Time Will Tell (Timeless Series) (16 page)

Other questions formed. Where had the lad come from? What was he doing out by the two oak trees? Where did he get the clothes? And for that matter, why change? It was all very puzzling.

Liberty Edwards was a godsend, so maybe he came from heaven. Lads that talented with horses didn’t show up every day on his farm. Colin decided to have a more in-depth talk with Berta as soon as possible.

The shrill whistle of the train blasted in the air and the big steam engine and four cars slowed to a stop. Colin promptly disembarked, headed to the livery to pick up his horse
, and was well on his way home in no time.

At the stables, he left his horse with a handler for grooming and went looking for Berta, who was outside hanging laundry.

“Colin?” She nodded, watching his approach.

He halted near her basket and peered down at the ground
, trying to figure out a way to broach the subject of Libby. When he didn’t say anything, she bent and pulled a shirt out of the basket, shook it out, and then used a wooden pin to anchor the ends on the line. “Was there something important you needed?” Her questioning glance rested on his face.

“Um…yes
…um…” He rubbed his chin with his thumb and forefinger, still thinking. Finally, he decided to just blurt it out. “There’s something strange about Liberty Edwards, and I’m betting you know what that is.”

“We all have secrets.” Berta looked away quickly, but not quick enough for Colin to miss the bit of pink hitting her cheeks
, along with a guilty expression clouding her eyes. “Some are worth keeping.”

“Oh?” Colin waited until Berta glanced back at him before raising his eyebrows. “If there’s something I should know, you’d best tell me.”

When Berta remained silent with her attention on the basket filled with clothes, Colin sighed. “I mean the child no harm. I just want to know more about him. Like where he came from and who his people are.” He shook his head. “It’s not like my farm is on the beaten path.”

The blonde woman’s cheeks took on a rosy hue as she shook out a pair of long
johns and proceeded to hang them on the line.

“How could he just show up out of nowhere?” How had he gotten to the farm, miles away from town? Berta knew more and he wasn’t about to leave it alone until she told him everything.

Her lips thinning in a straight line, Berta appeared to be waging a mental battle. Wringing her hands, she looked up at him but Colin could read nothing in her guarded expression.

“What? You know something.” He eyed her for several seconds. “I told you I mean the boy no harm, but he’s so young. Someone must care about him.”

“
Ja
, she is young…” She shook her head. “I meant
he
.” Her face grew a darker shade of pink, if that were possible.

Totally stunned and not fooled one bit by her cover-up, he struggled to keep his face blank. “She
,” he asked, looking at her for substantiation.

Finally, Berta nodded. “She’s definitely not a boy,” she said, exhaling another long breath.

This whole thing just kept getting more interesting by the minute, he thought, swallowing hard.

“I’m sorry I didn’t tell you or Gus, but she seemed desperate to stay. And I figured if she was as good as she claimed, both of you needed her.” She reached for another shirt to hang. “Now you know why I didn’t want her staying in the bunkhouse.”

Unable to disagree with either claim, he remained silent, trying to digest the information. The lad who urged his horses to ride like the wind was a girl. The idea boggled his mind.

After pinning the shirt in place, Berta turned back to him, her features taut with worry. “You’ll let her continue working?”

“Of course I will.” He wasn’t heartless. Besides, he’d be crazy to turn her out when she knew horses. Unfortunately, there went the perfect solution to his problem of hiring a jockey. He couldn’t in all good conscience subject a young girl to such a dangerous sport. It had been bad enough when he thought her a boy. Boys grew up and needed a livelihood, so in essence Colin had been helping rather than aiding and abetting an unsafe situation.

Then remembering the other night, he asked, “Do you know where she came from?”

“Only what she told us at dinner.” Berta proceeded to tell him. “I’m not sure how much is true. But since she’s safe and is a good worker, I decided it wasn’t my business.”

“Hmmm.”
Colin thought about this for a moment. “Do you think Nathan might know more about her?”

