Karen D. Badger - Yesterday Once More (33 page)

Jordan sat in the middle of the platform, wearing the Faraday belt. She was crying.

“Kale, she’s back. Power down the rings.”

As soon as Kale brought the rings to rest, Andi ran to Jordan, whose shoulders were shaking with powerful sobs. “Sweetie, tell me what’s wrong.” 

Jordan looked at Andi with eyes full of sorrow “I could have stopped her, but I didn’t. I watched her saddle her horse and ride off to her death. I was a coward. I hid myself from her, and now she’s dead.”

Kale came up behind Andi, who stepped aside to let him in. He scooped Jordan into his arms. “Come on, let’s go into the house,” he said in a low, soothing voice.

Kale carried Jordan to the house, Andi following closely behind. In Jordan’s bedroom, Kale laid her gently on the bed and unhooked the Faraday belt.

“All right, tell me what happened,” Kale said.

Jordan clasped Kale’s hand tightly. “I failed her. I arrived just moments before she went out for that last ride. Instead of stopping her, I let her go. I was afraid of being found out, and so I hid while she saddled her horse and rode off.”

“Jordan, don’t blame yourself. Keep in mind that you have no control over exactly when you arrive in the past. I’m actually surprised we got you that close,” Andi said.

Jordan wiped the tears from her face with the back of her hand and inhaled deeply. “I know. Intellectually, I know it’s not my fault, but I was close, so close.”

Kale squeezed her hand. “I guess we’ll just have to try again. We can change the timing a little so that you arrive a bit further in the past. How much further will be hard to predict, but I’m fairly certain we can deliver you early enough to prevent Maggie from riding off that morning.”

Jordan nodded and closed her eyes. “I’m so tired,” she said. “What time is it?”

Andi looked at her watch. “Around 9:00 p.m.”

Jordan yawned. “Damn, why am I so tired?” She opened her eyes and looked at Kale. “Let’s try again in the morning, okay? I need some sleep.”

“Sounds good to me,” he replied. “Sleep well. We’ll see you in the morning.”

Jordan was so tired, she slipped into slumber before Kale and Andi had left the room.

* * *

Jordan lifted the carafe from the warmer and filled her cup with coffee. She walked out to the front porch and leaned against the railing, sighing heavily. As she surveyed the barnyard, she tried to imagine what it would have been like back in Maggie’s time, back when it was a real working farm instead of a private residence. She could picture Maggie’s red truck parked in front of the house, surrounded by free-ranging chickens pecking for food in the dirt. She imagined farmhands exercising horses in the corral, while others unloaded bales into the hayloft. She could almost smell the wonderful aroma of freshly-baked bread coming from the kitchen. A little piece of heaven, she thought, especially with someone as wonderful as Maggie to share it with. Pangs of agony filled her heart as she realized how close she had been to making that dream a reality, but in the span of a few heartbeats, Maggie had ridden off, never to return.

“I’m sorry, my love,” she whispered softly. “I won’t give up, Maggie. I’ll reach you in time, I promise.”

“Hey, you. You’re up early.” Andi pushed the screen door open and joined Jordan on the porch.

“Good morning,” Jordan replied. “If I recall, I crashed pretty early last night. I don’t know what got into me.”

“Do you feel better this morning?”

“I feel pretty good. My lower back aches a bit, but it might be the way I slept.” Jordan lifted her coffee cup. “There’s fresh coffee if you’re interested.”

“You’re a life saver,” Andi exclaimed. “Can I refill yours?”

“Nope, I’m right behind you.”

Jordan and Andi found Kale cooking eggs and bacon. He smiled when he saw them. “My two favorite women. How do you want your eggs?”

Soon, they were sitting at the kitchen table, enjoying their breakfast.

“Are you ready to give it another try this morning, Jordan?” Kale asked.

“You bet, but before we do anything, I want to look at the time estimates again and make an adjustment. I’ve got to land further back in time. The last thing I want to do is miss another opportunity. Yesterday nearly tore my heart out.”

