Chapter 7

 

 

No one so crazy could sound so sane.

Part of him was beginning to actually believe her. He had seen her fall from the sky, and his Indian exposure gave him the opportunity to view things from another side, to accept ideas that might not be grasped by so-called educated people. But this… coming from the future? This was asking too much.

Certain things baffled him. The clothes she had been wearing, the equipment she had been using. Even Wovoka had said she was from the land of tomorrows. It was just too incredible… he had been sitting on a mountaintop, waiting to see a sign of hope, and he had got Mairie Callahan… from the future?

"Then tell me this… if you jumped from this airplane, why didn't you plummet to the ground? The material you used was so thin. It couldn't possibly keep you from crashing. Something about this is beyond belief, Mairie. I mean, I know I saw you… but what you're asking me to accept is unreal."

"Well, of course it's unreal to you. It hasn't been invented yet. To me… it's everyday life. People skydive all the time, for fun. It's even a sport, like … like baseball or horse racing. People compete against each other, though it wouldn't be something I'd personally choose. I was only doing it to please my brother."

"But how do you keep from being killed? I felt that material, Mairie. It was too thin to save anyone."

He watched her think, staring out to the moon as if it might provide her with the answer.

"Okay… have you ever been on a street and seen a lady's parasol get pulled with a gust of wind? It's much like that. I had a huge parasol and could control it with pulleys and handles to narrow it and slow me down."

He tried to picture what she was saying. "So you flew like a bird in the sky and jumped into the air with a parasol for entertainment… for sport?"

She shook her head slowly and grinned. "Now I know it sounds crazy, but that's about it."

"I've seen a hell of a lot in my life, Mairie Callahan. I've seen Indian spirits and I've seen men overcome miraculous odds in death-defying situations during the war. All right, I admit there's nothing else I can do but accept what you're saying, because I saw you fall from the sky with my own eyes. I can't deny what I saw. And yes… it is crazy."

Her eyes filled with hope. "Then you believe me?"

"I don't know what to believe any longer. Maybe we're both crazy." He turned away and looked at the moon. Why didn't it surprise him that it was full? They were lunatics… both of them. Her for thinking she had come from the future, and him for beginning to believe it.

He turned back to her. "If all that you're saying is true, how do you expect to get back? There are no airplanes, or fantastic huge umbrellas here. What are you going to do?"

Why was she looking at him as though he might have an answer? He didn't know what he was going to do tomorrow, let alone how to advise her. He didn't think much about the future. Especially his own. He was just trying to get through today. He was like an empty barrel, drained by the fragility of life, and he hadn't a clue how to refill it. For that, he needed hope.

He had asked the one question that was uppermost in her mind.

Mairie sighed deeply, and stared up at him. "Oh, Jack… I don't know how to get back to my own time. I didn't even really believe I was out of it until today when I saw this ranch. If I knew how this happened, I'd have some clue about what took place and I'd try to figure out how to reverse it, or something."

"Have you ever heard of someone else falling into another time?"

Mairie couldn't stop the laughter. "No. This is… it's science fiction, or something. I mean, there've been movies about it, books even, but that was fiction. Not real. I'm real, Jack. This has actually happened to me. And I'll be damned if I ever believed it was possible."

"Well, you're here now. So what do you plan on doing?"

"I don't know." Three words, so simple, yet they had such a profound effect. She got up and started pacing, suddenly annoyed with herself and those three words. She was a self-made woman. She had survived a hell of a lot in her time, and had the guts to leave it all and follow her brother. She was a woman of resource. She hated not knowing how to proceed.

"I need to think about this," she said, still pacing. "Do I go back east? At least I would be on familiar ground. Of course, there's no one I could contact, so I guess it really doesn't matter where I go. I just know I can't stay here in the middle of a desert. I need to find a city, where I can get work. That's it… I should go to LA. Wait a minute, what's Los Angeles like now? Is it a big city, like back east?"

"No."

