“How many do you have?” Olivia asked Kenzie.
“Five-year-old twin boys and a two-year-old daughter.”
Olivia topped off their wine glasses and disposed of the wine bottle. “That’s a handful.”
“It is, but I have lots of help,” Kenzie said. “The family complains about the twins, but there isn’t a soul who wouldn’t drop everything to help out, if needed.”
“I guess with all that help you can vanish for a few days.”
Kenzie sat on the barstool and sipped her wine. “I haven’t seen them in days, but for them, they saw me this morning. After forty-eight hours, if the twins haven’t seen one of us, they’ll show up at the security center and demand to see McBain. It cracks the staff up. They play along, telling the boys that David and I are on a secret mission, that the twins don’t have security clearance to know what we’re doing, and that they’ll have to come back when they turn six.”
“And they’re okay with that?” Olivia asked.
Kenzie laughed. “They think it’s cool.”
“So what happens when they turn six?”
“We haven’t thought that far ahead. But now it’s become such a big deal that we’ll have to come up with something creative. They’re already counting the days until they can go through the fog again.”
Olivia put soap in the dishwasher and pushed the start button. “What’s the fog?”
“Stinky is what it is,” JL said. “Here’s the deal. You open a brooch, say the magic words, and a fog that smells like peat covers you up and whisks you away on a roller-coaster ride through space.”
Olivia shivered as she had a flashback to the moment she’d entered the cabin and was hit with that earthy scent. She had an acute sense of smell and Connor had remarked on the lingering scent as well. Her stomach dropped to her feet and an undercurrent seemed to sweep her away. There were now two signs: the mental picture of Daniel and the scent of peat. One more, and she wouldn’t be able to deny the truth of what they were telling her.
“Is it weird? The fog, I mean?” Olivia’s tone was light but hesitant. “It must not be scary, if the boys want to go again.”
“All the kids have gone back and forth, but all they really remember is the fog. Because of their ages, they don’t understand that they traveled to a different time. The older kids do, but the little ones only remember that they went on an adventure.”
“The trip isn’t scary,” Kenzie said. “But arriving unprepared is insane. Arriving in the middle of a war is hell.”
“It must have been horrible for you and Amber,” Olivia said.
“From what Amber said, I don’t think she was scared. She knew she wasn’t in danger, and she was familiar with where she was and the city’s history. Compared to Kit, Charlotte, Amy, and me, Amber’s adventure has been rather tame. That’s what concerns me.”
Olivia sat down next to Kenzie. “What does?”
Kenzie leaned back in the swivel barstool and crossed her arms. “The brooches put you in situations that challenge you and often put you at risk.”
“But you said Amber wasn’t in danger,” Olivia said, “and if she’s just going to dig fossils around the Morrison Formation, I don’t see any danger in that.”
“Amber’s adventure could be different,” JL said. “Maybe it’ll be smooth sailing for her, but I doubt it.”
Kenzie pointed her thumb over her shoulder toward JL. “Don’t pay attention to her. She’s a glass half-empty kind of person.”
JL huffed out an unladylike noise. “You try working on the streets of New York City. The litmus test for your worldview will be half-empty, too, missy.”
Olivia’s cell phone pinged with a text message. One of her agents got a contract on a Kelly Agency listing for a multi-million-dollar mansion in Denver. She sent a congratulatory text then scanned her calendar. The next three days were clear. She’d left them open to spend time with her parents, who were expected home from their travels abroad. She had looked forward to their return. Not anymore. How could she possibly explain Amber’s absence?
Olivia stepped over to the bar and grabbed a bottle of the pinot noir, glancing into the great room as she closed the door to the wine fridge. David and Elliott were asleep at opposite ends of the sofa. Connor was asleep in the easy chair, his feet propped up on the ottoman, hands resting on his flat abdomen, long lashes casting half-moon shadows on his windburned cheeks. His full lips slightly parted as he breathed softly in deep sleep.
So that’s how the men discussed logistics.
