Yellowstone Origins: Yellowstone Romance Series, Book 6

by Peggy L Henderson

  Jeffrey frowned, but seemed to take her cue, and went to close it.

  “I couldn’t leave you in that wilderness, Riley,” he sputtered. “I don’t even know exactly what happened, but I was afraid that you might be dead.”

  “You should have left me.” Fresh tears spilled from Riley’s eyes.

  Jeffrey looked around the room, then pulled the only chair up next to her bed. He sat, and reached for her hand.

  "I'm still not clear about what happened, or what that artifact is, Riley. When that guy dragged you off and mentioned that snakehead, I reached into my coat pocket, and the next thing I knew, I was back at the lab. I was afraid to even touch it for a while after that. It's like it sent us into the past or something."

  Riley glared past the tears. “It did send us to the past. And I want to go back. Why didn’t you listen when I told you to leave me there?”

  “You’re sounding crazy, Riley. This isn’t like you.”

  "And why are you telling those doctors a bunch of lies?" Riley's voice rose as her anger, frustration, and grief grew.

  “What did you want me to tell them? That some magical object sent you to another time? They would lock us both in the psych ward. I’m trying to protect you.”

  Riley reached out her hand. “Then give me the vessel so I can get back to where I really belong.”

  Jeffrey’s face contorted into a confused and incredulous stare. “I’m your friend, Riley. I care about you. I’m not going to give you some unexplainable object so you can go and kill yourself.”

  “My life is in the past. I finally found myself while I was there,” she rasped, unable to hold back the tears.

  She'd found herself, and so much more. And the man she loved was dead. There was nothing for her in either world. Jeffrey stared at her as if she'd sprouted horns. He shook his head and laughed uneasily.

  “You can’t be serious. You were assaulted . . . some lunatic attacked you.”

  “He saved my life.” Her voice cracked. “He saved my life over and over again, and I love him.”

  Jeffrey’s eyes widened, and his mouth gaped open. “You’re suffering from post-traumatic stress, Riley.”

  “I’m not suffering from anything but the need to get back to where I belong. Give me that snakehead, Jeffrey.” Riley stared at him.

  Jeffrey released her hand and pushed the chair away from the bed. “Absolutely not. Out of the question. That thing is dangerous.”

  Riley shifted on the bed, sitting straighter. She grabbed for Jeffrey’s arm. “You have to give it to me,” she hissed, blinking away the dark swirls in front of her eyes.

  Jeffrey placed his hand over hers. “I’m not going to give it to you. I can’t even tell anyone about it,” he said adamantly. “And neither can you. The whole idea is crazy. I can’t risk my degree, my future, like that.”

  “Just give it to me, and no one will know.” Riley forced her voice to remain even as anger surged through her. Why did he have to be so stubborn?

  “Riley,” Jeffrey laughed again, definitely unsure about what to say to her. “What’s come over you? You obviously hit your head harder than we all thought. “Three days ago, you were as scared as I was when we were transported to that wilderness, and those Indians attacked us.”

  “Three days?” she echoed. “I’ve been gone for weeks. I can’t be here, even though he’s dead,” she added absently.

  “Dead? Who’s dead?”

  “Cameron,” she whispered. Just saying his name brought a crushing ache to her chest. “I can’t stay here. There’s nothing more for me in this time. I need to go back.”

  Jeffrey glanced toward the hospital room door. “You’d better not talk like this around the nurses and doctors, Riley. I can see that you’re upset, and the trauma of what happened to you is obviously affecting you. When you’re all healed, you’ll come back to school, and things will be back to the way they were before.”

  “I don’t want to come back to school, Jeffrey,” she said between gritted teeth. There was no way to make him understand, but he was right. If she lost her temper, or started saying things that would sound like nonsense to everyone else, she’d never get out of here.

  She inhaled deeply and forced a smile. She would get the vessel back, but now was not the time to push the issue.

  “Did you put it in a safe place, at least, where no one can find it?” she asked.

