“Yes, I see what you’re saying, but there’s absolutely no way of knowing anything. There’s nothing we can do.” Jana met his stare for the first time. She didn’t look away for once, and concern was evident on her face. Dan’s gut tightened involuntarily.
He took a deep breath. He reached for her hand, and held to it when she stiffened. Her hand was so small in his, her skin a much lighter shade than his natural olive complexion. Without thinking, he caressed her palm with his thumb. A subtle tingling sensation crept up his arm, originating in his fingers.
“Yes. There is something we can do,” he said, clearing his throat. She cocked her head slightly, her brows narrowing in a silent question.
“Help me find that time travel device, Jana. Go back to the past with me, and help me save my grandmother, your best friend. Help me save my life . . . my future.”
Chapter 2
Jana paced the floor in front of the large king sized bed in her hotel room. She’d never stepped foot inside the Yellowstone Snow Lodge before, much less spent the night in one of the rooms here. She could only imagine how expensive one of these rooms was, and Dan had already paid for her to stay a full week. She wondered how he could afford such luxury on his seasonal park ranger salary. When she’d offered to reimburse him, he’d quickly declined.
The rustic wooden table, chairs, and matching bed frame accentuated the wildlife artwork that hung on the wood-paneled walls. The bedspread was an earth-tone woodlands pattern of alternating pine trees and moose silhouettes. The entire room looked like a miniature cabin.
Jana gazed out at the wooded landscape beyond her window. The brief conversation with Dan earlier had left her head spinning. The way he held her hand, and his thumb stroking her palm, had sent odd chills along her spine. She was glad when several inquisitive tourists had interrupted them a few minutes into their conversation, and Dan returned to duty. He’d told her he’d pick her up after his shift and they could continue their discussion over dinner.
Alone for the moment, Jana’s mind reeled with everything he’d said. She still couldn’t imagine how it was possible that Aimee could have died so soon after her return to 1810. Daniel, her husband, was with her. Surely, he wouldn’t have let any harm come to her. The man was so deeply in love with Aimee, Jana was sure he would have lain down his own life before he’d let her get hurt. And how was it even possible? The few sketchy historical accounts Jana had been able to dig up on the internet revealed the descendants of Aimee and Daniel as being prominent in the founding of Yellowstone as a national park.
It just didn’t make any sense. Jana shook her head. Then again, time travel didn’t make any sense, either, but she couldn’t deny the fact that it was real. That weird-looking magical device that made it all a reality – who knew where it came from? Jana’s mind conjured up all sorts of ideas about aliens or some ancient higher power.
She’d never been a superstitious person who believed in all that hocus-pocus. She’d always been firmly rooted in science and fact. Supernatural forces just didn’t fit into her orderly world. But since time travel was undeniably real, then maybe something happened to change the historical time line again. Even Einstein’s theory of relativity proved that time travel, at least moving forward in time, was a possibility. According to Einstein, time was simply a direction in space. Time was relative. Therefore, things could change. Time could change. Jana sank onto the bed and stared at the ceiling.
Dan’s idea of going back in time to . . . to do what? How could they save Aimee when they had no idea what they needed to save her from, or when exactly she died? And how were they ever even going to find the time travel device in the first place? It could be anywhere. And if history had changed again, would the time travel device still be where Aimee left it originally?
Jana groaned in frustration. Right now, she simply wanted to be back home, in her bed, and wake up from this nightmare. There would be no time traveling, no magical snake heads, no gorgeous mountain men from the past, or their equally gorgeous park ranger descendants. She and Aimee would go to work at the hospital each day, and plan their semi-annual backpacking trips.
Aimee had probably looked forward to those trips more than Jana, but her best friend’s sense of adventure had always been infectious. While Aimee was the bold and adventurous one, Jana was rather quiet and reserved. Too serious about everything, Aimee had always said. Smiling softly, she stared at the patterns on the wooden ceiling. Jana had certainly had a lot to say in Aimee’s defense months ago. Once, when confronting Zach Osborne at the hospital, after he came back from the past suddenly after forcing Aimee’s return to the twenty-first century. Aimee had been heartbroken after she was wrenched away from Daniel, and Jana remembered giving the old mountain man – Daniel’s father – a piece of her mind.
