by Zoe Matthews
As Patrick said those words, Justin suddenly realized what he was trying to say. With the keys gone, they might be stuck in 1894, at least for the unforeseeable future. He sat back on his hands that sank into the soft dirt in shock.
“What does he mean by that, Dad?” Garrett whispered to him. “Do we get to stay here?”
“Shh,” Justin told his son. “Let me try to figure this out.”
“Mom? Dad?” Nicky questioned her parents, who hadn’t said a word since Patrick had made his announcement. “Do you understand what Patrick is saying?”
They nodded their heads numbly.
“I just hope the keys haven’t fallen into the wrong hands,” Victoria said. “And I don’t know what I am going to tell the Irish man. He will be expecting us to return the keys to him once we get back home.”
After a few more minutes of discussion, everyone agreed that they would help rebuild the barn. After that, if the keys didn’t turn up, everyone would make the four-hour horseback trip into Denver. Supplies needed to be purchased anyway, and maybe once they arrived at Victoria’s and Collin’s home, they would have some answers as to where the keys were.
After everyone else went off to perform their own chores, Bridget remained. Justin knew she watched him as he explained to Garrett what was going on. His son seemed surprisingly unconcerned that the keys that had brought them to 1894 were missing. Justin wasn’t sure if he understood the ramifications, but he seemed happy enough to be able to stay at the ranch for a few more days, with the promise of a horseback ride to Denver.
After he ran off to find Colleen, Justin looked at Bridget who sat down next to him. She didn’t say anything and Justin suddenly realized that his soul was connected to this woman. Maybe the connection between them had begun even before she wrote that first letter. Maybe the keys were more than time-travel devices. Maybe they connected people together through time.
Regardless, he was starting to see that even though both of them had plans for their own individual futures, the connection was real. Bridget opened her mouth to say something and Justin stopped whatever she was going to say and pulled her to him. He cupped her face and gave her a soft kiss. He wanted to deepen it but knew that very likely at least one of her brothers was watching.
“What was that for?” Bridget whispered.
“You can feel it, can’t you?” Justin asked her. “The connection between us?”
Bridget hesitated as if she didn’t want to admit it, but then nodded her head. “Yes, I feel it. But I don’t want…”
“It looks like I’m going to be here for awhile longer. I think we should explore these feelings. We’ve been fighting them long enough. It’s time to see what’s between us.”
“But what if…” Bridget started to say, but Justin placed another kiss on her lips.
“Let’s not worry about what the future might be, either in mine or in yours, at least for awhile. Let’s trust that whatever is meant to be will work itself out.”
Bridget’s face lit up and laughter escaped her lips, as if she was feeling so much happiness she couldn’t keep it in. She grabbed his face and gave him a firm kiss of her own.
“Yes, Justin. Let’s see what’s meant to be.”
Chapter 17
The next day, it seemed like half the Indian village showed up soon after the sun rose. By evening, the barn walls were up and the roof was almost completed. Colleen’s uncles were hard workers, and with the extra help of Justin and Doug, the barn was going up much faster than it had the first time they’d built it. It had been a wonderful day for Bridget. She had never been so happy. After her talk with Justin, she decided she would enjoy this extra time with him. She didn’t know what was going to happen. Who had the keys and where were they? One thing she did know was that her relationship with Justin deserved a chance.
Patrick cornered her in the kitchen just before she retired for the night the evening before. He had seen Justin kiss her and expressed his usual brotherly concern.
“Maybe the keys brought us together, like they did for you and Kimberly,” Bridget tried to explain. “I don’t know how it will end up between Justin and me, but I do know that we deserve a chance.”
“I just don’t want you to get hurt,” Patrick said as he put his arm around her.
“I am well aware of the consequences,” Bridget told him as she gave him a light kiss on his cheek. “Let me find out what will be.”
Patrick understood what she was trying to convey, but couldn’t say in words. After all, he had fallen in love with Kimberly. He knew what love was.
Shaun made arrangements for Colleen’s uncle, Running Deer, to care for the horses and other animals while the entire family made the trip into Denver. As soon as breakfast was cleared up, a lunch packed, and a horse saddled for each one of them, they left for Denver.
Even though it generally took four hours to travel to Denver, Bridget had always enjoyed the journey. They followed a path that ran along the river, the same river that ran at the edge of their ranch and continued deep into the mountains. About a mile before they arrived in Denver, the path forked right from the river and continued into the large city. The trip took about an hour longer than usual because Nicky’s family wasn’t used to horseback riding and they needed a few more breaks, along with eating the lunch that was prepared.
Bridget enjoyed Justin’s awe as they finally made it to the main street of Denver.
“Looks just like a western movie,” Justin commented to Nicky who smiled her agreement.
