Second Time Around (47 page)

By the look on Brandy’s face, Lane feared something had happened to Randy or the kids. But no… surely she would have told her that right off. Surely Lane would have read it in her face. “What’s wrong?”

“Toby Bjornson came forward.”

“My Toby?”

“The very one.” Brandy told her about Toby and the media attention, and how the leak had changed everything, climaxing with the shooting.

“A shooting—in my house?”

“I broke a lamp.”

“No, no. I don’t care about the house, but to think he had you in there, by yourself, with a gun. You must have been petrified.”

“Actually, I wasn’t. It was Toby. And though he
was
desperate, it was a sad desperation more than a dangerous one. I felt sorry for him. I feel sorry for him.” She looked around the room. “I really should call the hospital and check on him.”

No, I should call the hospital.
“It’s all my fault.”

“Stop that! The leak caused the problem. In the initial press conference, you had a right to tell the media what seemed best at the time. There was no way for you to know it would go wrong. It wasn’t any of their business if you wanted to go into the past to see Toby or try—”

“No.” Lane turned away. “I’m talking about Toby turning out the way he did, having the life he did. He loved me and I left him. Twice. That
is
my fault.”

Brandy rubbed her back. “He wasn’t the one for you, Laney-girl. You just proved that. As for the way his life turned out, that’s due to his choices, not yours. Besides, this last week when he
chose
to step into the limelight—your limelight, I might add—it sounds like he had a good-enough life. He worked construction, had an okay place to live.”

“Is he married?”

“I don’t think so.”

“That’s too bad.” She sighed. “And yet…”

“And yet what?”

Lane had to walk away from her. Brandy, Mrs. Susie Homemaker, would not understand what she was about to say. “Did you ever think that maybe some people are not supposed to be married and have children?”

“You’re just saying that because you’re manless at the moment.”

Lane faced her. “I don’t think so. Back in the past, I met up with a woman who said something that stuck with me: ‘Just because you can doesn’t mean you should.’”

“That could apply to a lot of things.”

“Including getting married and having children. The thing is, Brandy, I’m not sure it’s possible to have it all. And by coming back here, I made my choice. Acting is my talent—my God-given talent if I want to give credit where it’s due. The fame and opportunities I’ve been given shouldn’t be tossed away. They were too hard-fought. Giving them up wouldn’t be fair.”

“Fair to whom?”

The next word didn’t come easily for Lane. She’d never been one to talk about God much. But with Grandma Nellie’s voice still fresh in her head, she said it. “It wouldn’t be fair to God.”

Brandy’s eyebrow raised. “Since when do you mention the G-word?”

“Don’t act like I’m some heathen. I believe in God.”

“Good, ‘cause He believes in you.”

“Really?” She hated the way her voice sounded. So needy. Like a child desperate for approval.

“Cross my heart.”

There was a knock, then Alexander MacMillan popped his head in. “Ms. Holloway? Can I interrupt your reunion for some Time Lottery business? Just a short debriefing. Then you can meet up with Mrs. Lopez again.”

“Of course.” She gave Brandy a hug. “Later, friend.”

“I’ll be here.”

When Lane reached the hall she looked toward the Sphere. “Has anyone else come back yet?”

“Not yet.”

Mac led Lane into another room. Wriggens was supposed to be there waiting for them. Now he was making them wait. Mac suspected it was on purpose. That man.

Mac pulled out a chair for Lane. “Chief Administrator John Wriggens will be joining us in a moment.”

“Actually, I’m glad for the chance to get to talk to you alone.”

“Oh?”

“My friend Brandy said there was a leak to the media regarding my true motives for visiting 1987.”

“Yes, I’m afraid—”

“And that leak caused Toby Bjornson to be humiliated, which caused him to be beat up, which caused him to be in a situation where he was shot?”

Mac was taken aback. She certainly got to the point. “Yes, I suppose one led to the other.”

“How many people knew about my true motives?”

Uh-oh. “Three.”

“You, the doctor who got me there, and…?”

Mac glanced at the door, hoping Wriggens wouldn’t choose this moment to enter. He considered some double-talk, stating that anybody could have found out.

“The truth, Mr. MacMillan. At the moment I hold truth in the highest regard.”

“John Wriggens was the only other person who knew.”

“The man we’re waiting for?”

Mac nodded.

“Are you the leak?”

“No!”

“Do you think the doctor did it?”

“I would trust Dr. Rodriguez with my life—with your life.”

“Which leaves John Wriggens.”

“There is no proof, Ms. Holloway. And I assure you the TTC is a highly respected—”

She stopped his defense with a raised hand. “The TTC organization is a prize to
be
prized. But it doesn’t necessarily follow that every employee is above reproach.”

What could he say?

She leaned toward him across the table. “Do you, Alexander MacMillan, think John Wriggens leaked the information?”

“I…”

The door opened and Wriggens entered. “Well, well, here you are. Finally. Did you have a nice trip?”