  “It’s safe for now, until I figure out how to dispose of it so this won’t happen to someone else.” He smiled at her, apparently satisfied that she seemed rational again. “If it makes you feel better, I saved that box of artifacts you were looking at when . . . when all this weird stuff started to happen.”

  Riley slumped back against her pillow. Maybe if she cooperated, they’d release her. They couldn’t hold her against her will, but she needed to sound sane and rational.

  “I brought you here in your car. The box is in the trunk, so whenever you want to pass the time and go through it again, just let me know.” He gave her an appeasing look.

  Riley stared at Jeffrey, but didn’t really see him. The scene along the river replayed in her mind. How long had she been unconscious?

  “How did you find me, Jeffrey?” How had it been possible for him to track her down? “Along the river,” she clarified.

  Jeffrey sat in the chair again and shook his head. "I didn't know what to do when I came back to the lab. I was scared, Riley. Scared for you, and about what happened. I tried to remember everything that bastard said to you about that snake - what it was, and how it worked."

  Riley winced at Jeffrey's harsh word in reference to Cameron but clamped her mouth shut.

  “I couldn’t sleep that night. I didn’t know whether to go to the police. I waited a day before I touched that thing again. I have no idea where I ended up, but it was somewhere along a river. An old man - an Indian - came to me, and told me you needed my help.” Jeffrey shook his head, as if he didn’t believe what he was saying.

  “An old Indian?” Riley frowned. It could have only been one person.

  “Thankfully, he spoke English. He knew your name, and said you were in trouble, so I followed him. He brought me to where you were unconscious along the river. I don’t know how long you were there, but you were hypothermic and in shock, from what the doctors said when I brought you to the hospital.”

  He leaned forward in his chair, and squeezed her hand. “I had to come back for you,” he whispered, smiling at her with a hopeful look.

  Riley ignored the infatuation in his eyes. Jeffrey meant well, but her life was elsewhere. Her heart would always be in another time, and would never belong to any man but Cameron.

  She squeezed her eyes shut in an effort to force out the pain. What was she going to do? She couldn’t tell anyone about her experience. She had no desire to go back to school, or her research. It held no meaning for her anymore. Cameron was dead, and she had no one to turn to. Even if she returned to the past, she was as good as dead. She lacked the skills to survive on her own.

  Her eyes shot open.

  Dan Osborne

  “Did you say you brought my car?” She sat up, looking intently at Jeffrey. Her heart rate increased. If anyone could help her, it would be Dan. She had his phone number.

  “Yes,” Jeffrey said slowly, studying her as if he realized she was up to something.

  “There was a flyer on the passenger seat. I’d like to take a look at it.”

  Jeffrey’s forehead scrunched. “I think I tossed it in the trunk, along with the artifacts.”

  “Could you please bring it to me?”

  Jeffrey smiled indulgently. “Sure, Riley.” He stood, and moved to the door. “It’s good to see the old you. You’ve obviously got something swirling through your head.”

  Riley forced a smile of her own. “Yes,” she said, “I sure do.”

  * * *

  Jeffrey was gone no more than twenty minutes. He carried the cardboard box under one arm when he entered the
hospital room. He smiled, and handed her the piece of folded paper that Dan had given her when she’d seen him at the ranger station.

  “Thank you, Jeffrey.”

  She tucked the paper under her blanket.

  Jeffrey set the box on the tray near her bed, and sat in the chair. Riley groaned silently. She needed him to leave. She held her hand to her bandaged head, feigned a yawn. “My head hurts. I think I should get some rest.”

  Jeffrey looked at her, then stood. He smiled uneasily. “Well, ah . . . I think I should probably go. I’ll come by and see you tomorrow?”

  He turned to leave, stopped, and looked over his shoulder. “I’m glad you’re all right. We can talk more about what happened when you feel up to it.”

  She nodded, and smiled.

  As soon as Jeffrey left, Riley sat up in her bed. She unfolded the paper, and looked at the phone number Dan had scribbled on the back of the informational flyer. There was nothing he could do to help her get back to the past, or make up for the fact that Cameron was gone, but she might find a kindred spirit in him, someone with whom she could talk about what had happened. Maybe he could convince Jeffrey to hand over the vessel.