Connor could sleep there all night. Her heart was too close to the edge of the cliff on Heartbreak Ridge than she cared to admit. And right now, she didn’t want to even hear his voice. But that wasn’t what her body wanted. It wanted to relive every moment from the first kiss in the car to the interruption phone call. Her finger traced the outline of her bottom lip. Memories could be hell.
She opened the bottle of wine and refilled her glass. Kenzie covered hers with her hand. “No more for me. I need to at least be able to follow David’s instructions when we land in Denver. Another glass and I would be a hindrance in an emergency.”
“How long do you think you’ll be gone this time?” Olivia asked.
“We’ll be back tonight, but I don’t know how long we’ll be in the past. A day, a week, a month. If I had to guess, I’d say a day or two. Why?”
“Just wondering. Where will you stay?”
“Amber has an invitation to stay at the home of Adam and Christine Hughes, your ancestors. I don’t know if we’ll stay with her—”
“What?” Olivia asked. “She’s going to stay in my house?”
“Your house?” Kenzie asked. “I don’t know where you live, or where Adam Hughes lived when he was alive.”
“I do,” Olivia said. “It’s 5431 California Street in Curtis Park. A red brick, two-story, side-bay, Italianate-style home, featuring a transom window over the front door. It’s one of twenty-five residences built in the 1870s still standing today.”
She dropped to the barstool and put her head in her hands. “I can’t believe this. The house came on the market three months ago, and I snapped it up on day one. A few days ago, I found a contractor to restore it to its original condition. I’ve searched the historical society, library, and old newspapers looking for pictures. And Amber’s going to stay there? You’ve got to be kidding me.”
The picture, the smell of peat, her house. One, two, three.
David entered the kitchen and strode toward them, yawning. “Kemosabe, we need to get ready to leave.”
“What about horses? Aren’t we taking any this time?” she asked.
“We didn’t need them in Leadville. If we need horses in Denver, we’ll rent them from a livery.”
“What if we’re… I don’t know. Stuck on the trail somewhere?”
“That’s not likely to happen unless Amber is stuck there, too.”
Kenzie nodded, saying nothing for a moment, frowning a little so that a line formed between her ruddy brows. She was thinking hard and blinking harder. “If the stagecoach crashed and they’re stuck, we’ll need a rescue litter, SAR Pak, ropes, pulleys, rigging, cold-weather gear.”
“It’s all on the plane.”
“Why didn’t you tell me?”
“Ye asked if I’d packed the gear and I said yes. Look, we’re going back to check on Amber and Rick. If everything’s copacetic, we’ll hop back into the fog and come home.”
“Copacetic and kemosabe. Where’d you come up with those?”
“I just talked to the boys.”
“Aha. So they learned two new words today.”
“I won’t repeat the Gaelic cuss words.”
“Would you please explain to their Gaelic instructor that although the Scots have a rich and vivid language, I don’t want my children cussing, especially in a language I don’t understand. And that goes for their French instructor, too.”
“I’ve spoken to her, and she assured—”
Olivi
a formed a T with her hands. “Time out. Can we talk about Amber? If I understand this, you’re going into the fog tonight to find her. If she’s in Morrison fossil hunting, then you’ll come right back.”
“No, we’re staying until she finishes her work,” David said.
“Then how long will you be gone?”
“Regardless of how long we stay in the past, ye’ll see us soon after we leave,” he said.
“That doesn’t make any sense.” Olivia’s mind veered off the road in a direction she didn’t want it to go, and it created a staccato pounding of her heart. She lifted her wine glass, drained it, then set it down so hard it cracked on the granite countertop.
“I’m going too,” she blurted out.
“Are ye sure?” David asked.
She tossed the broken glass into the recycle bin. “I don’t want to think about my decision. I just want to go.” She blew out several hard breaths, as if starting the next rep of barbell curls. “What do I need to take with me?”
“That’s the wrong question,” David said. “Ye should ask, ‘What do I need to do before I go?’ Ye and Connor have to put yer differences aside. Adventures are dangerous enough without having team members so angry they can’t look at each other. It puts us all at risk.”
