“If you are sure you want to spend the rest of your life with me . . . in my world.” Daniel whispered against her lips.
“We should get going,” Aimee said hastily, pulling away. “I just want to get my journal.”
“Nothing else?” Daniel asked. His hands moved to her shoulders.
“No.” She shook her head. “This has to be a clean break. We can’t keep living in two worlds, just like your father said. I want to be with you, in your world. That means I have to leave everything modern behind. The snake head has to be destroyed when we return to your time.”
Daniel nodded in understanding.
Aimee retrieved her journal from her bedroom. She glanced around one last time, fingering the photographs of her parents on her dresser. Making a hasty decision, she pulled one of the pictures out of its frame, along with the one of her and Jana at their college graduation.
“I guess this is good bye, then.” Aimee turned to see Jana standing in the doorway. Aimee rushed to her, and the two women hugged and cried.
“I have to do this,” Aimee whispered.
“I know,” Jana sniffed. “I know. The two of you were meant to be together.” She smiled sadly. “It’s as plain as day when I see you together. Who knows,” she sniffed again, and wiped at her eyes, “maybe that was the grand plan all along with this time travel thing. You and Daniel are two people who are meant to be together, but some glitch in time prevented it from happening. Maybe he was never supposed to go back to his time when he was born,” she added hopefully.
“I can’t ask him to live here,” Aimee shook her head. “He’d never fit in.”
“No, I understand that.”
The two women made their way down the stairs. Daniel reached out to shake Jana’s hand. Instead, she gave him a friendly hug. Aimee giggled at the surprised look on his face.
“Keep her safe, and yourself as well,” Jana said.
“I will protect her with my life,” Daniel said, smiling at Aimee.
Jana nodded. “I have no doubt you will.”
Jana and Aimee embraced again, the tears flowing freely.
“I’ll write to you, whenever I get homesick,” Aimee whispered in a raspy voice.
At Jana’s baffled look, she elaborated. “Remember that hike we did last year down by Hellroaring Creek?” Jana nodded. “That funny rock formation that reminded us of Mickey Mouse? I will leave my journal somewhere under those rocks. I’ll mark the spot somehow so it won’t be obvious, but you’ll be able to recognize it. Go and find my journal, okay?”
“Okay.” Jana wiped her nose on a tissue she pulled from her jeans pocket. “But couldn’t you pick an easier hike?” she laughed. “That one was murder.”
Daniel removed the snakehead from its leather pouch around his neck, and handed it to Aimee. He nodded a farewell to Jana, and pulled Aimee into his arms. The two gazed intently into each other’s eyes, deep brown meeting sparkling blue.
“My heart song,” Daniel whispered, and claimed her mouth, just as she put a finger to the snake’s left eye.
Epilogue
Present day Yellowstone National Park - Old Faithful Inn
Jana Evans wiped the tears from her eyes and sniffed. She closed the old, leather-bound journal, and smiled despite the tears. It had been seven months since Aimee and Daniel time traveled back to 1810. Jana had wasted no time to head to Yellowstone when the trails were accessible again after winter to find Aimee’s journal. She found it exactly where Aimee said it would be. It was preserved well, bound and wrapped in layers of oiled leather. The pages looked worn and old, but they were completely intact and undamaged.
Jana sat in the busy lobby of the historic Old Faithful Inn, and opened the journal, carefully turning the pages to re-read several passages.
October, 1810
It’s so good to be back! I am excited to start my new life in this wonderful land with my wonderful husband by my side.
We got rid of the time travel device, just as Zach had wanted. It turned out to be indestructible – fire doesn’t damage it, and Daniel couldn’t get an ax through it, either. So we disposed of it. I won’t say how or where, but I am confident that it will never be found again.
December 25th, 1810
Our first Christmas, and we are completely snowed in! I’m so glad I made Daniel drag a Christmas tree into the cabin several days ago, otherwise it would be Christmas without one. This is his first Christmas tree, and it took a little explaining. He couldn’t understand the point of chopping down a tree to bring into the cabin unless it was for firewood, but I think he enjoyed helping me decorate it. Later today I have to give him his Christmas present. I’m just not quite sure how that’s going to go over. I wonder how he’s going to react when I tell him that we are expecting a baby by summer. No doubt he’s going to want to usher me straight out of the mountains when I tell him the news.