Jordan sat in front of the computer in the lab and made the final changes to the algorithm. Kale looked over her shoulder as she typed. “What are you using for significant digits this time?”

“I’m adding 0.15 seconds to the power surge time. If you remember, 0.11 seconds resulted in a five-month error, so 0.15 seconds should give me at least six or seven months. That should be enough time to influence the series of events that led to her death.” Jordan grinned. “Who knows, maybe she’ll fall madly in love with me, and she’ll spend that particular morning having wild monkey sex with me instead of falling off a cliff.”

“Sounds like a plan. Let me know when the algorithm is downloaded,” Kale said as he walked to the control console.

“Just one more line of code—there. It should finish downloading in just a few minutes.”

The door to the lab swung open to admit Andi. “Here’s the Faraday belt, Jordan,” she said. “It was in your bedroom.”

Jordan wrapped the belt around her waist. “Thanks.”

“You’re welcome,” Andi replied. “Are you all set to go?”

“In a minute. The new code is downloading right now.”

“Correction,” Kale said. “The algorithm has finished downloading. We’re good to go.”

* * *

Jordan landed on the dirt floor of the barn with a thud. “Damn. That’s a real downside to this time travel business.” She sat back on her knees, removed the Faraday belt, and brushed the dirt from her shirt.

“Good Morning, John.”

“Morning, Maggie.”

Jordan climbed to her feet and quickly made her way to the edge of the horse stall, which gave her a clear view of the other end of the barn without revealing her presence. “Maggie,” she whispered as she saw the redhead talking to the farmhand.

“John, I need you to unload the pallets of feed from the wagon and move them into the loft,” Maggie instructed.

“Sure thing. Is the wagon in the barnyard?” he asked.

“Yes. I could bring it in for you, if you’d like.”

“No, ma’am. I’ll take care of it,” John replied as he went to retrieve the wagon, leaving Maggie alone in the barn.

Maggie shoved her hands deep into the front pockets of her jeans and walked directly toward Jordan. “Hey, Shawny. How’s my guy this morning?”

Jordan’s heart was in her throat as she retreated around the corner of the horse stall and pressed herself against the wall. She closed her eyes and tilted her head back in an effort to calm her nerves.
Calm down, Lewis. Breathe!

As Jordan peeked around the corner of the stall, her attention was drawn to a loud cracking noise from above. “No!” she screamed. Jordan launched herself at Maggie, catching her around the waist and tackling her, knocking them both down to the dirt floor. A fraction of a second later, a large metal winch hit the ground in the exact place Maggie had been standing.

Jordan covered Maggie with her own body until the dust settled.

“Get off me,” Maggie demanded. She pushed Jordan away and scrambled to her feet. “What the hell happened?”

Jordan stood up and brushed herself off. She looked around awkwardly, not knowing how to react to Maggie’s anger.

“John!” Maggie yelled. “John, I need you in here, right now!”

Maggie circled the heavy winch. She and Jordan both looked up at the rafters.

“Son of a bitch. I could have been killed,” Maggie said.

John ran into the barn. He was followed closely by a petite woman with short blonde hair.

Jordan frowned.
Jan.

“Maggie, what happened?” John asked.

Maggie pointed at the winch. “That’s what happened. John, I need you to inspect the rafter this thing was hanging from. Something caused it to snap, and I want to know what.”

“Yes, ma’am,” John said.

Jan shot a questioning look at Jordan. “How did it happen?” she asked, placing a hand on Maggie’s back.

Maggie rubbed her forehead. “I don’t know. I was walking toward Shawny’s stall when all of the sudden this woman”— Maggie gestured at Jordan—“appeared out of nowhere and tackled me to the floor. The next thing I knew, the winch was sitting in a crater on the floor, exactly where I’d just been standing.”

Jan wrapped her arms around Maggie and hugged her. “Thank God you weren’t hurt,” she said. “I’ll investigate this. I promise we’ll get to the bottom of it.”

Maggie smiled. “Thank you, Jan.” She turned abruptly and looked at Jordan, extending her hand. “And you are?” 