A prick of foolish tears forced Olivia to close her eyes, holding them back so nobody would see them fall. But even as her lashes drifted shut, she saw David watching her. Could she forgive Connor? If the answer was yes, then she had to do it now. Restoring the lost trust wouldn’t be easy, but she could let go of the anger.
She patted her chest to settle her heart. “I can do that.”
Kenzie broke into a relieved smile. “Then grab your hat and boots and you’ll be ready. David has money. If there’s anything we need, we’ll buy it there. If you have a Swiss army knife, I’d pack that, but otherwise—”
“We should take the helicopter over to the new ranch,” Elliott said, sauntering into the kitchen. He headed straight to the coffee pot, selected a pod, and placed it in the coffee machine.
“If we’re only going for a few minutes, why not leave from here?” Kenzie said. “JL’s asleep. We could be back and celebrating by the time she wakes up.”
The aroma of dark roast coffee filled the room. “I don’t mind staying here so long as Olivia’s parents don’t show up and have us arrested.” Elliott spooned in sugar and stirred the dark brew.
“They’ll be in London for the next few days. You’ll have the house to yourself. The farm manager knows I have company. He won’t bother you. But if anybody shows up, tell them I’m in the bathtub. It’s a family joke. I could spend hours in there soaking and reading.”
“Is Connor still asleep?” David asked.
“He went to the helicopter,” Elliott said.
David crossed the kitchen to the coffee maker while placing a call on his cell phone. “Olivia’s going. We’ll leave from here.” He put in a pod and pressed start. Then turned to those standing around the kitchen and said, “Connor’s bringing up our gear. I want to take a shower, then we’ll leave.”
Olivia waved her hand in the direction of the staircase. “There are six showers upstairs. Take your pick.”
David winked at Kenzie. “Do ye want to freshen up before we leave?”
She pushed off the barstool. “Kemosabe, I thought you’d never ask.”
Connor entered the kitchen carrying saddlebags over both shoulders and handed them to David. “I don’t suppose you brought me a change of clothes and a dopp kit.”
“Sorry, buddy. I figured ye had what ye needed.”
“Take whatever you want from the bathroom,” Olivia said. “There should be shave bags in the cabinet to carry toiletries. If you need another pair of jeans or jacket…”
“I’ll take your dad’s hat and jacket, if you don’t think he’d mind.”
“Help yourself,” she said.
Kenzie, David, and Connor went upstairs, leaving Olivia and Elliott at the kitchen counter.
His eyebrows drew together in a frown and he narrowed his eyes at her. “I have a piece of advice for ye, lass.”
She glared, unsure if she wanted any advice from him. If he gave her some, would she even take the time to consider it?
“Ye’re going back to a time when women had few rights. It’s not at all what ye’re used to. Ye’ll need protection, and the lad will protect ye whether ye want it or not. But it’ll go easier on ye both if ye put yer anger aside.”
“I can put my anger aside, Elliott,” she said testily. “It’s the broken trust that can’t be put back together so easily.” She was going to tell him she couldn’t put her broken heart back together, either, but her voice quavered, and she stopped.
“Then that’s my second piece of advice. Ye don’t have to trust him with yer heart, but ye absolutely must trust him with yer life.” Elliott’s pupils were so dark they were indistinguishable from the irises, and the spark glinting in those chocolate pools was anything but sympathetic. She didn’t want his sympathy anyway. Matter of fact, she didn’t want anything from him, including his advice.
Needing something to do, she stepped over to the coffee machine and made a cup for herself and slowly sipped the brew while reading flyers her mother had posted on the refrigerator door.
A few minutes later, Connor reentered the kitchen wearing his clean clothes. He walked across the wooden floor, his footsteps echoing loud in the room. He went straight to the wet bar and grabbed a bottle of water. “What have you heard from Meredith?” he asked Elliott.
“She said Pops had an early dinner and retired for the evening. Shane and Pete boarded the horses overnight and have checked into the hotel. Kit and Cullen were having cocktails with Kevin. They’re waiting to hear when they can return to the winery.”
