“Where’s Emmy?” Chase met Aimee’s gaze. His mother-in-law didn’t look too shabby in jeans and a sweater. He beat back the visions of Sarah in modern clothes, or he might have to leave the kitchen before he embarrassed himself.
Aimee shot a quick look at Jana, and both women’s eyes twinkled. Chase twisted the t-shirt in his hands. He’d been caught with his hand in the honeycomb by the way the women raised their eyebrows and smiled knowingly at him. Involuntarily, his eyes darted to Daniel, whose stare bored right into him.
It was crystal clear what his in-laws and these other people were thinking by the smug looks on their faces. Chase clenched his jaw. He was married to Sarah. Why should his father-in-law’s knowing stare bother him? What the hell did it matter if they knew what he and his wife had been doing last night?
“Emily’s still sleeping. I just checked on her,” Aimee said.
Jana poured coffee into a mug and offered it to him. Aimee raised her eyebrows. “You and Sarah could have gone out to tour the hot springs last evening.”
Chase sipped at the hot brew, then returned his mother-in-law’s smug smile.
He shrugged. No way was he going to back away from Aimee’s game. If she wanted to make insinuations, then so would he. “Guess we decided we’ll see the sights this morning. Sarah wasn’t too comfortable in her new clothes, so we called it an early night.” He sipped at his coffee.
“Thanks for watching Emmy for the night. I can’t believe she slept through. She’s never done that before,” he added.
“Lucky for you, the medication is making her much more comfortable. She didn’t make a peep all night. I’m sure she’ll wake up any minute. And lucky for us, because Daniel and I spent most of the night catching up with Jana and Dan.”
“Yeah, lucky for all of us,” Chase echoed. He held the coffee mug to his lips, and ventured another glance at Daniel. His father-in-law’s piercing stare was downright unnerving. Chase detected the slight twitch of the man’s lips, and relaxed. Evidently, he was just as amused about the implied topic of conversation as his wife and friends.
A year ago, Daniel had nearly killed him for showing an interest in Sarah. He’d relaxed a lot since then, become his teacher, mentor, and father figure. Chase had the utmost respect for the man. Now that he had a daughter of his own, he understood Daniel’s protective instincts a bit more clearly where Sarah was concerned. She would always be a little girl in Daniel’s eyes, not a grown woman, wife, and mother.
Dan Osborne cleared his throat. His eyes were fixed on him, assessing him. “There was a lengthy search for you last summer,” he said slowly, raising his own coffee mug to his lips. He glanced at his wife, and smiled. “I remember half-joking with Jana that you must have time traveled, since there was absolutely no trace of you, and no explanation for your disappearance.”
Chase grinned. “I assume that didn’t get mentioned in my missing person’s report.”
Dan chuckled. “Those guys you were with, they all thought you’d probably fallen in the river. Search and Rescue finally gave up scouring along the Yellowstone after about a week. I think everyone was prepared for a search and recovery mission at that point. A kid from the city, with no prior experience in the wilderness wouldn’t stand a chance of surviving.” He shook his head. “And now Aimee tells us you’ve become an overnight sensation in the nineteenth century. The tales I’ve read in history books about what you did . . . They gave credit for all that to a different mountain man, but everyone believes it’s just a tall tale anyway.”
“Well, you can’t believe everything they write in history books, now can you?” Chase set his coffee mug on the table, and slipped his shirt on. What else might be written about him in the history books besides his mishap with the Blackfoot last summer? He didn’t really want to find out.
When his head emerged through the neck opening of his shirt, Chase was met by a serious look from Dan Osborne. Chase held the man’s stare, so much like Daniel’s at the moment.
“An alert went out on you yesterday. You activated the system when you used the retina scanner at the clinic.”
A jolt of adrenaline shot through Chase. The last thing he needed was a brush with the law. As a park ranger, Dan Osborne was a lawman. “What the hell was I supposed to do?” he growled. “Besides, I haven’t committed any crime. I skipped out on a community service sentence. Big deal.”
