Chapter 1 #2
But all that didn’t matter now. All that mattered was that she goes back to the past, ask him to explain why he had abandoned her, and come back to the present.
She wondered if she even wanted to know the truth, even wanted to hear that her father preferred to live his life without her. No wonder she had panic attacks just thinking about it.
She delved into the material before her and finding one of the secret pockets in the cloak, she pulled out a heart-shaped locket and opened it.
Inside was a small photo of her father, mother, and her as a child.
She sighed. Aunt Di had told her he knew of the locket and knew that only his daughter would have it, but Bree wasn’t so certain he was openminded enough to believe such things.
Yes, he came back to the future to be with his wife and child and he must have learned many things, but he was still a seventh-century man, with seventh-century superstitions and all that went with that.
Would he be able to comprehend that she was now a grown woman, not the six-year-old he’d left?
To his mind, his daughter would be not much older than the child of five in the picture.
Bree let out a laugh at her silliness. Of course, her father would know she had aged, just as he would have done over the course of twenty-one years.
Bree pushed the locket back into its hidey hole and began cutting and sewing.
She didn’t know how long she’d been working when Garrett crashed down the basement stairs two and three at a time.
“Guess what?”
Bree put down the dress she’d been working on and grinned. By the smile on Garrett’s face, she surmised all went well in town. “What?”
“We know what the baby is.”
“Human?”
“Ha ha.”
“So, are you going to tell me or am I supposed to guess?”
“Guess.”
Laura, holding tightly to the railing, descended the stairs. “Stop teasing her, Garrett.” She stepped onto the basement floor and rubbed her stomach. “It’s a girl.”
“Oh.” Garrett sulked. “I wanted her to guess.”
“I’m sorry, but she had a fifty-fifty chance of getting it right anyway.”
Bree laughed. “I was going to say girl.” She hopped off the stool and rounded the long wooden bench, holding out her arms to Laura. “I’m so happy for you.”
After a long hug, Bree turned to Garrett, who had a wide smile pasted to his lips. “Weren’t you hoping for a boy?”
“I was, at least I thought a boy would be easier to raise, but a girl? Wow, I am over the moon excited to have my own little daughter.”
Bree gave him a hug. “You’ll be a great dad.”
The moment she let him go, Laura ducked under his arm. “I think so too.”
“Well, I’ll try anyway.” He looked around the basement and his gaze rested on the bench where Bree had been sitting. “What were you doing anyway?”
“I thought I’d add more hidden pockets. Your parents only had two in each outfit.”
“Why do you need more?” Laura asked, picking up the medieval dress.
“I figured better more and not need them than less and need more.”
Garrett moved stuff around on the bench, picking small tools up and placing them back down again, then raised his brows at Bree. “You taking your whole tool kit with you?”
“Not all of it, no, but I am taking some stuff. Mom told me a story once of how Dad’s sister was locked up in the dungeon and she said she would have killed for a locksmith kit.”
“I don’t know,” Garrett said. “If someone found anything like this,” he waved his hand over the bench, “how would you explain it?”
“I don’t intend on anyone finding anything.”
“You’re staying for the birth of our little girl, aren’t you?” Laura asked, handing her the dress.
Bree looked over the basement trying to find something she still needed to do. “I’ve still got heaps to do before I leave, so yeah, I’ll be hanging around for a bit longer. And anyway, we need to fix up the nursery.”
Laura beamed. “Thank you.”
“Good,” Garrett said, taking Laura’s hand. “We’ll make lunch then.”
They walked to the stairs and Laura turned. “Don’t be long.”
Bree smiled and went back to her stool but once her cousin and his wife left, she stood there twirling the seat round and round with her hand.
She could always find something to do, but if she were honest, there wasn’t anything important to do.
She could go right then, but the thought of leaving Garrett and Laura made her heart hurt.
She’d never felt so wanted before, sure her animals needed her, but not the same as Laura did.
Laura wanted her to be there for the birth of their daughter, and Bree’s heart swelled at how much Laura had come to mean to her. Not only was she Garrett’s wife, but she was Bree’s best friend, closer even than any of the Davis cousins had ever been. She would miss her more than anything.
And then there was living in the big old house again. Bree loved the creature comforts and had to admit she wasn’t looking forward to living without electricity and all the things that came with it again.
She’d lived in the house with Aunt Di and Uncle Mark after her grandmother died, but once they had children of their own, Bree couldn’t help feeling out of place.
Not that they made her feel unwelcome, but with them gone so much, and with the house staff and nanny looking after the kids, Bree just didn’t feel like she was contributing a whole lot.
