go to any place a person wants to go. At first Kimberly didn’t believe Mrs. Hilton, but eventually she agreed to use one of the keys and travel back in time to 1892. Evidently, this was the time period in which Mrs. Hilton really lived. To make a long story short, Kimberly traveled from our time to Patrick’s. He lives with his two younger brothers and a sister that is located deep in the Rocky Mountains. They raise cattle and horses. Kimberly and Patrick fell in love and they married at the end of June of last summer, after Kimberly agreed to stay and live in Patrick’s time. Kimberly wanted Nicky to attend her wedding.
“Mrs. Hilton has a butler named Collins who used a key to travel to our time to get Nicky. At that time, neither Nicky nor I knew where Kimberly had gone. Collins explained everything to Nicky and then took her back in time. She was able to witness Kimberly marry Patrick. She also became friends with Patrick’s younger brother, Shaun. Nicky came back to our time after Kimberly’s wedding, but she was somehow able to keep in touch with Kimberly and Shaun using the keys. They exchanged letters all last winter. She kept all of this a secret from me. I had no idea what was going on or that she had gone back in time. All I knew was that Kimberly had disappeared, then Nicky was acting strange, so I was very concerned. Early this past summer, she finally told me what was going on.
“Kimberly was pregnant and Nicky wanted to be there for the birth.” Justin took a deep breath. He knew this was a lot of information for his parents, and worried about its effect on his mom. She just sat with her hand over her mouth, and tears on her cheeks. She hadn’t even known Kimberly was married, let alone pregnant. Justin felt guilty that he wasn’t able to tell her in a happier way.
He forced himself to push that aside and finish his story. “So she used the key and traveled back in time to help Kimberly, with my knowledge. She planned to stay all summer, but I made her promise she would return before school started.
“She did return the beginning of August, b
ut a lot had changed while she’d been gone. Kimberly gave birth to twins, Nicky helped out, and one thing led to another… she and Shaun fell in love. After Nicky had been home for a few days in August, Shaun used one of the keys and came to our time to propose to her. We did bring him over to meet you, don’t you remember? Well... she went back with him just a week or so later.”
Justin sat back and waited for the onslaught of questions which weren’t long in coming.
“Can’t you think of a better story than that?” his father almost yelled at him.
“Now, dear. I know you make a living making up stories, but we’d prefer you just tell us the truth,” his mother cut in. “Something must be wrong if you are trying to make up something so… outlandish.”
