Back In Time: A Historic Western Time Travel Romance (An Oregon Trail Time Travel Romance Book 3)

by Susan Leigh Carlton

  “We have to find my daughter,” wailed Mrs. Thornton.

  “How far downstream were you carried?” the trooper asked.

  “I don’t know, but it took an hour to walk back here. We were looking on both sides and didn’t see her. Alexandra was calling the entire time, but there was never an answer.”

  “I’ll notify CERT [Community Emergency Response Team of Independence.] They’ll get a search started right away unless they’re swamped with calls.”

  “We can’t wait. We have to find her.”

  “How old is she?” Trooper Earnhart asked.

  “Seventeen.”

  “Could she swim?”

  “She was a lifeguard at the city pool during the summers.”

  * * *

  An hour later, the CERT members had two boats in the water and ATV’s on both sides of the stream ready to move out. “My purse was lost, and our phones are dead, so I don’t have a picture. She was five-seven and had strawberry blonde hair. She was the prettiest girl in school, and that’s not just a mother talking.”

  “I think I might have an old picture in my billfold,” Barry said. “I don’t know how old it is but it’s all I have left.”

  When Alexandra saw the wet picture, she said, “She was in tenth grade when I took that.”

  “Which direction were you going?” the trooper asked.

  “East,” Barry replied. “We were returning home from Lincoln. We had taken Angela to the university to see if she wanted to go there.”

  “Why would she want to go to school so far from home?” Earnhart asked.

  “She was an all-state basketball and volleyball player. The Nebraska coach offered her a full ride scholarship for basketball. She had offers from other schools, but favored Nebraska because it’s in the Big Ten.”

  “She must be pretty good.”

  “She’s better than good. They won the state championship in volleyball and basketball,” the proud father said.

  “We’ll find her,” the CERT field director said. “One way or another.”

  “She’s alive,” Alexandra said. “I would feel it if she weren’t.”

  It was dark when the search teams finally called it a day. “We’ll go back out tomorrow at first light,” the leader said. “We found your car about four miles downstream. It was overturned in the mud. It’s pretty banged up, but we verified the license plate. We went as far down as the airboats could go before we turned around. We’ll take you home for the night. If anything turns up we’ll give you a call.”

  “Where are you based?” Barry asked.

  “We work out of the county call center. Anything we have will be passed to them, and we check with them frequently. They will be the ones that contact you when we find anything.”

  “There won’t be anyone here? What if she shows up like we did.”

  “We’ll have a deputy here all night,” the sheriff said. “Half the county will be on the lookout, Mrs. Thornton.”

  * * *

  Neither of the Thornton’s got any sleep that night. Barry did all of the dairy farm tasks he normally did. He checked his phone for text messages that never came.

  Alexandra prepared dinner, but neither of them ate. The television was set on the local channel. When the ten o’clock news carried the story, they ran footage of Angie being interviewed after winning the state tournament. Alexandra broke down crying, her husband attempted to console her with little success.

  Four days later…

  “Mr. Thornton, we have combed every inch of the area and flown over it I don’t know how many times. We have called off the search. If you hear anything, please let us know and we’ll be back out there,” the CERT Director said.

  A memorial service was held the following Sunday. There was no casket because there was no body to fill it. A local photographer had enlarged Angie’s senior picture. It was on a table covered with roses, in front of the altar.

  Alexandra did not wear black for the memorial service for her daughter. “Black is for mourning. Mourning is for those who died. My daughter is not dead. I don’t believe it. I would feel it if she were.”

  “Barry, you need to get her some grief counseling,” her best friend said. “She’s in denial, and until she accepts Angie is gone, she won’t get better.”

  “Allie accepts that Angie is gone. She doesn’t accept that she is dead. There hasn’t been a trace of evidence suggesting it either,” he told her.

  Chapter Two

  Angie

  In another time…

  “If you could go back now, would you?” her sister-in-law, Mandy asked.

  “I think I would under two conditions. One would be if Jed could go too. If he couldn’t or wouldn’t, I would go only if I was sure I could come back here.

  “There’s no point talking about it. I can’t go, and I’m happy now. That’s what counts.”

  “You never know. Strange things do happen,” Mandy said.

  “Especially around me,” Angie said.

  * * *

  Jed and Angie Lewis’ Farm…

  “Now that both her babies are both safely married, your mother can take it easy,” Angie said over supper.

  “That word is not one Ma uses,” Jed said. “You’ve seen how she is with Martha. You would never know she isn’t Ma’s natural grandchild. It’s the same with you. She loves you the same way she loves Mandy and me. You saw how she acted when you told her you were with child.”

  She laughed. “She was pleased wasn’t she? You’re probably right about her not slowing down,” Angie said. “I wish… It’s no use. They will never know they will have a grandbaby soon.”

  “You are talking about your mama and papa, aren’t you?”

  “Yes. You talk about an exercise in futility, I’m sure they’re gone, but what if?”

  “If what, honey?”

  “What if I could go back and somehow keep our car from going into the creek?”

  “Then you wouldn’t be here, because you wouldn’t have gone back in time,” he said.

