Yellowstone Romance Series - Bundle (# 2-5) (24 page)

“Tell me what you’ve done with my daughter,” he said in the same eerily calm voice as before.

“She told me she was going out collecting roots,” Chase said, rubbing the back of his neck, still feeling the bite of the other man’s fingers.  ”I’ve been asleep all morning.”

“Then answer this: Who are you, and more important, why are you sleeping in her bed?” His eyes seemed to darken even more. Chase held up his hands and shook his head.

“Hold on, man, this isn’t what you think. I haven’t done anything inappropriate.”
Not that you haven’t wanted to, Russell.

“Explain yourself.”

“Sarah nursed me back to health several weeks ago.”

The dark eyes looked him up and down. “You look healthy now. Why are you still here?”

“Because I . . . I don’t know where else to go.” The deep frown on the man’s face was unnerving.

“Daniel, I could use some help out here. Is Sarah . . .? Oh!” A petite blonde materialized in the doorway. She stopped in her tracks. Her eyes widened in surprise and disbelief, darting between him and the imposing man who still had his knife pointed at him.

Chase could only stare at the woman. There was no question this was Sarah’s mother. They had the same sparkling blue eyes.

“Who . . . who are you?” She seemed to be at a loss for words. At least she wasn’t attacking him with a knife.

Chase glanced at the man in front of him before turning his attention to the woman. “My name is Chase Russell. I was trying to explain to your husband that this isn’t what it looks like.”

She shot him an odd look. Her eyes lingered on his head, then moved to the tattoo on his naked chest.
She knows! She can tell you don’t belong here, Russell.
He smiled. The day had arrived when he would finally get some answers.

Chapter 25

“Mrs. Osborne?” Chase directed his question at the blonde.

“Aimee,” the woman corrected him, nodding.

Chase’s eyes darted back to the man before addressing the woman again. “I need to talk to you.”

“Why don’t we all go out front,” she said, looking pointedly at her husband. He didn’t move. His scowl was still directed at Chase. “Daniel? Let’s hear what this young man has to say.”

Reluctantly, the scowling man lowered his weapon, and motioned with his arm for Chase to move out of the room. Chase grabbed his shirt off the floor where he’d dropped it the night before, and led the way. He stood by the main table and turned to face Sarah’s parents. This was worse than staring down a village of Blackfoot. He took a deep calming breath, rubbing the back of his neck again, and pulled the shirt on over his head.

Aimee Osborne motioned for him to sit. Her husband stood stoically, his impenetrable dark eyes staring holes into him. Aimee nudged him in the arm, indicating for him to sit down, too, and she took a seat across from Chase.

“Okay, Chase Russell. Let’s hear your story,” Aimee said, resting her arms on the table. She leaned forward. Her stare was unwavering. Chase caught the split second perplexed look her husband shot her when she spoke. Her voice, her speaking mannerism, had changed. While her few words from a moment ago were spoken in the almost formal way he’d become accustomed to hearing from Sarah, now she sounded different. Her manner of speech was modern. He cleared his throat.

“Some Indians brought me here about a month ago. Apparently I was hypothermic.” He paused for a reaction. Her facial features remained unchanged, but she had obviously understood his word. Sarah had never used the word
hypothermic
. She’d called it
exposure
.

“Sarah took care of me. She’s been . . . great.”

“I ask again, why are you still here after all this time?” Daniel Osborne interrupted.  He slammed his open palm on the table with a loud crack. Aimee’s hand reached out to cover her husband’s.

“Let him speak, Daniel,” she said softly. She seemed to be the only one in the room whose nerves weren’t on edge.

Chase met the older man’s stare.  He sure as hell didn’t want to antagonize Sarah’s father, but he wasn’t going to cower, either. “I can’t seem to find my way home,” he answered contritely, and his eyes moved back to Aimee, giving her a meaningful look. “One minute I’m pass . . . asleep, the next, I . . .” He couldn’t finish.

The cabin door flew open, and Sarah stormed in. All eyes at the table darted to her. She shot hasty looks at her parents, before her eyes lingered on him. Her face was flushed, and her chest heaved as if she’d been running. The only sound in the cabin was Grizzly’s panting and enthusiastic tail thumping against furniture as the big dog rushed through the door to greet the new arrivals.

