Meredith bit her lip, unwrapped the rest of the garments, and folded them into a neat pile. Then she busied herself with slitting the tape on the other package, though she left everything inside. She didn’t want to explain the calligraphy kit to Oliver. She and the Schultes had agreed to keep Meredith’s time travel plans a secret.
“Where are the Schultes?” Oliver asked as he dumped the old coffee and added water to make a fresh pot.
“They went to Missoula for the day.” She glanced at him. “What are your plans?”
“It’s my turn to use the washer and dryer, so this is laundry day. Other than that I plan to lounge the day away with a good book. How about you?”
“I plan to reorganize my room, smudge our cabin, and go on a nature walk.”
“And visit with your ghostly friend, I’ll bet.” He turned to face her. “Are you going to wait until your dad and aunt get here before sending the non-hostile ghosts on their way as well?”
“Probably.” Meredith stacked her things and picked them up. “Once the menagerie of menace has been banished, the other ghosts should be able to cross into the light on their own.” She headed toward her room. “Enjoy the day, Oliver.”
“You too,” he replied, returning his attention to the kitchen counter and the coffee pot.
Meredith placed her new clothing into her duffle bag and set the calligraphy stuff under her bed. She waited a while before checking to see if Oliver had gone back upstairs. He hadn’t, but she could hear him in the bathroom, where the stacked washer and dryer were tucked away in a closet. As quietly as possible, she slipped out of the cabin.
When she reached the saloon, she glanced down the dirt road to make sure Oliver hadn’t followed or watched her leave. Ridiculous, really. Why would he follow her, and why would he suspect she was up to something? He’d had a disastrous encounter with trio of trouble, and he didn’t want to have anything more to do with ghosts.
Meredith slipped into the saloon and froze. Alpin leaned casually against the bar, his legs crossed at the ankles, and his hands in the pockets of his slacks. He wore his long blond hair tied back, and he was immaculately dressed in a tailored suit. Daniel faced him, and it appeared the two were deep in conversation.
“I thought you were going to call,” she said as she approached.
Alpin turned his unnaturally pale blue eyes her way. “I had to come at some point in order to give you the diamonds, and it’s better that we talk face-to-face before you embark upon your journey.”
“Oh, sure.” She nodded. His presence sparked all her nerves, and a burst of adrenalin hit her bloodstream. It’s because he’s not human. He is much, much more. “It’s nice to see you again.”
He tipped his head her way. “And you.”
“How are things going with the Baiscne clan’s transition?”
“As well as can be expected under the circumstances.” Alpin studied her. “Boann sends her good wishes for your undertaking. She wants you to know how much she regrets that she could not help you.”
“Please assure her I understand completely. I would never jeopardize her contact with Fáelán, Regan, and Conan.” She approached the two, curious as hell to know what they’d been discussing. “I am very grateful to you for stepping in to help.”
“Daniel has also expressed his gratitude.” Alpin smiled. “I’m glad to help.”
She drew in a breath. “It smells like summer rain in here,” she murmured.
“Yes, it’s from the ionization of oxygen. That always occurs when we Tuatha take a Journey of a Single Step.” He drew out a small leather pouch from his pocket. “Here are the two uncut diamonds.” He handed the pouch to her, and she took it.
“When you make that step, you must concentrate fully upon your destination while focusing on one of the gems. Fix in your mind an image of where you want to be and when. The risk lies within the fickleness of the human mind. If any other thoughts intrude during the process, that will affect the outcome. You must concentrate on one thing and one thing only.”
“Familiarity and intent are the keys, Meredith,” Daniel added. “Alpin and I have been discussing the matter. You and I need to walk to my claim several times until you know the area well enough to imagine yourself there.”
“All right.” She stared at the pouch resting in her hand. “Do I need to do anything with the diamond? Am I supposed to hold it in my hand, or should I set it on the ground?”
“Either will work,” he said. “It’s entirely up to you.”
