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

protect it, and Erik would have watched over her. If JC traveled with it, the guardian would have gone, too.”

“Wait a minute. If the guardians have brooches, then that increases the number to more than twenty-five.” JL gave Tavis a stern look. “Do you or did you have a brooch of your own?”

Tavis glanced at Elliott, and Elliott heard his unasked question. “Go ahead, lad. Tell them what ye know.”

“Erik handles”—Tavis made air quotes—“transportation. He knows when a brooch is activated, and he responds accordingly.”

“So Erik goes and gets the guardian of the activated brooch?” JL asked.

“My job was pretty easy.”

“Easy?” Kit asked. “My brooch was in the same box with the amber, amethyst, and topaz. You’re too young to have gone back with me, but whoever did, didn’t help me much. I almost drowned in the Kansas River and was attacked by four men.”

“My grandfather almost quit when you jumped into the Kansas River to save that child,” Tavis said.

Kit’s jaw dropped. “Seriously? What about when those men attacked us? Where was he then?”

“He didn’t say, but Kit, we aren’t allowed to interfere unless the brooch holder is facing imminent danger or possible death. My grandfather said Cullen had your rescue under control, and you were well equipped to handle the attackers.”

“If he had interfered,” she said testily, “I might have been able to save Cullen. But never mind, that’s water under the bridge.”

“Why do ye suppose James Cullen left clues?” Braham asked.

“Insurance,” David offered. “He was covering his bases in case he had problems with the brooch. He wanted us to know where he went.”

“If JC threw the brooch away, what will he do in the past?” Kenzie asked. “He can’t be sure the family will come after him within days or weeks. I mean, look at the Fontenots. They were in the past for almost a decade.”

“He’ll require plenty of money. Where will he get it?” Cullen asked.

There was silence for a moment, and then Braham laughed out loud. “He’ll go after my gold at MacKlenna Farm! That’s why the train faced south—toward the farm, which is south of Medora.”

“What years are we talking about?” Meredith asked.

“From 1884 until 1886,” Kenzie said.

“Sean MacKlenna, Kit’s uncle, died Christmas Eve 1885. James Cullen always wanted to go back and meet him,” Meredith said.

Braham stepped over to a framed original 1869 US map hanging on the wall. He pointed to the Dakotas then drew a roundabout line from there to Kentucky. “He could take a train from Medora to Bismarck, Fargo, Minneapolis, Milwaukee, Chicago, Cincinnati, Midway. Visit the farm, break into my casket, take a bag of gold, and then he and Ensley could go anywhere in the world.”

“It’s been two decades since David and I took that train out of Cincinnati en route to Washington to rescue Jack,” Charlotte said. “It was hot and dusty.”

David gave her a sly grin. “But ye never complained.”

“I didn’t want you to think I was a sissy.”

Kenzie laughed. “You? Never! You broke into a Confederate hospital and whisked Braham to safety to save his life. Plus, I bet you didn’t bat an eye when General Sheridan captured you. Nothin’ sissy about Dr. Charlotte Mallory.”

“Thank you, Kenzie. But you had it a lot worse than I did.”

She looked at Tavis. “Yeah, so where was my guardian?”

“I don’t know who he was, but I guess he saved you from receiving worse treatment when you were locked up in the London Cage, or maybe he was one of the men David recruited to help with the extraction.”

David pursed his lips. “I’ll be damned. I bet the private investigator I hired, Mr. Teasdel, was yer guardian. That son of a bitch.”

A quiet fell over the room, probably because everyone was reliving their moments in hell. And there wasn’t a person sitting around the table who hadn’t experienced at least one.

Remy entered the room and sat on the sofa across from the conference table, engrossed in something on his phone. Elliott nodded at his bodyguard, and Remy gave him a subtle “Okay” sign.

“We’ll use a two-prong approach,” David said. “Half the rescue team will go to Medora. The other half will go to MacKlenna Farm.”

“I want to go to the farm to visit my uncle before he dies,” Kit said.

“Meredith and I will go with ye and Cullen,” Elliott said. “If James Cullen goes to MacKlenna Farm, I want to be there.”

“I’ll go to the Dakotas,” Tavis said.

“I’d like to go with Tavis,” Remy said.

“If ye’re going with Tavis, then I’ll call Emily to see if she’d like to go. She can handle medical emergencies and maybe see her parents. They might like to come to Kentucky.”

“What a wonderful idea, Elliott,” Kit said. “Our son, James, could bring them to the farm. It would be wonderful to see him, and maybe the girls will come from the east coast. We could have a reunion.”

“Oh,” Charlotte groaned. “Remember what happened last time?”

“Don’t remind me,” Elliott said.

“Tavis, take Austin with you,” Pops said, and every head jerked in his direction, including Elliott’s.

Tavis shook his head. “He’ll refuse to go, and I’m not sure I’d blame him. It’s not the best place for him right now.”

“According to this article about Roosevelt, he went on a roundup in the spring of 1885. I agree with Tavis. Austin can’t manage that,” Kenzie said.

“The hell he can’t,” Pops said. “I don’t care if you have to kidnap him. He has to get out of that gym and face a challenge that has nothing to do with basketball.”

“Don’t push him, Pops,” JL said. “I talked to his surgeon this afternoon. They had hoped to fix his foot drop, but the odds aren’t in his favor, and he won’t take the risk. He’s more bummed now than he was already. An adventure like what David is proposing could break him.”

“Bullshit. You’ve indulged your son for too long. It’s time he deals with his shit.”

“Pops! We almost lost him in that accident.”

“And if you don’t take action