  “I don’t know that. I saw a movie called ‘Back To The Future’ where this guy went into the past and discovered his mother was seeing another guy, so he had to get her with his future father or he would cease to exist. He had to be careful what he did because it changed the future world.”

  “So you’re saying you would like to go back?”

  “Mandy asked the same question. I would under two conditions. One would be if I could be sure I could come back. The other would be if you could go. I’m happy here, but I would like to know about my parents.

  “I have a question for you. If we could both go, would you go with me?” she asked.

  “I’ve never even thought of anything like that. I guess I’m a lot like you in that respect. I would hate to lose my family. I don’t know if I could willingly give them up.”

  “I understand that. There’s no point in even talking about it. Still…”

  “You’re stuck with me,” Jed said.

  “I can’t think of a better person to get stuck with,” she told him.

  “That’s nice to hear,” he said. “We’ve come a long way in the past year and a half.”

  “And I’ve still got the calluses on my feet to prove it. If I ever have to make that kind of a trip again, I’m going to invent the airplane.”

  “People would laugh at you if you even mentioned such a thing,” he said.

  “I’ll have the last laugh,” she said. “Before I die, people will be flying. Maybe not in our lifetime, but in our children’s time.”

  * * *

  Dinner with Hiram and Sophie…

  “I feel like an ugly old cow,” Angie said.

  “Well, that’s just not true. I think you are more beautiful than ever,” Jed said.

  “You need to get your eyes checked,” Angie said. “I’m getting so big, I burn myself trying to get close enough to the stove to cook.”

  “You must be getting close,” Sophie said, �
�It looks to me like the baby’s dropped. Have you seen the midwife recently?”

  “Last week. She’s coming to stay with us the day after tomorrow. I wish I could be induced.”

  “What do you mean?” Sophie asked.

  Angie realized she had used a term from the future. “I mean I wish I could talk him into coming sooner instead of later.”

  “You’re still convinced it is going to be a boy?” Sophie asked.

  “Oh yes,” she said, and lifted her belly to take the pressure off. I wouldn’t want to have a girl this big.”

  Three days later…

  Parthenia Wilson had been there one day when red faced Hiram Lewis announced his impending arrival by giving his mother a backache that began around 7:00 in the evening. It was ignored by Angie. She had spent the day in a cleaning frenzy. The house was as spotless as possible.

  “I’m going to bed,” she announced half an hour later. “I think I overdid it today. My back is starting to ache.”

  “Where does it hurt?” the midwife asked.

  Angie stood, and put her hand against her lower spine. “It’s better now.”

  In the bedroom, she started changing for bed. She hadn’t looked at herself in the mirror for days, and didn’t tonight. She pulled her nightgown over her head, and felt a gush of liquid run down her legs and wet her gown. Either I just peed on myself or my water broke. She went back to the kitchen. “Mrs. Wilson, I think my water just broke,” she told the midwife.

  “Right on time,” Mrs. Wilson said.

  As a farmer, Jed had seen the birthing process many times. “I’ll go get Ma.”

  Sophie walked into the bedroom thirty minutes later. “What’s going on that has my little boy so excited?” she asked.

  “My water broke and I started having back pain. Mrs. Wilson thinks they’re labor pains,” Angie said. “The middle of the night is not a convenient time. I’m sorry, Mom.”

  “Honey, more labor starts at night than in the day time,” Sophie said.

  “Don’t I know that’s right?” Mrs. Wilson said.

  4:00 AM…

  Angie screamed. Jed had fallen asleep in the chair. He bolted upright and rushed to the bedroom door. “Is she all right?” he asked, frantic with worry.

  “She’s doing fine,” his mother said. “Why don’t you put some water on the stove to heat? It won’t be long now.”

  “Yes ma’am.”

  “That’ll give him something to do,” Sophie told Mrs. Wilson.

  Thirty-two minutes later, Hiram took his first breath in his new world, and then wailed. Mrs. Wilson tied and cut the umbilical cord.

  “You have a son,” Sophie told her daughter-in-law.

  “Good,” the tired new mother said

  Jed was pacing back and forth outside the door. “You have a strong baby boy,” his mother said.

  “Is Angie all right?”

  “She’s fine. You should be proud of her. She did well. Mrs. Wilson is finishing up, you can come in when she finishes.”

  “I’ll tell Pa he has a grandson,” he said, and went back into the big room.

  “We have a boy.”

  “That’s good,” Hiram said. “A man needs a son.”

  Chapter three

  Did You See This?

  Faculty Lounge, Brevard High School…

  “Alexandra, did you see the post I shared with you?” Sarah Jameson asked.

  “I haven’t been on Facebook in weeks,” Allie said. What was it about?”

  “It was a link to a weird story. It had Barry’s name in it and I thought you might be interested.”

  “I’ll try to remember to look at it tonight,” Allie said.

  That evening…

  The evening news had a business story about Facebook and caused Allie to remember Sarah’s comment. Using her iPad, she logged into Facebook and clicked the notification from Sarah. She read the post twice. She clicked ‘Like’ so she would be notified of any follow-on posts.

