Portals of Time

by Vicky McCracken

  “You know the answer to that already Trace. I thought you were dead. I thought when Missy died, because you were inside her, you were dead too. I had no idea you were alive. I told you that,” Jessie said. “With Frank and Missy’s family living in Tennessee, we didn’t keep in touch much and Frank or I wasn’t much for writing. I had no way of knowing anything about you, even after he had taken you in.”

  “Anyway, it doesn’t matter now. Once I saw this ranch as it is now, I knew what I had to do. I tried to talk to Grandfather about it but he kept telling me I should forget it. He didn’t understand,” Trace said.

  “You keep saying Grandfather in past tense. Is he dead,” Jessie asked.

  “Don’t know.”

  “Where is he,” Jessie asked concerned for the older man.

  “He could be anywhere or nowhere. You see, we had a fight and I trapped him in time so I don’t know where he is now. You know I time travel at night, right? I try to find him but I haven’t yet. Don’t get me wrong, I don’t want to bring him back. I just don’t want him to stop me from doing what I’m doing and I know he would try if he were here so I need to make sure he doesn’t come back.”

  “Trace, how could you do that to someone who took you in and raised you and loved you all those years,” Lori asked.

  “You people talk a lot about love, don’t you? For me, it’s always been about survival. That is all I’ve known all my life.”

  “I’m sorry you felt like you’ve never known love but don’t you think your Grandfather loved you,” Bo asked.

  “I thought he did but when he told me I needed to let all this go, I realized he didn’t love me. If he had, he would have helped me get what was rightfully mine. So I trapped him in time. So you see, this is my ranch and I will have it one way or another. It doesn’t matter to me if you are dead or alive. This ranch should have been mine and it shall be mine. It’s worth a lot more money now than it ever was then and all I have to do is sit back and let it happen.”

  “It’s not that easy Trace, you have to put money into it also. I’ve had to buy new, young animals the entire time, raise them, feed them, and take care of them and then sell the older ones to have the money to buy the young ones with. Then there’s food, paying the work hands, and the other bills. It takes a long time to build up a ranch like this and make money on it,” Lori told him.

  “See, I’m smart. This ranch is already making money on itself,” Trace said.

  “But,” Bo spoke up, “If you don’t know what you are doing, you can lose everything. Lori was trained to run a ranch like this from the time she was old enough. I believe she was twelve when her father asked me to help her. He wanted her to know this, but he also wanted her to go to college and make a life for herself.”

  Trace pointed the gun at Lori. “It’s your fault. You shouldn’t have been so nosy and now it’s time for you to die. I don’t see any other way.” Trace held the gun steady and had his finger on the trigger.

  Bo seeing Trace was about to squeeze the trigger on the gun yelled, “No,” as he jumped forward to take the gun but Trace fired. Jessie also reacted. He ran quickly toward Trace knocking the gun from his hand and they both hit the ground hard. Before he knew it, Trace had the gun back in his hands. The two of them rolled over and over, each trying to gain possession of the gun. Finally, Jessie had the gun in his hands. Trace was trying to get it away from him and suddenly the gun went off again. The noise was deafening in Jessie’s ears and they began to ring. He fell over against Trace who was on the ground. He heard noises but could not make out who or what they were. He tried to move and open his eyes but couldn’t do either. As suddenly as the gun had gone off, everything around him went black and he felt his head hit the ground hard.

  * * * * * * * *

  Sam, from the Animal Control, and the Police arrived at the ranch house to find it empty except for the hired help in the kitchen. They didn’t know where Lori or Bo was. On their way out, they ran into Adam.

  “Adam,” Sam called to him, “Have you seen Lori or Bo or anyone?”

  “Have you seen Trace,” one of the police officers asked.

  “No, none of them. Why,” Adam asked.

  There was no answer to the question. “Let us know if you see Trace, he could be dangerous.”

  “Will do. Maybe they went for a ride. Did you check at the barn?”

