Lightning Only Strikes Twice (5 page)

“Slow down,” he said. “Or you’ll get sick.”

She took one last swallow, then let him take the cup. “Thank you.” This time her voice was less gravelly. She swiped away the water on her chin.

“You’re welcome.” After setting the cup on the table, he returned to his chair.

“Do I know you?” she asked, grateful her voice sounded more normal.

The corner of his mouth lifted slightly. “We’ve met before.”

She frowned. Her brain felt in a fog. “I don’t remember. Where did we meet?”

He folded his arms and took a deep breath. “Well, here in White Rock, actually.”

“Why can’t I remember?”

“I’m sure you will.” He sounded much more confident than she felt.

She tried to sit up, but the pounding behind her eyes forced her to move slowly. “I feel so strange.”

“I’m sure you do.”

“What happened?”

The man scooted closer.

She sensed he was anxious about something.

“Annie, there’s so much to talk about. You’re going to have questions. I’ll do my best to answer them.” He glanced over his shoulder. “We don’t have much time before the doctor returns with your—with Paul.”

“I don’t understand. Talk about what? Who’s Paul?”

He motioned toward the doorway, his words coming out in a rush. “When Doc returns, don’t say too much about yourself. Okay? I want you go along with whatever I say.”

“Why should I do that?” A strange request from a stranger. “Who are you?”

“My name is Luke.”

“Luke?” Somewhere she’d heard that name before. If she could only remember.

“I can’t believe you’re here.” He smacked a fist into his palm. “This means everything is real.”

“Real?” She had an impulse to escape, but wasn’t sure her legs worked yet. She scooted to the far side of the bed. “I don’t know you.”

“I’m Luke Maxwell, remember?”

Luke Maxwell?

Like a breeze blowing away the dust, her mind cleared. “You’re the man those kids were talking about.” Another recollection followed. “You bought my property!”

“Wow.” He leaned back in the chair. “You’re coming through this much faster than I did.”

The touch of envy in his tone didn’t make any sense. “Through what? I don’t know what’s going on.”

He took a deep breath. The movement pulled his dark-red tunic tight across his chest. His hair was longer and not as neatly trimmed as she remembered. The five o’clock shadow on his jaw looked like a permanent fixture adding something rugged to his unmistakable charisma and strength.

Resting his forearms on his knees, he searched her face “What’s the last thing you remember?”

Her insides squirmed. What was he looking for? She blinked at the strange question, feeling exposed. “I…” She thought for a moment. “Waking up in the forest. Why?”

He shook his head. “I mean before that. Can you remember where you were before waking in the forest?”

Her mind went blank. The headache returned, starting between her eyes and pulsing around to the back of her neck. She rubbed her temples and lay back on the pillow. “What happened to me?”

“I don’t know…exactly,” Luke said.

At that moment, the room spun as though she was in the center of a whirlpool. Panic climbed in her chest and the taste of bile clung to her throat. She bent over the bed, positive the contents of her stomach would make an appearance at any moment.

Luke stood and gently supported her shoulder.

Instantly, the vertigo vanished. Her world settled. Had his touch done that? She started to ask, but heard footsteps on the front porch.

“Shh.” He eased her onto the bed. “Don’t talk.”

He returned the chair to its original position. Crossing to the window, he peered through chintz curtains. “That’s the doctor. Paul’s with him. There’s no more time to go into details. Follow my lead, no matter what I say. I’ll explain later.”

Something was wrong here, but his imploring look had her agreeing against her better judgment. “You promise to explain?”

“I promise.” He gave her a heart-stopping smile.

This time, her stomach pitched for an entirely different reason. She returned his smile, but he’d already turned and walked out of the room, closing the door softly behind him.

Annie heard voices on the other side of the door—Luke’s and two others.

He was right. She had questions. Her headache was persistent enough to put those questions aside for now. She closed her eyes. The next time she opened them, she’d be home. In her own bed. This nightmare would be over.

A moment later, the floorboards creaked. Annie spied a pair of trouser-clad legs in the doorway. She wasn’t dreaming.

Luke entered, followed by two other men.

She recognized the doctor. The other man she’d never seen before. He was dressed similar to Luke and the doctor for the Founders’ Day celebration.

