Zach watched her closely. “I have a sister that visits me every once in a while, and she left some clothes the last time she was here. I brought them for Eva to use until I can take her shopping.” Ignoring the frown on Tony’s face, he walked into Eva’s room and looked around. The room boasted a four-poster bed in cherrywood with huge ball legs and a headboard and footboard resplendent with carved floral motifs. A large wardrobe and two nightstands completed the room.
Curious, he glanced into an open door and switched on the light, revealing a spacious bathroom. It had a long vanity topped with gold-veined black marble sporting two sinks and a mirror the size of a bedsheet. The fixtures were almond colored, and the walls papered in a bold geometric of beige and brown with touches of silver foil, adding a richness for which he was not prepared. He glanced from the vanity stool to the shower stall, separate from the tub, with its opaque glass walls.
Tony cleared his throat. “I know what you’re thinking.”
Zach shook his head and backed out of the room. “I’m not thinking anything bad. Your house is beautiful.”
Tony glanced back to where Eva was running her fingers over the polished surface of the dresser, and lowered his voice. “This is the master suite of the house. It was my parents’ room, and I just couldn’t bring myself to use it except as a guest room. My mother decorated it a couple of years before they moved to Florida.”
Zach leaned against the wall. “Do they like it down there with all the tropical storms?”
Tony seemed to wilt right before his eyes. “They both passed away about four years ago.”
Zach put his hand on Tony’s shoulder. “I’m so sorry.”
“I’m sorry, too, Tony.” Eva moved closer to where they stood in the doorway. “I can’t imagine how I’d feel if I lost my parents.” Then, she frowned and her eyes filled with tears. “I guess I have lost them, though. I guess they’ve been dead for a while now.”
Tony clapped his hands. “Okay, it’s time we all had a little sit-down.”
Eva’s forehead wrinkled. “What do you mean?”
“Let’s go sit down in the living room, and you can tell us your whole story. I’m not buying that you came from the past, but I’m willing to listen to what you have to say, and maybe you can convince me.” Tony nodded toward the bathroom. “Why don’t you freshen up and meet us downstairs in a few minutes. Without waiting for a response, he turned and walked out the door.
Zach heard the soft shush of his footsteps going back down the carpeted stairs. He turned to Eva. “Are you all right?”
She swallowed hard and nodded. “I’m fine. I just wish he believed me.”
Zach moved to put his arms around her shoulders and smiled when she snuggled up against his chest. “Honey, give him some time. Tell him whatever he wants to know, and he’ll start believing you.”
She pushed back far enough to stare into his eyes. “You believe me, don’t you?”
He stared deep into her eyes and felt himself moving toward her parted lips. He gave her plenty of time to pull away. Instead, she moved closer, holding her breath as her eyes slid shut. Softly, he pressed a kiss against her closed lips, breathing in deeply of her lavender scent. When he pulled away, he smiled, looking down at her puckered lips, her eyes squeezed tightly shut. Bending, he kissed her forehead. “Yes, I do believe you, Eva. There are many things in this world that have no real or logical explanation. It’s not such a stretch to believe that you could have traveled here through time.” Holding her away from his body, he grinned. “You wash your face and meet me downstairs. We’ll convince the big, bad policeman together.”
Eva nodded, walked into the bathroom, and shut the door.
Zach walked across the hall and dropped the second bag on the bed and hurried down the stairs. He looked for Tony in the living room and then heard a noise coming from a room off the dining room. He walked over and glanced into the kitchen. The wood-grained Formica countertops contrasted well against the gleaming appliances.
Tony looked up from the open refrigerator. “You wanna beer?”
Zach shook his head. “I’d rather keep a clear head for this conversation. You got any pop?”
Tony handed him a cola and then grabbed a second one along with a beer. “Let’s take this into the living room. Something tells me it’ll take her a while to tell us her story.”
“Are you gonna keep an open mind, or is she already tried, convicted, and you’re ready for sentencing?”
