Connor smiled, not realizing how important it was that his sister liked the woman he was falling in—He dug his boot heels firmly into the ground and stopped that thought from forming. It was too risky right now. As if rebelling, his mind flashed back to the image of their side-by-side boots. He sighed, letting that one go, too.
The lights of the cart dimmed as it moved farther away from the landing pad. When they were out of earshot, Connor asked, “What’s going on? Has the situation deteriorated in Napa? And where the hell are Rick and Amber?”
“We don’t know the full extent of the damage,” Elliott said. “The mandatory evacuation order is still in place. We’ll know more tomorrow. Everyone’s in Reno tonight. They wanted to get far enough away from the smoke, but stay close enough to go back as soon as they were allowed in.”
“As for Rick and Amber, we’re not sure,” David said.
“What?” Connor’s insides curled. If there was one person you could always count on to be sure of anything, it was David. “What the hell do you mean, you’re not sure?”
“Amber wanted to stay for two more weeks to go fossil hunting in Morrison. Rick agreed to stay with her.”
“And you left them behind? What the hell were you thinking? And what the hell was he thinking? Screwing around with her—”
“There’s nothing going on between them,” David said. “They made the video to stop the sheriff from looking for her.”
“It didn’t look that way to me.”
Elliott put his hand on Connor’s shoulder. “We’re doing the best we can.”
Connor shrugged off Elliott’s hand, then immediately regretted showing such disrespect. “Sorry.” He walked ahead of Elliott and David while he considered what they’d told him. But it wasn’t making sense. Even if they stayed behind, they should be home by now. He turned and asked, “Which brooch do they have?”
“Rick has the O’Grady brooch, and Amber has hers.”
Connor glanced up at the house as the women reached the landing leading to the porch, their shapes, especially JL’s swollen belly, silhouetted by soft lights glowing beyond the arc of the windows.
He turned his mind back to his brother. “If Rick has the amethyst, he should already be home. So why isn’t he?”
“We don’t know. That’s why I’m going back tonight.”
“You think they’re in trouble, don’t you?” Connor reached out and pinned David against the trunk of a tree with a solid hold on his shirt. “You left my brother in the nineteenth century without backup.” Connor raised his fist to punch David, but Elliott clamped down on his arm.
“Don’t beat him up. He’s got to go back and fix this mess,” Elliott said.
Connor released his grip on David’s shirt and stepped away.
“Look,” David said, straightening his clothes. “If ye want to hit me, go ahead. I’d react the same way. But here’s the deal. Kenzie and I were on the ground and saw no downside to leaving them there. Amber wanted more time to hunt fossils. Rick agreed to be her bodyguard or babysitter, whichever way ye want to look at it. Plus, she had the attention of a Pinkerton agent, who Kenzie and I believe is her soul mate.”
“But something’s gone wrong, or they’d be here,” Connor said.
“We left them in the stagecoach lot in Leadville. Amber and Rick, along with the Pinkerton agent and his ten-year-old son were taking the stage to Denver. Amber even had an invitation from her six-times great-grandfather to stay at his house while she was in the city. There wasn’t a war, and no one was stalking them. With two soldiers protecting her we believed she was safe.”
“What time of year was it?”
“First of November.”
Connor walked away from David, pacing in frustration as he thought about his brother. The memory of Rick being MIA for a terrifying twenty-four hours hit Connor hard and fast. The brothers had been minutes away from boarding the MacKlenna Corporation jet to go search for him, when news came that Rick had been found shot and bleeding out. The fear that had engulfed Connor at that time, struck again. If he was going to help Rick, he had to be calm and focused.
“If the stagecoach was traveling through the mountains to Denver, they could have run into snow and icy roads. The coach could have crashed, gone down a mountainside.” He stopped pacing and looked hard at David. “If they were lost or injured, they would have used a brooch and come home. As I see it, the only possibilities are—incapacitation or…” Connor’s heart dropped, and an involuntary chill swept through him, threatening to make his teeth chatter. He didn’t have the courage to finish the thought.