  “No, we will though. Thanks.” Sam raised his hand to Adam as he led the way to the barn.

  The inside of the barn was a little dark and Sam had to wait for his eyes to adjust to the light. Darkness was coming before long and he hoped to find everyone or they may not find them for hours or before something bad happened. There was no one in the barn and he walked back outside. He saw Adam again and called to him. “Adam, do you have a truck we can use and we will ride out and look for them. It will be getting dark soon and I’m afraid we may get lost if we go on horseback.”

  “Sure. Out in front of the house is the one we use around the ranch. You are welcome to use it.”

  “Thanks again.” Sam lead the way to the front of the house and as they were getting ready to climb inside, they heard a shot coming from the ranch, somewhere to the right. Before Sam or the Police could do anything, Adam was at the truck. “I’ll drive. I think the shot came from the place where the old cabin used to be.”

  Sam was glad the truck was an extended cab so everyone fit inside the cab. Adam drove fast and within a few minutes they had arrived at the place where the cabin used to be.

  It was almost dark now but the headlights from the truck showed three men down on the ground and Lori sitting under the tree crying and hugging her knees. The police were out of the truck and Adam was on his cell phone calling 911 for help. The police let them know it was hard to tell how many were hurt or shot. They had only heard one shot but that didn’t mean there hadn’t been others before that one was fired.

  Sam climbed out of the truck and walked over to Lori.

  “Lori, are you alright?”

  She nodded. “I think so. What about Jessie and Bo?”

  “Don’t know yet. How many shots were fired?”

  “I don’t know. Everything’s a blur. It all happened so fast.”

  It seemed like hours before they heard the ambulances coming across the ranch and Adam and Sam stood back watching. Finally, everyone was in the ambulances and on their way to the hospital. The police and Sam were riding back to the ranch to their cars. Sam was still unsure about what had happened.

  * * * * * * * *

  Jessie awoke to find himself in a strange room. Had he jumped time again? He thought he saw Bo and heard Lori’s voice and he smelled a strange odor, one he didn’t recognize.

  When he awoke again he remembered Trace pulling the trigger on the gun he had pointed at Lori. “Lori,” he said softly.

  “I’m here Jessie.”

  He tried to open his eyes but they were so heavy. Suddenly he was back on his ranch with Missy. Back to the time when they were trapped inside the cabin one winter and would have frozen but they had made a path out to the wood pile and made a fire in the stove. Missy was laughing as she hid beneath the covers on the bed and Jessie pulled the cover off her. He rubbed her small rounded belly which held their soon to be child.

  “What if it’s a girl,” Missy asked.

  “Then we will call her Missy,” Jessie told her.

  “No. Then for the rest of my life you will be calling for Missy and both of us will answer.

  “Okay, so we won’t name her Missy. But what if it’s a boy,” Jessie was laughing now.

  “If it’s a boy, what if we named him after my father and you,” Missy said sitting up on the bed.

  “I think that’s a wonderful idea.” Jessie began kissing his wife and soon they were both laughing under the covers of their warm bed.

  Jessie could hear strange voices talking and this time he managed to open his eyes. “Where was he? He had been in the cabin with Missy, now he was here. No w
ait, Missy was dead. He had jumped time and was on Lori’s ranch.” “Lori,” he whispered.

  “I’m here Jessie,” he heard her say and felt her hand on his own.

  “Where am I? Did we jump time again,” he was trying to focus but everything was a little fuzzy.

  “You are in the hospital Jessie. You were out of it. Trace hit you on the head with a rock or something,” Lori’s voice was a lot clearer now.

  “Are you alright,” Jessie asked her. His vision was coming back slowly.

  “I’m fine.”

  Jessie could see her clearly now. Her short blonde hair looked as if she hadn’t combed it. “How long have I been here?”

  “For two days. They gave you something so you would sleep. The doctor said you would heal better and quicker.”

  “Have you been her all the time?”

  “I have, can’t you tell,” Lori laughed a little.