“
’Tis possible.” A smile took over Berta’s face. “They’re thick as thieves. Libby spent the better part of the afternoon working with my boy. Right now, she’s helping Gus with one of the pregnant mares. Since Nathan had no stomach for watching a foal being born, you’ll probably find him in one of the twin oaks.”

Gus most likely had things under control in the stables, especially if Libby was helping with the mare’s foaling. Colin made a detour to the trees, which was exactly where he found Nathan sitting on a high branch, kicking his legs in the air.

“Hello, Nathan.”

Waving, Nathan smiled.
“Hey, Mr. Thorpe.”

“Mind if I have a chat with you?” When the boy nodded, Colin started climbing and was soon sitting next to him, legs dangling. “You know Libby pretty well, don’t you?”

“Yeah,” Nathan said, nodding. “But he’s leaving.”

“Libby’s leaving?” Something akin to disappointment welled up in Colin’s gut. He shook it off as impossible. There was nowhere for the girl to go.

Suddenly, the boy clapped a hand over his mouth and his eyes got big. “Never mind,” he said, glancing down at the ground.

Colin remained silent, pretending to be deep in thought. Then he said, “What do you know about Libby leaving?”

“I can’t tell. It’s a secret.”

“A secret?” He swallowed his smile. In his experience, it would take no time to unearth the news Nathan held back, but the key was using the right bait. “What if you tell me what it is and I promise to keep it a secret? That way you and I will have a secret.”

Nathan considered this for several minutes,
then came back with, “Will you let me ride Zeus?”

Colin laughed. Imagine
, the little bugger was bargaining with him. Shaking his head at how easily he’d been manipulated, his smile broke free.

“Sure, Nathan, I can do that. So tell me. What’s the secret you two share?”

“You promise not to tell Libby I told you?” When he nodded, he added, holding out his hand, “You have to shake on it.”

Still smiling, Colin shook it. “
OK, now give. What’s the secret?”

“Libby’s from the future.”

“The future?” What the hell? “Where’s the future?”

Nathan shrugged. “I
dunno, but it’s far away. The trees brought him here. That’s why I wasn’t supposed to tell anyone, especially adults ’cuz they might think he’s crazy. You won’t think he’s crazy, will you?”

Of course it sounded crazy, Colin thought, absorbing his revelation. That just couldn’t be. People didn’t go through trees into another era. Maybe Nathan didn’t understand exactly where Libby was from. It could be some city he’d never heard of. The minute the thought was out, he discarded it. He looked up into the tree
’s branches and wondered. If the trees took people through time, then why didn’t they whisk him someplace different?

He thought back to the other night. Was that why she was wearing different clothes?
Because she came from the future? My God, it was unbelievable. At the same time, it all began to make sense. If he hadn’t seen her disappear and reappear with his own eyes, there was no possible chance that he would have believed what Nathan told him.

An anxious expression slid over Nathan’s face. “
Yer not going to fire him, are you? Libby really needs the job and has to stay by the trees in order to go home.”

“No, Nathan, Libby will have a job here as long as he needs it. But let’s not say anything about where he comes from. It will be our secret.”

Nathan’s face took on a toothy grin before he said, “Yeah, our secret. So, when can I ride Zeus?”

Colin had to laugh at Nathan’s one-track mind. “You’ll have to wait until things slow down a bit. Think you can do that?”

“Sure, Mr. Thorpe.”

“Good. I’ll leave you to your tree. Thanks
, Nathan. I think you helped Libby by telling me. Don’t forget. It’s our secret. Mum’s the word, OK?”

“Sure, mum’s the word.” Nathan’s grin got wider. “I like that new word.” He repeated it several times.

With thoughts on his newest employee, Colin climbed down and started for the stables. It was bad enough to try to wrap his mind around the lad being a girl. He couldn’t fathom the rest.

How had she fooled them all?
Except for Berta. But he couldn’t blame her for remaining tight-lipped on the subject. Women usually stuck together in times of trouble. He could picture Berta going one-on-one with Gus about Libby sleeping in the bunkhouse. That thought made him smile and cringe at the same time. One thing he was sure of as he neared the foaling mare’s stall, Libby was good with horses. She must have had some experience with them to be able to ride and to handle them so well.

