by Zoe Matthews
Nicky looked at him in shock at his words. She stood up and ran away from him down the path along the river.
****
Shaun sighed, as he watched her run away from him. He wished he could encourage her to stay, but he knew it would be selfish of him to do so. The last thing he wanted was for her to regret staying. He did not want her to stay just for him. He had already allowed himself to fall in love with another woman, and she had left when she realized that Shaun had no intention of ever leaving the ranch or Colleen.
He walked towards the ranch. When he arrived, he positioned himself near the barn, keeping himself busy with odds and ends, and keeping an eye out for Nicky. She was gone for much longer than he expected, and he was starting to worry. He sighed with relief when he finally saw her walk through the cluster of trees at the edge of the forest. Nicky walked straight to the small cabin that she was staying in, not looking right or left.
He looked at the sun and could see that he had a few more hours left before dinner. He had enough time to continue working with the horse he was training before Nicky found him. As he started to walk towards the field where the horse was enclosed, he felt a presence behind him.
“Is everything alright with Nicky?” Patrick asked with concern.
Shaun realized that Patrick must have seen them both leave the ranch. And, if he had, then he also must have witnessed Nicky disappearing into her cabin.
“Yes everything is fine,” Shaun said shortly.
“I’m not blind,” Patrick told him. “I can see that you both have feelings for each other. And, even if I couldn’t see it, Kimberly tells me everything.”
Shaun shrugged his shoulders. “She wants to stay. I mean, she wants to go back to her time to say goodbye to her family, find a replacement for her teaching job, and come back permanently.”
“I’m going to take a lucky guess that you told her not to come back.”
“I know things worked out between Kimberly and you, but she came for the sole purpose of marrying you. She knew she would be staying, before she even came.”
“Well…” Patrick drawled. “That’s not quite true. She knew that could be the end result, but she would have left, if things hadn’t actually worked out between us.”
“Things did work out between you two,” Shaun argued. “To be honest, I am very surprised how well Kimberly has adjusted, considering everything she has given up.”
“And you don’t think Nicky can do the same?” Patrick questioned.
“I have heard about all the things that they have in the future that make life much easier. I have a hard time believing that Nicky would give all that up.”
Patrick gave him a hard look. “I think you’re selling Nicky short. I don’t think she would have offered to stay, if she was going to have a hard time giving up what she has in the future. I’m not saying that you should just up and marry her, especially if you don’t really love her. But I am saying that you will regret it, if you let her walk away for that reason.”
“And what about Colleen?”
“What about her?”
“You know that one of the reasons Delia didn’t want to marry me is because of her.”
Patrick had been looking off in the distance but turned on him sharply. “You must have cotton stuffed between your ears. I have never once seen Nicky treat Colleen like Delia treated her. You might want to take into account Colleen’s reaction to Nicky. If you remember, Colleen never liked Delia, most likely because she probably could sense that Delia didn’t like her. I don’t know if you have noticed; Colleen follows Nicky around almost like a puppy. Those two have already bonded whether you like it or not. Plus, remember that Nicky is a teacher. Why would she choose to teach children, if she didn’t like them?”
Patrick started to walk away, but then he turned back. “Victoria and Collins are going to be here tomorrow. Nicky will be leaving the next day. I advise you to seriously think about what you are giving up. We have no idea what is going to happen with the keys. You might not ever get a second chance.” With those words, he turned and strode away.
Shaun’s eyes followed his brother for a few moments then turned away. What Patrick said made sense, but he didn’t know if he could risk his heart again. Especially to someone from the future.
Chapter 19
Two days later, the entire family was in the yard surrounding Nicky, telling her goodbye. She did her best to keep her tears from falling until she was on her way. There was one person missing. Shaun had disappeared soon after breakfast, and no one had seen him since. Deep in her heart, she knew she wasn’t going to get to say goodbye to him. She was never going to see him again.
Each of the family gave her a gift. Kimberly slipped a thick envelope into her bag instructing her not to read it, until she was safely back in her time. Colleen handed her a beautiful picture that she had drawn of herself on Spirit. Nicky held the child, as she sobbed into her shoulder wishing she could comfort her with words that she would be back. Bridget handed her a small bag with baked goods that she could eat on the way to the cave. Patrick gave her a brotherly hug and gave her advice to think back on her summer at the ranch with fondness but to move forward with her future. Nicky knew he was telling her to not put her life on hold because of Shaun.
Keegan handed her a small carving that he had made of a hummingbird. Soon Collins told Nicky that they needed to go. Now with practiced ease, she swung on the horse that had been selected for her. After looking over the ranch one more time, hoping to see Shaun, she turned and nodded to let Collins know that she was ready to leave.
The trip to the cave was silent. Nicky had no desire to talk, and Collins seemed to understand. When they finally arrived at the cave, Nicky ate a few bites of the food Bridget had given her, but she really wasn’t hungry.
“Do you think it would be okay if I brought this with me?” she asked Collins, holding up the bag of food. “I’m not very hungry right now.”