"Okay… San Francisco, then. I could find work there, and then—" Her words and thoughts ceased as a strong wave of dizziness washed over her. Staggering, she grabbed the railing.

"Are you all right?" Jack held her shoulders and steadied her. "Come, sit back down. You aren't strong enough to go anywhere yet."

Breathing heavily, she sat in the chair and cursed under her breath the unfamiliar weakness. Turning her face up to him, she whispered what frightened her the most. "Jack, are you leaving tomorrow?"

He stared down at her, and Mairie swore she saw a momentary look of resignation pass over his features. "I'll stay until you're well enough to travel."

Her breath left her body in a huge sigh of relief. "Thank you. I know how all this must sound to you. But you're my link, Jack," she whispered as sincerely as she was able, her voice trailing off.

He nodded sympathetically and walked toward the front door. "Mrs. Gass, would you help Miss Callahan? She's had another dizzy spell."

Virginia Gass rushed onto the front porch. "You've overdone yourself, dear. The place for you is bed now and a good night's rest. Jack, help me get her to the door." Virginia put Mairie's arm around her shoulder and helped her to stand.

Jack awkwardly grasped Mairie's hand and elbow.

"You're not promenading her around a ballroom, Jack; put your arm around her waist."

Mairie lifted her right arm around his shoulder and neck. He held her hand gently and placed his arm around her waist.

Virginia shouted for her husband. "O.D., we need your help."

O.D. held the door and Mairie hesitated at the opening, gazing into Jack's eyes. In an instant she realized they were very much alike. Both of them lost, with uncertain futures.

When O.D. assumed Jack's place, she experienced a moment of loss as his embrace left her. In those few seconds she sensed a deep tenderness, strength, and caring from Jack she had not felt before.

"Rest well, Mairie. I'll see you in the morning," he said quietly.

Lying in the dark, her body exhausted, she could not stop her mind from reviewing the entire day's events. Before sleep claimed her, she had come to a conclusion. She had to accept three things… that she was unusually weak, that she was living one hundred and twenty-two years in the past, and that she might be falling in love with a disillusioned cowboy.

Talk about dizzy.

Defeated, she surrendered to slumber.

 

The morning sun made Mairie squint. She was glad Mrs. Gass had given her a large straw hat to wear. "How much farther, Fenton? I may need to rest again."

"It's just over here, Mairie." Fenton pointed toward a flat ridge with mesquite trees.

Mairie looked down at the ever-present Digger, who was now tugging at her long white cotton dress. "You silly puppy… let go… I've enough trouble keeping myself moving, much less dragging you with me."

"Digs! Come here, boy!" Fenton scrambled up a hill and Digger happily loped behind him.

Another hill… just what I need. What am I doing? I should be preparing to leave this godforsaken desert for the nearest big city… and I'm off gallivanting about the countryside with a six-year-old boy and his dog, Mairie thought to herself.

Struggling for breath, she rose to the top of the ridge and straightened to ease her back and legs. The view was breathtaking. Early morning sun was painting hues of earthy pastel colors on the distant mountains. "How lovely," she said aloud. She thought about the city lights she had expected the day before. The glitter. The audaciousness of the Las Vegas she knew. This was unspoiled splendor.

"Wait till you see the inside!" Fenton exclaimed with a giggle, interrupting her thoughts.

She looked down at his grinning face from a small opening within thorny branches. "You don't expect me to crawl in that, do you, Fenton?"

"Come on, you can do it, Mar."

With a flash, his words struck her like lightning. Bryan had said that just before he'd jumped from the plane. Without hesitation, Mairie found herself hitching up the long skirt of her dress and bending down to crawl through the narrow passageway into the thicket.

Inside, she was able to sit, while the child could stand. Sunlight filtered through the mesquite branches and danced on treasures dangling by strings as she looked up around the ceiling of this hollowed secret place. Fenton began to explain the origin of each article, pieces of colored glass, long feathers, Indian beads, and objects travelers had given him when they'd stopped at the ranch.

