Danger in Time

by Flowers, R. Barri

  Rachel pondered the question. Was her father truly happy now with Virginia?

  “Dad has never been as happy as he was when our whole family was together,” Rachel responded, truly believing this from the bottom of her heart. “But he puts up a good front to seem like he’s basically happy—when he’s around at all. Dad’s job seems to take up most of his time.”

  Some things never change. Catherine frowned. She wished Edwin had devoted more time to Rachel, especially without her or Brooke around to pick up the slack.

  Catherine turned into the mall parking lot. She faced her daughter. “And what about you, honey—are you happy in the future?”

  Rachel made a face. “The future is definitely not all it’s cracked up to be,” she replied truthfully. “I don’t get along too well with my stepmother, the economy sucks, I have no idea what college to go to, I’m thinking about cutting my hair, but don’t know what other style would look best on me, and oh, yeah, I was about to be sent to stay with Nana before my first trip back here, but got a reprieve when everyone thought I had gotten a mild concussion from hitting my head rather than gone time traveling. That about covers it—”

  She left out that her dad and Virginia were planning to go to Cancun for their long postponed honeymoon.

  Catherine couldn’t help but laugh as she pulled into a parking space. For the first time she saw a normal sixteen-year-old girl and it was somehow reassuring to her.

  “I think any hairstyle would look great on you,” she told Rachel. “It also looks nice being long.”

  “Thanks.” It was a dream come true for Rachel to be able to have this type of mom-daughter chat, even under trying circumstances.

  “So tell me what’s good about your life,” her mother said.

  Rachel didn’t have to think about it much. “I’m just about to start my senior year in high school and I have a really cute boyfriend and tons of cool friends.” She paused. “But something’s always been missing—my mom and sister to share my life with. Now I have you back...at least for a little while.”

  Catherine squeezed her hand and smiled warmly. “Then we’ll make every second count. First we have to find your sister, before—”

  Neither of them even wanted to think about the very real prospect that they could be too late to rescue Brooke from a cold-blooded killer.

  * * *

  Inside the mall, Catherine and Rachel hoped to get lucky and spot Brooke and Natalie right away. Instead they came upon a group of boys horsing around while eating burgers. One looked directly at Rachel and she realized that it was Duncan.

  This time I know I’m not dreaming.

  He stared at her as if recognizing someone who would one day be special in his life. Rachel felt compelled to wave at him as a chill enveloped her. Duncan, seemingly only too happy to impress his friends, smiled broadly and waved back.

  “Do you know that boy?” Catherine asked.

  “Yeah, we’re dating in ten years.” Rachel colored, realizing how weird that sounded even to her.

  “I see.” Catherine allowed herself a moment to consider the remarkable phenomenon and the boy who would one day possibly steal her daughter’s heart. Maybe he would even become her husband and the father of Rachel’s children, whom Catherine would never get to know.

  After no sign of Brooke, Catherine was about to suggest they split up to cover more ground. Before she and Rachel could go their separate ways, Catherine spotted Natalie with a small circle of girls outside a boutique.

  Brooke was not amongst them. This immediately triggered the panic button in Catherine, as she literally took Rachel’s hand and ran towards the group.

  The moment Natalie saw Catherine rapidly approaching with a girl around her age that she hadn’t seen before—yet looked strangely familiar—she sensed somehow that Brooke was in trouble. She just wasn’t sure what type or how much.

  The girls parted like the Red Sea when Catherine and Rachel entered their zone. Catherine wasted no time with small talk, eyeing Natalie.

  “Where’s Brooke?”

  Natalie hesitated, not wanting to get her friend in trouble. She looked at Rachel, trying to place the face, but unable to; then turned back to Catherine. “She went outside to get some fresh air.”

  Catherine could tell Natalie was holding back. Why?

  So could Rachel, who remembered Brooke’s best friend. “Did anyone go with her?” Rachel asked.