So once her four cousins were all in school, she got a job and moved into a small apartment in town.
But after a year there, she decided she needed to find her own place and to prepare herself for when she would go back in time to meet her father.
She found a small plot of land on Rock Creek and chose to stay off grid to be more in keeping with medieval times.
She built a small shack with some help from some of the locals and took courses in leatherwork, locksmithing, and animal husbandry.
But even with all that, she still didn’t feel equipped to live in ancient England.
Just thinking about going there made her pulse quicken.
She plopped down on the stool and, resting her elbows on the bench, cradled her chin in her hands.
She moved the orbs to one side and smiled.
Laura needed her, so she would be mean not to stay.
brEE KEPT BUSY HELPING Laura and Garrett make up the nursery. They found Garrett’s old cot in the attic, had it inspected to make sure it was safe for the baby, and installed it in pride of place in the middle of what was Izzy’s room, which was next door to their room.
They found an old rocking chair that they had restored and packed it with cushions.
Bree placed it in the corner by the window so Laura could nurse and gaze at the view or watch Garrett work the horses outside.
With them wanting more children in the future, they kept the main color scheme all shades of green but threw in accents of pink and blue.
It looked amazing but tears burnt the back of Bree’s eyes as she hung the mobile over the cot. The room was finished.
“I’ll see you in a bit,” she said and hurried out of the room before they saw her tears.
Finishing the room felt like Bree was ending a special time in her life, and she needed to be alone to work through those feelings.
She made her way to the study. She’d spent so much time there that she had taken ownership of it; The natural wood bookshelves, desk and chairs gave the room a cozy feeling.
It was like coming in out of the cold and into a loving warm embrace.
The room made her feel safe and loved, and at that moment she needed to feel both those things.
She sat back in the sofa and stared at the portrait of her mother and father she had hung above the fireplace. Her mother seemed to look straight into Bree’s soul. She lowered her gaze to her hands that she was wringing in her lap.
“I know, Mom. I know.”
brEE’S HEART POUNDED as she set the dates on the white orb, the black one already having been preset with all the past dates the Davis siblings and Bree were to time travel.
She calmed her breaths as much as she was able and digging her hand in the cloak pocket, she held the locket tightly for a moment.
She picked up the white orb and smiled at Garrett and Laura.
“I guess I’m ready to go.”
Garret put his arm around Laura’s shoulders. “Are you sure you can’t stay until Laura has the baby?”
Bree tightened her lips and bent her head sideways.
“I did want to, I really did, but Laura and the baby are healthy, and you guys don’t need me here and Garrett, you know I’ve waited a long time for this.
” She threw her arms out, asking for understanding.
“I can’t wait any longer and to tell you the truth, if I don’t go now, I’m scared I’ll never go. ”
Laura stepped forward and patted Bree on the shoulder. “We understand, don’t we, Garrett? You and your sisters have all found love; now it’s Bree’s turn.”
Garrett smashed his lips together. “I guess.”
Love was the last thing Bree was looking for.
She’d been on her own for so long, she couldn’t even contemplate what it would be like sharing her life, her things, her home with someone else and especially, a man.
She was too busy preparing for her journey into the past to take the dating scene seriously.
Oh, she’d gone out with some men, but she always thought of them as friends, so they weren’t really dates as such.
While she always thought she’d have time for real dates and boyfriends later in her life, now the thought of having a man think he had a say in how she lived, made her balk.
Even her old neighbor, who was a great help at times, tried to talk her into expanding her cabin and installing modern appliances.
She shivered. No thank you. “It’s not love I want to find, it’s my father. ”
Laura grinned. “Daughterly love is still love.”
Bree clicked her tongue. “True.”
Laura crossed the space between them and hugged Bree. “You look beautiful. That emerald green suits your coloring perfectly.”
“Yeah, Aunt Di knew her stuff.” Bree turned her gaze to Garrett. “I’m sorry.”
He smiled but it only touched his eyes for a second. “It’s all good, cuz. I do understand, but I want you to come back and let us know how you get along. I don’t want to be worried about you all my life.”
“You don’t have to worry about me. Your parents taught me everything I need to know about the time period, and what do you think I’ve been doing all these years? I’ve been learning to live a subsistence life, that’s what.”
“And you’ve done well at it.”
She bopped him on the shoulder. “I sure have, buster.”
Garrett picked her up in a bear hug. “I’ll miss you.”
Once he’d set her back down, Bree turned the top of the orb and Garrett and Laura blanked out of existence.