“There’s another possibility,” David said. “The brooches don’t work, and they’re stuck in the past.”
“They have two brooches,” Connor said. “I could understand Amber’s not working because that fits with what we know of the stones, but there’s no reason the amethyst shouldn’t work.”
“Unless the amber brooch is more powerful and has properties like the ruby, sapphire, and emerald. It could be two weeks or six months before they come home.”
“How could the amber be more powerful than the amethyst if it doesn’t return travelers to the moment of sendoff? That’s what makes the diamond and amethyst our most powerful stones.”
“On the plane to Denver,” David said, “I was looking at pictures of the door in the cave beneath the castle. There is an A at the top and a faint turned A at the bottom of the door. I don’t know the purpose, or even if there is one. But we now have two brooches with stones that start with the letter A.” David thumbed through pictures on his phone, clicked one open and showed it to Connor. “It looks like this.”
Connor studied the picture. “I agree it looks like an upside-down A, but what’s the significance?”
“It’s a universal qualifier. To quote Wikipedia, ‘It’s a logical constant interpreted as—for all.’ And don’t ask me what that has to do with the stones, because I don’t know. It’s possible the amber brooch won’t fully function until all the stones have been recovered, and until then it can act as an interceptor.”
“You’re saying it’ll override the powers of other brooches. That’s bullshit. You wouldn’t have been able to use the diamond brooch to come home, if that was the case.”
“I didn’t say I had all the answers,” David said.
“Sounds like you don’t have any.”
“Here’s something else to stick in yer craw, detective,” David said. “What shape do ye have if ye put one turned A end-to-end with another A?”
Connor thought for a moment, trying to figure out where David was going with the idea of two As, one inverted. No bulb went off immediately. “A diamond, but I don’t see—” The light bulb flashed like a photographer’s flash powder as understanding burst from the darkness. “You suspect the diamond brooch is the super nova of brooches. That’s why it worked for you and Kenzie.”
David shrugged. “It’s a working theory.”
They reached the bottom of the steps to the tiered porch and paused there a moment. “I’m going back tonight,” David said. “I’m leaving in a couple of hours. This is, as Elliott said, my mess to clean up.”
“I’m going too. I’m not sure what I’ll tell Olivia.”
“I was hoping ye would volunteer before I drafted ye. Tell her good night and by morning, ye’ll be back.”
Connor hadn’t planned to tell her good night at all. Only good morning. “What about Kenzie? She’ll want to go, too.”
“I don’t want to take her, but she says nothing’s changed, and her original position remains the same—she’s got to help Trey’s cousin.”
“I called the owners of the ranch we’re buying,” Elliott said. “They agreed to rent us the guest house and use of the barns until the closing. Shane and Pete will take the horses there. They have an airfield, plus a heliport. For now, we can operate from that location.”
“The timing sucks.” With any luck, Connor could bring Amber home before Olivia discovere
d his deception. Hearing the story directly from her sister might lessen the anger Olivia would direct at him. And if he thought that was likely to happen, there was a bridge in Brooklyn he could buy.
“I agree,” Elliott said. “But the stones have never asked our opinion.”
“They just expect us to respond.” Connor’s voice was abnormally loud, and he lowered it a decibel. “The damn stones have amped up the pressure and have more control over us than we have over them. I don’t like that.”
They crossed the porch and before entering the house through a set of French doors, Connor removed his boots. They found the women sitting at the kitchen bar nibbling on raw vegetables. JL was drinking from a juice bottle, and Olivia and Kenzie were drinking red wine—a Montgomery Winery’s Pinot Noir.
Elliott picked up the bottle and studied the label. “The 2012 was a good year. I wonder how long it will take for the vines to recover from the fire.”
“The grapevines will be fine in a couple of years,” JL said. “Fire doesn’t kill them. It’ll burn them back and they won’t have a crop next year, but they’ll recover. At least that’s what Kevin told me.”
“Let’s hope he’s right, lass.” Then to Olivia he said, “Which way to the bathroom?”
