Will wiped his mouth, but not the taste of Catherine that clung to him like a second skin. She had responded to him, as he knew she would. No matter what Catherine chose to call herself now, there was no mistaking the chemistry that had brought them together as man and wife. He was not going to allow her to disappear from his life again now that she was back.
"I don't think that's possible, Catherine," he said bluntly. "You see, I belong here, along with Chris and Sunny, as much as you do. This is our home."
It was obvious to Trina that he had no intention of vacating the cabin that was hers for the summer. Something told her that he wasn't crazy, but he wasn't exactly playing with a full deck either. Especially if he felt for one second that they would live together as one big happy family.
She would bring this up with Lucille. And the police, if necessary.
"Well, if you won't leave, I will—temporarily," she huffed.
Trina headed towards the door, but Will grabbed her arm from behind.
"Like hell you will!" With narrowed eyes, Will held her gaze that was just as fierce. "I won't lose you again—at least not until I'm convinced you haven't lost your mind in the last year."
He suspected that would take a lot of convincing, especially given the harebrained stories she'd told. Since they were either unfathomable or unexplainable, Will was left to believe that Catherine had experienced some sort of traumatic event since disappearing. He intended to find out what it was; then they could talk about what she really wanted of him.
Trina glared at Will. "Let go of my arm." Her pulse raced, unsure where this was going.
"Only if you promise not to run away again, Catherine," he said.
"I never ran away the first time," she insisted. "And my name is not and never has been Catherine. Whatever you choose to believe is your business. Kidnapping me won't change things, but it can get you in a lot of trouble."
She wondered if there was any way to reason with this man. Or was it his intention to make her his permanent prisoner?
Under other circumstances it might have been interesting to share a rustic log cabin with such a strong willed, sexy hunk, she thought. But not if he can't accept me for who I am instead of some imagined wife from 1890.
Will did not relinquish his hold, but he loosened it. Whether crazy or not, it was obvious to him that Catherine somehow truly believed what she said, and regarded him as the delusional one. Meaning he could have his work cut out to prove otherwise.
"Don't go," he said softly. "I'd never hurt you, Cath—Trina, if you prefer. Maybe there is some reasonable explanation for why we don't see eye to eye. All I know is that there is a boy outside who misses his mother about as much as I do. You say you aren't her. So maybe you can be. Just give us a chance. Otherwise, I'll leave, if that's what you really want..."
He released her arm and hoped to hell it was the right thing to do and that she wouldn't go away again and never come back.
Trina read the sincerity in his eyes, but sensed that he would not simply walk away. Or allow her to leave.
I have to be smart about this, she told herself. If I can just get to my cell phone...
"I'll stay," she said.
"You will?"
"Yes. But I need a few minutes—alone. Do you mind waiting outside?"
Will eyed her suspiciously. With only one exit, he supposed he could grant her request. "If that's what you want."
Trina forced a smile at him. "Thank you, Will."
* * *
She waited till he left before closing the door behind him. It was only when she turned around again that Trina noticed that the strange lighting that had been focused on them now seemed to illuminate the entire downstairs. There was something different about it. A few pieces of furniture did not look as antique as before, while others were missing altogether.
She stepped into the kitchen and saw that it was no longer fully equipped with a microwave, refrigerator, electric range, and island. They had been replaced with a small cast iron stove, metal rectangular ice box, and a few relic cooking utensils.
What is going on? she wondered with amazement. It's like I really have stepped back in time to the 19th century. But how can that be?
A mild panic caused the hair to rise on the back of Trina's neck. She ran to the downstairs extra room, hoping to find her laptop and cell phone. Both were gone and now it looked like an outdated boy's room, complete with built-in wooden drawers, a rocking chair, and tin toys.
Suddenly feeling as if she were suffocating, Trina needed to step outside for some air. Even if it meant having to face Will again. Could he possibly be Lucille Bonner's grandfather?
Could I actually somehow be the reincarnation of Catherine Bonner?
It made no sense at all. But there was no denying that something very strange was going on. And she was being sucked in as if it were one of her historical romances. The sooner she got out of that cabin the better.
Trina flung open the door and dashed outside as though her life depended on it. She expected to run right into Will, with Christopher and Sunny flanking him. But there was no sign of them. Where were they?
Come out, come out wherever you are, she thought.
After a cursory glance about, Trina found no evidence that the trio had gone into the woods. She looked for footprints, but there were none other than her own.
It was almost as though they were never there. How could that be?
Feeling totally confused, Trina ventured back into the cabin against her better judgment.
To her surprise, the lighting had returned to normal and the place was as Trina remembered it before her bizarre time travel venture.
Have I been imagining this whole thing? she asked herself. Including creating a good-looking husband, son, and dog?
Or was there more going on involving two places in time that were somehow connected.
* * *
Will was befuddled when he went back inside the cabin and saw that Catherine, or Trina as she called herself, had completely vanished. Where had she gone that didn't involve leaving the house through conventional means? She could not have walked out the front door or climbed out the window without his witnessing it.
