by Zoe Matthews
“And was there anyone else living with Keegan?” she hedged.
“Well, he had a few people on staff, like a cook and gardener,” Megan explained. “Oh, he did also have his friend from school there. His first name was Nathan. I can’t remember his last name.”
“Hmm…that’s interesting. I wonder if there is something magical about this house,” Abby said quietly, almost more to herself than to Megan.
Megan agreed with her but wanted to know what made Abby so passionate about this house. She decided to play dumb. “What makes you say that?”
“Well, like you said, the house hardly needed repairs, and you guys are the first to live here for years.” Abby finished the sentence as if that was the only explanation needed, but after a moment she spoke again, very quietly. “Sometimes, it’s like I feel a presence in this house. It’s like someone is here, but we can’t communicate or see each other.”
Megan stopped what she was doing so she could sit next to her. “What kind of presence?”
“I’m not sure. Somehow, I can tell he’s a younger person- about our age. He seems friendly…” She trailed off like she wanted to say more but was hesitant to.
Megan noticed she had said “he,” instead of “it,” and wondered how she would know whether the presence is male or not. She remembered that Sammie had talked about the house being haunted, but she had mentioned that it was an older couple, not a young man. Megan waited, not wanting to push, but hoping Abby would continue.
Abby laughed as if she was trying to make light of the situation. “It’s probably just my imagination getting to me. I must be going crazy or something.”
“Crazy like I have been for having my dreams?” Megan said softly, hoping it would help Abby feel more at ease with whatever was holding her back about this presence she felt.
Abby looked at her seriously, but Megan saw a hint of fear in the back of her eyes. “Yes, something like that. Something that feels a lot like destiny.”
Neither of them seemed to know what to say after that, so they continued their work in silence, each lost in their own thoughts.
****
Barbara taped up the final box in their old shop. The movers would be by in twenty minutes to load and move all of their inventory. Megan had told her mother that she, Keegan, and Abby could have moved it all with a few trips in her and Abby’s cars, but Barbara had insisted that things would go faster and smoother if they had someone else do it for them. It was worth the extra money she had paid to hire them.
She sighed, glancing at the clock. She needed to go sign her termination papers soon. That meant she needed to see George again, and she was worried that he would have something planned that would keep her here, or hurt Megan.
She had called her lawyer to let him know that Mr. Manning was going to be sending termination papers, but he had told her that he was on vacation with his wife for two weeks. Barbara had been anxious ever since then. She didn’t want to see Mr. Manning again, but she didn’t seem to have much choice.
She had waited all day to go talk to him, but she knew this would be her last chance unless she wanted to drive back here after she met the movers at their new location. She didn’t want to do that. Even though she loved this building, it had been her first location after all, she wanted to make a clean break. She didn’t want to come back.
She sighed and started out the back door when she noticed a packet on the ground just inside the door with her name on it. That’s strange, she thought. She bent down to pick it up and peeked inside of the packet. It was her termination papers.
George must have slid them under the door while she was packing up. With a relieved sigh, she took them to her now empty desk and sat down to review them. Once she was satisfied that everything looked in order, she signed them and took them to George’s office. She thought of knocking, but instead just dropped them in the mail slot in the door.
As she returned to the shop, she could hear the moving truck pull up in front of the shop. She was so close to being done with this part of her life, and the part she had been dreading the most was now over. She breathed a sigh of relief and hoped with all she had that George’s actions meant he really had decided to leave her alone without following through on his threats.
She could finally turn the page on this chapter of her life and start a new one. She somehow knew this next chapter would be one of the best she’d ever had, not counting giving birth to Megan.
****
Keegan helped Megan and her mother unpack all their inventory from their old shop. Since they weren’t sure exactly where they wanted everything, he left them to unpack the shopfront, and he went into their designated storage room. He started to organize the boxes of extra products they didn’t need to put out yet.
The past few days had been amazing with Megan, and the shop was coming along wonderfully. He was getting very excited for what this shop could mean for Megan and her mother. It looked as if it had come straight out of the year he was born and with that came the ease of his time. There was a peace in the house that he felt would ensure all their customers come back time and time again, even if it was just to relax.
The shop wasn’t the only thing that made him excited. He and Megan had been closer these last few days than they had ever been. They spent every minute they had together, usually working on the house, but it wasn’t work for either of them. He thoroughly enjoyed every minute spent with her, and they had both gotten relaxed enough that they were teasing and joking with each other throughout the day.
The storage room was almost organized, so he decided to finish up here quickly, and then go find Megan. He smiled just thinking about her and decided he would go see how things were going in the shop front. As he worked, he thought about what Patrick had said at the portal.
“Somehow, you will just know when you meet the right girl. If you already have, it is near impossible to talk yourself out of loving her.”
He hadn’t known Megan long, and he didn’t want to confuse feelings of fondness for her with love. However, maybe Patrick had been right.
