by Zoe Matthews
She stood up, took a deep breath, and closed her eyes. She took one large step into the circle. The tingling hit her whole body with a buzz and she felt as if she was falling. A bright light shined right in her face, making her squeeze her eyes shut even tighter. She felt the hair on her arms raise and a heavy vibration that made her slightly dizzy. Then just that quickly, everything stopped.
She slowly opened her eyes and noticed that she was lying on the ground flat on her back. She sat up and looked frantically around for her dog. She saw Apollo sniffing around acting completely normal, and she breathed a sigh of relief. Now that she knew he was safe, she tried to figure out what had happened. Megan looked around and her eyes widened in shock. She was still in a small meadow, but all the trees that were nearby were gone. She stood up with the intent to get away from the circle of rocks and was even more shocked that it was no longer there.
She saw a cluster of cabins a few hundred yards away and a large barn a short distance from where she was standing. Her brain couldn’t accept what she was seeing. How could everything have changed so much, so quickly? She took a couple steps and then sat down on the ground to try and clear her spinning head. Apollo ran up to her and licked her face. Where was the trail? She didn’t see anything she recognized. She saw some movement towards the barn and gasped in shock.
The man that she had dreamed of for years was walking toward her. This couldn’t be real.
Chapter 5
October, 1902 (the same day Megan went hiking)
The day after Keegan arrived at the ranch, he told his brothers he would take over some of the barn chores while he was there, which they gratefully agreed to. Soon after breakfast, he went to the large barn with the intent to clean out some stalls. Richard and Jonathan wanted to join him, but Nicky reminded them that they had some schoolwork to finish. Once he was at the barn, he started cleaning out the nearest stall. It wasn’t the most pleasant job to be doing, but Keegan enjoyed the work since it kept his mind off the big decision he needed to make.
It took him most of the day to get the barn caught up on all the chores. He spent his time cleaning out stalls, mending bridles, and polishing saddles. It was mid-afternoon before he was finally done. Looking at the sun, he decided he had some time before dinner to check on his herbs in the garden.
As Keegan left the barn and headed towards the herb garden, he was startled to see a small young man sitting in the middle of the field. Walking closer, he realized the man was wearing strange clothing similar to what he remembered Nicky wearing when she first visited from the future. He watched carefully as the man stood, looking around at his surroundings as he turned in a small circle. He had on a bright red short-sleeved shirt, pants that only came to just below his knees, and big thick brown shoes. A blue jacket was tied around his waist by the sleeves. He had a bright pink and purple bag connected to his back.
An unfamiliar dog stood next to him. The dog was quite large, its head coming almost to the man’s waist. It looked very thin as if it hadn’t eaten in days. It was also very colorful with black, brown, and white patches all over its fur. Keegan had never seen a dog that looked like this one did. He looked at the man again and watched as he continued to look around him, acting very shocked and scared.
He couldn’t possibly be from the future. All the keys have been destroyed, Keegan thought to himself, confused.
It had been almost ten years now since a man, Golin, had tried to steal the keys from them. Golin had used his own key he was in possession of to travel from his time, the medieval era, to Keegan’s. Golin had somehow discovered Victoria had two other time travel keys and he was determined to get them for himself. Golin ended up barricading himself and Keegan’s young niece, Colleen, in the barn demanding the keys, using Colleen as a hostage.
Golin didn’t know that a few months before, Victoria had turned the two keys she owned over to Patrick and Kimberly who immediately decided to hide them inside a cave a few miles away from the ranch for safety.
Golin demanded that the two keys be given to him, and he didn’t believe that the family didn’t have them immediately available. Then Golin had accidentally set the barn on fire. Shaun and Patrick had been able to save Colleen, but Golin had become buried under some rubble and had been killed in the fire.
After the fire was put out, no one in Keegan’s family had been able to find Golin’s key, so they were positive his key had been destroyed by the fire or somehow disappeared. Later, they found out that the two keys that were hidden in the cave had also disappeared.
They soon learned that another man who watched over the keys had taken them into his possession for safekeeping. As far as Keegan knew, none of his family had seen the keys since those events so many years ago.
Keegan realized he had been staring at the stranger for some time, trying to figure out how he had gotten there and why he was wearing the clothes that he wore. Keegan dropped the empty bucket he was carrying on the ground and started walking over to the stranger. As he walked closer, he suddenly realized that the stranger’s features were too feminine to be a man and was, in fact, a girl.
She looked white as a sheet and kept shaking her head slightly, as if she was in shock. As he walked closer to her, he could see that she was very pale as if she might faint. He was about to call out a calm greeting when Patrick came storming up behind him.
“How did you get here?! Where’s your key?” Patrick demanded angrily.
Keegan sighed. Patrick was very protective, and after the family's experience with Golin, he didn’t take kindly to unexpected visitors in strange clothing, that were obviously from other time periods, showing up on his ranch.
The girl’s eyes opened even wider at the anger in Patrick’s voice. “I…I’m not sure.”
