Diamond stared at Ari. “I can’t believe you would let your daughter return to the future without some way to contact her.”
“I’ve tried to leave her a few breadcrumbs to find us in the historical record. But there’s no way for her to communicate with us.”
“Leave another bread crumb telling her to come get me. Then you can talk to her in person. Wouldn’t it be wonderful to see her again, to learn what she made of her life?”
The plan tempted Ari. Diamond could see it in her eyes.
“I wouldn’t do it even if I could be sure she would get our message. You’ve seen for yourself how unpredictable time travel can be. Bryce and I never intended to stay here. We planned to warn my brother he was in danger and go back to the twenty-first century. But then we lost the stone to the kidnappers and didn’t realize until much later that Bryce’s father had stolen it back. By then we had made a life for ourselves here,” Ari said.
“You need to do the same, Di. Make a life for yourself here and now, because there’s no way to get back.”
“I refuse to believe that. If one device exists, there may be others.”
“Perhaps,” Bryce agreed, “but how would you find one?”
Put an ad in the paper. Wanted: time travel device. Even in the twenty-first century with on-line forums and easy ways to buy or sell almost anything, she wouldn’t be able to track down something as rare and unbelievable as a time-traveling crystal.
Diamond felt as if her world was shattering around her. She’d rescued a man from capture, saved his life, traveled hundreds of miles through dangerous territory and tracked down Bryce and Ari for nothing? If there was truly no hope, then she wanted nothing more than to curl up on the floor and cry. And she had not been a crier since her dad’s death. She could count on the fingers of one hand how many times she had cried since she’d finally cried herself dry after the funeral.
“Then what am I to do? How can I survive here, alone, in the nineteenth century? I have no family, no money.” She heard the rising hysteria in her voice. “How will I make a living? Women can’t vote and have few rights.”
“You are not our responsibility, Miss Merrell. You would still be in your own time, hounding other people, if you hadn’t pursued us so relentlessly.”
“Bryce,” Ari cut in.
He gave her an impatient look, but reined in his temper. “I own several shops here in St. Louis. You can have a job working at one of them.”
“What? No, I don’t want to be a shopgirl.”
Bryce raised his brows. “Too good to work in a shop?”
Maybe. “That’s not what I meant. I’m a reporter. I have no experience in sales.”
“Then work for one of the local papers. I have some influence in town. Perhaps I can get you on.”
“This is a lot to take in,” Ari said. “You can stay here for a few days while you make some decisions about your future.”
“Absolutely not. Have you forgotten how she treated us in the twenty-first century? No, I will give her a sum of money and help her find employment, but that’s my final offer and damn generous if you ask me.”
“I don’t know what would have happened to me if Victoria’s mother hadn’t helped me, Bryce. Or what you would have done if I hadn’t found you. Diamond’s right. We owe her something.”
“I offered her something. My sympathy for this woman only stretches so far.”
“I know, but I can’t abandon her. Go back to your meeting at the bank. We will figure something out.”
Bryce made a sound of impatience, but didn’t argue. He dropped a kiss on his wife’s cheek and shot one last glare at Diamond before leaving the room, his posture stiff, his gait marred only by a slight dependence on his cane.
“I understand how difficult this must be for you,” Ari said.
“How could you? You wanted to travel to the past. Planned for it. Something about your brother…” Diamond frowned. She’d been so upset she hadn’t been paying full attention. “Your brother was here? In the nineteenth century? Is he a time traveler too?” Hope rose again.
“No, Sebastien has never used the stone. But I have. I was born in 1784.”
Diamond shook her head. “I knew something was off about Bryce, but you seemed like a normal person.”
“When we met, I had already spent four years in the twenty-first century. I had learned to adjust. You will do the same.”
Diamond’s head spun. “If you traveled to the future and Bryce came after you, there must be two time travel devices.”
“No. I’m sorry. It’s complicated.” Ari took a deep breath. “After I traveled to the future, I gave my necklace to a friend, and she traveled to the past. Bryce took the necklace from her and came to the future.”
“That’s when I come into the story. I knew Bryce was hiding something.”
“We weren’t hiding anything bad. Can you imagine what would happen if people discovered time travel was possible? Everyone would want to do it and that would be very dangerous. Just by traveling to the future, Bryce changed some things in the past. He put my brother in danger. We had to go back and fix the problems, but then we got stuck here.” Her tone was placid as if she were telling a story about someone else.
“You didn’t mind coming back.” Diamond found it hard to believe. “I’m sure you missed things from the future, but you were happy to get home.”
Ari nodded. “Bryce wanted to stay in the twenty-first century, but I’m happier here, where I belong. I understand your position. But I also know you must adapt. Your life is here now. You must make the most of it.”
“I won’t accept that. What about your friend, the one you gave the necklace to? Did she ever get back to
