Stealing Time (14 page)

Nicolas stormed past her, leaving the couple
alone in the room.

Kate stood, hands on hips, glaring at Drew.
“That’s not the way it was supposed to happen. You gave your father
information he didn’t have before. So much for keeping history the
same.”

“But we do go to New York, so what’s the
harm?”

“I guess you’re right. Now pick me up, and
let’s go!” Kate hopped into Drew’s arms, and he carried her to the
transformed wedding chapel. It was now a room ready for dinner and
dancing. Tables were spread throughout the room. The band was
setting up right where Kate and Drew said their vows.

Drew set Kate down in the middle of the floor
as the band began to play. They danced to “Someone to Watch over
Me”. It felt surreal as Kate floated over the floor with her
husband. She knew how important the night was to Drew, and she
wanted to make sure he had good memories. Even though they didn’t
dance before dinner last time, Kate saw no harm in changing that
part of the evening. She pulled her parents onto the floor along
with the rest of the bridal party. They exchanged partners,
laughing and talking, oblivious to on-lookers. Kate didn’t care who
was watching and decided they were the entertainment until dinner
was served. She noticed plates being placed on the tables so after
the song finished she had everyone head for the bridal table.
Toasts were made by Thomas, Daniel, and finally her father.

As the night drew to a close Kate recalled
her first wedding, going over every detail to make sure things
stayed unchanged. With the exception of telling Nicolas they were
coming to New York City, things were almost identical. Kate
remembered to slip up and mention Lucinda’s pregnancy. Lucinda
revealed she’d name the child Henry or Henrietta—Retta for short.
She made sure Anna caught the bouquet and then danced the night
away with Anna and Daniel by her side. Drew signaled it was time to
leave, and they circled the room, saying their good-byes. The last
people they saw were Kate’s parents who tried not to look like the
proud mother and father they were.

As they headed outside to the cool, clear
night, Kate looked up at the sky. “Ooh, my wedding present.” She
pointed at the stars. “Remember you said the star-filled sky was
from you to me.”

“Like I’d forget.” Drew kissed her lightly
and helped Kate into the waiting car that would take them to Circle
H Ranch. Lucinda offered the ranch as a place to spend their
wedding night. Kate couldn’t refuse because she knew Lucinda wanted
the wedding there, but she couldn’t do that to Anna and her Circle
J family. The compromise was to stay at the Hasting ranch tonight
and leave in the morning. Kate was thrilled to go back to her
special bedroom and couldn’t wait to be alone with Drew on their
first anniversary.

“I know I said the stars were your gift last
year, but I got you something else. Happy anniversary.” Drew handed
her a black box that was too big for a ring or a necklace. She
looked carefully at the box. It said Gruen Watch Company. Inside
was a beautiful gold rectangle watch with rounded edges with a
black silk ribbon band. “Drew, it’s beautiful.” Feeling a little
guilty that she had nothing in return, she gave him a long,
lingering kiss. “Thank you.”

“I know you use your phone to keep time back
in Ohio, but here you have nothing.” Drew hugged her. “But it
really means more than that, sweet Kate. Your letters always ended
the same, the ones that saved my life. You wrote ‘I love you,
across the miles, across time’ at the end of every letter. The
watch represents that love. Time has nothing on us.”

“Drew, you always know the right thing to
say. I can’t wait to get you up in my bedroom.”

“Oh, so now it’s your bedroom?”

“That’s what Henrietta and Lucy told me.
Don’t you remember? They call it the Kathryn bedroom. It’s waiting
for me still. I can use it anytime.”

“Then we better stop staying with the Jenkins
all the time.”

“I know. I feel bad about that. Things have
to change. I just love being close to Anna. I can’t tell my cousins
that. They have no idea we’re friends from the canyon.” Kate took
the watch from its box. “Here, help me put it on.”

After the watch was in place, she held out
her arm, admiring it. “You have such good taste.”

“I know. I picked you, didn’t I?” Drew
laughed and gave her a little squeeze.