Now he wondered how he could possibly explain to Christopher what he couldn't explain himself. His son needed his mother, just as Will needed her. And yet she had inexplicably gone away again, possibly to never return.
Am I losing my mind? Will asked himself, burying his face in his hands. But that would mean that Christopher and Sunny, who had also been aware of her presence, had gone mad, too.
He couldn't and wouldn't accept that.
As much as he hated to, Will had to open his mind to other possibilities. Trina had claimed to be living in the year 2012. If true, that would mean there was some sort of gateway between times.
It was one she had discovered, perhaps by accident, altering her personality in the process. Now he must do the same to find his beloved Catherine and bring her back home.
Trouble was he had no idea where to start in this unlikely attempt to cross barriers in time. And, should he succeed, might he also risk being lost in a future forever, leaving behind Chris and Sunny.
It was a risk he had to take, for he simply couldn't forever lose the love of his life without a fight.
Will felt the kind of apprehension he'd never known during his gun-slinging days as Billy the Kid. But the years had toughened him in ways he could not have imagined back then. It would give him the strength to do what he needed to do. Or he would die trying.
* * *
Trina dreamt of another life that had her living near the turn of the twentieth century. She was married to a dashing man named Will and they had an adorable son named Christopher, and his constant companion was a collie named Sunny.
It was the perfect life and Trina couldn't have been happier. Will worshipped the ground she walked on and had proven to be the man she'd waited her entire life for. When they kissed, her heart skipped a beat
every time and her love for him grew stronger.
Just as she was immersed in such a moment, Trina opened her eyes. She realized with sudden disappointment that it was only a dream. Yet it had seemed so real. She understood why. After her strange encounter with the characters yesterday, and no longer sure if they were real or in her imagination, quite naturally they had carried over into her dreams.
Before then, Trina had tossed and turned, wondering if she would ever get to sleep. And, worse, what she might awaken to in a new day.
She dragged herself out of bed and slipped her robe over her nightshirt. It must be this house, she told herself. It must be haunted. She had never been superstitious before, but she had to entertain the possibility that she had come face to face with ghosts from a distant past. How else could she explain what was going on without thinking she was cracking up?
Trina made herself some coffee and sat at her laptop. She looked up Will and Catherine Bonner. As expected, there wasn't much to be found other than the fact that they were locals, well respected, and had become historians of the region who lived well into their eighties.
Next she tried Christopher Bonner, whom she believed was Lucille's father. There was a bit more information on him. He was a successful businessman in Denver and very charitable. His wife, Rosaline, was a schoolteacher, as was their only child, Lucille, the current owner of the cabin.
Trina found it interesting, but there was nothing to suggest she had been communicating with ghosts.
On a whim, she decided to look up Billy the Kid, whom the rental agent had said was rumored to have once lived in the cabin.
There was no information to indicate that William Bonney had escaped his fate that was widely documented—dying at the hand of Sheriff Pat Garrett in Fort Sumner, New Mexico Territory on July 14, 1881.
Trina studied two of the few known photographs of Billy the Kid. There did seem to be some resemblance between him and the man who called himself Will Bonner, were one to imagine Billy the Kid to have made it to his late thirties with a mustache. She wondered if it was truly possible that the two men were one and the same.
Could the man she met—or imagined speaking to—really have been an outlaw who was said to have killed as many as twenty-one men? Maybe William Bonney and William Bonner had more in common than she cared to believe.
Trina was not sure what to think at this point other than she had not lost her mind, even if it may have been playing tricks on her.
She hoped that speaking with Lucille Bonner might shed more light on her recent experience.
After retrieving the card she'd given her, Trina called the old woman.
"How nice to hear from you," Lucille said in a chipper voice.
"I was wondering if we could meet this afternoon in Melrose," Trina said. "I'm thinking of incorporating some facts about this cabin's history for my next historical novel and wanted to pick your brain."
"That sounds wonderful. I'll be happy to tell you whatever I can."
"Thanks," Trina said. "I'll see you then at around three."
"I look forward to it," Lucille told her.
Trina disconnected the phone and immediately wondered if she was grasping at straws or if there were some mysterious forces at work, bridging the past and present...
* * *
Trina stepped inside the Peaceful Paradise assisted living facility and was greeted by Lucille, who gave her a hug.
"Welcome," she said.
"Thanks for having me," Trina told her.
Lucille's eyes crinkled. "Let's sit over there by the window and you can ask me anything you like."
She cupped an arm beneath Trina's for support as they made their way to the chairs surrounding a small table with coffee and donuts.
"I hope you drink coffee," Lucille said, sipping her own.
"I do, thanks," Trina said, pouring herself a cup.
"So how can I help you?"
Trina debated whether or not to mention her encounters with Will Bonner, his son Chris, and the dog named Sunny. Would Lucille think she was crazy?
She decided against it. I wish I'd thought to take pictures of them with my cell phone, Trina thought.