She found herself entranced and thought of Bryan.

With detail the child wove tales of all his adventures. How ironic… "And a child shall lead them." The quote came to her as she watched Fenton make his way around this magical cavern. How much her brother was like this boy. Embracing all of life's simplicities. Enjoying the experience. Loving his life and everything it offered, no matter how small or grand. Bryan was as this free-spirited boy… fulfilling the instinctual need of all mankind to do more than just survive. To live.

"I have a brother," she whispered, wondering when she'd lost her free spirit. She could remember feeling it as a child, making mud pies, and being fascinated with nature. When had she lost this magic? When had she grown up and thought such things were merely childish? Was this what Bryan was trying to teach her before he dies? To stop being such an adult and remember what it was like to be a child… before she had thought in order to get along in the world, she had to accept society's point of view. Childhood was freedom. What had Bryan said that day in the plane? About leaving the tribe behind and experiencing life?

"Are you listening to me, Mar?" Fenton was crouched over her with a puzzled look. "This place is supposed to make you happy, not sad."

She smiled at him and touched his face. "Thank you, Fenton. This is just wonderful. Magical."

Fenton's eyes lit with pleasure. "See? I told you."

"Yes… yes, you did. I don't feel sad any longer. How could I when I'm here in your secret place. No one knows about this? Not even your sisters?"

He shook his head emphatically. "Nope. Just you now. And Digger, of course."

She looked at the puppy, naturally digging at the base of a tree. "Of course. Digger."

"What's your brother's name? Where is he now? Does he have a boy like me?" He had heard her whisper.

Mairie laughed at the series of questions. "His name is Bryan. He's… he's…" What could she say? "He's waiting for me to return to him, and no … he doesn't have any children."

"When will you see him again?"

"I don't know. I'm lost. That's how I came here to your ranch."

"My daddy tells me about the stars. He says if you always follow the North Star, you'll find your way home. The stars will help you, Mairie."

She could feel a lump of emotion gather at the back of her throat and she wanted to hug the child. Mairie knew young Fenton was developing a crush on her and she almost regretted that she would soon leave him.

"C'mere, Fenton," she whispered, as she cupped his chin in her hand and leaned forward. Planting a light kiss on his forehead, she smiled. "You're a good friend. Thank you. I feel much better."

Fenton blushed and shrugged his shoulders. "It is magical, Mairie." He swung his arms out and twirled around as he looked up through the trees. "All of it…"

Her heart expanded. From the mouths of babes comes truth.

They lazily made their way back to the ranch as the midday sun reminded them it was time for lunch. The busy sounds from the ranch courtyard told them it had not yet been served. Mairie didn't see Jack about. She hadn't seen him since he left breakfast early that morning and they hadn't had the chance to speak again. She wondered if he would be there for lunch. Why was she putting such importance on his appearance? She simply had to fight this attraction and latching onto the man emotionally was not going to help.

Fenton opened the back door to the kitchen and Mairie followed. The aroma of baking biscuits and simmering stew filled the room.

Virginia looked up from the bowl of dough she was kneading and smiled. "How was your morning walk? You must be feeling better."

Mairie grinned down at her friend. "It was magical. My charming escort showed me some remarkable things. Unless you need my help here, I'll freshen up before lunch."

Virginia wiped her hands on the long white apron. "No, Lee can finish the rest. There's something I need to speak with you about in private, Mairie. Let me get you a fresh towel for your washbasin."

Minutes later, standing over the basin, Mairie reveled in the relief of cool water on her face, while wondering what was so private and important. Virginia stood away, looking out the window.

"We had a visitor today," she announced, and turned. "And he was looking for you."

In the midst of patting her face dry, Mairie stopped and stared at the woman. "Me? Are you sure?"

Virginia nodded. "He described you quite accurately and knew you were lost."

Stunned, Mairie whispered, "Did he say his name?"