  She handed the iPad to her husband. “You’re white as a sheet,” he said. “What’s wrong?”

  “Just read the post. It has your name in it.”

  “I don’t see anything to read. Just Sarah saying you might find it interesting. What’s she talking about?”

  “Oh for heaven’s sake, Barry, don’t you know anything about Facebook? Just tap the box below her name,” she said.

  “I’ve never felt the need to know what someone had for dinner, or when they went to bed. I never look at Facebook or Tweeter.”

  “Twitter. Maybe you will after this,” she told him.

  “Wasn’t 2014 the year I gave Angie the iPhone?” he asked after he read the post.

  “It was.”

  “What was her iPhone doing in an unmarked grave in this Haynes Falls place? Where is it anyway?”

  “I don’t know, but I’m going to find out.”

  The next morning at school…

  “Did you read it?” Sarah asked.

  “I did. I’m going to call the TV station mentioned, and see what I can find out.”

  * * *

  “KNHF, how may I direct your call?” the person on the other end asked.

  “I suppose I should speak to someone in your news department. My name is Alexandra Thornton.”

  “News Department, Miles Pierce,” the youthful voice said.

  “Mr. Pierce, I saw a video clip on Facebook where my daughter’s name was mentioned.”

  “What was your daughter’s name, Mrs.…?”

  “Thornton, Alexandra Thornton. My daughter is Angela Thornton.”

  “Where are you calling from?” he asked.

  “Brevard, Missouri.”

  “Mrs. Thornton, would you mind if I get our news director on the line also?”

  “No sir. I was hoping for something like this.”

  “I’ll put you on hold and go to his office. His name is Cal Griffith. I’ll be right back.”

  Elevator music began when she was put on hold. Five minutes later, “Mrs. Thornton, are you there?”

  “Yes,” I’m here.”

  “I’m going to put you on speaker. Miles is here with me. Let me ask you a few questions first. Have you ever been to Haynes Falls?”

  “I didn’t even know where it was until I looked it up on the internet.”

  “This is a difficult question to ask, but is your daughter a runaway?”

  Vehemently, Allie said, “She is not.”

  “Why don’t you tell us about your family, and then I’ll tell you what we know.”

  “Yes sir. Just so you know, I’ve searched the internet and pretty much know what has been reported.”

  “We understand,” Griffith said.

  “My daughter is a gifted athlete. She was all-state in basketball and volleyball. She was offered scholarships from eight different schools. The NCAA allows five expense paid visits to a potential recruit, and we decided to drive to Lincoln, Nebraska for her last allowed visit. She met with both the basketball and volleyball coaches and we were on our way home when it happened.”

  “What happened?”

  “Barry was driving, and it began raining as heavy as I’ve ever seen. Angie was in the back listening to music on her iPhone. Barry slowed because the wipers couldn’t keep up and was going to pull over at the first place he came to.

  “Water was running across the road. The front end skewed to the right and before he could recover, we were off the road and in the water. The car began floating and moving with the current. We put the windows down and managed to scramble onto the top of the car.

  “I was knocked into the water by an overhanging limb with Barry holding on to me. Angie was still on top of the car when we went in. We grabbed onto a limb of an uprooted tree and held on until it snagged and we made it to solid ground.

  “Our phones didn’t work, so we began making our way back in the direction we came from, but it was slow because we had to wait for the water to recede, and we were looking for Angie as
we walked. We never saw a trace of her on either side of the creek. When we got to the highway, we flagged a Missouri State Trooper and told him what had happened. They called in CERT. That’s the Community Emergency Response Team. They found the car a little further than we had been. It was overturned in the mud. They did not find a trace of her. The police brought in a helicopter that had infrared scanning and went over the entire area several times with no results. CERT volunteers combed the area for five days without finding anything.

  “A friend saw the clip on Facebook about the iPhone being in the casket that was registered to our daughter. Barry had given it to her for Christmas in 2014. It was her pride and joy.”

  “Did she have any accessories?” Griffith asked.

  “She bought a solar charger from Amazon to use when there were no outlets.”

  “What did your daughter look like, hair and everything?” he asked.

  “She had strawberry blonde hair, and was the prettiest girl in school. She was a pure joy to be around, and was dedicated to getting a scholarship.”

  Griffith said, “No identification of the person in the grave has been made. The grave has not been disturbed for decades, according to the forensics lab. In 1937 the city bought the land from a couple of farms in the area to build the first high school. The old school has now been torn down and the new school will replace the original. A small cemetery had to be moved before construction could begin.

  “When they broke ground for the construction, the backhoe penetrated a casket. Apparently, they had missed one grave in the relocation process.

  “The lab determined the body had been in the ground for over ninety years. The phone was sent to Apple in Cupertino, California, where they were able to determine it had been registered by your daughter. When Miles checked, he found a report that said your family was drowned, and the bodies of you and your husband were recovered, but not your daughters.”

  “That was a misidentification, obviously,” Allie said. “A correction was made the next day in the newspaper. I don’t know whether it made it on TV or not.”