There was no reason for him to delay his final task. It was time to head out of town and pick up his going-away present from James: the ‘Beast,’ a classic 1964 red Dodge pickup truck. He’d get one of the officers to drop him off near the site—he wouldn’t have to give him an explanation. That would make the task easier, but he still wasn’t ready to admit the finality of their departure. He already missed them both and actually hurt physically from their absence. The ache of emptiness went from his shoulders to his kneecaps and made it feel like his spine was an iced-up rope, just dangling down through his midsection, holding his pelvis to his collarbones. He snorted. Leah would have told him that that was anatomically impossible, but that was how he felt.
He gathered up the piles of reports, straightened the edges by banging them just a little too hard on the top of the desk, and tugged at the drawer with more force than necessary. It felt like his left hand had four thumbs as he fumbled through the dividers. He finally found the file for the case and tossed it in like a shovelful of coal into a furnace, messing up the neat pile that he had just put it into. “That’s enough of you!” he said. Hopefully, he would never hear the name Atholl MacLeod again.
“Sir, there’s someone here to see you. He says it’s very important,” Dyane called over the intercom.
“Have Sergeant Carter take care of it, will you? I’m off shift now,” he replied with exasperation. He realized it was the wrong tone, but it was better than the one he was holding back. He didn’t know if he wanted to scream or laugh or cry. But he did know that work was not the place to let loose. He stood up to leave, then scanned the remaining papers still on his desk, making sure they were devoid of anything that would remind him of his time traveling family when he came back to work that evening.
“Sir,” Dyane called back, “He says it’s about someone named Evie and her daughter Leah, the nurse. He says you’ll know who he’s talking about.”
Billy went weak in the knees, then everywhere else. Fortunately, his chair, strategically placed, caught him as he plopped down in a solid, controlled fall. He swallowed hard, started to speak, but only an embarrassing squeak came out. He tried again. “Send him in,” he said, this time the words coming together and finding a way out of his mouth.
Dyane opened the door for the large visitor. Billy stood up and his eyes widened as they watched the man duck his head in order to enter the office. He wasn’t the tallest man he had ever seen—he had met a couple of the gangly basketball players with the Hornets—but he was the biggest in terms of being a proportionately built man. Billy quickly tipped his head down when he realized he was staring. He walked around to the front of his desk and shook the hand of the huge man with auburn red hair. He glanced up again and the gentle giant grinned and whispered, “Six seven,” like he was sharing a secret.
Billy pointed to the chair, offering his congenial new acquaintance a place to sit, then walked back around his desk, touching its surface as much for reassurance that he was awake as for physical support lest he fall down from shock. He sat down slowly in his seat, his head bowed down, concentrating on the desktop. He didn’t think he could make the transition from standing to sitting while looking into the face of this big man.
“I didn’t mean to stare,” Billy apologized, as he looked up again. “It’s just that you remind me of someone. All you’re missing is the Scots accent.” Billy couldn’t help but think of the man’s resemblance to Jody Pomeroy of the Lost novels. If James and Leah had just gone back to his time—the 18th century—could it be that Jody Pomeroy had come back here, to this time? He fought back the urge to shake his head ‘no’ in answer to his own unspoken question and smiled nervously.
“Weel, I guess I lost a bit of the accent since I’ve been back here in North Carolina. Now, that bein’ said, are ye the one to talk to about Leah and Evie?”
“Who are you?” Billy asked incredulously before he answered the Jody look-alike’s question.
“I’m sorry. I dinna introduce myself. I’m Benjamin MacKay, but ye can call me Benji.”
Billy nodded his head slowly in answer to Benji’s question about being familiar with Leah and Evie. He didn’t even try to talk lest the sounds come out as the ‘baa, baa, babble’ that were coursing through his brain. He’d read all of the Lisa Sinclaire novels at least once. Benji was Jody Pomeroy’s grandson and he was now sitting in front of him, all grown up. He was supposed to be a fictional character!
“Weel then, I hope it’s not too late to catch a ride back with Leah. I got distracted with a couple of unsavory characters. But, it seems that ye’ve helped me quite a bit and have the MacLeod brothers out of my hair now. I, um, heard that Leah was goin’ back to see her mother soon. I understand she knows how to, um, travel safely and without a lot of pain involved?” he asked rather than stated, focusing on Billy’s eyes for his reaction.
Benji could see by the detective’s wide-eyed and slack-jawed appearance that Billy understood what he was talking about. He waited for his reply, but the stunned police officer just sat at his desk, palms flat as if he was holding down the wooden furniture, and shook his head back and forth slowly. “You’re too late,” he whispered, his head still moving at the same, slow pace. “About two hours too late. They’ve already gone.”
Benji winced, shut his eyes, and shook his head with a look of sadness and frustration. “Jest two hours…” He exhaled. “Um, do ye happen to ken how they traveled?” he asked tentatively.