He thought hard about that. He was always happier when she was around, and he knew that seeing her smile or hearing her laugh could brighten his entire day.
He thought about what it would be like to live with her every day. To wake up next to her, to help her in their shop, and to see a baby growing in her belly one day. As he thought about her, he felt a lump grow in his throat. He knew that was all he would ever need to be happy- to have her by his side.
He loved her.
Smiling broadly at his discovery and pushing the last box into place, he headed out of the room, hoping to talk her into taking a break so he could tell her how he felt. He quickly walked down the stairs and headed toward the parlor which now had small round tables where customers could sit down and eat what they ordered from the café.
He entered the room and started to feel nervous as he realized that she might not be in love with him, although he knew she enjoyed spending time with him. She also seemed to be distracted at times. More often than not, she was the one to pull away from their hug or kiss.
Of course, she is distracted, he tried to reason with himself. She is trying to move her shop to a new location. Despite his logic, his stomach started to knot together.
He stepped into the parlor and realized it was empty. He wandered around the house, into the kitchen before heading to the library. He heard Megan’s voice along with Abby’s and felt another pang of nerves hit him.
He knew he had to tell her, he just hoped she felt the same about him.
As he got closer, he was able to hear what Abby and Megan were saying.
“Megan, don’t you think having a dream about a man is a sign enough? What are you waiting for?” Abby spoke lightly, but also seemed exasperated about the conversation.
“You know as well as I do that it is more complicated than that,” Megan insisted.
“It’s only complicated if you make it that w
ay,” Abby pointed out.
Keegan heard a sigh.
“Look. Everything else in your life is falling into place. Why are you so hesitant about being honest with him? You need to talk to him before it’s too late.”
Keegan had heard enough. He turned around and strode back upstairs before they noticed he was there.
She had dreams about a man?
So, that’s what was holding her back. She already had feelings for someone else, someone she had dreams about. He scoffed at his own foolishness.
He had actually thought he had a chance with her. He had been looking for a sign that he stay in Megan’s time. It seemed he had received his answer. It was time to go back to 1902. He would stay for the grand opening and plan on leaving soon after that.
What was that famous saying? Eavesdroppers never prosper?
****
“It’s not fair of me to ask him to stay. That has to be his choice.” Megan was so tired of arguing with Abby about Keegan.
“I think he already made his choice! He didn’t go back with his brother, did he?” Abby pointed out.
Megan just sighed. She knew she had fallen hard for Keegan. The devastation she felt when she thought he had left was a sure enough sign of that. However, the night after she had driven him home, she had gone over her conversation with him at the head of the trail.
Not once had he said he loved her. Not once had he said he wanted to stay because of her. He hadn’t made any promises, only insisted they needed more time.
She wanted to enjoy her time with him, but she knew she had to hold herself back when she was around him. She knew that if she let herself fall deeper in love with him, she would only be more devastated when he left.
There was a hope deep in her that was waiting for him to come tell her he wanted to stay forever. But she squashed that hope every time it got too strong. She wouldn’t let this relationship affect her entire life.
But a small voice in her head insisted that it already had.
Chapter 25
Keegan stirred a big bowl of eggs together at the counter while Megan stood next to him slicing green onions. She wanted a small menu of healthy food options for their cafe, so they were trying out a quiche recipe. It was only three days until the grand re-opening of Barbara’s shop, so everyone was busy with something around the house.
“I still don’t understand what would be so bad about making biscuits and gravy or even country fried chicken. Everyone loves that kind of stuff,” Keegan insisted.
Megan sighed as she smiled at him. They had already been over this, but Keegan still didn’t understand. He hadn’t ever had quiche before, and to him, it looked bland.
“People who prefer to use natural remedies usually like to eat healthier foods. I am sure they enjoy the taste of the foods you love, but it has too much fat and calories. Besides, a lot of people are vegetarian, so we should have some meat-free choices in our menu if we can.”
He stopped stirring the eggs and looked over at her in shock. “Vegetarian? Why?”
Megan’s lip curled up at his surprise. “They don’t feel that the animals that we eat are treated well while they are alive, and are killed with unnecessary cruelty. I guess it’s a form of protest- they won’t give their money to companies who kill animals.”
“But…animals are meant to be eaten.” Keegan couldn’t wrap his mind around the concept of avoiding meat by choice. This was another change in the future that he didn’t understand. Another sign that he was meant to live in 1902.
“A lot has changed since your time, and some companies really don’t treat the animals well. All they care about is the money they can make off their meat. Maybe I can find a documentary for you to watch about it.”
“Documentary?” Keegan questioned.
Megan laughed. “A movie that shows facts about different things and people around the world. You’ll see when I show you.”
“Are you a vegetarian?”
Megan shook her head and laughed again. “No, I’m not. I enjoy a good steak too much, but I do try to eat as healthy as I can.”
