All My Tomorrows (11 page)

Jordan watched as Jan crept slowly into the barn and walked directly to Maggie's saddle. Jordan's view of the saddle was blocked by Jan's body, so she was forced to wait patiently until Jan covertly exited the barn before she could investigate what she had done. She wanted so badly to rush Jan, tackle her to the ground, then pummel her senseless with her fists.

When the barn door closed behind Jan, Jordan descended from the loft and approached Maggie's saddle. She inspected it carefully. Jan had cut the right stirrup strap nearly clean through. It was hanging by barely a quarter of an inch of leather.

"Damn you, Jan," Jordan cursed. She was violently shaking and had to consciously stop herself from going after the woman. Instead, she paced back and forth across the barn to calm down and think.

Finally, Jordan made a decision. She took Maggie's saddle and put it into the repair pile for the saddler to collect. She would call him in the morning and ask him to collect it right away and return it by the end of the day on Thursday. She decided not to tell Maggie what had happened. Satisfied that she had an effective plan, Jordan left the barn and returned to the house.

CHAPTER 10

On Thursday morning, Jordan dropped Maggie off at the new barn then drove the old truck across the north pasture. Arrangements had been made with John to pick Maggie up later in the day. As Jordan drove across the field, the sound of shovels rattling in the back kept time with each bump she encountered. Her mind was occupied with the events of the previous night when she had witnessed Jan sabotaging Maggie's saddle. She was thankful Maggie didn't argue with her about riding to the new barn instead of taking Shawny out on his usual morning run. She was hoping the saddler would keep his word and collect the saddle that morning and return it by the end of the day as he promised he would.

Finally, she spotted a mound of dirt in the distance and steered the truck in that direction. After a few minutes, she pulled the truck along side the dirt mound, turned off the ignition, and climbed out. Jordan walked over to the mound and peered over it to see the hole that had been dug in the earth by the well drillers. It was approximately three feet in diameter and was so deep that she could not see the bottom.

"Well, it's not going to fill itself, I guess."

Jordan walked back to the truck to retrieve a shovel from the bed. Within moments, she was hard at work shoveling dirt from the mound into the hole. For the first hour she was unable to hear the dirt hit the bottom. Finally, faint indications began to emerge as each shovel full of dirt slipped into the hole and landed in a soft thud as the soil reached the bottom. Several hours later, the bottom of the hole became visible.

Jordan stopped and drove the head of the shovel deep into the shrinking mound of dirt, then pulled a bandanna from her back pocket to wipe the sweat from her brow. She looked overhead and guessed from the position of the sun that it was near two in the afternoon. She had been shoveling for five hours. Two hours later, she scooped up the last shovel of dirt and held it above the filled-in hole.

"This one is for you, Sally."

Jordan tipped the head of the shovel and allowed the dirt to slowly slip to the earth. She then stood on top of the small mound covering the hole and packed the soil firmly with her boots.

Covered with sweat and dirt, Jordan carried the shovel back to the truck and tossed it warily into the bed. She then climbed into the cab and drove away.

* * *

Twenty minutes later, Jordan parked the truck in front of the barn and climbed out of the driver's seat. She brushed the dust from her jeans and stamped her feet to loosen any dirt she might have carried into the truck on her boots. She then went inside to check out the saddler's handiwork on Maggie's saddle. To her dismay, the saddle was still in the repair pile.

"Damn it!" she shouted.

She then headed toward the house and climbed the two steps leading to the porch. Jordan removed her cowboy hat as she pushed the kitchen door open and stepped inside. The tempting aroma of freshly baked cookies was stronger than her willpower as she reached for a cookie. Next to their cooling rack on the countertop, Jordan spotted a note from Maggie.

Jord, the saddler called and apologized for not making it out today. He had a family emergency. He said he'd be here by noon tomorrow.

Jordan read the note and cursed again under her breath. "Damn. I'll just need to get up with Maggie tomorrow and convince her to take Sally out again since her saddle won't be usable on Shawny."

"Jordan is that you?"

Jordan turned to look at the door leading to the living room as she heard her name called out. "In here… in the kitchen."

"Hey, you'll ruin your dinner," Maggie scolded as she caught Jordan taking a large bite of the luscious morsel.

"No chance of that happening, I'm famished."