Billy pinched the bridge of his nose then spread his thumb and index finger out over his eyebrows, rubbing them back and forth in a nervous manner. He wanted to delay the answer. He didn’t know if this Benji, this 21st century Benji, was a good person or not. Could it be that he was in with the MacLeods? Before he could answer, he heard the cautious question.
“Are ye related to Marty Melbourne, per chance?”
Billy’s head snapped to attention, the fog of indecision blown away with the hurricane force of the shocking inquiry. “Why?” was all that he could think to reply.
Benji chortled. “Weel, ye must be then or ye woulda answered ‘who’ or ‘no.’ Ye look jest like him, have his same nervous habit of pinchin’ yer eyebrows, and I’ll wager if ye had the English accent, ye’d sound jest like him, too. But, yer not his grandson James, are ye? I mean, yer an American and an officer of the law. He’s a member of parliament and a businessman.”
Billy drew a deep breath, making the snap, gut decision that this was a good man and could be trusted. “James is my brother and Marty is my father,” he said. He started to say more of their relationship, but stopped. He’d let Benji talk and see how much he knew.
“Ye said ‘they’ went back, not jest Leah. Who went with her?” Benji asked.
“James did. He’s her husband now. I don’t think he would have let her go by herself. He was quite smitten with her. They only knew each other two weeks, but as soon as I saw those two together, I knew it wouldn’t be too long and… Hey, how did you know Leah went back?” Billy asked, losing his original train of thought. This man was sharp and didn’t miss a word.
“I read about it in a letter,” Benji said plainly. He opened his mouth to say more then decided he’d wait to see if this American was going to let something slip. He wanted to know how much he knew before talking about time travel to a total stranger.
But, Billy was smart, too. He was also playing the ‘show me your cards and I’ll show you mine’ game. “So, how do you know Marty Melbourne?” he asked with a glint in his eye, letting the big Scot know that they were playing mental poker.
Benji grinned and replied, “Ye make a livin’ out of this, aye? I mean, jest any little thing a man says ye can use to find out more about a situation.”
Billy pointed to the first part of the nametag on his desk. “It says detective, aye? So how do ye ken him?” he asked, mimicking Benji’s accent.
“He came to our place when I was much younger. He and my father talked fer quite a while. Ye see, my fa
ther had read a letter about a James Melbourne and was tryin’ to find him. He dinna ken much about him or his family, but what he kent was enough. It turns out that both men were lookin’ fer each other. My father was writin’ a book about, um, writin’ a book that interested Lord Melbourne and the two actually took a trip here to North Carolina in the early 90’s. Young James and I came with them.”
Billy decided to lay out a card and see if he could gain Benji’s confidence. “So was the book about,” he paused then made eye contact with the large red-haired man, “about time travel?”
“What?” his new acquaintance laughed, “Do ye believe in that nonsense?”
But Billy could tell that Benji was just having fun with him. The walls were down and they were both now comfortable. “So, does this mean that you’ve traveled and it was painful? I mean, you mentioned Leah finding a way to travel without pain.”
Benji rolled his eyes. “Ye have no idea how painful. I was only a lad, but I get the cold goose flesh jest thinkin’ about it. I guess this means ye never went, um, back?”
“No, I’m sort of new to all of this. Have you had breakfast yet? I’m just getting off work and I think we have a lot to talk about.”
~End of preview~
Thanks in no particular order
I’d like to thank some of the following for their help, great products, books, songs, or general inspiration:
Elaine Boyle, for her personal insight into North Carolina, her editing skills and ability to spot the missed transitions and inconsistencies.
Thanks to Tori Sexton, a current resident of North Carolina and avid time travel fan. Tori has been proofing my stories for years and finds the faintest boo boos that others miss.
Lennon & McCartney for their songs, including ‘Good Morning, Good Morning’ and ‘Yellow Submarine,’ great songs for wake-up tunes on an alarm clock and ‘She Came in Through the Bathroom Window,’ just because it was so appropriate for the story.
The Clark Sisters for their inspirational hymn “I’m Looking for a Miracle,” a tune so powerful that even amnesia couldn’t erase it.
Carhartt Company® for making such tough work wear. My former Alaskans call them ‘Carhartts’ just like the rest of us up here.
Leatherman Tool Company®, makers of many different styles of multi-tools. A favorite for all of my 21st century characters and me.
Lamy® for producing pens so outstanding, they’re referred to by brand name.
Glenturret® Distillery for creating fine whisky for over 200 years.
Levi’s® jeans and shirts. Always winners and with international appeal.
Florsheim®. First class footwear of the professional class.
The Clark Sisters, for their inspirational song, ‘I’m Looking for a Miracle,’ so profound, an intense case of amnesia couldn’t stifle it.
J.J. Abrams and Star Trek the Movie™ for Spock’s quote on impossibilities and improbabilities, originally penned by Arthur Conan Doyle for the Sherlock Holmes novel, ‘The Sign of Four.’
