Jacobi beamed. “I know only criminals go there, so we’ll fit right in!” Unlike his sibling, he was exultant over their new outlaw status. Possibly, he felt that being the family’s designated screw up, he’d finally found his moment to shine. “This is so cool. We’re like that guy you told me about, Addy. James Jesse!”
“Jesse James.” Addy corrected, digging around in her pack.
“See?” Deke arched a brow at Cade. “I told you. He memorizes everything she tells him.”
Cade sighed loudly and glanced at her. “Stop spinning yarns about villains from your polis. It puts thoughts in his head.” He paused. “And desist with teaching him Yellowstone slang, unless it makes sense. I don’t understand why you would use the word ‘cool’ to signify that something is ‘good.’ Being cold is rarely good, in these parts. Believe me.”
He really didn’t have to remind her that freezing sucked. She would never complain about the heat of an Arizona summer, again. “I have no idea why slang works the way it works.” She informed him. “I just know cool is cool, wicked is cool, sick is cool, and is not knowing that… is not cool, cowboy. Sorry. I gotta keep Jake cutting edge.”
She finally found Brown’s Pocket Guide in her backpack and flipped to the map of the Mount Rushmore area. Damn it, there were so many lines. Why had she never learned to read a map?
Cade did a double-take when he saw the glossy cover of the book in her hand. “Holy shit.” He blurted out. “How much did that cost?”
“Nothing. It came with the Glamp-pack™.” Addy muttered distractedly, all her attention on the map. She shook her head at the confusing landmarks around her. Did everything look different in the snow or did everything just look different?
“Someone gave you that book?” He scowled, not happy about that news. “Was it a man?”
“No, it was Becky-the-glamping-ranger.” Addy shot him a mystified look. “Why?”
Cade relaxed when he heard that handsome strangers weren’t plying her with travel guides. “I am used to the fact that money has little meaning for you, lady. But, do you really not understand how much it must have cost to create that book? The colors alone…” He sighed dismally. “You have so much more than any ordinary male could ever give you.”
Addy studied his tense expression for a beat. Ordinary? Sitting on his horse, his hat pulled down to shade his eyes, the guy was a living, breathing ad for why every girl needed a cowboy under her tree this Christmas. Someone so amazingly wow! couldn’t possibly be insecure about anything, right?
Of course, this was Cade Westin. He was always on the lookout for new things to brood about.
“Cade, this book,” Addy tore out the title page and wadded it into a ball, “means nothing to me.” She tossed the paper to the ground, ignoring the Westins’ cringes of pain at the destruction. “It’s very inexpensive, where I come from. We have millions and billions of them.”
“Well, books are not inexpensive here.” Cade insisted. “You should be with a man who can give you treasures like that and you won’t find one if you come with us.”
“I’ll stick with the man who tells me I’m beautiful, thanks.”
Cade’s jaw ticked, looking more than a little frustrated. “You are beautiful. That’s far too simple a requirement for a mate, Adeline.”
“Twenty-eight years has taught me that it’s not so simple, at all.” She arched a brow. “Besides, I’m not coming with you. Technically, you guys are coming with me. Which, considering the way Deke dresses, is pretty generous of me, I think.”
Deke frowned down at his abysmal outfit like he had no idea what she was complaining about. “What’s wrong with the way I dress?”
“Even when those clothes were washed, they were like something from Jason Voorhees’ closet. You need new a new wardrobe. And a haircut. And a bath. Your brothers might let you get away with wallowing, but I won’t.” Someone had to take their family in hand and Addy figured that someone was her.
Deke grunted, but he didn’t argue. He knew better.
Jacobi stopped his horse and jumped down into snow to grab the page she’d thrown away. “You have millions and billions of books like this in Why o’ Ming?” The kid seemed entranced by that idea. “No wonder Dr. Quinn is so learned.” He smoothed out the paper, studying the words. “What does it say?”
