Stealing Time (22 page)

There was no signature, but Kate knew who’d
written it. She recognized the beautiful flowing script of her
mother-in-law. “Drew, come here.” Kate held out the note for him to
see.

Drew took the paper from her hand. “She sent
the luggage. She knew all along what you were doing. It’s her way
of saying it’s okay. She understands.” Tears filled his eyes. They
both walked over to the couch and sat down.

“I think you two need a minute. I’m going to
get some fresh air.” Kate’s father left his seat and went down the
stairs of the Pullman.

“Drew, how much did you know about your dad
before the trip?” Kate waited until hers was out of sight before
asking the question.

“I always suspected he had connections.
That’s why I asked for his help to convince Albert to visit his
mother on Christmas Eve. Lots of men visited the store office, but
I always thought they were customers. I have to say I was surprised
by all the guards at the house. I don’t remember that when I was
growing up. I haven’t really been home in the last few years except
for short visits. I always headed to the canyon in the summer since
I was fifteen.” His sentences came out one jumbled thought after
another. “How could I be so blind?”

“You love him. He’s your father.”

“One that wants to control my life.”

“True, but how long would that have
lasted?”

“I don’t know. He was doing a pretty good job
without me realizing it. I was neglecting you and letting you be
held prisoner in my home. I didn’t even know. I feel awful about
that.” Drew covered his face with his hands.

“You would’ve come to your senses.” Kate
rubbed his shoulder.

“Only because of you. You made me see the
light.”

“You couldn’t have stayed away from the
canyon. One day we would have gotten back there, probably lived in
the cabin.” Kate hoped that was true. She was the only one with
information on how far Nicolas would go to get what he wanted. She
could’ve been next on his list if she kept up the resistance. Would
she have given in and lived there to keep the peace? She
involuntarily shuddered.

“Are you okay?” Drew faced her and placed his
arm around her.

Kate decided she couldn’t keep her adventure
entirely to herself. She had to share some of it with him. “Did you
ever go into the offices on the second floor?”

“Once in awhile but it was discouraged. We
weren’t supposed to interrupt Father when he was conducting
business.”

“Oh, he conducts business alright,” Kate
scoffed.

“What does that mean?”

“I was exploring, waiting for you the first
night we were there. I was in the office area when Albert was
brought in to talk to your father.”

“You went in there! Did they see you?”

“No, I hid in the conference room. I heard
them threaten Albert. It was awful. I think he was punched in the
stomach by someone named Rudy.”

Drew sat quietly, rubbing his forehead. “That
isn’t what I had in mind when I asked Father to talk to Albert. I
hope you know that.”

“Of course, I do! You had no idea he was
capable of beating someone up and threatening children.”

“Wait...what? You mean he threatened Albert’s
sons?”

“Yes.” Kate hung her head. She needed to end
it, or she’d continue with the story, unable to stop. “I’m afraid
your father’s in charge. You know, the boss.”

Drew looked stunned as if it was the very
first time he heard the news. He took the letter from his mother
and held it to his heart. “She knew...she knows...and is doing the
best for the family.”

“She also knows you’re free from that life.
Think how happy she is right now.”

“Just for a few weeks until they get the news
of my untimely death.”

“She’s very tough, resilient. She’ll be happy
you got away and enjoyed those last few weeks of your life.”

“Yes, she would.” Drew nodded and leaned back
into the sofa. He closed his eyes. “I finally feel at peace.
Looking back on this, it was a stressful week. I love you, Kate. If
I hadn’t found you...”

“Shhh.” Kate put her finger on his lips.
“Just rest. It’s been a big day.”

* * * *

Drew stood, machine gun in hand, holding it
steady on Kate’s father.

“Please, Drew, he didn’t know. He was just
trying to write a story. He accidentally found out about the
shipments. The liquor distributions. The payoffs. He won’t
tell!”

“Be quiet.” Drew’s eyes could barely be seen
under the black fedora he wore. It was cocked a little to one side
and pulled down, almost covering those beautiful green eyes. “You
asked him to stop, but he wouldn’t. Now he has to be silenced.”

