She crossed her arms. “I don’t like it. I should be there.”
“You were the only woman there and you managed to cause enough of a ruckus so that Charles couldn’t kill anyone. That’s quite an accomplishment. Can’t you be satisfied with that?”
Megan relaxed. “Well, I was the bravest one there.”
“I’m sure you were.”
“I didn’t have a weapon to defend myself, and it’s not like I have the strength that a man does.”
“True.”
She glanced at Esther, wondering if the woman was humoring her, but Esther’s face remained expressionless, giving Megan no true indicator as to how she felt. She sighed and sat next to her friend. “I should get used it. Women are excluded from certain things.”
Smiling, Esther patted her hand. “I know that wherever it is you came from, women were allowed more of a say, but is it really that bad in Fargo?”
She thought over Esther’s inquiry. “No, it’s not, especially when I have a husband who loves me as much as Ted does.”
“There you go. Maybe it’s not where you are but who you’re with that makes all the difference.”
She reached out and squeezed Esther’s hand. “You’re right.”
Blake groaned.
Megan leaned forward. “Blake?”
His eyes slowly opened. “I’m not dead?”
“No. The doctor said the bullet went right through your shoulder. You’re going to be just fine, but you need to rest up for a few days before you can leave. The doctor needs to make sure you don’t come down with an infection.”
He closed his eyes and sighed. “Okay.”
“It’s good to see that you’re awake.” Esther stood up. “I’ll get the nurse.”
Once Esther left the room, Megan whispered, “Cole has the time machine, but he said he’s going to return it to you. You can return it to the correct time as soon as you are well enough to leave.”
He opened his eyes again and smiled. “Good. I hoped he’d do the right thing in the end.”
***
Two Weeks Later
Blake, Cole, Megan and Ted stood in an alley close to the train station.
“Are you sure you don’t want to go back?” Blake asked Cole.
Cole tipped his hat back. “I’m sure. There’s nothing waiting for me back there, but I might have something waiting for me here. If I don’t go find out, I’ll always regret it.”
“What do you want me to tell the police?”
He shrugged. “Tell them I’m no longer alive. By the time you get back to the future, it’ll be the truth.”
“I’ll do that.” He shook Cole’s hand. “Good luck.” Then he looked at Ted and Megan. “And you two are sure you want to stay here too?”
“Yes. We’re meant to be here.” Megan caressed the folded letter in her hand. She’d debated whether or not to make this request, and as much as she hated to interfere with time, she hated to leave her mother worrying about her. Taking a deep breath, she held out the letter. “Will you give this to my mother? Her name is Veronica Crane, and she’ll be at the Amtrak station in Indianapolis on April 22 at 6:30 in the morning. That’s when I boarded the train. She has blond hair and will be wearing a green sweater with black slacks.”
“Yes, I will,” Blake promised. He took the letter. “It’s just as well I start there and come off the train in Minneapolis when it’s due to pull in around 11pm. I just have to make sure I don’t bump into myself.”
He programmed the device and disappeared. The three stood still, silent for a moment, before they turned and left the alley. It was weird to know Blake had just traveled into the future in that split second. And Megan realized that by the time her mother got that letter, it would be over a hundred years old.
Cole smiled at them. “Well, I need to catch a train. Thanks, Ted. Thanks, Megan.”
They nodded and watched as he made his way down the busy street to the train station.
Next to her, Ted extended his arm to her. “Ready to go home?”
She slipped her hand around the crook of his arm. “Yes. Let’s go home.”
***
Three Days Later
Cole’s heart raced as he pulled back the reins of the horse he had bought in town. He’d sold his ring, something he was glad to do. He might as well put his past behind him, but he wondered if he had a future here. He’d spent the past week and a half planning what he’d tell Penelope.
He took his time in getting down from the horse. How could he explain everything to her? Would she even listen? He tied the reins to the post in front of the small barn on her property. Once again, he ran through a list of possible things he could tell her. But would she listen? She had every right to slam the door on his face. Or maybe she’d point his way back to town.