Keegan just grunted and started stirring the eggs again. According to Megan, they needed to be very “light.”
He could feel Megan get stiff beside him and the conversation he remembered overhearing the day before come back to him. He wondered if she was thinking about the other man. The man from her dreams. He wondered who he was. Had Megan asked him to stay away until Keegan was gone?
She cleared her throat and when she spoke, her voice shook a little. “So, when were you planning on going back?”
Keegan was too stunned to respond. Did she sense that he was planning to leave soon? She probably decided she should be with this other man, so she wants me gone, he thought dejectedly.
Apparently, he had been taking too long to answer her because Megan started chatting nervously. “I mean, it doesn’t have to be soon. I was just curious if you had a date in mind. You’ve been such a big help here, but I know you have been away from your doctor's office for a long time now. I don’t want to make your life harder once you go back. I mean, of course, I don’t want you to go. It’s just that I would feel so awful if you lost your job because you stayed too long here to help us.” She had been chopping her onion while talking, and now it looked more like a pulp than individual pieces.
Keegan put his hand on her shoulder to get her to stop talking. His heart broke, but he knew she was letting him know she wanted him to leave, and she felt guilty about it. He didn’t want to stand in the way of her happiness.
“What if I stay until after your grand reopening? Things should be easier for you and your mother after that. Don’t worry; I won’t lose my job. Dr. Thomas likes me too much.” He tried to smile, but it felt more like a grimace.
Megan took a big breath before responding, and he felt a little better knowing he had calmed her down a little. “Okay, if that is what you want.”
He looked into her eyes and could see sadness starting to seep into them. “Is it what you want?” he slowly asked, begging her with his own eyes that she be honest with him. It would be better if she just told him about this other man rather than pretend that he wasn’t in her life.
She stared at him without answering before she turned around and mumbled something about needing to use the restroom. She hurried out of the room leaving Keegan alone and confused. Not knowing what else to do, he continued making the quiche, following the recipe Megan had left on the counter the best he could.
After a few moments, he heard footsteps and looked up quickly, hoping it was Megan. His face fell a little when he realized it was only Abby.
Abby had sympathy written all over her face and Keegan prepared himself. She must be here to tell him about Megan’s “dream” man.
“I didn’t mean to overhear, but I thought I heard you say you were going to leave after the reopening?” she asked him.
Keegan nodded. “It’s what Megan wants.”
“Is it?” Abby asked, looking at him seriously. “I know this is cliché, but can I ask you what your intentions were when you decided to stay here instead of going back to your time?”
Keegan didn’t talk for a moment as he poured the egg mixture into a greased pan and into the oven. “I don’t know that I had anything specific in mind,” he tried to stall. Did he really want to explain his feelings to Abby right before she told him about this other man?
“Okay, so what made you want to stay?” she pushed.
“I don’t know how to explain it,” he replied, trying to keep his frustration out of his voice. “I just wasn’t ready to go. It didn’t feel right saying goodbye to Megan the way I did.”
“And does it feel right to leave in four days?”
His frustration poured over and he let himself speak his true feelings. “Of course not! I want to stay here and be with Megan. But I won’t stay here if she doesn’t want me. I will not force myself into her life.”
“Because you love her,” Abby st
ated simply.
“Yes, because I love her and I want what’s best for her.” He continued his rant without realizing what he just admitted to Abby.
Abby’s sympathetic look switched over to a determined look. “There is something you should know about Megan.”
He took a breath and braced himself.
“She doesn’t let a lot of people get close to her. It’s basically only been me and her mom her entire life. She doesn’t know how to talk about her feelings to anyone else.”
Keegan was confused now. What was Abby trying to say?
She stared at him pointedly. “She doesn’t know how to ask for things she wants from a man.”
Keegan must have still looked confused because Abby sighed, and looked down for a moment. “Listen, don’t make any solid plans yet. I think things will work out. Please promise me you will talk to Megan before you decide to leave and tell her how you feel.” With that, she turned around and walked out of the room.
Keegan turned around and leaned against the counter. What was she trying to say? That he should try harder to stay with Megan? He shook his head. Why were women so confusing?
****
It was the night before she reopened her shop, and Barbara was sweeping the kitchen floor for the third time. She knew she wouldn’t get much sleep tonight; she was too excited for the next day. They had all been very busy in the last couple days. She and Megan would come at 5:00 every morning and stay until after 10:00 every night.
That didn’t mean that either of them had talked much at all; there had been so much to do, they both hadn’t had time to think of much else. She swept up the non-existent dust pile and shook it into the garbage.
After putting the broom back in the closet, she walked to the front room and sat down. This house was the perfect place for them. She looked around and basked in the calm atmosphere that it provided. She knew her customers would love coming here and would linger to relax when they could. That is what she had always wanted in a shop, and thanks to Keegan, she now had it.
