by Kristy Tate
Celia’s teeth chattered, but Penelope sat ramrod stiff and still, as if refusing to shiver. The lantern tied onto the wagon bobbed, and did little to slice through the dark. Celia heard the ocean before she saw it.
The moans and cries of dying men rose above the wind’s howl and the tide’s roar. Someone had built a raging fire in the shelter of Merlin’s Cave. Men, looking cold and shell-shocked, shivered beneath blankets and tarps beside the fire. Able-bodied men, scoured the beach for survivors. Wooden rowboats bobbled on the frothing water, their lanterns casting sweeping light.
When the wagon stopped at the edge of the bank, Celia didn’t know what to do. She felt out of place and in the way, but Penelope and Mrs. West didn’t seem to share her reservations. Both jumped out, armed themselves with blankets and flasks of whiskey, and headed for the shore. Celia grabbed some supplies of her own, and followed.
The wind pulled on her clothes and the rain spat in her face as she headed for where the tide met the sand. She thought of the last time she’d gone to the beach. It had been spring break. She wore a new red bikini that would later match her sunburn. Venice Beach might as well been on a different planet from this Cornwall seashore. And she knew that she had been a very different person then than she was now.
Her gaze sought out Jason. He and Montgomery had waded into the surf to help pull a man from a wooden rowboat. She watched Jason wrap an arm around the nearly drowned man, and carry him across the sand. The man’s feet dragged limply, and Jason bore most of his weight.
She realized with nearly breath-taking force that Jason was a much better person than she had ever given him credit for. He was, she realized, a much better person than she would probably ever be. Maybe if she spent more time with him, she could learn to be as good and selfless as he was.
Not once had he talked about keeping the jewels. She wondered if he had even considered it. He had seemed genuinely surprised that she had thought of using them to buy the shop. Of course, Celia would never go into a jewelry store and walk out with a stolen necklace. She had never stolen anything from anyone. Even as a kid, she’d never been tempted to pocket something from the candy aisle. But somehow, keeping the emeralds was different.
Why? What made it different? Because if she took the jewels to the twenty-first century she would never be caught?
That didn’t make it okay. Jason knew that.
She stumbled over something. Looking down, Celia instantly recognized her own putrid pink bridesmaid dress. Honoria.
CHAPTER SIXTEEN
Celia squatted down and touched Honoria’s blue face. Her eyelids fluttered. Cold, Celia decided, but still alive. She pulled Honoria from the water and as she did, she realized that even though she was saving Honoria—she was really saving herself, and all of Honoria’s posterity. The cold tide lapped at Celia’s feet and tugged on Honoria’s dress.
“She looks just like you!” Penelope gasped.
Celia turned in surprise. She hadn’t realized that Penelope had followed her.
“Freaky, right?” Celia said, without stopping her slow climb up the beach.
Penelope gave her a funny look and went to pick up Honoria’s ankles. “I would say uncanny.” She grunted as she helped lift Honoria. “I think she would weigh less if her dress wasn’t sopping wet.”
Celia looked over her shoulder at the raging bonfire. “It’s not much further.”
“I wonder if she was the only woman on board,” Penelope said.
A child’s cry rose above the crash of the surf. Penelope swiveled toward the sound.
A young boy tottered on the sand, looking dazed and forlorn. “Pa!”
“The captain’s lad,” someone nearby said.
Penelope gave Celia a questioning look.
“Go help him,” Celia said. “We’ll be okay.”
Penelope looked doubtful, but when the boy cried out again, she dropped Honoria’s ankles, picked up her skirts and ran down the beach toward the child.
With her hands tucked around Honoria’s arms, Celia continued up the beach. Finally, she made it to Merlin’s Cave. She pulled Honoria close to the fire where the flames burned hot. Shadows danced on the dirt walls while men huddled beneath blankets. Celia settled close, and held Honoria cradled against her chest.
A weather-beaten man tossed Celia a blanket, and she wrapped it around herself and Honoria. She knew that she should remove Honoria’s wet gown. Chewing on her lip, she debated which evil was worse—a sopping dress, or near-nakedness?
Honoria stirred.
Celia brushed back Honoria’s wet curls. “Wake up,” she prompted. “Please wake up. You have to get better.”
Honoria rolled her head, and Celia wondered if that was a yes-nod or a no-shake or just a twitch.
“You’ll have a child,” Celia told her. “And he will have ten children. And who knows how many each of them will have. So you see, by staying alive, you’ll save not only your own life, but the lives of all your children’s children.”
“How?” Honoria murmured.
So grateful to hear Honoria’s voice, Celia wanted to laugh. Instead, she said, “How do you have a child? I think you know that answer.”
“No, how do you know?” Honoria turned her head, trying to see Celia’s face. She gave up. As if exhausted from that tiny movement, she fell back against Celia’s chest.
“You wouldn’t believe me if I told you.”
Honoria nodded. “I thought I was dead, but now I’m alive. Right now, I think I will believe anything.”
“I guess it’s okay if you don’t believe me. Later, we can say that you were out of your mind and delirious.” Celia took a deep breath. “I’m from 300 years in the future. I’m one of your great-great-great-grandaughters.” She nodded to the shore where Jason hovered over the boat, trying to lift a man from its depths. “Jason is a great-something grandson. That’s why I look like you and Jason looks like Percy.”