  Natalie raised a brow, curiosity getting the better of her. “Who are you?”

  Rachel thought about it for an instant and decided to respond with what came naturally. “I’m her sister.”

  This caught Natalie off guard and got the attention of the other girls, too. Brooke only had one sister as far as Natalie knew—and she was about half the height and age of this one.

  “What—?”

  Catherine could understand her interest as Brooke’s best friend, but now was not the time. “This is really important, Natalie,” she stressed. “If you know something you aren’t saying about Brooke, tell us...please.”

  It was clear to Natalie this was about more than just Brooke disobeying her parents and being with Dennis. But what? And was this girl really Brooke’s secret sister?

  “Brooke went outside with Dennis Farrell.” Natalie wrinkled her nose apologetically. “But just to talk,” she added quickly, hoping that was all they were doing.

  “Where?” Rachel gazed at her sharply, knowing time was of the essence. Especially if Dennis Farrell turned out to be the man who would murder Brooke.

  CHAPTER SEVENTEEN

  Brooke sat on the concrete bench so close to Dennis that she almost couldn’t breathe. Then she wondered if it was more related to the cigarette he was smoking than her strong physical attraction to him. She hated that her mother smoked, especially knowing what it was doing to her and would do in the future. But there was nothing Brooke could do about it. That didn’t mean she had to go down the same road from secondhand smoke.

  “What’s going on inside that pretty head of yours?” Dennis blew a perfect ring of smoke into the air.

  “Nothing much,” Brooke lied. Actually there were plenty of things going on inside her head. She wondered what her future held, now that she had one. Could she actually end up with someone like Dennis as her husband? Would that be so bad?

  Maybe he wasn’t the right guy for her.

  “You really should quit smoking,” she told him bluntly. “It’s so totally not cool.”

  Dennis sucked deeply on the cigarette, tossed it to the ground, and squashed the butt with his foot. “So maybe I will give up the habit, if that’s what you want.”

  “Would you really do that for me?”

  He tilted his head and looked at her. “Yeah, why not?”

  Brooke smiled. Maybe they did have a future after all.

  “Thanks.”

  He grinned. “So are you planning to go to college?”

  “I suppose. I guess right now I’m just concentrating on graduating from high school.” That wasn’t entirely true. Though she still had a year to go, as an honor student several colleges had already approached her about attending on a full scholarship. “Are you going back to school?”

  He was working at a local restaurant after graduating from high school a year ago.

  “Yeah, someday, I guess.” Dennis rubbed his nose. “You want kids?”

  Brooke wondered if he was making plans to be a father, assuming he wasn’t one already. She thought about her parents having two girls who could be a handful at times. But that didn’t stop her mom and dad from loving each other as much as they could or their two daughters.

  “Maybe a little girl would be nice,” Brooke responded dreamily. She could grow up to be like Rachel from the future.

  “I think you’d make a good mom.”

  Brooke felt his long arm worm its way across her shoulder. She liked having it there, even if it made her slightly uncomfortable.

  She decided to switch topics. �
��Tell me about your family, Dennis.”

  “What do you wanna know?”

  “Anything.” All he’d told her was his parents were divorced and he had a sister who lived in Houston.

  “Not much to tell. Dad’s in Hawaii with his second wife; my mom’s in town working as a nurse. My sister, Sarah, is involved with a girl, but says she still likes guys. That’s about it.”

  At least I know more than I did a moment ago. Brooke was sure there was more she could uncover in time, assuming things worked out between her and Dennis. She suddenly wondered if Natalie had gone home and would be mad at her now.

  Dennis tightened his hold on Brooke. “You feel like going for a little ride?”

  She raised her eyes to meet his. “Like where?”

  He shrugged. “Here and there.”

  Brooke was tempted. “Not sure that’s such a good idea.”

  “You won’t know unless you go,” he pressed.

  If mom and dad found out, I’d probably be grounded for the next two months, if not longer.