Another time Jana actually confronted Daniel Osborne himself. A rather unwise move, she thought now. If she hadn’t been so mad at the injustice dealt to Aimee when Daniel coldly rejected her and had accused her of lying to him, she would have realized that threatening a dark and formidable man like Daniel was not a good idea. Both times, Jana was defending her best friend. She knew without a doubt she would do anything for Aimee. Jana inhaled deeply and squeezed her eyes shut. How on earth am I supposed to help you now, Aimee?
Jana and Aimee had been best friends since early childhood. They complemented each other well. Aimee was pretty, outgoing, and popular with the boys. Everything seemed to always come natural to her. While Jana had her share of boyfriends in high school and college, she always felt it was more because she was Aimee’s friend. Aimee’s leaving had created a deep void in Jana’s life that she hadn’t been able to fill. Several break-ups with guys she had no interest in was all she had to show for her ten months of living on her own. She hadn’t even been able to get out of the city to do some hiking. The backpacking, the wilderness adventures, those were all Aimee’s passions. Not that Jana didn’t like the outdoors. She loved camping, hiking, doing all the crazy survival stuff Aimee enjoyed, but she wasn’t quite as passionate about it. She could just as easily find thrills and excitement sitting at a beach somewhere, soaking up the sun, reading a good book. In short, she was a boring person who liked doing boring things. She hastily swiped at a tear that rolled down the side of her face. She certainly lived an unexciting life now, since Aimee began her new life with Daniel.
Jana shook her head. Her quiet existence was certainly upended once again. The farfetched idea of going back in time didn’t scare her half as much as spending time with Dan Osborne. Chills of dread and apprehension ran down her spine. He was too ruggedly good-looking, and he was Aimee’s descendant. She couldn’t be attracted to him. It just seemed so . . . wrong.
Jana scoffed. She shouldn’t worry too much about it. Dan had only called her because of Aimee and the journal. Once they figured out what to do, if there was even anything they could do, she’d go back to her condo in California, and he would live his life in Yellowstone. Just like Aimee.
Jana squeezed her eyes shut, trying in vain to get the images of Dan’s heart stopping smile when he’d greeted her earlier out of her mind. Her palm where his thumb stroked her earlier began to tingle at the memory.
*****
Dan stepped out of the tiny shower that was no larger than a phone booth, and lifted a towel to his head, water running down his face and chest. The dull ring of his cellphone interrupted his attempt at drying off. He hastily wrapped the towel around his waist. His two roommates weren’t home yet, but just in case, he didn’t need to be running through the tiny barrack buck-naked. Pulling the door open to the bathroom that was barely the size of a closet, he stumbled to his room across the narrow hall. It took all of four strides from the bathroom, across the hall, and into his room to reach his bunk. Fumbling for his pants that he’d tossed on the floor earlier, he pulled his cellphone from the back pocket. “Yeah,” he answered, putting an end to the incessant ringing.
“Is the girl here?”
&nb
sp; Dan frowned. He’d only answered the call because he thought it might have been Jana, wondering what was keeping him. He was already late. Tourists at the visitor center had him detained way after his shift, and he’d told Jana he’d pick her up at seven. It was well past that time already.
Dan clenched his jaw, and dropped his pants to the floor. “Yeah, she’s here,” he answered slowly.
“And? Is she going to help you?” The voice at the other end sounded much too eager.
“I’m not sure yet.” Dan drew his eyebrows together.
“Well, just use your charm and good looks to win her over. She’s not married, is she? Or has a boyfriend?”
Dan paused. He didn’t remember seeing a ring on her finger. “No, I don’t think so.” The thought bothered him. It wasn’t something he’d even considered before. He was fairly sure she wasn’t married, but did Jana have a boyfriend? Maybe if she did, she would have brought him along. If she were his girlfriend, he certainly wouldn’t let her rush off to meet another man a thousand miles away.