“Why did you come here?”
“I’m not sure, but I think we came to save you.”
Honoria’s shivering increased.
“Let me find you some whiskey.” Casting her gaze around the cave, Celia spotted several flasks propped up in the corner. Easing away from Honoria, she went for the flasks.
After choosing the one that seemed the most full, she uncorked it and handed it to Honoria.
Honoria’s hand shook so violently that Celia wrapped her hand around Honoria’s and helped her drink.
Although her own dress wasn’t exactly dry, it would be better than the once pink bridesmaid’s dress. Celia quickly started on her own buttons.
“What are you doing?”
“I’m trading you gowns,” Celia said. “Mine isn’t completely dry, but yours is soaked.”
“But then you’ll be soaked, too,” Honoria said through blue lips.
“I’m not worried,” Celia said, although it occurred to her that maybe she should be.
“We’re going to change right here in front of all these men?”
Celia glanced around at the five curled beneath blankets around the fire. She suspected some were dead, or near death.
“They won’t mind, and I bet they’ll never tell.”
Honoria stood on shaky legs.
The damp, cold air bit her skin as soon as Celia slipped out of her dress. She handed it to Honoria, who took it wordlessly.
#
Jason found Percy in a pile of bodies at the bottom of a crude fishing boat.
“Damn,” he whispered. Would it be wrong to pass by these others who needed help and focus just on Percy?
Clearly, Mrs. West didn’t think so. She pushed Jason aside, grabbed Percy shoulders and gave him a shake that rocked the boat.
“Don’t you die now, you worthless piece of twaddle!” Old Mrs. West, with her gray hair hanging in long, stringy strands, and her sharp nose poking out of her cape, looked like a witch.
Percy must have thought so, too, because his eyes flew open in surprise and fe
ar. He struggled to sit up.
“You’re alive,” Jason said.
“So it would seem,” Percy whispered as he laid back and bonked his head on the boat’s rim.
Mrs. West bumped Jason with her shoulder. “Help me get him to the fire.”
“But these others—”Jason began.
“We’ll come back for those.”
Mrs. West helped Percy untangle himself from his boat-mates.
“Sorry, old chap,” Percy muttered to a man grasping at his arm, as he took Jason’s hand to climb from the boat. Trying to stand on the shore, he fell into Jason’s arms.
Jason tottered under the weight, but after a moment, managed to get a hold of Percy’s waist so he could help him to the cave.
His steps faltered as he caught sight of two Celias, both only half dressed.
“I’ve died and gone to heaven,” Percy muttered.
His grandmother whacked him in the arm.
“I think Celia is giving Honoria her dress,” Jason choked out.
“And giving the rest of us a peep show!” old Mrs. West barked.
“Thank Heaven,” Percy said. “It’s really good to be alive.”
Jason thought so, too, but he didn’t say anything as he helped Percy to the fire. By the time they arrived, Celia had managed the buttons on both dresses.
Percy fell beside his wife and wrapped her in his arms.
Jason looked away. His gaze caught sight of Penelope and Montgomery on the shore, working side by side to drag a man from the pounding surf.
Celia caught his arm as he turned away.
“Where are you going?” she asked.
He nodded at the beach. “To help.”
Picking up her skirts, she followed without saying a word.
#
Celia trailed down the beach after Jason. She knew where he was headed, a wooden boat on the brink of capsizing struggled toward the shore. The man with the oars fought the tide as his overly laden boat threatened to capsize.
Jason ran for the water ahead of Celia. Taking a deep breath, she braced herself for the stinging cold water as it splashed first around her ankles, then her knees, and finally her thighs. Rain added to the deluge, but as Celia fought to steady the boat, she didn’t notice or mind the rain or cold. She forgot about herself as she worked beside Jason.
The man with the oars floundered, his balance tipping.
“Celia! Look out!” Jason yelled.
Celia turned just in time to see a wave carrying a pile of debris heading her way. She ducked into the water, hoping that the rubble would wash over her. The cold engulfed her and, for a moment, she felt weightless.
Emerging from the water, she knew immediately that something was terribly wrong.
CHAPTER SEVENTEEN
“Celia!” Jason screamed as she disappeared in the dark tide.
He silently counted while waiting for her to reappear. When he reached twenty, he couldn’t stand anymore—his knees actually buckled—and he sank into the frothy waves.
Large hands pulled him up.
“Let me go!” Jason turned to yell at Montgomery. “I have to find her!”
“You’ll die, as sure as it’s raining,” Montgomery screamed over the storm and surf.
“I have to go with her,” Jason said, panic fluttering in his gut. “I promised I would go with her.”
Montgomery shook his head. “There are some promises you never have to keep—that should have never been spoken.”
Jason tore away from Montgomery and plunged into the surf.
#
Celia raised her face to the dying sun. Engulfed in the warm water, she kicked to the side of the well.
Becca stared at her, clearly dazed.
“Are you okay?” Celia asked.
Becca shook her head. “I don’t think so. How about you?”
