by Bess McBride
“No, I’m sorry. I don’t think I’ve met you. I have to go. I have to get a ticket for the other train. I have to get on that train.”
“Wait, Amanda!” the other woman said. “My name is Dani Sadler. Are you sure you don’t remember me?”
Amanda froze and turned to face them again.
“Dani?”
The petite woman nodded, a smile bursting forth. “Do you remember me now?”
Amanda shook her head. “No, I’m sorry, I don’t, but Nathan mentioned you.” Her voice broke at the mention of his name. “I’m sorry,” she choked. “He’s dead. I don’t know if you knew.”
Dani gripped her hand more tightly. “Don’t cry, Amanda. Don’t cry, honey. Nathan is alive!”
Amanda reared back and stared at Dani. Her heart thudded so loudly in her ears, she thought she must have misheard.
“What?”
Dani bounced her head up and down. “He’s alive! I know you thought he was dead, but he’s not.”
Amanda’s knees shook and she fell against the brick wall for support. All her hopes and dreams had come true. Nathan was alive! She had no idea how or why, but he was alive.
“Where is he?” Amanda scanned the platform beyond Dani as if she could spot him, but of course, that was silly. He was in 1906. But why was Dani here? Hadn’t she married someone from the early twentieth century herself?
Dani winced and shook her head. “Well, the thing is...I lost him in time somewhere. I don’t know where he is. But he’s alive.”
Amanda stared at Dani in a daze. The ups and downs of the past twenty-four hours had taken their toll. She was on the verge of hysteria. How many times could she possibly lose one man in her lifetime?
“I don’t understand,” she whispered.
“I know you don’t, and I’m sorry, Amanda. This is all so awkward. Come, let’s go into the station and get out of the cold. We don’t have time to catch that train anyway. It’s pulling out.”
Amanda turned to see the train pulling away, and she almost ran after it, but Dani dragged her relentlessly into the upper level of the station and down the escalator to the empty main lobby. She steered Amanda toward a plastic bench and they sat down. Amanda burst into a torrent of questions.
“Why were you with Nathan? How did you lose him? How did he survive the wreck? Where did you come from?”
In the light of the lobby, she could see that Dani was beautiful—small with bright red hair which struggled to stay within the bun at the crown of her head.
“Hold on, hold on. I know you have questions. Let’s see.” Dani narrowed her eyes. “Well, I was with Nathan because he asked me to help him get back here to find you. I lost him because I don’t know why. I’ve traveled back and forth quite a few times to see my mother and to bring her back, and several times with Stephen. Stephen and I had an accident once...ending up in the wrong times. I haven’t traveled for a while though. I’ve got kids now, and Stephen and I agreed I wouldn’t travel in time anymore.
“But you guys broke my heart. You’ve both been missing for a year, and when Nathan showed up yesterday in Seattle without you, I knew I had to offer my help. I normally live at Lake McDonald in the future Glacier National Park, Montana, but Robert cabled to report that you and Nathan had been found, so Stephen and I packed up the kids and headed for Seattle. Then we heard he’d been killed in a boat accident!” She paused for breath.
“Anyway, Robert Chamberlain said he’d brought you back to Seattle, but you had disappeared from the train. He assumed you had traveled in time but no one knew where or when. Then we heard that Nathan was alive, that he’d managed to swim ashore and made his way back to Wenatchee on foot. When Nathan finally reached Seattle though and discovered that you’d disappeared on the train, he was so upset, so distraught, I didn’t know if we could calm him down.”
“We didn’t know what to do—any of us. Only Ellie, Annie or I could have brought him back to find you, but Ellie hasn’t traveled on a train since she first arrived, and Annie and her husband, Rory, are in Asia photographing the ‘Orient.’ That left me. Stephen said it was up to me, and I couldn’t bear to see Nathan suffering so much, so I volunteered. Nathan was grateful, that’s for sure, but I have no idea how he feels now. I don’t know where he is.” She shrugged her shoulders, but her voice held a note of worry.
Amanda took Dani’s hand in hers. Though Dani sounded flippant, her eyes showed her concern and unhappiness.
