Nothing But Time (41 page)

Worry
and dread gnawed at her as she guided her little Vauxhall Astra through western Lon
don before finally connecting to
the M40
motor
way that would take them most of the way to Oxford.  Once out of the city, the dense traffic thinned and Kate took a deep breath.
“So are
you going to keep giving me the cold shoulder forever?”

Brand didn’t answer, so Kate continued, “I’ll just say again that I did what I had to do.  I know you’re not happy about it but what’s done is done. 
I know it can be mind-boggling here.  I feel the same way sometimes.  I mean, really, you should be glad I’m driving on the
correct
side of the road. 
I don’t expect you to feel grateful but it’s better than feeling dead. 
’Cause that’s what you’d be, you know?  I’m just saying.  You might not like it, but it is life, Brand.
” 

Still he was silent and Kate halted her tirade to dare a look at him.  B
rand was as white as a sheet
as he braced himself stiffly against the door of the car.  “Oh, geez!  Brand
,
are you okay?”

Brand swallowed with a shake of his head.  “Could we just stop for a moment, please?”

Nodding, Kate reduced her speed – which
she
had
considered
moderate – until other cars were whizzing by her
with
horns blaring. 
Having already passed the
interchange where the M40 met the M25
, Kate’s mind scrambled ahead thinking of a good place to stop and traveled a few miles
farther
ahead before exiting at Beaconsfield.  Pulling i
n at a McDonald’s
, Kate parked the
car, ordered him to stay there while she ran into buy
bottled water and some
French-fries
.

Opening his door, Kate let the brisk winter air flood the car and cracked open the bottle of water before handing it to him.  “I’m so sorry, Brand.  I didn’t think.”

“It’s so fast,” he told her between sips.  “Just when I thought it could
not
go any faster, it did.”

“I didn’t mean to scare you,” she said regretfully.

To her surprise, Brand chuckled with a shake of his head.  “Actually, I found the whole thing quite exhilarating.”

“Then why did you look like you were going to pass out?” she asked.

“I’m afraid that in tensing my body to prepare for the turns, I’ve quite aggravated my wound,” he told her.

Kate wanted to slap her forehead for her idiocy.  Of course, it pulled on his sutures swinging this
way and that.  He must be
in real
agony
!  Reaching into the car, Kate pulled out the pharmacy bag with his painkillers and shook out a pair for him. 

“Here, have a few of these, too.  You should eat something with those.”  Kate pulled out the fries and held them out to Brand, taking a couple for herself
and munching on them.  “French-
fries, you’ll like them.”

She could see that Brand was hesitant to use his fingers but he took one and ate it, his eyes widening in surprise.  “Yummy, huh?” Kate asked.

He nodded and took a few more but his eyes were locked with hers and, sensing that
Brand was calmer than he had been i
n days, Kate said once more, “I a
m
so
sorry.”  The words encompassed
more than just her driving.

“I know you are and I do understand your reasons for your actions,” he said softly, tenderly brushing her hair from her forehead as he had so often
before dropping his hand
.  “Give me time, Kate, to come to grips with all of this.  The newness of it, the foreignness… it’s overwhelming.”

“Kind of like you fell into one of your own books?” Kate asked and laughed with Brand as he released a startled chuckle.

“Yes, I suppose it is,” he agreed.  “Rest a
ssured
my anger at this point is more for myself than it is for you.”

“I’ll try to keep that in mind,”
she told him, rubbing her palm up and down his thigh.  “I’ll help you if you need it, Brand.  I’ll do whatever it takes.”

“Taking things more slowly might be a good start.”

The words held a double-edged meaning
and
Kate couldn’t
decide what he meant by them
.  Did he mean travel more slowly or did he want to take
them
more slowly
? 
Was that his polite way of saying that whi
le he wasn’t mad at her anymore,
he didn’t intend to continue their romance?  Those were q
uestion
s Kate
was afraid to ask
because, deep inside, she felt she already knew the answer
.  Brand was slipping away from her, withdrawing.  She knew it but didn’t have a clue how to stop it.

Or even if she could. 

It was very possible she had already done enough to alienate him beyond redemption
.

“Are you ready to go on then?”

“Yes,” he said before adding.  “Perhaps you might tell me more about these things as we travel.”

“The French-
fries or the cars?” Kate asked
trying to summon a smile
.

Brand tasted another of the long, thin fries, studying the paper container as he chewed.  “Both I suppose.”