“Mama . . . Papa . . . you’re home.”  She didn’t sound happy to see her parents. Her voice was tense, her words clipped.

Chase almost laughed out loud at her obvious statement.  He gripped the table to keep from pulling her into his arms.

Aimee smiled at her daughter, then glanced towards her husband. Daniel’s face turned murderous. He wouldn’t harm his own daughter, would he?

“Sarah, I see you stayed busy while we were gone,” Aimee remarked, her eyebrows raised. Daniel’s body nearly catapulted out of his seat, the chair toppling with a loud thud to the floor. He raked a hand through his hair. His lips were drawn in a tight line, and the muscles in his jaw clenched and unclenched. His dark eyed fell on his daughter. His features softened slightly, but only for a moment.

“Walk with me outside,
bai’de
.”

 Without waiting for her, the big man left the cabin. Sarah darted a nervous glance at her mother. She forced a smile, her wide eyes moving to Chase, where they lingered. She swallowed repeatedly, and her teeth raked along her lower lip.

It’s okay, Angel. I can handle this.
He wanted to speak to her, but he needed to get a better feel for the situation first. He hoped his reassuring smile communicated that to her. She nodded slightly, then turned and followed her father out the door.

Chase expelled a deep breath, then turned his attention back to the petite woman facing him across the table. She folded her hands in front of her, and stared directly at him.

“Okay, Chase. Let’s not beat around the bush. What year are you from, and how did you get here?”

Chase cocked an eyebrow. He smiled. “The year is 2035. I was hoping you could fill me in on the how,” he said slowly. His heart sped up. All these weeks, he’d lived with the hope that his hunch was correct, that Sarah’s mother had time traveled, too. His chest felt much lighter all of a sudden, knowing he’d been right.

Aimee’s eyes narrowed, a perplexed look on her face. “You don’t know how you time traveled?”

His smile faltered. “Not a clue. Some buddies and I hiked down into the Yellowstone Canyon, and--”

“They allow that in 2035?” she interrupted.

“Well . . . no, not exactly.” He rubbed the back of his neck. A knowing smile lit up her face. Her blue eyes sparkled.
So like Sarah
. . . Chase cleared his throat. “We, ah, got to drinking too much, and I must have passed out. I woke up the next morning by the river, and everyone was gone. When I climbed back out of the canyon, everything was changed . . . different. All signs of civilization were gone. I got caught in a storm, and some Indians must have found me.” He shrugged.

He could see her mind spinning. “How did you know I wasn’t from this time?” she asked.

“I guessed. Sarah mentioned some stories you used to tell her, and it became pretty obvious to me.” He paused, leaned forward over the table, and asked the question most on his mind. “Is there a way for me to get back home?”

Aimee Osborne searched his face. What was she thinking? She was as unreadable as her husband.

“Yes, and no,” she finally said.

“What does that mean?”  His stomach dropped. The reality of his situation hit him again full force, and his chest tightened. He watched her tap the tips of her fingers on the surface of the table.

“You really have no idea how you came here? Do you remember touching anything, a strange object?” Her forehead wrinkled. Apparently, something wasn’t making sense to her. Did she know how she had traveled back in time?

“No, nothing.” He shook his head, grinding his teeth in frustration.  “I don’t remember anything about that night. How is this time traveling even possible?” He ran his hand over his face, and rubbed at his temples. His headache from earlier was back, stronger than ever.

“I’m only familiar with an object that looks like a snake head that makes time travel possible. I have no explanation how it works.”

“So where is this object?” At least it was a start. She did know how it was possible.

“Daniel and I got rid of it twenty-five years ago,” she said softly.

Chase groaned.

*****

“Walk with me,
bai’de
.”

Sarah’s heart rate increased. Her father didn’t need to raise his voice in anger. His softly spoken words had a greater effect than any shouting or yelling ever could.

She swallowed, even though her mouth was completely dry. Her heart beat drummed in her ears. Sarah nodded, and they walked side by side through the trees, following a familiar trail up the gentle slope of the hills behind their home. Her apprehension increased. She rubbed her sweaty palms together. Her father hadn’t said a word. She glanced over at him. He walked erect, his eyes focused straight ahead.