“If there’s one thing I’ve discovered about Nathan by now, Dani, it’s that he is a survivor. I’m sure he’s all right, wherever he is. Hopefully, he packed enough money from both 1906 and 2013 to get by.”
Dani nodded. “We made sure he had enough of the current stuff. I had a stash from when I was last here.”
“So, what happened?”
Dani shook her head. “I don’t know. We did the old ‘hold hands and go to sleep’ thing near Wenatchee. It always worked with my mother, never a slip up, but when I woke up on the modern train in 2013, he was gone. I got off in Spokane.”
“What should we do?” Amanda asked.
Dani shook her head. “I’m not sure right now. I got in last night, and I took a nap in a nearby motel before coming back to the station tonight. I had a ticket for the westbound train, but then I saw you.” She peered at Amanda closely again. “So, you still don’t remember me?”
Amanda shook her head. “I’m sorry, I don’t. I feel awful about that, too.”
“No, don’t,” Dani said. “I understand. You can’t help where you end up with this traveling thing sometimes.”
“In fact, I traveled again,” Amanda said. “I boarded the train in Seattle on October 22, 2013, trying to get back to 1906. Look! Here’s my ticket.” She produced her ticket. “But it’s only October 16th now, isn’t it? I saw a Seattle newspaper on the train dated October 15, 2013.”
Dani nodded. “Yes, it is. This was the date that Nathan wanted to travel to...something about getting here before October 15th. That’s when you two traveled to the future, right? When you became separated the first time?”
Amanda’s heart rolled over in her chest, and she nodded. “That’s so sweet. He was trying to get back here to find me when I still remembered everyone, when we were still engaged.”
“Yes, I think so. Although I take it you’re in love with him...again?” Dani chuckled. “You two were definitely meant to be together if you fell in love with him not once, but twice.”
Amanda’s cheeks heated. “I’m so glad to hear you say that, Dani. It helps, kind of verifies it. Yes, I love him...again. Always, I guess. I think we were meant to be together though I wish I remembered our first romance...the day he asked me to marry him.”
Dani nodded sympathetically. “I’ll bet.”
“How do I begin to look for him?” Amanda asked with a heavy sigh. “Where do you think he is?”
Dani shook her head. “I wish I knew. For all I know, he might still be in 1906, might have caught the train back to Seattle.” She drew in a quick breath. “I actually hope not. If he comes back, and I’m not with him, Stephen will have a heart attack.”
“Stephen is your husband, right?”
Dani turned to her and nodded. “Yes, you know him too.”
Amanda shook her head. “How was Nathan? Was he well?”
Dani quirked an eyebrow. “Well, he’s a little beat up from his survivalist gig. Apparently, he walked more than a day and a half without shoes, so he’s limping a bit, but other than that, he’s fine. He misses you and he’s very worried about you. I think he’s worried that he won’t be able to find you again.”
A painful knot formed in Amanda’s throat. “I’m pretty worried about the same thing, to tell you the truth.”
“What do you want to do, Amanda? Do you want to stay here and hope he shows up? Or do you want to come back with me...to 1906?”
Amanda wrapped her arms around herself. “I don’t know. When Robert took me back to Seattle, all I wanted
to do was return to our time...to 2013. But when I did, all I wanted to do was get back, to see if I could travel to a time before Nathan died. I would stop him from getting on the sternwheeler. And now? I don’t know what to do, because I don’t know where he is. I just want to be with him. I want to find him in time.”
Dani nodded. “Well, the train doesn’t leave until late tonight, in about ten hours, so give it some thought. In the meantime, I think we should probably get some sleep.” She looked at Amanda’s skirt. “And maybe get you something to wear. My skirts are packed in my bag. I changed on the train after I traveled forward in time.”
Amanda smiled wanly. “I wondered about that.” She looked down at her dark blue skirt. “No, I’m fine with this outfit. Nathan bought it for me.” She swallowed against the lump in her throat.
“Come on. I’ll just check back into that fleabag motel again. It’s not too far, which is why I didn’t mind counting the fleas. You look beat.”