“The foal needs to be turned,” Gus said as he neared the pregnant mare’s stall and took in the scene before him. Libby stood to the side, watching,
a fearful expression on her face.

Electra and her foal were in good hands
. Colin slipped in to give what aid he could without saying anything. Now was not the time for a confrontation.

Still, he had lots of questions. Being a betting man, he’d bet his favorite thoroughbred, Zeus, that she’d be at the trees after dinner tonight, just like the other night. He planned on being there, too, waiting to get his answers.

Leaving the newborn colt with his mother after a difficult birth, Colin followed Gus out to the corral to work with the mating stallions. Libby kept busy in a separate pasture
, training yearlings. During the earlier ordeal, Colin had watched the child closely, giving him ample opportunity to make out her feminine features. Her gentle cooing to calm the mare had been a dead giveaway. He had no idea how any of them could have mistaken her for a boy when there was nothing masculine about her. While not very old and having a boyish figure, Liberty Edwards was, as Berta so aptly put it, no male.

Shaking his head at their shortsightedness, he marveled at her nerve. Here she was a young girl taken away from her home in the future by—
OK, he knew it sounded bizarre—magical oak trees.

Had she really come from the future like Nathan had said? Or had Nathan simply told him a make-believe story?

The problem was, it made sense with what he’d seen—Libby standing in front of him one moment, disappearing the next, only to reappear seconds later.

Colin always kept an open mind to possibilities. While traveling from the future seemed about as farfetched as anything he could fathom, he’d read and studied too much about past cultures not to have a desire to believe in the unbelievable.

Take mythology, for one. Legends that ancient cultures believed, whether Greek, Roman, Hindu or Nordic, all had mystical ideologies behind them. Most cultures stemmed from some kind of belief in magical beginnings as an answer to their mysteries.

Science was just beginning to unravel a few mysteries, but there were still plenty of unanswered questions. During a world tour taken before his marriage, Colin had seen many amazing sights. Stonehenge in England and the pyramids of ancient Egypt left behind plenty of questions that may never be answered. Who was he to question the unexplainable?

“Libby’s become quite an asset to the farm in a matter of days,” he threw out, just to measure his manager’s reaction.

“
Ja
. The lad knows his stuff.” Gus went on singing Libby’s praises. In fact, the entire time they worked, it was Libby this or Libby that. According to Gus, she could single-handedly run the farm.

At quitting time, Colin was even more confused. How in the hell had this paragon won over his manager so easily? It was all too much. The girl, supposedly from the future, held Berta and Nathan in her pocket and now Gus was raving about her. He needed to find out what was what and he planned on doing so later that night.

Rubbing his hands together in anticipation, he took the porch steps to his house two at a time, hurrying to find his children, intending to spend time with them before dinner. Then after his evening meal, he hoped to catch Libby under the tree. That was the key to solving this puzzle.

An hour later, Colin entered the dining room and nodded at the nannies. “Good evening, ladies.” He sat and picked up his napkin to spread on his lap. “I trust you had no problems with the children while I was away?” Thank God Colin had found these two blessings. Neither had married, probably because both were a little odd. Or their spinster status could have more to do with their resemblance to horses. Each woman had a long narrow face dominated by big eyes and a wide mouth. The two pulled back their gr
aying hair into tight little buns, creating stern appearances, which were totally opposite of their manner.

Despite their looks, the Young sisters were two of the warmest individuals Colin had ever met.

“I believe Sam is ready to learn to ride a horse,” Minnie said, smiling warmly and recounting the story of his earlier escapades with his younger sister.

Colin sighed and nodded. “Once the busy part of the foaling season is over, I’ll have more time.”

“Horses are all that child talks about,” Maizie agreed. While she prattled on about more of the children’s exploits, Colin listened patiently, glad to know his children were so well-loved.