“It’s says that the book is a guide to the West. To here.” Addy realized she was going to have to teach him to read English. The languages were close enough that it shouldn’t take him long. She could piece together written future words faster than the spoken ones. “When I started my trip, they gave it to me so I wouldn’t get lost.”
“Then, it’s broken.” Deke deadpanned.
“Oh zip it.” She refocused on finding their way. “What’s on the other side of this tunnel thing?” She pointed up ahead, trying to orient herself on the outdated map.
“Nothing. Cade sounded surly. Maybe he was still bent out of shape over her possible affair with the bookmobile guy. “This trail will soon dead end and we must pick a new direction.”
“We should go to Big Rock.” Jacobi insisted. “They have gambling.” Addy shot him a glare and he quickly backpedaled. “Not that I’m playing cards anymore, but I can still watch.” He craned his neck, trying to see more of the travel guide. “Can I look at the book when you’re done, Addy?”
“Of course.” Addy murmured, studying her map. “The trail dead ends?” She flipped the guide upside down and frowned in confusion. Maybe they were near Custer State Park. …Maybe. The topography had changed so much that it was hard to figure out. The only thing she recognized was Mount Rushmore and it was getting closer. Giving up on the map, she pointed to the monument. “Well, I think we should get up to the heads and get our bearings, then.”
Three sets of eyes turned to stare at her like she was out of her mind.
“You wish to go the Great Mountain?” Even Deke was shocked by that idea. “No humans go near the gods.”
She squinted. “Why not?”
“You’ll awaken them.” Jacobi whispered dramatically, off on a new topic. “When they feel trespassers on the mountain, they rise up.” He lifted himself in the saddle to illustrate their ominous movement. “Their bodies are buried under the ground and are nearly a gantii tall. They’ll slowly stand, shaking the earth, their stone eyes blinking open…”
Addy cut him off. “A parking lot is under the ground.” She corrected. “The heads don’t have bodies, because it would’ve cost too much to carve them. And they aren’t gods. They’re men who ruled this land a long time ago. That one?” She pointed to Washington. “He had wooden teeth.”
Jacobi pouted a bit at that less dramatic version of the story. “How do you know that?”
“I just do.”
Cade shot her a strange look. Like he believed her, but he had no idea why. His gaze flicked down to the map in her hand and he frowned.
Jacobi didn’t seem convinced by her claims, but he liked stories enough to press for more details. “Alright. Tell us about these men with wooden teeth, then.”
“Fine.” Because, she wasn’t much of a historian, Addy gave the Westins the quickest social studies lesson ever taught. “That is George Washington. The first president of a… polis called the United States of America. Next to him is Thomas Jefferson. He wrote a document called the Declaration of Independence, which says everyone who lives there is created equal, and entitled to life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness.”
Cade’s head tilted. “Everyone?”
“Yep.” She nodded, even though old Tom might have disagreed with that broad an interpretation. “Next is Theodore Roosevelt. He cared about the environment, so I’m not sure how he’d feel about having his face blasted into the pristine landscape.” She gestured to the last head. “And then there’s Abraham Lincoln, who freed enslaved people, but was assassinated at the end of a terrible war.”
Deke looked intrigued by that.
She looked at Jacobi. �
��See? Not Gods. Just ordinary men. Who did great things, and even some not so great things, and who their people wanted to remember.”
All three Westins stared at her.
Addy realized she might have said too much. “Trust me. They won’t hurt you.” She summed up, clearing her throat. “That’s what I’m getting at.” She glanced back at the book, remembering what she’d read about the Hall of Records. “If no else ever goes near that mountain, then we should. We’ll be safe from the posse there.”
“Did you know those men?” Cade finally asked, his voice quiet.
She was surprised. “No. Of course not. They died before I was born.”
“But you know their people.” It wasn’t a question. “You come from the place where they lived?”