  “You look wonderful. I’m glad you are here. What happened to Trace?”

  “The two of you were fighting for the gun and he thought he was pointing it at you and he shot himself. He is dead Jessie.”

  “I didn’t kill him?”

  “The police said no, maybe he turned the gun on himself but either way, his hand was on the trigger. They said more than likely he thought he was shooting you and he must have turned the gun and shot himself. Even if this wasn’t the case, it would be self-defense.”

  “Bo, where is Bo? Is he here too,” Jessie asked.

  “Jessie,” Lori stopped and he could see her eyes fill with tears. “Bo was shot. He stepped in front of the gun when Trace was going to shoot me. He died saving my life,” she wiped the tears away from her eyes.

  Jessie took her hand from the bed and held it. “I’m sorry Lori. He was a good man.”

  “Yes he was. He taught Adam everything about the ranch. I will always miss Bo. He was like my father after my father died and I loved him,” Lori said.

  “I will miss him too. When can I get out of here?”

  “Maybe this evening if they see you are awake and eating. Are you hungry?”

  “Yes, I am hungry.”

  “I’ll see what they have for you to eat,” Lori stood up. “I’ll be right back.”

  * * * * * * * *

  Jessie made his way from the barn toward the house. Lori had told the stable man she needed him at the house in her office. It had been several months since everything had happened with Trace. Jessie tried to help Lori as much as he could, what with the baby on the way. He was so scared she would lose the baby or she would do the same way Missy had. He and Lori missed Bo a lot and he had told Lori he would stay here a while and help her. He liked this new world more and more. Everything was so much easier here with all the new and different things.

  Once he walked into the office, Lori smiled at him.

  “Jessie, there’s someone here I think you need to see. Come into the living room.”

  Puzzled, Jessie followed her into the living room. He could see a man standing at the window. He was dressed in strange looking clothes. The man’s hair was sort of gray in some places. He turned as he heard Jessie and Lori enter the room.

  Jessie smiled as he realized who the man was. Missy’s father stood there smiling at him.

  “Jessie,” he said. “I just got here this morning and Lori has filled me in on Trace. I’m sorry. He was always such a bitter person. He always thought of just himself. I think I had better tell you the story. Maybe you and Lori will understand more about everything. Let’s see, where do I began? May I sit down?”

  Lori motioned him to a seat and she and Jessie sat also. They listened as the older man told his story.

  “I will start when Missy’s mother, Tess, first gave me the watch the first Christmas we were married. At first, I was like you. I used it as a time piece. Then, one day, I was out in the fields and began to play with it. You see, I have always been interested in science- if that’s what you want to call it. I like to invent things and I knew this watch had been invented by someone for a reason. As I studied it I realized, as I’m sure you did, one of the cars was loose. That was the first time I jumped time. I went back to when I was in school. Can’t remember how I got back to where I was but I must have moved the car forward. Afterwards, I began inventing my own watch. This one, see?” The older man held out a watch, one like Jessie’s. He passed it to Jessie to look at. It looked like his own watch and when he handed it to Lori she said,

  “I can’t tell the difference between the two,” she said as she handed the watch back to the older man.

  “They are close,” Missy’s father placed the watch back into his pocket. “I kept working on it in my spare time which wasn’t much and by the time you and Missy were married, I had it finished. I didn’t have a lot of time to time travel but I loved it. It is so exciting seeing new and different things, like how things used to be or how they would be. It is or can be a wonderful thing.

  Once Missy died, the doctor came to see me telling me he hadn’t told you about the Indians cutting out your son and taking him. So I thought it best not to tell you either. I think now that I should have. Maybe things wouldn’t have ended so badly. The doctor thought the Indians had killed the baby if he had been alive. Then one day eight years later, a young brave came to the house with Trace. I could tell right away he was yours and Missy’s child. He had his mother’s eyes. The young brave told me the story. You see, there had been a young Indian brave a couple of years earlier that you had taken home who had been shot by a few men. You and Missy took him in and took the bullet out and nursed him back to health. When he told his father, the chief, his father was very grateful. They were only trying to help you when they took the baby. Only trying to save his life as you had saved the chief’s son only a few years earlier. I took him in and raised him as best I could. He helped me build one more watch. He loved doing this as much as I did. Together, we did a lot of time traveling.”