“Well, then it should be no problem. Remember, your future depends on this.”
Dan clenched and unclenched his jaw, running a hand through his damp hair. He yanked open the drawer of the nightstand next to his bunk, pulling out a fresh pair of boxers. The caller was getting on his nerves. Dan was well aware what was at stake here. He didn’t need to be reminded. He inhaled deeply, and expelled the air through his mouth, then ran his hand through his hair. “Yeah, I know,” he said slowly. “I gotta go.”
Dan didn’t wait for a reply. He tapped the disconnect button on his phone and stared out the window, absorbing the tranquility of the lodgepole pines beyond his barrack. Here at least, at the residential compound for the seasonal rangers, things were relatively quiet, as opposed to the city-like hustle and bustle around the commercialism of the Old Faithful visitor area.
Last summer, he’d been assigned to Canyon. He much preferred it there, even though it was also a busy tourist hub. Here at Old Faithful, it was even worse. He’d applied for a backcountry ranger position for the last three years in a row, but hadn’t been successful in landing one of those coveted positions. Four months of complete solitude, living in a cabin miles and miles away from anyone, would be a dream come true, almost as good as landing a full time ranger position.
Dan heaved a sigh. If things went the way he hoped, he just might get to experience peace and solitude real soon. His heart rate accelerated at the idea. To go back in time, live like his ancestors for a few days, or a few weeks. It all seemed too good to be true. And once he came back to this time, his future here in the park would be secure.
Quickly, he pulled on his boxers, jeans, and a green t-shirt, and ran a comb through his hair. For a moment, he stared at his reflection in the small mirror hanging over the equally small bathroom sink.
You’re nervous, Osborne. He grinned and shook his head. Hell, yeah he was nervous. The last time he remembered his heart pounding faster, thinking about going out with a girl, had been seven years ago when he asked Cindy Weston to the senior prom. This was a different nervous, he told himself firmly. Everything was riding on convincing Jana to help him find that time travel device.
Dan chuckled, and pulled his well-worn hiking boots on. When was the last time he’d gone out on a date? He didn’t have time for dating. Or the money. He was up to his eyeballs in student loans, and in a major that didn’t guarantee him a well-paying job later on. Girls wanted to be wined and dined, and he couldn’t afford that. He couldn’t remember the last girl who held his interest for more than a couple of dates. Until now. He hadn’t even actually gone out with Jana, but he hadn’t been able to get her out of his mind for the entire two months since he met her, and that had never happened to him before.
Most of the girls he’d dated in college could never see themselves with a guy whose idea of an exciting date was a weekend backpacking trip into the Yellowstone interior. The majority of the female seasonal rangers he met were either in relationships, or lived too far away once the summer was over to consider dating any of them.
Even if it was an informal date, having dinner with Jana put his nerves on edge. The last time he’d asked her if she wanted to grab a bite to eat was on the spurt of the moment two months ago. From the first time he saw her, something had stirred in him, something he couldn’t explain. He’d singled her out from all the other people in the lobby immediately, as if she’d leaped in front of him. He hadn’t even given himself time to think about his actions when he sat down next to her on the couch by the Inn’s great big historic fireplace, asking her why she looked so sad. He certainly didn’t make it a habit of asking pretty park tourists out to eat. He definitely couldn’t have known that his impulsive behavior would change his life forever.
During their short time together, she’d abruptly told him she had to leave after dropping that bomb on him about his ancestors. He’d barely had enough time to get her phone number, and cursed his dumb luck that she lived so far away. If he hadn’t been on duty the following morning, he would have had a lot more to drink to help him swallow everything she’d told him. She offered him the journal of a woman whom she claimed was his ancestor, and how Aimee Donovan had time traveled to marry his mountain man ancestor, Daniel Osborne.
Dan had committed most of the pages of that journal to memory. There were descriptions and personal accounts about Daniel Osborne in that journal, bringing the man he’d heard family stories about to life more vividly than the tales his grandfather used to tell him.