Diana Gabaldon. Several years ago, I took to heart her suggestion to write. I did and found an incredible peace. Now I wake up smiling and go to sleep the same way, my babies—my fictional family—growing and developing in my head rather than my womb. They’re with me at my keyboard as I introduce them to new people, new adventures, more mysteries, and help them into and out of predicaments.
And an extra heap of thanks to Diana for penning Outlander™, the inspiration for Lisa Sinclaire’s ‘Lost’ novel, the story Evie somehow fell into. Ms. Gabaldon’s readers may notice similarities with a few of her characters and ‘the fictional’ people of the ‘Lost’ novels who my Evie character found to be real. Of course, they aren’t the same people. Who knows, though? Maybe time travelers Sarah, Claire, Evie, James, and Leah were neighbors?
Rodgers & Hammerstein’s ‘Some Enchanted Evening’ from South Pacific. ™ The song still echoes in my head, at times.
‘The Way Things Work,’ by David Macaulay, one of Leah’s favorite books.
And of course, thanks to the most perfect man in the world, Marty Haviland, my husband. Your encouragement, faith, and patience are worth more than the Pomeroy-Hart fortune and a number one spot on the New York Times Best Seller List.
Read the future adventures of the time traveling ‘fairies’ in THE FAIRIES SAGA including:
DANCES NAKED the Cherokee call him.
Marty Melbourne has his challenges and frustrations in 18th century North Carolina Cherokee country.
How can—and will—he get back to the 21st century?
THE GREAT BIG FAIRY, 6’7” Benji MacKay, wants to return to the 18th century and his beloved grandfather, Jody Pomeroy.
Can anything—or anyone—stop him?
The earlier books:
NAKED IN THE WINTER WIND Amnesia, Abandoned, Adoptions. Read how it all begins here.
HA’PENNY JENNY A little insight into the sweet—and psychic—adopted daughter of Evie and Wallace. Novella.
For more on The Fairies Saga, latest release information, and previews of upcoming works, check out www.dani.haviland.com.
Aye, I am a Fairy and The Fairies Saga are works of fiction. Names, places, characters, and incidents are the product of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously for the reader’s entertainment. Any resemblance to persons living, dead, or fictional, events, business establishments, or locales, is entirely coincidental.
By payment of required fees, you have been granted the non-exclusive, non-transferrable right to access and read the text of this book. No part of this text may be reproduced in any form—mechanical, electronic, or by any means now known or hereinafter invented—without the express written permission of copyright owner.
Copyright 2014 by Dani Haviland
Published by Chill Out!
All rights reserved
~ The Fairies Saga ~
By Dani Haviland
In chronological order:
Naked in the Winter Wind
Ha’penny Jenny
Aye, I am a Fairy
Dances Naked
The Great Big Fairy
Fairies Down Under
(Book cover by www.TheKillionGroupInc.com)
Cast of Characters
Bibb Stephens ~ 21st century property/mill owner
Big Bill Leuga ~ friendly acquaintance, 18th century
Billy ~ Greensboro police detective, 21st century
Captain Atholl MacLeod ~ evil, phony Redcoat officer
Clark ~ motel clerk, youngest brother in 21st century MacLeod family
Eight ~ Atholl Grant MacLeod, the Eighth. 21st century
Evie ~ 20th century-born older woman, transported back to 18th century, has amnesia, now in young body due to an overdose of Fountain of Youth Water, Wallace’s wife.
Frankie ~ 21st century waitress
Gibson ~ store owner, 18th century
Ian Kincaid ~ 18th century backwoodsman, aka Starwalker
JB ~ James Bradford, sly 21st century valet in London
James Melbourne ~ young British Lord, 21st century
Jenny ~ preadolescent girl, 18th century, adopted by Evie and Wallace
Jody Pomeroy ~ 18th century patriarch, Wallace’s father
José ~ Spanish emigrant, 18th century
Julian Hart ~ British Lord, 18th century, Wallace’s stepfather
Leah ~ 21st century daughter of Evie
Marty Melbourne ~ Melbourne patriarch, time traveler
Master Simon ~ time traveler 18th & 21st centuries
Mrs. Donaldson ~ 18th century homemaker
Niner ~ Atholl Grant MacLeod, the Ninth. 21st century
Peter Anthony ~ insurance adjuster, 21st century
Ric Smith ~ helpful 21st century postal worker, London
Richard Short ~ local troublemaker, 18th century
Sarah Pomeroy ~ Jody’s wife, 20th century-born time traveler, healer, living in 18th century
Wallace ~ 18th century Bri
tish soldier, Julian’s stepson
Wee Ian ~ also known as Scout, about 11 years old, 18th century
* * *
[1] “I’m Looking for a Miracle,” by The Clark Sisters
Aye, I am a Fairy (The Fairies Saga Book 2) Page 56