Addy met his eyes for a long moment. That perfect lavender gaze held hers steadily, asking her to trust him. But, how could she? Telling Cade she was born in another millennium would be a colossally stupid risk. What if he didn’t believe her? What if he did believe her, couldn’t handle the weirdness, and just left her to deal with it on her own? It seemed like everyone was always abandoning her when she needed help.
“Addy, it’ll be alright. Just tell me what’s really going on.”
She winced at the quiet request. It would be so much smarter to lie. She might suck at lying, but it was the logical play here. No matter what she was coming to feel for Cade, did total honesty between them really matter? Given the vast differences in every single aspect of their lives, any kind of relationship seemed impossible, anyway.
…But, when Addy looked at him, there was this click.
“I come from the time where they lived.” She told him, betting everything on this guy being the superhero she thought he was. “Or pretty close to it. About sixteen hundred years in the past, as far as I can tell.”
Cade blinked at her.
So did Jacobi and Deke.
Nobody pulled out their laser guns to protect themselves from the mad woman, but they sure weren’t buying that she’d been transported into the future, either. She didn’t blame them. Hell, she barely believed it herself. Addy was in it this far, though, so there was no taking the words back.
Not if she wanted a chance of something happening that was even more impossible than time travel.
“You want to know what’s really going on? Well, that’s it. That’s the truth. Look at this.” Digging in her pack, she came up with her wallet. “Here are the presidents, again.” She sorted through various amounts of currency. “Washington.” She passed Cade a dollar bill. “Jefferson.” Jacobi got a handful of nickels. “Lincoln.” She gave Deke a five and some pennies. “Roosevelt doesn’t have his face on any money. I think FDR’s on a dime, but that’s a different Roosevelt.”
Jacobi looked from the coins to Rushmore and back again. “This is the same man.” He reported, sounding shocked.
“I know. I told you, these are some of our most famous leaders. Their images are everywhere. In my time, we use this as money.”
Deke examined his five bucks and four cents like it was part of an elaborate of trick. “These coins aren’t gold. They’re worthless. And this paper money is stupid as hell. I get that paper’s valuable, but what if it rips?”
“I guess you’d have to take that up with the US Treasury.” Addy focused on Cade, waiting for his response. “Cade?” She prompted when he remained silent. “Do you see what I’m telling you?”
Cade slowly raised his eyes up to her face. “Yes. You’re telling me you think you’re from the past.”
“No. I’m telling you I know I’m from the past. Get me up there,” Addy pointed towards the monument, “and I’ll prove it to you.”
Cade stared at her, not saying anything. Clearly, he wasn’t ready to shift direction on the basis of her wild story and some weird currency. Addy wasn’t giving up, though. This was too important. If she and Cade were ever going to have any kind of future he needed to see the truth. So, she said the one word that always seemed to sway the stubborn jackass.
“Please?”
Chapter Ten
Here’s a fun travel fact, Glamper!
Much like the pyramids of Egypt, Mount Rushmore will one day be studied by future scientists, trying to understand our world. In order to make their jobs easier, a Hall of Records was carved behind Lincoln’s head.
As it stands today, the secret tunnel is seventy feet long and twenty feet high, housing indestructible copies of America’s most important documents. But, the designer of the monument had even grander plans. He foresaw a great complex of rooms, like an eternal museum, where far off civilizations would be able to learn all about our world. Maybe one day his vision will be completed.
If it is, what would you want to store there for those future generations to find?
Brown’s Glampling Tours Official Pocket Guide
“Greetings from the year 2110, future citizen! I am Maria Del Sol, President of the United States. We’ve created this Hall of Records, here at the Mount Rushmore National Memorial, to show you our world.”
Addy stared at the projected image of the smiling Commander in Chief. “It’s good to see you, Maria, but I hope you’re not the first female president. If it takes a hundred more years to elect a woman, I’m gonna be pissed.”
Otherwise, she was thrilled with the Hall of Records. Brown’s Pocket Guide had said it was a simple tunnel carved into the granite, which housed copies of the Declaration of Independence and biographies of the presidents. Apparently future generations had expanded the idea and made it more of a museum.