She pointed. “Down the hall to the right.”
David sat on a barstool next to Kenzie and glanced at the bottle Elliott had picked up. “I saw a bottle of Balvenie at the wet bar,” she said. “That should make you happy.”
He shook his head. “I’m not drinking tonight. Remember, I’m driving.”
“Driving? Really? Your ulcer is acting up, isn’t it?” Kenzie asked. “I should have known you were in pain.” She kissed him. “You always deflect, trying to mask it. Now I understand what was really going on the other night.”
David kissed her back. “We’ll talk about it later.”
“I can almost bet he’s not taking his medication, Kenz. And on top of his ulcer acting up, he’s turning forty. That’s the real source of his stress,” JL said.
David growled at her. “Are ye spying on me?”
“I’m a detective,” JL said. “It didn’t take me long to figure out your moods. You’ve been grumpy and avoiding Maria’s spicy food. Ergo—your ulcer is acting up. Your brawn will never cure the painful sores in your stomach lining, but medication will.”
Olivia pointed from David to JL and back again. “You two aren’t brother and sister, but you sure act like it.”
“JL talks to everybody like that,” Kenzie said.
Olivia laughed. “I’ll have to remember not to take it personally. Now,” she said, putting down her wine glass. “I promised Connor I’d grill him a steak. You guys hungry?”
Kenzie refilled both wine glasses and munched on a carrot. “That’s like asking if they’re Scotsmen. They’re always hungry.”
“I’m Irish,” Connor said.
JL finished her juice and tossed the bottle into the recycle bin. “I need to pee, and I’d love a juicy, rare steak.”
“Elliott’s in the powder room,” Olivia said.
“He’s been in there a long time. Hmm. Has he said anything about his recent PSA?” JL asked.
“He’s still stage one and his doctor continues to recommend active surveillance,” David said.
“Isn’t that sort of personal?” Olivia asked.
“Nah, everybody knows about his prostate cancer and mini stroke. He’s in there talking to Meredith or Kevin,” JL said. “He can’t go thirty minutes without talking to one of them.”
Olivia opened the freezer and took out six steaks. “If you can’t wait, there’s a bathroom at the top of the stairs.”
“I need to put my clothes in the dryer,” Connor said. “I’ll show you where it is.” He hovered over JL as she hopped off the stool.
“My brother is taking me to the potty. Good God, what’s become of me?”
He put his arm around her waist. “Come on, sis. I don’t want you to have an accident.” He winked at Olivia on his way out of the room.
“Ha. Ha. I’m not an invalid. I’m pregnant. And I pity your wife, if you ever have one. You’ll drive her nuts.”
That wasn’t the impression he wanted to leave with Olivia, but after the news he had to share with her shortly—that he had to leave tonight with Kenzie and David—he wasn’t sure it mattered.
28
The Present, Kelly Ranch, Colorado—Olivia
Olivia stood in front of the microwave thawing steaks while Kenzie flipped through packages of freeze-dried meals in the cabinet. There was a familiarity about her that Olivia could neither explain nor deny. They’d had a couple of telephone conversations in the last few months, but they had been short and business-like. Olivia had never picked up on the closeness she experienced now. It was sisterly. That thought made her wonder what Amber would think of Kenzie. Would they be a natural fit, too? Yes, they would. Her sister would appreciate Kenzie’s sense of humor and effortless way she had of interacting with those in her orbit.
Kenzie pulled out two packages and closed the cabinet door. “What do you think of Connor?”
It took a beat or two for Olivia to switch gears and return to the moment. She replayed Kenzie’s question and giggled, like a teenager infatuated with a boy in her class.
She turned her back to David and whispered, “We were racing to the house, and when we got to the door, we had to take off our boots. They were too muddy to wear inside. We were in such a hurry we nearly fell on our asses trying to pull them off.”
“And…why were you in such a hurry?” Kenzie teased.
Olivia gave a little flick of her head and said with a bit of sassy humor, “Oh, I don’t know. It must have been the weather.”
