A sharp cry rang from overhead. A bald eagle swooped and circled over a tall building. He urged the stallion on.
He leapt from the horse, and took the stairs three at a time. The glass doors breathed open before his touch. The heat crackled across his skin like flames. Where was she? How would he find her? A portal yawned open, and people poured out staring and pointing in his direction. Even though people scurried out of his path the chasm closed before he reached it. He pounded it with his fist.
Chapter 32
“What do you mean you don’t know? You’re doctors for Pete’s sake! She’s burning up. Do something!” Donna saw the orderlies approaching. Fine, if the doctors wouldn’t do anything, she would. Although she hadn’t a clue what. Donna stormed out of the hospital room and shoved the burly orderlies out of her way. She called over her shoulder, “If they die, you’ll wish you did!”
She slammed her fist into the elevator button. She’d listened to Meghan call his name until she was too hoarse to continue, and still, her lips formed the word. Will was as real to Meghan as Dan to her. She’d find him, or there’d be hell to pay! The doors opened, and people stepped out of the crazy lady’s way. Good, she liked a nice empty elevator. She hit L for the lobby and leaned against the wall.
“Meghan never asked for much, God. Give her a break, okay?” The elevator slowed. She straightened her back and ran a finger under each eye. Where do you search for a ghost? The doors whooshed open, and she squealed, “Thank you, Jesus!”
Donna grabbed his loincloth and dragged him inside. “Tell me your name is Will.”
“I seek Meghan.”
“Oh baby, you have no idea how happy I am you said those words!” She slapped him hard across the face, and then before he could react, kissed his lips. When she pulled back, tears threatened again. “That’s for coming to take my best friend.”
“Which one?”
“Both.” She stuck out her hand. “I’m Donna.”
The door whooshed open. She grabbed his hand. “This way.”
One glimpse of the wild-eyed lady with the naked man and the orderlies parted like the Red Sea before Moses. Will tore free of her and raced to Meghan’s bedside. Fighting back tears, he winced at the IVs in her arms. His eyes riveted on the slight bulge under the thin blanket. His gaze rose to Donna’s. “Mine?”
“No, they’re mine. Of course they’re yours, you idiot! Now wave your magic wand or whatever you did to take her in the first place, and get the hell out of Dodge before the cavalry shows up.”
The orderlies stood at the nurse’s station, mouths yapping and hands flying. Codes were being called left, right, and sideways over the PA system. It didn’t take a genius to figure out the troops would arrive soon.
“They?”
Jesus, he might be good looking. Okay, gorgeous. But he sure seemed dense. Maybe she needed hand puppets? “Look, sugarpie. Meggie’s preggers and you’re gonna be a daddy times two. If you don’t get your ass moving, we’re all going to end up in jail. So presto-chango, alikazam, whoa Nellie-Bozo, go! Do what you came to do before I slap some sense into you.”
“These must go.” Will motioned to Meghan’s arms and the bags of fluids.
“Done.” She could do this. She’d watched the nurses often enough. Donna crimped the drip and pulled some cotton balls from the bedside dispenser. She placed one over the catheter, held the wings in her right hand and pulled straight back. How could she forget the Band-Aid?
“Hold this.” She placed the hunk’s finger on the cotton ball and began to search the bedside table. No joy. She dumped the contents of her purse in the recliner, located the duct tape, and tore a bit off with her teeth. Since Will had a grip on Meg’s left arm, she addressed the right before attending to the other. She glanced at the fresh wound on his bare shoulder. “Is that a bullet hole?”
“Yes.” He mixed powders in Meghan’s water glass.
“Will that take her back?”
Will met her gaze with a worried frown.
“You aren’t sure, are you?”
“They brought me here.”
The cops were coming down the corridor, flanked by the cowardly orderlies. Now or never. Donna pulled Meghan into a sitting position. “Meghan! Will’s come for you. Do you hear me? You have to drink this now. Right now!”
Meg’s eyes fluttered, her lips forming the words.
“Say something, you idiot!”
“I love you, sweetheart. Marry me?”