The weight of Connor’s stare was painful. She raised her chin to meet it with her own. “Elliott asked me to put my anger aside. I’m willing to do that, as long as you’ll forget—”
“Forget what? Forget that I kissed you? That you kissed me back? Sorry.” Connor’s unwavering gaze bore down on her. “Can’t do that. Can you?” He sounded calm, as if he were asking nothing more than if she wanted sugar in her coffee or ice in her tea.
She gave him a frosty smile, burying the expectancy that pulled against her ribs, the same feeling she’d had when he first lowered his head to kiss her. She pushed it away, snapping her shaky fingers. “Yes, just like that,” she said, amazed at the steadiness in her voice.
“Don’t worry, Olivia. You’re safe from my advances.” Doubt in his voice, though, shouted out, loud and clear. The fine lines at the corners of his eyes shivered like the surface of the water when a pebble is thrown into the stillness. Turning away from her, he took his drink and left the room.
Elliott’s expression said he didn’t approve of her treatment of Connor.
She gripped the edge of the counter to hold herself upright, and with a pang, she followed Connor with her eyes. He sank down into the chair where he’d slept earlier, his head resting on a cushion, eyes closed. If she thought she could temporarily blow off her intense feelings for him as easily as snuffing out a candle flame, she was wrong. She glanced at Elliott’s profile, set in an obstinate frown.
Being a good hostess, she said, “I need to get ready to go. Do you need anything?”
“Aye, but ye’re going to flat-out deny me. Go on. Do what ye need to do.”
“Deny you? Do we all have to play by your rules? Your rules tilt the table, and everything slides to your side.”
She’d meant her words as a barely concealed jibe. A little parry and thrust in response to him but it spilled out with more bitterness than she’d intended. She smoothed her eyebrows, attempting to smooth out the mess splattering all over her life. Care needed to be taken when dealing with men like Elliott. When pricked, they instinctively stung their tormentors.
“Okay. I give,” she said. “What am I going to deny you?”
“I don’
t like dissension. It doesn’t bode well for an adventure. If ye don’t fix it now”—he tapped his chest with his thumb—“here, where the hurt sits like a lead ball, it’ll only fester. Then when trouble comes ye’ll put the weight of yer pain first, instead of what yer mind tells ye is the right thing to do.”
She assembled a reasonable tone and said, “I’ve put my anger aside. What else do you want me to say? To do? What?”
The lines around Elliott’s eyes made him look older than the streaks of silver in his brown hair would indicate. “If ye have to ask, then I’m not sure what the lad sees in ye.” He took his cup and walked out on the porch, pulling his cell phone from his pocket.
Olivia put down her cup and raced up to her room to pack. She’d seen disappointment in clients’ faces both when she practiced law and when they missed out on buying the home of their dreams, but she’d never seen disappointment in someone’s eyes because she failed to do something.
She couldn’t think about it now.
After rummaging through her closet, she found an old pair of jeans, two shirts, underwear, and socks. Amber would crack up. Olivia never traveled without multiple outfits for each day, along with matching shoes, jewelry, and handbags. Was this the beginning of a change? She shrugged. Time would tell.
An old tapestry bag hung from a hook at the back of the closet. She opened it and neatly pack her belongings. Before she went back downstairs, she took a few minutes to pen a letter to her parents to explain her absence. Then realizing how absurd the explanation sounded, she tore it up. How could she possibly explain what she didn’t fully understand?
When David and Kenzie left the room next door laughing, Olivia rushed out to meet them, slinging her bag over her shoulder. “Love the outfit. I didn’t know you were dressing in period-style clothing.” She pressed her hands down her jeans-clad legs. “I’ll look out of place. Is that a problem?”
“Keep your hat on and people will think you’re a boy,” Kenzie said.
David’s mouth twisted with a suppressed smile. “Come on, Kenz. A man would have to be blind to mistake Olivia for a boy.”
Kenzie tucked her hand into the crook of Olivia’s arm. “Don’t pay any attention to him. You’ll be fine. I wore this home today. It really needs to be washed but I can get away with wearing it again. If we stay longer than a day, we’ll have to go shopping.”
The Amber Brooch: Time Travel Romance (The Celtic Brooch Book 8) Page 36