They rose, and Amanda followed Dani toward the nearby motel. Although not of the best quality, Amanda saw none of the fleas to which Dani referred, and she assumed Dani had been kidding. Amanda dropped down on one of the double beds and laid an arm across her eyes to block out the streetlights filtering in through the sagging curtains.
“We’ll find him, Amanda,” Dani murmured from the other bed. “We have to.”
“I hope so,” Amanda whispered. “I hope he’s all right.” Exhausted, her earlier optimism regarding Nathan’s survival skills dissipated.
Chapter Sixteen
Nathan opened his eyes, and turned to look for Dani. She was not there. The green velvet bench seat in the sleeping compartment showed no resemblance to the blue seats of the trains of the twenty-first century.
He gritted his teeth, willing himself not to break down into tears like a child. He had not traveled in time! He remained in the year 1906. He had lost Amanda in time, and he could not reach her.
Despite the ache in his chest, he grew concerned for Dani’s safety. Where had she gone? He prayed he had not lost her as well. He couldn’t live with himself had he put her in harm’s way.
Nathan jumped up and pulled open the door. The hallway was empty save for a porter at the end of the Pullman car. Nathan stepped out.
“Excuse me, have you seen my...wife?” Nathan bit his tongue. How many wives was he accruing on this time traveling venture? Stephen would be most displeased.
“She is petite, red-haired?” he continued. “She boarded with me?”
The porter shook his head. “No, sir. I haven’t seen anyone like that. But I don’t remember you boarding the train either, sir. In fact, I don’t have anyone staying in that compartment. Can I see your ticket?”
Nathan stiffened. “Well, I most certainly have a ticket,” he said. He reached into the pocket of his jacket, retrieved the ticket and handed it to the porter.
The porter looked at it and narrowed his eyes before raising his head and favoring Nathan with a look of censure.
“Sir, this ticket can’t be real. It’s dated October 15, 1906. I think I’d better go get the conductor.”
Nathan waylaid him by grabbing his arm.
“What do you mean the ticket cannot be real? I purchased it myself at the station.”
“No, sir. It can’t. It’s dated for the future. I don’t think they issue tickets that far in advance.”
Nathan sighed and shook his head. He braced himself against a wall and asked the question he had come to hate.
“What is the date?”
“October 15, 1905, sir. I’m going to go get the conductor.”
Nathan opened his eyes and stared at the porter.
“Yes, please do.” Nathan had money in his pocket, so he knew the conductor would not unceremoniously throw him from the train.
“1905,” he whispered aloud. What did this mean? Where would Amanda be in time? And how was it possible that he remembered her. He had not yet met her in 1905. He recalled the words he had whispered before he traveled through time.
Above all else, I wish to find Amanda in time... Any time. It matters not. I will always love her. I have always loved her. Please help me find her.
Had his fervent wish to find her “any time” ensured that he did not forget her?
If nothing else, this certainly meant that Dani was safely ensconced at her lakeside cabin in the Glacier Wilderness of Montana with her husband, Stephen, and their children. He thanked his lucky stars for that and vowed that whatever the outcome of the next few hours or days, he would never ask anyone to help him travel in time again. He could not risk losing them, as he had Amanda.
He pushed himself from the wall and returned to the sleeping compartment. The bed had not been turned down, and the green velvet benches were in place. He slumped down onto one of them and stared out of the window. Where was Amanda now? Was she home in Seattle...in 2013? After all, it was now fully one year prior to the date when he had first met her.
A knock on the door heralded the conductor, a portly man with a kindly voice.
“What’s this now, sir? The porter here showed me this ticket which appears to be valid.” He threw a withering glance over his shoulder toward the porter in the hall. “He said something about it being a forgery, but I can see that it isn’t. However, you seem to be on the train a tad early. Do you have another ticket we could see?”
Nathan looked up at the conductor in bemusement. “No, I am afraid I do not, Conductor. I must have misspoken when I bought the ticket at the station and given the agent the wrong year. Could I just purchase a fare now?”
The conductor nodded in a satisfied way and threw another withering glance over his shoulder at the embarrassed porter.
“Certainly, sir. And where are you headed?”