After nibbling on a donut, she said, "I find the history of the cabin fascinating. I wanted to learn more about your grandparents—William and Catherine..."
"Oh, they were delightful people," Lucille said. "Full of life, fascinating, and loving. Grandpa Bill, as I called him, loved to tell stories of the Old West."
"Did he ever talk about Billy the Kid?" Trina asked, gazing at her with interest.
"Why yes, as a matter of fact he did. I believe he knew Billy when they were young men." Lucille chuckled. "But grandpa was never involved in any of Billy's criminal activities during his all too brief life."
Trina wasn't so sure about that, especially if her grandfather was Billy the Kid, whose life would not have been so brief after all. "Did your dad ever mention anything about your mother going away for a time when he was maybe seven or eight?"
Lucille's eyes grew wide. "Yes, but how did you—?"
"As a historical writer, I am also very good at researching my storylines," Trina answered quickly. "I dug up that little tidbit online from some obscure article and wondered about it."
"My grandmother was the same way with her ability to gather information for her books," Lucille remarked. "Apparently, in her quest for knowledge, she did disappear, leaving my grandfather and father for who knows where, before returning to her life. Dad said she never left them again."
Trina wondered if it was possible that someone could be two people at once in different times without being the wiser through some quirk of fate.
Could I be Catherine Bonner in another time? she thought. If so, that would make Lucille her granddaughter.
Trina wasn't sure how to process that, along with the other strange aspects of this experience.
After tasting the coffee, she asked casually, "Did your dad ever happen to mention anything about his dog Sunny?"
Lucille put her cup down. "My, you are full of surprises. Yes, dad loved Sunny and felt he'd lost a part of himself when the poor dog died." She paused. "Strangely enough, he did say that Sunny also seemed to practically vanish into thin air from time to time, before returning as though she'd never left."
* * *
During the drive back to the cabin, Trina was still thinking about Sunny's vanishing act from the late 1890s, which seemed to coincide with appearing before her in 2012. The more she tried to dismiss everything that had occurred as having a perfectly rational explanation, the more she thought otherwise. Somehow the past and present had found a way to merge and she had become linked to Catherine Bonner. As a result, she had also become linked to William and Christopher Bonner, as well as Sunny.
Trina tried to imagine explaining that to Madsen. Her friend had a vivid imagination, but she would likely find it very hard to digest.
All Trina knew was that she now had a burning desire to somehow return to the past, which she had visited briefly, and the family she had left behind. But was that even possible?
Was Catherine Bonner's history truly her history? Or did time make its own rules so she might never see William and Chris again, even though Lucille said that her grandmother had returned, never to leave again.
* * *
Will didn't know if it was magic, his imagination, or sheer willpower. Whatever the case, he had somehow succeeded in apparently going to the future.
At the very least, it was clear to him that the cabin he now stood in was different from the one he had been in moments earlier. The furnishings had changed and there was an air about it that struck him as ahead of its time.
If this was indeed 2012, where was Catherine? He had looked for her throughout the house. Could she have gone back in time again and they somehow passed each other in time like ships in the mist?
The thought that he might never again be in the same time and place as his beloved gave Will a chill. He co
uld not have come so far only to be rebuffed in his efforts to reunite his family.
Will stepped outside and noticed that the landscape itself had changed with trees where there were none and other cabins that appeared to have sprouted up like flowers. He heard a sound and turned around to see a strange looking automobile drive up.
He smiled when he realized that Catherine was the person driving it. His pulse raced at the thought of whether she would run into his arms or in the opposite direction.
* * *
Trina was shocked to find Will waiting for her. Had he traveled to the future? Or had she somehow driven more than a hundred years into the past? Either way, she was thrilled to see him again after fearing she might not.
She got out of the car, trying to keep from shaking too much. "Will..." she uttered.
"Yes, it's me," he said, approaching her.
"Where are Christopher and Sunny?"
"They're not here," he said.
She noted that he was in turn of the twentieth century attire. "Have I gone back in time?"
"Actually, it's me who's done some traveling." He gazed down at her. "I'm in your time..."
Trina raised a brow. "How?"
Will did not even pretend to know the answer. "Probably the same way you got here."
She couldn't really argue the point, though Trina wasn't sure in her case which had occurred first.
"Let's go inside," she said, hoping that would not trigger one or the other disappearing before they could talk.
"Good idea," Will said. He wanted her all to himself and not to get back into that vehicle and drive away from him.
Once they were in the cabin, Trina faced Will, remembering the searing kiss he had given her when they last laid eyes on each other. She longed for him to kiss her again.
But first they had some things to discuss.
She gave him a direct look. "Is your real name William Bonney?"
Will was thrown by the question. How could she have possibly figured that out? Then he realized that many years had passed, plenty of time to gather facts that were his closely guarded secret. It was time she knew the truth.
"Yes," he muttered.
Her lashes fluttered. "You're Billy the Kid," she said, to be sure.
"I was," Will admitted. "But I haven't been a kid for some time."