“It might not be a big deal to you, but I’m sure the judge in L.A. won’t be too happy about your disappearance when he finds out you’ve resurfaced. No doubt he’d just as soon throw you in jail for a while to teach you a lesson for undermining his authority and taking advantage of his kindness.”
Chase shrugged. He looked from Dan to Daniel. Geez. Having Daniel stare at him was bad enough. Now he was seeing double.
“You triggered the system, Chase,” Dan said, concern in his eyes. “Regardless of your history with the law, you’ve been listed as a missing person for over a year, and all of a sudden you show up again? You’re on every ranger’s radar by now.”
Anger welled up in Chase. He fisted his hands at his sides, ready to hit something. “Emmy needs that medical procedure. What the hell was I supposed to have done to get her seen at the clinic?” He stared at Dan Osborne, his eyes unflinching. Nothing was going to stop him from getting his little girl treated. If he ended up in jail because of it, then it would be worth it. They couldn’t lock him up forever. He frowned. Answering questions about his disappearance might be a whole different matter.
“I’ll simply tell the cops the truth if they ask, that I got hurled back in time without my knowledge, so I couldn’t possibly fulfill my obligation” he scoffed sarcastically.
“Chase is here to fulfill a promise to a Shoshone elder,” Daniel spoke with quiet authority. The fact that he spoke at all made everyone’s head turn in his direction. “And to save the life of his daughter.” Their eyes met. “Nothing will prevent my son-in-law from accomplishing his task.”
Daniel might not understand the exchange between his descendant and Chase, but respect and confidence for him shone in his father-in-law’s eyes. Chase swallowed the sudden constricting sensation in his throat.
Aimee moved around the table and wrapped her arms around Daniel’s middle, smiling up at him. He stared down at her, the corners of his mouth raised. His facial features softened considerably, looking at his wife.
“Can’t you go into the database and turn off the trigger, Dan?” Jana approached her husband. “This is such a low-priority case, I don’t see how it could cause a problem.”
Dan raised his eyebrows, and grinned. “You’re suggesting I break the law?” Jana glared at him, and he cleared his throat. “I’ll see what I can do. With those boy scouts that went missing a few days ago, this might all blow over.” He looked from Daniel to Chase, then shook his head. “Another strange case of someone vanishing into thin air.”
“Speaking of fulfilling my promise,” Chase said slowly, glancing quickly from Daniel to Dan. “Do you know of any archaeological digs or something like that in the park that might have uncovered some Indian artifacts?”
Dan shook his head. “There are no digs going on in the park that I’m aware of, but I’ll look into it. Did that elder give you any hints as to what you’re supposed to be looking for? The faster you can find it, the quicker you can all get back to the nineteenth century.”
Chase frowned. “All he said was that it could be detrimental to the Sky People if it was discovered, and it needed to be returned to him.”
Dan’s face turned grim. “That’s not much to go by.”
Chase stared from Dan to Daniel. Why the hell did it all of a sudden feel as if he was looking for a needle in a haystack?
Chapter Nine
“Ready to see some of the sights?” Chase called from outside the room. Sarah adjusted her shirt, and held a sated Emily over her shoulder, patting her back. Not a second later, the door opened.
Sarah met Chase’s bright smi
le with one of her own. The weight of the world had been lifted from her since coming to the future the day before. Emily seemed better already with the medicines Jana had given her. Her daughter had never slept through the night before, and this morning, her breathing seemed more normal, too. There was nothing that could disrupt Sarah’s good mood today, and she was eager to see a glimpse of the world her husband knew.
“Emmy will be in good hands while we’re out. Seems like she has two doting grandmas now.” Chase reached for the baby, and Sarah handed her over to him.
“Yes, it would seem so,” she said, then her forehead wrinkled. She met Chase’s gaze, and placed her hand on his arm. “What about your mother, Chase? Is it possible for you to see her while you are here?”
Chase’s smile faltered. His face sobered, and sadness clouded his eyes. Sarah tightened her grip on his arm. She hadn’t meant to cause him anguish.
“I don’t think so, Sarah,” he said slowly. “It’s best she thinks I’m dead. If I contact her now, how am I gonna explain to her that I’ll vanish again, this time for good?”