She shook her head. "No, he wouldn't say, and that's why I became suspicious. I told him to check later today when the wagon train from Fort Mojave comes by. Who could it be, Mairie? Are you married? Have you run away from a husband? Family?"

Mairie felt frozen with confusion, mixed with hope. Someone was looking for her? Could it be Bryan? "No," she insisted. "I haven't run away from anything. I was… I am lost. What did he look like, Virginia? Did he have dark hair and blue eyes?"

The woman nodded. "Yes. But there was an unnatural air about him. Very mysterious. He wouldn't give me any more information and… I don't know, I felt something was missing in him, in his heart."

It could be Bryan. If he was also lost in the past, he would be hesitant and careful. And scared, just like her. Her heart sang out that it had to be her brother. Who else would even know about her in this time? Only someone else that had experienced the same thing!

"Oh, Virginia… where is he? He didn't leave, did he?" She couldn't stop the desperation in her voice. She must find him!

Shaking her head, Virginia said, "I don't think he's left the area. He's probably camping by the creek. I didn't invite him into the house, since my instincts were on the alert."

Mairie threw the towel onto the table. "I have to find him. He… he may know something about how I can get back home."

Virginia walked up to her and looked into Mairie's eyes. "I have so enjoyed your company, Mairie. I don't get the opportunity to share time with many women. When you leave us, I will miss you … but I know you must get home… I know how important home is. To all of us."

With the woman's emphasis on the word home, Mairie felt the emotion building in her again. If only she could click her heels, like Dorothy, and make it happen. But she wasn't in Oz and there was no wizard to remind her, but she did have a glimmer of hope now. Bryan. He had to be here.

Impulsively, Mairie reached out and hugged Virginia. "Thank you for all your help. You've been so kind to me." Pulling back, she smiled widely. "I've got to find this man… please excuse me from lunch. I'll be back soon."

As she left the room, she heard Virginia's parting words, said so softly that it was only down the hallway they registered in Mairie's mind.

"Be careful…"

Bryan… his name sang out in her mind and heart as she raced from the house and hurried to the creek. He couldn't have left, not yet. Surely he was here. He would have to stay and refresh himself from the desert. All she had to do was find him.

It was easier than she could have hoped. She saw him standing by a grove of cottonwood trees that bordered the creek beyond the house, and she broke into a run. He was doing something with his hands and he seemed to freeze as she called out…

"Bryan!"

He slowly turned away from a horse drinking at the creek, and Mairie stopped short.

It wasn't her brother.

They stared at each other for what seemed an eternity, until the man began walking toward her. She could see as he closed the distance between them the resemblance to her brother stopped at height and coloring. He didn't look like Bryan at all. His features were more defined, as if chiseled from granite. He looked… dangerous.

His walk was determined as he came closer and Mairie felt the racing of her heart that she knew had nothing to do with her run. Suddenly, she remembered Virginia's last words.

Be careful….

"Mairie Callahan?"

Her brain refused to function properly. How could this stranger know her name?

She merely nodded. "Yes. Who are you?"

He stood in front of her and she leaned on a tree trunk to steady herself. He lifted his hands and continued to roll a cigarette. "I've been looking for you."

"Who are you?" she repeated, watching his tongue moisten the edge of the paper while he pulled something out of his jean's pocket.

He held up a lighter and flipped the top quickly, before holding the flame to his hand-rolled cigarette. "Specialist Fourth Class Robert Lee Harmon," he said, staring into her eyes as if waiting for a reaction. "Navy Seals." He tossed the lighter to Mairie and her hand automatically caught it.

A part of her marveled at her reflexes, since her brain was desperately trying to put together the man's words with his intentions. This didn't make sense. None of it made sense. Slowly her eyes lowered to the lighter in her hand. It was chrome, with the Naval seal on it, surrounded by words verifying what he'd just said.

"You… you're with the Navy Seals?" She knew it sounded stupid, yet her mind was struggling with the fact that there were no Navy Seals in 1877. In fact, she was sure there weren't any lighters invented, either. "How did you get here… how did you find me?"

