Gabe’s jaw muscles worked furiously. He knew exactly the kind of pain that Tyler had experienced because of his doing. Memories of Morgan tormented him relentlessly. No man should know that kind of anguish, of losing the woman he loved.
What about never having known the kind of love he’d shared with Morgan? Would he be better off, if he hadn’t met her? Hell, no. He was a better man because of her, and he didn’t regret a single second of having known her.
There was no doubt that Tyler would have remained a single man if he hadn’t met Laney, but once he’d laid eyes on her, he’d been hopelessly lost.
Just like you were lost until you met Morgan. And now she’s lost to you forever.
This was his final punishment. He would suffer how he’d wanted his brother to suffer.
But it don’t mean you have to deny Tyler his happiness.
Gabe turned to leave. He untied his horse from the tree, and was about to swing up into the saddle.
“Mr. McFarlain.”
Gabe spun around at the sound of the familiar voice. He dropped the reins and lunged for the old man. Grabbing him by the shirt, he yanked him behind his horse and several trees.
“What the hell are you doing here? Why did you send me to this time?” Gabe growled between clenched teeth, his face inches from the short, old man.
The reverend didn’t flinch. “I came to see why you didn’t make yourself known to your father when I sent you here,” he said calmly.
“I’m through with your games, Reverend,” Gabe sneered. “I’m done with you toying with my life. Why couldn’t you leave well enough alone? I accepted that you sent me to the future. I’m glad you did, in fact. Thanks to Morgan, I turned my life around. I’ve accepted my past, and the things I’ve done, and I wanted to move forward.”
Gabe inhaled a deep breath. He released his grip on the old man, and took a step back. Morgan had made him a better man. He wouldn’t dishonor her memory now by losing his temper with the reverend. She’d always been so calm and rational, and he loved her for it. His chest tightened, as if he’d taken a hit from a bullet. If his heart were bleeding for real, it couldn’t hurt any worse. He ran a quick hand through his hair.
“And now you have the chance to start over again in this time, Mr. McFarlain.” The reverend’s voice invaded Gabe’s thoughts. He turned to face the old man.
“You could have known your father, and gotten what you’ve always wanted – his love and acceptance. Why did you walk away?”
Gabe shook his head. “Because I can’t change my past. I can’t erase what’s already happened.”
A hint of a smile formed on the old man’s face, and he nodded, as if in understanding.
“But now you have the chance to move forward, to make things right with your brother. You can choose not to plot revenge against him. There is no longer a need since you now know that your father never wanted to reject you.”
Gabe stared at the old man. He narrowed his eyes. Slowly, he said, “If I make things right with Tyler, it means he won’t meet Laney.”
“You are correct, Mr. McFarlain.” The reverend nodded.
Gabe paced in front of the reverend.
“Mr. McFarlain, if you introduce yourself as Jonas’ other son, rather than just a wrangler looking for work, Tyler will share the ranch with you, and you will have everything you’ve always wanted.”
Gabe scoffed. “I won’t have Morgan. If there’s one thing she taught me, it’s how to love, and forgive, and how to be a better man. I don’t have to forgive my father anything, because, as I learned, he wasn’t the one who didn’t want me. My mother used me in her scheme for revenge. I’m through with revenge. Even if I can’t return to the future, I’m not going to go to my brother now, and deny him his happiness with Laney. I’m going to go on as before, even if my reasons have changed.”
The reverend looked at him for a long time. Gabe met his perusing blue eyes. He ran a hand over his face, then shook his head. He gave a quick, scornful laugh, and met the old man’s unwavering gaze.
“You can’t interfere, can you?” Gabe said slowly, narrowing his eyes. “You can’t undo things on your own, so you need me to do it. If I make things right with Tyler, you won’t be sending Laney, but if I carry out my original plan, you have to send her to him.”
Gabe’s lips curved in a triumphant grin. The reverend’s silence was his answer.