“If you hold them, we can keep the diamonds after the magic is spent, lass. Alpin tells me they must be flawless in order to work. They’re quite valuable.”
Her gaze flew to Daniel. What did he mean? She’d need one to go to the past, and one to return. Did he figure she’d leave one with him when she returned, and she’d keep the other? “How does this work? Does the crystal transport the time traveler automatically, or does the magic open a portal? What can I expect?”
“The air will shimmer and ripple, creating a passageway. Simply step through, and you’ll find yourself in the time and place of your choosing. It’s similar to how our friend here transports himself from place to place.” Alpin gestured toward Daniel. “Daniel’s thought energy directs his movements. For those of us in physical form, a portal is needed. Though this method works differently for humans than it does for us,” he cautioned.
“How so?” she asked.
“We fae can keep the window open for as long as we wish, and some remain open indefinitely. That is not the case for mortals. Therefore, the one who creates the opening must be the last to step through,” he cautioned. “The portal will then close immediately.”
So … she could bring Daniel back with her if he agreed. Her heart thumped inside her chest and her mind reeled. Fáelán and Brían had relocated for her sisters. Would Daniel consider doing so for her? “Do I have to do anything to activate the magic?”
“Nay. That part is done. Simply concentrate your thoughts and focus upon the crystal. Your directed intention will trigger the magic.”
“Thank you, Alpin,” she said, lifting the pouch he’d given her. “Will you be able to tell if things don’t go as planned?”
“I have to be very … careful,” he hedged. “Discreet.”
She took that to mean he didn’t want any further involvement. “Of course.”
“I shall leave you to your planning. I wish you both a favorable outcome.” Alpin made some sort of sign with his hand, and the air between them began to undulate and shimmer in waves of pale green and pink. At least now she knew what to look for when she activated the magic. He bowed slightly, and then he walked through the shimmer and disappeared from view.
Meredith’s eyes widened at what she’d just witnessed. “Well.”
Daniel chuckled. “Indeed.”
“I have money, clothing which will help me fit in, and the means to get to you in your time. All that remains is the letter, and we’re set.”
“Nay. First you must walk with me to my mining camp and become familiar enough to fix your mind upon the site when you make the journey.” His gaze bored into her. “We need to do that several times until you know the place extremely well. I can’t have you ending up in the Antarctic, Meredith MacCarthy. That would break my heart.”
“Right.” She stuffed the small pouch holding the diamonds into her back pocket. Everything was becoming very real, and her hands were shaking. “Let me go back to the cabin for a bottle of water, and we’ll set out for your claim.”
“I’ll come with you.”
She nodded and walked out of the saloon with Daniel at her side. “Shall we do the letter in the schoolhouse this evening? We can make good use of the desk.” That, and it was farther away from the cabin and her cabinmates than the gift shop or the saloon.
“If you wish.”
They’d walked for a few moments while she recalled Daniel’s concerns that she’d land somewhere other than Garretsville. “Your hear
t wouldn’t be broken if I ended up in the Antarctic. You wouldn’t know I exist, much less that I’d been trying to get to you. So how could you miss me?”
“That’s exactly what I spoke with Alpin about. I asked him if he had some kind of magic that would help me remember you and my time as a ghost.” He glanced at her. “Would you like to know what he told me?”
Meredith swallowed a couple times. “Yes.”
“He said our interactions in this century cannot be erased. If we’re successful, you and I will form a new strand within time and space, but the old one will still exist. We mortals often speak of love at first sight, or at least an immediate affinity or an aversion to someone we’ve just met. Alpin says that is one soul’s recognition of another soul they’ve known before, either in a previous life, or during a brief strand in time like the one we’ve formed together.”
“I’ve heard that before,” she said. “But—”
“Alpin planted what he called a suggestion into my awareness, one that will alert me to pay attention to that feeling of recognition and affinity with you. He says that might be enough to trigger the memories of our time together in this century.”
