Kate bought their tickets online, insisting on using her own credit card to pay for them in gratitude for them “going above and beyond the call of duty.” She drove them to the Amtrak station early the next morning, which was nice, except as was usual for Kate, she waited until the last possible minute to leave, causing Abby to sweat bullets about getting there in time.
There was no time for lengthy goodbyes, so they said them while hurrying up the sidewalk to the door of the station.
“Sorry,” Kate said. “I promise to turn over a new leaf and be early for everything this fall.”
“We’ll be fine.” They stopped at the station door and Abby pulled her into a bear hug. “But what about you, roomie?”
“I’ll be all right. I’ll spend a little more time with Gramps and Grams and then head on back home to Springfield this afternoon. I’ll start on the mural the minute Mom and Dad leave on their trip.”
“I’m sure it will be awesome. But don’t get carried away on the mural and forget to come back to college.”
Kate squeezed Abby back. “Right. 205b Whitaker Hall. Two weeks from now.”
John and Merri said quick goodbyes, and they left Kate and went into the station. In less than three minutes the train arrived and they boarded, Abby and John settling into a seat facing Merri. The train pulled out of the station, and they were on their way to Alton.
“There’s Kate,” Merri said, waving furiously out the window.
“Do you think she’ll really be all right?” John asked.
“Kate’s strong. I know she’ll survive. You wouldn’t happen to know any good guys we could introduce her to, do you?”
“As a matter of fact, I was thinking about a friend who might suit her. I’ll bring him when I come to visit you at your college.”
“You will?”
John pulled her head against his shoulder. “Of course, girlie,” he said, kissing her temple. “We’ll only be about forty-five minutes away from each other.”
Merri cleared her throat. “Uh. Just a reminder that I’m here, in case you plan on starting in on the kissy-face stuff.”
“We’ll restrain ourselves, kiddo,” Abby said.
John pulled his laptop out of his backpack. When he clicked the on button the computer made its usual whirring sound. The monitor even flickered encouragingly. But then it lit up with what Timmy Tech called the blue screen of death. Windows wouldn’t even load.
“That stinks,” Abby said. “Try rebooting.”
John tried three times, and three times got the same beautiful but deadly screen.
“Timmy can fix it, right?” Merri said.
“Sure. He’ll reformat the hard drive and reinstall Windows. Which will wipe out any files I had on this thing. Or he’ll tell me not to waste my time with all that and to get a new laptop. And then he can put Beautiful Houses back on it. From your computer, like he did before.”
“Actually, I don’t know if that’s a good idea,” Abby said. “We almost lost the laptop, after all. If Mr. Carwell hadn’t been such an honest man, or if we had been just a little later reaching Ryan….Well, who knows what would have happened to the program.”
“So that’s the end of it then?” John said. “No more time-surfing?”
“You can always come and time-surf at my house,” Merri said. “That is, if it lets us.”
John yawned and slouched into his seat farther.
“We are still the three Musketeers, right?”
He kicked playfully at Merri’s sneaker. “You bet. One for all and all for one.”
Merri smiled contentedly and then looked out the window.
Abby looked too and saw that they had left the city behind. The grays and tans of tall buildings had given way to the greens of corn and soybeans. She realized that she would miss the country, and Patty Ann and her hills too, when she went back to college. And Brother Greenfield for sure. Maybe she’d go back with Kate and her grandparents.
Abby smiled at Merri. “We’ve gone from one end of the state to the other, Merri. Which one do you prefer?”
“I hated it when Mom took me away from Chicago.” She closed her eyes and settled down into her seat with a tiny smile on her lips. “But if you must know, I’m kind of anxious to get back to Miles Station.”
After only a minute or two, Merri began snoring softly. The rocking motion of the train made Abby sleepy too. She hadn’t slept well at Kate’s grandparents. That, together with the excitement of the past few days, left her feeling groggy and muddle-headed.
John bent down, untied his sneakers, and began removing the laces. Abby started to ask him what on earth he was doing, but after pointing to Merri, he put his finger to his lips in the universal shush sign. “Let her sleep,” he whispered.
He didn’t say anything more, just began weaving and knotting the two shoelaces together. She watched his hands work surely and gracefully to make an intricate pattern that looked a little like the macramé plant hangers that held her aunt’s potted ferns.
Seeing her interest, he grinned and whispered, “I learned it at Bible camp when I was twelve.”
“But what is it?” she whispered.
“Just be patient.” After he had formed a plaited cord about six inches long, he dug into his pocket and took out something, which he kept hidden in his hand.