“Drink! Then you can answer him…”
Meghan took first one sip, and then another. The third drained the glass. Her gaze locked on Will. He poured the contents of a packet on his tongue and gulped water from the pitcher before pulling Meghan into the cradle of his arms.
Donna ran to the door. “I’ll stall as long as I can, but I have no idea how you’ll get past them.” She turned to say more and found herself alone, and the room empty. She swung the door open to let in the cops, orderlies, doctors, nurses, and other assorted spectators who wanted a peek at nothing. The blare of car horns rose in the stillness of the night, and she ran to the window before they could cuff her.
A semi-naked man with a woman in his arms rode a white horse—wearing a hat? That couldn’t be right—down Main Street, in a hospital zone, between snowdrifts left by the worst blizzard in a hundred years. She thought it seemed like the perfect cue.
Donna fainted.
Chapter 33
She burned with fever. Her eyes glazed and bright, fixed on his face. The eagle flew ahead of them, and the stallion followed his lead. They seemed to know where to go. He left them to it and concentrated on the woman in his arms.
She raised a trembling hand to the clean-shaven side of her head, and frowned.
“You’re the most beautiful thing I have ever seen.” He brought the hand to his lips, kissing her palm.
The eagle cried. Ghost Walking looked up and saw the tunnel in the drift. His steed didn’t slow, but instead arrowed toward the opening. The moment they entered the snowy portal, his skin began to cool, and his erratic heart to quiet. He gazed at Meghan to find her sleeping, breath even, and the flush fading from her skin. He pulled his hand free of the medicine-hat’s mane, laying his fingers gingerly on her swollen belly where their children grew.
The eagle disappeared from sight, and then in one mighty leap, the stallion burst from the tunnel. The sun rose over the mountaintop, turning the snow shades of gold, amethyst, and red. Smoke from the lodge rose in a ribbon of blue to greet the new day.
Ghost Walking trudged down the mountain with his love clutched tight to his chest. The shoulder-high snow melted before him. He saw only a wall of white and the eagle soaring overhead. He followed the bird.
* * * *
The door of the lodge burst open, and he stood framed in the bright white light, Meghan in his arms. Charlie stared at the man in front of him, the one whose arm clasped his. He hadn’t moved a muscle or so much as flicked an eyelash in hours. Now there was two of him?
“Do not move,” White Buffalo said from across the fire. Only he couldn’t have because he’d never stopped chanting.
Charlie had promised them he wouldn’t let go, no matter what he saw or heard. A promise was a promise. He held tight—and waited.
The Will carrying the girl crossed to the one Charlie held on to. As he approached, his form seemed to waver. Charlie watched as one Will stepped into the other, the shadowy form shrinking down until Meghan rested in his Will’s lap, her legs draped across their joined arms. He saw the boy’s eyes flutter open, his gaze taking in the woman in his lap.
“Thank you, Father.” Will’s grip relaxed as his body folded over Meghan’s.
Charlie tried to rise, but he had been sitting too long on his old bones. “Stop that gosh awful racket. Get your red ass over here and see about the two of them. And close the damned door before we all freeze to death!”
Chapter 34
Meghan glanced anxiously at the babies in the bac
k of the buckboard. Will’s hand touched her cheek, and she smiled back at him. She was such a worrywart. Meg smoothed the red skirt with one hand while she tucked her free arm through Will’s as the team parade stepped down the mountain trail.
“You look beautiful, sweetheart.”
Meg fanned her eyes to keep the tears at bay before running the hand over her hair. “Oh, hush. I’m a weepy old thing, so don’t get me started.”
His answer was a brilliant smile and a quick kiss.
She felt beautiful today in the red dress he’d given her for Christmas. As if another gift was needed. He came through time wounded to bring her home. He gave her two babies. He gave her his love. Today, he would give her his name. What more could she ask for?
The sky wore a deep blue, the grass seemed greener, and the air fresher. Meghan laughed with the joy filling her heart, all the while wiping the tears from her eyes.
