The Encounter (18 page)

              John laid open Martin's shirt. He unbuttoned the long johns, and then tore them open to the waist. There was a large bruise on the left side of Martin's chest and the middle of his abdomen. He looked at Joseph. "Was he trampled?"

              "Not by the herd", Joseph answered. "His horse must've stepped on him... Is he gonna be okay? I mean, if he's gonna be laid up for a while..."

              Before John could answer, the door opened and Erma entered with a tray of instruments and a pan of water. John stood up. Erma joined them at the bed. John took the tray.

              Your sister's in the front room on the left", she said, setting the pan down on the bedside table. "She had blood on her dress. I put it in to soak."

              "I'm gonna do everything I know how", John said, to Joseph. "You're the man in the family. Go see to your sister."

              Lawrence put his hand on Joseph's shoulder. "He's right. Sarah needs you now. Let these folks look after your Dad."

              Joseph just looked at them for a moment. He knew inside, what the doctor was trying to tell him. The little boy was scared and wanted to run to his big sister, but the emerging man couldn't do that. It was
his
shoulder that would have to support
her
. He didn't say anything. He looked at his father, then turned and left the room with Lawrence.

              Erma looked at the door, "Those poor children."

              After turning away from the room, Sarah had tried to control her emotions, but there wasn't much fight left in her. Erma thought the best thing for her to do was to lie down for a while. Margaret agreed. Sarah didn't want to lie down. She wanted to be with her father. Erma promised to come and get her after a while or if anything changed. Margaret and Erma weren't taking
no
for an answer so Sarah quit arguing.

              Erma got Sarah a gown. They helped her out of her clothes and into bed. The front of the dress was stained from her father's head wound. Erma took it with her when she left. Margaret sat on the side of the bed. The emotional drain had taken its toll. In five minutes, Sarah was asleep.

              The door opened and Lawrence and Joseph entered the room. Margaret put her finger to her lips. She got up and joined them at the door.

              "She's asleep", she whispered.

              Joseph walked over and sat in a chair beside the bed. Margaret and Lawrence stepped out and quietly shut the door.

              Joseph watched her. She moved slightly. He wanted her to sleep. She settled back. This morning they were fighting over things that no longer mattered. He felt ten years older. She knew something this morning. The same way their mother had known things. She tried to tell them, but nobody wanted to listen.

              Margaret and Lawrence walked from the hall into what must have been some sort of waiting room. There were several chairs placed around, with a couch under a large front window. One of the street lamps was in front of the window. There were several people still milling around outside. Piano music and the usual commotion were coming from a saloon down the street.

              Margaret walked ahead and sat on the couch. Lawrence stood and looked out the window.

              She leaned back and watched him. "This wasn't part of the plan." His eyes never moved from the window. "Larry...?"

              Lawrence heard her say something, but his mind was on a different track. "You know, getting caught up in someone else's problems tonight almost made me forget how much trouble
we're
in." He glanced down, and then sat beside her on the couch. "Being here in a place that probably doesn't exist any more. Talking and getting involved with people that've been dead for eighty years...", glancing back out the window, "your sense of reality really takes a beating". He looked back at her. "You must be used to this."

              "No, not really." She pulled her feet up on the couch and laid her head on his shoulder.

              He looked down at her. He liked this small show of affection. "I just assumed you'd done this time travel stuff before."

              "It's not that. I've witnessed this planet’s past lots of times, but it's always been from the safety of a cloaked ship. And it's not the first time I've lived on other worlds, but this time I'm not in control and
that
scares me."

              Lawrence stroked the back of her head. "Walking around in anybodies past is enough to unnerve you."

              She raised her head. "At least it's your past and your planet. You're not trapped on an alien world. Larry, I know I seem to fit in here. I'm supposed to, but my family's countless light-years away. I want to go home. They're hurt and I need to be with them. Can you understand that?"

              "Maggie, I..."

              She continued. "I don't want it to end like this..."

              Their eyes were fixed on each other. He drew close and kissed her. The tip of his tongue touched her lips. She drew back from him. Kissing wasn't something her kind did to show affection. French kissing was definitely something that needed work.

              She put her head back on his shoulder. "I know this sounds selfish, but I'm glad you're here." She rose up and looked at him. "Don't get me wrong. If I could undo it I would. But..."

              "I know what you're trying to say. Don't worry about it. It's not all your doing. You were right. I didn't have to follow you."

              "There's something else... Something you need to know." She was speaking from her heart, not her head. What she was about to say could destroy her in a lot of ways, but she suddenly felt it was time to do something about it. Now, she had to find words he'd understand. "Larry, I think I've..." John and Erma entered the room. She stopped mid sentence and looked their way.

              Lawrence still watched her. "What?"

              She looked back at him. "Ah, we'll talk about it later." She looked at John. "How is he?" She swung her feet off the couch.

              "Not too good", John answered. "You folks known the McKenlys long?"

              "No", Lawrence said. "They had some trouble on the road. We helped 'em. They gave us a ride, that's all."

              "Why do you ask", Margaret asked.