“Won’t that get him into trouble? Isn’t that meddling in the lives of—”
“Nay. I’m not alive, Meredith. To any of the Tuatha council watching over him, what Alpin did for me will seem like nothing more than a whisper in the wind, a benediction to the dead. For the gift he has bestowed upon me, I am eternally grateful.”
“As am I,” she managed to say past the lump clogging her throat. Lord, I hope this works.
9
How odd to have drifted along beside Meredith, rather than thinking himself to his mining camp as he had for over a century. The notion brought a smile to Daniel’s face. Perhaps in the near future, he’d have a physical form to use once again.
Daniel stood beside Meredith as she surveyed his mining camp. Her cheeks were rosy from their hike, and her eyes sparkled a lovely shade of bluish-gray today. She turned slowly in a circle, her hands on her hips.
When she came to a stop, she shook her head. “This isn’t going to work, Daniel.”
“What do you mean? Why not?”
“There’s nothing here.” She swung her arm in an arc that seemed to encompass the entire Garnet Mountain range. “How am I supposed to concentrate on an image of your camp when all there is to see are rocks, sandy soil, and scrubby trees?” She glanced at the trees and waved a hand dismissively. “These pines probably weren’t even here back then, and if they were, they certainly didn’t look like they do today.”
Daniel frowned as he gazed at the cabin he and Charles had built. His attention shifted to their equipment stacked neatly inside the shed, the same shed where they stabled their mules and kept the wagon. “You don’t see our cabin and the shed? You don’t see the wagon?”
“Nope. This is like the saloon. You ghosts see what was present during your personal pasts. I imagine it’s a kind of self-projection of your memories, but for those who actually live in the physical world, those things aren’t visible. When ghosts are engaged in activities, people like me see a phantom pantomime, only the actors involved don’t need the white face paint. They’re already as pale as smoke.”
He pointed to where he and Charles had extracted silver ore from the earth. “What about the pit where we mined?”
“I see a shallow bowl in the ground, and it’s mostly filled in with sand and detritus.”
“Shite.”
“It’s okay. I’ll focus on the landmarks that lead to your claim. You can tell me where the structures stood and describe everything to me in detail. I’ll make notes.”
She drew forth the wee device she used to talk to people who were far away and began tapping the glass surface. Was she making notes?
“I’ll have to concentrate on something that still exists in Garretsville in this century and land there. Then I’ll hike to your camp. I don’t believe the cabin where the volunteers stay was around back then, so I’m thinking the assayer’s office would work. If I focus on what I see from the top of the hill behind Garretsville, I can—”
“Absolutely not. A lone woman suddenly appearing over the crest of the surrounding hills would be vulnerable. Not to mention you’d be viewed with suspicion.” He raked his phantom hands through his hair. “I want you to arrive where I can protect you.”
“As far as suspicion goes, I can always say I caught a ride part way to town with a miner or a mail coach and walked the rest of the way. That would explain my sudden appearance. Wasn’t there a respectable boarding house or a hotel in Garretsville in your era? I’m going to have to stay somewhere.”
She cast him a wry look. “Besides, why would you be more likely than anyone else to offer protection to a total stranger?” She lifted her device and began turning in a circle again.
“I’m a decent man who was raised right; that’s why. As you well know, not all those in Garretsville can say the same, and that includes Joe Biggs, the assayer. I don’t want him or the gang of three to have any knowledge of your presence in Garretsville.”
He placed his own hands on his hips and mimicked her tone, “Besides, don’t forget Alpin’s planted suggestion. You won’t be a total stranger to me. Charles and I will claim you’re his American cousin, and you’ll stay with us. I’ll include that in the letter.”
He scowled, but it did no good, because she kept her eyes on the wee box in her hands. “What is it you’re doing with that thing?” he asked.
“I’m taking a video of this spot. The next time we hike here, I’ll take pictures of landmarks along the way. I’ll bring my phone with me to the past, and I can use what I’ve recorded to help guide me.”
