“Well, okay. But, remember, I’m in charge.” She gave him a playful warning look.
Holding up his hands in surrender, Reno grinned. “That’s fine. You can be in charge now – I’ll be in charge later.”
“What do you mean?”
He just laughed. “You’ll see.”
Journey went all warm, wondering if he meant in bed. She hugged herself, smiling secretively. She hoped he meant in bed. “All right. Go through your checklist.”
“Okay. Seatbelt.” He fastened his. “Check the mirrors.” He made sure he could see from every angle. “We have plenty of gas. The oil light isn’t on. The engine light isn’t on.” He flipped a switch. “A/C is on max.” He grinned at her. “I’m hot-blooded, I like it cool. And the radio is turned to the nearest country station.”
“Very good. Let’s go.” Before she could say Wild Bill Hickock, he was off. “We’re not at the Indy 500, Reno. A slow, smooth start next time!”
When he came to the end of the drive, he slammed on the brakes a little too hard, causing Journey to jerk forward against the seat belt. “Sorry. I’ll do better.”
“I know you will.” She pressed her lips together as he put on the left turn signal and headed north toward Llano.
“How fast can I go?”
“Stay under the speed limit.”
“Spoilsport.”
From that point on, to her surprise, his driving was flawless. “You were messing with me, weren’t you?”
“What do you mean?” He tapped his finger on the steering wheel in time to the music. “That shaky start? Yea, I was just having fun with you.”
“Well, you’re doing great now.” She let herself relax. “We’ll get you a telephone tomorrow.”
“Sounds good.” When it came time to turn around to go home, he did it flawlessly and without trouble.
“Good job, Reno.”
“Thanks.” He cut his eyes toward her. “Journey, I need to sell some of those coins, like you said. I want to be able to pay my own way.”
“We can do that, for sure. Remind me to search for the nearest coin shop when we get home.”
Home. Reno had mixed feelings about that word. “Do you mean search for the shop on the internet?”
“Right. I do. By the way, I can do the searching on my phone or on the computer. That’s why the cell phones are called smart phones. They’re dual purpose. Some have a camera, a compass, a radio, even a television in some cases.”
He shook his head in amazement. “Everything is so convenient in this time. And so highly advanced.”
“Well, not everything. Wait until you have to go to the DMV to get your driver’s license.” At his look of confusion, she explained, “You’ll have to take a written test and demonstrate your driving skills to an officer of the state.”
“I hate tests,” he grumbled.
“Ha! Don’t we all. Some things stay the same.”
For a while, they drove in silence, watching the view out of the window change with the miles. The closer they came to Enchanted Rock, the wilder the landscape grew – more rocks, higher hills, the colors were more vibrant, there even seemed to be a hint of mystery in the air. “You love it here, don’t you, Journey? I can see in your eyes when you survey the land and I can hear it in your voice when you speak of it.”
“I do. My family has a rich history here, thanks to you.” She gave him a sad smile. “I guess you feel more connected to Tennessee than you do to the Texas hill country.”
“In some ways, I do. I’ve only been in Texas for four years.” He shook his head. “Not counting the one-hundred and fifty it took to come to the future.”
“Sometimes I think I’m dreaming, you know. Having you here is unbelievable, Reno – yet so perfect. Even though I’ve longed for this moment most of my life, never in my wildest dreams did I truly expect it to happen.”
Reno gazed out the window at the passing landscape. “From where I sit, I have to believe that anything is possible. I have stepped from a time when things were simple. I didn’t know they were simple; they were ordinary to me. Now, I find myself in a place and time where the miraculous is an everyday occurrence.” He patted the dashboard. “We travel so fast. We can fly in the air. Light is made with energy that travels on wires. Any information you need can be found at your fingertips in a small metal box you call a computer. And didn’t you tell me a man has walked on the moon?”
“In 1969.”
“Do you know how crazy and impossible all of that sounds to me?”
“Of course. None of those things were easy though. They took years and decades of research and testing. Going to the moon was a tremendous accomplishment. A true milestone in history.”
“Yet, mankind achieved that crazy feat.” He watched Journey’s face to see what she thought about his conclusion. “So, if traveling to the moon is possible, you can see why I would expect for there to be an answer for how I came forward in time and how I can return. Right?”
His supposition was fair. Journey searched for a way to give him a reasonable answer. “As far as I know, there’s been no headway in that arena. Or if there has, it’s not public knowledge. Throughout the generations, time travel has always been an intriguing theory. There are hundreds of books and dozens of movies with that theme. Every kid grows up with the idea that it could happen. In fact, there are some rumors, stories, urban legend type stuff that claims it already has happened in a few incidents.”
“What? Tell me about them!” He jerked in the seat to