“He’s my father. You can’t be that
cruel.”

“I’ve got my orders.”

“Orders? Is that what it comes down to? Your
wife is begging for her father’s life, and you have your orders?”
Kate could hardly look at the handsome man, wearing the same suit
he wore at her eighteenth birthday. She remembered thinking that
day all he needed was a machine gun to finish the look. And now he
had one.

Drew raised the gun and placed it at her
father’s temple. “Just one shot should do it. Kathryn, you need to
leave.”

“No!”

“Rudy, take her to my bedroom, lock the door
and stand guard.”

Kate struggled as she was led away. When the
door shut behind her, she thought she heard a gunshot.

“No!” Kate sat straight up and looked over at
a sleeping Drew. His face was so innocent, so calm. She hoped she
hadn’t wakened him.

“Everything okay?” Her dad ran up the
Pullman’s steps.

“A dream, that’s all.” Kate wanted to say a
nightmare but stopped. “What time is it, Dad? We must have dozed
off.”

“Close to dinner. The porter will be here
soon. I think we need a good night’s sleep, something I’m sure you
haven’t had in awhile.” He touched his daughter’s cheek. “You
shouldn’t have gone through this. I blame myself. I promised to
never put you in danger again.”

“Dad...”

“No, I knew how bad it was. I knew what
Nicolas really was and how he made his money. I let finding my
brother blind me to everything else. You almost paid the
price...again.”

“We’ll never go back there...ever. Promise
you won’t either.”

“If it gives you peace of mind, I
promise.”

“This time of year is off limits, right?”

“How many times do you want him to promise?”
Drew sat up, laughing. “Did I hear someone mention food? I’m
starving.”

Drew put his arm around Kate and pulled her
close as if she needed protection. She didn’t want him or her
father coddling her. She could take care of herself. She hoped he
realized she’d never tell her father what happened to Albert. She
wanted to protect him. Nothing good could come from her dad knowing
the truth.

“Dinner is served.” The porter seemed to
magically appear, placing a large tray on the dining table.

“Thank you.” Kate smiled at him, glad to see
a friendly face.

Drew and her father joined her at the table.
Tension seemed to dissipate as the family enjoyed the meal in
blissful silence. Wine was poured, and glasses refilled as they
finished the meal and headed over to the couches.

Kate looked at the two most important men in
her life. This was the first time she was really angry with Drew,
feeling lonely and scared even though they were together. The
lessons learned on the trip would help them in the future. Make
them stronger as a couple. Little did Nicolas realize he helped
solidify their bond. Kate had always viewed her relationship as
perfect. Now she learned that wasn’t the case. It’s not humanly
possible to live that way. Mistakes will be made. The emotional
wall she put up in New York was slowly coming down.

Watching her father as he poured more wine
into his glass, Kate was silently grateful he was on the train
where she could keep an eye on him. Since his confession of wanting
to be an investigative journalist, she knew he wouldn’t stop until
he got the answers he needed. She wanted him to think he had
them.

Kate’s dad held up his glass. “To my best
friend and son-in-law, Andrew Martin. Someone who I trust with my
life...and my daughter’s.” They all took a long drink from their
glasses.

“Jack, there’s something I need to tell
you.”

Kate could tell Drew’s guilt was rising
inside him. He wanted to say he didn’t protect Kate as he should
have. “We love you and are glad you were here to help,” she quickly
interrupted. She didn’t want her father exploding into a rage over
what happened at the Martin house. Things had finally calmed down,
and she wanted to keep it that way. “Isn’t that right?” Kate smiled
at Drew, begging him with her eyes to agree.

“No, Kate, it isn’t. Let me finish. I did a
terrible job of taking care of her, Jack. You have every right to
be angry.”

“In the end, you did the right thing. Am I
correct about that?” He put his glass on the table. “That’s all
that matters. You two are very young and had to make decisions no
one at your age should have to. I think you did an admirable job.
Now how about if we get some sleep? It’s been a long day.”