Glass panels lined the walls, all of them acting like television screens. Looking around Addy could see image from throughout history replaying again and again. Everywhere she looked there was some YouTube-ish clip show of human civilization designed to let future generations know what life had once been like. It reminded her of standing in the middle of an electronics store, with all the TV showing different stations.
Addy glanced over at the Westins. None of them had moved from the entrance. “It’s okay.” She told them quietly, smiling at their astonished reactions. “It’s just a time capsule from my future and your past. It won’t hurt you.”
The large space was powered by something that was still going strong. Some kind of solar battery, maybe? Who knew what kind of energy had been discovered in the century after she disappeared. Humans were damn good at inventing stuff, right up until the point where they blew up the world.
The room had been sealed with a massive metal door. Addy had been concerned when she saw it, but it opened with very little effort. Why wouldn’t it? This room wasn’t designed to keep people out. It had been built to welcome them. From the minute they’d entered the Hall of Records, lights had blazed overhead and Maria Del Sol’s happy message had played on a loop, in a litany of languages. This place had been designed to withstand the ages.
Except the ages forgot it was there.
Addy shrugged off her pink, quilted coat. The Hall of Records was heated through that mysterious energy. For the first time in weeks, she was actually warm. Jesus, it felt good. She had a feeling that the weather in this time period was far less severe than it had been in the past, but it was still freaking cold outside.
“See that?” She walked to the nearest screen and gestured to the translucent images. “That’s an airplane.” Actually, it was a whole bunch of airplanes. The clear monitor showed everything from the Wright Brothers to some space-aged silver machines that seemed to be… breathing. God, the future was weird, even when it was in the past.
“Your people can fly?” Jacobi’s eyes were twice their normal size. At least he was talking, though. His older brothers were still in a state of shock, gaping up at the electric lights.
“Yes. Now, this all started for me when I took a plane from my home in Arizona.” Another screen had a map of the United States and Addy gestured to Scottsdale. “I went from here to here.” She moved her hand up to Wyoming. “This is Yellowstone.
It’s a tourist spot. I was with Brian, my boss, and some of my coworkers. It was a vacation.”
She could tell from their expressions that “vacation” had no equivalent word in their language.
“People go there for fun and to brag to all their friends on Facebook.” Addy translated. “Anyway, there was an earthquake, and I fell and hit my head. When I work up, I was here.” She jabbed a finger at the star on the map, which indicated Mount Rushmore. “I was stuck just outside Shadow-of-the-Gods and centuries had passed. So, you see why I’ve been a little confused.”
Cade let out a wheezing breath. “She’s confused.” He bent at the waist, his hands braced on his knees. “She lives in an enchanted realm --surrounded by pictures that talk and machines that fly-- but, she’s the one who’s fucking confused.”
Deke gazed fixedly at a screen with flashing mathematical equations. “Maybe this isn’t even happening. I’ve been sketchy since the War. This could all be in my head. It would make more sense.”
“No one’s hallucinating this and my time not enchanted.” Addy assured them. “Really. It’s just like now, only we have different… stuff.”
“Cooler stuff.” Jacobi looked around in wonder. “Way, way better cooler. Holy gods, your water comes from those… things?” He gestured to a video of a running faucet. “No wonder you couldn’t work the well. Cade was afraid you were going to fall in every time you tried.”
“To be fair, that bucket is heavier than it looks.”
Jacobi didn’t seem to even hear her. All his attention was on pictures of cars… some of which were flying. See? Someone out there understood what the future was supposed to look like. “You travel in carriages that move by themselves. No wonder you thought we were so backwards that we ride sanbors around here.”
“I didn’t say ‘backwards.’ I just didn’t understand, because we don’t even have sanbors in my…”
Jacobi cut her off, still not hearing her. “No wonder, Addy.” He slowly shook his head, awed by everything he saw. “No wonder you want to get home so bad.”
Cowboy from the Future Page 15
