Train Through Time Series Boxed Set Books 1-3

by Bess McBride

  “I’m terrified that I’ll never see you again,” Dani said with a catch in her voice making speech difficult. She fought back another bout of tears.

  Stephen jerked his head toward her. He set his drink down, rose and came to kneel before her at her knees. As he took her hands in his, tears spilled down her face. She clung to his hands.

  “Stephen, when I return to my time, you will be dead.” She bit back her sobs. It sounded horrible and insensitive to verbalize but she needed to say the words. “I can’t bear it. I just can’t bear to live in a world where you don’t.”

  Stephen stood and pulled her into his arms. She sobbed against his chest. “What am I going to do?” she cried. “What am I going to do?”

  “Hush, now, my love,” he murmured against her hair. “Hush now. It is only natural. We must all pass.”

  “No, not you! Not you. Not Susan, not Ellie, not Robert, not even Lucinda.” Her sobs continued.

  “We will all have lived full lives, dearest. Do not fret.”

  She pulled back from him for a moment. Yes, he would live a full life, wouldn’t he? He would marry, have children. Maybe one day...one crazy day, she could locate his descendents and meet them.

  “I know what you are thinking, Dani. I feel I know you well. I can see the softening in your face. You are thinking that I will marry another, aren’t you?” He brought her back to him in a tight embrace. “I cannot think of it. I cannot imagine the moment. I have waited for you for so long.”

  Dani looked up into his face.

  “But why me?”

  “I do not know why you,” he smiled gently. He ran a thumb across her cheeks to wipe away tears. “I only know that I longed for someone...for a woman who captured my imagination, my heart...as you have. Within an hour of meeting you, I no longer felt that longing. And I knew you were the one.”

  “Oh, Stephen,” Dani buried her face against him again. “I love you,” she sobbed.

  “I love you, too, Dani. With all my heart.”

  He lifted her chin and bent his head to kiss her, his lips warm and tender. She clung to him with all her might, wishing that life could have been different.

  He lifted his head and smiled crookedly. “I am truly going to miss you, my love.”

  A knock on the door startled them. Stephen sighed, pulled away and said, “Enter.”

  Mrs. Oakley entered, her hands wringing, her face distraught.

  “Mr. Sadler, it’s Miss Susan. She’s burning with fever. Oh, Mr. Sadler, I’m so afraid her lung infection has returned.”

  Chapter Seven

  Stephen raced up the stairs to Susan’s room. She lay curled on her side, shivering, coughing as she had during her illness. He touched her forehead. As Mrs. Oakley said, it burned.

  Dani ran in behind him and came to the bedside, her breathing rapid. She took several deep breaths to calm herself and bent to touch Susan’s forehead.

  “I am so sorry, Stephen. I feel so cold...and hot.” Susan said in a raspy voice. “I must have overdone it. I am sure this will pass.” If determination could rid one of illness, Stephen thought his sister might be able to cure herself, but he had learned over the past several months that it was not enough.

  “There now, dear. Mrs. Oakley sent Samuel for the doctor,” he told Susan. She fell into another paroxysm of coughing, and he turned to pour a glass of water for her.

  To his surprise, Dani climbed onto the bed and pulled Susan into a sitting position into her arms.

  “Get me some cool water and a cloth, Stephen.”

  Of course, why had he not thought of that? He had lost his wits. To bring the fever down.

  As if she had heard Dani, Mrs. Oakley brought in a bowl of water and linen. She moistened a cloth and handed it to Dani who laid it on Susan’s forehead. Silently, she reached for another wet cloth, and Mrs. Oakley provided it. She bathed Susan’s face and neck.

  “There, there,” Dani soothed as Susan began coughing again. “Breathe deep through your nose. That’s it. Just breathe if you can.”

  Stephen stood by helplessly watching, his heart in his throat. Susan had come near death with her lung infection. Mrs. Oakley left to await the doctor.

  “It is not tuberculosis,” he said quietly, moving to sit on the edge of the bed. “It is called chronic bronchitis. There is no cure for it. She has had several bouts over the last few years, and they seem to grow worse. She almost died last time. I should not have allowed her to go out tonight. It was too much.”