The car pulled up in front of the Hasting
ranch. Drew jumped out, helping Kate from the car. Frieda, Carl
Sr.’s sister and the Hasting’s maid, was already at the door. She
showed them to their room and closed the door as she left. The
couple was finally alone.

“We’re off script now!” Kate laughed and
flung herself backward on the bed.

“Actually, I’d like to stay on script for a
bit longer. If I remember correctly, I did this.” He popped the
cork on the bottle of champagne chilling on the table. He handed
her a fluted glass of the bubbling liquid. Kate quickly downed
it.

“Hey, I don’t remember that!” Drew
chuckled.

“But you do remember this.” Kate stood and
turned around. “Help me out of this dress.”

Drew’s hands were much more confident this
year. He slipped the dress over her head and placed it neatly on a
chair. Kate slid his jacket off, undid his tie, kissing him the
whole time. She had to agree with Drew—this part of script would
always remain unchanged.

Chapter
Ten

The phone call came within a week after the
wedding as Kate and Drew returned from campus. She heard the
conversation swirling around in her head over and over again. Words
she never wanted to hear—Anna had passed away.

Dead...peaceful...sad...crying...friend...loved. Those were parts
of sentences Kate hardly remembered and struggled to piece
together. Anna died peacefully. That was one of the things she
remembered being told. They found her sitting on her loveseat, book
in lap and assumed she was reading. Did Aunt Sue say that? Kate
wasn’t entirely sure. When the family realized the truth, there was
crying and finally sadness. Deep, deep sadness.

Sadness hung over Kate, too, like a cold,
wet, gray day. The family told her Anna loved her very much and
considered her a special friend. If only they knew. Anna, dear,
sweet Anna was gone. It was too much to take.

Overwhelmed, Kate asked everyone to leave her
alone, and they respected her wishes. Her mother made arrangements
for them to go to Arizona for the funeral. Drew and her father got
the luggage down from the attic and ran last minute errands.

Little did they know she planned to leave for
the canyon as soon as possible to straighten the whole thing out
once and for all. Anna wasn’t really gone. She was alive and well
and living at the Grand Canyon.
Silly people, if only they knew
what I know.
Anna would never leave her. She was waiting for
Kate to come back to share another adventure.

As she settled into bed that night, Kate
reached for the black leather bound book. The smooth cover somehow
soothed her as she rubbed her hand over the leather, almost like a
genie in a bottle, hoping it would grant her wish. Falling asleep
almost instantly, Kate was surprised to wake up still clutching the
book. She slid it under her feather pillow and felt in her sleeve
for the picture of Lindsey. The excitement of seeing Anna at the
canyon built inside her. Kate felt like she could burst. This was
the place she and Anna first met. It couldn’t be taken away from
them.

Kate knew she shouldn’t be at the
boardinghouse this time of year. Everyone thought she and Drew were
on their honeymoon. Carefully slipping out her door, she tiptoed
down the hall to Anna’s room, hoping no one would see her. Knocking
lightly, she let herself in.

“Kathryn, you startled me!” Anna sat straight
up in bed.

“Sorry, I didn’t mean to.”

“What are you doing here? Shouldn’t you be in
New York?”

“Not yet. I forgot something.”

“Oh.” Anna seemed to relax.

“It was quite a wedding, wasn’t it?” Kate sat
on the edge of the bed.

“One of the best.”

“And you were so happy to be there and
experience it all.” Kate looked at her knowingly.

“Of course,” Anna said a little strangely.
“You should be on your way now, don’t you think? Andrew’s probably
waiting.”

“No, he’s not. We have all the time in the
world. What do you want to do today?”

“Kathryn, not to be rude, but you just got
married. I think you should be with your husband.”

Kate was shocked. This was not her Anna but
decided to check. “Lindsey Campbell.”

“What?”

“You know, Lindsey Campbell.” Kate took the
picture from her sleeve and showed it to her.

“She’s a beautiful girl. I think I saw her at
your wedding.” Anna nodded.

“You did. She’s your...” Kate stopped and
blinked. This was 1927 Anna, not her friend from the present. Her
eyes filled with tears.

“She’s what, sweetie?”