"I was sent in to retrieve you."

"Sent in … retrieve me? What do you mean?"

He backed against the trunk of the tree and Mairie instinctively moved away from it, wanting some distance between them.

"Look, I know you've been through a tough time. So just listen to me before you ask any more questions. The government sent me to find you and bring you back. You were caught up in an experiment that was being conducted over Area 51. A plane, a test craft, from Edwards Air Force Base was to be involved—"

"Wait," she interrupted, disregarding his directive to listen before asking questions. "You're from the future? From 1999? This… this all happened to me because of some experiment the government was conducting? The government did this to me? Where's my brother? What happened to him? Does Bryan know about this government experiment?" Anger was replacing fear.

Harmon took a long drag on the cigarette and watched the stream of gray smoke he exhaled. "No, needless to say, this is all highly confidential. Black Card clearance only, yet there's no way I can get you back without explaining it. You'll be debriefed at Edwards when you return. The simplest way to put it is the test craft was flying at 50,000 feet, an area above and west of your skydiving plane at 13,000 feet. Something went wrong, and the testing area was expanded due to a computer error. Your brother notified the police and there were news reports of your mysterious disappearance, so I was chosen to come in and bring you back. Took me some time to find you."

"Back up," she directed, full strength in her voice. "My brother is all right?"

Harmon nodded, while taking another drag. "Your brother was interviewed, along with everyone involved in that dive, by government agents posing as local police. Your brother is alive and in 1999."

Relief swept through her. Thank God this didn't happen to Bryan. "How do I get back?" She asked the question that had haunted her all night.

He flicked his cigarette into the stream, and started walking toward her. Looking her directly in the eyes, he sternly said, "Listen to me carefully."

Grateful there was a way back, Mairie focused on Harmon's words as he told her they must be on the desert floor at a certain time and they must travel all the way back to the base of Mount Charleston, where she had landed. She kept nodding. She would do anything, anything to return to her brother. She listened as Harmon told her that they would be leaving in the morning to make the trip back into the desert.

"Now I need to question you," he added. "You must tell me everything that happened since you landed. Everything. I need to make sure you didn't do anything to change the course of history. Nothing, absolutely nothing, must be changed."

She sighed and thought back in her head. It seemed so long ago. "Well, when I landed, I sat in the middle of the desert for what seemed like hours, waiting for someone from the diving school to find me. Then a man came." She thought about Jack and for some reason didn't mention his name. She felt guarded. "He took me to an Indian camp and I stayed there overnight. There was a celebration. I heard something so incredible as I listened to a prophecy. I… I have this herb that might help in finding a cure for cancer. The Indians told me about it."

Harmon turned his head sharply and stared at her.

"I know," she stated, already wanting to pacify him. "It sounds crazy, I'll admit, but you'd have to have been there. I have it with me and I can stick it in my jumpsuit when we return. It wouldn't take up much room, and—"

"You can't bring anything with you." His words were hard and final.

"Wait," she said, not about to back down. "You need to listen. My brother is dying from—"

"No, you wait," he interrupted. "Where is this man who found you? Did he ask questions about your equipment? What you were wearing? What did you tell him? Did you say you were from 1999?"

Something about his hardened expression made her extremely protective of Jack. If nothing must be changed in history, did that mean even someone knowing about her? Would Harmon eliminate Jack?

"Oh, I don't know where he is now," she said, as nonchalantly as possible, as if none of that mattered. "He thought I was crazy and couldn't wait to drop me off here at the ranch and be done with me. But let me tell you about my brother and what I found. He's dying from leukemia, and these people might have something that could help him. I am bringing it back. I didn't ask to be thrown into the past, but maybe it happened for this reason. I don't care what you say, I'm bringing it. I have to… it's my brother's life we're talking about."

She watched as Harmon appeared to metamorphose. He seemed less human and more mechanical as his face set into an even more rigid expression and he turned his head so slowly that she swore it was unnatural. She knew exactly what Virginia's instincts had warned her about. His heart was closed down.