  “Please don’t blame yourself, Stephen. She wanted to go, and she had a lovely time. You don’t know that she wouldn’t have gotten ill staying right here. It’s probably the pollution in the air anyway.” She handed him one of the cloths and he rinsed it with cool water and handed it back to her. Susan’s coughing eased, and she seemed to doze for a moment.

  “She breathes easier,” he said with hope.

  “That’s because she’s sitting up,” Dani whispered. “It’s easier to breathe that way. Just prop pillows behind her in the future when she’s coughing like this. And she could probably use some steaming water to loosen the phlegm. She could put her head over a bowl of steaming water or maybe even the bathtub.” Dani’s brow furrowed. “Gosh, I wish I had some stuff with me. Medication to bring the fever down. Antibiotics.”

  “Bronchitis is curable in my time, Stephen. Maybe not permanently, and she might have recurrences, but she can get antibiotics to help with the infection.” Dani continued to bathe Susan’s face and neck.

  Stephen sighed. “I have heard of antibiotics. The doctor brings pills, but they are not effective.”

  “Ours are.”

  “Would that you could take her with you,” he said bitterly.

  “I wish I could,” Dani said in a mournful tone as she brushed Susan’s hair from her face. “I would, you know. I would take her right now if she weren’t so sick. But I can’t wait for her to get better. I have to get back to my mom. I have no idea how much time has passed since I’ve been gone.” Her voice broke, and he knew she feared the worst.

  He took her hand in his. “I understand your fears, my love. I can only hope that you are able to get back to your mother in time, and that she recovers from her illness.”

  Dani gave his hand a squeeze and smiled faintly. “Now, go wash your hands with soap and water. Bronchitis can be contagious. We don’t need both of you getting sick.”

  Stephen tilted his head and regarded her. “I was not aware of that!”

  “Which—washing hands or contagious?”

  “That bronchitis was contagious,” he said. “Clean hands are always important.”

  Dani chuckled at his boyish observation. “Yes, bronchitis can be contagious, so it’s best to practice good hygiene.”

  Stephen rose. “Of course.” He crossed to where a basin of water and soap stood on a dresser. “What about you?”

  “I have a lot of immunities built up. I’ll be fine,” she said.

  A knock on the door brought Mrs. Oakley with Dr. Sterling whose home was fortunately nearby. The doctor gave Dani a curious look but hurried toward Susan’s side. He felt her forehead and listened to her chest with his stethoscope.

  Dani removed herself from the bed and moved to stand beside Stephen while the doctor examined Susan. A long-time family physician, the tall lanky silver-haired doctor knew Susan’s condition well. He had tried many treatments over the years but none had permanently cured her, and she relapsed several times a year.

  Stephen waited anxiously, incredibly touched when Dani took his hand in hers. He clung to her hand as if her small fingers could somehow make his sister well, and he suspected she could if she had the proper medicines from her time. How he wished she could take Susan with her. How he wished he could go with her. But he had never heard of anyone traveling through time before, and suspected the phenomenon was not available in his time. It occurred to him that they were still not sure Dani could return to her own era.

  The doctor turned t
o him. “This episode is not as bad as the last. I will leave you some pills. Keep her warm when she is cold and cool when she is hot. She is perspiring so the fever has already broken.”

  “Thank you, Dr. Sterling,” Stephen said. “Is there nothing else we can do? A more permanent cure? Some new medication perhaps?”

  Dr. Sterling shook his head. “Not yet. We await a more effective treatment but at present, there is nothing else.”

  Stephen caught him looking at Dani.

  “Oh, I’m sorry, Doctor. My wife, Mrs. Danielle Sadler.”

  “Mrs. Sadler, how do you do?” The doctor nodded but did not take her hand. She didn’t blame him.

  “I’m well, thank you, Doctor.”

  “There is one thing you could do, Stephen, to help your sister. Take her away from the city. There is too much smoke and congestion in the air. It cannot be good for her poor lungs.”

  Stephen blinked and looked at Dani. “Where do you suggest I take her, Dr. Sterling? What area would be more beneficial to her?”