He looked at her cabin. Her door was open because of the hot weather. She didn’t even have a screen door to protect her from the mosquitoes. That was something he would have to rectify if she’d allow him back into her life.
He strengthened his resolve. He’d go up to her and beg her to take him back. What did he have to lose?
She came out of the house, wearing male gloves and a hat. He’d been with her long enough to know that she wore those gloves to weed the garden. He watched her for a moment. She was beautiful. The prairie winds loosened several strands of her hair and made her skirt flap wildly, just as wildly as his heart was beating.
Her eyes met his and she stood still.
It was now or never. He’d come too far to turn back now. He lumbered forward, his steps uncertain but propelling him to her. Taking his hat off, he tried to gauge the reaction on her face. He couldn’t tell if she was happy or not. He stopped a foot in front of her, too nervous to get any closer.
This is it.
“I’m sorry,” he began, his hands trembling. “I shouldn’t have left you. I love you, Penelope. I don’t deserve you. You’re a good woman, but I’ve made a real mess of my life. I’ve done things I’m not proud of, and after I tell you what they are, you may not want to be with me. You see, I-”
“Are you married?” she interrupted.
The question surprised him. “No.”
“I thought when you left me, it was because you were already married. I thought you had a wife to go back to.”
“No. I was married, but I got a divorce two years ago. I caught her sleeping with my brother. But there are other things, things you should know.”
She stepped forward, bridging the gap between them. “Cole, I don’t care what you’ve done. I just care about who you are. The past doesn’t matter. You can’t change it.”
He hadn’t expected this. He’d hoped, he’d prayed, he’d wished, but he hadn’t expected her only concern to be his marital status. Despite his effort to not cry, he felt a tear trickle down his cheek.
Smiling, she reached up and brushed it away.
He took her hand in his and kissed it. “I love you. I want to make a life here with you. Will you come to town with me? We’ll leave right away and find that preacher you mentioned.”
She laughed. “I’ll marry you, Cole. But we should have something to eat first. Then we need to get ready for the trip.”
“Alright, but let’s be quick about it. I’ve waited too long to meet someone like you, and I don’t want to waste any more time.”
She kissed him, a gentle kiss, the first of many to come. And the future before him loomed bright.
***
October 4, 1899
Megan held five-month-old Paul in her arms. She sat in the chair on the porch and watched the sunset. The diamond on her wedding ring sparkled in the remaining sunlight. She smiled. Sure, the diamond wasn’t as big as the one that Buddy swallowed, but she liked it much more because Ted gave it to her.
A horse neighed, breaking her out of her thoughts. She pointed to Ted as he waved to her and rode his horse into the barn. “Your father’s home. See?”
The baby, of course, just grunted and went back to s
leep. She chuckled. When he got older, he’d be running out to welcome his pa home.
“Megan?” a familiar voice called out to her.
Curious, she stood up and walked the length of the porch until she came to the front door. Her heart skipped a beat. “Mom?”
Beside her mother stood Blake. Still holding a now alert Paul, Megan embraced her mother, letting the tears fall down her cheeks. Blake smiled at them and walked down the porch steps to give them privacy.
“I didn’t think I was ever going to see you again,” Megan whispered.
Her mother returned her hug, also crying. “My dear, Meg. How I’ve missed you.”
“I missed you too.” Reluctant, Megan pulled away. “Did you get my letter from Blake?”
“I did. I had just said good-bye to you and you went on the train when he came up to me. It’s been five years for me since that morning. I’m only allowed to stay here for a few minutes, and I can’t come see you again. Though we know of time travel, we aren’t supposed to interfere with people living in the past. We are to be observers only. And to be honest, I wouldn’t have been able to afford the trip, but Blake talked to Christian Jacob, explained who you were, and after Christian searched further back into his genealogy, he allowed Blake to bring me here.” She laughed. “I guess being the mother of his great-great-grandmother means I have special privileges.”
