“I want to know where your creep of a brother is. And don’t try to put me off. Libby told me.”
But he was still cautious. “Told you what?”
She tilted her head. “Is it too late to welcome you to the twentieth century?”
A new smile tugged at his mouth. “No. J.T.’s out in his ship. It’s about five kilometers northeast. Just follow the tracks.” He caught her arm before she could rush off. “He’s going through a bad time, Sunny. I’ve hurt him.”
“Not nearly as much as I’m going to.”
He started to speak again, but he remembered that Jacob had always been able to take care of himself. He went upstairs to his wife.
She was still sitting on the bed, staring at, but not out of, the window. Her face was composed, her hands folded in her lap so that they pressed lightly against the life growing in her. Looking at her, Caleb felt a single stunning wave of love.
“Hi.”
She jolted, struggled to smile. “Hi. Busy day.” Before he could speak, she sprang up. “I’ve got a dozen things to do. I haven’t finished unpacking, and I really ought to fix something special for dinner tonight.”
“Wait a minute.” He took her arms before she could walk by, then simply brought her into his. “I love you, Libby.”
“I know.” With her head on his shoulder, she held on.
“No, I don’t think you do.” Gently he pulled her away to study her face. “Even after all this time, I don’t think you do. How could you think I would leave? Then or now.”
She just shook her head.
“Sit down,” he murmured.
“Caleb, I don’t know what to say to you.” She sat, twining her nervous fingers together. “I can only imagine how you must feel, having your brother here when you thought you’d never see him again. Being reminded of everything you gave up, and the people you left behind.”
“Are you finished?”
Her only answer was a miserable shrug.
“J.T. gave me a copy of a letter he found when he dug up our time capsule.” He pulled her fingers apart to link them with his as he sat beside her. “He didn’t read it,” he continued. “It was still in the envelope.”
“How did he copy it if it was still in—” She caught herself and managed a small laugh. “Stupid question.”
“You put it in the capsule so I’d be able to read it when I got back.” He took it out of his pocket. Libby frowned at it. It looked precisely as it had when she’d slipped it into the box. And yet . . . the paper was different, she realized when she touched it. Thicker, stronger. And, she added to herself, probably not paper at all. At least not as she thought of paper.
“I stopped on the way back from the ship to read it.” He spread the letter in his lap. “If I had been crazy enough to leave you, this would have brought me back. Somehow.”
“It wasn’t meant to do that.”
“I know.” He took her hand, kissed it. “What it means is a great deal to me. Do you remember what you wrote?”
“Some of it.”
“This part.” He looked down at the letter. “‘I wanted you to know that in my heart I wanted you to be where you belonged.’” He set the letter aside. “Did you mean that?”
“Yes.”
“Then you’ll be happy to know that I’m exactly where I belong.” With long, slow kisses, he eased her back on the bed. “And so are you.”
***
Sunny didn’t have any trouble finding the tracks. There were only two sets, both from the Land Rover. One leading away from the cabin and one leading back. Her face grim, she kept her hands firm on the wheel and her mind empty.
She wouldn’t think, not yet. Once she had begun to think it would probably send her screaming off a cliff. True, she’d always had an affection for the unusual, but this . . . this was going a bit too far.
When she saw the ship, nestled comfortably on a blanket of snow, she hit the brakes too hard and sent the Land Rover skidding sideways. It looked as big as a house.
She imagined it was half the size of the cargo ship Cal had piloted. Probably sleeker, jazzier. Its smooth white finish gleamed in the sunlight. She saw what appeared to be a window that banded around the bow. As she gaped, Jacob stepped up to it and looked out at her.
The sight of him inside it, inside of something that shouldn’t even exist, turned her blank astonishment back into fury. Abandoning the Land Rover, she leaped out and stormed over to the ship.
He released the hatch. The door slid silently open, and a set of stairs flowed out. She mounted them, moving a little slower now. Going over the speech he’d planned, Jacob reached out to take her hand and help her through the entranceway.
“Sunny, I—” Whatever he had planned to say was interrupted when her fisted hand connected solidly with his jaw. Off balance and seeing stars, he stumbled back and landed hard on the deck.
She loomed over him, righteous fury glowing in her eyes. “Get up, you miserable coward, so I can hit you again.”
He sat where he was for a moment, rubbing a hand over his jaw. He didn’t mind the blow so much. He knew he’d had it coming. But he didn’t care to be called a coward. Under the circumstances, though, it was best to let her get it all out of her system.
“You’re upset.”
“Upset?” The word hissed out between her teeth. “I’ll show you upset.” Because he obviously wasn’t going to get up, she dived onto him.
She knocked the wind out of him with another punch as he grappled for her hands. “Damn it, Sunny, stop. I’m going to have to hurt you.”
“Hurt me?” Blind with anger, she struck out as he struggled to roll on top of her. This time her knee slipped by his guard and landed dead on. As the air whistled out of his lungs, he collapsed on top of her. “Get off me, you creep.”
He couldn’t have moved if his life had depended on it. The pain, deserved or not, was like a silvery shimmer from crotch to brain. His only defense was his weight as he sprawled breathlessly over her.
“Sunny . . .” He dragged air into his lungs and saw a new constellation. “Your match,” he conceded.
The fight had drained out of her. She didn’t want him to know how weak and helpless she felt. With her jaw tensed, she prayed her voice wouldn’t tremble.
“I said get off me.”
“As soon as I’m sure I’m still intact. If you let me get my wind back, we can go another round.” He managed to lift his head.
She was crying. Huge, silent tears welled up in her eyes and slid down her cheeks. More stunned by them than by the blow, he shook his head. “Don’t.” He brushed the tears away, but more fell to replace them. “Damn it, Sunny, stop it.”
“Let go of me.”
He rolled aside, determined to leave her alone until she composed herself. Before he realized it, he was gathering her close, dragging her onto his lap, stroking her hair.
“Don’t touch me.” Her body was rigid. Anger and humiliation battled inside her. “I don’t want you to touch me.”
“I know. I have to.”
“You lied to me.”
“Yeah.” He pressed his lips to her hair. “I’m sorry.”
“You used me.”
“No.” His arms tightened. “No. You know better than that.”
“I don’t know you at all.” She tried to arch away, but he only cradled her closer. Abruptly she threw her arms around him, burying her face against his throat. “I hate you. I’ll hate you as long as I live.”