Tony groaned. “Give me a break, will you? I’ll keep an open mind to a point, but I don’t believe in all that supernatural crap.”
Zach followed him into the living room and sat on a huge, overstuffed sofa. “Okay, Mr. You Need All the Facts. Where do you think she came from?”
* * * *
Eva paused at the top of the stairs and waited to hear what Tony would say. He’d made no secret of the fact he thought she was lying. Her mama had told her all about her arrival at the Silver Rush Saloon. Neither Papa Beau nor Papa Zeke had believed her story at first. But she hung in there, and everything worked out for the best. I just have to believe that this will work out for me as well.
Tony snorted. “I think she’s some kind of reporter, hoping to put a new spin on the story since it’s the anniversary of the women’s disappearance.”
Eva took a deep breath and walked down the stairs. Both men stood when she came into the room. Zach smiled, while Tony frowned. “I didn’t know it was the anniversary of Mama’s disappearance. Until you told me the date, I had no idea where I’d been dropped off.”
Tony motioned toward a fancy, upholstered chair close to the window. “Why don’t you sit down and start at the beginning?” He handed her a small metal can. “I thought you might like something cold to drink.”
She looked at the label. “Cola. What is it?”
“It’s a soft drink with plenty of sugar. You’ll like it.”
She turned the can over and examined the bottom. “Do you have a sharp knife, or something I can open it with?”
Tony’s eyes widened while Zach snickered. He took the can from her hands and burrowed his fingers under a little metal tab at the top. He pulled it, and a whishing sound escaped from the can. He handed the cola back to Eva. “Here, try it.”
Dutifully, she put the can to her lips and took a sip. Taking in the cool liquid, she groaned. “It’s Brad’s Cola.”
“It’s what?” Tony asked.
“It’s Brad’s Cola, or I guess I should say Pepsi. Just last year they changed the name to Pepsi, but it’s still got that fantastic taste. Mama gets really upset when they short her orders from back east.”
Tony shook his head, rubbing the bridge of his nose with two fingers. “Okay, please, Eva, start at the beginning and tell us everything.”
“Where do you want me to start?”
Zach leaned forward. “How about starting with what you know about Anna and Katarina’s disappearance.”
Eva sank back into the softest cushion she’d ever been on. “Damn, I’d have given anything to have seats like this on the buckboard back home.” Tony glared at Zach when he laughed. Eva sighed, placed the can on the table, and looked at the two men. “Okay, I can tell you what Mama told us when we were little.
“She and Kat were taking a trip, trying to get some background on some feller Kat wanted to write a book about. I don’t remember his name, but he was a painter and writer and he was supposed to have grown up around Hamilton. Anyway, they went to Hamilton to look around, only Mama said it was almost gone, rotted away with age.
“Kat wandered off to look at the mill, while Mama was drawn to the saloon. She went inside and snooped around. At one point, she started down the basement steps and saw a red glowy circle on the wall. She got scared, so she tried to go back up, but tripped and fell toward the circle. The next thing she knew, she was waking up in the cellar of the saloon and it was 1871.”
“Who owned the saloon then?” asked Zach.
�
��Papa Beau and Papa Zeke owned it together. Story was they won it in a poker game and decided to settle down there.” She lowered her eyes to the floor and felt her cheeks getting hot. “The two of them had a special relationship together, and they felt safer in a small town.”
“You’re saying they were gay.”
Eva looked up and frowned at Tony. “I guess they was happy. I never really asked.
Zach laughed out loud and quickly put his hand over his mouth. He cleared his throat. “Honey, men who fall in love with other men are referred to as gay.”
Eva worried her bottom lip between her teeth and shook her head. “I never heard Mama refer to them as gay.”
Tony sighed loudly. “Just get on with your story.”
She nodded. “Okay. Well, my fathers found her unconscious in the basement, and they cared for her until she woke up. She explained to them about where she came from, but she didn’t think they believed her.” Eva leaned forward in the chair, her feet dancing up and down. “The best part of her story is she saved the town.”