Dan had always been proud of his family’s history here in Yellowstone. The fantastical idea that none of his family tree would be around if not for the impossibility that a woman from this time had traveled to the past was still something he couldn’t quite wrap his head around. He’d long given up wondering where that time travel snakehead could have possibly come from. He didn’t want to know the answer. What he really did want to know, what he needed to know – where was that device now?
Dan ran a hand through his hair, and headed out the door. Jana Evans was his key to finding that device. She had to be. His entire future depended on it.
Chapter 3
Jana stood in front of the bathroom mirror, and ran her brush through her hair. She didn’t know whether to just let it hang free, or put it back in a ponytail. Dan hadn’t mentioned where they would be going for dinner. Not that she expected him to wine and dine her, but if he had plans to go somewhere other than the informal restaurants here at Old Faithful, she didn’t want to look like a bum, either. She hadn’t changed out of the jeans and simple cotton t-shirt she’d worn on her flight here. Casual dress was her preference, and if she didn’t have to leave the room anymore this evening, she would be lounging in her pajamas right now.
A loud knock on the room door broke the silence. She dropped her brush in the sink with a loud clank.
“Good grief, Jana. Get a grip,” she mumbled. Her heart sped up as if she’d just run a marathon, and her legs turned to jelly. She glanced at her reflection in the mirror one last time. Too late to gather her hair in a ponytail.
“Jana, you need to smile more. The world doesn’t always have to be so serious. You are beautiful, and I wish you’d stop thinking so negatively about yourself all the time.” Aimee’s words echoed in her mind. Aimee had always told her the right man would come along someday. For a fleeting moment, the thought entered her mind that Mr. Right stood outside her hotel room door this very minute. Ridiculous! You know nothing about him, other than he’s Aimee’s great great great great grandson.
Jana inhaled a deep breath and expelled the air slowly through parted lips. No matter how much she tried to relax, her heart would not stop hammering away against her ribcage. She raked her teeth across her lower lip, and opened the hotel room door. Dan Osborne stood before her, his hand held up in a fist, apparently ready to knock again.
“Sorry I’m late.” He lowered his hand, and his mouth widened in a grin that made Jana g
roan silently, as her heart fluttered in her chest.
“Oh, no problem,” she blurted out, and smiled nervously. She quickly took note of his clothes - jeans and a t-shirt that hugged the contours of his physique much too well. While his ranger uniform hinted at broad shoulders and a well-muscled chest, the green shirt he wore now left no doubt he was lean and well sculpted. Jana’s mouth went dry. Dan’s eyebrows rose and his forehead wrinkled as he sent her a questioning look when she didn’t say anything else.
“So. Are you ready?” he asked, breaking the awkward silence.
“Um, sorry. Let me get my shoes,” she stammered, and turned hastily into the room. She hoped he hadn’t noticed her face, which must be flaming red at this point, judging by the heat creeping up her neck. Dear God, she would never survive this evening without making a complete fool of herself.
Too late, she realized she should have invited him in. Her nerves were getting the better of her. Maybe she could feign a sudden illness and tell him she couldn’t go out to dinner after all.
“Can I come in?” he called, still standing in the hall.
“Oh . . . sure.” Jana cringed. The door closed behind her with a soft click.
“Did you bring hiking boots?” Dan asked. She turned, and chanced a look at him. He stood, eyeing his surroundings. Apparently, he was just as impressed with the nice room as she had been earlier.
“Yes. I figured I’d need them to go see Aimee’s . . . the spot you thought was her grave.” She turned to face him. She noticed the daypack he had slung over one shoulder.
“You might want to wear them,” he suggested when she reached for her sandals at the foot of the bed.
“Now?” she echoed. “Isn’t it too late to hike Purple Mountain?”
“It is. I’m taking you to dinner, remember?” His smile sent renewed adrenaline through her veins. He pulled the pack from his shoulder, and held it out. “Dinner’s in here,” he said before she had time to wonder at the gesture.
Yellowstone Deception (Yellowstone Romance Series Book 5) Page 2