Jordan stepped forward and grasped Maggie’s hand. “Jordan. Jordan Lewis,” she replied. It felt as if a liquid fire was running into her body from Maggie’s hand. Her eyes locked with Maggie’s, and she found it difficult to look away.

Maggie smiled, clearly aware of the effect she was having on Jordan. “Well, Jordan, I guess I’m indebted to you. I can’t thank you enough. If you hadn’t come along when you did, that winch would have killed me.”

Jordan realized she was still holding Maggie’s hand. Awkwardly, she released it. She looked around nervously.
What the hell is the matter with you, Lewis? You’re acting like a lovesick teenager. Buck up. You’ll never win her over if she thinks you’re an insecure idiot.

Jordan inhaled deeply. “You’re welcome,” she replied. “When I heard the rafter crack, I pretty much acted on instinct.”

“Thank God for instinct,” Maggie declared. “The question is, who are you and what were you doing in my barn?”

Jordan paled. She hadn’t planned for her first meeting with Maggie to be so sudden and uncontrolled. “Ah... ah... I was actually looking for work,” she began, “and no one answered the door at the house, so I came to the barn.”

Maggie smiled again. “Work, huh? Well, why don’t you join me for a glass of lemonade while we talk it over?”

Jordan smiled back at her. “I’d like that.”

Maggie filled two glasses and handed one to Jordan, who was seated at the kitchen table. Maggie leaned against the cupboard and was clearly assessing Jordan as she drank.

As Jordan accepted the drink, she allowed her own gaze to linger on Maggie.
I could drown in her eyes. The green complements that wild red hair perfectly. I wonder what it would be like to run my fingers through those curls.
Jordan felt an unfamiliar flutter in her abdomen and a pulsing between her legs. She shifted in her seat, but the feelings persisted.
What the hell?

“So, Jordan, where are you from?” Maggie asked.

Jordan had to think fast. For some reason, “from eighty-seven years in the future” didn’t seem like an appropriate response. “I’m actually from the area,” she replied.
Lame, Lewis, real lame.
Jordan hadn’t put any thought into how she would explain her roots if asked.
It’s not like I can tell her I grew up right here on this farm.

Maggie sipped her drink. “I see. What kind of work are you looking for?”

Jordan sat back in her chair and crossed her legs. “My parents raised horses, so I have experience in their care and training.”
At least that’s not a lie
. “And I’m pretty good with my hands,” she added.

“Hmm,” Maggie murmured. “Is it safe to say you’ll need to bunk here, as well? I mean, assuming I hire you, of course.”

Just then, the kitchen door swung open and admitted Jan. 

“Did you find anything?” Maggie asked.

Jan shrugged. “Not really. I climbed into the rafters and examined the beams. Odd as it sounds, that particular beam snapped for no apparent reason. It was probably defective.”

Maggie frowned. “That seems strange. The winch has been hanging from that beam for the past two years, and there’s been no sign of failure. What did John have to say about it?”

Jan shifted her weight from foot to foot. “John didn’t look at it. I told him I would take care of it.”

“I’ll call the contractor who erected the barn and have him repair it for me,” Maggie said, still frowning.

“I can repair it,” Jordan interjected.

Maggie raised her eyebrows. “You can?”

Jordan stood. “Like I said, I’m good with my hands.”

Maggie grinned. “Okay.” She turned to Jan. “Jan, this is Jordan Lewis, our new ranch hand.”

Jordan extended her hand to Jan, who pointedly chose not to shake it. “I’ve got to get back to the barn. John needs a hand off-loading the feed.” Jan abruptly turned and left.

“Humph!” Maggie exclaimed as she looked at Jordan. “That’s not like her. She’s normally so friendly. My apologies.”

Jordan smiled. “No problem. I’m sure she’s still just shaken up by your near-accident.”

“Maybe,” Maggie replied absently.

“If you’ll point me in the direction of your tools and wood supply, I’ll get to work on that rafter,” Jordan offered.

Maggie smiled. “You don’t waste any time, do you?”

“No, ma’am,” Jordan replied.