Tony glanced at Zach, who shrugged, and then back at Eva. “What do you mean, she saved the town?”
“Mama had read a book on the history of Hamilton and knew about this huge fire that would wipe out most of the town. She knew when and where the fire would start, so she convinced my fathers to help her stop it. Papa Beau said she saved hundreds of lives that would have been lost, not to mention she saved the mill.” She leaned back in her chair and stared toward the sliding doors. “Her saving the town is what got her in trouble.”
“What do you mean?” asked Zach.
“A nasty man by the name of Bart Canders ran the Seligman mine, but he was cheating the mine owners. He had a hand in everything in town. The man even ran a house for tainted ladies. He started the fire to cover up his stealing and even left one of his soiled doves in the office to burn up. Once Mama stopped everything, he had to go on the run from folks.”
Zach placed his cola can on the table. “What happened to him?”
“He made the mistake of kidnapping Mama. She said he became convinced that she knew things before they happened, and he wanted to know more. He took her to this little shack way out in the woods and left her there tied up so he could go home and make excuses to his family to be away for a few days. Luckily, Mama had made a friend of an Indian man after she helped his wife give birth to their son. He followed Canders when he kidnapped Mama, and when he left, Running Bear cut her loose and took her home.”
Zach crossed his arms over his chest. “Running Bear?”
“That was the Indian’s name. His wife was Moon Dancer. They were Shoshone. Mama delivered their son, Winter Warrior, in Papa Beau and Papa Zeke’s cabin.”
“What happened to Canders?”
“Justice caught up to him, and they gave him a necktie party.”
Tony frowned. “They gave him a what?”
Zach nudged Tony’s arm. “She means they hanged him.”
Eva nodded. “I think it’s what messed up Timothy so badly. He told me they made him and his ma watch the hanging.”
Tony muttered something under his breath. “Who the hell is Timothy?”
“He’s the man who forced me through the portal.”
Tony ran his fingers through his hair. “We’re getting out of order here. You’ve told us your story of your mother disappearing. What about Katarina Evans?”
“She came through in 1899 not long before I came here.”
“Wait a minute.” Tony stood and paced back and forth. “She disappeared the same day as Anna. Where was she for those 28 years?
“Mama said the portal could probably take people to any time it wanted. She just happened to get dumped out later than my mama. Kat told us she came looking for Mama. She even called the police to come and help. Then, she went and looked in the saloon because she remembered Mama was interested in it. She said the same red glowy circle sucked her in and dumped her out in the basement at the Silver Rush as well, only she wasn’t unconscious. By then, my brothers David and Winter Warrior were running the saloon, and they found her.”
“Wait a minute.” Tony sat back down. “You told us Winter Warrior was the Indian’s baby, not your brother.”
“He’s my adopted brother. Win, we call him that, lost his family in a massacre. Folks said another Indian tribe did it, but my papas helped bury their bodies, and Papa Zeke said he’d swear on a Bible that white men did the killing. Win was wounded, but managed to escape. His ma and pa had always told him to come to Mama if he was in trouble and she’d protect him. He showed up on our doorstep all bruised and bloody, and he’s been there ever since.”
Zach moved forward on the couch, just barely perching on the edge. “How did Kat react when she found Anna so much older, and with a family?”
Eva laughed. “She didn’t believe a word of what they told her.” She sighed. “But, she took one look at my brothers, and I don’t think she cared one way or another after that. It was love at first sight for the three of them.”
Tony sat his can on the table and narrowed his eyes. “You’re telling us that Kat joined your mother and is now living with your brothers in some sort of ménage relationship.”
“I don’t know what a ménage relationship means.”
Zach covered a cough that sounded suspiciously like a laugh. “It’s a word to describe three people in a romantic relationship.”
She nodded. “That’s exactly what I’m telling you.”
Zach reached over and rubbed Eva’s hand. “You said something about somebody forcing you through the portal.”