Oxford, England

January 2012

“So this is my apartment… flat, they call it here,” Kate said uncertainly as she unlocked the door and stepped inside.   She looked around at the bright,
open-concept
space wondering what Brand
would
think of
it.  The flat was in a newer
complex
northwest of the Oxford campus.  The buil
dings that made up the complex
surrounded a nicely landscaped courtyard filled with trees and flowers in the springtime.  Alone, it wasn’t enough to alienate anyone, even a visitor from another time. 

The flat’s interior, however, was a different story.  It was a modern space, to say the least.  A
sleek kitchen with
stainless appliances, flat-panel
ed
beech cupboards and black granite countertops dominate
d a third of the space.  The bathroom
had a euro-modern vibe that had even astonished Kate when she’d first moved in.  She’d done little to downplay the contemporary but instead had embraced it
,
filling the space with equally modern furnishings
. 
Kate
could see the questions in his eyes
as he glanced around.  In
contrast
to his opulent homes, it was downright sparse
. 
“It’s not much, I know, in comparison…”

With a grimace, Kate went around the room turning on the lights as she went
,
aware that Brand lingered in the doorway studying her small living space. 
“This is the living room, dining room and kitchen,” she pointed around the single open area.  “They’re all just kind of… together.  I know it’s not…”  Kate released a sigh. 
What could she say?  It was
a
hovel in comparison to his homes.  The whole flat could fit neatly in
the
front hall
of Ramble House
. 
After an hour of categorizing all the things she had done to drive Brand away, her home was simply one more item at the bottom of a long list.
“The
bathroom
is through there, just like the o
ne i
n the hospital.  My bedroom is that one
and over here is your bedroom.
  There’s a balcony through that door there.  It has a nice view of Oxford.
” 

Kate led the way to one of the two small bedrooms her flat housed thinking it was a good thing she’d gotten a place with enough room for guests.  At the time
,
she had expected only her parents or sister to visit, but since Brand was
only just
talking to her
as if she weren’t a stranger
, she doubted he would appreciate sharing a bed with her.

“I thought tonight I’d make you dinner,” she went on
,
forcing cheerfulness into her voice.  “
I picked up some sea bass at the market
this morning
. 
Maybe later in the week,
we
can
go shopping and get you some more clothes… if
you’re feeling up to it
.”

Bran
d walked slowly around the flat, visibly favoring his side as he went.  H
is entire circumvention t
ook
only a few moments.  He peeked in first one bedroom and then the other. 

“Here’s the remote for the TV.
”
Kate picked it up, toying with it as she watched him
, trying to gauge his reactions
.   “Why don’t you sit down?  The doctor recommended that you rest.  Four weeks, I think he said, right? 

With a low grunt, Brand
grimaced over the hunched
posture that, while a far cry from his normally erect stance, was as upright as his incision allowed after an hour’s journey.  Holding his side, he shuffl
ed over to the
sofa and lowered himself down into it before slowly relaxing back against the
soft
cushions.  It was surprisingly comfortable.  In fact, Kate’s entire home had a feeling of
unpretentious, domestic
comfort.  There was nothing
of the
formal
ity that was a hallmark of his homes in London and in the country. 

The furniture was simple, a dark gray sofa made of two separate pieces pushed together flanked by a pair of squared
, outrageously
bright green chairs.  The rug beneath his feet was stripped in grey, green, orange and teal blue and the plethora of pillows on the seating complimented those colors.  It was bright and merry just like Kate.
  Though the bizarre shapes of some of the furniture and lamps were unusual to him, overall he found the space inviting and comforting. 
Looking out the long windows that flanked one side of the room, h
e let out a sigh of fatigue
and
,
feeling at ease, leaned back and closed
his eyes
.

Despite his
weariness
, h
e was aware of Kate
as she moved through the kitchen
area – a kitchen right there in the living space
.  I
t was
a
confounding
concept
. 
He could hear her soft footsteps. 
Doo
rs opened and closed marking her
position.  She
hadn’t said a word since their arrival in Oxford – a town
almost unidentifiable from
the one of his university days – besides her brief tour of her flat. 

Kate was wary of him now, Brand thought as he lay there letting his mind roam freely.  Of course, he had given her every reason to be so between his bursts of anger and sil
ence.  He was slowly emerging from the
shocked withdrawal her revelations had wrought
. 
In truth,
only in
the past hour
had he realized
how the changes that so challenged him had wedged
their way
between them
.

He
thought the short talk they’d had when they stopped might have set things
to rights.  However, somewhere during
the remainder of their journey –
while Brand had slept off the e
ffects o
f his pain medication – Kate
lost the anger that she had brought to the hospital and even the flash of humor she had shown during their rest only to find circumspection upon their arrival.