  “That’s where the watch came from that Bo found in Trace’s room that night. I have it if you would like to have it back,” Lori said.

  “No, you keep it as a gift. I don’t want it back. Anyway, one day we found ourselves on your ranch and Trace was sure it was yours. He was sure it was his mother’s but I wasn’t sure. We stayed until Trace found out it was the same ranch. Then he began to talk crazy saying things like it was his and I needed to help him get it back. I tried talking to him telling him to let it go and just live his life, but he wouldn’t. He became angry with me and trapped me in time. It has taken me this long to get out. He almost found me once when he was in the same place, but I hid. I know he would probably kill me because he was so mad. You see, after he found out about this ranch, he turned into a different person. I’m sorry this had to happen to you Lori.” The older man stopped talking and sat back in his chair.

  “How did he trap you in time? How did you get back,” Lori asked.

  “Well, when Trace and I were time traveling one day, he asked to borrow my watch. I didn’t know what he was doing until later. He moved another of the cars on my watch which trapped me in time. It took me all this time to figure out how he did it and I’m still not sure just how he did it. I just kept moving the car and nothing would happen. So, I had to play with one car at a time until I found the one he had messed up and unlocked it. I guess that’s the right word.”

  “It’s not your fault. Trace was a mean, evil person. I don’t think you could have stopped him no matter what you did,” Lori told him.

  “Anyway, I came to see if you wanted to come back with me Jessie. Once I get back, I’m throwing this watch away. Will you come with me Jessie?”

  Jessie didn’t know how to answer. “I would love to go back, back to 1888. But without Missy, I don’t have anything for me there anymore. Anyway, Lori needs me now, until the baby is born, to help her on the ranch. I may surprise you one day and show up at your house. Lori is a descendent of your family. Did you know that?”

  The older man loo
ked shocked. “No. Is this true?”

  “It is,” Lori said. “We found it in some of my father’s papers. My family is generations below but, yes, we are one and the same. You see, the baby Missy had before she and Jessie were married, turned out to be my descendent. Strange, isn’t it, how all this fits together.”

  “So you see,” Jessie said, “Maybe I am meant to be here. No matter if I am or not, I will stay and help Lori, at least until the baby comes and she is back on her feet.” Jessie could feel Lori placing her hand in his as he spoke. “Would he go back to 1888 or would he be better off here in this time with Lori?” He didn’t know now which he would do when the time came.

  * * * * * * * *

  Jessie rode slowly across the ranch. It had been about four or five months since he had last seen Missy’s father. True to his word, he must have gone back and not returned. Jessie felt sure he would have seen him otherwise. He still had some problems here in this new world himself. But he liked his ranch now and somehow thought he had nothing left of his old life in 1888.

  In the past months, he had grown closer to Lori and he was thinking about it as he rode toward the cabin, the one Adam and he had built at Lori’s request where his old cabin had been. He had come to depend on her as much as she depended on him. He stopped and looked at the cabin. It didn’t look anything at all like the old cabin. This one was larger which was what Lori wanted. She had taken Jessie with her when she looked for a cabin kit, then finally had told Adam and Jessie to buy the building materials to build a larger cabin. It had taken them some months to complete. Problems on the ranch and some unusually cold weather had caused them to stop work. Now in November, the weather was cool and last night it had snowed an inch or so. A cold wind blew across and Jessie pulled his jacket closer around him.

  He jumped off his horse and went to stand under the large oak tree he and Missy had planted so many years ago. There was no snow under the tree and it seemed to keep the wind off him as well. He walked around the cabin and looked in the windows. There was no furniture inside yet. Lori said she wanted to wait until the baby was born.