Maggie approached Jordan and tried to wrap her arms around her waist. Jordan took a step back. "Whoa. I'm dirty and sweaty from working in the field."

Maggie crossed her arms. "Well then, get in the shower. Dinner will be ready soon."

Jordan saluted her while clicking her heels. "Yes ma'am." She kissed Maggie on the cheek. "I'll be back shortly."

In her bedroom, Jordan stripped off her dirty clothes and threw them into the hamper. She then reached behind the shower curtain and turned on the water. She stood in front of the vanity and removed her watch as the temperature of the water normalized. Once in the shower, Jordan relished the pulsating warm liquid. She basked in the feel of the needle-like spray as it massaged muscles worn sore by what seemed like endless shoveling. Remembering she needed to cleanse off the sweat and grime, she lathered and rinsed to revitalization.

Jordan remained under the spray for a long time with her eyes closed and her hands braced on the sides of the shower as the water rinsed the soap from her hair. Suddenly she felt a presence behind her. She willed her eyes to remain closed as she felt hands slide across her hips and abdomen while a soft, supple body molded itself against her from behind. One hand slipped downward, coming to rest in the curly patch below her navel while the other hand pressed firmly on her abdomen.

Jordan allowed her forehead to contact the shower wall as Maggie's fingers slipped between her folds. She moaned loudly.

Oh my God, I can feel it. I can actually feel it. Was it because I filled the well? Just enjoy it, Lewis. Shut up and enjoy it.

* * *

"Jordan! Jordan, get your ass out of bed."

"What the hell?" Jordan exclaimed as she quickly sat up in bed and saw an old woman standing in her bedroom doorway.

"Go after her, now. Quickly, or you'll lose her forever. This is your last chance."

"Who are you, old woman?" Jordan demanded as she scrambled out of bed and pulled her jeans and boots on as fast as she could.

"Never mind who I am. Just hurry. For God's sake, please hurry. You know what's at stake here. She just rode off. You have very little time." The old woman scurried out of the way as quickly as she could to avoid making bodily contact with Jordan as she ran past her.

Without stopping, Jordan grabbed her canvas barn jacket from the hook by the kitchen door and ran the distance between the house and barn. She flung the door open and went directly to the pile of tack being held for repair and realized Maggie's saddle was no longer there.

Oh no! Maggie, please don't tell me you are using the defective saddle.

Jordan desperately searched several empty stalls until she came across one containing a magnificent mustang steed. She talked soothingly to the animal as she first threw a blanket and then a saddle over the horse's back.

"Come on, big guy. We've got a job to do."

Minutes later, she led the horse out of the stall and climbed into the saddle. With a quick jab to the horse's ribs, she was on her way in a full gallop across the snowy fields, heading for the western edge of the property bounded by Lake Champlain.

Jordan anguished over how long it was taking to cover the distance between the house and the lake. In her desperation, she was oblivious to the biting cold that chafed her cheeks while she rode. Nearly a half hour later, the frozen lake came into view. The sight encouraged Jordan to dig in her heels and push her steed nearly beyond his limits as their speed increased and she felt airborne.

Maggie, please stay away from the edge. Please. I'm coming, my love, I'm coming. Please let me reach you in time.

Jordan pushed her mount as hard as she could and almost gave up hope until she spotted Maggie on the horizon, galloping freely across the plains, directly toward the edge of the cliffs.

"Maggie," she screamed. "Maggie, stop."

Jordan's screams were ineffective. The distance between them and the sound of the crashing surf below the cliffs drowned out any chance that Maggie would hear her.

Jordan silently asked her horse for forgiveness as she dug her heels in once more in an attempt to get just a little more speed out of the animal. Her efforts paid off as she began to close the distance between them. Again, she attempted to call out to Maggie, and again, her efforts were for naught. Finally, when she had closed the distance to within thirty feet, she heard a shot ring out. Maggie's horse suddenly reared up very close to the edge of the cliff.

Maggie stood in the saddle in an obvious attempt to steady herself and calm the animal as it continued to rear up.

"Maggie," Jordan shouted once more. She was now only twenty feet from Maggie.

Maggie looked up and saw Jordan just as she lost her footing and began to tumble off the horse.

