Julia landed in the launch room and fell into the nearest chair. The bright fluorescent lights assaulted her eyes, and she groaned. Her disoriented mind fought to remember something, but the details kept slipping away.
Carson stepped into view, but the rest of the room appeared mercifully empty. “How are you feeling?”
She pressed a palm into her forehead. “Like a sledgehammer hit me over the head.”
He smiled sheepishly. “Sorry, we had to pull you out quickly. You were changing the course of events you were sent to record.”
She catapulted out of her seat. “What?”
“The Time Tracking Department alerted me to… certain changes in the timeline.”
A flash of a man zipped through her mind. James. The name came to her, along with everything else. She swallowed against the swelling lump in her throat. “Oh, no. How much damage did I do?”
“Oddly enough, not much. A few people now exist who didn’t before, but you managed not to wipe anyone out of existence.”
She groaned in relief. “Well, that’s something.” But inside, her heart felt like it was cracking apart.
“Well, there is the matter of Lord Pendlebough. He appears to be going mad a little ahead of schedule, but that shouldn’t present much of a problem.”
She glanced up, startled. “What?”
“Your appearance seems to have pushed him over the edge, and he’s going downhill faster than expected. Don’t feel bad for the slime. That’s what happens when a man can’t keep it in his pants and develops a venereal disease.”
“Oh.” She hoped Patience wouldn’t suffer because of him.
Carson seemed to read her mind. “Apparently, he and his wife hadn’t shared a bed for years, since she seemed unable to conceive.” He smiled naughtily. “I’m more of a mind she didn’t want to have his child and took steps to stop it.”
“Wow.” She shook her head. “How did my mission go so wrong?”
“It’s not all your fault. The engineer realized his mistake almost as soon as you launched, but it was too late to do anything.”
“The thing is, the Earl of Correlton now has a wife we are not sure he had before.”
Those words shattered the breaking pieces of her heart into a thousand shards. “Really?” she said in a shaky voice.
His mouth curved in a crooked smile. “Yes. It’s weird, but we can’t tell how much his future has changed. Even the records from before your mission are surprisingly bare after the year 1812.”
She really didn’t want to talk about this now— and maybe never. “Hmm.”
He sighed. “You’re not getting it, are you?” Reaching down, he hoisted her up. “Get up. By all accounts, there’s a pining earl wishing for your return.”
Her mouth opened and closed, and she stared at Carson. She had to have misheard. There was no way back to James.
He tapped her on the nose. “You’re being obtuse. Your earl is waiting for you.”
She finally found her voice, and burgeoning hope built up in her. “You’re allowing me to go back?”
“Pretty much have to. You’re listed as his wife, not to mention the mother of his children, in the history books.”
His wife. Children. Those words never sounded better. But then her grin faded. “How about my family?”
Sympathy caused his lips to droop slightly, that irrepressible smile gone. “You understand that you can’t go back and forth between times? That much interaction could change things, even in small ways.”
“Yes.” And she understood. Even her little foray back into 1812 had changed enough that she could’ve potentially messed up someone’s timeline. Intellitravel hated sending cleanup crews to repair a timeline, but they would if the situation necessitated it.
His grin flew back in place. “But I don’t mind bending a few rules. You can use your computer to contact them. I know it can never take the place of seeing your parents, but I think it’s a pretty awesome substitute.”
Julia squealed and threw her arms around Carson. “You’re the one who’s awesome.”
He stiffened under her touch but patted her back before he pulled away. “Just make sure to take plenty of solar-powered batteries with you. I expect calls from you, too.” He smirked. “You can function as a sort of unofficial research scientist if I have need of you.”
Julia nodded. “Sure.” She was too happy to protest, though she found his smile a little unsettling. Just like Carson to have his own little agenda. But whenever he did, it wasn’t for evil purposes.
“You have three days to get everything in order, then back to 1812 you go.”
That soon? She had tons of stuff to see to, her parents to talk to….
Alarm reared and propelled her into motion. “Talk to you later today, Carson. I’ve got to go,” she called over her shoulder as she headed for the door.
“Don’t worry. We’ll be talking a lot.” His soft laughter followed her down the hallway.
****
James slumped into a wingback chair in his study. He’d drawn the drapes against the sunlight. He wanted nothing bright in his life. She’d taken everything worthwhile with her.
It’d been three days. Three days since she’d vanished. Part of him wondered if her abrupt leave taking had been on purpose. Or had her business spirited her away? He cursed. It didn’t matter. She was gone, no matter the reason or the cause.
He remembered his last words to her and, leaning forward, placed his hands over his face. Beg. He could’ve begged. Maybe it would’ve kept her by his side. He should’ve also told her love wasn’t always an abhorrent emotion. Not when it concerned her and his feelings.
He loved her, but had realized it too late.
Reaching for a decanter of his favorite poison, better known as whiskey, he frowned. Though he’d succumbed to drink more than once in the last days, he’d avoided getting mind numbingly drunk. Though the idea appealed to him, he resisted the temptation. Eh, even when Julia wasn’t around, he wanted to make her proud. But she wasn’t even around to appreciate it. He shook his head. What a mawkish simpleton he’d turned into.
A strange feeling crept over him, strangely reminiscent of the one that occurred when Julia had arrived. Could it be? He straightened up and stared around the room. Hope was a cruel dream crusher. Nothing out of place. No black-haired woman who turned his life upside down. No soft weight landing in his lap.
Hands snaked over his eyes, causing him to nearly jump out of his skin. He swallowed and raised his hands. They slid around slim fingers that radiated a heat that was uniquely Julia’s and never failed to sear him to the bone. Life seeped back into him.
He drew the hands away from his eyes, keeping them firmly in his. When he glanced down, he only saw his hands. He grinned. “Julia?”
A weight settled into his lap. “Yes?”
“Are you here to stay?” His breath froze in his throat as he waited for her answer.
“You bet I am.”
He closed his eyes to hide the tears springing up. She was here to stay. “And you will be my wife?”
Her shoulders shook under his palms. “Hmm, is that the proper way to ask a lady?”
He growled. “When the lady is invisible, she should be glad she got a proposal at all.”
With a few clicks of her device, her beloved face appeared beneath his. “There. Does that satisfy you?”
“No,” he said, his hand sliding to the back of her neck. He lowered his lips to hers and whispered against them, “This does.”
Her laughter tickled his lips, and he grinned. Life was perfect, at least for the moment.