So much so that she
assigned him a bedchamber separate from her own even though she lived alone with no chaperone.  Did she think he no longer cared for her
?
he wondered.  Did she think he would no longer want to hold her in his arms?  Given the events of the past several days, Brand thought it just might be the case.  He should speak with her, find a
way to push his trepidation aside to assuage her fears as well.

If only he weren’t so blasted tired.

“Brand?”

He opened his eyes to find Kate sta
nding in front of him, her gaze still clouded by worries.
“I forgot to pick up more
milk at the market
,
so
I’m going to run out quick.  I thought you might like to read this while I’m gone.”  She held out a book to him.  “It’s a really good book, something up your alley, I think.  So, I’ll be back soon, okay?”

Brand nodded looking down at the hardcover book with its paper dustcover.  The paper was embossed with the image of a medieval steel helmet. 
At the top
,
he
read the name Michael Crichton i
n black and white
lettering and across the center was the word
Timeline
in
red lettering.

He looked up to thank Kate, to speak with her about their troubles, but she was already gone.  Turning back to the book, Brand flicked at the edge of the thin paper dustcover before opening the book with a sigh.

He found himself q
uickly lost in the st
ory
,
though the first
several
chapters left him with more questions than answers.  What was a
n MRI?  Muzak?  Weren’t Mercedes and Nike mythical
deities
?  Once the characters traveled back in time,
however,
Brand drown
ed
in the story, flipping through the pages as quickly as he could read them.

An hour later, a brisk knock sounded at the door and Brand levered himself up to answer it
, perhaps the first time he’d answered a door in a dozen years
.  To his dismay, Dr. Fergusson stood on the other side of the portal.  “Kate’s not here.”

“Don’t need Kate, old chap,” the physicist answered.  “Surprisingly
,
I was looking for you.  Here now, put on
this
jacket, we have somewhere to go.”

“I’m not going anywhere with you,” Brand
bit out
.

“You’re not my favorite person these days, either, you know?” Fergusson shot back.  “You’ve stolen the woman I thought to marry from me.”

“Kate?”

“Of course, Kate.  But I’ve resolved to aid where I can and, other than return you to your own time, there is one other service that I can provide,” he said cryptically.  “So, come along then, time’s wasting.”

***

“Where
the hell
have you been?”
Kate screeched
when Brand returned to her flat
hours later in the co
mpany of David Fergusson.  The elation
at seeing Brand in one piece
when she
feared
his death
was overwhelming, but not enough to soften her anger over his unannounced departure.

Tiredl
y, Brand took off the jacket David had lent him and
hung
it in the closet as he had seen Kate do with her own earlier
before turning and shuffling his way over to the sofa.  His side was on fire
. 
“Dr. Fergusson has been assisting me in obtaining the documentation necessary for maintaining a personal identity in this time.”

“He what?” 

Deflated
by sheer astonishment
,
Kate shot a questio
ning look at David who shrugged.
“I know
a guy
.  Don’t ask.  Besides
,
it had to be done if your earl is to reside here.  Without the proper paperwork
,
he would be suspect.
  Sooner rather than later, I thought
.  G
iven his foray into the medical world
, he’ll need an National Insurance number
.
”

Though he had a
good
point, Kate wanted to hang on to the anger that was currently damming tears of relief. 
Sensing Brand’s pain, she helped him over to the couch, urging him to put his feet up so that he could relax against the arm. 
“Won’t he be suspect
anyway
when those
numbers pop up without any history attached to them?”
she asked as she put pillows behind Brand and under his knees, allowing him the position and support of a hospital bed. 

Brand
breathed in a sigh of relief then
she saw him wince
.  Reading his needs once again, Kate brought him another
couple
of painkillers and some water.

“Oh, Brandon Ryder has a thoroughly documented employment history and a credit history any man would envy,” David told her.  Kate opened her mouth to ask the questions he’d just told her not to but
clam
ped it shut quickly.  Perhaps it would be best if she didn’t know.

“Well, you could have called and told me,” she snapped at him
as she stood with his hands on her hips
.  “I’ve been worried sick.” 

When David merely shrugged, Kate s
talked toward the door with the intention of slapping him silly.  David warded her off by holding an envelope between them. 
“Bloody hell but you’re a harridan!”  David nodded at Brand
as he turned
.  “Bye, old chap.”

“You have my thanks even if Kate does not appreciate the effort,” Brand returned
heavily from his place on the couch
.