The Sunstone Brooch : Time Travel Romance Katherine Logan (no david read aloud TXT) 📖

it’s what ye feel compelled to do, and I want to stay as well, but we have to keep this quiet. We can’t tell anyone.”

All these damn rules were too much to handle. She was close to screaming again but forced herself to moderate her voice. “Why the hell not?”

“Think about it. Sten knew where James Cullen was, which means he must have come from the future and brought men with him. There might be others looking for him. We’re all in danger here.”

“Oh, no,” she groaned. “That means Ensley and the guys are, too.” Her panic and fear, after a momentary reprieve, spiked again. She reached for her phone, which of course, she didn’t have. “We have to get word to them.”

Elliott seemed to puzzle through that suggestion while pinching his fingers against his thumb and rolling them as if he held a cigar. And then he stilled his hand. “I can send a telegram to Ensley in care of Mr. Roosevelt, letting her know Tavis is on his way, and she’s to leave with him immediately.”

“Maybe Tavis, Remy, and Austin aren’t even there yet. I mean, Paul left before we did, and he just arrived. Or did he just arrive here?”

“He just came through the fog.”

“The brooches have even less control than we thought. Three different brooches carried travelers to different locations within hours of each other, but they arrived days apart. I wonder if we’ll ever understand them.”

“Since the ruby carried Kit off that ship and brought her to the farm, I’ve spent decades trying to work out their riddle. I’ve made notes of successes and failures. I struggle with how to be fair, how to hurt others less, and how to love ye more. I want to find meaning in all this, Meredith, but it seems the more I know, the less I know.”

“Maybe your riddle is unsolvable.” She moved to get up, but Elliott stood first and helped her to her feet, which wasn’t easy considering the corset and layers of cotton and silk. It was comforting to feel the strength in his hand, his arms, and she thought she’d kiss him, but there was still too much tumult rampaging through her.

Plus, she had yet to find her balance with him. That would come. It always did, but in the meantime, she considered his dilemma for a moment and then said, “Until we have possession of twelve brooches and can unlock the door and its secrets, we won’t be able to solve your riddle. I don’t think anyone has ever mentioned whether Kit’s father knew about the brooch.”

“He knew it was a wedding gift, but not about the magic,” Elliott said. “But speaking of the captain, he’s not well.”

“I think he’s dying. As soon as Kit saw him, she turned white. I’m afraid he might not survive this visit.”

A veil seemed to cover Elliott’s eyes for a moment and then cleared. “From the look of Captain McCabe, he probably didn’t think he’d survive the trip. His health might cause a problem for Kit and Cullen.”

“Other than losing a beloved family member?”

“Aye. As soon as James Cullen wakes up, we need to return home, but Kit won’t want to leave her father.”

“Kit has said several times that she and Cullen might return to Napa, but the longer they stayed in the future, the less likely it seemed. Cullen won’t decide to stay here without weeks of deliberation and consultation with Braham.”

Meredith stepped up on the cabin’s porch, steeling herself for what was to come, but wanted to settle Kit in her mind first. Once Meredith walked through that door, she wouldn’t be able to focus on anyone or anything but her son.

“This riddle is easier to solve,” she said. “Send the telegram and tell Ensley that Tavis is to bring her to Kentucky. That will give Kit and Cullen extra time to make a decision, and they should know more after Emily examines the captain. If modern medicine can help him, Kit will want to take him to the future. If his illness has progressed too far and he can’t recover, then she’ll want to stay until he passes.”

“Then we’ll wait for Emily’s prognosis before I send the telegram.”

The shutter on the window that opened onto the porch cracked open, and Paul peeked out. When Elliott waved, Paul slid back the bolt and opened the door. Hot air scented with cedar and eucalyptus blasted Meredith in the face.

Paul stared hard at her. “You understand what’s happening here?”

She nodded. “I do.” Then she brushed past him and swam through the thick, hot air toward the bed. “It’s like a sauna in here.”

“Erik said the heat and humidity keep the cloak moist, which helps the healing.”

“How do you know it’s James Cullen?” she asked.

“Erik described the birthmark on his foot,” Elliott said.

She sat in the chair next to the bed. “Has he moved? Groaned? Made any sound at all?”

“Nothing,” Paul said.

“What about his kidneys? Shouldn’t he have a catheter?”

“I think he should have that and much more, but the Viking said he didn’t need anything except the heat, humidity, and the red cloak.”

“Do you want to take a break? I can sit with him,” she said.

Paul shook his head. “I can easily stay awake for several days. After that, if JC isn’t awake, I’ll need to rest. But until then, I have plenty to do.”

She noticed paper scattered across the table. “What are you working on?”

“I’m writing pseudo code on paper. I’ll convert it later to programming language syntax.”

“It looks like Greek,” Meredith said.

“I read Greek, and it’s quite different.”

She reached out to touch James Cullen, but Paul snatched her hand back. “If you can’t abide by the rules, you’ll have to leave.”

Meredith hissed at him. “This is your goddamn fault. If you hadn’t screwed up in Asia, this never would have happened.”

“JC left town without telling anyone where he was going, including me,” Paul said. “By the time I arrived in Thailand, he’d covered his tracks, and