“Even if I can’t go back to Morgan, why should I help you get out of your quandary? For once, I’m gonna do the right thing, for my brother. Morgan taught me that much.”
The reverend stared at him for a long time, then a faint smile formed on his face. A look of acceptance passed over him. He nodded silently, then turned and walked away.
Chapter Twenty-Six
Gabe stared up at the rafters above him. He adjusted his position on the horse blanket he laid on. The sounds of straw rustling, and horses munching contently on hay did little to ease the tension in him. These had always been soothing sounds, but not now. Not when all he could think about was Morgan, and all she’d done to make him whole. He loved her, and she was gone to him forever.
Listening to the horses in the dark stable, one particular animal came to mind. Rhapsody’s Prince, Tyler’s prized stallion. Gabe clenched his jaw. He’d done that horse harm, injured the stallion on purpose to carry out his plans of revenge. Could he go through with it, and do such a thing again?
He cursed under his breath. If not for what he’d done, Tyler would have never met Laney. She’d made the horse well again, not that it excused what he had done. But yes, he’d do it all again in order to make sure that his brother experienced the happiness he so much deserved.
Gabe ran a hand over his face, and closed his eyes. Morgan’s soft smile, her warm gaze so full of love for him, stood out in his mind as if she was right in front of him. A soft breeze from the drafty barn caressed his face, and he reached his hand up, imagining her soft touch. It was because of her that he would make the same choice again, but for completely different reasons than before. The only thing he’d do different was not force Laney back to the future.
His need for revenge and hatred had been replaced with a need to do something right for his brother, even if it meant he would hang. The reverend wouldn’t be there a second time to prevent his death.
Falling in love with Morgan, and her unwavering belief in him, had shaped him into a better man. He still had a long way to go to erase all of the pain from his past, but he was no longer driven by hatred to forget, but by love.
A bitter smile formed on his face. After leaving Jonas Monroe’s funeral, he’d ridden back to Landry to return the horse to the livery, and decide what course of action to take. He had another year before he’d go back to the Double M to ask for work, and repeat what he’d done once already.
Settling in for the night in one of the horse stalls the livery owner had offered to him, Gabe pictured Morgan in his mind, his heart heavy and ready to split open with the knowledge that he’d never see her again. How was he going to deal with watching Tyler fall in love with Laney, when his own heart bled for the only woman he’d ever loved, and lost?
“Mr. McFarlain.”
Gabe bolted upright in his bed of straw. His heart pounded instantly in his chest. He jumped to his feet, and squinted into the darkness. Fumbling to light the lantern hanging on a peg outside the stall, he held it up in front of him. The light cast an eerie shadow over the old man standing several feet away. Gabe clenched his jaw.
“What do you want, Reverend?”
Hadn’t he gotten rid of the old man earlier at Jonas’ funeral?
“I have something for you, Mr. McFarlain.” The reverend stepped up to him, and held out a canteen.
Gabe stared at it, then at the gray-haired man. He frowned.
The reverend thrust the canteen toward him when Gabe made no move to grab it.
“Take it, Mr. McFarlain. It will send you back to where you truly wish to be. Back to where you
left your heart.”
Gabe shook his head. The old man was sending him back to the future? Back to Morgan? He fought the impulse to yank the canteen from the reverend’s hand and gulp the contents. There had to be a catch.
“Why are you doing this? Didn’t you say you broke too many rules, and that’s why you had to send me back to this time?”
“Yes,” the old man nodded, and smiled. “I have failed in what my role was in granting people second chances. Not because I did not perform my job as instructed, but when I tried to help people in ways other than simply putting them back on the right path, and tried to learn more about human emotions, I angered those above me who do not understand these things. That is why I was told to send you back, in order to reverse what I had done.”
“So, why are you breaking the rules again now, by offering me this?” Gabe nudged his chin toward the canteen.