“Ah, Miss Annie,” the doctor said. “How are you feeling?”

She sat up and glanced at Luke.

He stood slightly behind the others, watching her intently.

He wanted her to play along…but with what? What sort of game was this? He gave her a curt nod, which she took to mean it was okay to answer the doctor’s question.

She smiled faintly at the doctor. “My head hurts.” Her gaze drifted over to Luke. What next?

“I suspect your journey was harder on you than you expected,” Luke interjected.

The other men turned to look at him.

“Miss Crawford woke while you were out,” Luke explained. “She told me that on her way to the celebration she took ill and wandered away from the crowds to rest.”

The doctor glanced back to Annie. “You should’ve come straight to my office, young lady. That bump on your head could have been a lot worse. Do you think you fainted?”

She eyed each of the men, her gaze lingering longest on Luke. “I must have. I didn’t mean to cause so much trouble.”

“You’re no trouble,” the doctor said. “But you should be more careful.” He tapped the third man on the sleeve. “I brought someone to meet you.”

The man had stood quietly holding his hat in both hands while listening to the exchange. Now, he stepped forward. “Howdy, Miss Crawford.” Shifting the hat to one hand, he held out the other. “My name’s Paul Crawford. Doc thought we might be kin.”

Paul Crawford stood a head shorter than Luke. His hand engulfed hers and rough calluses chafed against her palm.

Could they be related? She noticed the line of his jaw, wide set eyes. He looked like a younger version of her grandfather. She opened her mouth to speak, but was overcome by a rush of vertigo. She tugged her hand free and clasped it against her stomach.

“Miss Crawford’s grandfather told her that she might have family out this way, that’s why she made the trip from Boise,” Luke said.

“Is that right?” Paul Crawford studied her. “All the way from Boise?”

She glanced at Luke, who nodded encouragingly. To Paul she said, “That’s right.”

“So what’s your granddaddy’s name? Maybe I’ve heard about him from my folks.”

“Richard Crawford,” Annie replied automatically. She bit her lip and looked at Luke. He cocked an eyebrow.

Paul scratched the back of his head. “I don’t recall the name Richard in our family line. We don’t have any folk near Boise. My own daddy came from Illinois.”

“That’s too bad.” Luke interjected. “Since her grandfather passed, she doesn’t really have a place to call home.”

Annie started at Luke’s statement. She had a home. She didn’t know what sort of game he was playing.

Although she’d promised to go along with him, she wasn’t happy about lying to these men. “I’m feeling better now and should be on my way. I apologize for inconveniencing you all.”

Swinging her legs over the edge of the bed, she stood. The room swirled before her eyes. She quickly sat on the mattress before she fell.

Paul Crawford moved aside as the doctor hurried to her and heaved her legs onto the bed.

“I don’t think you’re going anywhere, young lady.” He felt the pulse in her wrist and then reexamined the bump on her head. “You need more bed rest. Then we’ll see about letting you up. Even after that, I don’t think you should travel for a couple of days.”

Too weak to argue, Annie simply nodded.

The doctor pulled the quilt over her legs and faced the other men. “Gentlemen.” He motioned toward the door. “Shall we let the lady rest?”

Paul nodded. “Nice to meet you, Miss Crawford,” he said. “I hope you feel better, soon.”

Luke gazed down at her, the look in his eyes unreadable. “Miss Crawford,” he said politely and followed Paul into the other room.

Only the doctor remained. He refilled the water cup. “Seems you’ve captured our Mr. Maxwell’s attention,” he said, holding her head so she could drink.

She took a couple of sips and handed the cup back. “I assure you, Doctor, it was not my intention.”

“Maybe that’s why he finds you so intriguing.”

“I doubt it.” She recalled her comments after he’d shown her his plans for the property. “I haven’t been very nice to him.”

The doctor chuckled. “Well, you can worry about that later. Try to sleep for now. I’ll be back to check on you shortly.”

Annie had no choice. Whatever had happened to incapacitate her was still at work in her system. She hoped another short nap would help her feel better. Then she could go home.

****

In the other room, Luke turned as Dr. Smyth closed the patient’s door. “Is she going to be okay?” he asked.

“She needs more rest,” the doctor said. “But I think she’ll recover just fine.”