Collins smiled with understanding. “Yes, I think it would be okay, if you took it with you.” After securing the horses under the shade of a tree, together they climbed the mountain to the entrance of the cave. Once inside, Nicky showed Collins where the box had been hidden, and soon they had it uncovered. Just before they removed the last few rocks, Nicky wondered what she would do if the box wasn’t there. What if Golin had found the keys? She would be forced to stay. Was that what she really wanted? At first, she told herself yes, but then she admitted to herself that she only wanted to stay, if Shaun really wanted her. It needed to be his choice, too.
The box was there, and Collins opened it, unwrapping one of the keys. He tucked the box back into the crevice with the other key inside. Nicky helped him move the rocks back in their places. After that job was done, Collins turned to her.
“I feel that I need to apologize, if for some reason the knowledge that you have about the keys will make it harder for you to move on with your life in the future. “
Nicky shook her head. “I don’t regret that I came. I just regret that it is at an end.”
Collins smiled slightly. “Are you ready?”
Nicky closed her eyes, but she couldn’t help the tears that ran down her face. She nodded. “Yes, I am ready.”
“Think about your apartment and your time,” Collins said, as he grasped her hand with his own. Nicky heard the swishing noise and saw the world change before her eyes. Just that quickly she was standing in her apartment living room with Collins by her side.
“Are you okay?” Nicky asked, after glancing around her apartment, making sure everything looked the same as it did when she left. Collins looked very pale, and he seemed to sway on his feet.
“Yes,” Collins said. “But I think I’d better return. This will definitely be my last trip using the keys. I don’t think I can do this again.”
Nicky knew that he was making sure she knew that he would not be returning. He would not be able to come get her again. She nodded her head, letting him know she unde
rstood what he was saying.
“I know that you were able to exchange letters with Kimberly’s family. I need to warn you that, although this can still be done, it will be harder to do, especially since they will need to travel to the cave to do so.”
She had already thought of that problem, and she knew she needed to resign herself to the fact that she would have little, if any, contact with Kimberly or any of the Callaghan’s in the future.
“You better go. I don’t want anything to happen to you.” She gave him a hug goodbye, and, just that quickly, he was gone. She said a prayer that he would be able to travel back to the cave safely and would be able to recover quickly from traveling through time.
She looked around her apartment again and saw a note sitting on her kitchen table. It was from Justin letting her know that all the bills were up-to-date and asking her to please call him the minute she returned. The last thing Nicky wanted to do at that time was call him. She decided that a few more minutes wasn’t going to make a difference, since he did not know exactly when she would be returning. She went into her bedroom and changed into modern-day clothing. She had to admit to herself it was nice to be in shorts and a tee-shirt again. She saw her cell phone sitting on her desk, turned it on, and listened to her messages. A few were from her parents, and one was from the school letting her know that she could come in any time to start preparing her classroom.
She placed her bag on the bed and started to unpack. She put Kimberly’s letter aside to be read later, as she didn’t think she had the emotional strength to read it right then. She pinned Colleen’s picture on her wall just under a beautiful painting she had purchased a few years ago of the Rocky Mountains. The hummingbird carving was placed on her dresser. She sat on her bed looking at the small gifts and immediately thought of Shaun. Collapsing on her bed, she cried until she had no tears left.
****
Nicky decided not to call Justin until the next morning. She went to bed early that evening, but it took her hours before she could fall asleep. The next day after breakfast, she called Justin.
“I’m home,” she said simply, when he answered.
“I’m so glad,” Justin said with relief in his voice. “I really thought you would end up staying.”
“I promised I would come back.”
“I have a few hours open this morning. Why don’t I come over, and you can tell me all about your trip?”
Nicky agreed and then hung up. She didn’t know what she was going to tell Justin. Should she just tell him about Kimberly and her babies? Should she just talk about Kimberly’s new family but say nothing about Shaun? She didn’t know if Justin would understand.
She decided to take a shower before Justin came over. She had to admit that she enjoyed the first, hot, steamy shower that she’d had in two months. Dressing in shorts and a comfortable T-shirt, she pulled her hair back in a ponytail, when Justin knocked and came in. She ran to her brother’s arms and gave him a hug, realizing how much she had missed him.
After finding out that Garrett was visiting a friend for the day, she was grateful that she would have her brother’s undivided attention. She decided to be totally upfront and honest with him. She wanted him to know how she spent her summer, and she wanted him to know about Shaun and Colleen.
Justin suggested they go to a nearby park, and Nicky agreed, thinking it would be better if they were in public while she told him about her summer. That way, there was less chance of falling apart… again.
They stopped at a deli to pick up some sandwiches before heading to the nearby park. They sat at a picnic table and Justin turned to her after taking a large bite of his sandwich. “Okay, we’re here. Tell me everything. What was it like, traveling back in time?”
Nicky smiled. “It was scary at first, but it worked. I was able to travel from my apartment directly to where Kimberly was, in 1893.”
“How is Kimberly doing?”
“She’s great. She loves Patrick and is very happy with her new life.”
“And her baby?”
“She actually gave birth to twins, a boy and a girl.”