“That depends,” Celia said as she climbed out of the well. The autumn twilight felt like bliss. Her arms, weak and wobbly, pulled her up. She flopped beside Becca and watched the sun cast shadows through the trees’ canopy.
“Depends on what?”
Celia closed her eyes. “Jason.”
Becca nudged her. “I think you’re going to be okay.”
Celia’s eyes flew open and she sat up in time to see Jason rising from the water. She launched herself at him.
He caught her in his arms and kissed her.
“Well, that certainly looks like a happy ending,” Becca said.
Celia wanted to laugh, but she also wanted to kiss Jason. She chose the latter.
“Oh my hell!”
Celia reluctantly drew away from Jason’s lips.
Mia stood in the clearing, her hands on her hips and rage coloring her expression. “You went swimming in my dress? I knew you hated it…but this is outrageous!”
“That’s not that outrageous,” Joel, who followed his sister, said. He waved his finger at Celia and Jason. “But this is.”
Granny Claudette clapped her hands. “This is exactly what I knew would happen.”
“No, you didn’t,” Mia said.
“You saw this coming?” Joel asked.
“Of course I did,” Granny said.
Jason looked at Celia and touched his nose to hers. “She couldn’t possibly have known.”
“What? That I couldn’t live without you?” Celia asked, ignoring her family on the side of the hill.
“I don’t want to live without you, either” Jason said.
“Good thing you won’t have to,” Celia said.
“What about unloading the truck? What about the shop?” Mia asked.
“Aren’t you supposed to be on your honeymoon?” Celia asked.
Mia pressed her lips closed as a wave of sadness washed over her expression.
Celia decided not to press her questions. Taking Jason’s hand and pulling him through the water, she climbed from the well.
“I’ve decided not to use Judson’s barn,” Celia said. “I’d rather run the shop out of Granny’s house. We can use the attic to store inventory, and we can use the guest bedroom as a fitting room. I won’t need a lot of space, since we’ll run most everything online. Besides, I’m going to focus more on designing than retail.” She threw Jason a warm smile. “Someone I trust told me I have an eye for design.”
While her brother and sister just stared at her, Granny smiled. “That’s my girl.”
“Come on,” Celia said. “Let’s go back to the house and unload the truck.” She squeezed Jason’s hand. “I can’t wait to start our new life.”
Jason looked over his shoulder at the well. The sun glistened on the water, birds darted through the trees, and a light breeze fluttered the leaves. “Do you think we’ll ever drink from the Witching Well again?”
Celia shook her head. “No need. We have everything we could ever want right here and right now.”
#
Long after everyone else left, Becca remained sitting by the well. No one had noticed that she wore a blue gown. No one came back looking for her. Loneliness and longing tugged at her.
Slowly, she rose to her feet. She started to leave, when a sound stopped her. Turning, she caught a glimpse of something that she thought she’d never see again.
A black cowboy hat floated on the water.
AUTHOR’S NOTE
What started off as a novella has turned into a full length novel and potentially the beginning of a whole series of novels. Please look for Becca’s story, The Cowboy Encounter coming soon to all e-reader book retailers. If you would like to be notified of its release, please sign up for my newsletter on my blog at kristystories.blogpsot.com. The signup form is on the top, right hand side.
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Other Books by Kristy Tate
Beyond the Fortuneteller’s Tent: When Petra Baron goes into the fortuneteller’s tent at a Renaissance fair, she expects to leave with a date to prom. Instead, she walks out into Elizabethan England, where she meets gypsies, a demon dog and a kindred spirit in Emory Ravenswood. Can Petra and Emory have a future while trapped in the past? Or is anything possible Beyond the Fortuneteller’s Tent? (Beyond, book 1) http://amzn.to/1zWdU6n
Beyond the Hollow: With a collection of the writings of Washington Irving in her hand and a prayer that the nine-pin playing ghosts that carried away Rip Van Winkle will give her drink of their ale, Petra Baron heads into another time defying adventure Beyond the Hollow. This is the second book in the Beyond series, where Petra is reminded that love is always timeless. (Book 2 of the Beyond series) http://amzn.to/1I5oTjJ
Beyond the Pale: After their encounter with the Headless Horseman in the Sleepy Hollow cemetery, Petra Baron and her immortal boyfriend, Emory Ravenswood, find themselves thrust into the bustle of modern-day New York City, where the dangers are both living and dead. (Book 3 of the Beyond series) http://amzn.to/1yS76HN
Ghost of a Second Chance: With the help of her grandmother’s ghost, Laine Collins unravels the mystery of her grandparents’ marriage and is forced to face a question of the heart—Can love live even after it has died? (Rose Arbor, book 1)
The Rhyme’s Library: Blair Rhyme discovers crazy Aunt Charlotte’s dead body amongst the boxes of want-nots and what-evers in the library’s basement. Unfortunately, when she returns to the library with the police Charlotte is gone. Desperate to prove that she doesn’t share her aunt’s mental illness and that Charlotte really has been murdered, Blair tangles with a former lover, a disturbingly handsome stranger and a wacky cast of Rose Arbor characters. (Rose Arbor, book 2)