“Is what you said true?” Paul Crawford asked Luke. “She doesn’t have a home?”

“Well, I may have exaggerated a bit,” Luke said. “Just before you arrived, she told me her grandfather had passed a few months ago. Seems he was her only family. But I’m sure there’re people in Boise who can look after her.”

Luke felt the doctor studying him. He’d probably overstepped some etiquette boundaries by showing so much interest in Annie.

Doc Smyth had an uncanny ability to spot untruths. Looking him in the eyes would be a dead giveaway he was hiding something. Luke fixed his gaze on Paul.

“Doesn’t seem right she should have to make her way alone in the big city.” Paul’s expression turned thoughtful. “I’ll talk it over with Elizabeth. If she feels up to it, we could take Miss Annie in until she finds her way.”

“That’s very generous of you,” Luke answered. “Especially since she’s not actually related.”

“If her last name’s Crawford, there’s probably kin in the line somewhere. Maybe the relation isn’t real close, but I reckon she belongs with family.” Paul put on his hat. “Doc. Luke.” He nodded as he opened the door. “I’ll be by in a couple of hours to see how she’s doing.” He left, closing the door behind him.

The room was quiet except for the fading sound of Paul’s boots as he stepped off the porch. The cuckoo clock ticking on the wall seemed unusually loud.

Dr. Smyth settled into his chair and stared at Luke. “Care to explain what you’re up to?”

“What do you mean?” Luke tried to act casual. His excitement was building more with each passing minute.

Annie had arrived from his time! Her presence was significant. He wasn’t stranded alone in 1891 any longer. For the first time in two months, he had hope of returning to his own time.

The doctor chuckled. “That was some slick talking. What is it about this woman that has you dancing like a june bug on hot coals?”

Luke dragged his mind back to the conversation, realizing how vital it was to keep appearances. “I’m only being neighborly,” he said. “If she’s really orphaned, then she probably needs a place to stay until she’s back on her feet.”

“A mite more than neighborly, I think.” The doctor leaned forward. “However, Miss Crawford seems nice enough and now that your plan’s in motion, I rather like the idea of someone staying with Paul and Elizabeth. It’s getting close to Elizabeth’s time. Her last birth was touch-and-go. Do you think Miss Crawford is capable of helping out with the baby?”

“I’m sure she is,” Luke said. “She probably cared for her grandfather before he died.”

The doctor’s eyes narrowed. “Seems you got to know my patient quite well in the few minutes I was gone.”

Luke didn’t respond to the doctor’s comment. He didn’t know Annie well at all. In fact, he wasn’t sure what she’d do when she realized the truth. He could only hope that she’d react in a rational manner and try to make the best of the situation—as he’d tried to do.

****

Annie woke from a dream where her grandfather was alive and they’d been picnicking at White Rock.

Then she remembered she
was
at White Rock, but Grandpa was dead and she was alone. Tears burned in her eyes as she thought about how much he’d have enjoyed a celebration like Founders’ Day.

She blinked away the tears and glanced around. A soft glow from the fading sunset shaded the room a rosy pink. Careful not to move too quickly, she lifted her head. No rockets exploded behind her eyes.

She pushed the quilt off her legs and sat up. Although still there, the headache was less severe. A slight sensation of vertigo remained as well, but the intense queasiness that plagued her earlier was gone.

Good. She had to get home.

First, she needed her shoes. She glanced under the bed, but it was too dark to see. Crossing the room, she reached under the lampshade to find the switch on the old lamp perched on a side table. There was none. A search around the lamp didn’t reveal any electrical connection. On closer examination, she realized it was an oil lamp. Interesting.

She took in the room’s quaint appearance. An ornate Victorian armchair with dark-red upholstery sat in the corner. A pantry leaned against the wall opposite the bed. Inside the glass doors, she saw several bottles, all with simple cork stoppers.

The room had been decorated for the Founders’ Day celebration with remarkable accuracy. She wished she knew more about antiques. Some of these items must be priceless.

Instinctively, she glanced up, expecting to see security monitors. None showed. The monitors were either well-hidden or the owners weren’t worried about theft and vandalism. As enticing as it was to investigate the room’s treasures, it was getting late.