“Never mind.” Kate quickly turned away so
Anna couldn’t see her tears and fled the room. Bursting back into
her little room, she was about to throw herself on the bed, but
someone was sitting there. “Lindsey!”

“I thought you might need a friend.” Lindsey
looked up at her with her big brown eyes, the same eyes as
Anna.

Kate fell into her arms, sobbing until she
couldn’t breathe. Panting until she was finally able to take normal
breaths, Kate leaned back and gazed at her friend. “How did you
know I’d be here?”

“Great minds and all that. Where else would
you be?”

“She doesn’t know the real me.”

“Didn’t you tell me Carl Sr. doesn’t know
anything beyond 1927? He passed away so he only exists here. It
makes sense it’d be the same for my grandmother.”

“You’re right, but I didn’t want to believe
it.”

“None of us do. That’s why the family needs
you. I have a letter for you. Aunt Sue found it in Grandma J’s
things. I brought it with me, thinking you might like to read it.
I’ll leave you alone. Be in the barn if you need me.”

“Thanks, Linds.” Kate turned the letter over
and over in her hands. Did she really want to read it? The sadness
and grief were already more than she could bear. If someone could
remove the hot poker piercing through her chest, maybe then she
could find the courage to open the white envelope in her hand. A
small glass of water stood on the table next to the bed. Kate took
tiny sips from it, finally gulping the cool liquid down her throat,
hoping to put out the fire. The letter felt smooth and warm in her
hand, almost calming her.

Read it. Open it, and read it.
It
seemed to talk to her. Slowly, hesitantly, Kate finally gave in and
slid the letter from its envelope.

Dear Kathryn,

If you are reading this, we both know the
reason and don’t need to dwell on the fact that I’m gone. I know
what you’re thinking. You want to dwell on that fact. Well, I don’t
want you to. Your life must go on with no regrets and no grieving
over me. You once told me that Andrew said he’d give you the moon
and the stars if he could and whenever you two were apart, just
look at the moon and know he’s with you. Although I can’t be as
eloquent as our dear Andrew, please choose a star and name it Anna.
Then every night, we can talk and never be apart. I’ll always be
with you.

I know you’ll be able to see me at the
canyon and knowing you, you’ve already been there to check up on
me. I’m sure you found out that I have joined Mr. Carl in our 1927
world, but that’s not so bad, is it? Please accept it, and know you
have a little piece of me there.

I want to share a story with you from my
past—one I never told you. During the war, World War Two that is,
many war movies were made. Daniel and I would have date night, and
he would take me out for dinner and a movie, hoping for a little
distraction. Well, one movie we went to, I believe it was in 1942,
brought back memories of you. I was hysterically crying by the end
of it, and Daniel felt so bad that he took me to see it. It wasn’t
the movie that made me emotional—it was a tear jerker; don’t get me
wrong—it was my thoughts of you and missing you so.

You see, the movie was “Casablanca”. I know
you’re aware of the story. Star-crossed lovers find each other only
to be ripped apart again. It made me think of you and Andrew. You
had such a short time together and then you lost him to the river.
No one ever knew what happened to you. My heart broke all over
again as the movie reminded me of that time.

Imagine my surprise when I found you were
alive and well and still with Andrew. What a gift! You are my gift,
my sweet friend. You brought happiness at the beginning of my life
and again at the end. Please fill your heart with that because I
have. My family will need you now more than ever. Be strong for
them because they’ll look to you for guidance. I truly believe you
are the link between the past and present for all of us. Even you
are not aware of this power. Without you, this family may have
lived their separate lives throughout the country, oblivious to
what might have been. You found us all, and we’re all still
learning through you.

Kathryn, know you are my friend across the
miles, throughout time, now and forever.

Love from your best friend,

Anna

Kate hugged the letter to her chest. Her
thoughts jumbled together, trying to make sense of the letter.
There was no way she was the link or leader of the family. She was
just a teenage girl doing the best she could. Still, reading that
made her feel better. Kate felt strong enough to find Lindsey and
spend time with her before they had to go back to the present.
Walking out to the barn, Kate continued to feel better and, as she
opened the door, knew she could do as Anna asked.