“Well, if it weren’t for us, he wouldn’t have been born.” Megan smiled widely. “I’m glad to see you.”
“It’s good to see you too. I wanted to come and ask you how things are. I see that you got the child you wanted.”
“Yes, and I got a good husband too.” Megan handed Paul to her mother. “I know Ted isn’t like Mike, but he treats me very well.”
“That’s all I truly wanted for you. I’m glad to see that you’re happy. And I admit, I chose this time to visit because I knew you’d just had your first child. I also wanted to see you in person. Pictures are fine, of course, but they aren’t as good as the real thing.”
Megan frowned. “Pictures?”
“Yes.” Careful to keep holding Paul who reached for her hair and lightly pulled, she reached into her pocket and handed Megan a photograph.
It was faded with time, but Megan could tell who was in the picture. Ted stood behind her, she was sitting in a chair holding a baby, and two boys sat at her feet.
“It was taken in 1903. I keep it on my nightstand in a frame. I wanted to bring it to show you what your future looks like.”
Megan laughed and wiped her eyes. She was thrilled but for some reason, she couldn’t stop crying. “It’s strange to know all of this will happen.”
“That’s the irony of going back in time, I guess.”
Megan gave the picture back to her and studied the joy in her mother’s eyes. “What’s your life like?”
“I remarried a year ago.”
“Did you? Who is he?”
“His name is Aidan Landon. He’s Blake’s brother. Guess who introduced us?”
Megan laughed again. “Is he good to you?”
“Yes. I missed your father after he passed away. He hasn’t taken your father’s place, but I love him just as much.”
“Good.” Megan had feared her mother would spend the rest of her life alone, and now that she knew her mother had someone to care for her, she felt at peace with being separated from her. “I think of you a lot.”
“I think of you too. You’ll always be my little girl.”
Megan glanced over her shoulder and saw Ted making his way toward them. “I want you to meet Ted.” When he reached them, she introduced him to her mother.
After a couple of minutes, Blake came up to tell her mother that they had to return to the future. Megan hugged her mother one last time before her mother handed Paul back to her and went to Blake.
“Thank you, Blake,” Megan said.
He grinned. “It’s the least I could do for the woman who saved my life.”
They waved and Megan and Ted waved back.
Once they disappeared, Megan turned to Ted. “She could only come once, and she wanted to see Paul. She knew how much I wanted a child.”
“I’m glad you got the chance to see her again,” Ted replied, smiling. “It was nice to meet her.”
“I think she approved of you.”
“I hope so. That sure was nice to see that picture of us, wasn’t it?”
“Nice but kind of spooky. I don’t think I want to know everything that’s going to happen.”
He leaned over to kiss her. “Well, it seems to me that Paul has a couple of younger brothers coming. We should probably start on getting them conceived.”
She hid her amusement. “My mother just came for a visit and all you can think about is sex.”
“Sex? Is that what you think this is all about? For your information, I’m thinking of the future. We have to do our part to make sure Paul gets those brothers. This is serious business. How is that picture taken in 1903 ever going to happen if we don’t get those kids born? We can’t mess with what’s meant to be.”
“I’ll tell you what. You get supper done and we’ll talk about making sure things happen as they are meant to.”
“It’s a deal.”
She watched as he ran into the house to start supper. She sighed and glanced at Paul who babbled at her. “You’re right, he does have a strange way of rationalizing things, but at least he cooks. I guess the least I can do is humor him. Besides, I kind of like his cobbler.”
Paul giggled and she kissed him on the head before she entered the house to join Ted in the kitchen.
Though Ted hadn’t peeked at the other side of that photograph, she had, and one of the things she saw were the names and birthdays of the children. He had a very good chance of reaching his goal that night. After all, Anthony would be born on July 27, 1900. That was approximately nine months from now. And who was she to interfere with the past? If it was meant to be, it was meant to be.
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