Clockwiser (5 page)

Normally, when I got back from a trip, I’d head straight to bed, overcome with exhaustion, but this time my nerves were peaking. I could run a marathon on the adrenaline pumping through my body.

My bag still lay on the driveway where I’d dropped it in anger. I leaned out of the car to reach it and pulled it onto my lap. I dug out my cell phone and called Nate.

“Miss me already?” His voice was soothing and sexy. I took a breath, trying to calm myself.

“I went back.”

“Back where?”

“
Back
.”

“Oh.” Nate paused and I knew what he was thinking.

It was the first time since we’d officially been together that I’d gone back without him. And every single time he’d gone back with me, I’d gotten into trouble.

“So, you’re back now,” he finally added. “I can assume everything went all right?”

“No, everything’s not all right. I took Tim back!”

“Tim? How... oh, forget it. You can tell me later. Is he freaked out? I bet that messed up his self-centered world a little.”

“No, he’s still self-centered. He’s just not here.”

There was another pause while Nate took that in. “You mean...”

I let out a sob, so unsexy sounding. “Yes, I left him there.”

“I’m coming right over. Don’t move.”

I didn’t know what Nate thought he could do. I wouldn’t mind a hug and a few re-assuring if not accurate words. But I loved that he wanted to be here for me.

“Aren’t you at work?” I asked.

“I’ll tell them I’m sick, just don’t worry.”

Tim would be all right. I mean, what could possibly happen to him. He’d have to make up an excuse for my absence--at least he saw me go, he knew what happened to me--and he’d just have to wait it out until I got back, working with Mr. Watson and Duncan on the farm.

I closed my eyes and breathed deeply. Yes, it would be all right.

I heard the engine of a car drive up, and I turned my head, excited to see Nate. But it wasn’t him. It was my dad.

“Hi, Casey,” he said, eyeing me as I sat in Tim’s car.

Tim and I got our height from our father and I got his dark curly hair, though he kept his shaved so short you’d never guess what kind of hair he had. “What are you doing?”

“Uh, nothing. Just dreaming.”

He paused to take the image in, me in the driver’s seat of a car. “Why don’t you get your own license, Casey? I wouldn’t be worried about you.”

Oh, but you should, Dad, you should.

“Yeah, I’m just not ready yet,” I said.

“Your mother called me.” He shifted his briefcase to his other hand. “She’s upset about Tim again. Do you know what he did now?”

I didn’t want to get into Tim’s issues with Dad. I just shook my head. Dad huffed and headed for the front door.

Finally Nate arrived, parking his BMW right behind me. I heard him cut his engine, then slam his door as he jumped out and moved to the passenger’s side of Tim’s car. He slid in and gave me a much appreciated hug. I let myself relax into him, catching my breath for the first time since I came back without my stupid brother.

If Mom or Dad happened to peak out the living room window and saw us, they’d be wondering at the sight of us hanging out together in Tim’s car, but I couldn’t seem to move.

“He’s going to be all right, right?” I whimpered into Nate’s shoulder.

Nate rubbed my back, “Sure.”

But I knew what he was thinking. Since when did Tim ever NOT get into trouble? If he didn’t go looking for it, it came looking for him.

I started to tremble. “Oh, Nate, if anything happens to him, it’ll be my fault. I don’t think I could forgive myself.”

“Nothing’s going to happen to him. He can be an idiot sometimes, but he’s not stupid.”

Right. Tim may not be the wisest creature on earth but he was intelligent. He’d figure things out.

“Tell me what happened.”

I related the episode that led up to my taking Tim back in the first place.

“Ah, man.” Nate gave my hand a squeeze. “And why couldn’t Tim get to you in time?”

“He was making out with Josephine in the barn.”

Nate’s face scrunched up in disbelief. “What?”

“That’s the idiot coming out in him.”

“But, she’s just a girl.”

I huffed. “Not anymore. You could say she’s blossomed since we last saw her.”

Nate scratched his chin. “How long were you there?”

“Two days.”

“Man, the kid didn’t waste any time.”

I shook my head. “You know what, he
is
stupid!”

I pulled away, letting myself slump against the car seat. Nate drummed his fingers on the dash.

“There must be a way to trigger you, to set off a trip,” he said. He gave me a long look. “And you’d better be touching me when it happens.”

I almost cried then. I was so happy to have Nate, that he knew about this side to my life, and that he was good with it. That he wanted to help, even if it meant going back to the nineteenth century with me.

“I was so stressed when I returned without him; I thought for sure I’d just shoot right back. But come to think of it, I’ve never had a back-to-back trip. Still, time keeps marching on there, you know? We have to figure out a way to get back, and soon.”

Speaking about time passing quickly, suddenly Mom was calling me in for supper. When she saw Nate, she invited him to come in, too.

He hedged but I begged him.

“Please?” I grabbed his thigh. “I need your moral support when my parents go off about Tim. How am I going to explain why he doesn’t show? They know he wouldn’t leave without his car.”

Nate’s eyes fell to my hand gripping his leg.

“Okay, I’ll come.”

I let him go, vowing to stop acting like a crazy person.

“Thanks,” I breathed out slowly.

I let out a long sigh as we headed for the front door, already knowing how this day would play out. The police would be called by the end of the night.

Chapter Seven

TIM

“Whoa, just whoa....” I sprung to my feet sending a cloud of hay dust through the air.

Josie straightened her skirt, and fussed with her hair. “Where’d your sister go?”

I rushed to the rail, scanning the barn floor and wondering if Casey fell off the ladder. But somehow my gut told me it was much worse than that. I went to the loft window and searched the yard, hoping in vain she’d be running across it for some reason.