"You will listen to me," he stated with authority. "I am in charge of this mission, and my orders were to bring you back, dead or alive… with nothing in history disturbed." He paused for a moment, a moment of emphasis. "Do you want to return alive?"

"Yes." It was merely a whisper, as fear entered her heart. This man's devotion to duty had robbed him of compassion.

"I'll strip-search you if I have to, to make sure you do not bring anything back with you. Even that dress you are wearing. I was briefed on your clothing when you took that dive, and if you don't have your own things, you'll go back naked. You can't hide anything if you're naked."

She sucked in her breath at the implication. In an instant she knew she would never reason with this man. He was like a government machine, drained of his free will. Somehow, she had to find a way to bring back the herb without him knowing it. But how, if he strip searched her? She couldn't think about it now. Right now she had to make him think that he was in charge of this mission.

Foolish man… he thought he had all the facts, everything he needed to be in control. How like a testosterone-based male to discount a woman. She too was on a mission.

A mission of love.

She felt the strength of all females who had refused to be subjugated throughout history… even that word Harmon had said she must not change… history… his story… bothered her. What about her story? What about all those women who risked everything for love, a love that went beyond what the poets could possibly define? Where was the story that told of the role women had played in shaping the world?

Was it only women who knew that pure love was the one thing that could never be discounted? In the end, it always prevailed. Always…

"Do you understand me, Miss Callahan?" He asked the question in a voice that was supposed to sound official.

Mairie knew what he was doing, and she suddenly realized that she wasn't as scared as she thought she would be when faced with this fork in the road. She was talking about life and death here. She knew, every cell in her body knew, if she did not surrender, this man was not about to let her live.

Virginia Gass had highly developed intuition, Mairie thought… right before looking him in the eye and saying, "I understand, Mr. Harmon."

He continued to hold her stare and Mairie had to use all her strength to shield what was running through her mind. She inhaled through her nose, held her breath, and slowly let the air pass out through her nostrils, allowing every ounce of tension to slip away with it.

"I understand," she repeated.

Harmon tested her for a few seconds longer with his expression and Mairie mentally sighed in relief as the man finally said, "Good. Don't make this hard."

"I only want to get home again."

He nodded. "Then sit on this boulder and I'll tell you my plan. Tomorrow we have to be two kilometers south of Mount Charleston at thirteen hundred hours, one p.m. There cannot be a second's delay. We'll arrive an hour early to make sure of that. When you rise in the morning at 0500 hours, five a.m., you will meet me out here. I'll spend the night on guard, observing the area. Try not to let anyone see you are leaving. You have the back bedroom, so slip out the window. Do not leave a thing. Sweep the furniture with that dress after you take it off. I'll be on the other side, waiting. I'll take care of anything you might leave on the windowsills. I'll have bought another horse from Gass to use as a pack animal. Won't be the greatest, but it's better than walking. We'll rendezvous at—"

"Wait," Mairie interrupted, much to Harmon's annoyance. "Why do I have to wipe my fingerprints off everything? These people don't know anything about identification through prints. Isn't that a little excessive?"

She knew she had hit a button that he didn't want her to push.

"Just do as you're told. Nothing about this mission is excessive. Everything is precision planned."

"Hmm… just as your little experiment was? The one that landed me back here?" She knew she had to challenge him a little, or he would become suspicious of her surrender. Pleased to see Harmon's earlier male tactic of disregarding a woman, Mairie tried not to smile.

He raised his chin only slightly in defense, but she caught the minute gesture of uncertainty. "That error was corrected. This mission will be completed successfully."

"Let's hope so," she murmured. "For both our sakes."

"This is my mission. I have it under control."

She merely nodded.

"Now, wipe anything you've touched in that room. I'll be waiting at the window and you can hand me your equipment. You do have it, don't you? I didn't find any trace of it."