Kate was more than happy to oblige, even
though it was her father telling her to go to bed. They settled in
for a night at the train station, hoping for the best. So far,
everything had gone as planned.

* * * *

A loud bang woke everyone in the early
morning hours. Kate muffled a scream as her dad and Drew jumped out
of bed. The sound was deafening, like it was right outside the
door.

“It’s fine. They’re just hooking up to the
train.” Drew grabbed his watch. “It’s seven a.m. so we still have
three hours to wait. I’d say so far so good.”

Kate’s heart still pounded from being
startled awake. She wrongly assumed it was a gunshot. Relieved to
know it wasn’t, she watched out the window as the Pullman was
coupled to the train headed for Chicago.

“Let’s keep busy, shall we?” Her father spoke
up. “Get ready for the day, and then I’ll let the porter know we’re
ready for breakfast. No one leaves the car except me.”

“I don’t think any of us should leave.” Kate
didn’t want to let her dad out of her sight. “We’re attached to the
train, so the porter should be on board.”

“True, so it shouldn’t be a problem. I’m just
saying if the need arises, I’ll be the one to go.”

Kate nodded like she was in agreement,
deciding to argue her case only if needed. She went to the closet
and pulled out some clothes to wear for the day. Not really caring
how she looked, she grabbed something, hoping they were matching
pieces.

Please let this train leave on time. I
want to go home.
Kate was a little surprised by her admission
because when she usually said home she thought of the canyon. But
this time home meant Ohio.

After breakfast they passed the time talking
about Anna, the funeral, the guests who came, Carl and Renae,
anything but the time spent in New York. When the train finally
began to move, the mood in the cabin changed. It was like a weight
had lifted, everyone could breathe again.

Drew pulled his watch out from his pocket and
looked at the time. “Ten o’clock on the dot. Good-bye New York.
Hello Grand Canyon.”

Kate knew it would be a few days before she
was really home, but the progress they made would sustain her until
then. She wanted to take Drew’s words and change them to “Good-bye
New York and Nicolas. Good luck. You’ll never find us, no matter
how long you look or how far you travel.”

Chapter
Sixteen

Are we back?
It was a little odd,
waking at the ranch on the return trip to the present. Kate had to
get her bearings. She glanced around the room and then at Drew.
They were in Anna’s bed, both holding their books. Kate didn’t know
the time or what day it was. She assumed it was the weekend.
Looking over at the nightstand, Kate noticed an envelope with her
name on it. She quickly took the note out, and read a message from
Lindsey:

Stopped by Tuesday night. Thought you’d be
here. Made up excuse why you weren’t with me. Said you two were
enjoying the campus and would return later. Will be back Saturday.
Hope you’re here by then. If not, I’ll check again Sunday.

Starting to worry.

L

“Drew, wake up.” Kate gave him a little push.
“It’s Saturday. Right?”

“Yeah, I believe so... or maybe Sunday?” He
scratched his head in confusion. “I guess we’ll find out soon
enough.”

Kate jumped out of bed and smoothed her
clothes as she looked in the mirror. “We look like we’ve been
traveling...in another century!” She still wore the outfit she
picked out on the train the day they left the New York station. She
insisted they keep moving, never stopping to change or shower. The
pull to get back to the present was so strong, almost like she was
needed there.

“Drew, Grandmother Lilly said we should go to
New York City as soon as possible. Are you up for another trip when
we get home?”

“As long as we fly. I can’t do another road
trip.”

“Good thing we kept up our schoolwork. We
already missed a week of class. We’ll spend the week catching up
and leave next weekend. The law office won’t open until Monday so
we’ll have to stay until Tuesday.”

“Sunday till Tuesday, it is, then. I guess
you can fill me in on the details later, but let’s give ourselves a
little more time...say two weeks.” Drew ran his hand over his eyes
and stared around the room. “It’s comforting here. I thought it’d
be a little strange, but it isn’t.”

“I feel the same.” Kate looked over to see
Drew rubbing his face as if he had more on his mind. “Something
bothering you?”

“Yes and no. Let’s leave it at that. We have
enough to worry about.”