“What do you want from us?” Patrick was right next to her now, towering over her.
Keegan hurried to him, and put a hand on his shoulder to try and calm him down. “Patrick, I don’t think she means any harm, and she looks as if she is in shock. Let’s get her...”
Before he could even finish his sentence, the girl collapsed to the ground, and he shot Patrick an annoyed look. He bent down to make sure she was lying in a comfortable position and also quickly assessed that she hadn’t hurt herself in the fall.
“Good job! You scared her half to death,” he retorted as he bent down to try to help her.
Guilt briefly crossed Patrick’s face, but he stood his ground. “We can’t be too careful. She is clearly from a different time period. We need to make sure she isn’t a threat to our family.”
Just then, the large thin dog ran up to them and sat as close to the girl as he could. Keegan could tell Patrick hadn’t noticed the dog because he looked at Keegan with surprise. Patrick stretched his hand out to greet the dog, but the animal growled at him. Keegan took a gentler approach and bent down without reaching out. He let the dog sniff him a moment before rubbing his neck. Soon the dog was licking his hands and wagging his tail, while also occasionally sniffing and whining at the girl.
“I don’t think you have much to worry about. She looked terrified to be here. We should take her into the cabin so she can recuperate,” Keegan told his brother.
Patrick thought for a minute. “Fine, but you need to stay with her the whole time she is in the house. I don’t want her left alone for even a moment.”
“I was already planning on it. It wouldn’t do her any good to wake up in a strange house by herself,” Keegan said dryly, partly just to get under his brother’s skin. He knew Patrick was more concerned about what she could do if no one was watching her.
Patrick glared at him for a moment, then his eyes softened. Keegan could tell he was starting to realize he may have overreacted. “Do you need help carrying her inside?”
“No, I think I can manage. I’ll send one of the kids to find you and let you know when she wakes up.”
Keegan bent down to pick her up. He was startled to find she fit nicely in his arms. He had ne
ver been this close to a girl before unless it was in his role as a doctor, and he found that he liked the feeling.
The dog stayed close by the two of them all the way to the cabin. The animal was calm now, as if he was able to sense that Keegan was helping his mistress. More like a woman, Keegan realized as he held her. She looked young, but now that he was carrying her, he could tell she had the curves of a woman. He was fascinated by how short her hair was, almost as short as his own. He looked at her face and saw that she was the most beautiful woman he had ever seen. His face reddened at the thought, and he quickly started thinking about everything he should do to help her recuperate instead to take his mind off her beauty.
As he entered the large family cabin, he noticed that Nicky was at the table with all the children doing schoolwork. Since they lived so far away from Denver, Nicky was the official teacher.
“Oh, my word,” Nicky said as she saw Keegan holding the woman.
Keegan could tell that Nicky instantly knew that this woman wasn’t from their time for she looked at the woman and then at Kimberly with surprise.
“Where did she come from?” Kimberly asked, jumping up from the chair she sat in. A pile of socks she was darning fell to the floor.
“Out behind the large barn. She just kind of… appeared. I think she is in shock. Where can I put her?”
“Lay her down on the couch in the living room,” Kimberly instructed.
Very quickly, but with great care, Keegan laid the woman on the couch while Kimberly started a pot of water to boil so they could make her tea once she woke up. Keegan quickly filled Nicky and Kimberly in on what happened, including Patrick getting upset with the woman. All the children were crowded around the woman whispering about how strange her clothes were.
“Her hair is so soft,” Patricia crooned.
Katherine and Josephine each had to take a turn and gently touched the woman’s rich black hair.
“She is so pretty,” Katherine sighed after she took her turn to feel her hair.
“Why is her hair so short? Are you sure she is a girl?” Richard asked with suspicion.
“She is wearing boy clothes. She must be a boy,” Jonathan decided.
“Your mom wears boy clothes sometimes,” Patricia reminded Jonathan with a sneer. “Just ‘cause she wears pants doesn’t mean she’s a boy.”
“She has weird looking shoes on,” Josephine commented, reaching out a finger to touch the brown leather.
“Okay, kids. I think we should give her some air. Why don’t you go see if Kimberly has anything you guys can do?” Keegan suggested.
“Or better yet, why don’t you all go outside?” Nicky added.
“Oh, man!” Richard retorted with disgust. “Why do we always have to miss things when they just get interesting?”
“We’ll let you know when she awakens and is ready for company,” Kimberly reassured the children.
“Can’t I stay and be your assistant?” Josephine begged. “I can help fetch a cloth with water on it to put on her brow and bring the tea when it’s ready.”
“I’ve got your mother to help me with that,” Keegan said gently, pushing her and the other children in the direction of the kitchen and out the door. As the group of children went outside, the odd-looking dog came trotting in. He seemed to know exactly where the woman was and found her quickly. He laid down directly in front of the woman as if to watch over her.
“Where did the dog come from?” Keegan heard Jonathan ask. Nicky went outside to do her best to answer the children’s questions.