  “I don’t think so.”

  He frowned. “I liked you better when I thought you were seventeen, going on eighteen.”

  Brooke liked it better too in some ways. “Guess I shouldn’t have lied about my age.”

  “Doesn’t matter, really. I still like you, Brooke.” She felt his warm breath on her cheek.

  She liked him too, but maybe not as much as before. “I think I should find Natalie.”

  When she tried to move out from under his arm, Brooke realized Dennis was holding her against her will.

  “I’d still like to take that drive with you,” he said, telling rather than asking.

  * * *

  Rachel stepped outside. She prayed Brooke was still alive and accessible.

  I can’t lose my sister again.

  There was no sign of Brooke. Catherine, Natalie, and a mall security guard they had asked to help also had no luck spotting her.

  “Look, there’s Dennis!” Natalie pointed as he stood with his back to them on the sidewalk, a plume of cigarette smoke hanging over his head like a halo.

  The group quickly moved toward him. He turned around, as if to see what all the commotion was about.

  Catherine did not mince words, fearful he had already hurt her daughter. “What have you done to Brooke?”

  “I don’t know what you’re talking about.” Dennis feigned a look of innocence.

  “Brooke was with you,” Natalie said tartly.

  “Where is she?” Rachel tried to imagine Brooke being attracted to this older guy. And, worse, what he might have done to her.

  “If you harmed my daughter in any way—” Catherine peered at him, fearing Brooke had already become a victim of tragedy.

  Dennis was confronted by the burly security guard, before turning to Catherine. “Yeah, I was with Brooke,” he said. “But we just talked—that’s all.”

  Catherine had never been a good judge of character. All she knew was that any adult male who wanted to spend time with a female minor was not someone she could trust, much less respect.

  Was he the unknown person who had abducted Brooke and possibly killed her—or had every intention of doing so?

  Rachel asked herself the same thing, knowing Brooke’s killer had never been caught or identified the first time around. Maybe Brooke had gone back inside the mall and they simply missed her.

  Please, God, let that be the case!

  “Where did she go?” the guard demanded, glaring at Dennis.

  He flinched, and puffed on his cigarette. “She just left with some dude. Said something about him being a neighbor. Guess she preferred his company to mine.”

  Natalie opened her mouth while looking at Catherine. “It must’ve been that creepy man who lives next door to you.”

  “Travis Pickett?” Catherine cocked a brow. She had warned her daughters not to get too friendly with him, knowing he had some mental problems.

  “Yeah, we saw him inside the mall.” Natalie sighed. “He was leering at us.”

  Rachel vaguely remembered Travis Pickett. He and his mother moved away shortly after Brooke’s death by car accident. Meaning he couldn’t have murdered Brooke the first time. Had her first trip back to save Brooke actually turned Travis into a killer?

  “Which way did they go?” the guard demanded.

  “Saw them head over there...” Dennis nodded towards the parking lot.

  It didn’t take long for Rachel to spot Brooke with Travis Pickett, surprised she had missed them before. They were about to get into his car.

  CHAPTER EIGHTEEN

  Brooke had not been crazy about hitching a ride home with Travis Pickett. But when Dennis did not seem to want to take no for an answer, she was actually relieved when Travis seemingly came out of nowhere to her rescue. Although Dennis was clearly annoyed with the interference to his own plans, he chose not to confront the bigger Travis, for which Brooke was grateful. She didn’t want any trouble.

  Only to go home.

  She noted Travis hadn’t purchased anything at the mall, suggesting he had come to get something to eat. And perhaps gawk at the teenage girls.

  But that wasn’t her problem.

  At least he knew how to drive...and hopefully how to get home.

  Travis glanced at Brooke from time to time as they crossed the lot, walking in silence as though neither had anything to say to the other in spite of being neighbors for years. He thought she was the prettiest girl on the block. Maybe even in the entire city.

