“Meredith, I have feelings for you. I’m sure you’re aware, especially after—”
“Of course you do. I’m here to save your life, to release you from more than a century and a half of being stuck here in phantom form. I suspect what you feel for me is similar to what some patients develop with their doctors or therapists.”
“I disagree. What my heart holds for you is more real than anything I’ve ever experienced. I’m hoping—”
“I don’t want to talk about this right now. There’s no point.” She’d experienced his feelings, as he had hers. In order to be together, one of them would have to make a great sacrifice, and she wasn’t ready to face that inevitability. “No decisions need to be made today, or … or …” Her throat closed. “I’ll meet you here tomorrow evening after my shift,” she rasped out.
“Meredith, look at me.”
She shook her head as she gathered the letter, the rest of the vellum, and the pen. She stuffed everything into her backpack and hurried to the door. “Gotta go.”
Daniel called after her, but she didn’t stop, and he didn’t follow. She slowed her pace and attempted to calm herself. Things might be completely different once they met in the flesh. In his desperation, of course he’d develop feelings for whoever threw him a lifeline. That didn’t mean the attraction would play out in real life.
She continued to rationalize all the way back to the cabin, but she couldn’t deny that what she felt seemed damned real to her as well. She needed to give Aunt Beth a piece of her mind, because her aunt had been the one who had convinced her that she couldn’t ignore the summons.
“Only the one summoned can help the spirits who called to them, my ass,” she muttered.
Meredith had a sneaking suspicion Beth had made that part up on the spot. Her aunt had always been overly dramatic, and she’d always loved drawing those around her into the dramas. Meredith had always been an onlooker, never the one drawn in … until now. She wished her aunt had minded her own damned business.
No way could there possibly be a happily-ever-after for her or for Daniel. Either one of them would have to sacrifice everything for the other, or they’d have to go their separate ways. “What a mess.”
10
Meredith wore her Edwardian walking suit, the undergarments that went with that era—plus her modern-day bra—and the leather ankle boots. The groups she’d led all day seemed to appreciate her effort to represent the era she spoke about. Little did they know her main goal to was make a hasty exit into the past after her shift. Her stomach had turned to a tight ball of nerves as she counted down the last minutes as tour guide for the day.
“Notice the bullet holes in the wall here?” she said, touching one of the holes. “This happened when two men fought over a young woman who worked here at Keoghan’s Saloon. She called herself Lily Lovelace.”
One more stop, and she’d be free to grab her already packed duffle bag and hike to Daniel’s camp. He’d be waiting for her. The skein of nerves in her gut tightened, and her pulse surged. Clasping her hands together in front of her, she gazed at each of the family members in her last group for the day, a couple and their three daughters. “Shortly after that bar fight, Miss Lovelace and her wounded lover disappeared and were never heard from again.”
“Do you think the two might haunt this saloon?” the oldest of the three girls asked. “Maybe the other guy in the gunfight finished them off in a crime of passion.”
Meredith had seen a few of the saloon’s ladies of the night haunting the room, and it was possible. Still, she preferred a more romantic end to the story. “I believe she and her lover ran off together, married, and lived happily-ever-after in Deer Lodge, or Hellgate, which later became Missoula.” She laughed as the three girls rolled their eyes in unison and groaned.
“Our last stop is the gift shop,” she said, gesturing toward the saloon’s double doors. “There you can purchase books about the history of Garretsville and mining in the Garnet Mountains.”
Meredith herded the family into the building and passed them off to Judy. “Thank you for visiting Garretsville today. I hope you enjoyed your tour,” she said in a rush before turning to Judy. “Well, I’m off.”
“Good luck, Meredith. John and I are looking forward to hearing about your visit,” Judy said, winking at her.
“Thanks. See you later.” She’d already told the Schultes about her plans, and she’d given them written instructions to follow in case she didn’t return on the very day she left. They were to contact her father and aunt and explain everything. Her mom and dad would then contact the rest of the family, and if help was possible, they’d find a way.
She wouldn’t need help though. Everything would go as planned. The tangle of nerves in her gut seemed to suggest otherwise. She ignored her apprehensions and hurried past the schoolhouse to where she’d stashed her bag in the brush.
Hoisting the strap of the duffle over her shoulder, she set off at a brisk pace for Daniel’s camp. Her mind and insides churned with the now familiar combination of fear and anticipation. Soon she’d meet Daniel in the flesh.
“Where are you off to, Meredith?”
She jerked to a halt. She’d been watching the ground, her mind on other things and not where she was going. “Just taking a walk, Oliver. What are you doing here?”
“Same. Walking.” He eyed her duffle bag and the clothes she wore. “What’s with the bag and the clothes? Not what you usually wear on a hike, yeah?”
Frustration flared. He