Keegan chuckled after the kids left. He knew they were just being naturally curious and having a strange woman just appear out of nowhere, who was also dressed very strangely, had to be a surprise to them. As far as he knew, none of them were aware that some of the family members were from the future. How does one explain that idea to young children?
Just then, the woman started to moan and move a little. Keegan pulled a chair near her, making sure it was far enough away that he wouldn’t scare her when she did wake up. He sat down on the chair. She stretched and reached out for her dog who was standing next to her, his tail wagging happily. The dog licked her face. She opened her eyes and scratched the dog behind his ears. “Hey, there Apollo.”
Did she just call her dog Apollo? Keegan asked himself. What a strange name.
Her eyes shifted from the stone fireplace to the different chairs around the room and the big braided rug on the floor, until she looked at him. She froze, and Keegan could tell she was on the verge of panicking again.
“It’s alright. I saw you collapse just outside our barn, and I brought you inside so you could recuperate. I’m Keegan.”
She just sat and stared again for a moment, then shifted away from him as she leaned into the back of the couch. “Um…thank you.”
Keegan smiled. “Your dog has been keeping you very safe. Did I hear you call him Apollo?” He could tell she was emotionally close to her dog and hoped the subject would put her at ease.
She turned her attention to the dog and started petting him again, clearly uncomfortable. “Yes,” she answered simply.
Keegan was at a loss now as to what to say. He was only trying to help, but she didn’t seem to want to talk to him.
Kimberly must have heard them talking and brought some tea for her from the kitchen.
“Here’s some tea. I figured it might help settle your stomach. I’m afraid my husband may have given you quite a scare. I’m sorry about that,” Kimberly told her warmly.
The woman’s eyes glued to Kimberly. “Oh, thank you.” She took a sniff of the tea and closed her eyes. “It’s just what I needed. I don’t remember much of what happened. Can you tell me where I am?”
“This ranch is a few hours away from Denver, pretty deep in the mountains. Our family may be loud sometimes, but we don’t bite. We will make sure you are safe and taken care of until we can find a way to get you home,” Kimberly said, clearly knowing how to word the conversation so that the woman didn’t suspect she had traveled through time.
Keegan and Kimberly looked at each other and instantly made an unspoken agreement not to shock the woman with that conversation right after she woke up.
“I’m Kimberly, by the way, and this is my brother-in-law, Keegan Callaghan. Can we get your name?”
The woman’s eyes darted to Keegan, then straight back to Kimberly, as if she was afraid of him. Keegan couldn’t figure it out. Why was she acting so scared of him?
“My name is Megan Conway,” she said simply.
Keegan could tell that she was starting to relax now that Kimberly was in the room.
“Where are you from?” Kimberly asked, settling down next to her on the couch.
“I live in Denver. I have the day off work and decided to go for a hike. I was on a Federal trail nearby...” Confusion clouded her face as she paused as if trying to figure out what was going on. She shook her head as if to clear it. “I guess I got lost. Do you have a phone I could use?”
“I’m afraid not. We are too deep in the mountains for a phone line or any cell reception.”
Keegan did his best not to look confused at all the new words. Kimberly had explained to him what a cell phone was once, but he didn’t understand the logistics behind it. He could tell that Megan was also confused, but he knew it was for different reasons. How do you tell someone that they somehow traveled through time?
“I am going to go let Patrick know you're awake. He wanted to apologize. He’s a good man. He’s just protective of his family, and that can make him crazy sometimes.” Keegan tried to joke, but Megan just looked back down at Apollo and said nothing. Trying not to feel hurt, he stood up to leave.
“Why don’t you tell everyone the stew is ready as well?” Kimberly suggested.
Keegan just nodded, then left. He found the children sitting on the porch right outside the door, waiting for permission to come back inside.
“Go wash up. Dinner is nearly ready,” he ordered
them without stopping. He continued on to find Patrick, Shaun, and Nicky working in the small barn with a large black horse that had an injured leg.
“Dinner is ready,” Keegan announced, stopping next to the horse and patting his neck.
“So…did you learn anything new about her?” Nicky asked eagerly.
“Not much. Her name is Megan, and she said she lives close in Denver and was out hiking. She claims not to remember much about what happened and thinks she got lost. We decided to wait until later to tell her she traveled back in time.”
“You’d better let Kimberly and me explain it to her. Poor girl is probably confused as all get out. She does look awfully pretty, though.” Nicky was trying to be subtle, but she wasn’t very good at it. She looked at Keegan as she spoke, watching him carefully.
Keegan scoffed. “That hardly matters. She won’t say two words to me.”
Nicky just stood and grinned at him. She knew Keegan wouldn’t care one way or another if the newcomer talked to him unless he found her attractive.
“I wonder what time period she’s from. It’s obvious she is from the future, but what year?” Nicky asked.
“I guess we’ll find out soon enough, but we have to break the bad news to her first,” Patrick commented dryly.
“The bad news?” Nicky asked.
“That she is now in the year 1902, and that we have no idea how she got here or how to send her back to whatever time she’s from.”
Chapter 6