  “I am not sure, Stephen, but somewhere else, somewhere far away from the city. The country? An island? Someplace that has clean air and uses little coal.” Dr. Sterling sighed. “I will return tomorrow to see how she does. Someone should stay with her tonight.”

  Mrs. Oakley escorted him from the room, and Dani and Stephen looked at each other.

  “Wherever could he mean? Shall I take her to a Pacific island?”

  “Or you could bring her to me,” Dani smiled teasingly as she moved into his arms. Susan still slept. “And you could come with her. Then we’d get my mom after her surgery, and we’d all go off to Hawaii.”

  “Hawaii?” Stephen kissed the top of her head. Her hair smelled wonderfully sweet. “How very exotic. Have you been?”

  Dani nodded, her face pressed against his chest. “It’s only a five-hour flight from here.”

  “Flight?” He had so much to learn. What was a “flight?” A journey? Something similar to the movement of a bird?

  “Big machines that fly in the sky and carry people to their destinations.”

  “My word!” Stephen murmured. He had a vision of the paper dragons one saw in Seattle’s Chinatown, but larger.

  “I know,” she whispered. She wrapped an arm around him and turned to look at Susan.

  “You’re not going to be able to go on the train with me tomorrow,” she murmured. He felt a tremor run through her body. “And that’s okay. I don’t know how I could try to get back to my time if you were there anyway. How I would even want to?”

  “I cannot let you go alone. How can I let you go at all?” He pulled her back into his arms, embracing her gently but with determination.

  “I have to go, Stephen. We both know that.” Her voice, resigned, almost fatalistic, belied her shaking hands.

  His chest ached. “I know, sweeting. I know. Please come back to me...if you can.”

  “I will,” she said. She hugged him fiercely, and his ribs ached from the motion. Strong little thing she was, he thought tenderly.

  He hesitated to bring up his most fervent desire. “And if you cannot return, if you find yourself in Chicago in 1901? How will you feel then?”

  She shook her head. “I can’t think that way. I have to believe I can get back.”

  “But if you cannot, my dear, send word to me at once, and I will make arrangements for your return. In fact, I shall give you some money before I take you to the train tomorrow for any needs you might have.”

  She shook her head against his chest, and he kissed the top of her head once again.

  “I must stay here with Susan tonight, Dani. I cannot ask Mrs. Oakley to do so. You should go to bed so you can be refreshed for your trip tomorrow.”

  Dani raised her face to his. Her eyes were luminous as she searched his face, looking for something he could not seem to give her. Reassurance? Hope?

  “I’m staying with you.”

  He delighted in her answer but tried once more to do what was correct.

  “No, you must get some sleep.”

  Dani took him by the hand and guided him toward the sofa in front of the bed. She urged him to sit and sat down beside him, nestling into his arms once again. Little had he known only a short day before that the woman he met on the train would fit so snugly against his body, that he would crave her touch, her warmth, her laugh. His life had changed forever, and he could not envision a future without her.

  Mrs. Sadler. He loved to hear the sound of the words. He had not realized when he invented such a story that his wishful thinking would come to pass. He chuckled inwardly. No, perhaps that was not quite true. He could probably have said she was a cousin, and they could have survived the few days of notoriety that might have occurred. No, he wanted to say Mrs. Danielle Sadler. It had a lovely ring. My wife. Lovelier still.

  Susan slept on, and Dani’s breathing slowed and deepened. She had fallen asleep in his arms. Never in his life had a woman slept in his arms, and he wished above all else that she should stay there. What he thought he felt for Ellie could not compare to the intensity with which he loved Dani. It seemed ludicrous that the perfect woman for him should not be from his time, but that she should be from some distant future he could not envision. He was a historian, not a connoisseur of science fiction. His strength lie in what he understood from the past, not the future. And yet the future had deposited his heart’s desire in his lap for a brief, ecstatic, painful, glorious moment.

  I’ll come back if I can. He clung to those words.

  ****

  “Dani,” Stephen whispered. “It is time to wake.”

  Dani jerked then bolted upright.