He’d taken on the two shortly after their father had died, leaving them nearly destitute. They needed employment and a place to live. Abby had needed help. The two became indispensable after Abby got pregnant again. In Colin’s opinion, Minnie and Maizie had not only taken care of his children, they’d also taken care of his wife during the last year of her life. For that he’d be eternally grateful.

Funny, Colin thought. Until that moment, his dead wife hadn’t entered his train of thought since the evening before. He smiled. Maybe he was healing. Lord, he hoped so. The guilt that ate at him because of Abby’s unhappiness wasn’t helping anyone.

“Ladies.”
Colin stood when done with dinner and held out both elbows to escort the spinster sisters to the library. “I have to check on my horses. I’ll see you in the morning.” Colin bowed and hurried toward the oak trees. At the same spot he’d hidden two nights earlier, he made himself comfortable. Though the sun was low on the horizon, it wouldn’t be dusk for a while.

Not more than a quarter hour passed before Libby walked down the path, and as before, she moved behind the bushes, emerging minutes later. Sure enough, she’d changed clothes. He watched the girl make her way to one of the trees and look up in total concentration, or a better definition might be in prayer. When nothing happened for a multitude of moments, her shoulders slumped in defeat, or possibly exertion. Colin wasn’t sure. She sat at the base of the tree, lean
ing back to rest her head against its trunk with her eyes closed.

Noiselessly Colin strode over to stand in front of her and studied her without her knowledge. From this angle, he noticed her delicate and feminine features. She would be a beauty in a few years. A smattering of freckles splayed across the bridge of her nose, the only imperfection on a face with flawless skin. Observing her thus, he really had to doubt his judgment at ever believing her to be a boy.

An owl hooted in the distance.

Her eyes flew open.

A startled blue-green gaze met his amused one. As before, Colin felt a jolt go through his system when he looked into the depths of those light eyes. Why this young girl elicited such a response from him, he didn’t know. But it was there nonetheless.

Then he spotted what looked to be the deed to his farm tucked into her vest. The spark of heat cooled instantly into icy rage that fingered down his spine.

~

Libby jerked awake and leaned away from the tree. “Mr. Thorpe. What are you doing here?” She couldn’t believe he stood in front of her.

Colin chuckled, but there was nothing humorous in the sound. “Funny, I could ask you the same question. In fact, I think I will. What are you doing out here? And that’s awfully strange attire you’re wearing, Libby.” His eyebrows shot up and he continued staring at her with an unreadable expression, until it hardened.

Too dumbfounded to speak, Libby gawked at him. He was dressed much the same as the first time she’d laid eyes on him in the stables. Up close he was devastating to her senses, all male, smelling of leather, horses
, and sweat. Her heart started pounding and her mind went blank. What was it about this man that made her lose her train of thought so easily? He turned away and she finally regained a measure of mental clarity.

Then he did the unbelievable and sat down next to her. He brought one knee up and placed his bent arm on the knee, creating an unconcerned pose.

He looked directly at her. His lips quirked in what looked to be a smile, but didn’t reach his eyes. “Well? Cat got your tongue?” He hesitated a bit before adding, “I’m waiting, Libby. What are you doing out here? With my deed?”

Uh-oh! Still at a loss for words, Libby knew she was in deep do
o-doo, but had no idea how to remedy the problem. What could she tell him? The truth? Yeah, right—that would get her kicked off the farm or put in the loony bin, and then she’d never get home. She let out a breath, thinking. “It’s a long story.” She started to rise, hoping to escape. “Look, I have to get back now. I just came out for some air.”

His arm shot out, straight and firm as a bar, holding her down.

“I’ve talked to Berta,” he said, sighing.
“And Nathan, who told me an incredible tale. Now I want to hear your version.”

“He told you?”
Libby’s eyes widened in horror. How could the little bugger give her up? She sat back down and her shoulders slumped.

“Yes, he told me. And as I said, his tale was astonishing.”

“Nathan promised he wouldn’t say anything,” she said, shaking her head. “Wait till I get my hands on him. He’s dead meat.”