"No," Jordan screamed. She leaned as far as she dared out of her saddle, reaching for anything she could cling to. Just as her fingers made contact with the collar of Maggie's jacket, she felt the now-familiar tingling in her body as though every muscle had fallen asleep and was now awakening. She realized immediately what was happening. "Kale. No. Not now. For heaven's sake, not now," she screamed.

Jordan held on to the collar of Maggie's jacket with all her might as she fought the transfer. "Kale, please… not now," she shouted as the grasp she had on the saddle-horn barely kept her from falling off the horse and over the cliff with Maggie.

Don't drop her
,
Jordan
, she said to herself.
If you let go, she will die and you will be sucked back to the future without her. Kale can only retrieve what he has sent. As long as you hold on to her, he won't be able to retrieve you.

"I've got you. I've got you," Jordan said. Maggie's feet skid across the ground as Jordan half-carried, half-dragged her away from the cliff.

Jordan dropped Maggie to the ground only when the last residual of the transfer process faded away. She scampered off her horse and ran to Maggie, dropping to her knees on the ground beside her.

"Maggie. Maggie, you're safe," Jordan cried as she gathered Maggie into her arms and held her close. "Thank God, I got here before it was too late. I couldn't live through that one more time."

Maggie clung to Jordan like there was no tomorrow. She was crying uncontrollably.

"Its okay, Mags. I've got you," Jordan whispered while failing miserably to hold back her own tears. Jordan could feel Maggie trembling in her arms and drew her in closer. "Let it go, sweetheart. You're safe now."

For the next several minutes, Jordan held Maggie in her arms and rocked back and forth, cooing assurances that she was safe and that everything would be okay. Soon, the trembling subsided and Maggie began to relax.

"Are you okay?" Jordan asked as she tucked a lock of red hair behind Maggie's ear.

Maggie nodded. "I could have died. Thank God you reached me in time."

Unable to keep the tearful timbre from her voice, Jordan choked back a tear and said, "Yes. I couldn't live with myself if I screwed that up again."

Maggie frowned. "What do you mean?"

Jordan took Maggie into her arms again and hugged her tight. "I haven't been totally honest with you, Maggie. I have so much to tell you, but it's so far off the wall, I don't know where to start. Just know that you're safe for now and I'll do my best never to let anything happen to you again."

"What happened here today, Jordan?"

"You were destined to die, Maggie. You were supposed to fall over the cliff to your death. Thank God I reached you in time."

"How is it you know that? You're scaring me."

"Let's just say I had a little help from a couple of friends. Like I said, I have a lot to tell you, but right now, we need to get back to the farm. I have an issue to deal with that can't wait."

"Issue? What issue?"

"I'm not ready to disclose that yet. I need to verify a few things first."

Maggie frowned. "Jordan, you're talking in riddles. I demand to know what's going on here — now!"

Jordan took Maggie's hands and held them close to her heart. "I promise I'll tell you everything as soon as I've had a chance to confirm my suspicions, but right now, I need to get you home. You're still trembling from shock." Jordan climbed to her feet and extended her hand to Maggie. "Come on, let's head back."

Maggie accepted Jordan's hand up. "Shawny?" Maggie said while looking around for her horse.

"Shawny is fine. He's gone back to the barn. I'm sure John will take care of him. We'll have to ride double on my horse."

Jordan helped Maggie into the saddle then swung herself up behind her. She reached around Maggie and grasped the saddle horn in front of her while grabbing the reins with the other hand. Maggie wrapped her arms around Jordan's and held on tightly. Before heading back to the farm, Jordan directed her mount to the spot where Maggie's horse reared, and noticed a brightly colored bag near the edge of the cliff. "Did this draw you to the edge of the cliff, Maggie?" Jordan asked softly.

Maggie nodded. "It was so out of place here on the snow-covered ground. I wanted to see what it was, but then I heard the gun shot and Shawny reared. It must have scared him."

"That's just what I thought. Come on, let's go home."

* * *

Jordan saw Jan walking toward the barn as she and Maggie approached the barnyard. "Hold on Maggie," Jordan said as she kicked her heels into her horse's side and prompted the animal into a gallop. Jordan could see the surprise on Jan's face as the sound of the horse's hooves speeding toward her drew her attention. Jan beat a hasty retreat across the yard and into the barn.