  Riley slid off the bed, adjusting the hospital gown around her back. The phone sat on the tray where Jeffrey had put the box. She took a tentative step forward, careful not to pull on her IV line. Her head pounded.

  Reaching for the phone, her eye fell to the box. Her pulse increased when she touched it, and lifted the lid off. What did she expect to find? Jeffrey surely hadn’t put the snakehead back in this box.

  She reached inside, just as she’d done the first time at the lab, and removed the same stone pot she’d analyzed the first time. She blinked, and held it up to her face.

  “No,” she whispered, and turned the artifact in her hands. Tears welled up in her eyes again, and she hastily blinked them away.

  The pot held a familiarity that hadn’t been there the first time she’d touched it. She’d cooked with that pot over an open flame just a few days ago. With trembling hands, she set the stoneware aside, and peered into the box.

  A large leather pouch, a brush made from porcupine quills, a skinning knife. She sobbed when her eyes fell on the familiar objects. One by one, she removed them from the box. They were aged, hundreds of years old, but these were the items Day Star had given to her when she’d left the Tukudeka village. She gasped when she reached for the final item; a small leather pouch, a gift from the man she loved above all else.

  Something was inside the pouch. She didn’t have to open it to know that it contained her broken glasses.

  “Cameron,” she whispered, and held the article against her heart. She stumbled backward, and slid to the floor when her legs made contact with the hospital bed. Her limbs had gone too weak to support her, and her body shook with grief. She squeezed her eyes shut, but the tears found their way down her cheeks anyway.

  Free yourself.

  “I am free, Cameron,” she whispered. “I love you.”

  The beeping of a monitor brought her back to reality, and she pulled herself to stand, catching her breath. She swiped the back of her hand over her eyes and face, still clutching the pouch in the other. It was weathered and old, the leather no longer soft and pliable, but she’d restore it somehow. It was all she had left of Cameron. That, and her memories.

  She sniffed, then reached for the phone. Her heart pounded in her ear when she dialed Dan’s number.

  “Hello.” A woman’s voice answered on the fourth ring, and Riley tensed.

  “I’m trying to reach Dan Osborne.” Riley cleared her raspy throat. Her voice trembled as much as the rest of her.

  “He’s not here right now. Can I take a message?” the woman on the other end asked, her voice kind and quiet.

  “Who am I speaking with?” Riley asked.

  “This is Jana Evans. I’m Dan’s fiancée.”

  Riley’s heart lurched in her chest.

  “Jana Evans,” she whispered. The woman whose friend had gone to live in the past? “I . . . I need to speak to you, and . . . Dan.”

  Chapter Twenty-Six

  Riley startled awake when someone knocked on the hospital room door, even though it was open. The privacy curtain prevented her from seeing who it was. Dreams of Cameron faded into darkness, and she sat up, a little too quickly. Her head throbbed painfully. What time was it? Faint light streamed in from between the blinds that covered the window.

  "Come in," she called and cleared the raspiness from her throat.

  A woman who couldn't be more than a year or two older than she walked into the room. She was tall, slim in her form-fitting jeans, and wore a hesitant smile. The light in the room accented her auburn hair, making it shine like a copper penny. She carried a plastic bag in one hand, and a small purse hung from her other shoulder. Riley's heart sped up.

  “Jana Evans?” she guessed.

  The woman nodded, and rushed to the bed. Her eyes swept through the room, and lingered on the monitor and IV lines with an expert eye, then met her gaze.

  "Riley?" She leaned over the bed and embraced Riley like a long-lost friend.

  "Thank you for coming." Riley sat up fully and tossed her legs over the side of the mattress.

  “I came as fast as I could. I know I told you on the phone I’d drive up to Missoula first thing in the morning, but the truth is I couldn’t sleep after your call. I hope you don’t mind that I’m here at the crack of dawn. I brought you some clothes.” She set the plastic bag at the foot of the bed.

  Riley laughed softly. “Not at all. I haven’t slept much, either.”