Again, she simply nodded as she listened to his plans. Thirteen hundred hours. Not one second later. Two kilometers south of Mount Charleston… She was focused on his every word, the exhalation of his breath. The entire fiber of her being was alerted that her life depended on it.

She only knew for certain that she had to get to Jack.

Now he was her lifeline.

A half hour later, she returned to the house through the courtyard. She saw the ranch house in the southwest corner, opposite the stalls of horses. On the northeast wall was the Old Mormon Fort that Virginia had told her about at breakfast. How ironic that what had started with missionary zeal would one day be the site of a barn to store beans and raisins and house cows… and later to be replaced with bright neon lights and slot machines in post offices and bathrooms. She again focused her attention on the faint plan that was forming in her mind. Harmon couldn't see what took place in the courtyard, since a stone wall surrounded the entire perimeter. The only entrance was the heavy wooden gate. And that she knew was locked at night. She had seen Indian ranch hands do it from the porch last night while waiting for Jack.

Jack…

She had to find him.

Turning to the house, she walked a few feet and then, as if she had called him in her mind, he wandered out of the horse stalls leading his animal into the sunlight.

As the light hit his body, he seemed to lift his face to the sun and absorb it. She saw the streaks of blond though his darker brown hair. The way his body moved in a slow, graceful way, as though he were at one with his surroundings. Was it merely the sun that made him appear so… so manly? Or was it that she knew his heart was pure, that his intentions toward her were honorable? Both, she honestly admitted.

Jack Delaney was quite a man.

Exactly what she needed for this mission of love.

"Jack." She called out his name in a low voice. Knowing he was blinded by the sun, she added, "Over here."

He turned his head at the same time he sheltered his eyes to see better. "Mairie?"

Walking toward him, she smiled. "I must speak with you. It's urgent."

She closed the distance between them until he could see her. She saw him drop his arm and hurry his movements. "What's wrong?"

"Were you going somewhere?" she asked, glancing at his horse.

He shook his head while continuing to stare at her with intent. "Thought I'd take advantage of Gass's blacksmith shop. Now, tell me what's wrong."

"We need to speak privately. May I go along with you?"

He seemed to read her mind as he nodded, while leading the horse across the courtyard. "Are you all right?" he whispered to her as she fell in step beside him.

"Yes. For right now, I am. This is really serious, Jack, or I wouldn't need to have this conversation. Please believe that."

"Come on," he muttered, quickening their stride. "Now I am concerned."

"That makes two of us," she said, more to herself than to him.

He led the horse up to the leather line strung before a pit of burning embers. He tied the horse and then reached around to grab several pieces of wood. Turning to her, he said, "Now, tell me. Everything." 

She gulped, trying to bring moisture back into her mouth and began…

"Someone's come to take me back, Jack. He's here now."

 

Jack's body immediately tensed and he faintly noticed that there was disappointment along with concern in his reaction to her words. "Who? Where is he?"

He saw her inhale, as though gathering her strength. "His name is Robert Harmon. Specialist Fourth Class of the Navy Seals. And he's camping at the creek for the night. He expects to take me back to my own time tomorrow. I have all the details."

"Then you're leaving?" Why was he accepting everything she said? What was it about this woman, this incredible woman, that tore down the mortar of his defenses? Everything she had told him sounded crazy. Everything. Yet he had seen with his own eyes that she spoke truth, even if he didn't understand it yet.

"Yes. I must leave. But I want to do it tonight, or in the wee hours of the morning. I can't go with him, Jack. I have something I have to do first. I have to hide the herb the Paiutes gave me, somewhere I know will still exist a hundred and twenty-two years from now. I can't think of anything, except the mountain. I must find a place, a cave, somewhere it can be left until I can retrieve it in my own time."

He tried to follow her thoughts, yet they seemed beyond him. "You will hide it and then find it in 1999? How will it survive all those years?"

Mairie nodded. "I thought about that. I'm going to ask Virginia for one of her earthen jars, one with a stopper. She uses candles. I can seal it with the wax. You would be surprised what modern technology can do with just a speck of—"

"What?" he asked, seeing her expression change, like she was suddenly aware of something more important.