“Okay, I’ve got to hear this, but hold up a minute.” Kenzie turned to David who was sitting at the counter, scrolling through his phone, pretending to ignore them. “Hey, David. Would you mind getting my sweater from the helicopter?”
He stood immediately, as if rocketed from the barstool. “Did ye leave anything else ye might need?”
“I don’t think so.”
“Where’s yer purse?”
She shrugged. “I didn’t bring one?”
He cocked his head, examining her in such a way that made Kenzie blush. “Where’d ye put yer wee lipstick?”
She reached into her jeans pocket and pulled out a tube of Bobbie Brown lip color.
Olivia laughed. “How long have you two been married?”
“Seven years,” David said. “And tomorrow I’ll love her more than I do right now.”
“Well, you act like newlyweds.”
Kenzie leaned into him. “We’ve had a good week. Haven’t we, McBain?”
“One of our best.” He pulled her into his arms and kissed her. “And the week’s not over.”
Olivia stepped around the kissing couple. “While you two heat up the kitchen enough to thaw the steaks, I’ll go get you a sweater. Although the way that man is holding you, like you’re part china, part Tupperware, I don’t think you’ll need one.”
Kenzie broke the kiss and glanced over her shoulder at Olivia. “China and Tupperware? I don’t get it.”
“Look at his hands. He holds you like you’re a china doll, but kisses you like you’re indestructible and can handle his intensity. You must both be warriors, because not just any woman could handle him.”
Kenzie turned back to David and kissed him again. “She’s right, you know?”
They both moaned a reply, and Olivia left the kitchen, stroking her bottom lip, still a little swollen from Connor’s last kiss. She jogged up the steps, her nipples tingling just thinking about him. She wandered down the hall, lost in her thoughts and passed the door to the bedroom Connor had used. The door was slightly ajar, and voices were coming from within.
“What’d you think when you saw Rick with Amber in that video?” JL asked.
“I wanted to bust his balls. What about you?”
“As soon as
I realized it was our brother, I wanted to smack him. Then David explained the purpose of the video was to satisfy the sheriff and calm Olivia. Knowing Rick, he was just having fun with it,” JL said.
Fun. What the hell?
Olivia edged closer to the door. Connor and JL knew the man in the video, and it wasn’t just any man. It was their brother. Anger boiled up inside Olivia as the siblings’ conversation continued.
“Elliott hasn’t said anything, but I know he’s worried Amber will fall for Daniel and want to live in the past with him,” JL said.
“That would kill Olivia,” Connor said. “She and Amber aren’t only sisters, they’re best friends. I don’t see Amber giving up her life and family to live permanently in the nineteenth century.”
“Kit did.”
“But she was misplaced as an infant. She belongs there.”
What the hell? The conversation was straight out of the Twilight Zone.
“Kenzie’s crazy about Amber. She said they had a blast shopping and having tea with Lindsey Hughes.”
The dryer door closed, the spinner dial clicked, and the clothes began to tumble. “Who’s Lindsey Hughes?” Connor asked.
“You’ve got that turned to the wrong heat,” JL said, ignoring his question.
“No, I don’t.”
“Yes, you do.”
“Leave me alone. They’re my clothes.”
“As much as you pay for your jeans, you need to dry them on a low heat,” JL said.
“All right,” Connor said. “I give up. You set the temperature. Now answer my question. Who’s Lindsey Hughes?
“Olivia and Amber’s seven-times great-grandmother. Her son, Adam, slid easily into Yale and subsequently started a prestigious family law firm that Amber is a member of today.”
“Did they tell Lindsey Hughes they were from the future?”
“No,” JL said. “Amber wanted to ask Lindsey where the brooch came from, but Kenzie wouldn’t let her. What about you? How’d you keep from telling Olivia the truth?”
“It was the hardest thing I’ve ever done. But what could I tell her? I didn’t know where Amber was, when she’d return, or even if she was safe. And if I’d told her Amber was in a space-time vortex, what good would that do?”
The Amber Brooch: Time Travel Romance (The Celtic Brooch Book 8) Page 32