  Brooke was definitely too good for the man who tried to overstep his bounds with her. Travis patted himself on the back for showing up when he had. Brooke didn’t seem to mind his intervention one bit.

  They approached an old beat up Ford Bronco Travis’s mother had given him as a birthday present two years ago. He unlocked the passenger door for Brooke. Just as she started to get in, they both heard some shouting.

  Someone was calling Brooke’s name.

  Brooke stood up straight, recognizing her mom’s frantic voice, followed by Natalie’s scream; and what sounded like the more grown up voice of Rachel telling her to run.

  Before Brooke could understand what was happening, she and Travis were surrounded and the mall guard she remembered seeing earlier tackled Travis. Both men went down, with the guard firmly on top of a confused and angry Travis.

  “Stop it!” Brooke yelled at the guard, who ignored her.

  “What did I do?” Travis moaned beneath him.

  Catherine embraced her daughter. “Did he hurt you?”

  “No, Mom.”

  Catherine thanked God for that. They had prevented a tragedy from happening. And she had Rachel to thank for it.

  Natalie snorted. “I always knew that man was crazy—and dangerous!”

  Brooke arched a brow. “Travis? Will someone please tell me what’s going on?”

  Then she looked squarely into the face of the person Brooke had almost been afraid to look at. It was Rachel—the future version. She was smiling and crying at the same time.

  Brooke suddenly felt a chill course through her. She took two steps forward and hugged her kid sister. “You’re back,” she whispered. “I never thought I’d see you again...at least not for another ten years.”

  “I thought that too,” Rachel admitted, happy the Sisters of Time had given them a second chance to be together as sisters and allowed Brooke yet another shot at life.

  “Is she really your sister?” Natalie’s eyes darted from Rachel to Brooke, confused.

  Brooke looked at her mother, who nodded understandingly. “Yeah, she really is.”

  At the moment, Brooke didn’t care that it was something she couldn’t possibly explain to her best friend. The important thing was Rachel was her own flesh and blood and their mother seemed no longer clueless to that fact.

  “Since when?” Natalie frowned.

  “It’s a very long story.” Brooke smiled awkwardly. “Maybe I’ll tell you sometime. Right
now, I’d just like to know why Travis is being pinned to the ground by that guard.”

  “That’s a long story, too,” Rachel told her. “But I can say that it was literally a matter of life or death—”

  Brooke contemplated her words. She thought about her previous brush with death. Had Rachel seen her die again in the future? And what did Travis have to do with it?

  * * *

  He watched as the husky guard easily tackled the other man and, within seconds, had him completely under his control. Brooke Crane looked surprised and happy to see her mother, friend, and another pretty girl he’d never seen before.

  It was as though they knew Brooke was in danger. But how was that possible?

  He had planned to get rid of the would-be boyfriend when this guy beat him to the punch and convinced Brooke to go with him. Even then, he probably could have taken the dude with no problem and snatched Brooke as he’d intended to all along.

  But that was before her rescuers came with the security guard. All he could do at that point was watch like the rest of the onlookers and consider how very lucky Brooke Crane had been to escape certain death.

  He was determined that no one would save her from him the next time.

  CHAPTER NINETEEN

  Hard as it was, Rachel explained what had happened once she returned home to her own time a week ago—Brooke had been abducted from the mall and bludgeoned to death as history changed itself. She even showed Brooke the newspaper clippings to that effect. Rachel relayed the story of the mysterious powers of the antique clockwatch and the Sisters of Time. They had given Rachel the ability to come back in time to rescue Brooke again—with the help of their mom.

  “Wow—scary!” Brooke stared in disbelief as the three sat at the table. “I never knew I had so many lives...and deaths.”

  “Who could know?” Rachel wondered if it was truly over this time. Would Brooke be there when she returned to her time, thus making her mission complete? She assumed that would be the case, even though the man Rachel believed was minutes away from murdering Brooke was free, with no charges being filed against him.