“Shhh, love, don’t,” Will pleaded. He winked before adding, “Sure didn’t take you long to get your figure back.”
Meg rolled her eyes and hefted her swollen breasts. “You try nursing two babies and running a household and see how fast you lose weight! My tits will reach my knees before long.”
“Such a mouth on the mother of my daughters. Shame on you,” Will scolded.
“Don’t start.” She realized he teased, but at the same time remembered little pictures have big ears. Soon, the girls would start to talk and repeat what they heard. Oh, shoot! She would have to watch her mouth. Exactly what she needed, more to make her nervous on top of wedding jitters. She still couldn’t figure out why her stomach kept turning cartwheels. They had lived as man and wife for the better part of a year and a half. The best part. Was she afraid Will would stand her up at the altar? Sheesh, hormones!
A wail from the basket was followed quickly by a second, bringing her milk down hard. Good thing she had just given up cussing, or she’d have sworn a blue streak. She pulled her arm from Will’s and started to unbutton her bodice, thankful for the hankies she had folded in the chemise against such an occurrence. At least she hadn’t stained her dress. “Find a place to stop, babe. I can’t juggle them both bouncing down the road.”
Will clucked to the team to quicken their pace.
* * * *
“I lay here one night and dreamed of you. That was the night I knew you’d be my wife.” He swapped Sherry for Donna, patting her back ’til she burped, feeling a pang of envy as her sister sucked hungrily at Meghan’s breast.
“You were so sure I’d say yes?”
“Nope, but I swore I’d do whatever it took to win you. Ah, love, don’t.” He walked to her side, cradling her cheek to his thigh as she wept. Childbirth did awful things to a woman’s emotions.
Meg sniffed and took his proffered handkerchief to dab her eyes. “Sorry. I’m just hormonal. Don’t mind me.”
* * * *
Travel with two infants was insane. Two days on a wagon seat made her butt sore. Sleeping in it made her back hurt. Changing into the red dress in the middle of nature proved a challenge. Arranging her hair to cover the short side while Will held a hand mirror not much bigger than his pocket watch was…interesting. He assured her she had been successful and she trusted him to tell her the truth. The church steeple coming into view made her efforts all worthwhile.
“Why are we stopping here? The church is over thataway.” Meg pointed at the one painted building at the end of the road, the one sporting a steeple with a cross on top.
“I’ll only be a minute, sweetheart. You can wait here if you like.”
Will set the brake, dropped anchor, and threw a loop around the hitching post for good measure even though the team stood like two statues when he dropped the reins.
Meg nodded. “I’ll stay with the girls.”
Sherry and Donna slept peacefully, oblivious their birth status was about to change. Meg watched passersby ogle the matched team of Morgans. The occasional man looked her way. A polite tip of the hat she acknowledged with a nod. The leers, she ignored. She was so busy minding her manners she didn’t notice her approach until it was too late.
“So, you’re her?”
Meghan turned to see a five-foot-nothing redhead staring up at her from the boardwalk. “I beg your pardon?”
“The one what stole Will from me.”
Ah, Kathy.
“I’m Meg.” With a smile, Meghan leaned over the wagon seat to offer her hand, which left her a tad off balance. When the little bitch jerked, she came toppling down.
Kathy crowed with laughter as Meg picked herself up, stood, and dusted herself off.
When she swung a right fist into Kathy’s stomach, the laughter turned to a gurgle. The left uppercut to her jaw silenced her completely.
Meg stepped over the prone form to peer into the wagon bed at her sleeping angels, then dropped the step and hitched up her skirt for the climb to the seat. She felt a hand on her elbow. A glance over her shoulder showed her intended. Meg raised a brow as he lifted her to her seat. Will wisely said nothing.
He cleared his throat a time or two while his face returned to his normal shade. After he deposited a large box in the wagon bed, picked up the anchor, and untied the team, he took his seat. “Shall we get hitched?”
“Yes, let’s.”
* * * *
Will took the preacher aside while Meg waited in the buckboard impatiently. The men soon had things settled, and he returned to hand her down. He held his hand up to her, but she took a moment to notice him as she stared anxiously after the reverend.