“You were correct in your assumption that I cannot undo what I’ve done without your help. It had to start with you. Those above me assumed that, by sending you back to the past, you would choose to better your life and learn from your mistakes. They cannot fathom why you would want to repeat your old actions when you could have lived the life you’ve always wanted.”
The reverend took a step closer, and placed his hand on Gabe’s arm. His blue eyes shimmered when he stared up at him.
“Those above me have no understanding of the human concept of love. I became aware of it after I sent Rachel to Jake. I thought it would be a good thing to learn about, and another way to use the time traveling ability. Apparently I was wrong in my assumption that it would be received well.”
He inhaled a deep breath, as if he were in pain.
“I’ve angered those above me when I sent you to the future in order to reunite Laney with Tyler. I will face my punishment.” The reverend’s smile widened. “By refusing to change your past actions for your brother’s sake, you’ve raised enough curiosity that I was able to bargain for your return to the new life you’ve chosen, a life born from a woman’s love for you.”
Gabe let the reverend’s words sink in. He was going back to Morgan?
“What punishment will you be facing?” Gabe couldn’t help from asking.
The reverend shook his head. “That is of no concern to you.” He raised his hand in a farewell gesture. “This will be my final contact with you.”
He shoved the canteen at Gabe again, then disappeared into the darkness. Gabe stared at what he held in his hand. It was a ticket to his future, a ticket home.
Home. He’d never had a real home before, a place to truly hang his hat and feel welcomed. He’d found that place with Morgan, and now he was going back to her. He’d fully learn to live in the future, and someday he might even drive that truck that she was so fond of, rather than, as she would say, riding shotgun. He smiled, then uncorked the canteen, and drained it in one long swallow. Returning to his blanket in the straw, Gabe closed his eyes, and waited for dawn to arrive.
He stirred awake after, what seemed to be, not a moment later. Groaning, he rolled from his back onto his side, touching his hand to his throbbing temples. He blinked at the bright light from the sun shining overhead, and judged it to be nearly noon. The loud chirping of crickets in the tall grasses surrounding him competed with birds’ songs in some nearby tree branches.
Gabe stood on unsteady legs. He had no recollection of the last time he time traveled to the future. He’d been beaten to within an inch of his life, and his first memory had been of Morgan coming to his aid. She’d saved his life in more ways than one.
Glancing around, there was no trace of Morgan, or anyone else. He was definitely in the future, though. The faint smell of gasoline lingered in the air, and the well-worn gravel trail up ahead was packed down with tire marks from cars. Which way was it to the Trails End Ranch?
Why couldn’t the reverend simply have dropped him off there? It sure seemed as if the old man had control over where to send him, along with the year. The rolling hills in the distance were covered in patches of pines and cottonwoods, and other than the barbed-wire fences crisscrossing the countryside, there were no other signs of civilization.
Gabe followed the gravel road, heading east. After a few steps, he stopped. The area looked vaguely familiar to him. If he continued east, he’d eventually have to stumble onto Trails End land, but he was almost sure that he stood on Double M soil. He’d ridden these hills countless times, and although the trees looked different after nearly two-hundred years, the terrain was somewhat familiar. A slow smile spread across his face. Perhaps it was time to pay his relative a visit before he returned to Morgan.
Gabe turned, and headed west.
* * * * *
Morgan’s mouth went dry. Her pulse pounded in her ears. The hand that held the phone to her ear trembled. There was only one reason why the police would be calling her. Had they found Gabe? She shot a hasty glance to Bryce, whose forehead wrinkled in a questioning frown.
“Miss Bartlett?” the man on the other line asked.
Morgan cleared her throat. “Yes, what can I do for you, officer?”
“This is Officer Paul Brown, Bozeman P.D. You reported a missing person a few days ago.”
Morgan’s stomach dropped. She turned away from Bryce, and walked out of the living room
“Yes,” she said, dreading what the officer would say next. By the tone of his voice, it couldn’t be good news.
“We were wondering if you could come to the station and make a positive identification of the man you reported missing.”