“Well, what do you think of that?” Justin said, seeming pleased with the news.
Nicky spent the next few minutes updating Justin on Kimberly and her babies. She then talked about some of the things she did and saw. She talked about the beauty of the ranch and the surrounding mountains. She told Justin about the Indian village she visited and about Colleen and the reason why Shaun was raising her. She did her best to gloss over any information about Shaun, preferring to tell Justin about him after she gave her report about the rest of her summer. When she started to talk about learning to ride a horse, Justin interrupted her.
“Tell me about Shaun,” he said, as he finished the last of his sandwich.
“Shaun?” she asked, hating that her voice squeaked.
“Yes, Shaun. You know, the one you have been writing to for a year? I already told you before you left, I think he might have been one of the reasons for your trip.”
Nicky sighed. “I did want to see if there could be anything besides friendship between us, but I promise the main reason I went was for Kimberly.”
Justin looked at her intently, as if trying to decide if she was telling the truth. “Okay. So, did you find out if there was anything besides friendship?”
Nicky nodded slowly. “He was the one who taught me how to ride a horse.”
“You learned to love Colleen, and you fell in love with Shaun.”
Nicky was amazed how easily her brother could read her; either that or he was a very good guesser. “It doesn’t matter whether I fell in love or not. I’m here, in 2006. Shaun and Colleen are back in 1893. I can’t go back.”
“Do you mean you can’t use the keys again to go back?” Justin questioned.
“Yes, that’s exactly what I mean. While I was there, a man from the medieval times somehow found out that Victoria had two keys. He also had one and he wanted the ones Victoria had. I guess there is more power the more keys you have. He showed up at the ranch one day, pretending to be a long-lost relative of Shaun’s family. At first everyone believed him, until he pulled out a gift he was going to give to Colleen out of his pocket. He accidentally pulled the key out instead, and Collins instantly knew who he was. Evidently Victoria’s house had been ransacked by a man name Golin, who left a threatening note. Patrick overpowered him and sent him back to his time. But everyone knew that the keys needed to be hidden. I was able to stay as long as I had originally planned, but I knew, when I came back, it would be permanent.”
“Let me ask you a question. If you did fall in love with Shaun, why did you come back?”
“Because I promised you I would.”
“Oh, Nicky…” Justin said with sympathy, as he grasped her hands in his own.
“Even if I hadn’t promised, Shaun didn’t want me to stay. I fell in love with him, but he didn’t feel the same.”
“I’m sorry,” Justin said. For a few minutes, they both sat together in silence. “I had a feeling that something like this would happen. I really didn’t think you would return. I’m sorry you’re so sad, but I’m glad you’re back. I’ve missed you.”
“I missed you, too,” Nicky said, as she hugged him. “Things worked out for the best, I guess. Shaun thought I would miss ‘the future’ too much, if I had stayed. Kimberly had told him about some of the things we have that aren’t around in Shaun’s time. He didn’t think I would be able to adjust like Kimberly did.”
“And would you miss our time?”
“I would miss Mom and Dad, you, and Garrett, of course.” Nicky noticed that she hadn’t finished her sandwich, but she was no longer hungry, so she started to wrap it up to be eaten later. “How are Mom and Dad doing?”
“They are fine. I have to admit that it was hard to keep quiet about this. Mom especially didn’t understand why you haven’t been over all summer.”
“I’ll go over this afternoon. I haven’t known what t
o tell them, but I guess it doesn’t matter, since I’ll be around like normal.”
“Shall we head back?” Justin asked. “I do have some work to do this afternoon.”
Nicky agreed, knowing that, although Justin was self-employed, he tried to work regular hours with his very successful, gaming business.
Chapter 20
It had been a week since Nicky had left, and, even though life went on as usual, it seemed to Shaun that everyone missed her. Kimberly spent more time in her cabin with her babies. She even ate there, although Patrick did his best to get her to join the rest of the family in the large cabin for her meals.
Colleen refused to talk to Shaun, and he knew she blamed him for making Nicky leave. She didn’t understand why Nicky couldn’t have stayed, like Kimberly had. Even Bridget had made a few comments to Shaun, expressing her confusion as to why Shaun hadn’t asked Nicky to marry him.
“She would have stayed, if you had given her a reason to stay,” Bridget had told him the day after Nicky left. When Shaun reminded her that Nicky had promised her brother she would return, Bridget had a quick reply. “Then she could have gone back to keep her promise to her brother, but then she could have returned.”
“It wouldn’t have been smart to send a key with her,” Shaun had reminded her.
“You could have gone with her.”
Those words kept replaying in Shaun’s head almost constantly, since Bridget had said them. “You could have gone with her.”
Shaun admitted to himself that the idea of traveling through time absolutely scared him, which he found ironic, since nothing had ever really frightened him before. Even though he hadn’t even considered that option, while Nicky was visiting, he didn’t think he could have gone back with her. After all, what if something happened, and he couldn’t return?
One morning after breakfast, he turned to Colleen. “How about going for a horseback ride?” he asked her, trying to find something she would be interested in doing with him.