              John hesitated, looked at his wife, then back to their guest. "There's a good chance their father won't make it through the night. His skull's fractured. He's broken up inside. There's very little I can do. Martin's a strong man, that’s what got him here, but it's just a matter of time."

              "They lost their mother two years ago", Erma added. "Now it looks like their father too. It would make it easier if there were someone... for a little while."

              Margaret didn't understand. There was a whole town here. "What about the people here. Aren't they part of all this? Can't they help?"

              John lived in the valley, but unlike most of the others, he had compassion for the mountain families. "The people from the valley don't have much to do with the ones from up there."

              "In the last few months all the other mountain families have sold out and moved off", Erma said. "Those kids gonna be pretty much on their own.”

              Margaret looked at Lawrence. This was not a decision they could make lightly. She could tell he wanted to help and he was the one who had the most to lose. If anything happened that affected his personal history he could cease to exist and all memory of his life would disappear with him. On the other hand, it could also save him from all of this by putting him in a different place, and a different time, to prevent their meeting.

              Lawrence was only thinking along the lines of extinction. To his knowledge no one in his family had ever had anything to do with Wyoming. Margaret nodded her willingness.

He turned to the Cassidy’s. "Well, we're just passing through, but if the kids'll let us, we'd be willing to stay for a few days."

              Erma was pleased. "That's real nice of you folks. I'm Erma Cassidy; this is my husband, John."

              Lawrence did the formal introductions, "Lawrence and Margaret Casey."

Margaret cut her eyes in his direction. That was the second time he'd introduced them as man and wife. She looked back at Erma. "What do you want, a boy or a girl?"

Margaret had picked up the faint, fetal heartbeat when she was close to Erma in Sarah's room. What she hadn't figured on was Erma hadn't mentioned it to John yet.

Margaret caught her mistake by the look on Erma's face and covered herself. "That is, when you decide to have children."

              Erma thought it was an off the wall question for a stranger to ask. "We don't care, as long as they're healthy? Do you have any children?"

              Lawrence took over. "No, not yet," what brought all that on, he thought?

              Erma figured it was time for everyone to turn in. "Well, come on with me. You folks must be tired. I've got a room for you."

              Lawrence and Margaret got up. "I need to get our things out of the wagon", Margaret said.

              Erma looked back. "I've already put them in the room for you."

              Lawrence and Margaret both registered the same thought. She must not have opened the bag or they'd be answering a lot more questions.

              They said their goodnights to John and followed Erma. She opened the door to the room next to the washroom. The lamp on the table was already lit. It afforded just enough light to get around. The small wood heater in the corner had begun to warn the room.

              Erma stepped back so they could enter. "You two get some rest. I'll come get you if anything happens. Otherwise, we'll see you folks at breakfast."

              Margaret entered the room. Lawrence thanked Erma for their hospitality, then followed Margaret in and closed the door.

              Margaret walked over and sat on the bed. Lawrence leaned back against the door. She was about to pick up where she left off. He apparently already considered them man and wife.

              Lawrence pushed off the door. "I know what you’re thinking." He started for the bed. "I just thought it would raise fewer questions if they thought we were a couple."

              That wasn't exactly what she wanted to hear. Maybe this wasn't the right time, she thought. She had to be sure how he felt. She'd wait. "Which side do you want?"

              "What?" He sat beside her.

              "Which side of the bed?"

              "I don't care. Maybe this isn’t such a good idea."

              "Sharing the bed?"

              "Not the bed. You said yourself; these guys chasing you might kill anyone they see as a threat." He started pulling off his boots, "Seems to me, we just put this whole town in danger. Not to mention those kids."

              She followed his lead with the clothes. "They'll kill anyone or anything that gets in the way." She stood up and started loosing her pants.

              He watched her. "How far, you gonna go?"

              She looked back at him, and then realized he was talking about her clothes, "All of them, unless that bothers you."

              "No. Do whatever makes you comfortable."

              She continued disrobing. "My only reason for coming here at all was to get horses and supplies."

              He stood, dropped his pants and stepped out of them. He started unbuttoning his shirt and paused as she stepped out of her Long Johns. God, she was so beautiful despite her back and in his mind that just made her unique.

              "There're some caves northeast of here", she said, turning back the comforter. "They're perfect and there's no one to get hurt." She slipped into bed and moved over for him.

              He started to unbutton the Long Johns, then decided against it. He was having enough trouble controlling his manhood as it was.

              She noticed. "You can take 'em off if you want to. I'm not gonna bite you. It's actually better for me. It generates more body heat between us.

              It generated a lot more than body heat, but what the hell. He slipped out of the top half, and then pushed down the bottoms. He sat on the side of the bed and pulled his feet out. He slipped under the covers and settled back on the pillow. "What about the kids?"

              "Something I hadn't planned on. I guess we're gonna have to see how it plays out. Besides, my people may show up first."

              They were both quiet for a moment and the thought of rolling over and putting his arms around her really appealed to him. The thought of having them pulled out of his shoulders didn't.

              Her body was cramping. It was all she could do to keep from screaming.

              He broke the silence. "You bring any of those gold coins with you?"