She tried to shoot to her feet, but he halted her movements again.
“Whoa there, young lady. Calm down. It’s not his fault. You should know better than to tell a ten-year-old a secret.”

Having no choice, she settled back down as he continued speaking.

“You can get anything out of one if you know how to ask the right questions, especially one like Nathan. Besides, I promised him I wouldn’t say anything and look who’s breaking his promise now? But promises are overruled by extenuating circumstances.” He paused to take a breath. “When it comes to the welfare of my farm or my workers, I do what I have to do. Nathan’s just a youngster, who doesn’t know any better. I’m an adult doing what I feel is right, so let’s keep this between you and me, OK?”

Libby looked him squarely in the eyes.
Wrong thing to do. As much as she wanted to, she couldn’t look away. Colin Thorpe had the most beautiful blue eyes. Gazing into them, it was all Libby could do to keep from melting like an ice cube on the spot.

That he seemed as affected by the connection as she was even more disconcerting. Finally, he broke his visual hold and looked out toward the pasture for several minutes before he said, “Well, do we have an agreement? Can we keep this between us?”

“I don’t seem to have any choice, do I?” she was able to squeak out without his scrutiny.

“No, you don’t. And you might as well be honest with me because…” He turned back to her. “I saw you the other night.”

“You did?” She met his gaze again, unable to keep the stunned expression off her face. “What did you see?”

Colin flashed white teeth, moving his attention to the pasture a long moment before adding, “Let’s just say I saw enough to make me want to investigate. Now that I’ve talked to both Berta and Nathan, I want to hear what you have to say.”

“Oh, right.” Libby snorted. “Like you’re going to sit there and tell me you’d believe I came from the future!”

“Is that where you’re from?” he countered.

“Would you believe me if I said yes?” she shot back.

“If you told me it was true, then I would at the very least consider it. But what I don’t understand is why you’d take the deed to my land with you.”

His honest, yet puzzled, tone left Libby speechless. He had every right to be upset that she’d take his deed, but the idea that this man, sitting over a hundred years in her past, had such an open mind—more so than most from her century—was hard to grasp. Her gaze followed his toward the pastures as her mind spun.

Finally, her need to unburden herself and get another viewpoint was too much to resist. She glanced down at her hands and sighed. “I am from the future. Somehow the trees brought me here originally. Best I can tell it was from a wish I made. Unfortunately our scuffle with
Smithers resulted in a change in history, which is why I took the deed. I need it to save the farm in my time. I’d planned to return it before I left for good.” She reached for the deed from under her vest and handed it to him.

Taking it, he nodded to her jeans and tailored shirt. “So that’s why you changed clothes?”

“It’s a long story,” she said, offering a lopsided smile.

“Then it’s a good thing I have a little time.” He leaned back against the tree and made himself comfortable. When he turned her way, his glance said he clearly expected her to talk.

For the next hour Libby did just that, telling Colin everything about her job on the farm, her best friend, and her fiancé, Dave. She explained how the trees had called to her and how, after heeding their call, her initial run-in with Smithers now threatened the farm in the future. There wasn’t much she left out about the life of Libby Edwards or life on Twin Oaks. He was a good listener, only asking questions here and there for clarification.

When she was done, there was silence between them. The sun had already set, but the light still lingered.
Cicadas buzzed, the evening breeze carrying the loud noise throughout the meadows. The tree frogs and crickets eventually joined in, creating a symphony of sorts in the balmy night.

“Let me make sure I understand all of this.” Colin’s questioning voice infiltrated the other sounds. “You traveled back and forth from the year 2013?” He paused, as if absorbing the news. “And the farm’s still intact, even after I’m gone.” He glanced at her for verification. When she nodded, he whistled.
“Amazing!” Still watching her face, he asked, “Does Louisville still have a racetrack?”

“What do you think
,” she asked evasively, not wanting to reveal too much information about the future. She had to be careful about changing anything else.

“I hope it lasted. If what you say is true, then I have the closest thing to a crystal ball in front of me.” An engaging grin spread across his face. “Can’t you at least give me a hint?”