July 20th, 1811
Daniel and I became parents today. Twin boys. We named them Zachariah and Matthew, after our fathers. My pregnancy was fairly easy, except for Daniel tormenting me. I felt like a complete invalid. The man wouldn’t allow me to carry so much as a bucket of water since Christmas. And of course he wanted to take me to Philadelphia or somewhere back east. He even said he was going to try and retrieve the time travel device (no chance of that happening!) so I could come to the future to give birth in a modern hospital. In the end, Elk Runner and Little Bird convinced him that I would be fine to give birth here. Little Bird and Daniel’s foster mother Gentle Sun came and stayed with us for weeks before the birth, at Daniel’s insistence, of course. Gentle Sun was a great midwife, and the babies are both healthy and strong. Daniel is a very proud papa.
Jana turned the pages gingerly. Aimee and Daniel had two more children over the years, another boy, and a girl. As more and more fur trappers traveled through the region, Daniel and Aimee had set up a trading post. Aimee told of how she had met Jim Bridger, Jedediah Smith, and some other famous mountain men – except at the time, they weren’t all that famous yet. When Jana turned to the last page, more than fifteen years had passed.
September 5th, 1828
Well, I guess this is my last entry. Jana, if you are reading this, I want you to know that I don’t regret my decision for a second. I can’t imagine my life any other way. This is where I was destined to be. Daniel is the love of my life, and our children get to grow up in Wonderland! I only wish for you to find the same happiness that I have found. You are, and always will be, my best friend.
Love, Aimee Osborne, aka Dosa haiwi
Jana closed the journal just as a cold breeze hit her. The front doors of the parlor opened, and a group of jovial hikers led by a ranger walked in. Jana blew her nose and wiped new tears from her eyes.
“Now what would cause such a lovely woman to cry on such a beautiful day here in Yellowstone?”
Jana looked up, startled by the ranger who had sat down next to her on the couch she occupied. A split second passed, and Jana shrunk back in shock.
“Daniel?” she asked, staring incredulously at the man sitting next to her.
“Yeah, my name’s Daniel,” he said, smiling and pointing to the name badge on his uniform. “But most everyone just calls me Dan.”
Jana stared at the name badge, and back at the man’s face. The badge clearly read “Daniel Osborne”.
“How . . . ? What . . . ?” she stammered. She continued to stare at the man’s handsome face. There were some subtle differences from what she remembered of Daniel’s features, but the resemblance was remarkable. The black hair was cropped short in a modern military style, and the intense dark stare that she remembered was absent. This Daniel’s chocolate eyes sparkled brightly.
“You look like you’ve seen a ghost,” the ranger flashed her a radiant smile. “Are you okay?”
“Yeah, I’m fine,” Jana replied slowly. “You remind me of someone.”
“Well, I hope that’s a good thing,” he grinned. “So, you didn’t answer
my question.”
“Huh?”
“What is a lovely lady doing in this grand park, crying. There is no such thing as a bad day in Yellowstone.”
“I was reading.” Jana shrugged, fingering the leather bound journal in her hands.
“Tell you what.” Dan patted her on the knee. “I just got back from a six hour hike, and I’m real hungry and thirsty. Would you care to join me for dinner and a drink? I’m off duty as of now.”
“Sure, I’d love to.” She was still staring at him, disbelief on her face. “Can I ask you something?” she asked tentatively.
“Sure.”
“Has your family lived in this area long?” Jana realized what an odd question that was, but she had to find out if her suspicions were true.
Dan laughed. “My family has roots here since time began. I think my great, great, great, great, something great-grandfather was one of the first fur trappers in this region. I was named after him. Legend has it he fell head over heels in love with a woman who appeared out of nowhere in the Yellowstone wilderness, and they lived happily ever after. What a weird question to ask, though.”
“Well, Dan.” Jana stood up. “It’s about to get a lot weirder.”
He rose as well and led her towards the lodge’s restaurant. “Ok, now I’m mighty curious.”
Jana assessed him quickly as they walked, noting that even the height and body type matched the original Daniel.