“Turn away for a minute, Abby.”
She looked out the window again but didn’t notice the scenery. All she could see was the sparkle in John’s eyes and his lips turned up in a grin.
After a while he whispered, “Okay, you can look.”
When she turned back, he took her hand in his and wrapped the plaited cord around her wrist. He tied the remaining ends into a bow and then turned the makeshift bracelet a bit so she could see that he had, somehow, woven a slot that held a penny. She lifted her wrist to study his handiwork closer.
“It’s not a Lady Liberty penny,” he said. “Just a plain old Lincoln Head. But it’s my lucky penny. I’ve been carrying that in my pocket since my dad gave it to me when I was in second grade. Did you notice the date?”
Abby looked closer and saw that the penny had been minted the year John was born. How perfect, she thought. So adorable. So thoughtful. She smiled and reached up to kiss his cheek, but he pulled away before she could plant one there.
“I just realized this could be taken the wrong way,” John said, his face gone serious.
Abby had thought he meant it like the promise rings some guys gave their girlfriends. She felt her heart drop. Maybe she had been reading him all wrong. Maybe he meant it like the friendship bracelets middle school girls gave each other.
“Uh…well.” She found she couldn’t think of a single thing to say that wouldn’t come out sounding pathetic.
“I mean I’m not giving it to you the way John Granger did to Ned’s mother.”
“You’re not?” Abby said, holding back a grin.
“I wouldn’t want you to ever think that I thought of you as my chattel or anything.”
Abby laughed in relief and reached again to kiss him on the cheek.
Not satisfied with that, he held her face to his and kissed her lips. Thoroughly. Expertly. Then pulling away, he looked into her eyes as if willing her to see into his heart. “I love you, Abby Thomas. And I’d like you to meet my parents. Will you let me take you to them tonight?”
She smiled and kissed him again. “I love you back, John Roberts, and I’d love to meet them.” Still smiling, she settled her head into the perfect curve of his shoulder and let the motion of the moving train lull her to sleep.
And so ends the History Mystery Trilogy. One reviewer said about Every Hill and Mountain…
Five Stars! Was Left Begging For More! May 15, 2013 “I was torn between reading further to see what was going to happen and slowing my reading down because I didn't want to let go of the "friends" I was looking in on. I truly hope the author writes additional volumes."
Well, good news! The adventure lives on!
Fast-forward fifteen years and Merrideth Randall, the troubled pre-teen of the trilogy, is now a history professor at McKendree College. At least, that’s her day job. But after hours she turns to her first love, historical research. And she has a tool other historians can only dreams of—a computer program that rewinds time for a first-hand look at the past!
(book 1)
Professor Merrideth Randall has a tool that other historians can only dream of—computer software that virtually rewinds time!
It comes in handy for historical research and for her sideline genealogy business. When her colleague physics professor Brett Garrison asks for help with his family tree she can’t resist, even though he’s far too attractive for her peace of mind. And amazingly, he seems to be pursuing her, despite the fact that everyone knows dating a co-worker is career suicide.
Using her software, Merrideth gets a first-hand look at Brett’s ancestors, the courageous pioneers of the Illinois Country who withstood Indian attacks, hardship, and loneliness to settle there in the 1780s. One of the settlers is James Garretson, who risked his life to take the Gospel to the very tribe that wreaked havoc on his family. Merrideth is amazed that he could forgive a crime so huge.
She would love to tell Brett that he is descended from heroes, and that he inherited his black hair and green eyes from James Garretson. But she is determined to safeguard her program, and discretion is not Brett’s strong suit. She also has secrets about herself that she’d just as soon he didn’t find out either.
One virtue Brett does have is patience, and he’s quite willing to wait for Merrideth to figure things out.
WHAT READERS ARE SAYING…
“Love, love, love these stories!” (Dale Stanley)
“So much great and terrible history... well-woven into the story!!!” (Nicole)
“Love the way history comes alive so that you are inside the
minds of historical characters, living their experiences and
feelings as if they were your own. Wow! Connections. These books
are awesome.” (Lyndo)
“I highly recommend this book as a light inspirational read. It is Christian without being preachy. It is suitable for teens and young adults, though I know it can be appreciated by adults of all ages. It is simply delightful. Don’t miss this one.” (Rev. Amy Bickel)
The Rewinding Time Series: Christian Time Travel with a unique twist—computer software that “time-surfs” through the history of old houses. It’s also squeaky-clean romance, guaranteed to be flinch-free. And the kind of historical fiction you like to read—believable!