“I understand,” Sarah whispered. She stepped closer to him. “But it would be good for her to know what an honorable man she has for a son, and that she has a granddaughter.”
Chase stared at her. He held Emily over his shoulder, patting her back. His smile seemed forced. With a shrug, he said, “I suppose I could write a letter, explain everything to her. Dan can mail it to her after we’re gone again. I’ll take a picture of you and Emmy to send along with it.”
“I’m sure she would like that,” Sarah said softly. She didn’t press him to explain what ‘taking a picture’ meant.
He leaned forward, and kissed her cheek. “Thanks, Angel, for the suggestion.”
After leaving Emily in her mother’s care, Sarah followed Chase out of the house. She slipped her hand in his, and they followed a smooth stone path along a row of brick homes. Everywhere she looked, there were people and the fast-moving vehicles Chase called cars.
“How’d you like to go see the canyon?” Chase asked, leading her along, maneuvering past people as if the crowd didn’t bother him at all. Never before had she seen so many people come and go, and everyone seemed to be in a hurry, moving from building to building. No one seemed to take notice of anyone else, or make eye-contact. Grown-ups led children along the paths heading to the white mountain that contrasted against the surrounding green hills at the end of this great town. The hot water features and colorful rocks in this area, which her mother had called Mammoth Hot Springs, seemed to be quite an attraction.
Chase had told her that this settlement in the valley below the white mountain had once been a fort over a hundred years ago from this time, but now it was the headquarters for the park, and – what Chase called - a major tourist attraction. She would never understand all the modern phrases he used, even after Chase tried to explain them to her. If not for the surrounding mountains, she would not have recognized this area at all.
Sarah stared up at him. “The canyon is several days away, Chase. The terrain to reach it from here is rough and dangerous in places.”
Chase grinned smugly. He reached into his pocket and produced some shiny silver pendants, which he dangled in front of her. “Dan gave me the keys to Jana’s car. We can zip down to the Yellowstone Canyon and be back before Emmy’s afternoon feeding.”
Sarah eyed the fast-moving vehicles. Chase wanted her to ride in one of them? Fascinated, she watched them move along the smooth paths. Butterflies fluttered in her belly. How would it feel to move along so fast?
“All right.” She smiled brightly at him.
“You’ll be riding in one tomorrow anyway, when you go to the hospital in Bozeman.”
Sarah gripped his hand, and stopped in the middle of the path. “I wish you’d come, too, Chase.”
He squeezed her hand. “It’s best for me to stay here, rather than go to Bozeman. If I get caught by the cops, I could go to jail. Your mom and Jana will be with you, Angel, and it’s only overnight.” He winked at her. “Your dad doesn’t want to ride in a car. He looked relieved when Dan asked for our help to try and find those missing kids, rather than go to Bozeman. Maybe if I stay here, it’ll give me a chance to look for that artifact for the elder, too.”
“I understand,” Sarah nodded, even if she didn’t like the idea of Chase not going with her to the hospital. Dan Osborne had asked her father and Chase to help track some missing boys while she, her mother, and Jana went to the hospital in a nearby town where Emily would receive the treatment to repair her heart.
“Our son, Michael, is a resident at the hospital in Bozeman. I already called him and told him what was up,” Jana had told her mother and Chase. “Emily will be treated under my name, and we won’t need to involve Chase at all. No need to set off any more alerts.”
Sarah only understood that Chase might be in trouble because he had disappeared from this time a year ago, and she didn’t want any problems to arise for him. If it was best that he remained here and helped Dan in his search, then she was agreeable to that.
Chase led her behind some of the buildings, where cars of many shapes and colors stood in several long rows. They stopped before a white-colored one, and Chase pressed several small buttons on the door before opening it.
“Step inside,” he said with a wide grin on his face.
Sarah peered into the interior of the vehicle, then bent down and climbed in. She sank into the low seat, craning her neck to see out the glass window in front of her. Chase closed the door, and appeared moments later on the other side. He slid his long frame into the seat next to her, and the chair moved backwards.