  “Oh, my gosh. I fell asleep. How long did I sleep?” she asked, rubbing her eyes.

  “All night long. The sun is coming up.” Stephen nodded toward light filtering in through the windows.

  Susan continued to sleep. He had risen several times during the night to check her temperature and listen to her breathing. Her fever had abated, and although her breathing sounded constricted, she seemed to rest comfortably. He had returned to the sofa and taken the sleeping Dani in his arms once again.

  “How is she?” Dani whispered.

  “The fever is gone. She rests well, though she still breathes with some difficulty. I believe the medicine the doctor gave her is working...this time. We were not so fortunate last time.”

  “I’m so glad,” Dani said. She rose to approach the bed and lay a hand on Susan’s forehead.

  Stephen watched her with an ache in his heart. With every hour that passed taking them nearer to her departure, he wondered how he could bear to say goodbye to her.

  She turned to look at him. “What time is it?”

  He pulled out his pocket watch and looked at it. Soon. Restlessly, he rose to walk to the window which looked out over the city.

  “It is five o’clock. The train leaves at seven.”

  “I’d better get ready,” she said, almost in a mournful voice.

  Nothing Stephen could say would make her stay, and he knew she must return to see to her mother. Yet he longed to plead with her, to beg her to stay. He bit his lower lip so hard he tasted blood.

  “Say goodbye to her for me, Stephen,” Dani said as she brushed Susan’s hair from her forehead.

  “What do you mean?” Susan said hoarsely, her eyes opening. “I thought you and Stephen were traveling together.”

  Dani stiffened and threw Stephen a startled look. He came to the bedside and sat down to take Susan’s hand in his. Her skin was warm but not feverish.

  “Susan, my dearest, how do you feel?”

  “Better,” she said in her raspy voice. She coughed. “What were you talking about?”

  Dani looked to Stephen.

  “Nothing for you to worry about now, dear. Dani is going on the journey we had planned, and I will stay here to take care of you.”

  Susan’s eyes widened, and she snatched her hand away to push herself straighter on the pillows.


  “Stephen! You cannot let her travel on the train alone. Where were you going anyway? You never actually said.”

  “I’ll be fine, Susan,” Dani soothed. She sat on the opposite side of the bed. “Really, I will. Remember, I’ve traveled by train many times by myself.”

  “But where are you going?”

  Dani winced at the forlorn sound of Susan’s voice. Stephen sighed. His young sister had already lost so much. She had become quite attached to Dani in a very short time. Perhaps he should have married before now...if only to give Susan a mother of sorts.

  He looked toward Dani. She met his eyes, and he knew a moment’s gratitude that he had not married another.

  “My mother has been sick, Susan. I need to go see her,” Dani said softly.

  “But you can’t!” Susan almost shrieked but for the hoarseness of her voice. “How can you see her?”

  “I don’t know, Susan, but I have to try. We didn’t want to tell you yesterday.” Dani reached for Susan’s hand as tears flowed down her face. Dani’s eyes glittered with unshed tears.

  “Susan, dear, this is difficult for Dani—both her mother’s illness and her imminent departure. You and I must not attempt to reproach her or make her unhappier than she already is. I have been guilty of this too.”

  Dani smiled at him gently.

  “I am sorry. I know it is wrong,” Susan whispered. “But I do not want you to leave.”

  Dani brought Susan into her arms and embraced her, whispering soothing words in her ears as she cried. Stephen saw Dani’s tears spill over. Dani abruptly kissed her cheek and hurried from the room, leaving Stephen and Susan to stare after her.

  “Stephen, you cannot let her go alone. Please go with her. Mrs. Oakley can take care of me. If I were well enough, I would go with you!”

  Stephen smiled tenderly. “My dear, if you were well, I wonder if we all would not go with her.” He looked over his shoulder but the door had closed behind Dani. “Please bear in mind that we do not know if Dani can return to her time. We do not understand the mechanics of her arrival or of the concept of time travel itself. I will give her ample money to return here to Seattle if she cannot make the transition to her time, but I cannot leave you, Susan. Not while you are ill.”