The horses and dirt streets were what gave the town the western feel. It was dirty, and smelled a little, but everyone was happy and kind, and seemed to just want to take their time walking down the streets. The shops were all wood, some painted and some not. Justin had never thought he would enjoy this atmosphere so much, but he found himself rather excited to spend some time exploring this town.
They were soon riding down a dirt path towards a large white Victorian home, and Bridget knew Justin recognized it as Victoria’s house, for it looked almost exactly as it did in 2007.
Everyone dismounted from the horses and all the men led them to a large barn located behind the house. Meanwhile, Victoria invited everyone inside and assigned out bedrooms. The house was large and there was enough room for everyone.
Bridget wanted to help make the evening meal, but Victoria quickly asked her cook to make a large tray of sandwiches, sliced fruit, and lemonade. In Victoria’s words, there would be plenty of time in the future to cook, but after the five-hour horseback ride, maybe it would be okay to relax for the rest of the day.
After dinner, everyone went their separate ways for the evening. Bridget decided to spend some time alone out in Victoria’s gorgeous gardens. She slowly walked along the stone paths. There were beautifully-trimmed rose bushes, with some smaller, colorful flowers planted about a foot in front of it that lined the path. She loved the fragrance, and imagined during the heat of the day, with the trees providing shade, she would be happy to spend hours out here.
She had never spent much time planting flowers at the ranch. Her mother had planted some flowers, but after her death, they had eventually died out. Now that Bridget thought about it, she wished she had taken the time to keep the flowers alive, so they could still have a part of their mom at the ranch. She remembered, though, that after her mother’s death, she had barely made it through each day. She hadn’t been able to bring herself to go out to the garden that reminded her so much of her mother. As she walked among Victoria’s flowers, she felt a deep peace come over her, and she could see the benefits of having such a beautiful garden.
She knew that Keegan helped with the flower gardens and grounds on Victoria’s property. Maybe he would be willing to help her make a beautiful garden on the ranch. It wouldn’t be as large or extravagant as Victoria’s gardens, but it still could be a beautiful place to relax. Of course, the ranch had its own beauty. Their small valley was surrounded by majestic mountains. They were loc
ated so deep in the Rocky Mountains that there was snow on the peaks of some of them year round. Grassy meadows were available to stroll in, full of various types of wildflowers. The river that ran along the edge of the valley was clear and cold. In Bridget’s mind, their land was heaven on earth. Adding a small flower garden would make it even more beautiful, and even though it wasn’t her mother’s garden, it could be a place they all could go to remember her.
She ended up in a small gazebo and sat down on a nicely-painted bench. As she sat, she contemplated everything that had happened to her the last few weeks. Traveling through time to the future, meeting Justin and Garrett, along with his parents, experiencing wonderful things that were part of the future, coming back to her time with Justin and his family, the kidnapping of Colleen and the disappearance of all three keys. She wondered what was going to happen now. What if they weren’t able to find the keys? What would Justin and his family do if they were forced to stay in her time? Would they be angry and blame her? After all, they were in her time essentially because she used the keys to begin with.
On the other hand, she knew Justin’s parents were glad to see that Nicky and Kimberly were doing fine. They were also able to spend time with their new grandchildren. They wouldn’t have been able to do that if she hadn’t used the keys.
She admitted to herself that she was falling in love with Justin, and she was aware that he also had feelings for her. As long as they had a way to return to 2007, she knew nothing would have come of a relationship between the two of them. The attraction was there, but there was the huge stumbling block of them being from different time periods. She wondered what was going to happen if the keys were never found. Would their relationship have a chance to grow?
****
Collins approached Justin with a folded paper in his hand. “We need to gather everyone.”
Justin looked at the older man sharply. “Why? Is there something else wrong?”
Collins hesitated. “I would prefer to explain only once.”
Justin sighed. “I’ll go and gather everyone. Where do you want us to meet?”
“We can meet in the front parlor. It is a comfortable room and there are plenty of places to sit,” Collins responded.
Justin left Collins, ran up the stairs and started to knock on bedroom doors. He repeated Collins’ instructions multiple times, feeling frustrated that he couldn’t answer any questions. He had a funny feeling about what Collins had to tell them and he somehow knew it had to do with the keys. Quickly, he was able to find everyone except Bridget.
“I think I saw her go outside to the gardens,” Keegan told him. “I’ll run and get her.”
Justin entered the parlor and saw that everyone, except for Bridget and Keegan, was gathered in the room. Some sat on comfortable chairs and others sat on cushioned sofas. Richie and Kathy played with some wooden blocks on the floor at Kimberly’s feet. Garrett was seated next to Colleen, and part of him wanted to tell his son to leave, that he didn’t want Garrett to hear what was going on until he’d heard the news himself. But he was the one who got his son in this mess. Garrett was almost not a child anymore. He was eleven years old and very mature for his age. He quickly decided to let his son stay. He just hoped Garrett would understand what was going on. After all, Justin was having a hard time understanding everything himself.