“You are angry with me?” she asked tentatively, unable to bear his silence any longer.

He stopped abruptly, and faced her.

“We return from rendezvous to find a strange man sleeping in your bed. You tell me what emotion I should be feeling.” He swept his hand in front of him, and pointed towards the cabin. His brows drew together, and he leaned towards her.

Sarah’s chin dropped to her chest. She wished he’d yell, or lash out at her in anger. His stoic way was unbearable.

“He was in need of help, Papa. I couldn’t just turn him away. He was near death when three Absarokas brought him here.” She blinked away the tears in her eyes. She didn’t want to appear weak in her father’s eyes.

“He is well now. Why is he still here?”

Sarah took a deep breath. “He…he had no place to go.” She laughed nervously. “He thinks he’s from another time, that something unexplainable brought him here.” Sarah watched her father’s expression change. His jaw clenched visibly, and something changed in his eyes. He knew! Was Chase correct all along about his belief that her mother was from the future?

Sarah cocked her head. It was her turn to stare hard at her father. “He says Mama is from the future,” she said slowly, watching him closely. Her father ran his hand through his hair, a sure sign that he was frustrated about something. “It is true, isn’t it?” Her voice raised, and her eyes widened. Why had no one ever mentioned this before? What other secrets did her parents keep? “Do my brothers know this?” she nearly shouted at him.

He inhaled deeply.  Her strong and always self-assured father looked tired all of a sudden. He half-closed his eyes, as if something pained him. “Your mother abandoned her former life to live here with me. We didn’t think it was something our children needed to know. It is something we chose to bury.”

“How did she get here?” Sarah couldn’t believe what she was hearing. Chase had been correct all along.  Her heart pounded up into her throat. She took a step forward to steady herself. Her head whirled so fast, she thought she might lose her balance. Nothing made sense any more.

“Perhaps we should speak of this in your mother’s presence,” he said somberly. Sarah whirled around and ran back down the trail. She didn’t stop running until she reached the cabin. Wiping at her wet face, she threw open the door. Chase and her mother still sat at the table, apparently deep in conversation.

“Why didn’t you ever tell us you come from the future?” Sarah glared at her mother. Her vision blurred, and she blinked impatiently. Chase stood and headed her way. She turned on him, her hands on her hips. “Are you happy now? Will you finally get to go home?” 

His hands reached out and he gently took hold of her arms, and drew her into an embrace. Sarah stood stiffly in his arms before giving in. She leaned into him, sobbing uncontrollably. His hands stroked her back, his fingers massaging her tense muscles.

“Why don’t you two come sit down before your father walks in.” Her mother’s gentle words barely reached her ears. Chase pulled back. He smiled down reassuringly at her, and led her to the table. Sarah wiped her face on her shirt sleeve, and sniffed. She sat when Chase offered her a chair, and met her mother’s eyes.

“What do you want to know, Sarah?” Her mother reached a hand across the table, and took hold of hers, squeezing gently. Sarah wanted to be angry, but the look of sadness and anguish in her mother’s usually sparkling eyes unsettled her.

“Did you come here, and couldn’t return?” Sarah asked slowly. She heard the cabin door creak open and close behind her. Her father did not come to the table. She merely felt his presence, and Chase’s glance over his shoulder told her he was watching them intently.

Sarah’s mother took a deep breath, and her eyes lifted to look past Sarah as well. Then her gaze settled on her again.

“Twenty five years ago, your grandfather sent me here from the year 2010. His is a long story, and one I’ll save for another time. He offered me a chance to come here to this time, because I loved these mountains in my own time. I met your father, and we fell in love.” Her eyes sought her husband’s before she continued.  “I could have returned home, but I chose to stay with him. I knew I was meant to be here.” She paused, an unsure smile on her face. She glanced first at Sarah, then at Chase. “The device that made all this possible caused your grandfather a lot of anguish. Before he died, he wanted it destroyed. Daniel and I agreed. I buried my past life. There was no reason to tell you or your brothers. We never expected . . . this to happen.” She looked at Chase.