“Is he . . . is he all right?” Morgan squeezed her eyes shut. Why would they need someone to identify a living person? Tears welled up behind her closed lids.
“I’m sorry, Miss, but a man fitting the description you gave of Gabe McFarlain was found dead along one of the back roads not too far from where you reported him missing. The man had no identification on him.”
“No,” she whispered, and shook her head. Gabe was dead? Her hands trembled, and her lips began to quiver.
“Miss Bartlett?”
“Yes, I’ll . . . I’ll be there as quick as I can.” She dropped her arm away from the side of her head, her phone dangling from her hand.
“Morgan? What’s going on?” Bryce appeared in front of her. He took the phone out of her hand. “You’re white as a sheet.”
“Where’s Logan?” Morgan rushed back into the living room on numb and shaky legs. She dropped to her knees in front of her son, and hugged him to her. The little boy squirmed in her arms, and Morgan let him go. He would only get upset if he saw her crying.
Wiping a hasty hand across her face, she stood, and faced Bryce, who had followed her into the room.
“I . . . ah . . . hate to impose on you, but would you watch Logan for me for a couple of hours? Something’s come up and I need to go to Bozeman.” She cleared her raspy throat. “I don’t think it’s a good idea for me to take Logan along.”
Bryce stared at her. “What’s going on, Morgan?”
“I can’t tell you right now. Please, can you watch Logan? I’m sorry to ask, but this is urgent.”
Bryce opened, then closed his mouth. He pointed out the living room, toward his study, then looked at her again. “I have a lot of work to do, Morgan . . . Sure,” he finally said, as if the word had been painful for him to expel.
“If he’s thirsty, give him some water. He has his toys. He loves to go see the horses, if you could just take him for a walk to the barns. That’ll keep him entertained until I get back.”
Morgan kissed Logan on the head, then rushed out the door. As an afterthought, she reached into the backseat of the truck and pulled out Logan’s diaper bag, which, along with some diapers, contained more toys, and a box of crackers. She pushed the bag into Bryce’s arms when he met her at the door.
“Everything you need to change him is in here. There’s some snacks he likes, and some more toys.”
Ignoring the wide-eyed look of panic in
Bryce’s eyes, she raced down the porch and climbed into her truck.
She would have never left Logan with Bryce under different circumstances, but she couldn’t take him with her to the coroner’s office, and driving back to the Trails End and imposing on Sonja or Rachel would take too long. Bryce had said just a few minutes ago that he wanted to get to know his son. This would be his best opportunity. Besides, the housekeeper was there. Bryce could ask her for help, if he absolutely needed it.
With a trembling hand, Morgan pushed the key into the ignition and started the truck. Her palms were sweaty when she gripped the steering wheel. Turning the vehicle toward the gravel road that led from the ranch to the main highway, she wiped at her face again, then stepped on the gas, dreading what she would have to face.
Chapter Twenty-Seven
Gabe stood at the top of the ridge overlooking the valley below. He studied the peacefulness of the scene. Horses grazed in the fields surrounding the barns, and the ranch house looked quiet. He glanced over his shoulder, then made his way down the hill. A slow smile spread across his face. He had more pressing things to do elsewhere, but since the reverend had sent him back to this particular spot, it was time to take control of his future.
He headed down the gently-sloping trail he’d ridden hundreds of times before, but this time was different, just as it had been different on the day of Jonas Monroe’s funeral. He’d been unsure whether to reveal his identity that day, but today he was certain beyond a doubt as to what he would do.
Sure-footed and with long strides, he moved toward the ranch house. He could count on both hands how many times he’d actually set foot inside Tyler’s home. The wooden steps creaked slightly when he walked onto the porch. Taking in the fine workmanship of the wooden front door that Tyler had once told him his . . . their father had carved by hand, he raised his arm, and knocked.
Diamond in the Dust (Second Chances Time Travel Romance Book 3) Page 25