"I know," she breathed. "I mean, I don't know the real reason, but I know part of it, the reason I have to wipe away any trace I may have been here. It's about DNA. Wow… this is a precise plan."

"DNA?" She was speaking in riddles again. "Mairie, explain."

She shook her head. "I can't. Just something we carry with us. It's like an exact identification of who we are." Staring at her hand, she ran her thumb over her fingers. "It can also be found in the cells of dead skin. The tiniest speck. For some reason I'm supposed to remove as much of my DNA from this time as possible. I'll do it, since this science stuff is beyond me to grasp."

"Mairie, will you please tell me what you're rambling about?"

She looked up at him and her expression became serious again. "I'm sorry, I can't. We don't have time for me to explain, and I probably couldn't get you to understand anyway. Let me cut to the chase here, Jack. This is a matter of life and death. Mine. Possibly yours, and maybe even my brother's. I'm not allowed to bring anything back with me, even the herb. I won't leave it, if it might save my brother's life. I need your help to get to those mountains and then to the desert floor by 1300 hours. One o'clock in the afternoon. That's probably the exact time I jumped. I must be there. I know Harmon will be there for he told me the coordinates are set for two people."

Jack forgot about the fire, about reshoeing his horse. He ran his fingers through his hair and muttered, "For God's sake, Mairie… I can take the jar to the cave where we spent the night. You don't have to do this."

She looked at him. "I know you're in my life right now for a reason. Who better to have at my side in this moment? And I'm learning that living in the moment is the only way I know to get through this. Jack, thank you for offering, but I would have to know that jar was placed in that cave. Harmon is going to be watching the ranch tonight. And he wants you, too. He asked me who knew about me. I am so sorry to have endangered your life in this mess. I didn't tell him your name or describe you, but if he finds out that you know about me, about what happened to me, I think he'd kill you without any hesitation. I can't take the chance he would stop you, or possibly kill you. It has nothing to do with you, Jack, or your ability to hide the plant. My decision is made because of him. He's a Navy Seal."

That was it. His patience ran out. "Like that. Explain that. What the hell is a navy seal? This is a human being we are speaking about, isn't it?"

She actually laughed, and he was surprised that she was capable of it at such a time. "Navy Seals are a specialized branch of the military of the future. They are highly trained for survival… at any cost. I don't know about all of them, but for some reason the government chose to send a man after me who's almost blind to anything beside his orders." Sighing, she added, "Yes. He looks human, but his heart is closed down, Jack. This isn't an ordinary man. He's …very dangerous."

Jack could only stare at her. "You want my help to get to the mountain and hide the plant?"

She returned his steady gaze. Her expression was completely serious. Once more he was reminded of her the night of the celebration. She had the heart of a princess, one whose courage was not questioned.

"Yes. I know it's a lot to ask, but yes, Jack. I want your help. I need you."

Something passed between them. Some unspoken agreement. He had felt it before, years ago… right before battle. You always knew the ones you could stand back to back and trust. Imagine… to find that in a woman. He was stunned.

"I will help you. But you forget, Mairie Callahan … this Navy Seal has yet to meet a man that thinks with the mind and heart of an Indian. Have no doubt about our safe passage. We will not be depending only on human abilities. Mother Earth and Father Sky shall assist us."

He saw her eyes open wide, her expression soften. She was so lovely in her courage. "Now tell me the rest of your plan. Perhaps I could add something to aid us in our journey." Why did he feel like something was rekindled within him? It had started when he saw her falling from the sky, and it had just expanded.

Could this fantastic woman actually be his gift?

He felt humbled by the thought. What had he ever done right in his life to deserve knowing her, a traveler from another time… from the future?

Suddenly, he felt his life had a purpose.

 

And in that moment, Mairie knew she wasn't just falling in love with this man.

She was free falling. It was like terminal velocity.