“Nothing you just said makes a bit of sense.”
“Here.” She held the device out to him. “See for yourself.”
“Nay.” He stared pointedly toward the horizon, away from her device. Seeing his campsite through her eyes—finding his dwelling place and everything familiar to him long gone—did not appeal to him in the least. If he’d had a gut, it would’ve crimped at the thought.
“Then you must trust that I know what I’m doing.”
“Meredith, I … Promise me you’ll find a way to arrive right here.” He pointed to the ground between them. “I cannot bear the thought that some harm might befall you.”
Her brow creased, and she studied him. “I’ll try, but I’m sure you realize why I can’t make that promise. Maybe while you write your letter, there might be a way for you to share images of your camp with me. That would help.”
“Perhaps.” He continued to glower. “Speaking of the letter, we should return to town.”
“You’re upset.”
“I am, and that’s a fact.”
“What exactly is upsetting you?” she asked, her expression turning to concern.
“First, I hadn’t considered the danger you’d be in when you leave your time and come to mine. It’s not about miscalculating the time and place either. It’s about being a woman alone in a relatively uncivilized mining town where you know no one. There are as many unscrupulous individuals in Garretsville as there are decent folk.”
He surveyed the camp that was as familiar to him as his own ghostly form. “Second, I had no idea that what I see here … “ His jaw clenched for a moment, and his throat tightened, or at least he experienced an impression of those physical sensations. The longer he knew Meredith, the harder it was to remember he was naught but a wraith. “The school, the assayer’s office, Keoghan’s … they still exist, aye? But now you tell me my camp does not. It’s a blow, yet another loss, and it will take time for me to adjust.”
“I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to upset you.”
“You didn’t. The three men who stole everything from me are to blame.” He heaved a ghostly sigh. “Come, let us see about writing the letter, and I’ll share my memories with you if I’m able. If not, we’ll visit the goldmine. That might have more disti
nctive characteristics for you to fix in your mind, and it’s only over that rise.” He jutted his chin toward the slight hill to the east.
“All right.” She glanced at him, her expression sympathetic. “I wish I could hold your hand, Daniel. I wish I could offer some kind of comfort.”
“Meredith MacCarthy, you’ve no idea what meeting you has meant to me, and it’s certain I don’t own the words to express adequately what I’m feeling.”
So overcome by his churning emotions he couldn’t stay still, Daniel began to pace. “After nearly two hundred years, I have hope that this nightmare will soon come to an end, but that’s not what moves me the most. When I’m with you, I feel … alive.”
He came to stand before her, his gaze roaming over her face, committing to memory every beloved detail. “Do you have any idea what it was like for me that one day you went away? Desolate, that’s what, and you were only gone for a handful of hours.”
The sharp intake of her breath went straight through him, and his phantom heart took flight. Her eyes darkened, and her lips parted slightly. The telltale rise in temperature, along with the heightened color once again filling her cheeks would have set his blood to boiling … if he’d had any. “Ah, Meredith, you’ve no idea what knowing you has been like for me. You cannot imagine how your very presence affects me.”
She bit her lip and studied the ground beneath her feet. “You’d be surprised,” she whispered.
At her comment, the hope that he’d soon hold her in his arms flared to life. She’d as much as admitted she had feelings for him as well. Meredith began to walk toward the path to Garretsville, and he joined her. They went along in silence for several moments as his mind spun one fantasy after another, all involving the two of them together.
They’d be good as a couple. He somehow sensed they’d always be able to lean on each other when times were tough. He knew in his very soul neither his trust nor hers would be misplaced where the other was concerned. Aye, and he wanted her with a fierceness he could not have imagined. That same wanting would be tenfold if they were successful in restoring him to the life he was meant to live. She was his one and only love, of that he was certain.
Summoned in Time: A magical, ghostly, time travel romance... (The MacCarthy Sisters Book 3) Page 11