Nathan hadn’t thought that far in advance. “Where are we now?”
“Just about ten minutes shy of Wenatchee. We’ll get in at about 2 p.m.”
“Wenatchee then,” Nathan said. “I will go to Wenatchee.” A small glimmer of an idea formed in his mind.
“It seems hardly worth taking your money, sir, since we’re almost there. But it’s not my money, so I better take the fare.”
The conductor quoted him the price and Nathan gave him the money. The conductor withdrew a pad from his coat pocket and wrote up a ticket.
“There you go, sir. I’m sorry about the confusion, and I hope to see you on the train next year, if not sooner.”
Nathan smiled absently. He looked out of the window again. Yes, there was the Wenatchee River near the tracks. Soon, they would approach the confluence with the Columbia River. He would get off the train in Wenatchee. Mr. Spivey would not know him, nor would Mrs. Spivey. He would be a stranger in town, but at least this time, he had enough money to pay for the telegram he must sent to Robert to transfer funds to the bank in Wenatchee.
The train pulled into the station, and Nathan stepped down off the carriage. The air was crisp and cool, as crisp as the apples which now awaited loading onto the cargo compartment of the train.
Nathan entered the station, finding it unchanged from the previous year. Mr. Spivey was busy corralling a few passengers and herding them toward the doors where one of the conductors received them. Nathan waited until Mr. Spivey returned to his position behind the counter.
“Yes, can I help you,” Mr. Spivey asked.
“Yes, thank you. I would like to send a telegram.”
“Certainly,” Mr. Spivey responded. “If you could just write it down here.” He pushed a pad of paper toward Nathan, and Nathan jotted his note.
Robert,
I am safe and sound in Wenatchee, Washington, the Apple Capital of the World, where I’m of a mind to stay awhile. Please coordinate an account for me here at the First National Bank of Wenatchee. I will explain all when I see you next.
Yours,
Nathan
He handed the telegram to Mr. Spivey and proudly produced the money for the transaction. Not since he was a small ch
ild with a birthday nickel to buy candy had he been so tickled to pay for something.
“Mr. Spivey, is there a hotel in town?” He wondered what the station agent would say.
“Yes, there’s a hotel down the street there, the River Hotel. My wife owns it. Or there’s the fancier Empire Hotel further in town. You might enjoy that hotel.”
Nathan smiled. “The River Hotel will be just fine. I’ll walk over there now.”
Mr. Spivey nodded and busied himself with sending the telegram.
Nathan left and retraced his steps of only days ago or years ago, he really didn’t know which, to the River Hotel. It too was unchanged.
He stepped inside, wishing that it were the middle of the night and Amanda was at his side. He had only been here a few days ago...and a year into the future...following the accident on the river. He had knocked on the door of Amanda’s room, hoping against hope that she waited there for him, but she had left on the train with Robert.
Mrs. Spivey bustled out from the kitchen area.
“Yes, can I help you?”
“Yes, I would like a room please.”
Mrs. Spivey nodded and stepped behind the small counter in the lobby.
“For one?”
Nathan held back the sigh on the edge of his lips. “Yes, one.”
“And how long will you be staying?”
Nathan shook his head. “I am not certain. For a while, I think.”
Mrs. Spivey’s cheeks turned pink, no doubt at the thought of the income. Once again, the hotel appeared to be empty of guests. Another idea formed in his mind, but he suspected he would need to tread lightly with that scheme.
“Number seven, just up the stairs to the left,” she said. “I’ll bring some tea to your room in a few minutes.”
“Thank you,” Nathan said. He climbed the stairs and looked down at the key. It was the key to Amanda’s room. He had thought to ask for that room but was unsure how to explain his desire for a room that in theory he had never seen before.
He opened the door and stepped in. Shutting the door behind himself, he leaned against it and imagined that Amanda stood before him, facing the mirror, asking for his help with her hair—her beautiful silky chestnut hair. He remembered the sweet smell of the curls as he combed them out following her bath. He closed his eyes as if her scent lingered in the room. The soft white skin at the nape of her neck just above her collar had enthralled him, and he had tended to her hair long after the last curl had been combed.