Reno didn’t pull away, he just looked deep into her eyes. “Saying no to you seems to be very difficult for me.”
“Then…don’t.” Journey wanted to tell him how she felt. How she’d longed for him. Dreamed about him. A nervous giggle escaped from her lips. If she was that honest, he’d head for the hills for sure. “Stay.”
Reno exhaled wearily. “As much as I’d like to,” he muttered gently, “I can’t. I have…responsibilities. I need to go to the cabin. I need to make sure the raiders didn’t find Clay and the kids.”
“They didn’t, but I understand.” Journey knew he needed more reassurance than she could give him. “You need to go, and I need to go with you. I’ll saddle up one of the horses and come along.” There was no way she was letting him just ride out of her life.
“No.” He shook his head emphatically. “You’re safe here.”
“I’m safer with you.” She insisted with no doubt in her mind. “Besides, you might get lost.” Reno rolled his eyes, which made Journey laugh out loud.
“Me? Lost?” He walked to the window where he could see the pink granite dome in the distance. The moonlight gave the mountain a luminous quality. “As long as I can see Enchanted Rock, I know where I am.”
“Let me change shoes.” She took off to find her boots, calling over her shoulder. “It won’t take but a second.”
“Journey!” He slammed his hat on his head. “You’re making me dizzy.”
“I am?” Journey came back into the kitchen, then plopped down on the barstool to change shoes. “Is that a good thing?”
“Lord, if I know.” With a gentle hand, he reached up to tuck a lock of her hair behind her ear. “What am I going to do with you?” A tender feeling made his heart ache. If only he’d met her at another time.
Journey said nothing. She could make a few suggestions. “I don’t know.”
“Are you sure about this? I’m riding to Saul’s cabin, then on to the home of my friend, Ela Blue. I don’t have time to escort you back here.”
Ela Blue. Journey thought for a second. That name seemed familiar, but she couldn’t remember why. “Wait a minute. When you were bringing me home, I thought you said we were riding in the same direction as Saul’s cabin.”
“I did say that.” He looked even more confused.
She took him by the arm. “Don’t you see? That makes perfect sense. My great-aunt always said this house was built in the exact place where Saul’s cabin used to sit long ago.”
“What you’re saying is impossible.” Reno walked to the window, as if the familiar sight of Enchanted Rock would anchor him. “I rode away from the cabin just hours ago.”
“I know it sounds strange, but something amazing has happened.” She stood just behind him. Near enough to feel his heat. This man she’d only dreamed about was here. Flesh and blood. “Reno, do you know what year it is?”
“Yes.” He turned to answer with confidence. “The year is 1869.”
Journey turned in a circle, seeking some way to convince him. Going to the wall, she flipped the light switch. “Electricity. I don’t think it’s invented for another ten years in your time.” Going to pick up the phone, she held it to her ear. “Telephone, the first one was invented in 1876.”
“What are you saying?”
“There have been two world wars. One began in 1914 and the other in 1939. We can fly now, in airplanes. We sent a rocket to the moon. Men walked on its surface. Now, we have computers that can access all the information in the world. We’ve even created artificial intelligence.”
“You’re speaking gibberish,” he protested.
Journey could only imagine how all of this sounded to him. “Reno, the year isn’t 1869. This is 2019.”
Reno blinked, holding her gaze. “2019?” He threw back his head and laughed. “No, it’s not.”
“Yes, it is.” She held the gaze of the man she’d idolized for years, her heart beating ninety miles a minute. “Somehow, Reno, you’ve traveled through time. A hundred and fifty years into the future.”
CHAPTER SIX
“Two thousand nineteen?” Reno repeated the number. A very large number. “Two thousand nineteen.” The very sound of the words was alien to his ears. “I don’t understand.” He’d sure repeated those words more than one time tonight.
“Neither do I,” Journey answered him. “That’s why we need to figure this out together.” She unlocked the back door and held it open for him. “Come on. Let’s go.”
“I don’t like this,” Reno muttered – but he followed her anyway.
Once they saddled up, Journey took the lead. “We’ll go through the gate again and into the park. You can decide which way after that.”
“Why do you call this land a park?” he asked as he took care of the latch on the gate as he’d done before.
“The land is protected so it can’t be developed.” Knowing he wouldn’t know what that meant, she elaborated. “The states and the federal government have reserved beautiful tracts of wilderness to keep them from being bought up and filled with residential communities and strip malls.”
“Strip mauls?” he chuckled, repeating the words as he heard them. “I’m sure that doesn’t mean what the words imply.”
“No. I’m sure it doesn’t. A strip mall is a shopping center. Stores. Where people go to buy things.” When he didn’t say more, she let it go. Suddenly, she spotted something in the distance. Flashing red and blue lights. “Look. Police lights.