“Let’s see if I remember how to drive one of these,” he said, grinning from ear to ear. His eyes shone with the eagerness of a little boy about to go on his first hunting trip. His fingers curled around the black wheel in front of him, then he inserted one of the shiny pendants into a slot below the wheel. He turned his body slightly to her, and their eyes met.
“Are you sure this will get us to the canyon and back before Emily wakes up?” Sarah asked, her eyes darting to the many little green and red lights that suddenly illuminated in front of Chase.
“Don’t worry, Sarah. If there’s a problem, your mom will call us. I have Jana’s cell phone.” He reached into the pocket of his britches, and removed a small rectangular box. It appeared to have glass covering one side of it.
“I guess I’d better show you how this works.”
Sarah mentally shook her head. She’d never understand all the things in this time. How did people remember so much?
He held his thumb to the device, and it lit up. Sarah’s eyes widened.
“This is a phone, Angel.” He held it up in front of her. “If you need to get hold of . . . talk to someone, you just call them. Like this.” He held his finger to a little green square with a strange symbol on it. “This shows the phone numbers that are already programmed in, and you can pick the one you want to dial.” He moved his finger along the glass, and the numbers began to move. He continued until he reached a string of numbers that had the name Dan next to it.
“Here, you make the call.” Chase handed her the contraption.
Sarah shook her head, and her eyes darted to him. “What do I need to do?” Hesitating, she reached for the object. It felt so smooth in her hand, like a piece of ice, but not cold.
“Touch right here with your finger,” Chase instructed, and held her index finger over Dan’s name. “Now hold it out in front of you.”
Startled, Sarah nearly dropped the device when it emitted a strange sound. A moment later, Dan’s image materialized inside it.
“Hello,” he said.
Chase chuckled. “He’s not gonna bite, Sarah. Say hello.”
Sarah stared at the image again. “He . . . hello. This is Sarah,” she stammered at the picture. Could Dan see her, too?
“Hi, Sarah. Is everything all right?” Dan asked.
“Yes,
fine. Chase wanted to show me how this instrument works.”
Dan laughed. “Good idea. You never know if you’ll need to use it. Everything’s fine here. Tell Chase to stay out of trouble.”
Sarah glanced at her husband. He winked at her.
“Tell him goodbye, then press this button,” Chase whispered. “That will disconnect the call.”
Sarah did as instructed. The moment she touched where Chase told her to, the image disappeared, and the device went dark.
“You can see and speak to anyone this way?” Sarah stared from the phone in her hand to Chase. Her mother had told her and her brothers stories of places where people could communicate like this when they were small children. A surreal feeling swept through her, as if she’d become part of one of her mother’s fairytales.
Chase nodded. He took the phone out of her hand, and set it between them in one of the round depressions between her seat and his.
“Okay, Sarah, buckle up.” The boyish gleam was back in his eyes.
Sarah’s forehead scrunched. “Buckle up?” She stared at him.
Chase reached over his left shoulder, and pulled a long black belt from out of nowhere across his lap, snapping one end into a protrusion at the seat. There was another one attached to her seat. Sarah glanced to the right. She noticed the buckle hanging on the door, and tentatively reached for it. It lengthened, and she mimicked Chase’s actions.
“Why are we securing ourselves to the seat?” she asked slowly.
“Just in case. And it’s the law.”
In case of what?
Sarah didn’t get the chance to ask. Chase’s hands were back on the wheel, and the car suddenly moved backwards. Reflexively, she reached for his arm, her heart rate increasing.
“Relax, Sarah,” Chase murmured, and glanced over his shoulder again. He moved some lever in front of him near his knee, and turned the wheel. The car advanced forward.
Fascinated, Sarah glanced out the window. She gripped the sides of the door, her knuckles turning white. The vehicle moved as if on its own out into the path to join a line of other vehicles. Minutes later, they left the fort behind, and the car’s speed increased as Chase guided it along the smooth path leading into the mountains heading east.
A Yellowstone Promise: Yellowstone Romance Series Novella Page 6