“Where’s he going? Won’t he do it? Offer him more money!”
“Sweetheart, he’s gone to fetch the missus as a witness and to watch the babies. He said we could use the little house out back—”
“The outhouse?”
Will chuckled and shook his head. “Not unless you need to. Now, come on down.”
When Meghan alighted, he handed Sherry to her, or was this Donna? Nope, Sherry’s ran to the left. He picked up Donna’s basket and tucked the box under his arm. He nodded toward the rear of the church. “That way, my love.”
* * * *
Will hadn’t said a thing since she decked Kathy, but something was up. He seemed fit to bust. What about the box? Had he bought a new suit for the ceremony? The little house appeared to be a guest cottage, heightening Meghan’s suspicions. If he thought to get a quickie before the nuptials, he had a surprise coming.
They had gotten the babies settled, and Will had just set the box on the single bed when a light tap sounded. Meg opened the door to find a plump, smiling woman in her forties.
“I’m Mrs. Benson, dear, come to offer my congratulations and my assistance.” She bustled past Meghan and shooed Will out the door. “Scoot!”
Meghan shrugged at a smiling Will and turned to see Mrs. B opening the box. Meg gasped.
“Best get out of your dress, dear. These buttons will take forever to do up! Dear?”
She recognized the dress at once. She’d seen the gown a hundred years ago in a barn loft. “Call me Meg.”
* * * *
“Please don’t smile.”
The photographer said the same words at least fifty times before. It was no use. Their smiles would have to be surgically removed.
“Just take the damn picture!” Meghan said under her breath only to have Will echo it loudly.
The blinding flash captured their grinning countenances for posterity.
“I think they turned out well.” Meg gazed at the tintype. She was seated with little Donna on her lap. Will stood behind the chair with Sherry in his arms. Their little white christening gowns looked like miniature wedding gowns to match hers. Their hair really showed up well, like their daddy’s raven locks but with one slight difference. Each girl bore a streak of platinum through the black. Like mirror images of each other, Sherry’s ran to the left, and Donna’s, the right.
They had purchased two photos to commemorate the day. One was a gift.
“Do you think this will work?” Will asked as he helped her into the wagon.
“Only one way to find out. By the way, have I told you in the last five minutes how much I love you, husband?”
“I never tire of hearing it, wife.”
Chapter 35
Donna’s far-fetched notion was why she’d waited until Dan went into town for supplies. The snow had finally melted, giving way to the bright greens of spring which turned to summer. Trees budded, and birds sang as they built nests and hatched their young. She patted her own growing belly and smiled. Steamboat Springs, Colorado was about to experience a baby boom come fall. What better way to spend one’s time when snowed in for the winter?
Donna climbed the ladder with care. Dan would have a conniption if he caught her. He had taken overprotection to new heights.
Meg’s babies might be born already. Twins often came early. Donna worried about the delivery. Back in the day, even a single birth was iffy, but twins made the process doubly so. She wanted to be with Meg while understanding the impossibility. Besides, what could she do that Will couldn’t? The man had traveled to the future to find his love. Donna took comfort in that.
She slung her leg over the top rung and grabbed the loft rail to pull her into standing position. Her nervous fingers fumbled in her hip pocket for the package. She rolled her eyes when she looked at the tiny parcel wrapped in brown paper and string. She had thought of and discarded so many ideas, not knowing what might be too big to send through time. She wanted to buy things for the babies, but she didn’t know if Meg carried boys, girls, or one of each. Then she remembered the silver certificate printed in 1900 in her safe deposit box.
Money always fit. So, she wrapped the bill in a letter with a photo of her and Dan both pointing to her only slightly swollen stomach, before encasing everything in brown paper. She walked slowly toward the bunks and the trunks at their feet. Kneeling, Donna raised the lid and froze. The aged wedding dress lay folded just as Meghan had left it, but now on top rested a brown paper bundle, the string already raveled away. That hadn’t been there before.
Dare to Dream Page 16