“Not only are you named after your ancestor, but you could be his twin brother.” Jana smiled at the perplexed look on his face. Not giving him a chance to react further to her statement, she held up Aimee’s journal, and continued, “I hope they serve something pretty stiff to drink here, because you’re going to need it after I’m done with the story I’m about to tell you.”
THE END
Dear Reader
I hope you enjoyed Yellowstone Heart Song, the first in installment in the Yellowstone Romance Series. I love Yellowstone National Park, and my family and I visit the park every summer for two weeks. Over the years, I’ve enjoyed learning about the history of the park and it’s surroundings.
I took the liberty to exercise literary license with some dates and events of the area, but my descriptions of the landscape are as true as I can make it, from memory, photographs, as well as having visited and seen the places I describe in the novel.
The Lewis and Clark expedition of 1804-06 didn’t come through the park, having travelled a route further to the north. So, they missed out on seeing the great natural wonders of the area. They did name the Madison River in 1805 for James Madison, Secretary of State under President Thomas Jefferson. Its origin is in the Madison Valley as described in the book, where the Gibbon River and Firehole River join together, and it flows well outside the park boundaries.
The first white man credited with seeing the area was John Colter, a member of the Lewis and Clark Expedition. Supposedly, he came through the area in 1806 after leaving the expedition. The area was termed “Colter’s Hell” after he described some hot springs. It is now believed that he never actually saw the Yellowstone geothermal features, but some hot springs to the south.
No white men lived in the area during the time of this story. When the era of the trappers and mountain men started in the early 1820’s, more and more white men travelled through the area, but none built permanent homes. The winters on the Yellowstone Plateau was too harsh for year-round living. The only permanent, year round human residents were the Sheepeater Shoshone.
~Peggy
Stay tuned for the next installment of the Yellowstone Romance Series, titled Yellowstone Redemption.
To learn more about me and my stories, please visit my blog:
http://peggylhenderson.blogspot.com
Excerpt for Yellowstone Redemption
Book 2 in the Yellowstone Romance Series
“I have to talk to your mother, Sarah.” Chase couldn’t believe what Sarah had revealed. She was clueless, but to him it was as obvious as day and night. No one could make up stories as accurate as what Sarah described. If her mother had time traveled, perhaps she knew how it was possible, and it would get him home. But why did she stay in this time? A sinking feeling came over him. What if it was a one-way ticket? Had she been stuck here, too? Without any other recourse, had she married Sarah’s father out of necessity. Chase frowned. As difficult as it was for him to be here, he couldn’t imagine what it must have been like for a modern woman, stranded in the past. Marriage to a man from this time was probably her best option. Chase had to have some answers.
“Can you take me to this rendezvous place?”
Sarah’s eyes widened. “No, that’s not possible.”
“Why not?”
“Because I am not allowed to travel there on my own.”
Chase frowned. “I’m going with you. You wouldn’t be alone.”
“The way leads straight through Blackfoot country. Any white man, especially one traveling alone, will put his life in danger. The Blackfoot are a hostile tribe.”
He shook his head, his eyebrows drawing together. He didn’t get it. “But your parents are white,” he argued.
Sarah laughed. “My father trades with them as well as all other tribes in this region. My mother is a skilled healer. If anything happens to them, the wrath of many other nations will descend on the Blackfoot, and they know it. They would not harm my parents.”
Chase sat on the hard ground, the chill of the earth seeping up into his body. The fire crackled loudly. Sarah’s features danced in the shadows, illuminated by the flames. He held his head between his hands.
One month.
Somehow he had to convince Sarah to take him to her parents sooner. He didn’t want to be here that long. He needed some answers now. He glanced at her. She sat quietly, stroking her dog’s neck. Her fingers moved slowly through the mutt’s fur. Chase pictured her hand in his hair, stroking him . . . Irrational jealousy swept over him. You’re insane, Russell. Jealous of a dog?
These feelings for her confused, and scared, the hell out of him. All the more reason he needed to get home.
“Alright. I’ll go back to Madison with you,” he blurted out. “I hope your mother can give me some answers.”
Yellowstone Heart Song Page 27