“Yes, I did. But if you’ll excuse me a moment.” She turned back to Mac. “Regarding that particular piece of information, I just want you to know that I’ll take care of it. I’ll take care of everything.”

Wriggens pulled out a chair at the head of the table. “Everything? What’s this? What did I miss?”

Everything.

Lane patted Wriggens’s hand and smiled her Hollywood smile. “Now, Mr. Wriggens, would you like to hear about my experience?”

Mac sat back in awe—of her charm, her acting ability, and her integrity.

He could hardly wait to see how this turned out.

Dina watched as Mr. MacMillan led the Caldwell family out of the Sphere to take them to their hotel. Like David, Vanessa hadn’t come back yet, and it might be tomorrow before they knew for sure what was happening. As it was, it was nearly tomorrow now: 11:45. They’d been waiting in the Sphere for nearly twelve hours. And it had been a good ten hours since Lane Holloway had awakened.

The VIPs had left their balcony perch, and the team of doctors and technicians had been relieved. Only Dina stayed behind. Only Dina stayed loyal to the end.

The end. Was that what she was waiting for? The end of David’s life—as he knew it.
Which would mean the end of my life as I know it.

She stood by his bed for the umpteenth time. As the hours had passed, they’d allowed her to move her chair from the perimeter to his side. Though they hadn’t said anything, and though she hadn’t asked, she knew it was an act of sympathy. Let the grieving loved ones move close for the final hours.

She lifted his hand and linked her fingers through his. How many times had she longed to hold this hand, to feel his skin against hers? The only contact they’d ever made had been perfunctory, yet in her dreams.. .

Those dreams were dead now. She’d been such a fool. Pining after a man for nearly fifty years.
Hope springs eternal.
Wasn’t it Shakespeare who’d said, “Lord, what fools these mortals be”? And wasn’t she being a fool now, staying deep into the night beside a man who had never loved her? A man who’d chosen to stay in his past with a woman who hated him enough to die
because
of him, rather than return to a woman who would willingly die
for
him.

She swiped away a tear, not sure if it was a tear of sorrow or anger. Probably both. Her lifetime spent on the periphery of David’s life had always elicited conflicting emotions.

There was a sudden flurry by the computer console. “He’s going.”

Going?
The doctor and nurse moved close and Dina took a step back, giving them room. They checked his vitals. Then the doctor looked at her. “He
is
dying, Ms. Edmonds. Dying here, that is. He must have decided to stay in his past.”

Must have.

Then, without consciously deciding, Dina found herself walking to the exit.

“But don’t you want to stay—?”

No, thank you. She’d finally had enough.

NINETEEN

For you, O God, tested us;
you refined us like silver.

Psalm 66:10

Present-Day Kansas City

The phone woke her.

Rachel reached to the left, then realized she wasn’t at home. She was in a hotel and the phone was to her right. “Yes?”

“It’s Dad, honey. Mom’s gone.”

The words did not compute, and she sat up and found a light switch. “What?”

“I got a call from Mr. MacMillan. Your mother just passed away.”

“We weren’t there? We weren’t there!”

His voice took on an edge. “Neither was she, honey. She stayed in the past. She chose not to come back to us.”

Though they’d expected this might happen, to have it be over…

“MacMillan says we’ll need to make arrangements for the funeral. But there’s no need to hurry over there unless we want to.”

She shook her head. “I don’t want to go back there. Ever.”

“I know. Me neither. Do you want me to come to your room?

“No. I’m fine. I just want to be alone.”

His voice caught. “Yeah. Me, too. I’ll call you in a little while, okay?”

She hung up, not wanting to hear his tears. She was surprised to find none of her own. The closeness she’d felt toward her mother—since her mother had left for the past—suddenly seemed contrived. And way too late. However, the closeness she’d felt for her father since then…

She looked in the direction of his room. Why did that seem more real?

Because he’s real. He’s here. You still have time with him. A lifetime with him.

A second chance with him. One she didn’t intend to waste.

She got dressed.

Alexander MacMillan stood before the media, ready to make his statement. Lane Holloway—the only winner to return— stood in the wings. They began peppering him with questions, but he held out his arms, quieting them. “Thank you for coming to this post-Time Lottery press conference. I know you’re eager to know who stayed in their Alternity and who returned. So here’s the answer to that question: Vanessa Caldwell and David Stancowsky did not return.”

“Do we get to talk to their families?”

“Not at this time. As you can imagine, they are in mourning and need to be afforded the respect that goes with their grief.”

“And their $250,000 in life insurance.”

Their laughter aggravated Mac. Though the life insurance policy was a necessary accoutrement to the Time Lottery, there always seemed to be someone who focused on the money rather than on the experience. He moved on. “However, as you have deduced, since I have mentioned the two who stayed behind, that means one has returned to us and is thus able to share her experiences.” The applause started before he said her name. “I give to you Lane Holloway.”