Nope. Just a few playful Watson kids.

I hadn’t imagined it. It really happened. Casey just vanished before my eyes. I laced my fingers behind my head and let out a long sigh.

“Man, bad luck.”

Josie scurried up beside me. “Oh, my goodness! She’s not going to tell Sara or my mother, is she?”

“No,” I said slowly. “We won’t have to worry about that.”

It hit me that maybe I’d been just a little too reckless. Josie was cute and everything but not worth getting left behind a hundred and fifty years in the past for. I’d messed up pretty bad. I suddenly felt light-headed. I needed to lie down, process what had just happened.

“Hey, Josie,” I said. She frowned. I didn’t think she liked it when I called her that, but she didn’t tell me to stop.

“I think I’m going to go clean up for supper.”

“Yes, you are right. I must make leave of you as well.” She blushed when she said it, and I couldn’t stop myself from brushing a loose strand of hair from her face. This set off an adorable giggle.

I let her go down the ladder first.

“I’ll see you soon,” I said, then I jumped the last few rungs to the floor.

Her eyes widened with concern. “You’ll talk to your sister?”

“Yeah, she’ll be cool.”

Josie’s face went blank. “She’s cold? Should I provide another blanket?”

“No, I mean, she’ll understand.”

Back in the cabin I fell on to the hard cot, groaning along with the creak of the worn out springs. I slipped my hands behind my head, stared at the wood-beam ceiling, and focused on a few deep, long breaths. Everything would be okay. Casey would come back for me. I just needed to bide my time, wait it out. And, at least I had Josie to keep me company.

If I hadn’t been so famished, I would’ve skipped supper altogether just to avoid the questioning that was sure to come about my missing sister, but my stomach overruled.

Everyone was gathering around the table by the time I entered. Sara shot me a look.

“Cassandra didn’t return from fetching water. Have you seen her?”

I took a seat and lowered my eyes. “Yeah, she’s not well. Some flu or something. Came on really fast.”

“Should I send someone to tend to her?” Before I could answer she called for Josie.

“No,” I said, “Case, uh, Cassandra was very clear about wanting to be left alone.”

Sara paused, then nodded. “Very well, then.”

The kitchen filled with the sounds of chair legs scraping along the wooden floor, the bickering between little kids, and the final additions of dishes to the table. Then Mr. Watson called his family to order to pray over the food.

Afterwards, I headed back to the cabin smacking at the army of mosquitoes that appeared with dusk. Inside I struck a wooden match against a matchbox, sniffing in the faint smell of phosphorus, and held it to the wick of the candle. I sat up on the cot with my back against the wall and watched the shadows cast by the small flame flicker about the room.

It was strangely quiet, until my ears tuned into sounds of the outdoors. Crickets. A hoot of an owl. Another noise I couldn’t identify. My nerves sprung awake. What kind of wild animals populated the forest around here, anyway? Could there be thieves wandering about?

It was probably just the wind, but I went to the door to lock it. It didn’t have a locking mechanism. Had locks not been invented yet?

I took the wooden chair in the corner and propped it up under the handle. Back on my bed, I twiddled my thumbs. Actually
twiddled
. I itched to have my laptop to play
War of the Universe
. The nineteenth century was
boring
, man.

Truth be told, it was kind of freaky being alone in a dark cabin on the edge of the woods at night. No streetlights or neon signs. No music. Too bad I didn’t have my iPod with me. Wouldn’t Josie freak out if she saw that?

I smiled at the thought of her cute little upturned nose and bright eyes. Not to mention her curvy body. Even that nightgown she wore all day couldn’t hide it.

I shucked in under my blankets and then remembered I should blow out the candle. Last thing I needed was to burn down the cabin and me with it.

Too bad Casey wasn’t here. As super annoying as she was, I wouldn’t have minded her company right now. I didn’t like how the blanket that hung in the middle of the room moved like there was someone behind it.

I lit the candle again, and tore it down, throwing it onto Casey’s bed.

That was better.

I tossed and turned, miffed that the cot was so hard. How was a guy supposed to sleep?

Finally I dozed off, and it felt like I’d slept all of ten minutes. Next thing I knew, the sun shone brightly through the window and I heard the rooster crow. I covered my head with my pillow and rolled over.

Then a knock on the door with Duncan’s voice coming from behind. “Timothy, are you in there? Pa is getting antsy.”

I forced my eyes to open and pushed myself into a standing position. Last thing I needed was to get booted off the farm. What would I do if I couldn’t stay here?

I dressed quickly and ran across the yard, trying to make up for lost time. Sara confronted me at the kitchen door way, her red hair pulled back tightly with two ropes of braids running down her back. Someone should tell her that wasn’t an attractive look.

“Where’s Cassandra?” she asked. “Is she still ill?”

Man. I should’ve spent some time working on an excuse. Being sick wasn’t going to account for her being missing.

“She’s better now, but she had to go.”

“She had to go?”

“Um...”

“Was there another family crisis?”

I stared at my boots.“Uh, yeah, I guess so.”

“And she went by
herself
?” Sara shook her head sharply. She had her tea towel twisted so tightly I thought she might whip my legs. I took a step back.

“I would’ve sent someone with her,” she huffed. “Why doesn’t she ever say goodbye?”

I offered an apologetic shrug.

“Go on in,” she motioned to me. “There’s some oatmeal left on the table, but don’t dawdle. You’re expected in the barn.”

I held back from saying “Yes, ma’am.” And I certainly didn’t
dawdle
.

Man, I was starved again. Must be all this fresh air. I scooped a glob of cold porridge into a bowl and frowned. Not too appetizing. I piled on the brown sugar and super thick milk and forced it down.