No one talked while they waited for Keegan to return with Bridget. Justin sighed with relief when he heard footsteps and they both entered the room. Bridget’s eyes darted to his and he patted an empty chair next to him in invitation. She hesitated and then sat down, smiling softly at him. His heart skipped a beat at her smile and for the first time he wished things were different, that there was a way to stay together, in one time period or another.
Collins cleared his throat. “Victoria and I just found this note on her desk in her office. I’ll just read it.”
Dear Victoria,
I decided I needed to retrieve the keys myself. I couldn’t wait until you and your husband returned from the Callaghan’s ranch. I’m not going to explain how, but I was able to find the keys in the cave and now have them. The keys have been used too much and too many people know about them. It is time that I got them back and in my possession.
I am also aware that Golin died in the fire on your ranch. Even though I don’t like knowing that someone had to die, I must admit that I am glad that he is no longer a threat. If he had been able to follow through with his plans, history would have been changed and many lives would have been lost, in many time periods.
The Key Keeper
After Collins read the letter, everyone was silent for a few minutes out of shock and disbelief. Then the questions came.
“Who is this man?”
“Why would he take the keys before we could use them one last time and take Nicky’s family back home?”
“How was he able to get to the cave, and back past our property without any of us knowing?
“Does this mean we are going to have to stay here, in 1894, indefinitely?” Doug asked loudly over the rest of the questions, his face strained.
Everyone fell silent again, pondering the implications of his question.
Collins broke the silence. “It looks like all of you who are from the future will be staying in our time, at least until we can discover where this man is from and ask him if we can use the keys one last time.”
“Do you know where to find him?” Michelle asked with tears in her eyes.
Victoria answered her question. “I met him for the first time at a nearby city, Cripple Creek, in a store. He acted like he owned the shop, but I don’t think he really did. I’ve always suspected he is also from another time and another place. I really don’t know how we can find him.”
“We could travel to Cripple Creek and check the store out,” Doug suggested firmly.
“We will definitely do so,” Collins answered. “But... I suggest you resign yourselves to the possibility that you will be here, at least for a while. If we can’t find the man, then…”
“We will need to stay here forever,” Justin finished his sentence.
His voice was tense, so Bridget looked at him with concern. She could see the muscles in his jaw ticking with frustration. She closed her eyes as she realized what he must be thinking. They were stuck in the past, away from his successful business, his home, and his comfortable life. And it was her fault. If she hadn’t gone to the future in the first place, none of them would be in this situation.
“We get to stay here forever? Cool!” Garrett spoke up and turned to Colleen and raised his hand, palm flat and in the air for a high-five. Colleen looked at him in confusion until he showed her how to do a high-five.
Victoria looked at Nicky and then Kimberly. “I don’t think the man realized your family came from the future for a visit. If he had known, he would have insisted that you return to your time before taking the keys.”
Collins stood. “I will make plans to travel to Cripple Creek immediately. We should know in a few days if we are able to find the man.” He turned to leave the room and Victoria followed him.
The room was silent again after Collins and Victoria left the parlor and then one by one everyone else also left the room, except Justin, Garrett, and Bridget.
Before Garrett left, he asked his father, “Do we really get to stay here, Dad?”
“For the time being, yes,” Justin said.
“I like it here.”
Justin looked at Bridget who was staring down at her hands. “I’ll come talk to you about this in a few minutes, okay, son?”
After Garrett agreed, he ran out of the room with Colleen. Justin turned to Bridget. She looked so distraught and upset that he couldn’t help but want to comfort her.
“I’m so sorry,” Bridget said quietly.
“What are you sorry for? It’s not your fault that the man picked up the keys before we could use them again.”
“It’s my fault that you’re here to begin with. If I
hadn’t …”
Justin stopped her. “If you hadn’t used the keys, we would have never met.”
When Bridget didn’t say anything, he stood up and started to pace the room. “I believe that most of the time in our lives, things happen for a reason. They don’t happen by chance. We’ve got to stop blaming ourselves and each other for the events that have happened. Kimberly saw that ad because she was supposed to. She and Patrick were meant to be married. They just had to meet in an unorthodox way. Same with Nicky and Shaun. In fact, our two families are most likely connected together.”
He stopped pacing and sat down next to her. “Maybe it is the same for you and me.”
Bridget hung on to his words, wanting them to be true, but she still wasn’t convinced that he would resent her for her part in the time travel after some time had passed. She shook her head. “But even if what you are saying is true, are you sure you want to give up your life in the future? Remember, I was there. I saw the type of life you’ll be giving up. When I compare my time to yours, the difference is probably like living in the dark ages compared to a perfect world.”