“Yes, I did.” She took a long drink from the cold can. “Timothy is Bart Canders’s only son. He also had a daughter named Alicia. Timothy wasn’t quite right in the head after he saw his father hanged. From what he told me, his pa told him all about Mama coming from the future, and Timothy believed every word of it. For years he tried to court me, probably to get close to the family to learn our secrets. He was beginning to make me really nervous when Kat showed up. When she was introduced as a friend of the family, he became convinced she was from the future, too.”
“What did he do?” asked Zach.
“He kidnapped her and held her in a cave. When Win and David rescued her, he got away and made it back to the saloon where he caught up with me. He was trying to force Kat to tell him how to get the red circle to take him to the future when the portal opened and sucked us both inside.”
Tony clenched his fists, his nostrils flaring. “If both of you came thorough the time portal, where is he? We didn’t see anybody else in town.”
Eva shrugged. “I don’t know what happened. I remember his hand pulling away from my arm, and then I just fell through empty space. Maybe it sent him back.”
Tony stood and walked to the sliding doors, his back to the room. “This is preposterous. I don’t believe in time travel.” He turned and glared at Eva. “And what was that nonsense about your prince charmings when you came out of the basement?”
Eva felt her cheeks redden and looked away. “I’ve always believed I’d have a relationship like Mama and Kat. There are two men meant for me to love.”
Tony groaned, his mouth dropping open. “And you think we’re the two men for you? That’s ludicrous. I’m not even gay. We couldn’t have a relationship like that.”
Zach frowned and reached for Eva’s hand. “Eva, what about your brothers?”
Eva sniffed and wiped the back of her hand across her damp eyes. “Remember, they aren’t real brothers. They’ve been in love with each other since they were about sixteen years old. They’ve always talked about sharing a woman between them.” She laughed. “Actually, they always talked about sharing Kat. Mama had a picture of Kat in her reticule when she arrived, and the boys kept it in their room just so they could look at her. I think they loved her before she even showed up.” She glanced up at Tony. “I guess I always thought there’d be a couple of men that I’d be able to call mine someday, an
d when I saw the two of you, I guess I just hoped that you might feel the same way.”
* * * *
Tony felt his head pound as Eva explained her family dynamics. He didn’t want to believe her, couldn’t let himself believe in anything as supernatural as time travel. He stepped forward to put her in her place when the sound of a car pulling into the driveway drifted through the open patio door. He glanced out the window and cursed.
Zach came to stand beside him. “What’s the matter, man?”
Tony glanced at Eva and then over to Zach. “We’re about to have company.”
Chapter 4
Tony studied the old-fashioned clothing Eva wore and knew he’d never be able to explain it. “My coworker is stopping by for something. I’m not ready to explain about our guest. Would you take her upstairs, and I’ll get rid of Laura as quick as I can?” He ignored the hurt look on Eva’s face and moved toward the front door. He watched from the corner of his eye as Zach led her up the stairs.
Wearily, he rubbed his hand across his face. He’d made a huge mistake with his coworker, Laura Kennedy. She’d been assigned to his precinct for almost a year, and all that time she’d not been very subtle about wanting a more personal relationship. She was attractive enough, but he had a firm rule about relationships between coworkers.
Then, a few weeks earlier, the anniversary of his mother’s death had hit him hard. He’d comforted himself in a local tavern and somehow ended up waking up in her bed the next morning. There was no excuse for his behavior. It never should have happened, but it was water under the bridge now. Unfortunately, she’d decided that it meant he was ready to take their relationship to the next level. Not wanting her in his house, he opened the door and walked out onto the front porch.
Tony watched her get out of her car dressed in heather-colored slacks and a shirt that spoke of brighter days long gone. Her golden-brown hair fell in waves to her shoulders, her big brown eyes filled with flecks of gold. Her smiled widened, and she sauntered toward him, her hips swaying back and forth in a lazy manner. “What are you doing here, Laura?”
Forever Eva [Sequel to When Kat's Away] (Siren Publishing Ménage Amour) Page 5