  She bit back the sting in the back of her eyes, brought on by the reason she hadn’t slept. Her chest tightened in that familiar painful squeeze that sent fear and absolute anguish through her.

  Jana watched her, her eyes roaming over her. She shook her head, and blinked, disbelief in her gaze.

  “I can’t believe this time travel business is still happening,” she whispered, and sat next to Riley.

  “I know it all sounds crazy, but you believe me, don’t you?” Riley stuttered, her voice faltering.

  Jana gave a quick laugh. “Oh, I absolutely believe you. I just experienced time travel myself. Well, not quite like what you’ve gone through, but –” her voice broke off, and she glanced toward the door. “I want to hear your story, from start to finish, but we can’t talk here.”

  “Then get me the hell out of here.” Riley gripped her arm.

  “I’ll see what I can do. Are you sure you’re well enough, though? Looks like you took a hit to the head from something.”

  “I tripped and fell. I hit my head on a rock. I’ve endured much worse, and I’m fine. I just need to get out of here.” Her eyes pooled with tears. “I need to get out of this century.”

  Jana’s arms were instantly around her, tugging her head against her shoulder. “Riley, this is like déjà vu for me,” she whispered. “You look like my friend, Aimee, when she came back from . . . the past against her will. She was just as desperate and heartbroken.” Her voice cracked slightly.

  “The man I love is dead,” Riley sobbed. “I watched him die.”

  Jana’s arms tightened around her. She rocked her like a mother would rock a child.

  “How did he die?” Jana asked softly, once Riley’s sobs quieted.

  “He was swept over the Upper Falls of the Yellowstone River. No one survives that.”

  Jana’s body stiffened. “Aimee said those exact words to me once, but she was referring to the Lower Falls at the time.”

  Riley eased away from Jana and stared at her through tear-filled eyes. "I have to get out of here. Sitting in this hospital bed is driving me mad."

  Jana studied her for several moments, then stood. "I'll talk to the charge nurse, and let her know that you want to be discharged. You'll have to sign a release that you're leaving against doctor's advice."

  “I’ll sign anything to get out of here.”

  * * *


  Several hours later, after a few heated discussions with doctors about whether she was ready to go home, Riley climbed into Jana’s car, clutching her box of artifacts. Jana had told the doctors she was a registered nurse, and had assured them that Riley would be staying with her and wouldn’t be left alone.

  Jana pulled away from the hospital. “We can stop and pick up some of your things at your place, but you’re coming with me back to Gardiner, unless you really want to stay in Missoula. Once Dan finds out about you, he’ll definitely want to talk to you.”

  Riley adjusted her seatbelt, and glanced at Jana. “You haven’t told him?”

  “He’s out in the field. I won’t be able to get hold of him for at least another day. He’s with a group doing search and rescue training.”

  Riley grabbed some clothes and other necessities once Jana stopped at her apartment. She paid no attention to the laptop sitting on her small kitchen table, or the piles of scientific journals and textbooks. Quietly, she closed the door on her former life.

  During the long ride from Missoula to the small town of Gardiner, which sat just outside the north entrance to Yellowstone, Riley recounted her story. From meeting Dan Osborne, to how she’d seen Naatoyita before she’d touched the vessel, and everything that had happened during her time in the past and what she’d learned from the Sky People.

  “I always knew there was a greater purpose to Aimee’s time travel,” Jana said. “It was just meant to be for her. The first time I came back to Yellowstone after she returned to 1810, I was looking for Aimee’s journal that she told me she’d leave behind. When I saw Dan, I couldn’t believe my eyes. He looks so much like his ancestor, Daniel.”

  Jana shot her a quick glance, before her eyes focused back on the road ahead of them. “I know this is painful, but what happened with Cameron in the river?”

  Riley swallowed, her throat constricting. Anger surged through her, along with the pain of losing him.

  “John Hastings attacked me, and I ended up in the river. Cameron pulled me out, then he went after Mukua, the elder I told you about. Somehow Cam and Hastings ended up in the water.”