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

could be in Scotland, and he could be in Virginia, and it happens just like that,” Cullen said with a snap of his fingers.

“But it’s the health care system that keeps us from coming back to this time. We don’t have to worry about our health, and at our age, that’s important. Maybe in the next few years, we can start visiting the family regularly.”

Sean straightened, his eyes darkening as he regarded Cullen, reminding Elliott of how Kit’s eyes betrayed her emotions, too. “How can ye do that? I thought each brooch had a particular purpose.”

“We’re hoping to find a portal that allows us to go back and forth easily.”

“How’s that possible.”

Elliott hissed an annoyed breath. Cullen was talking too much, and it was time for Elliott to cut him off. Sean might be a MacKlenna, but he didn’t need to know any more about the brooches than he already did. He might inadvertently say or do something to alert unknown forces that would have ramifications in the future.

“We’re hoping for enlightenment,” Elliott said.

Sean turned up his glass and finished his drink. “I hope ye don’t plan to twist some arms while ye’re here to get other family members to travel with ye. I’d hate to lose anyone else to the future.”

Elliott finished his drink, too, and stood. “If we don’t get a telegram off to the Montgomery children, Kit and Cullen won’t be able to see their families. Why don’t we go to the house and change for dinner?” He took Sean’s empty glass. “I’ll put these away. Ye two go on up to the house, and I’ll be right behind ye.”

He caught Cullen’s eye and signaled with a nod that Cullen understood. “We can ride double on my horse and leave Elliott to stroll to the mansion at his leisure. Kit wants to see yer stallions, and she’d prefer to take the tour with ye instead of yer manager.”

Sean turned to Elliott. “Ye can ride with Cullen, and I’ll walk.”

“No, ye go. I want to explore the farm as it is now.” What Elliott wanted to do was take pictures of the cabin and the grounds. It could wait until morning, but if he’d learned anything during his travels, it was not to put anything off. The opportunity might not come again.

As soon as Cullen and Sean were out of sight, Elliott walked the perimeter, taking pictures from every angle and on all four sides, paying particular attention to the foundation. If there was anything below the structure, he couldn’t find it now, but David could use a metal detector and discover any crevices, caves, or tunnels beneath the cabin.

After taking all the pictures he wanted of the premises, he walked each side, one foot right in front of the other, counting his steps, and came up with a rough measurement of thirty by twenty. Then he opened the cabin door, stood on the threshold, and did a visual inspection of the shadowed cabin. The logs on the back wall appeared to match those on the outside, so it was unlikely there was a false wall. He walked the interior just as he did outside and arrived at nearly the same measurements.

So, where did Erik go?

Elliott lit a lantern and carried it over to the stone fireplace that spanned nearly half the wall’s width and rose to the seven-foot ceiling.

I heard a scraping sound…

If a portion of the fireplace swung open into the room, it could lead to a tunnel. But why would Erik have to use a tunnel? He had a brooch that could take him anywhere. And the bigger question…why hadn’t Erik mentioned it?

The same reason I didn’t explain everything to Sean.

If the fireplace held a secret, it would have to wait till later. He wished David and Kenzie had come along. On the other hand, while Meredith wasn’t as good at solving riddles and puzzles, she always had insights into situations that often never occurred to him.

He’d bring her back here tomorrow, tell her what he knew, and let her toss out ideas. Maybe together they could solve the mystery. If not, it would have to wait until they returned home.

32

The Badlands (1885)—Ensley

The weather changed drastically during Ensley and TR’s hard ride to Medora. By midafternoon she was soaked with sweat, and the chills set in. Before her teeth started chattering, she needed to warm up.

“I have to stop and unpack the buffalo robe I borrowed.”

TR reined in his horse. “I didn’t know you did.”

“Mrs. Sewall said you wouldn’t mind. I’ve gotten chilled, and I don’t want to get sick.” She pulled up beside him and dismounted.

“You seem to be grimacing a lot. Is it from the cold, or are you in pain?”

“It’s my hip.” She untied the buffalo robe from the back of the saddle. “I injured it years ago after being thrown by a bull who didn’t want me on his back.”

“A bull?”

“I know,” she said, slipping her arms into the warm robe. “It was dumb.”

“You’re lucky you didn’t break any bones.”

She mounted up again. “Oh, I did—hip, arm, wrist, ankle, leg—and now I can forecast the weather. Some believe the change in barometric pressure before it rains changes the pressure inside your joints. But”—she squeezed her legs, urging Tesoro forward—“studies show there’s no significant increase in pain. I don’t believe it, though. My wrist always hurts before a rainstorm.”

“Hippocrates discussed the effects of wind and rain on chronic disease in his book On Airs, Waters, and Places.”

“Well, there you go. Who am I to doubt Hippocrates?” She drank from her canteen before splitting the last biscuit with TR.

He gobbled his share up in two bites. “What do you do for the pain?”

“I stretch and try to keep my hip loose, but that’s hard to do when I’m riding for several hours. But,” she said with a grin, “I can do anything and make it through any day, as long as I know a steamy bath is waiting